Even today, mountain climbing is not considered the safest of hobbies. But imagine what it would have been like over a hundred years ago before mountaineers wore parkas, climbing harnesses, or even carabiner clips.
Yep, for whatever reason, mountain climbers in the past eschewed useful equipment. Most of the climbers you’ll see in this gallery were wearing tweed clothing, wool socks, and flat caps. And rather than hooking themselves into harnesses they formed human chains and clung to heavy ropes to pull themselves up.
You’ll doubt it’s worth it until you see some of the incredible vistas these early mountaineers were treated to at the summit of their climbs. Thank god the camera had been invented so we can see them too.
1
Mountaineers hike through the Swiss Alps circa 1920.
2
Mountaineers at the top of the Jungfrau, one of the summits of the Alps. 1910s.
3
Mountaineers climbing Mount Rainier in the 1910s.
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A mountain climber above a crevasse in a glacier in Washington, around 1951.
5
Tourists climb a glacier in the French Chamonix Valley. Circa 1913.
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Mountaineers resting in the Swiss Alps in the 1910s. Their spiked boots used for climbing are alongside them.
7
A mountain climber mounts a peak in the Swiss Alps around 1919.
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Climbing a mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland, 1954.
9
Rock climbing in the English Lake District, 1900.
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Mountain climbers on the summit of Mount Rainier. 1925.
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Group of climbers in an ice field. Date unknown.
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Mountaineers from Slovakia. 1940.
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A group of hikers climbing Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier, 1919.
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A daredevil mountain climber holding onto a tightrope between two peaks in the Alps. 1913.
15
Summit of Pinnacle Peak in Washington. 1906.
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Mountaineers climbing Mont Blanc. 1862.
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Mountain climbers on Mt. St. Helens. 1895.
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Mt. Tacoma or Rainier. 1906.
19
Photo of famous mountain climber Henriette D’Angerville from 1838. She was the second woman to climb Mont Blanc, and the first to do so unaided.
20
View of Lake Yamanaka from the top of Mt Fuji, 1905.
21
Group of men and women on Mt. Shasta, California. 1901.
22
Workman posing with mountain climbing gear. Year unknown.
23
On the summit of Mt Hood, Oregon, 1904. 11,225 feet above sea level.
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Mountaineers climbing Mt. McKinley. Circa 1900s.
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Welsh mountain climbers. 1900s.
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Climbers on the top of the Black Cuillin Mountains. Early 1900s.
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A mountaineer in North Wales taking a break. 1900s.
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Two brothers climbing a mountain in Britain. 1900s.
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Mountain climber circa early 1900s.
30
Mountaineer on Tryfaen. 1906.
31
Climbers on Nisqually Glacier in 1919.
32
Theodore Roosevelt mountain climbing in the West. 1880.
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Mountaineer on Mt. Hood, 1903.
34
A group of climbers on Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park. 1919.
