[00:01.53]Lesson 3
[00:03.32]Matterhorn man
[00:12.07]What was the main objective of early mountain climbers?
[00:18.59]Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport,
[00:25.24]and the more difficult it is,the more highly it is regarded.
[00:30.03]In the pioneering days however,this was not the case at all.
[00:34.45]The early climbers were looking for the easiest way to the top
[00:38.60]because the summit was the prize they sought,
[00:41.92]especially if it had never been attained before.
[00:46.02]It is true that during their explorations
[00:49.23]they often faced difficulties and dangers of the most perilous nature,
[00:54.94]equipped in a manner which would make a modern climber shudder at the thought,
[00:59.85]but they did not go out of their way to court such excitement.
[01:04.41]They had a single aim,a solitary goal--the top!
[01:11.06]It is hard for us to realize nowadays how difficult it was for the pioneers.
[01:16.91]Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix,which had rapidly become popular.
[01:24.69]Alpine villages tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization
[01:30.11]by the high mountains.
[01:32.36]Such inns as there were were generally dirty and flea-ridden;
[01:37.21]the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old,
[01:43.18]all washed down with coarse wine.
[01:46.86]Often a valley boasted no inn at all,and climbers found shelter wherever they could--
[01:53.00]sometimes with the local priest(who was usually as poor as his parishioners),
[01:59.22]sometimes with shepherds or cheese-makers.
[02:03.17]Invariably the background was the same:dirt and poverty,and very uncomfortable.
[02:10.71]For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinners
[02:13.79]and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home,
[02:17.06]the change to the Alps must have been very hard indeed.