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

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The conversation of whether women approached climbing differently than men evolved through the 1990s. While it was still not uncommon to recognize the basic physiological differences, people became more cautious about making assumptions based on gender. Chris adopted this approach in her own climbing. Differences existed among climbers, more often between individuals and less between genders.

As she grew in the sport, her source of inspiration remained Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz. With nine summits of 8,000-meter peaks to her name, Rutkiewicz perished in 1992. She lost her life on Kangchenjunga, on the Nepal-India border, just as Chris was falling in love with climbing. “Wanda was a huge influence on me,” Chris said. “She played a huge part in establishing a place for women in the high-altitude mountaineering world. Unfortunately there hasn’t really been anyone after her.”

Christine Boskoff was next.

TUCKED INTO THE BORDER BETWEEN Pakistan and China, 26,401-foot Broad Peak ranks high on the list of 8,000-meter peaks for those in the game of summiting all fourteen. Though steep in sections, the mountain lacks any sheer vertical walls, and there’s little technical climbing required. Broad Peak’s wide summit stretches a mile long, offering stunning views of nearby K2 and both Gasherbrum I and II.