Ecological crisis, rural deindustrialization, and real estate speculation have created conditions in which the far right thrives.
In 1976, Nanda Devi Unsoeld, the daughter of legendary mountaineer Willi Unsoeld, died on the mountain for which she was named. This is the story of Deviโs life and of the historic climb that killed her. A riveting adventure read, it doesnโt shy away from highlighting the history of misogyny, cultural appropriation, and selfishness in mountaineering culture:
In late September of 1975, at the Unsoeld home in Olympia, Willi met with 26-year-old John Roskelley, another very accomplished American alpinist, putting plans in motion. They were of different minds about leadership and climbing, and women, tooโnamely, whether they belonged on major expeditions with men. Roskelley tried to convince Willi not to invite a female climber named Marty Hoey to join the group. He believed that the presence of women could complicate things; he worried that emotions could get out of hand when the two sexes were put together in high-stakes, high-altitude situations.
It didnโt help that Hoey had been dating Peter Lev, another veteran of the Dhaulagiri expedition who they wanted on the team; Roskelley hated the idea of a coupleโs quarrels bleeding into the teamโs daily demands. He also assumed the climb would be a traditional, equipment-heavy effort, relying on multiple camps and fixed ropes, while Willi and Lev seemed intent on an alpine-style ascent, lighter on ropes and happening fast.
As they wrangled over the climbโs fundamentals, Devi herself burst in, glowing with sweat. Sheโd just biked seven miles home from a soccer game. Roskelley would later recall his first impression in his 1987 book,ย Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition,ย saying that Devi โswept in like a small tornado after an obviously brutal game of soccer.โ
In public speaking engagements for the next few years, Willi would sometimes describe this moment, too, including an extra detail about some of the first words out of Deviโs mouth that evening: โYouโre Roskelley,โ she said. โI understand you have trouble with women.โ