The Transition Of French Alpinists' Perception Of Mountaineering (1874-1919)

It was not a coincidence for mountaineering began in the Age of Enlightenment.The awakening of rationality,which shake off superstition and arouse enthusiasm for knowledge,was an important premise for exploring the alpine areas,and then mountaineering was associated with scientific exploration.Founded in 1874,CAF(Club Alpin Francais)was regarded as a learned society,stressed the important role of scientific exploration,and scientific exploration,throughout this study,became the most legitimate reason for mountaineering.Thus,the authority of cultural capital was confirmed,and the cultivated bourgeoisie represented the majority among the alpinists.Some of them became the leaders of CAF by virtue of ample cultural capital,social capital and economic capital.They held the key power of compiling and publishing yearbooks,bulletins,and they could determine the duties of CAF,which imposed influence on the perception of alpinists.However,the actual development of mountaineering didn't entirely obey the direction of scientific exploration,some deviation arose there.For example,CAF related mountaineering to aesthetic taste,patriotic feeling,moral cultivation,even to environment improvement.All these ostensible deviation,expressed the concern and taste of the cultivated,and in fact strengthened the authorities of cultural capital,social capital,economic capital in the space of alpinists,which affirmed the logic of dominance relationship in this space and confirmed the legitimacy of the status of CAF leaders,and therefore did not cause any controversy.Because of the familiarity of the mountains,CAF leaders could concentrate authorities in the mountain affairs.They mastered the resources such as guides,accommodation,and even got the approval to establish Alps region army,manage military skiing school and international skiing competition.The power came from the symbolic capital in the space of alpinists,and essentially came from the cultural capital,social capital and economic capital out of the space.But the tendency to develop like sports was definitely different.At the end of the 19th century,the rise of sports in France caused some changes and strong reactions in CAF.The proportion of scientific exploration diminished significantly in publications,and the divergence between alpinists' perception of mountaineering became obvious.With the methodology of cultural history and sociology,French historian Olivier Hoibian described in detail the controversies over the definition of mountaineering and the dominance relationship between alpinists.He divided the French alpinists into three categories,including cultural elitism,technical elitism and the family orientated(namely opening to the masses,widespread accessibility).However,this division seems not absolutely right,nor did Hoibian tell the underlying reasons of the controversy:it was crucial to possess the symbolic capital and symbolic power in the space of alpinists,and those alpinists,represented by the Groupe des Rochssiers,accepted increasingly the authority of great climbing skills,which in fact established new logic of recognizing the physical capital as the symbolic capital.This new logic of sport destroyed the original one,threatened the legitimacy of cultural capital,social capital,economic capital and the status of the dominant part in the space of alpinists,and caused those controversies between alpinists.In 1919,with the establishment of the Groupe de Haute Montagne,which organized formally according to sport principles,we met the starting point of the modern mountaineering in the strict sense in France.