Academic literature on the topic 'Mountaineering expeditions'
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Journal articles on the topic "Mountaineering expeditions"
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Cullen, Ross. "Himalayan Mountaineering Expedition Garbage." Environmental Conservation 13, no. 4 (1986): 293–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900035335.
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Expedition garbage is an unfortunate by-product of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions. High transport costs, lack of concern amongst climbers, and lack of direction by authorities, results in squalid garbage heaps around mountain campsites. Growth in numbers of expeditions, climbers, and trekkers, to the Himalaya necessitates prompt action to prevent despoliation of those areas.Such despoliation of campsites by inadequate treatment or unsatisfactory disposal practices cannot be halted by reliance on improved climber behaviour alone. Host-country authorities must develop and enforce more comprehensive guidelines and policies for garbage disposal than currently prevail. A combination of burning and transport to pits off-site seems likely to be typically the best disposal practice to follow. A combination of change in expedition behaviour, provision of leadership in garbage disposal, and use of environmental protection levies, seems necessary to combat the problem of growing squalor at campsites and expanding desecration of surrounding areas.
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Biswakarma, Gangaram, Utshav Rijal, Sudichhya Thapa, Swastika Dhakal, Tridev Kishor K.C., and Trilok Manandhar. "Waste Management Policy and Practices in Mountain Expeditions in Nepal: Stakeholder's Perspective on Implementation of Mountaineering Expedition Rules." International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Reviews 10, no. 2 (July 9, 2023): 01–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.18510/ijthr.2023.1021.
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Purpose: This study investigates the current implementation status of the Mountaineering Expedition Rules (MER) of 2002 in Nepal, focusing on waste management practices during mountain expeditions from the stakeholder's perspective.
Methodology: The study used a descriptive research design with a mixed approach, collecting primary data through structured questionnaires and key informant interviews. Data analysis is conducted using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data.
Main Findings: The findings highlight the need for improvement in waste management during mountain expeditions in Nepal. While climbers demonstrate a moderate to high level of awareness and implementation of waste management practices, challenges such as limited budgets, lack of self-awareness among expeditioners, and slow decay of waste in cold weather persist. The study emphasizes the importance of proper implementation of mountaineering expedition rules, particularly in waste management.
Implications: This study contributes to the development of sustainable tourism practices in Nepal and the preservation of the mountain environment. The study recognizes the efforts made by the Nepalese government through policies and regulations to address waste management issues. The goal is to protect the fragile mountain ecosystem while facilitating the growth of sustainable mountain tourism.
Novelty: It offers practical recommendations based on stakeholder perspectives, which can inform policy formulation in Nepal and other countries with similar mountain tourism contexts.
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Kastrau, Katarzyna. "Historia polskiego himalaizmu. Lodowi Wojownicy i ich wpływ na himalaizm światowy." Góry, Literatura, Kultura 11 (July 17, 2018): 423–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.19195/2084-4107.11.28.
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THE HISTORY OF POLISH HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINEERING. THE ICE WARRIORS AND THEIR IMPACT ON WORLD HIMALAYAN MOUTANEINEERINGThe history of Polish Himalayan mountaineering, i.e. all ascended summits, new routes and records, is extremely rich and fascinating. It is impossible to describe all of this on just a few pages, which is why the aim of my paper is to describe the most outstanding expeditions, those that completely changed our thinking about Himalayan mountaineering and showed that we can deceive not only our bodies but also our subconscious.The first attempts to ascend an eight-thousander were made as early as in the 1920s; unfortunately, they all failed. Owing to the harsh conditions in the mountains, the first successful ascent of an eight-thousander did not take place until 1950, when Annapurna was ascended. The first Polish expedition was organised in 1939. Unfortunately, the Second World War and the political situation in Poland prevented Polish climbers from making further attempts for many years. The political situation in the country made it impossible for Poles to travel abroad. But Himalayan mountaineering at the time was developing very rapidly. The Poles, hungry for success, wanted to go down in history. Given the fact that all eight-thousanders had already been ascended, the Poles began a new chapter — winter Himalayan mountaineering, challenging Edmund Hillary’s assertion that in winter no form of life had a chance to survive over 7000 metres above sea level. In my paper I focus on presenting the most remarkable achievements. I describe the Golden Age of Polish Himalayan mountaineering, like the first winter ascent of Everest or Krzysztof Wielicki’s extraordinary one-day ascent of Broad Peak. There is also room for expeditions featuring Jerzy Kukuczka, an icon of Himalayan mountaineering. Climbing two eight-thousanders in one winter season and establishing a new route on K2 are still unbeaten feats. A part of my paper is devoted to women. The first all-female expeditions headed by Wanda Rutkiewicz were also a Polish domain. The number of great achievements in the mountains are truly numerous. Each of them in described in the paper, as is the death of the greatest Himalayan climbers, which led to a crisis and revisions. The paper ends with a fragment concerning an attempt to revive Polish Himalayan mountaineering.
