La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie

The Golden Age of mountaineering in the Alps is most often remembered in terms of conquest and physical exploit, and associated with the somewhat arrogant appropriation of the alpine mountain range as a would-be favourite British "playground".This paper proposes a reading of the writings o...

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Main Author: Christine Geoffroy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires du Midi 2008-05-01
Series:Anglophonia
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/acs/1207
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author Christine Geoffroy
author_facet Christine Geoffroy
author_sort Christine Geoffroy
collection DOAJ
description The Golden Age of mountaineering in the Alps is most often remembered in terms of conquest and physical exploit, and associated with the somewhat arrogant appropriation of the alpine mountain range as a would-be favourite British "playground".This paper proposes a reading of the writings of two British alpinists of the time, Leslie Stephen and Alfred Wills, showing that the motive for their presence in the mountain was not only a sportive one but derived from a special link that they had formed with the alpine scenery. Their regular immersion in this landscape, their need for co-presence with the mountain, are evidence of a deeper link with the place and its inhabitants, whether with the guides who accompanied them or with the artists—some of them rope companions themselves, such as the painter and alpinist Gabriel Loppé—who used to settle in the region in the summer. The private collection of letters sent or received by Alfred Wills between 1850 and 1880 brings additional evidence to this perspective.Finally as British migration to the valley of Chamonix has reached record figures in the last few years, we cannot but question the persistence of this relation to the mountain among some of these new seasonal or permanent residents, met in the course of a survey conducted in the area between 2004 and 2006
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spelling doaj-art-0866ece6560a40b3b15dc6d203ccdcda2025-01-30T12:33:47ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiAnglophonia1278-33312427-04662008-05-012315516310.4000/caliban.1207La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-SavoieChristine GeoffroyThe Golden Age of mountaineering in the Alps is most often remembered in terms of conquest and physical exploit, and associated with the somewhat arrogant appropriation of the alpine mountain range as a would-be favourite British "playground".This paper proposes a reading of the writings of two British alpinists of the time, Leslie Stephen and Alfred Wills, showing that the motive for their presence in the mountain was not only a sportive one but derived from a special link that they had formed with the alpine scenery. Their regular immersion in this landscape, their need for co-presence with the mountain, are evidence of a deeper link with the place and its inhabitants, whether with the guides who accompanied them or with the artists—some of them rope companions themselves, such as the painter and alpinist Gabriel Loppé—who used to settle in the region in the summer. The private collection of letters sent or received by Alfred Wills between 1850 and 1880 brings additional evidence to this perspective.Finally as British migration to the valley of Chamonix has reached record figures in the last few years, we cannot but question the persistence of this relation to the mountain among some of these new seasonal or permanent residents, met in the course of a survey conducted in the area between 2004 and 2006https://journals.openedition.org/acs/1207paysageAlpine Clubalpinistesartistesémotion esthétiqueunivers sensoriel
spellingShingle Christine Geoffroy
La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie
Anglophonia
paysage
Alpine Club
alpinistes
artistes
émotion esthétique
univers sensoriel
title La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie
title_full La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie
title_fullStr La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie
title_full_unstemmed La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie
title_short La Saveur des Alpes : Les Britanniques d’hier et d’aujourd’hui en Haute-Savoie
title_sort la saveur des alpes les britanniques d hier et d aujourd hui en haute savoie
topic paysage
Alpine Club
alpinistes
artistes
émotion esthétique
univers sensoriel
url https://journals.openedition.org/acs/1207
work_keys_str_mv AT christinegeoffroy lasaveurdesalpeslesbritanniquesdhieretdaujourdhuienhautesavoie