Historical geography, climbing and mountaineering: route setting for an inclusive future

Abstract This article seeks to review work broadly defined as the historical geographies of mountaineering and climbing. As such, it outlines the links between mountaineering, colonialism, and vertical ascent as well as the historical geographies of rock climbing which speak to the culture, practices, and technologies of climbing. In outlining past work, particular attention is paid to the hidden and gendered histories of climbing and mountaineering. This moves discussion beyond common place tales of white privilege and Western philosophies of conquer through ascendancy to tackle the broader ways by which mountaineering and climbing have been explored by academic geography. A holistic appreciation of work on this topic, it is argued, can not only help the geographical discipline to deal with its colonial past but also show how the historical geographies of mountaineering and climbing fit within efforts to decolonise the discipline, include wider voices, and utilise archives unknown.