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Kaliszuk, Przemysław. "„Wyprawa egzotyczna o charakterze odkrywczym” albo „wyniosła pielgrzymka”. Andyjskie szczyty, polski alpinizm i opowieści o eksploracji gór w I połowie XX wieku." Wielogłos, no. 4 (46) (2020): 87–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.4467/2084395xwi.20.031.13423.
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“Exotic Mountaineering Exploration” or “Solemn Pilgrimage.” Andean Peaks, Polish Mountaineering and Stories of Mountain Exploration in the First Half of the 20th Century The article concerns the stories of two Polish expeditions to the Andes in the 1930s as described in expedition books and personal diaries published between 1934 and 1961. The author analyzes the selected texts in terms of sincerity and authenticity. He considers the extent to which the specific discourses of mountaineers, stretched between personal perspective and the equirements of objectification, fit into modernity’s conceptualizations of sincerity as a paradoxical notion defined by the modern self.
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Evans, John, and Philip M. Smith. "Mt. Vinson and the evolution of US policy on Antarctic mountaineering, 1960–1966." Polar Record 50, no. 3 (April 12, 2013): 277–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000211.
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ABSTRACTThe full extent of the height and scale of the Sentinel Range, Antarctica, was not known until reconnaissance flights and scientific traverses in the International Geophysical Year (IGY), 1957–1958. These explorations revealed the range to be twenty miles in length, with a large number of high peaks culminating in Mt. Vinson, the highest on the Antarctic continent at nearly 4900 meters. The discoveries captured the interest of the U.S. and world mountaineering communities setting off a competition to achieve the first climb of Vinson. The challenge was tempered only by the range's remoteness from the coast of Antarctica and the formidable logistics of mounting a mountaineering expedition. The US which had the most advanced ski-equipped cargo aircraft, had an established post-IGY policy that prohibited adventure expeditions that could divert logistic resources from the scientific programme. This paper discusses Mt. Vinson competition within the US and international climbing communities, mounting national pressures to achieve the first climb, and a reversal in policy by the US Antarctic Policy Group that resulted in the 1966–1967 American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition's first ascents of Vinson and five other high peaks. Today, between 100 and 200 persons climb Mt. Vinson each austral summer.
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Mustafa, Munauwar, Mohd Azril Ismail, and Donny Abdul Latief Abdul Latief Poespowidjojo. "KETERAMPILAN BERPIKIR KRITIS MAHASISWA/MAHASISWI YANG MENYERTAI EKSPEDISI PENDAKIAN GUNUNG DI MALAYSIA." TINGKAP 12, no. 2 (October 1, 2016): 183. http://dx.doi.org/10.24036/tingkap.v12i2.7549.
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This study was carried out to look at the effect of participation in well known adventure mountaineering expeditions in Peninsular Malaysia, namely Chamah-Ulu Sepat and Trans Titiwangsa expeditions on the score of participants’ critical thinking skill. The study population were public university students who participated in one of the aforementioned expeditions within the period of data collection which was during the long break during the second semester academic session and the first semester of academic session. This study utilizes an established instrument developed by Watson and Glaser which is potentially able to help achieve the study objective, taking into consideration the validity and reliability of the construct and its suitability with the respondents. The findings of the study reveal that there is a significant difference between the score of critical thinking skill of the participants before and after the adventure climb. However, mean scores between the two expeditions reveals that they do not differ significantly.Therefore, it can be concluded that students participation in mountaineering expeditions can be used as a training method to enhance their critical thinking skills. The study adds to another approach of increasing the level of critical thinking skill through adventure mountaineering expeditions in Peninsular Malaysia.Keywords: Critical Thinking Skills, Training and Development, Incidental Learning, Adventure Training
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Joshi, Sunil Kumar, and Sugam Pokharel. "SS03-03 CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSH) OF SHERPA MOUNTAINEERS." Occupational Medicine 74, Supplement_1 (July 1, 2024): 0. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqae023.0059.
