Scotlands Mountains Before The Mountaineers

Winner of the Outdoor Writers Guild Award for Excellence In this new book on pre-mountaineering ascents and near ascents in the Highlands, we have at last a work which does justice to those who lived and worked, travelled and fought in the Highlands before Walter Scott. PROF. BRUCE LENMAN Marvelous account of mountaineering's prehistory... as colourful as it is thought provoking - THE SCOTSMAN This work tells the story of explorations and ascents in the Scottish Highlands in the days before mountaineering became a popular sport - when Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers traditionally used the mountains as sanctuary.

Ian Mitchell tells the story of explorations and ascents in the Scottish Highlands in the days before mountaineering became a popular sport - when Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers traditionally used the mountains as sanctuary.

Guidebook to exploring Scotland’s finest mountain ridges through climbing, scrambling and winter mountaineering. With 47 routes across Lochaber, Cairngorms, the North and West Highlands, Skye, Rum, Arran and the Southern Highlands, this guide contains something for all levels of experience and ability, from mountain walkers to scramblers, climbers and mountaineers. The routes range from 3–26 miles (4–42km) in length and are graded from Moderate–Very Severe (climbs), 1–3 (scrambles) and I–III/3 (winter mountaineering). 1:50,000 OS mapping included for the approach to and descent off each ridge Clear route descriptions and topo diagrams of the ridge scrambles and climbs Includes classic routes on Ben Nevis, the Aonachs, Glen Coe, Coire an t-Sneachda, Torridon, the Cobbler, Ben Lui, Mitre Ridge, An Teallach Traverse and Cuillin Main Ridge Traverse Routes accessible from key bases including Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh, Aviemore, Gairloch, Lochinver, Arrochar and Cranlarich Advice on difficulty, access, accommodation and wild camping, and seasonal notes on choosing the best conditions to tackle each route

This book examines the relationship between Romantic-period writing and the activity that Samuel Taylor Coleridge christened 'mountaineering' in 1802. It argues that mountaineering developed as a pursuit in Britain during the Romantic era, earlier than is generally recognised, and shows how writers including William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Ann Radcliffe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, and Walter Scott were central to the activity's evolution. It explores how the desire for physical ascent shaped Romantic-period literary culture and investigates how the figure of the mountaineer became crucial to creative identities and literary outputs. Illustrated with 25 images from the period, the book shows how mountaineering in Britain had its origins in scientific research, antiquarian travel, and the search for the picturesque and the sublime. It considers how writers engaged with mountaineering's power dynamics and investigates issues including the politics of the summit view (what Wordsworth terms 'visual sovereignty'), the relationships between different types of 'mountaineers', and the role of women in the developing cultures of ascent. Placing the work of canonical writers alongside a wide range of other types of mountaineering literature, this book reassesses key Romantic-period terms and ideas, such as vision, insight, elevation, revelation, transcendence, and the sublime. It opens up new ways of understanding the relationship between Romantic-period writers and the world that they experienced through their feet and hands, as well as their eyes, as they moved through the challenging landscapes of the British mountains.

Shortlisted for the 2013 Saltire Society Scottish First Book award. Edinburgh. 1898. On the cusp of the modern age. Caleb George Cash: mountaineer, geographer, antiquarian and teacher stands at the rocky summit of Arthur's Seat. This is the story of Caleb, me and the Scottish mountains visible from Arthur's Seat. Somehow the Cashs or the Calebs didn't sound right so I have called the hills on Caleb's list The Arthurs. More than just a climbing book this is the story of a survivor. Caleb's List is a beautifully descriptive account in which Kellan MacInnes intertwines his own personal struggle with HIV with the life story of Victorian mountaineer Caleb George Cash, beginning with the moment in 1898 when Caleb stood at the top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh and made a list of 20 mountains visible from its summit, from Ben Lomond in the west to Lochnager in the east. MacInnes stumbled upon this long forgotten list of hills, now dubbed the Arthurs, and in this book he sets a new hillwalking challenge ... climbing the Arthurs. Drawing on history, literature and personal experience, MacInnes offers both practical and emotional insight into climbing these hills, in an account that is a must-read for hillwalkers, visitors to Edinburgh and lovers of Scotland all over the world. This is not just a book about hillwalking and history. At its heart this is powerful landscape writing that explores the strong bond between a person and the hills they love . . . The author writes with skill and considerable authority. ALEX RODDIE, author Caleb Cash himself is an important if neglected figure in the history of the Scottish outdoors and the author's personal story gives the book an emotional power unusual in a guidebook. An excellent book. CHRIS TOWNSHEND, author A triumphant debut. THE GREAT OUTDOORS A tribute to the healing power of the Scottish landscape and to survival against the odds. THE SCOTSMAN

50 great mountain walks in Scotland. Some of the routes described in this larger format book are well known classic challenges such as the Lochaber Traverse, the Mamores and Cairngorms 4000-ers while others approach a favourite mountain from a new angle or combine several in a testing way. Each one can be crammed into a single, long day or backpacked over two to spend a little longer in this rugged and addictive landscape. The collection spans Scotland, right across its magnificent upland areas and dramatic peaks. Routes range from 12 to 25 miles and many would make a good two-day adventure. Some can be approached by kayak or mountain bike. Over 270 ranges and summits feature in settings as varied as the snowbound Cairngorm plateaus and the land-sea jigsaw of the Hebrides, where rugged peaks rise from clear water. Few walking destinations are better suited to routes at the longer, tougher end of the scale.

This comprehensive book is an excellent planning resource for those who wish to venture into the Scottish mountains. Whether you are planning a walk, scramble, climb or ski tour this larger format guide has all the information the independent mountain lover needs. The guide covers all the mountainous areas of Scotland from south to north, divided into seven regions. Each regional chapter covers individual glens important for mountain-goers, groups of hills that form coherent massifs and individual hills of significance. However, this is not a route guide and detailed descriptions are not provided. The aim of the book is to inspire and entertain as well as inform; to show first-time visitors just what the Scottish mountains have to offer and provide a new perspective for those who have been before. In the descriptions author Chris Townsend has given his opinions as to the relative qualities of the walks, glens, lochs, mountains and the landscape in general and highlighted those he thinks are the best the area has to offer. Includes: Descriptions of all the Scottish mountains, area-by-area from south to north, to help you identify the best locations for hill walking, mountaineering, climbing and ski touring Classic ascents and walks described, from scrambles up Ben Nevis to ski tours in the Cairngorms A planning tool for long-distance treks

This book is about the rise of a new ethos in British mountaineering during the late nineteenth century. It traces how British attitudes to mountains were transformed by developments both within the new sport of mountaineering and in the wider fin-de-siècle culture. The emergence of the new genre of mountaineering literature, which helped to create a self-conscious community of climbers with broadly shared values, coincided with a range of cultural and scientific trends that also influenced the direction of mountaineering. The author discusses the growing preoccupation with the physical basis of aesthetic sensations, and with physicality and materiality in general; the new interest in the physiology of effort and fatigue; and the characteristically Victorian drive to enumerate, codify, and classify. Examining a wide range of texts, from memoirs and climbing club journals to hotel visitors’ books, he argues that the figure known as the ‘New Mountaineer’ was seen to embody a distinctly modern approach to mountain climbing and mountain aesthetics.

Award-winning author and mountaineer follows in the footsteps of the woman as well as the monarch who came to see the Highlands as her retreat and solace. This historical biography cum guide book has a wealth of new material about "Mrs Brown". From her short walks to her large scale expeditions and her days out on the mountains, her experiences add to any walker's enjoyment of the region. It includes maps, line drawings, and never before seen photographs from the Washington Wilson collection.