Climber taking the final few steps onto the 6,160 m (20,210 ft) ^[1] summit of Imja Tse (Island Peak) in Nepal, 2004

An open crevasse

Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed big mountains it has branched into specializations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists of three areas: rock-craft, snow-craft and skiing, depending on whether the route chosen is over rock, snow or ice. All require experience, athletic ability, and technical knowledge to maintain safety.^[2]

The UIAA or Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme is the world governing body in mountaineering and climbing, addressing issues like access, medical, mountain protection, safety, youth and ice climbing.^[3]

Technique[link]

Climbers descending the ridge of Aiguille du Midi (France)

Snow[link]

Compacted snow conditions allow mountaineers to progress on foot. Frequently crampons are required to travel efficiently over snow and ice. Crampons have 8-14 spikes and are attached to a mountaineer's boots. They are used on hard snow (neve) and ice to provide additional traction. Using various techniques from alpine skiing and mountaineering to ascend/descend a mountain is a form of the sport by itself, called ski mountaineering. Ascending and descending a snow slope safely requires the use of an ice axe and many different footwork techniques that have been developed over the past century, mainly in Europe. The progression of footwork from the lowest angle slopes to the steepest terrain is first to splay the feet to a rising traverse, to kicking steps, to front pointing the crampons. The progression of ice axe technique from the lowest angle slopes to the steepest terrain is to use the ice axe first as a walking stick, then a stake, then to use the front pick as a dagger below the shoulders or above, and finally to swinging the pick into the slope over the head. These various techniques may involve questions of differing ice-axe design depending on terrain, and even whether a mountaineer uses one or two ice axes. Anchors for the rope in snow are sometimes unreliable, and include snow stakes, called pickets, deadman devices called flukes which are fashioned from aluminium, or devised from buried objects that might include an ice axe, skis, rocks or other objects. Bollards, which are simply carved out of consolidated snow or ice, also sometimes serve as anchors.

Glaciers[link]

When travelling over glaciers, crevasses pose a grave danger. These giant cracks in the ice are not always visible as snow can be blown and freeze over the top to make a snowbridge. At times snowbridges can be as thin as a few inches. Climbers use a system of ropes to protect themselves from such hazards. Basic gear for glacier travel includes crampons and ice axes. Teams of two to five climbers tie into a rope equally spaced. If a climber begins to fall the other members of the team perform a self-arrest to stop the fall. The other members of the team enact a crevasse rescue to pull the fallen climber from the crevasse.

Ice[link]

Ice climbing

Multiple methods are used to safely travel over ice. If the terrain is steep but not vertical, then the lead climber can place ice screws in the ice and attach the rope for protection. Each climber on the team must clip past the anchor, and the last climber picks up the anchor itself. Occasionally, slinged icicles or bollards are also used. This allows for safety should the entire team be taken off their feet. This technique is known as Simul-climbing and is sometimes also used on steep snow and easy rock.

If the terrain becomes too steep, standard ice climbing techniques are used in which each climber is belayed, moving one at a time.

Shelter[link]

Climbers use a few different forms of shelter depending on the situation and conditions. Shelter is a very important aspect of safety for the climber as the weather in the mountains may be very unpredictable. Tall mountains may require many days of camping on the mountain.

Base Camp[link]

The "Base Camp" of a mountain is an area used for staging an attempt at the summit. Base camps are positioned to be safe from the harsher conditions above. There are base camps on many popular or dangerous mountains. Where the summit cannot be reached from base camp in a single day, a mountain will have additional camps above base camp. For example, the southeast ridge route on Mount Everest has Base Camp plus (normally) camps I through IV.

Hut[link]

The European alpine regions, in particular, have a network of mountain huts (called "refuges" in France, "rifugi" in Italy, "cabanes" in Switzerland, "Hütten" in Germany and Austria, "Bothies" in Scotland, "koča" in Slovenia, "refugios" in Spain and "hytte" in Norway, "cabane" in Romanian). Such huts exist at many different heights, including in the high mountains themselves – in extremely remote areas, more rudimentary shelters may exist. The mountain huts are of varying size and quality, but each is typically centred on a communal dining room and have dormitories equipped with mattresses, blankets or duvets, and pillows; guests are expected to bring and to use their own sleeping bag liner. The facilities are usually rudimentary but, given their locations, huts offer vital shelter, make routes more widely accessible (by allowing journeys to be broken and reducing the weight of equipment needing to be carried), and offer good value. In Europe, all huts are staffed during the summer (mid-June to mid-September) and some are staffed in the spring (mid-March to mid-May). Elsewhere, huts may also be open in the fall. Huts also may have a part that is always open, but unmanned, a so-called winter hut. When open and manned, the huts are generally run by full-time employees, but some are staffed on a voluntary basis by members of Alpine clubs (such as Swiss Alpine Club and Club alpin français) or in North America by Alpine Club of Canada. The manager of the hut, termed a guardian or warden in Europe, will usually also sell refreshments and meals; both to those visiting only for the day and to those staying overnight. The offering is surprisingly wide; given that most supplies, often including fresh water, must be flown in by helicopter, and may include glucose-based snacks (such as Mars and Snickers bars) on which climbers and walkers wish to stock up, cakes and pastries made at the hut, a variety of hot and cold drinks (including beer and wine), and high carbohydrate dinners in the evenings. Not all huts offer a catered service, though, and visitors may need to provide for themselves. Some huts offer facilities for both, enabling visitors wishing to keep costs down to bring their own food and cooking equipment and to cater using the facilities provided. Booking for overnight stays at huts is deemed obligatory, and in many cases is essential as some popular huts; even with more than 100 bed spaces may be full during good weather and at weekends. Once made, the cancellation of a reservation is advised as a matter of courtesy – and, indeed, potentially of safety, as many huts keep a record of where climbers and walkers state they planned to walk to next. Most huts may be contacted by telephone and most take credit cards as a means of payment.

