One morning, we decided to go out with some of the guests from the hostel for a hike along the hills by the seashore. These hills were covered in thick blades of grass but had rock faces that were pointed out towards the water. If you looked to your left you’d see these hills go for miles; mound after mound, circular shaped huts with cone shaped roofs sitting on top. African trees as well, looking as if the wind was blowing all the branches to one side of the trunk but they stood absolutely still; frozen in time. To your right you’d see the ocean go out for as far as you can see, while standing on a cliff with an almost vertical drop. From looking at the cliffs from the sides, it showed the many trails descending down the cliffs made by mountain goats and every once and a while you could see one half way down; climbing up. Although our surroundings were incredible, the heat was as well. We went through several bottles of water through-out the hike. Our leader, an African local, lead us down one of the more climbable hills to the ocean floor where it was covered in rock. With the sun beating down on us we felt trapped because we couldn’t swim in the water, the waves were too strong we’d be thrown up against the rocks.…
The author uses both captivating diction and imagery to highlight his fascination with Everest while retaining an underlying ominous mood. Like many, the alluring quality of the mountain entices Krakauer and he becomes obsessed with the idea of conquering it. On the way to camp four, the author stops on the crest of the Spur to note that “the thin air had a shimmering, crystalline quality that made even distant peaks seem close enough to touch. Extravagantly illuminated by the midday sun, Everest’s summit pyramid loomed through intermittent gauze of clouds” (Krakauer 160). By using words such as “shimmering”, “crystalline”, “extravagantly” and “illuminated”, the author expresses the mysterious and enchanting beauty of the mountain and creates a visual image that allows the audience to experience and appreciate it as well. Although he is climbing in extremely harsh conditions, Krakauer focuses on the beauty of his surroundings, demonstrating his fascination with the mountain and his romanticized attitude towards Everest. However, by describing the mountain as “looming” through the “gauze” of clouds, the author hints at a harsh attitude towards Everest as well as a foreboding mood that is constantly surrounding him. Yet Krakauer is blinded by the elusiveness of Everest and recognizes the danger as an inescapable part of his journey to reach the summit. Furthermore, the author also uses imagery along with diction to express his attitude towards Everest and its surroundings. While leaving the Col, Krakauer notices that “the night had a cold,…
| ‘For the first time in my life I was alive to beauty.’ AND ‘The experience transformed my sense of life and the countryside, adding to both a sense of transcendence.’…
In 1925 Leni Riefenstahl injured her knee whilst dancing in Prague which threatened to end her dancing career. Fatefully, it was this injury that introduced her to mountain films as she came across an advertising poster for Berg des Schicksals (Mountain of Destiny) a mountain film directed by Dr Arnold Fanck on her way to the doctor. Riefenstahl was very intrigued by the film and was so impressed that she returned each night for a week to see Fanck’s Mountain of Destiny. She was “spell bound” by the “vivid, lifelike images of majestic mountains” and as she watched, her own “mountain film destiny” was revealed. The themes of the struggle to survive and natural beauty featured in such mountain films would later appear as a major influence in Riefenstahl’s own work as a director both from the technical and artistic point of view.…
The preventable mistakes caused by several guides caused several climbers to perish. As a group of climbers get closer and closer to the top of the world, a freak storm arrives and mistakes are made, transforming what should have been the greatest days of the climbers’ lives into a battle for survival and for some, their last moments on Earth.…
“Travelers Among Mountains and streams.” culturedart.blogspot.com. Art & Culture: 104 Monday, October 11, 2010 9:46 A.M.…
On March 14, before nine o'clock in the morning, the early travelers were getting packed and ready to go on their journey through the wilderness. The early travelers were weighed down with heavy backpacks on their back. "Besides their luggage at their backs, they were obliged to measure the distance, mark the trees, and clear the way for the surveyors every step they went." There was a moment when they got a chance to relax and enjoy their accomplishments. They were also traveling for a very long time but the weather was nice and warm.…
