Norway became an increasingly popular destination for British mountaineers by the end of the nineteenth century. Some visitors, like W.C. Slingsby made strong connections to the country, whilst others, like Elizabeth Le Blond, engaged with the place far less. However, both were reliant on and contributed to transnational networks of physical and textual infrastructure and Slingsby especially worked with Den Norske Turistforening to establish these.
This talk by Christian J. Drury (Durham University) will consider the writings of Slingsby and Le Blond, as well as their legacies in collections and infrastructure today, to think about how mountaineering practices contributed to transnational co-constructions of the North and the Nordic as a destination and a cultural space.