Bivouac (bivy or bivvy)[link]

In the mountaineering context, a bivouac or "biv(v)y" is a makeshift resting or sleeping arrangement in which the climber has less than the full complement of shelter, food and equipment that would normally be present at a conventional campsite. This may involve simply getting a sleeping bag and Bivouac sack/bivvy bag and lying down to sleep. Typically bivvy bags are made from breathable waterproof membranes, which move moisture away from the climber into the outside environment while preventing outside moisture from entering the bag. Many times small partially sheltered areas such as a bergschrund, cracks in rocks or a trench dug in the snow are used to provide additional shelter from wind. These techniques were originally used only in emergency; however some climbers steadfastly committed to alpine style climbing specifically plan for bivouacs in order to save the weight of a tent when suitable snow conditions or time is unavailable for construction of a snow cave. The principal hazard associated with bivouacs is the greater level of exposure to cold and the elements.

Tent[link]

Tents are the most common form of shelter used on the mountain. These may vary from simple tarps to much heavier designs intended to withstand harsh mountain conditions. In exposed positions, windbreaks of snow or rock may be required to shelter the tent. One of the downsides to tenting is that high winds and snow loads can be dangerous and may ultimately lead to the tent's failure and collapse. In addition, the constant flapping of the tent fabric can hinder sleep and raise doubts about the security of the shelter. When choosing a tent, alpinists tend to rely on specialised mountaineering tents that are specifically designed for high winds and moderate to heavy snow loads. Tent stakes can be buried in the snow ("deadman") for extra security.

Snow cave[link]

Where conditions permit snow caves are another way to shelter high on the mountain. Some climbers do not use tents at high altitudes unless the snow conditions do not allow for snow caving, since snow caves are silent and much warmer than tents. They can be built relatively easily, given sufficient time, using a snow shovel. A correctly made snow cave will hover around freezing, which relative to outside temperatures can be very warm. They can be dug anywhere where there is at least four feet of snow. The addition of a good quality bivvy bag and closed cell foam sleeping mat will also increase the warmth of the snow cave. Another shelter that works well is a quinzee, which is excavated from a pile of snow that has been work hardened or sintered (typically by stomping). Igloos are used by some climbers, but are deceptively difficult to build and require specific snow conditions.

Hazards[link]

Mountaineering is considered to be one of the most dangerous activities in the world. Loss of life is not uncommon on most major extreme altitude mountaineering destinations every year. Dangers in mountaineering are sometimes divided into two categories: objective hazards that exist without regard to the climber's presence, like rockfall, avalanches and inclement weather, and subjective hazards that relate only to factors introduced by the climber. Equipment failure and falls due to inattention, fatigue or inadequate technique are examples of subjective hazards. A route continually swept by avalanches and storms is said to have a high level of objective danger, whereas a technically far more difficult route that is relatively safe from these dangers may be regarded as objectively safer.

In all, mountaineers must concern themselves with dangers: falling rocks, falling ice, snow-avalanches, the climber falling, falls from ice slopes, falls down snow slopes, falls into crevasses and the dangers from altitude and weather.^[4] To select and follow a route using one's skills and experience to mitigate these dangers is to exercise the climber's craft.

Falling rocks[link]

Climbing a steep rocky cliff

Every rock mountain is slowly disintegrating due to erosion, the process being especially rapid above the snow-line. Rock faces are constantly swept by falling stones, which may be possible to dodge. Falling rocks tend to form furrows in a mountain face, and these furrows (couloirs) have to be ascended with caution, their sides often being safe when the middle is stoneswept. Rocks fall more frequently on some days than on others, according to the recent weather. Ice formed during the night may temporarily bind rocks to the face but warmth of the day or lubricating water from melting snow or rain may easily dislodge these rocks. Local experience is a valuable help on determining typical rock fall on such routes.

The direction of the dip of rock strata sometimes determines the degree of danger on a particular face; the character of the rock must also be considered. Where stones fall frequently debris will be found below, whilst on snow slopes falling stones cut furrows visible from a great distance. In planning an ascent of a new peak or an unfamiliar route, mountaineers must look for such traces. When falling stones get mixed in considerable quantity with slushy snow or water a mud avalanche is formed (common in the Himalayas). It is vital to avoid camping in their possible line of fall.

