Noted for her prominence in a number of Colorado’s climbing associations, Agnes Vaille was the first woman to successfully scale the east face of Longs Peak, which ultimately cost her her life. In James Pickering’s section of Western Voices: 125 Years of Colorado Writing, titled “Tragedy on Longs Peak: Walter Kiener’s Own Story,” the tragedy of Agnes Vaille is recounted by her climbing companion Walter Kiener, who had imparted the story to Charles Hewes. Kiener’s tale reminisces the harrowing nature of Vaille’s death on Longs Peak and the struggle to retrieve her frozen body, which resulted in the death of Herbert Sortland, the caretaker at the Longs Peak Inn. However traumatic this story, Hewes had chosen not to include it in his autobiographical journal that was published six years after her death. Detailed in Pickering’s report is the recovery of Kiener’s story, the nature of Vaille’s death, and who was responsible for Vaille and Sortland’s deaths, as well as the controversies surrounding each issue.
I dove deeper into the rabbit hole, and tried to see how far it went. After talking with a colleague of Mr. Kane, I was led to a man named Mr. Thatcher. He was an old mentor of Mr. Kane’s, whose objective was to prepare Mr. Kane to lead the company that his parents owned. I asked my Mr. Thatcher, “What was so significant about Mr. Kane’s ‘Rosebud’ sled”. Mr. Thatcher told me that, Mr. Kane, as a child used to sled on the hills of his old home in Colorado during the winter.
It was a cold November 16, 1934 and Everett Ruess was in a sticky situation. He was stuck in a snow igloo hastily made 6 days before his hands were poisoned by a rattlesnake’s bite. The rattlesnake that had bitten him had an owner, Frank Dandis, his greedy childhood friend who moved to Escalante, Utah five years before. Six days ago, they were the best of friends, but now they were bitter enemies stuck in an igloo because of a whirlwind snowstorm. Frank Dandis was a farmer who had always dreamed of being a roamer, one who explores nature’s natural beauty as a profession.
By not rushing to get over the river but instead he took his time to make sure all is men got to cross the river slowly and safely with him.
In Sharon Draper’s novel, Copper Sun, Clay Derby is the son of the plantation owner in South Carolina. Clay can best be described as needily seeking approval and controlling. Clay Derby was needy; he needed approval, affection, and attention. Clay did not have a mother figure or receive affection, and this made him seek out attention and affection whenever he could get it; “‘You like me don’t you?’ he implored quietly.
(130 Krakauer). This adds more to the story. It also helps the reader understand his decision to climb the
In 1871 British Columbia joined confederation and was the 6th province to be apart of the country known as “Canada”. “On July 20, 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as our sixth province, extending the young Dominion of Canada to the Pacific Ocean.” (http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1871/ ) One of the main reasons B.C. was able to join Canada, was because of the Fraiser River Gold Rush. This was when 30,000 miners from the United States came to British Columbia to get in on the gold rush.
Edward Hammond Hargraves was one of the most famed and colourful explorers of gold during the gold rush era. He claimed to have discovered gold in Australia in 1851. Hargraves was the pioneer of the Australian gold rush that started in New South Wales. His announcement of availability of payable gold in New South Wales paved way for a sea of immigrants and gold diggers in the continent. Hargraves, a gold prospector who began his gold search in California also remained a shopkeeper, sailor, publican and adventurist before his exploration of gold.
His number one drive was to save himself from death, it was not just because he was eager to be free, and it was a life or death situation. Above all, he gained strength, of mind, body, and
Doug worked two different jobs to afford to go on the trip to Everest, and was making his second attempt to reach the summit of Everest. Doug came back to Everest to try and reach the summit for the first time. Because Doug failed to reach the summit on his first attempt, I argue that Doug Hansen’s primary motivation
Most people envision a perfect place as a place peaceful and secluded. However, this place may not always seem perfect. A canyon that is a perfect, untouched place is the setting for the short story All Gold Canyon by Jack London. This story has a human vs. nature conflict in it that is the basis for the whole story. To truly understand this story one must know that symbolism of nature, the conflicts, and why Jack London probably wrote this story.
He had to learn how to survive without instruction from anyone else. He says, “We have made a bow and many arrows. We can kill more birds than we need for our food; we find water and fruit in the forest. At night, we choose a clearing, and we build a ring of fires around it. We sleep in the midst of that ring, and the beasts dare not attack us.
This led him on the path
When offered $1,000 for the pebbles he found on the side of the road, he declined. During that time, $1,000 is the equivalent of $39,040 today, which is a good sum of money for a few rocks. He must have been attached to them, which would make sense in his case because he was attached to several seemingly random objects, including the same tamping iron that caused his injury. Furthermore, he was also drawn to animals and children. He loved telling his nieces and nephews about the wild adventures he had on his journey, which he believed were real.
To Build A Fire is a short tragic tale by Jack London that narrates about a man’s last days on the earth. The story’s protagonist is passing through the sub-freezing land of the Yukon when he becomes the victims of an unforgiving and harsh force of nature. Before embarking on the journey, the man is warned against walking alone on such severe weather conditions and even if his instincts also warn him, he decides to ignore all the signs and his conscience and to follow his ego. He makes several attempts to light a fire but does not make it. It is after several attempts that the man finally gives in to the forces of nature and awaits his now evident death.