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Abstract Introduction The current climate change scenario poses significant challenges for mountaineering expeditions. The accelerated melting of glaciers, altered climbing conditions, and changing weather patterns are reshaping the mountaineering process. The changing climate has significantly amplified the hazards linked to climbing, leading to increased frequency and intensity of avalanches and rockfall. The objective of this study was to study the effect of climate change factors on the job of Sherpa mountaineers on expedition to Mount Everest. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 94 Sherpas residing in the Solukhumbu District, Nepal. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu Medical College. Sherpas who were present for the expedition during the data collection period and gave informed consent were included in the study. Similarly, secondary data on climate change-related events in the Everest region were analyzed. Results Approximately forty three percent (42.6%) of respondents experienced different incidents during expeditions; 33% had encountered avalanches, 14.9% had fallen from cliffs or paths, and 12.6% had fallen into crevasses. Sixteen percent of participants encountered the death of family members, 69.1% experienced the loss of colleagues from their team, and 21.3% encountered the death of clients during expeditions. Conclusion The study highlights the multifaceted OSH challenges related to climate change faced by Sherpas guiding summit expeditions on Mount Everest. Their need for targeted interventions is evident and to ensure their well-being, a comprehensive approach encompassing health education, psychological support, and improved safety practices is essential.
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Lodes, Emma B. "Glaciers are for girls: the inaugural expedition of Girls on Ice Austria succeeded in empowering nine young women in August 2021." Polarforschung 90, no. 1 (May 5, 2022): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/polf-90-1-2022.
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Abstract. Girls on Ice Austria, an organization that encourages young women to stretch themselves through wilderness and glacier travel, camping, science and art, successfully completed their inaugural expedition in August 2021. Nine girls from Austria, Germany and Italy joined science instructors specializing in glaciology and meteorology, two professional artists (an actress and a painter), and a professional mountain guide for an all-female, week-long expedition to Bachfallferner glacier in the Ötztal. The team learned basic mountaineering and climbing skills, conducted scientific experiments including measuring the daily melt rate of Bachfallferner glacier, and pushed their creative boundaries. The all-female nature of Girls on Ice, and Inspiring Girls Expeditions (the umbrella organization) is meant to show young girls that women are capable of successfully filling traditionally male roles (such as in glaciology and mountaineering), to introduce the next generation of girls to the world of mountains and glaciers, and to encourage them to bravely and confidently pursue these career paths.
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Gugglberger, Martina. "Grenzen im Aufstieg. Berge als Transgressionsräume von Geschlechtergrenzen." Góry, Literatura, Kultura 11 (July 17, 2018): 343–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.19195/2084-4107.11.23.
