Anna Fleming profiles three women from the archives of 19th Century climbing...
The mythical 'Golden Age of Alpinism' conjures a certain set of images. Picture heavily moustached men in tweeds, smoking pipes and discussing Alpine ambitions, victories and defeats in urbane clubs. Or, out on the mountain, hear the clank of iron, smell the damp wool, spot the stiff hemp ropes tied around the waists of eager pioneers trying for the Eiger or Matterhorn. These major European peaks were first climbed, to much excitement, in 1858 and 1865.