Falling ice[link]

The places where ice may fall can always be determined beforehand. It falls in the broken parts of glaciers (seracs) and from overhanging cornices formed on the crests of narrow ridges. Large icicles are often formed on steep rock faces, and these fall frequently in fine weather following cold and stormy days. They have to be avoided like falling stones. Seracs are slow in formation, and slow in arriving (by glacier motion) at a condition of unstable equilibrium. They generally fall in or just after the hottest part of the day. A skillful and experienced ice-man will usually devise a safe route through a most intricate ice-fall, but such places should be avoided in the afternoon of a hot day. Hanging glaciers (i.e. glaciers perched on steep slopes) often discharge themselves over steep rock-faces, the snout breaking off at intervals. They can always be detected by their debris below. Their track should be avoided.

Falls from rocks[link]

A rock climber's skill is shown by their choice of handhold and foothold, and their adhesion to the holds once chosen. Much depends on the ability to estimate the capability of the rock to support the weight placed on it. Many loose rocks are quite firm enough to bear a person's weight, but experience is needed to know which can be trusted, and skill is required in transferring the weight to them without jerking. On rotten rocks the rope must be handled with special care, lest it should dislodge loose stones on to those below. Similar care must be given to handholds and footholds, for the same reason. When a horizontal traverse has to be made across very difficult rocks, a dangerous situation may arise unless at both ends of the traverse there are firm positions. Mutual assistance on hard rocks takes all manner of forms: two, or even three, people climbing on one another's shoulders, or using an ice axe propped up by others for a foothold. The great principle is that of co-operation, all the members of the party climbing with reference to the others, and not as independent units; each when moving must know what the climber in front and the one behind are doing. After bad weather steep rocks are often found covered with a veneer of ice (verglas), which may even render them inaccessible. Crampons are useful on such occasions.

Avalanches[link]

Every year, 120 to 150 people die in small avalanches in the Alps alone. The vast majority are reasonably experienced male skiers aged 20–35 but also include ski instructors and guides.^{[citation needed]} There is always a lot of pressure to risk a snow crossing. Turning back takes a lot of extra time and effort, supreme leadership, and most importantly there is seldom an avalanche that proves the right decision was made. Making the decision to turn around is especially hard if others are crossing the slope, but any next person could become the trigger.

There are many types of avalanche, but two types are of the most concern. These are Snow Avalanches and Ice Avalanches:

Snow Avalanches

1. Slab avalanche

   This type of avalanche occurs when a plate of snow breaks loose and starts sliding downhill; these are the largest and most dangerous.

   1. Hard slab avalanche

   This type of avalanche is formed by hard-packed snow in a cohesive slab. The slab will not break up easily as it slides down the hill, resulting in large blocks tumbling down the mountain.

   1. Soft slab avalanche

   This type of avalanche is formed again by a cohesive layer of snow bonded together, the slab tends to break up more easily.

2. Loose snow avalanche

   This type of avalanche is triggered by a small amount of moving snow that accumulates into a big slide. Also known as a "wet slide or point release" avalanche. This type of avalanche is deceptively dangerous as it can still knock a climber or skier off their feet and bury them, or sweep them over a cliff into a terrain trap.

Dangerous slides are most likely to occur on the same slopes preferred by many skiers: long and wide open, few trees or large rocks, 30 to 45 degrees of angle, large load of fresh snow, soon after a big storm, on a slope "lee to the storm". Solar radiation can trigger slides as well. These will typically be a point release or wet slough type of avalanche. The added weight of the wet slide can trigger a slab avalanche. Ninety percent of reported victims are caught in avalanches triggered by themselves or others in their group.^{[citation needed]}

Ice Avalanches are a hazard that exists in glaciated mountain ranges. They are caused by the collapse of unstable ice blocks from a steep or overhanging part of a glacier, referred to as a hanging glacier. Due to the fact that they are part of a glacier, ice avalanches can have large amounts of rock in them. Ice avalanches are quite dangerous because they can travel long distances, sometimes as far as 8km out onto the glacier valley floor. Ice avalanches are a common everyday occurrence in ranges such as the Alaska Range, Saint Elias Mountains, or Columbia Icefield.

When going off-piste or travelling in alpine terrain, parties are advised to always carry:

1. avalanche beacon
2. probe
3. shovel (retrieving victims with a shovel instead of hands is five times faster)^{[citation needed]}

They are also advised to have had avalanche training. Ironically, expert skiers who have avalanche training make up a large percentage of avalanche fatalities; perhaps because they are the ones more likely to ski in areas prone to avalanches, and certainly because most people do not practice enough with their equipment to be truly fast and efficient rescuers.^{[citation needed]}

Even with proper rescue equipment and training, there is a one-in-five chance of dying if caught in a significant avalanche, and only a 50/50 chance of being found alive if buried more than a few minutes. The best solution is to learn how to avoid risky conditions.^{[citation needed]}

Ice slopes[link]

Mountaineers descending mixed rock, snow and ice slope in winter High Tatras.

