There has been some press these days about how we should be more sensitive or maybe cognitive about naming routes, and about using indigenous names for mountains. I suppose it’s part of our new ethos as a society.
Let me start with mountain names. Three basic types of names. Those names bestowed upon mountains by ‘modern day’ explorers and colonialists, those names bestowed upon them by indigenous peoples, and lastly truly unnamed peaks that get named in current times.
Indigenous cultures around the world certainly had names for geographical features, especially ones so prominent as mountains. In some cases the ‘original’ name made have stuck, but in many, many cases it was supplanted by names given by the colonial ‘discoverer’. There is obviously a very long history of: to the victor go the spoils.
In many cases the original name was not known by the explorer, or they cared not even if it was. With many indigenous cultures there was no written language, and the spoken name may have been difficult to pronounce in the ‘conquerers’ tongue. Sometimes the name the modern explorers gave it was a bastardized or mispronounced version of the original name. And in some cases there may have been different local cultures that called a mountain by different names. And there are undoubtedly cases where original peoples actually had no name for a mountain. Finally there is the case of mountains that lie directly on a border or borders, and each country claims a name.
This naming issue is certainly more present in the mountains of Africa, Asia, South and North America, as I will highlight with a few examples. Europe’s mountains have been named for centuries and for the most part probably fall outside this issue. Antarctic mountains are pretty much fair game to be named whatever, as there is no known historical habitation by anyone.
Yexyexéscen or as it is sometimes spelled Yuh-hai-has-kun | Mt. Robson
Denali | Mt. McKinley
Tahoma | Mt. Rainer
Citlaltépetl | Orizaba
Aconcagua | an example of possible mispronunciation… unknown origin really, but could be derived from the Mapudungun Aconca-Hue, or the Quechua Ackon Cahuak, or the Quechua Anco Cahuac, or the Aymara Janq’u Q’awa.
Nepali: Sagarmāthā; Chinese: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ; Tibetan: Chomolungma | Mt. Everest
There are a bunch of peaks in Colorado that are being requested to have name changes. Like Mt. Evans for instance. And it’s not being requested to be changed to an original indigenous name either; but to ‘Blue Sky’ which does however have cultural significance to both the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Evans was named after Colorado’s second territorial governor, who called upon citizens to “kill and destroy” Native Americans. Squaw Mountain and Redskin Mountain are also up for name changes.
In Canada there was an attempt to rename Mt. Logan to Mt. Pierre Elliot Trudeau. At least that was foiled, and an unnamed peak in the Premier Range was given the honours.
In the world of rock climbing one thing that happens is when what was once an aid climb gets free climbed, sometimes the climbers rename it. Something along the lines of: the East Face of Washington Column to Astroman. As you can imagine, there are two very diametrically opposed views on this practice.
The next controversy surrounding names is that with ‘colourful’ route names that can be considered as vulgar, sexist, insensitive, or otherwise racist, or demeaning to any number people. Route names are interesting. On mountains at least historically, many routes are named after either a feature on the mountain or the names of the first ascenders. Things like: The North Face of the Eiger, or the Becky-Chouinard Route. Pure rock climbs at crags sometimes follow this convention, but more often are named after something meaningful to the climber(s) who made the first ascent. Sometimes based on something or some condition pertinent at the time, often times whimsical, or following a theme in an area. It is mostly in this area where the issue lies.
There is an actual move afoot to both censor ‘inappropriate’ new route names in guidebooks and publications such as magazines and journal articles, as well as censor or re-name routes in updated editions of guidebooks.
Chopping bolts on the Compressor Route or The Path is one thing I guess. Trying to rename Hot Cherry Bendover in Squamish is something else.