Peaks, perils, and pioneers: the deadly history of mountaineering

Welcome to the History Extra podcast. Fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. What has prompted humans throughout history to risk life and limb to conquer some of the world's highest mountains? In this episode, we're joined by climber Dan Light, the author of The White Ladder, Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering. He's here to discuss the fascinating and deadly history of mountain climbing.

Dan caught up with Rachel Dinning to discuss the evolution of mountaineering as a sport and the stories of the individuals who risked everything to make it to the top of nature's most formidable peaks. My first question to you, a question that's at the core of your book and you open the book with it, is what compels people through history to want to climb mountains? There are lots of different reasons why people climb mountains, some of them very personal. I think for for everyone there's something personal about the decision to go out and put yourself in harm's way, take on the challenge of a particular ascent.

But there are also some very practical and to me very interesting reasons which go back hundreds of years in our history. And it was that that sort of pulled me back into the era that I ended up writing about. As the title says, The dawn of mountaineering, a time when people were climbing mountains in the name of religion, in the name of science. And that then gradually evolved into climbing and mountaineering as a pastime and a pursuit. Absolutely.

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