For travel on slopes consisting of ice or hard snow, crampons are a standard part of a mountaineer's equipment. While step-cutting can sometimes be used on snow slopes of moderate angle, this can be a slow and tiring process, which does not provide the higher security of crampons. However, in soft snow or powder, crampons are easily hampered by balling of snow, which reduces their effectiveness. In either case, an ice axe not only assists with balance but provides the climber with the possibility of self-arrest in case of a slip or fall. On a true ice slope however, an ice axe is rarely able to effect a self-arrest. As an additional safety precaution on steep ice slopes, the climbing rope is attached to ice screws buried into the ice.

Snow slopes[link]

Part of the Haute Route between France and Switzerland; two alpinists can be seen following the trail in the snow.

Snow slopes are very common, and usually easy to ascend. At the foot of a snow or ice slope is generally a big crevasse, called a bergschrund, where the final slope of the mountain rises from a snow-field or glacier. Such bergschrunds are generally too wide to be stepped across, and must be crossed by a snow bridge, which needs careful testing and a painstaking use of the rope. A steep snow slope in bad condition may be dangerous, as the whole body of snow may start as an avalanche. Such slopes are less dangerous if ascended directly, rather than obliquely, for an oblique or horizontal track cuts them across and facilitates movement of the mass. New snow lying on ice is especially dangerous. Experience is needed for determining the feasibility of advancement over snow in doubtful condition. Snow on rocks is usually rotten unless it is thick; snow on snow is likely to be sound. A day or two of fine weather will usually bring new snow into sound condition. Snow cannot lie at a very steep angle, though it often deceives the eye as to its slope. Snow slopes seldom exceed 40°. Ice slopes may be much steeper. Snow slopes in early morning are usually hard and safe, but the same in the afternoon are quite soft and possibly dangerous; hence the advantage of an early start.

Crevasses[link]

Crevasses are the slits or deep chasms formed in the substance of a glacier as it passes over an uneven bed. They may be open or hidden. In the lower part of a glacier the crevasses are open. Above the snow-line they are frequently hidden by arched-over accumulations of winter snow. The detection of hidden crevasses requires care and experience. After a fresh fall of snow they can only be detected by sounding with the pole of the ice axe, or by looking to right and left where the open extension of a partially hidden crevasse may be obvious. The safeguard against accident is the rope, and no one should ever cross a snow-covered glacier unless roped to one, or even better to two companions. Anyone venturing onto crevasses should be trained in crevasse rescue.

Weather[link]

The primary dangers caused by bad weather centre around the changes it causes in snow and rock conditions, making movement suddenly much more arduous and hazardous than under normal circumstances.

Whiteouts make it difficult to retrace a route while rain may prevent taking the easiest line only determined as such under dry conditions. In a storm the mountaineer who uses a compass for guidance has a great advantage over a merely empirical observer. In large snow-fields it is, of course, easier to go wrong than on rocks, but intelligence and experience are the best guides in safely navigating objective hazards.

Summer thunderstorms may produce intense lightning.^[4] If a climber happens to be standing on or near the summit, they risk being struck. There are many cases where people have been struck by lightning while climbing mountains. In most mountainous regions, local storms develop by late morning and early afternoon. Many climbers will get an "alpine start"; that is before or by first light so as to be on the way down when storms are intensifying in activity and lightning and other weather hazards are a distinct threat to safety. High winds can speed the onset of hypothermia, as well as damage equipment such as tents used for shelter.^[4][5] Under certain conditions, storms can also create waterfalls which can slow or stop climbing progress. A notable example is the Föhn wind acting upon the Eiger.

Altitude[link]

Rapid ascent can lead to altitude sickness.^[4][6] The best treatment is to descend immediately. The climber's motto at high altitude is "climb high, sleep low", referring to the regimen of climbing higher to acclimatise but returning to lower elevation to sleep. In the South American Andes, the chewing of coca leaves has been traditionally used to treat altitude sickness symptoms.

Common symptoms of altitude sickness include severe headache, sleep problems, nausea, lack of appetite, lethargy and body ache. Mountain sickness may progress to HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) and HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), both of which can be fatal within 24 hours.^[4][6][7]

In high mountains, atmospheric pressure is lower and this means that less oxygen is available to breathe.^[4] This is the underlying cause of altitude sickness. Everyone needs to acclimatise, even exceptional mountaineers that have been to high altitude before.^[8] Generally speaking, mountaineers start using bottled oxygen when they climb above 7,000 m. Exceptional mountaineers have climbed 8000-metre peaks (including Everest) without oxygen, almost always with a carefully planned program of acclimatisation.

Solar radiation[link]

Solar radiation increases significantly as the atmosphere gets thinner with increasing altitude thereby absorbing less ultraviolet radiation.^[4][5] Snow cover reflecting the radiation can amplify the effects by up to 75% increasing the risks and damage from sunburn and snow blindness.^[5]

In 2005, researcher and mountaineer John Semple established that above-average ozone concentrations on the Tibetan Plateau may pose an additional risk to climbers.^[9]

Volcanic activity[link]

Some mountains are active volcanoes as in the case of the many stratovolcanoes that form the highest peaks in island arcs and in parts of the Andes. Some of these volcanic mountains may cause several hazards if they erupt, such as lahars, pyroclastic flows, rockfalls, lava flows, heavy tephra fall, volcanic bomb ejections and toxic gases.

