This book breaks the ground in Geographical texts by transcending a strictly regional or topical focus. It presents the opportunities and constraints that mountains and their resources offer to local and global populations; the impacts of environmental and economic change, development and globalisation on mountain environments. Part of the Ecogeography series edited by Richard Hugget

W.R. Trivett (1884-1966), a farmer born in Watauga County, North Carolina, was also a self-taught professional photographer who left behind an invaluable collection of over 400 glass plate negatives taken between 1907 and the late 1940s in the Beech Mountain community of neighboring Avery County. Along with the photographs (over 90 of which are reproduced herein), a collection of Trivett's personal papers survive, revealing very enlightening information about his life in the mountains. This work--the fourth in McFarland's continuing series of Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies--carefully examines Trivett's life and photographs, comparing his work to that of contemporary outside photographers who often produced stereotypical images of mountain people. Through Trivett's images we can, by contrast, see the everyday reality for most people in rural Appalachia.

Mountains have captured the interests and passions of people for thousands of years. Today, millions of people live within mountain regions, and mountain regions are often areas of accelerated environmental change. This edited volume highlights new understanding of mountain environments and mountain peoples around the world. The understanding of mountain environments and peoples has been a focus of individual researchers for centuries; more recently the interest in mountain regions among researchers has been growing rapidly. The articles contained within are from a wide spectrum of researchers from different parts of the world who address physical, political, theoretical, social, empirical, environmental, methodological, and economic issues focused on the geography of mountains and their inhabitants. The articles in this special issue are organized into three themed sections with very loose boundaries between themes: (1) physical dynamics of mountain environments, (2) coupled human-physical dynamics, and (3) sociocultural dynamics in mountain regions. This book was first published as a special issue of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers.

Stretching 1,200 kilometres across six countries, the colossal mountains of the Alps dominate Europe, geographically and historically. Enlightenment thinkers felt the sublime and magisterial peaks were the very embodiment of nature, Romantic poets looked to them for divine inspiration, and Victorian explorers tested their ingenuity and courage against them. Located at the crossroads between powerful states, the Alps have played a crucial role in the formation of European history, a place of intense cultural fusion as well as fierce conflict between warring nations. A diverse range of flora and fauna have made themselves at home in this harsh environment, which today welcomes over 100 million tourists a year. Leading Alpine scholar Jon Mathieu tells the story of the people who have lived in and been inspired by these mountains and valleys, from the ancient peasants of the Neolithic to the cyclists of the Tour de France. Far from being a remote and backward corner of Europe, the Alps are shown by Mathieu to have been a crucible of new ideas and technologies at the heart of the European story.

'Even the most casual reader among you will by now have worked out that the whole thing is little more than a delightful ruse for having a very good time.' Experienced climber Charles Sherwood is on a quest to find the best climb on each continent. He eschews the traditional Seven Summits, where height alone is the determining factor, and instead considers mountaineering challenge, natural beauty and historical context, aiming to capture the diverse character of each continent and the sheer variety of climbing in all its forms. The author's ambitious odyssey takes him to the Alps, the Himalaya, Yosemite, the Andes, Kenya, New Zealand and South Georgia. His goal is neither to seek glory nor to complete a box-ticking exercise, but simply to enjoy himself in the company of his fellow climbers, including Mark Seaton, Andy Kirkpatrick and Stephen Venables, and to appreciate the splendour of his surroundings. On classic routes like the North Face of the Eiger and the Nose on El Capitan, it is hard not to be swept away by Sherwood's unfaltering enthusiasm. Also featuring fascinating historical detail about each route, Seven Climbs is a compelling account of Sherwood's efforts to answer a much-debated question: which are the world's greatest climbs?