Cameron 1 Children’s Crusade The Children’s Crusade is considered by most to be a minor crusade. Others do not believe it ever happened. That may be because historians don’t have much intel to go on. The fate of the French children is largely speculated.…
A docudrama released in 2003 recounting the harrowing tale of Joe Simpson and Simon Yeates two mountaineers who in the mid-80’s attempts to reach the summit of Siula Grande in Peru. They reach the top but upon decent Joe slips and breaks his leg. As the expedition spirals out of control Joe falls over an overhang with no way of climbing back up, Simon then makes the decision to cut his rope. However, Joe survives the fall and has to crawl the rest of the way down. The documentary focuses on his journey and uses first person interviews with mountaineers evolved coupled with a reconstruction of the event. These two techniques are intersected and dubbed over throughout giving a very dramatic tone for…
The award winning nonfiction biography by Tracy Kidder, gives the reader an encounter of the life of Paul Farmer, a doctor who travel the world in search of a cure to save people suffering from AIDS and Tuberculous in countries in poverty. The book is divided in to five sections, each section giving a different time an point of view of the over theme that all people even in poor nations should be given a chance to access the same health care.…
I chose this photograph by Jon Reid titled “Fjord Hiking”, which was taken at Pulpit Rock in Norway. I have been following Reid’s work as a travel photographer for some time, scrolling through his portfolio I was drawn to this photo because of the great sense of distance and the expressive figure standing out among the organic edges of the cliffs and the bright sky.…
mist. A great stone staircase, as if built for giants, rose out of the mist and led to the arch. The arches’…
After finding a radio in the tail of the Fairchild on a short mission across the mountain and hearing that the search for their plane was cut off, all hope for rescue was lost and they were forced to consider taking the rescue into their own hands through an expedition to civilization. This was not thought of lightly as the first trip a few hundred feet up the mountain had nearly killed the expeditionaries. How could they hope to reach help. The only inkling as to their position was that Chile must be west because that was the original destination. Seeing this as their only chance for survival the passengers overfed and kept the strongest of them as comfortable as possible. As a last chance, Roberto Canessa and Nando Parrado were to journey over the mountains of the Andes and bring back help. This was a feat unfeasible by any man. The conditions were horrible and without enough food the two, along with another who was unable to continue, set out. After surviving for so long they were not about to give up. The previous months only motivated Canessa and Parrado to carry on and they did so for all sixty miles of their…
In early 1991 September 19 two hikers from Germany found something strange in Italian Alps while they were having a break-they saw a human corpse. Later scholars researched it and found that it was a skull of an ancient human and they named it “Otzi Iceman”. The Iceman's meals have served up a feast of information to scholars. His stomach contained 30 different types of pollen. Analysis of that pollen shows that Ötzi died in spring or early summer, and it has even enabled researchers to trace his movements through different mountain elevations just before he died. His partially digested last meal suggests he ate two hours before his grisly end. In this essay I will write detailed information about the iceman, how it is discovered as well as some historic facts.…
Bill Bryson and Katz do not conquer the entire Appalachian Trail, but more importantly, they are able to conquer and overcome personal flaws while trying to do so. Bryson and his friend, Katz set out for a journey, their main intentions being to complete the Appalachian trail, and reconnect with nature. Throughout their journey, Bryson and Katz experience grueling days of long hikes and stormy weather, sometimes reaching below zero. Even though this seems miserable, and at times it was, the challenges helped both men to better themselves. Katz and Bryson gained a sense of pride by experiencing a harsh and deep pain, when hiking for long hours each day. By the end of their journey, they had become much more “slender and fit”(274). Even though they didn’t reach the end of the trail, physical strength was something they were able to leave with, and feel proud of. Looking back on the hardship and adversity the men faced was a significant accomplishment in itself, knowing that they were able to push through it, no matter how difficult.…