Styles of mountaineering[link]

There are two main styles of mountaineering: Expedition Climbing and Alpine Climbing.

In Europe alpine climbing is often referred to as Alpinism. A mountaineer who adopts this style of climbing is referred to as an Alpine Mountaineer. In Europe an alpine mountaineer is sometimes referred to as an Alpinist. Alpine Mountaineers are typically found climbing in medium-sized glaciated mountain areas such as the Alps or Rocky Mountains. Medium-sized generally refers to altitudes in the intermediate altitude (7,000' to 12,000') and first half of high altitude (12,000' to 18,000') ranges. However, alpine style ascents have been done throughout history on extreme altitude (18,000' to 29,000') peaks also, albeit in lower volume to expedition style ascents. Alpine climbing refers to a particular style of mountain climbing that involves a mixture of snow climbing, ice climbing, rock climbing, and glacier travel, where climbers generally single carry their loads between camps, in a single push for the summit. Light and fast is the mantra of the Alpine Mountaineer. The term alpinism contrasts with expedition style climbing (as commonly undertaken in the Himalayan region or other large ranges of the world), which could be viewed as slow and heavy, where climbers may use porters, pack animals, glacier airplanes, cooks, multiple carries between camps, usage of fixed lines etc. A mountaineer who adopts this style of climbing is referred to as an Expedition Mountaineer. Expedition mountaineers still employ the skill sets of the alpine mountaineer, except they have to deal with even higher altitudes, expanded time scale, longer routes, foreign logistics, more severe weather, and additional skills unique to expeditionary climbing. The prevalence of expedition style climbing in the Himalaya is largely a function of the nature of the mountains in the region. Because Himalayan base camps can take days or weeks to trek to, and Himalayan mountains can take weeks or perhaps even months to climb, a large number of personnel and amount of supplies are necessary. This is why expedition style climbing is frequently used on large and isolated peaks in the Himalaya. In Europe and North America there is less of a need for expedition style climbing on most medium-sized mountains. These mountains can often be easily accessed by car or air, are at a lower altitude and can be climbed in a shorter time scale. Expedition style mountaineering can be found in the larger high altitude and extreme altitude North American ranges such as the Alaska Range and Saint Elias Mountains. These remote mountaineering destinations can require up to a 2 week trek by foot, just to make it to base camp. Most expeditions in these regions choose a glacier flight to basecamp. Route length in days from basecamp can vary in these regions, typically from 10 days to 1 month during the climbing season. Winter mountaineering on major peaks in these ranges can generally consume between 30 to 60 days depending on the route, and can generally only be tackled via expedition style mountaineering during this season.

The differences between, and advantages and disadvantages of, the two kinds of climbing are as follows:^[2]

Expedition Climbing[link]

• uses multiple trips between camps to carry supplies up to higher camps
• group sizes are often larger than alpine style climbs because more supplies are carried between camps
• fixed lines are often used to minimize the danger involved in continually moving between camps
• supplemental oxygen is frequently used
• higher margin of safety in relation to equipment, food, time, and ability to wait out storms at high camps
• avoidance of being trapped in storms at high altitudes and being forced to descend in treacherous avalanche conditions
• possible higher exposure to objective hazards such as avalanches or rockfall, due to slower travel times between camps
• higher capital expenditures
• longer time scale

Alpine Climbing[link]

• climbers only climb the route once because they do not continually climb up and down between camps with supplies
• fewer supplies are used on the climb therefore fewer personnel are needed
• alpine style ascents do not leave the climber exposed to objective hazards as long as an expedition style climb does; however, because of the speed of the ascent relative to an expedition style climb there is less time for acclimatization
• supplemental oxygen is not used
• danger of being trapped at high altitude due to storms, potentially being exposed to HAPE or HACE
• lower capital expenditures
• shorter time scale

Locations[link]

Mountaineering has become a popular sport throughout the world. In Europe the sport largely originated in the Alps, and is still immensely popular there. Other notable mountain ranges frequented by climbers include the Caucasus, the Pyrenees, Rila mountains, the Tatra Mountains and Carpathian Mountains. In North America climbers frequent the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada of California, the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest, the high peaks of The Alaska Range and Saint Elias Mountains. There has been a long tradition of climbers going on expeditions to the Greater Ranges, a term generally used for the Andes and the high peaks of Asia including the Himalayas, Karakoram, Pamir Mountains and Tien Shan. In the past this was often on exploratory trips or to make first ascents. With the advent of cheaper, long-haul air travel, mountaineering holidays in the Greater Ranges are now undertaken much more frequently and ascents of even Everest and Vinson Massif (the highest mountain in Antarctica) are offered as a "package holiday". Other mountaineering areas of interest include the Southern Alps of New Zealand, the Japanese Alps, the South Korean mountains, the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, the Scottish Highlands, and the mountains of Scandinavia, especially Norway.

History[link]

Fannie Bullock Workman made ascents into the Himalayas at the turn of the 20th century.

