Читать книгу Edge of the Map. The Mountain Life of Christine Boskoff онлайн

50 страница из 82

Everest remained. The world’s tallest mountain had yet to find a place on Scott’s résumé. He’d attempted it before, in 1987 and 1989, without a summit. Several years later, in 1994, on an expedition billed as the Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition, Scott’s ascent to the top was as easy as the other attempts had been difficult. On the climb, he reaffirmed his commitment to the environment, as expedition members and high-altitude workers carried trash off the mountain, long plagued with the remnants of previous climbs.

The market for those seeking to summit 8,000-meter peaks was growing. As it erupted, one demographic played catch-up: women.

MOUNTAINEERING HAD LONG BEEN A sport portrayed in the media through the eyes of men as an escape from domestic life to the wilds of the outdoors. In many societies, being “feminine” meant staying at home, while masculinity was defined as seeking faraway adventures. By the late 1980s, the world of high-dollar, flashy expeditions had erupted. Commercially organized mountaineering tours could take clients as high as their pockets were deep. The influence of money was apparent, both in the gear developed to aid in climbs and in the amount needed to undertake far-flung trips. At the time, the commercial landscape was heavily male-dominated, resulting in women creating their own, allfemale trips.