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ASCENTS WITH LIMITS: MOUNTAINS AS SPACES FOR GENDER TRANSGRESSIONMountains and Alpine spaces are historical places where determined national, economic and cultural norms as well as practices were and still are negotiated. The article focuses on the question of gender in the mountains as a social space, which the author explores, drawing on the example of the history of climbing expeditions to the highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas. Against this background she presents, from the point of view of gender history, the so-called female expeditions, i.e. mountain expeditions initiated, organised and conducted from the mid-1950s by all-female teams. They serve as analytical lenses to look into gender relations in mountaineering and their transformations in 1955–2014. Drawing on four social spaces the author raises questions about crossing gender boundaries due to socially-constructed gender norms as well as strategies for overcoming them.The first part of the article is devoted to female expeditions undertaken in 1955–1962 by British female climbers. These enterprises expanded the areas in which female mountaineers operated, without, however, questioning social gender stereotypes. The organisers of the expeditions deliberately presented themselves in accordance with social gender norms, and by choosing reasonable mountain goals, didn’t join the competition associated with the Himalayan eight-thousanders. The importance of gender based boundaries in high altitude mountaineering in the late 1950s is revealed in part two of the article when for the first time a female team set a famous eight-thousander as a goal for themselves. Press reports from before and after the expedition reflect prejudice and scepticism, presenting the female climbers in a manner that affronted them as overambitious and incompetent. It was not until the 1970s that a younger generation of female climbers openly and critically spoke against sexism and discrimination of women in high mountain climbing, as the author describes in part three. Female expeditions allowed women to avoid exclusion from male teams and attempt to climb the highest peaks on their own. The article ends with a presentation of the significance of female expeditions in the Himalayan state of Nepal, where since the 1990s such expeditions have provided Nepalese women with opportunities to made their mark on the tourist trade. On the other hand, female expeditions have been used by tourist and political institutions as an instrument of raising public awareness of issues like equality policy, climate protection or promotion of tourism.
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Gugglberger, Martina. "Granice we wspinaniu. Góry jako przestrzenie transgresji granic płci." Góry, Literatura, Kultura 11 (July 17, 2018): 361–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.19195/2084-4107.11.24.
Full textAbstract:
ASCENTS WITH LIMITS: MOUNTAINS AS SPACES FOR GENDER TRANSGRESSIONMountains and Alpine spaces are historical places where determined national, economic and cultural norms as well as practices were and still are negotiated. The article focuses on the question of gender in the mountains as a social space, which the author explores, drawing on the example of the history of climbing expeditions to the highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas. Against this background she presents, from the point of view of gender history, the so-called female expeditions, i.e. mountain expeditions initiated, organised and conducted from the mid-1950s by all-female teams. They serve as analytical lenses to look into gender relations in mountaineering and their transformations in 1955–2014. Drawing on four social spaces the author raises questions about crossing gender boundaries due to socially-constructed gender norms as well as strategies for overcoming them.The first part of the article is devoted to female expeditions undertaken in 1955–1962 by British female climbers. These enterprises expanded the areas in which female mountaineers operated, without, however, questioning social gender stereotypes. The organisers of the expeditions deliberately presented themselves in accordance with social gender norms, and by choosing reasonable mountain goals, didn’t join the competition associated with the Himalayan eight-thousanders. The importance of gender based boundaries in high altitude mountaineering in the late 1950s is revealed in part two of the article when for the first time a female team set a famous eight-thousander as a goal for themselves. Press reports from before and after the expedition reflect prejudice and scepticism, presenting the female climbers in a manner that affronted them as overambitious and incompetent. It was not until the 1970s that a younger generation of female climbers openly and critically spoke against sexism and discrimination of women in high mountain climbing, as the author describes in part three. Female expeditions allowed women to avoid exclusion from male teams and attempt to climb the highest peaks on their own. The article ends with a presentation of the significance of female expeditions in the Himalayan state of Nepal, where since the 1990s such expeditions have provided Nepalese women with opportunities to made their mark on the tourist trade. On the other hand, female expeditions have been used by tourist and political institutions as an instrument of raising public awareness of issues like equality policy, climate protection or promotion of tourism.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Mountaineering expeditions"
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Nyman, Karin, and Mårten Lückner. "The balance between risk and safety in dangerous activities : A Case study of Risk Management in a Mountaineering Expedition." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-91167.
