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Impossible Heights: From Mining To Sport In The Mountain West, 1849 To 1936, Jason Strykowski
Impossible Heights: From Mining To Sport In The Mountain West, 1849 To 1936, Jason Strykowski
History ETDs
The discovery of gold in California inspired a rush of amateur miners to the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1849. Meanwhile, Europeans hurried to their Alps to climb during the Golden Age of Mountaineering. These events, seemingly separate, came from the same basic impetus. The Scientific Revolution eased the old fear of mountains from the religious tradition and gave humans the license and curiosity to explore. Mountains also offered capital incentive to adventurers in the form of mineral deposits, tourism and the glory that comes with athletic accomplishment. Between 1849 and 1936, "mountaineers" transformed the nearly inaccessible high places of the …