Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering

This magesterial and thrilling history argues that the story of American mountaineering is the story of America itself.

In Continental Divide, Maurice Isserman tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Mountains were originally seen as obstacles to civilization; over time they came to be viewed as places of redemption and renewal. The White Mountains stirred the transcendentalists; the Rockies and Sierras pulled explorers westwa...