In Search of Peaks, Passes & Glaciers: Irish Alpine Pioneers

From the 1850s to the early twentieth century, the achievements of Irish mountaineers were largely obscured in British historical accounts. This book sets the record straight. Frank Nugent, mountaineer-explorer, reveals a significant Irish contribution beginning with the Golden Age of Alpine Mountaineering, when the first ascents of mountains like the Eiger and Weisshorn and the first traverse of the Matterhorn from Italy were by Irish climbers. The varied social, political, and scientific backgrounds of Irish Alpine pioneers also provide absorbing insights into nineteenth-century Irish society.