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Risk is an increasingly important factor of our modern society, but that does not mean that risks have become higher today versus any other epoch of human history. Especially in the developed world, risks have been progressively lowered over time. In opposition to the declining risk in everyday life of our modern society, there seems to be an apparent increasing prevalence of risk-taking in our leisure pursuits. More people are willing to take unenforced risks and the fast growing development of adventure tourism is a good example of this. The main purpose of this thesis is to create an understanding how service providers of dangerous activities manage the balance risk and safety in interaction with their customer. Our research objective is to obtain an understanding of risk management practice in a context with the potential physical risks inherent in adventure tourism. The organizational structure for a service provider in extreme environments can be similar to a temporary organizational structure and can therefore be seen from a project management perspective. This research is conducted through a qualitative case-study, which was carried out in the context of a mountaineering expedition in the attempt to summit Mount Everest. Our empirical data are gathered from a database created by the research project Extreme Environments – Everyday Decisions (Triple ED). This database contains numerous transcribed interviews, tracking records, and field notes that was used in order to interpret and analyze the expedition and encounters happening during the process of this mountaineering expedition. Our empirical findings suggest that management of a balance between risk and safety is highly dependent on honest communication. Educated personnel that have the experience and knowledge necessary to manage an expedition or group in a similar setting are another key feature. Furthermore, managing a balance between physical risk and safety is an on-going process in the context of adventure tourism with a large amount interaction between the service provider’s representatives and their customers. For these reasons, the building of a well-functioning relationship between the incorporated strong stakeholders is of importance when balancing risk and safety in a dangerous activity with inherent risks for physical harm.
Books on the topic "Mountaineering expeditions"
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Grošelj, Viki. Gola gora: Nanga Parbat 8125 m. Ljubljana: Planinska zveza Slovenije, 2010.
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Cedric, Larcher, ed. Montagnes: Histoire et chronologie. L'Argentière la Bessée: Fournel, 2005.
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Saunders, Victor. Elusive summits: Four expeditions in the Karakoram. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.
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Chamoux, Benoît. Everest moins 2 mètres =: Everest minus 2 meters. [Grenoble?]: Editions Initiative, 1993.
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Borer, Paul. Matterhorn: Faszination, Herausforderung, Geschichte. Visp: Rotten, 1999.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Mountaineering expeditions"
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"High-altitude and mountaineering expeditions." In Expedition Medicine, 305–12. Routledge, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315063621-34.
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Aalbers, Hendrik Leendert, and Ramón Spildooren. "A Network-Based View on Extreme Expedition Team Composition in Alpine Tourism." In New Governance and Management in Touristic Destinations, 19–34. IGI Global, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-3889-3.ch002.
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Conceptually drawing on network theory as its theoretical lens, this study examines two prime notions of network configuration of commercial expeditions. Exploring the role of both structural holes and network closure as indicators of team configuration for those venturing out in such extreme adventure, this study clarifies the impact of social structures, network closure, and structural holes in particular on performance outcomes in the context of expedition mountaineering. Presence and bridging of structural holes did turn out to be a significant predictor for the success or failure of an expedition. The findings show network closure to significantly influence the performance of mountaineering teams that make for a successful ascent. The capacity to span structural holes, commonly portrayed as serving as an eye-opener for options otherwise not found, does not appear to assist teams that make for successful ascents, however.
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Hall, Jenny. "Julie Tullis." In The Mountain and the Politics of Representation, 189–208. Liverpool University Press, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781837645060.003.0011.
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Julie Tullis was a formidable mountaineer and the world’s first female high-altitude mountaineering filmmaker, forming the “highest film team in the world” (Tullis, 1987, p. 6), with accomplished mountaineer and filmmaker Kurt Diemberger. Together they produced a roster of awarding winning films that covered the first French and Austrian expeditions to the Himalayan peak Nanga Parbat (8126m) in 1982 and 1985. Tullis and Diemberger also filmed the 1983 Italian ascent of K2 (8611m) in the Himalayas and made their first summit attempt of the mountain. Despite failing, it sealed Tullis’s love of K2 as her “mountain of mountains” (Tullis, 1987, p. 199). Julie Tullis’s autobiography offers a different understanding of the world of high-altitude mountaineering by exploring her experiences of successfully navigating this gendered environment. The emotional labour of managing power-laden politics has offered appreciation of the tactics that women mountaineers in this period adopted to survive the social battleground of high-altitude adventure spaces. Julie’s approach to managing this through her modest, emotional, empathetic and spiritual writings offers new insight into the mountain memoir as a genre of emotional and sensory storytelling beyond the cultural ideology of heroic mountaineering.
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Sharma, Jayeeta. "Himalayan Darjeeling and Mountain Histories of Labour and Mobility." In Darjeeling Reconsidered, 74–96. Oxford University Press, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199483556.003.0004.
