In response to the Women climbers posting, Russell Potter has added the following comment: "May I put in a word for Annie Smith Peck, a very daring woman mountain-climber of this era (and an alumna of the college where I teach) - see my page here for a brief outline of her remarkable career."
This sent me on the inevitable trawl through the Guardian/Observer archive. There wasn't much about Peck apart from following book review which appeared on February 19 1912. Perhaps the phrase "anxious acidity" could also be applied to the (anonymous) reviewer.
Many thanks for posting this fascinating notice! From what I have gleaned, the height of the north peak of Huascaran hadn't been definitively established at the time Peck made her ascent; she may well have believed it the highest in the hemisphere at that moment. The discovery that it was not, and that in fact its other (Southern) peak was higher, came 4 years after the ascent.
ReplyDeleteAs for an "atmosphere of mountain record-hunting," this would be endemic to the trade, I should think! Even today, when few peaks are unclimbed, a climber's portfolio of peaks is, even in the modest modest climber's mind, some source of pride.