With 909 recognized species of lichens, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) is home to more of these lichenized fungi than any other national park in the United States, as well as nearly half of all species known to occur in eastern North America. There is a great deal of room for scientific exploration, inquiry, and systematic description in the realm of lichenology. In Field Guide to the Lichens of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Erin Tripp and James Lendemer take on the formidable task of creating an all-in-one resource for Park exploration, including lichen distribution maps, tools for identification, vivid photographs and illustrations, and even field notes from their own research campaigns. In the process, the authors create a touchstone for lichen taxonomy and ecology, and they inspire others-researchers as well as casual observers-to take interest in the incredible biodiversity of the Great Smoky Mountains. Biologists, botanists, visitors to the park, naturalists, and others interested in the flora and fauna of both the southern Appalachians and GSMNP will thoroughly enjoy this lovingly prepared field guide.

Mountains, Climate and Biodiversity A comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis for students and researchers Mountains are topographically complex formations that play a fundamental role in regional and continental-scale climates. They are also cradles to all major river systems and home to unique, and often highly biodiverse and threatened, ecosystems. But how do all these processes tie together to form the patterns of diversity we see today? Written by leading researchers in the fields of geology, biology, climate, and geography, this book explores the relationship between mountain building and climate change, and how these processes shape biodiversity through time and space. In the first two sections, you will learn about the processes, theory, and methods connecting mountain building and biodiversity In the third section, you will read compelling examples from around the world exploring the links between mountains, climate and biodiversity Throughout the 31 peer-reviewed chapters, a non-technical style and synthetic illustrations make this book accessible to a wide audience A comprehensive glossary summarises the main concepts and terminology Readership: Mountains, Climate and Biodiversity is intended for students and researchers in geosciences, biology and geography. It is specifically compiled for those who are interested in historical biogeography, biodiversity and conservation.

Mountain regions encompass nearly 24 percent of the total land surface of the earth and are home to approximately 12 percent of the world s population. Their ecosystems play a critical role in sustaining human life both in the highlands and the lowlands.

During recent years, resource use in high mountain areas has changed mainly in response to the globalization of the economy and increased world population. As a result, mountain regions are undergoing rapid environmental change, exploitation, and depletion of natural resources leading to ecological imbalances and economic unsustainability. Moreover, the changing climatic conditions have stressed mountain ecosystems through higher mean annual temperatures and the melting of glaciers and snow. Altered precipitation patterns have also had an impact.

This book addresses these critical issues and looks at ways to stop the downward spiral of resource degradation, rural poverty, and food and livelihood insecurity in mountain regions. The book also discusses new and comprehensive approaches to mountain development that are needed to identify sustainable resource development practices, how to strengthen local institutions and knowledge systems, and how to increase the resilience between mountain environments and their inhabitants."

High above the pleasure palaces of the French Riviera is the Alpine Extension of the Maginot Line. These little-known bunkers were built in the 1930s to protect against Mussolini. But things didn't quite turn out at the French expected . . . Now, they are marooned and crumbling in some of the most beautiful, remote parts of the Alps. They are disappearing into the landscapes they once commanded, stray facts from a future passed, still waiting for an onslaught that never came. Bunker Research is for adventurers, architects, historians, mountain lovers and urban explorers. Follow this disquieting journey, told in stunning photos and prose, up peaks, along ridges and down valleys, searching for the hidden history of modernism in the mountains. The second edition follows the long-sold-out limited first printing, which won 'Best Self-Published Book' at the British Book Design & Production Awards 2016. If features 10 pages of new photos.

Wild Light is a stunning panoramic exploration of the Scottish landscape by photographer Craig Aitchison, winner of the inaugural Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. Produced over seven years and shot entirely using a traditional Hasselblad film camera, this remarkable body of work captures the essence of the Scottish wilderness through the seasons and portrays the Highlands and Islands at their most beautiful. Featuring over eighty panoramas, this book celebrates the rich natural heritage, incredible geodiversity and varied landscape for which Scotland is internationally renowned. Among a glittering cast of many are the dramatic heights of Suilven, An Teallach and Aonach Eagach, and the otherworldly landscapes of the Lairig Ghru in the Cairngorms and Glen Etive. Craig Aitchison's Wild Light will delight anyone who treasures the Scottish mountain landscape.

