Mountaineering In 1573 Francesco De Marchi and Francesco Di Domenico ascended Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains. During the Enlightenment, as a product of the new spirit of curiosity for the natural world, many mountain summits were surmounted for the first time.. In 1741 Richard Pococke and William Windham made a historic visit to Chamonix. In 1757 Swiss scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure made the first of several unsuccessful attempts on Mont Blanc in France, finally offering a reward, which was claimed in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard. By the early 19th century many of the alpine
The Night Climbers of Oxford The Night Climbers of Oxford The Night Climbers of Oxford is a secret society, dedicated to nocturnally scaling College and town Buildings in Oxford, England. The society is particularly renowned for its political activism, controversial acts ,and urban exploration. The society was likely inspired by their Cambridge counterparts, The Night Climbers of Cambridge Their activities are forbidden by the University authorities, meaning that acts are completed under the cover of darkness, to avoid detection. Acts of nocturnal climbing in Oxford are reported to date back as early as the 1930's, with members of the Alpine Club and Oxford University Mountaineering