Special super late news as we reveal the winner of the 2004 Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature just over a month after it was originally announced, but in time for Christmas...
The 2004 Boardman Tasker Award for mountain literature has been
won by Trevor Braham for his book When The Alps Cast Their
Spell.
We
actually missed the award announcement in early October by dint of
being on holiday, however we thought we'd fill in the gap anyway.
Braham, 82, who has lived in Switzerland for the last 30 years, set
out to explore the Victorian's fascination with the Alps, a golden
age when, he reportedly feels, the attraction of the Alps was far
stronger than today.
In an interview
on www.swissinfo.org, Braham, who took part in many pioneering
expeditions to the Himalaya explains his fascination with the
Victorian era of mountaineering.
"I was very conscious of the fact that the golden age really
represented the birth of mountaineering," he explains.
"The
people who began it, I always looked on them as a heroic group of
men," said Braham. "I was fascinated with them, then I began to read
their books and learn more about them and this is what led me on."
In his acceptance speech, Braham emphasised that he was wary of
going over old ground again so chose to focus on "the character of
the people involved in order to try to throw some light upon what
they were really like. Why did responsible men with respectable
professions introduce and pursue an eccentric and irresponsible
activity, facing ridicule and rebuke from their fellow
Victorians?"
Eric Major the chairman of the judges, who selected the winner
from a shortlist of five mountain books commented that in 2004,
nostalgia was 'to the fore'. He describes the winner as 'an epic work
of reference, written with skill and a deep understanding of the
subject'.
Previous winners of the prize, set up in memory of Joe Tasker and
Pete Boardman, include Joe Simpson, Jim Perrin, Paul Pritchard and
Audrey Salkeld.
More details and pics at www.boardmantasker.com