• Though it is unknown whether his intention was to reach a summit, "Ötzi the Iceman" ascended at least 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in the Alps about 5,300 years ago. His remains were found at that altitude, preserved in a glacier.
• The first recorded mountain ascent in the Common Era is Roman Emperor Hadrian's ascent of Etna (3,350 m) to see the sun rise in 121.
• Peter III of Aragon climbed Canigou in the Pyrenees in the last quarter of the 13th century.
• The first ascent of the Popocatépetl (5,426 m in Mexico) was reported in 1289 by members of a local tribe (Tecanuapas)^{[citation needed]}
• Jean Buridan climbed Mont Ventoux around 1316.^[10]
• The Italian poet Petrarch wrote that on April 26, 1336 he, together with his brother and two servants, climbed to the top of Mont Ventoux (1,909 m). His account of the trip was composed later as a letter to his friend Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro.^[11]
• The Rocciamelone (3,538 m) in the Italian Alps was climbed in 1358.
• In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, ascents were made of numerous high peaks in the Andes, for religious purposes by the citizens of the Inca Empire and their subjects. They constructed platforms, houses and altars on many summits and carried out sacrifices, including human sacrifices. The highest peak they are known for certain to have climbed is Llullaillaco (6,739 m). They may also have ascended the highest peak in the Andes, Aconcagua (6,962 m) as a sacrifice victim has been found at over 5,000 m on this peak.^[12]
• In 1492 the ascent of Mont Aiguille was made by order of Charles VIII of France. The Humanists of the 16th century adopted a new attitude towards mountains, but the disturbed state of Europe nipped in the bud the nascent mountaineering of the Zurich school.
• Leonardo da Vinci climbed to a snow-field in the neighborhood of Monte Rosa and made scientific observations.
• in 1573, Francesco De Marchi reached the summit of Gran Sasso (2912m) in central Italy.
• In 1642 Darby Field made the first recorded ascent of Mount Washington, then known as Agiocochook, in New Hampshire.
• Konrad Gesner and Josias Simmler of Zurich visited and described mountains, and made regular ascents. The use of ice axe and rope were locally invented at this time. No mountain expeditions of note are recorded in the 17th century.
• Richard Pococke and William Windham's historic visit to Chamonix was made in 1741, and set the trend for visiting glaciers.
• The first attempt to ascend Mont Blanc was made in 1775 by a party of natives. In 1786 Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat gained the summit for the first time. Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, the initiator of the first ascent followed next year.
• The Norwegian mountain climber, Jens Esmark was the first person to ascend Snøhetta in 1798, part of the Dovrefjell range in Southern Norway. The same year he led the first expedition to Bitihorn, a small mountain in the southernmost outskirts of Jotunheimen, Norway. In 1810 he was the first person to ascend Mount Gaustatoppen in Telemark, Norway.
• The Grossglockner was climbed in 1800, the Ortler in 1804, the Jungfrau in 1811, the Finsteraarhorn in 1812, and the Breithorn in 1813. Thereafter, tourists showed a tendency to climb, and the body of Alpine guides began to come into existence as a consequence.
• The British scientist, Sir John Herschel, makes an ascent in 1824 where on July 23 he carries out a barometric determination of the height of Mount Etna.
• Aconcagua (22,831 feet), the highest peak of the Andes was first climbed in 1897 and the Grand Teton (13,747 feet)in North America's Rocky Mountains was ascended in 1898.
• The Italian Duke of the Abruzzi in 1897 made the first ascent on Mount Saint Elias (18,009 feet) which stands at the boundary of Alaska and Canada and in 1906 successfully climbed Margherita in the Ruwenzori group (16,795 feet) in East Africa. In 1913, an American, Hudson Stuck ascended Mount McKinley (20,320 feet) in Alaska, the highest peak in North America.
• Citlaltépetl (5720 m in Mexico) was first climbed in 1848 by F. Maynard & G. Reynolds.

