Traditionally, most accounts of exploration were sanitized and related in the most positive terms, glossing over the hardships and mishaps that occurred during the expedition. That is until Robert Dunn published The Shameless Diary of an Explorer. In 1903 Dunn joined an expedition led by Frederick Cook (who later faked the discovery of the North Pole) attempting the first ascent of Mt. Mckinley. They failed to make the summit but achieved the first circumnvigation of the mountain.
This book describes the bitter cold and extreme hardship of crossing the tundra, mountain ranges, canyons, and rivers. They used pack horses that had to be broken before the trip began. The horses stampeded, fell into crevasses, became trapped in mud, were swept down rivers, and had to be retrieved. These things happened every day. Their food supply was frequently soaked by rain or submersion in the rivers and had to be scraped of mold and dried by the fire.
There was conflict amongst the team and it became evident the the leader was incompetent. What a story!
Today's mountain climbers fly to the base of the mountain and then begin their ascent. These rugged men spent weeks getting to Mt. Mckinley and then almost killed themselves attempting to climb it. While I was reading the book I couldn't help asking myself "Why did these men punish themselves so?"
2 comments:
They had to have been nuts!! I didn't want to get out in it today. Thank goodness for heated seats!!!
I felt that way when I saw the movie "Shackleton"---I came out of the theatre quite angry at the human cost of his adventure
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