The Peaks of Faith and Death: The Alps

Mountain ranges have historically been important locations strategically and spiritually. They offer protection to civilizations or settlements from attack by creating large barriers, and they inspire great myths and legends, due to their looming and mysterious natures. These traits, and their consequences, are extremely evident in the Alpine mountain range. The Alps have a deep history of cravings for glory and supernatural experiences.

Much of the appeal of scaling mountains in the Alps is the idea of triumph over death. These treacherous passes with a long history of climber deaths have become a symbol to the people and there is a great sense of pride and honor that comes with successfully reaching a peak. An example of this is the Mordwand, infamous for causing the deaths of many climbers. Because of this, Mount Eiger, earned the nickname, “murderwall,” a play off of the word “Nordwand” for north face. The northern face of Eiger is the most famous side of the mountain, as well as one of the six great north faces of the alps. This title is due to the immense vertical height of the north face, at 1,800 meters tall. Since the most popular route up the face was conquered in 1938, at least 64 climbers have died.

Lusting after pride and triumph may be a theme in the Alps, as we can see historically not only from impressive mountaineering excursions, but also perhaps from one of the greatest military feats ever recorded. During the Punic Wall, Romans believed they would be safe from attack due to the mountainous border around Italy, so they prepared for attacks from the sea. Doing what was believed to be the impossible, Hannibal lead the Carthaginian army across a high pass in the Alps and into Italy, a shocking and incredible accomplishment. Though he never managed to take Rome, he held a presence in Italy for 15 years, and has held fame for these actions for over 2,000 years, to the present day. It was so impressive, that it has inspired many different artists to create paintings, movies, comics, and more. In 1812, JMW Turner created an oil painting, Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps about the event, and in 1959, the movie Hannibal was released about the general and his campaign.

Memories of war are not the only things that the Alps carry with them. This magnificent mountain range also has many myths and stories woven between their peaks and valleys. One of these legends tells the story of a witch who murdered her husband in Belalp and was then burned at the stake. Now called the Belalp witch, a festival is held every year in celebration of this myth. Skiers gather annually, dressed as witches and compete in a race. There are other stories of evils in the Alps, blaming rock falls and the strange, winding patterns they leave behind on dragons descending from the mountains’ peaks. In part due to these mountain myths, festivals such as Fasnacht are held to scare away dark spirits. In some cases, governments went as far as banning the ascent of certain mountains thought to be inhabited by spirits and demons, as was the case for Mount Pilatus, of which Lucerne banned ascent until the sixteenth century. While many alpine mountain myths were of a darker tone, some told the story of protectors, which were not always so negative. One legend states that Mount Moench (“Monk”) is protecting Mount Jungfrau (“Virgin”) from Mount Eiger (“Ogre”). Another tells the story of the Rollibock, Protector of the Aletsch Glacier, a creature only described as a “wild, ferocious-looking beast.” He is said to live in a river of ice because he enjoys solitude, and he has a strong love for nature and sense of justice. If anyone harms the area, including animals who live there, he is said to be extremely unpleasant.

Unfortunately, it seems that the threat of the Rollibock’s unpleasantness is not enough to protect the Alpine environment. The Arve Valley of the Alps experiences some of the worst fine air pollution in all of France every winter. Wind to the area is blocked off and the air trapped in the valley is poorly dispersed, adding to the problem. Pollution alerts have caused children’s sports and recess to be canceled often. A main cause of this pollution, according to one survey, is private wood burning stoves and fireplaces, making up to eighty percent of the area’s fine particle pollution. While some measures have been put in place that have decreased wood burning and subsequent pollution, air quality continues to be a problem. Another, perhaps related and more massive, issue in the Alpine region is the retreat of glaciers. These glaciers are extremely well studied, and historical records have led scientists to estimate that they should have continued growing for another 50 years past when they stopped. The melting of the alpine glaciers is largely due to air pollution and soot deposits, absorbing more sunlight and heating the glaciers more quickly.

Glaciers are not the only things that have changed in the Alps. During the Roman empire, once isolated regions were connected by roads and absorbed by Rome. As the empire weakened, these regions fell back into local power, but remained extremely Christian, even to today. Around 3000 BC, the people of the Alps had changed from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, to a more agricultural (crops and animal husbandry) focus. In the Late Middle Ages, cattle farming became dominant over that of sheep, with some regions replacing all agriculture with cattle. Today, cattle farming remains a major staple of many alpine peoples, like those of many Swiss regions. Alpine people were relatively poor for most of the history of the Alps, mainly living off of their agricultural products and the profits of any surplus they produced, until around the nineteenth century. In the sixteenth century, mountaineering was beginning to gain traction, with the Alps also being recognized as an incredible tourist attraction. In the beginning, the Alps were most attractive as a summer vacation location in the mid 1800s. However, after the first ski lifts were created in the 1930s and then later introduced into the Alps, tourism shifted to the winter season. Today, the Alpine economy is completely dominated by revenue from skiing and other tourist activity.

My own views of the Alps have changed over time as well. My mother grew up in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, and throughout my childhood I would often visit my family overseas. My aunt lived on a farm, where I was able to interact with and care for many of the animals, and I was completely enveloped in a world that felt entirely my own. None of my friends at home had any experiences like I had in a place like the Swiss Alps, and to me it felt like it all belonged to me. Over time, I’ve had to learn to understand that the place is so much more than my own, and that it is only the experiences I’ve had that belong to me. The Swiss Alps, and the entire alpine region as a whole, are packed with rich culture, mystery, and superstition. Centuries of stories, wars, agriculture, and mountaineering have created a place greater than any one person can claim ownership to.