[00:00.49]Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport,
[00:07.26]and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded.
[00:11.46]In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all.
[00:15.62]The early climbers were looking for the easiest way to the top,
[00:20.18]because the summit was the prize they sought, especially if it and never been attained before.
[00:26.90]It is true that during their explorations they often faced difficulties and dangers of the most perilous nature,
[00:35.12]equipped in a manner with would make a modern climber shudder at the thought,
[00:40.11]but they did not go out of their way to court such excitement.
[00:44.60]They had a single aim, a solitary goal--the top!
[00:50.41]It is hard for us to realize nowadays how difficult it was for the pioneers.
[00:55.69]Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix, which had rapidly become popular,
[01:03.53]Alpine village tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains.
[01:10.77]Such inns as there were generally dirty and flea-ridden;
[01:15.64]the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old, all washed down with coarse wine.
[01:24.44]Often a valley boasted no inn at all, and climbers found shelter wherever they could
[01:30.75]sometimes with the local priest (who was usually as poor as his parishioners),
[01:36.94]sometimes with shepherds or cheese-makers.
[01:40.35]Invariably the background was the same: dirt and poverty, and very uncomfortable.
[01:47.43]For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinners and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have very hard indeed.
