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Sunday, 26 August, 2001, 07:36 GMT 08:36 UK
Alpinism: Then and now
![]() By BBC News Online's Kate Goldberg
Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.The idea of dressing up like 19th Century English gentlemen to climb the Swiss Alps may seem absurd, but it's precisely what a group of British and Swiss climbers are doing this week.
The seven climbers are trying to draw attention to the changes in mountaineering - and to the Alps themselves - in the last 150 years. They are retracing the now well-worn routes of some of the early pioneers in a 10-day expedition. But far from being isolated from the outside world, they are charting their journey on the internet, sending daily e-mail despatches to BBC News Online and taking part in a live forum from Mount Eiger. The age of tourism The British were the first to turn Alpine mountaineering into a leisure pursuit in the second half of the 19th century.
But with the development of mountain railways in the early 20th century, the Alps became more accessible. Climbers today complain that even the highest peaks are overrun by crowds of camera-clicking tourists, who have been delivered to the mountain summits by the vast network of cable-cars, ski-lifts and trains. Receding glaciers The expedition, sponsored by the news and information multimedia group, aims to retrace some of the most famous routes, and document the ways in which the sport and landscape have evolved.
"We will be crossing glaciers that are already some 200 metres lower than they were then. "And as glaciers retreat, they often cause mudslides and floods. So some villages that were built close to the glaciers have been washed away." Frocks and bloomers The swissinfo group has spent months researching their costumes to make the experience as authentic as possible. This posed a particular challenge for the female member of the party, British climber Alison Henry.
"I imagine I'll always be too cold or too hot or too wet," she said before setting out. "But until I've had the experience of a heavy wet tweed flapping around my ankles, it's difficult to imagine what it'll be like." The Swiss guides are wearing the uniform of the Grindelwald guides from the latter half of the 19th century, which was designed in the same style as the mountaineering costume of the British climbers. "The Swiss guides wanted to travel with the English because they were gentlemen, and so they also wanted to look like them," said Mr Bechtel. Safety concerns Although the group say they are not taking unnecessary risks, several people have died recently on the same route.
"We are spending eight days in the high Alps - between 2,500 to 3,500 metres above sea level. And we're getting up between 3am and 5am each morning, and climbing for up to 12 hours a day. "If you take one wrong step on a steep snow slope you could slip and fall, and pull others with you." BBC News Online is tracking the progress of the climbers, and will be printing daily e-mail despatches. They will also answer your questions live on 3 September, after climbing the Eiger summit. Click here to read more about the expedition at the swissinfo site.
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