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This chapter interrogates the historical trajectories of the Himalayan subjects named as Lepchas, Bhutias, Gurkhas, and Sherpas, who played a crucial role in producing Darjeeling as a vibrant mountain space for circulation, enterprise, and culture. The establishment of an imperial hill station resort led to numerous and novel—often unanticipated—labouring and service openings that the indigenous peoples of the Eastern Himalayan borderlands parleyed into new possibilities for livelihood and mobility, albeit with varying degrees of success. The chapter examines how the complicated negotiations of indigenous groups with the racially determined practices of tea plantations, botanical and mountaineering expeditions, mission stations, and military recruitment shaped new modernistic identities and were constitutive of Darjeeling as a trans-Himalayan space defined by mobile lives and cross-cultural encounters which in turn it helped constitute.
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Widmer, Edward L. "The Young American Lexicon:Field and Codification." In Young America, 155–84. Oxford University PressNew York, NY, 1998. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195100501.003.0006.
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Abstract On August 5, 1850, a group of mildly inebriated American intellectuals, in a rare display of physical hardihood, clambered up Monument Mountain, just south of Stockbridge in western Massachusetts. True, the “mountain” in question was only 1,640 feet high, but its ascent marked an important opportunity for several Young Americans to gather together and descant on their favorite topics. Indeed, this humble mountaineering expedition may well have signaled the apogee of Young America. The climbers included city slickers on vacation (Duyckinck, Mathews, Boston publisher James T. Fields), writers residing in the Berkshires (Hawthorne, Melville, Oliver Wendell Holmes), and two Stockbridge natives, Henry Dwight Sedgwick and David Dudley Field.
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Motrescu-Mayes, Annamaria, and Heather Norris Nicholson. "British Women’s Media Narratives of Gender and Collective Memory." In British Women Amateur Filmmakers, 163–95. Edinburgh University Press, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9781474420730.003.0007.
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This chapter engages with theoretical and historical perspectives on gender, post-colonialism and new media with the aim to trace the visual literacy defined by several examples of British women amateur film and media practice. This literacy appears to inform new understandings of amateur/new media making and to elucidate how gender-driven visual narratives of gender, race and national identities function today within global online networks. It explores issues of belonging, home-and-abroad mind frames, and of colonial and post-colonial identity-building within postcolonial and feminist theories. The theoretical discourse is anchored in detailed analyses of the amateur film made by Eileen Healey of the all-women tragic mountaineering expedition up the Chy Oyu summit in 1959, and of several exceptional scenes filmed in colour by Rosie Newman during the London Blitz, including British military drills during the Second World War and portraits of British colonial subjects and sites. Finally, it identifies the ways in which some documentary filmmakers have recently re-framed and re-contextualized similar footage, such as Beatrice Blackwood’s and Ursula Graham Bower’s colonial amateur (ethnographic) films, either as visual ‘fillers’ for new perspectives on the history of the British Empire, or as cinematic documents relevant to new practices in visual anthropology studies
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Kocela, Christopher. "Walking Mountains." In The Mountain and the Politics of Representation, 251–68. Liverpool University Press, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781837645060.003.0014.
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This essay examines the representation of mountaineering as a form of ecological Zen practice in Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard. Winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction in 1979, Matthiessen’s journal account of the two-hundred-and-fifty-mile expedition he made across the Dolpo region of Tibet with field biologist George Schaller in 1972 has proven enormously influential in popularizing mountain climbing and hiking as forms of spiritual seeking. This essay argues that Matthiessen’s memoir draws heavily on the de-anthropocentric representation of mountains “walking” and “flowing” in Zen master Dōgen’s “Mountains and Waters Sutra” (1243), which Matthiessen first read while editing his Dolpo journals for publication between 1976 and 1978. Through its disorienting attribution of movement and breath to the Himalayan mountains, The Snow Leopard becomes a form of ecological life writing in which the “climbing” and “walking” of mountains reflect not only human agency and striving, but also a radically decentered form of environmental awareness. It is this awareness that motivates Matthiessen’s repeated calls, throughout the text, for environmental conservation; representation of such awareness also helps to explain the ongoing popularity and relevance of The Snow Leopard for contemporary readers concerned about the commercialization of mountain spaces.