Mountaineers, circa 1900

• Systematic mountaineering, as a sport, is usually dated from Sir Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854. The first ascent of Monte Rosa was made in 1855.
• The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857, and was soon imitated in most European countries. Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 marked the close of the main period of Alpine conquest, the Golden age of alpinism, during which the craft of climbing was invented and "perfected", the body of professional guides formed and their traditions fixed.
• Passing to other ranges, the exploration of the Pyrenees was concurrent with that of the Alps. The Caucasus followed, mainly owing to the initiative of D. W. Freshfield; it was first visited by exploring climbers in 1868, and most of its great peaks were climbed by 1888.
• The Edelweiss Club Salzburg was founded in Salzburg in 1881, and had 3 members make the first ascent on two Eight-thousanders, Broad Peak (1957) and Dhaulagiri (1960).
• Trained climbers turned their attention to the mountains of North America in 1888, when the Rev. W. S. Green made an expedition to the Selkirk Mountains. From that time exploration has gone on apace, and many English and American climbing parties have surveyed most of the highest peaks; Pikes Peak (14,110 ft) having been climbed by Mr. E. James and party in 1820, and Mt. Saint Elias (18,008 ft) by the Duke of the Abruzzi and party in 1897. The exploration of the highest Andes was begun in 1879-1880, when Whymper climbed Chimborazo and explored the mountains of Ecuador. The Cordillera between Chile and Argentina was visited by Dr. Gussfeldt in 1883, who ascended Maipo (17,270 ft) and attempted Aconcagua (22,841 ft). That peak was first climbed by the Fitzgerald expedition in 1897.
• The Andes of Bolivia were first explored by Sir William Martin Conway in 1898. Chilean and Argentine expeditions revealed the structure of the southern Cordillera in the years 1885-1898. Conway visited the mountains of Tierra del Fuego.
• New Zealand's Southern Alps were first visited in 1882 by the Rev. W. S. Green, and shortly afterwards a New Zealand Alpine Club was founded, and by their activities the exploration of the range was pushed forward. In 1895, Major Edward Arthur Fitzgerald, made an important journey in this range. Tom Fyfe and party climbed Aoraki / Mount Cook on Christmas Day 1894, denying Fitzgerald the first ascent. Fitzgerald was en route from Britain with Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen to claim the peak. So piqued at being beaten to the top of Mount Cook, he refused to climb it and concentrated on other peaks in the area. Later in the trip Zubriggen soloed Mount Cook up a ridge that now bears his name.
• The first mountains of the arctic region explored were those of Spitzbergen by Sir W. M. Conway's expeditions in 1896 and 1897.
• Of the high African peaks, Mount Kilimanjaro was climbed in 1889 by Dr. Hans Meyer, Mt. Kenya in 1899 by Halford Mackinder,^[13] and a peak of Ruwenzori by H. J. Moore in 1900.
• The Asiatic mountains were initially surveyed on orders of the British Empire. In 1892 Sir William Martin Conway explored the Karakoram Himalaya, and climbed a peak of 23,000 ft (7,000 m) In 1895 Albert F. Mummery died while attempting Nanga Parbat, while in 1899 D. W. Freshfield took an expedition to the snowy regions of Sikkim. In 1899, 1903, 1906 and 1908 Mrs Fannie Bullock Workman made ascents in the Himalayas, including one of the Nun Kun peaks (23,300 ft). A number of Gurkha sepoys were trained as expert mountaineers by Major the Hon. C. G. Bruce, and a good deal of exploration was accomplished by them.
• The Sierra Club was founded by John Muir in San Francisco, California in 1892.^[14]
• The Rucksack Club was founded in Manchester, England in 1902.
• The American Alpine Club was founded in 1902.
• In 1902, the Eckenstein-Crowley Expedition, led by mountaineer Oscar Eckenstein and author and occultist Aleister Crowley, was the first to attempt to scale Chogo Ri (now known as K2 in the west). They reached 22,000 feet (6,700 m) before turning back due to weather and other mishaps.
• In 1905, Aleister Crowley led the first expedition to Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. Four members of that party were killed in an avalanche. Some claims say they reached around 21,300 feet (6,500 m) before turning back, however Crowley's autobiography claims they reached about 25,000 feet (7,600 m).
• A few Olympics in the 1920s included prizes for alpinism, but these were discontinued after World War II.^[15]
• The British made several attempts in the 1920s to climb Mount Everest. The first in 1921 was more of an exploratory expedition but the 1922 expedition reached 8,320 metres (27,300 ft) before being aborted on the third summit attempt after seven porters were killed in an avalanche. The 1924 expedition saw another height record achieved but still failed to reach the summit when George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared on the final attempt.
• 1938 saw the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger by Andreas Heckmair, Wiggerl Vorg, Fritz Kasparek and Heinrich Harrer. This route was feted as the "last great problem of the Alps" (one of several).
• The 1950s saw the first ascents of all the eight-thousanders but two, starting with Annapurna in 1950 by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal. The world's highest mountain (above mean sea level), Mount Everest (8,848 m) was first climbed on May 29, 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay from the south side in Nepal. Just a few months later, Hermann Buhl made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat (8,125 m), a siege style expedition culminating in a remarkable solo push for the summit, it's the only eight-thousander to be summited solo on the first ascent. K2 (8,611 m), the second highest peak in the world was first scaled in 1954 by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. In 1964, the final eight-thousander to be climbed was Shishapangma (8,013 m), the lowest of all the 8,000 metre peaks.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Isserman, Maurice; Weaver, Stewart (2008). Fallen giants: a history of Himalayan mountaineering from the age of empire to the age of extremes. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16420-6. OCLC 181424034. 
• Ortner, Sherry B. (1999). Life and death on Mt. Everest : Sherpas and Himalayan mountaineering. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00689-5. OCLC 41326318. 
• Unsworth, Walt (1994). Hold the heights: the foundations of mountaineering. Seattle: The Mountaineers. ISBN 978-0-89886-379-6. OCLC 28547900. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mountaineering

• A Climber's Glossary
• International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) - official organisation of mountaineering and climbing recognised by International Olympic Committee - IOC
• British Mountaineering Council
• Mountaineering Council of Scotland

Edmund Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer. He is the first American to have climbed all fourteen of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and the fifth person to do so without using supplemental oxygen.^[1] He has summited peaks of over 8,000 meters on 21 occasions, including Mount Everest seven times; only two other climbers, Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa and Juanito Oiarzabal, have more high-altitude ascents.

