Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Before 1854: In Search of the Sublime

From gloom to glory
Aesthetes and heroes

Chapter 3 1854-65: A Conscious Divinity

Chapter 4 1865-1914: Gentlemen and Gymnasts

The Alps
The Lake District
North Wales
Scotland
Outcrops
The Greater Ranges

Chapter 5 1914-39: Organised Cowardice

The Lake District
North Wales
Scotland
Outcrops
The Alps
The Greater Ranges

Chapter 6 1939-70: Hard Men in an Affluent Society

North Wales
The Lake District
Scotland
Outcrops
The Alps
The Greater Ranges

Chapter 7 After 1970: Reinventing the Impossible

Rock climbing
Mountaineering

Chapter 8 Because it's there?

Notes
List of Photographs

Appendix I A Note on Grades

Appendix II Glossary of Climbing Terms

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Simon Thompson started climbing at the age of 16 and has been fascinated by the sport ever since. A former director of Anglo American and chairman of Tarmac, he has lived in seven different countries and currently sits on the boards of companies headquartered in Russia, Sweden, the UK and the USA, but he continues to escape to the mountains whenever time permits.