Written with fell walkers and other countryside enthusiasts in mind this thoroughly engaging and absorbing book shows that there is much more to the Lake District than simply 'stanes and watter'. Have you ever wondered why Scafell is different from Skiddaw, or why the east side of Helvellyn is different from the west side, or why Ullswater is different from Windermere, or why the summit of Helm Crag is, well, a bit craggy? If so, this book will provide some answers, together with a deeper understanding of how the fell country acquired its special characteristics. The physical landscape of the Lake District acts like a giant magnet, attracting several million visitors every year to the fell country. From John Constable to Alfred Wainwright, via William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, the Lake District has inspired visitors and residents alike. Although often romanticised in words and pictures as static and enduring, the mountains of the Lake District are dynamic elements of nature undergoing constant change. Media interest in climate change, storms, floods and landslides has done much to increase the public's perception of a 'dynamic' rather than a 'static' physical landscape. For those who think they know all there is to know about the mountains of the Lake District this book provides details of a different facet that is accessible to all who take the time 'to stand and stare'

'What a wonderful, honest, refreshing book, full of free-spirited adventure, humour and profound thoughts to provide inspiration to anyone who simply dreams of getting out and doing their own thing' SIR CHRIS BONINGTON 'Ernest Shackleton listed those qualities an explorer should possess over a century ago: optimism, patience, idealism with imagination, and courage. Vanessa's qualities are truly akin to these' ALEXANDRA SHACKLETON When Vanessa O'Brien was made redundant in 2008 as part of the recession, she moved to Hong Kong with her husband for his career and resigned herself to being 'just the wife'. There she was, aged 46, bored, uninspired, unemployed. Was this going to be how she was going to live the rest of her life? One night in the infamous Kee Club, over shots of tequila, a friend suggested O'Brien climb Everest, and that was the start of an epic journey she never looked back from as she climbed Everest, K2 and many other mountains. This is her inspirational story. As O'Brien says, she couldn't explain to her readers how she got to the top of K2 at the age of 52 without being honest about what came before. In To the Greatest Heights, she reveals the trials and tribulations of her difficult childhood, and the result is a life-affirming book that shows how she achieved these climbs in spite of and because of her past. To read To the Greatest Heights is to know that there is a path to overcoming the worst of what happens to us, a path that helps us reach the summit of our lives too, whatever our age.

In the recent past a marked increase of the damages caused by natural hazard processes has been documented, for example by the Munich Re-Insurance. On a regional scale, a similar development can be observed in mountain regions such as the Alps, where it is particularly a rise in flood events that has caused the maximum amount of economic damage. Three major aspects may help to explain this phenomenon: The changing frequency-magnitude relationship of the natural hazard processes, the multiplication of the damage potential due to the socio-economic change, and the non-adequate way of coping with the changing risk by the official authorities. As a consequence, this book tries to address key questions related to these developments and to give answers to these problems. Question 1: How can the strategies for coping with the rise in extreme flooding be improved? Question 2: How can the damage potential and other socio-economic aspects be quantified? Question 3: How can new computer based technologies contribute to minimizing the risks related to alpine natural hazards? An initial chapter gives an overview of the global change aspects of natural hazards and their related risks. While three chapters outline answers to question 1, four chapters discuss question 2. Five chapters give examples of new technologies.

Mountaineering in the Swiss Alps presents a selection of classic routes in the main Swiss climbing areas that have forged Switzerland's reputation as a mountaineering paradise. Featured are over thirty climbs, ranging from relatively easy normal routes to more challenging itineraries. All are within the capabilities of most mountaineers and provide an excellent introduction to the wide variety of climbing that Switzerland has to offer. Every route, whether it is a pure rock climb, a mixed ridge, a big north face or a long traverse, was chosen for the beauty of the surroundings and the quality of the climbing. Some are on world famous peaks that every mountaineer aspires to climb, such as the Matterhorn (Mont Cervin), the Breithorn and the Monch; others are on lesser-known summits and will delight those who like getting away from the beaten track. Written by mountaineer and author Stephane Maire, each route features technical notes, a route description and topo, and photos illustrating the climb's unique character.

