2025/12/25 by Aleksandra Komandera, Komandera, Aleksandra
Social Sciences · #Migration, Health, Geopolitics, Historical Geography #African Studies and Ethnography #Diverse Cultural and Historical Studies
paper · doi:10.34616/ajmp.2025.25.14
This article explores the themes of rivalry and solidarity within the context of the 1950 French Annapurna expedition. Through a comparative analysis of four mountaineering accounts – Maurice Herzog’s Annapurna: The First Conquest of an 8000-Metre Peak, Louis Lachenal’s Carnets du vertige, Lionel Terray’s Conquistadors of the Useless, and Gaston Rébuffat’s La montagne est mon domaine, all written by members of the expedition – the study examines how rivalry and solidarity were integral to the experience. These themes not only shaped the dynamics within the team but also influenced their struggle against the hostile Himalayan environment and their personal battles to overcome physical and mental limits. Additionally, the article addresses the broader context of rivalry in the 20th-century exploration of the Himalaya and Karakorum, as well as the controversies and polemics that later emerged surrounding the French expedition.