Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS vii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. Introduction: Encounters with Rock and Ice Between Science and Sublimity 1
5. Part I . From europe to the americas: alexander von humboldt
6. 1. The Vicissitudes of Humboldt’s Mountain Moments 27
7. 2. The Drama of Ascent 48
8. Part II. Alpine adventures
9. 3. The Alps: A Brief History 75
10. 4. Horace-Bénédict de Saussure’s Quest for Mont Blanc 91
11. 5. Icecapades: James David Forbes and Louis Agassiz 116
12. 6. The Selling of the Alps and the Beginning of the “Golden Age”: Albert Smith and Alfred Wills 149
13. 7. Poetic Science and Competitive Vigor: John Tyndall and Edward Whymper 174
14. 8. The Making of Modern Climbing: Leslie Stephen 209
15. Part III. Exploring the american west
16. 9. Transcontinental Shifts: Clarence King’s Representation of the American West 233
17. 10. The Solitary Mountaineer: John Muir 260
18. Epilogue 289
19. Notes 299
20. Bibliography 335
21. Index 349