Winner, Mountain Literature (Non-Fiction) Award, Banff Mountain Book Festival 2018 Nick Bullock is a climber who lives in a small green van, flitting between Llanberis, Wales, and Chamonix in the French Alps. Tides, Nick's second book, is the much-anticipated follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut Echoes. Now retired from the strain of work as a prison officer, Nick is free to climb. A lot. Tides is a treasury of his antics and adventures with some of the world's leading climbers, including Steve House, Kenton Cool, Nico Favresse, Andy Houseman and James McHaffie. Follow Nick and his partners as they push the limits on some of the world's most serious routes: The Bells! The Bells! and The Hollow Man on Gogarth's North Stack Wall; the Slovak Direct on Denali; Guerdon Grooves on Buachaille Etive Mor; and the north faces of Chang Himal and Mount Alberta, among countless others. Nick's life can be equated to the rhythm of the sea. At high tide, he climbs, he loves it, he is good at it; he laughs and jokes, scares himself, falls, gets back up and climbs some more. Then the tide goes out and he finds himself alone, exposed, all questions and no answers. Self-doubt, grieving for friends or family, fearful, sometimes opinionated, occasionally angry - his writing more honest and exposed than in any account of a climb. Only when the tide turns is he able to forget once more. Tides is a gripping memoir that captures the very essence of what it means to dedicate one's life to climbing.

'I have given my whole life to the mountains. Born at the foot of the Alps, I have been a ski champion, a professional guide, an amateur of the greatest climbs in the Alps and a member of eight expeditions to the Andes and the Himalaya. If the word has any meaning at all, I am a mountaineer.' So Lionel Terray begins Conquistadors of the Useless - not with arrogance, but with typical commitment. One of the most colourful characters of the mountaineering world, his writing is true to his uncompromising and jubilant love for the mountains. Terray was one of the greatest alpinists of his time, and his autobiography is one of the finest and most important mountaineering books ever written. Climbing with legends Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, Terray made first ascents in the Alps, Alaska, the Andes and the Himalaya. He was at the centre of global mountaineering at a time when Europe was emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and he came out a hero. Conquistadors of the Useless tells of his wartime escapades, of life as an Alpine mountain guide, and of his climbs - including the second ascent of the Eiger North Face and his involvement in the first ever ascent of an 8,000-metre peak, Annapurna. His tales capture the energy of French post-war optimism, a time when France needed to reassert herself and when climbing triumphs were more valued than at any other time in history. Terray's death, in the Vercors, robbed mountaineering of one of its most passionate and far-sighted figures. His energy, so obvious in Conquistadors of the Useless, will inspire for generations to come. A mountaineering classic.

On 30 January 1981 Joe Tasker and Ade Burgess stood at 24,000 feet on the West Ridge of Mount Everest. Below them were their companions, some exhausted, some crippled by illness, all virtually incapacitated. Further progress seemed impossible. Everest the Cruel Way is Joe Tasker's story of an attempt to climb the highest mountain on earth - an attempt which pushed a group of Britain's finest mountaineers to their limits. The goal had been to climb Mount Everest at its hardest: via the infamous West Ridge, without supplementary oxygen and in winter. Tasker's epic account vividly describes experiences that no climber had previously endured. Close up and personal, it is a gripping account of day-to-day life on expedition and of the struggle to live at high altitude. Joe Tasker was one of Britain's best mountaineers. He was a pioneer of lightweight, alpine-style climbing in the Greater Ranges and had a special talent for writing. He died, along with his friend Peter Boardman, high on Everest in 1982 while attempting a new and unclimbed line. Both men were superb mountaineers and talented writers.

