Avalanche Country: Nature, work, and culture in the Mountain West, 1834--1910.

摘要

This work argues that the economic and social transformations that accompanied industrialization of the Mountain West in the nineteenth century did not alienate mountain residents from their environment but rather exposed more people to environmental risks. In coping with these risks or responding to disasters, mountain residents came to know their environment in ways that moved beyond economic exploitation. In order to establish the types of environmental hazards encountered by mountain residents I begin with an examination of how new arrivals to the Mountain West learned skills necessary for survival. During the processes of community development, the building of railroads, and the adoption of corporate mining, mountain residents continued to hone practices collectively established in order to mitigate disaster. This shared knowledge of how to deal with disasters underpinned complex networks of aid that sprang into action when a tragedy, such as an avalanche, occurred. Mountain workers responded to the continuous environmental problems they faced at work by incorporating codes of conduct into their work practices that sought to reduce risk. At the same time, they infused meaning into their dangerous jobs by developing a language of duty and obligation that contributed to their sense of self-worth. Contemporaneously, America's tourists and elites re-constructed the Mountain West as a recreational paradise that romanticized the hardships endured in Avalanche Country. In doing so, outsiders celebrated the dangers encountered in the mountains and downplayed the knowledge held by residents.