Are you one of those adventurous people, who love an adrenaline rush, now and then? Do you not mind taking a few risks? Do you feel at peace at the top of summits? Then Mountaineering is for you!

Today’s post with M is Mountaineering.

Mountaineering is the sport of climbing  (or attempting) mountains to reach the summit, done for the pleasure of climbing.

The breathtakingly beautiful – Mt. Rainier

Mountaineering Axe is an important ally in mountaineering. It is like using a walking stick for walking. It can be helpful under any tricky conditions you may encounter during the climb.

People generally confuse mountaineering with trekking. Trekking is about going on different terrains, under any weather conditions, mostly in wilderness. Mountaineering is the updated version of trekking, the end result being, reaching the summit!

Mountaineers reaching the summit.

There are two styles of mountaineering, the oldest style being going on an expedition, which means, teams of mountaineers start climbing the mountain, with equipment and supplies they need. They keep coming back and forth between camps, climbing high, leaving some baggage there and returning to camp below to sleep at night, since it is always safer to sleep at lower altitudes.  If you have watched the movie, the Vertical Limit, you will know more about the expedition style of mountaineering.

Mountain Expedition

The other style of mountaineering is Alpine style, which means the mountaineers go in a set path and carry lesser baggage since the climb is faster and may require lesser time for ascent to the peak/summit. This method is most suitable for smaller mountains.

Like I said earlier, mountaineering comes with its share of adrenaline rush!  Landslides, avalanches, storms, high winds, low temperatures anything might get you! If you survive all, you may have a frost bite(damage of skin tissues due to exposure to freezing temperatures) or even  hypothermia (shivering due to reduction in body heat) or may develop breathing difficulties.

If you are prepared to face any challenge, why not go ahead and start mountaineering?

P.S:

  1. Although it is not an adventure tale like the Vertical Limit, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani has the main leads of the movie going and bonding big time on a trekking trip. Queen Bee’s  ‘Badtameez Dil’ loves the movie! (I am humming the song right now!)
  2. How can one talk about mountaineering and not talk about Sherpas? Sherpa are the Tibetan ethnic group who help people in mountaineering, since they know the mountains like the back of their hands!
  3. According to studies, Tibetan Sherpas are genetically suited for high altitudes and mountaineering. The most famous duo, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first people to reach the 29035 foot high summit, atop the World’s highest mountain, Mt. Everest.
  4. Incidentally, the very first movie that was shown in IMAX, Hyderabad was Everest, because who wouldn’t want to see the highest mountain on the biggest screen in India?
  5. The other hobbies starting with an M are Mountain Biking  and Motor cycle Stunts.

Wait for the next post, ta-ta!

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