'All mountaineers develop differently. Some go higher, some try ever-steeper faces and others specialise in a particular range or region. I am increasingly drawn to remoteness - to places where few others have trod.' The Wild Within is the third book from Simon Yates, one of Britain's most accomplished and daring mountaineers. With his insatiable appetite for adventure and exploratory mountaineering, Yates leads unique expeditions to unclimbed peaks in the Cordillera Darwin in Tierra del Fuego, the Wrangell St-Elias ranges on the Alaska-Yukon border, and Eastern Greenland. Laced with dry humour, he relates his own experience of the rapid commercialisation of mountain wilderness, while grappling with his new-found commitments as a family man. At the same time he must endure his role in the film adaptation of Joe Simpson's Touching The Void, having to relive the events of that trip to Peru for a Hollywood director. Yates' subsequent escape to the some of the world's most remote mountains isn't quite the experience it once was, as he witnesses first hand the advance of modern communications into the wilderness, signalled by the ubiquitous mobile phone masts appearing in once-deserted mountain valleys. He is left to dwell on the remaining significance of mountain wilderness and must rediscover what the notion of 'wild' means for him now.

In early 1978, an extraordinary new invention for rock climbers was featured on the BBC television science show Tomorrow's World. It was called the 'Friend', and it not only made the sport safer, it helped push the limits of the possible. The company that made them was called Wild Country, the brainchild of Mark Vallance. Within six months, Vallance was selling Friends in sixteen countries. Wild Country would go on to develop much of the gear that transformed climbing in the 1980s. Mark Vallance's influence on the outdoor world extends far beyond the company he founded. He owned and opened the influential retailer Outside in the Peak District and was part of the team that built The Foundry, Sheffield's premier climbing wall - the first modern climbing gym in Britain. He worked for the Peak District National Park and served on its board. He even found time to climb eight-thousand-metre peaks and the Nose on El Capitan. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his mid fifties and robbed of his plans for retirement, Vallance found a new sense of purpose as a reforming president of the British Mountaineering Council. In Wild Country, Vallance traces his story, from childhood influences like Robin Hodgkin and Sir Jack Longland, to two years in Antarctica, where he was base commander of the UK's largest and most southerly scientific station at Halley Bay, before his fateful meeting with Ray Jardine, the man who invented Friends, in Yosemite. Trenchant, provocative and challenging, Wild Country is a remarkable personal story and a fresh perspective on the role of the outdoors in British life and the development of climbing in its most revolutionary phase. Mark Vallance (1945-2018), the man who made Friends.

Most of us can watch an old episode of the holiday programme Wish You Were Here without it having the life-changing effect that it had on postman Edward Buckingham. For Ed, a young man from humble origins in Cornwall, the draw of Kilimanjaro and the high mountains of the world would change his life forever. It would also very nearly end his life during a fall from high on Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world. Drawn to high places, Ed embarked on a journey that would take him to the summit of the highest mountain on every continent. His seven summits actually involved ten summits - he climbed the highest summit in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, and the highest in Continental Europe, Mount Elbrus, as well as summiting Australia s Mount Kosciusko and the far more remote Papua New Guinea summit of Carstenz Pyramid, the highest point in Australasia. And, of course, Cho Oyu. In 7 Summits, Ed tells of hardship and near-death experiences on Cho Oyu, the sheer scale and suffering in being the first Cornishman to ascend Everest, as well as his final summit, Mount Vinson in Antarctica. Ed develops as a man throughout his quest. Always humble, working hard for the Royal Mail delivering post to fund his trips, on his early trip to Aconcagua and on his first attempt on Mont Blanc he is very much a novice mountaineer, but his passion for the outdoors and willingness to help his fellow climbers is always there. During his fifteen-year quest Ed's experience grows, particularly in the sub-Arctic of Alaska, where his ascent of Denali tested his stamina and equipment to the limit. At the culmination of his quest, he emerges as a capable climber, fit and strong and by sheer determination has become a world-class athlete, running full and ultra marathons, climbing mountains and delivering post.

Explore 35 of the most notorious, gruelling cycling climbs the world has to offer, guided by the experts at Cyclist, the world's biggest road cycling magazine. Route maps, altitude charts, first-hand ride reports and incredible imagery from the finest cycling photographers combine in this tribute to the peaks, hills and ascents that every cyclist should try. Tracing the routes of the greatest rides across France, Italy, Spain and Belgium, this beautiful book also includes lesser-known climbs covering northern and eastern Europe and the USA - with every single ride tried, tested and conquered by the experts at Cyclist magazine. Climbs include: Monte Grappa, Italy Zoncolan, Italy Passo dello Stelvio, Italy Alto de l'Angliru, Spain Sa Calobra, Spain Koppenberg, Belgium Alpe d'Huez, France Col Agnel, France Croix de Fer, France The Trollstigen, Noway Mauna Kea, USA

From the author of the Costa Award-winning Asha & the Spirit Bird comes a breathtaking, magical adventure ...

Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, Chinty, who died soon after she was born. So when she arrives at her ancestral home, a huge mansion in the Himalayas surrounded by luxuriant gardens, she's full of questions for her extended family. But instead of answers, she finds an ominous silence - and a trickle of intriguing clues: an abandoned hut, a friendly monkey, a glowing star ring, and a strange girl in the garden who calls herself Ishta.

Slowly, Tamarind unravels a mystery at the heart of who she is...

In the recent past a marked increase of the damages caused by natural hazard processes has been documented, for example by the Munich Re-Insurance. On a regional scale, a similar development can be observed in mountain regions such as the Alps, where it is particularly a rise in flood events that has caused the maximum amount of economic damage. Three major aspects may help to explain this phenomenon: The changing frequency-magnitude relationship of the natural hazard processes, the multiplication of the damage potential due to the socio-economic change, and the non-adequate way of coping with the changing risk by the official authorities. As a consequence, this book tries to address key questions related to these developments and to give answers to these problems. Question 1: How can the strategies for coping with the rise in extreme flooding be improved? Question 2: How can the damage potential and other socio-economic aspects be quantified? Question 3: How can new computer based technologies contribute to minimizing the risks related to alpine natural hazards? An initial chapter gives an overview of the global change aspects of natural hazards and their related risks. While three chapters outline answers to question 1, four chapters discuss question 2. Five chapters give examples of new technologies.

Up until now, mountain ecosystems have not been closely studies by social scientists as they do not offer a readily defined set of problems for human exploitation as, do for instance, tropical forests or arctic habitats. But the archaeological evidence had shown that humans have been living in this type of habitat for thousands of year. From this evidence we can also see that mountainous regions are often frontier zones of competing polities and form refuge areas for dissident communities as they often are inherently difficult to control by centralized authorities. As a consequence they fuel or contribute disproportionately to political violence. But we are now witnessing changes and increasing vulnerability of mountain ecosystems caused by human activities. Human adaptability to mountain ecosystems This volume presents an international and interdisciplinary account of the exploitation of--and human adaptation to--mountainous regions over time. The contributions discuss human cultural responses to key physical and cultural stressors associated with mountain ecosystems, such as aridity, quality of soils, steep slopes, low productivity, as well as transient phenomena such as changing weather patterns, deforestation and erosion, and the possible effects of climate change. This volume will be of interest to anthropologists, ecologists and geologists as mountainous landscapes change fast and cultures disappear and they need to be recorded, and mountain regions are of interest for studies on environmental change and cultural responses of mountain populations provide clues for us all. Critical to understanding mountain adaptations is our comprehension of human decision-making and how people view short- and long-term outcomes.

Selected Climbs: Mont Blanc & the Aiguilles Rouges presents the best rock climbs in the Mont Blanc range and on the Aiguilles Rouges, from F4 to F6a+. The selection is based on purely hedonistic criteria, including the beauty of the cliff, the variety of the climbing and the quality of the rock. The emphasis is on enjoyable climbs with easy access and descents. The routes cover a variety of rock types, climbing styles and protection (natural and fixed). All the routes are of moderate difficulty and can be done comfortably in a day without the need to carry heavy or bulky gear. Written by local climbers Jean-Louis Laroche and Florence Lelong, this selection of sixty climbs on forty summits in seventeen areas around the Chamonix valley features established classics and recent additions. Included are Marchand de Sable on the Tour Rouge, the Rebuffat Route on the Aiguille du Midi, and the Frison-Roche route of the south-east face of the Brevent, plus many more. Each route features technical notes, a detailed topo and route description, and photos illustrating the climb's unique character.