Early life[link]

Born of Latvian and German descent in Fort Wayne, Indiana and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Viesturs moved to Seattle, Washington in 1977 to attend the University of Washington. It was here that he began his mountaineering career on the slopes of Mount Rainier.^[2] Viesturs graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 with a BS in zoology^[3] and eventually became a guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. He later obtained a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University.

Mountain climbing career[link]

His interest in the Himalayas was sparked in high school by reading Maurice Herzog's account of the first climb of Annapurna. After climbing Kanchenjunga in 1989, Mount Everest in 1990 and K2 in 1992, Viesturs became an international mountain guide and was sponsored for full-time mountaineering. He served as a guide for Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants company during their 1995 Everest expedition.^[4]

Viesturs was in the IMAX climbing team during the 1996 Everest Disaster.^[5] He was featured in the Everest IMAX movie. Filming was delayed as a blizzard struck. The IMAX team postponed shooting and followed Viesturs up the mountain to aid the stranded climbers. The team ultimately decided to keep going and summitted Everest on May 23, 1996.

Viesturs's recent climbs have included Broad Peak and Nanga Parbat in 2003, Mount Everest (seventh time) in 2009 and Annapurna in 2005.

Viesturs climbs with partner Veikka Gustafsson.^[6]

In 2005, Viesturs became the 12th person to summit all fourteen eight-thousander peaks. He was the first American to accomplish this feat.

On November 5, 2006, Viesturs completed his first marathon, the ING New York City Marathon, in 3:15:18.^[7]

On August 17, 2007, Viesturs summitted Mount Rainier for the 200th time.^[8]

On May 19, 2009, Viesturs summitted Mt. Everest for the 7th time.

Accomplishments[link]

Viesturs is a recipient of the David A. Sowles Memorial Award^[9] from the American Alpine Club.

He is the first American, and 12th person overall, to summit all fourteen mountains over 8000 meters (collectively known as the eight-thousanders). He's the fifth climber to do it without bottled oxygen.

Viesturs also has summitted Mount Everest seven times,^[10] a feat that has been surpassed by a number of Sherpas (Apa Sherpa in the lead with 21 summits^[11]), and two western climbers: Gheorghe Dijmarescu (9), and Dave Hahn (13).^[12][13]

Other work[link]

He was a cinematographer in the 2003 film Trio for One, which told the story of French alpinist Jean-Christophe Lafaille's mission to climb Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak in a period of two months.^[14]

Media[link]

In October 2006, Viesturs published No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the Worlds 14 Highest Peaks, an autobiography that documented his 16-year journey summitting all fourteen eight-thousanders.^[15]

He made a cameo appearance playing himself in the film Vertical Limit.^[16][17]

He was a guest on the Daily Show on December 7, 2006, and appeared on The Colbert Report on March 14, 2007, where he agreed to plant a Colbert Report flag on top of Mount Everest the next time he went.^[17][18] On July 2, 2009, he brought the Colbert Nation flag back from Everest's summit to the show.^[19]

He was featured on the cover of Outside Magazine's thirtieth anniversary issue in 2007.^[20]

In October 2009, Viesturs and David Roberts published the book K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain, which tells the story of six expeditions to the world's second tallest mountain.^[21]

References[link]

• Douglas Gantenbein (December 23, 1996). "Alone on the top of the world". Sports Illustrated 85 (26): 6–9. 

External links[link]

• Ed Viesturs official website
• Ed Viesturs on Charlie Rose
• Ed Viesturs at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Ed Viesturs in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Ed Viesturs at Greatoutdoors.com

Dave Hahn is a professional mountain guide, ski patroller, journalist and lecturer. On May 26, 2012 he reached the summit of Mt. Everest for the 14th time - the most for a non-Sherpa climber.^[1] Among Hahn’s other notable accomplishments are his 27 summits of Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest mountain. He has reached the summit of Mount McKinley (originally called Denali) in Alaska, North America’s highest peak, 20 times over the course of 27 expeditions in 25 years.

On May 6, 2009 Hahn received a Citizen's Award for Bravery from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The award was bestowed on him for a rescue he made of an injured climber on Mt. Rainier in 2002. The rescue received additional attention because the helicopter that Hahn was in crashed upon descent. Hahn helped evacuate the pilot before making his way to the injured climber.^[2]

Biography[link]

Hahn graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984.

In 1999, Hahn, who specializes in guiding high, glaciated mountains, was a key member of the team that discovered the remains of George Mallory at 27,000 feet on Mount Everest's North Face. Mallory died on the mountain in 1924, along with fellow climber Andrew Irvine, but it has never been determined whether or not he first reached the top.

In 2001, Hahn was selected as the Denali Pro Mountaineer of the Year, by the National Park Service for rescues performed on Mount McKinley.^[3] In 2002, he was a recipient of the Sowles Award, given by the American Alpine Club in recognition of rescues performed high on the Tibetan flank of Mount Everest in May 2001.^[4] In 2008, Hahn was honored by the Nepal Mountaineering Association for the 2007 rescue of a climber in distress above 27,000 feet on Everest's South Side.^[5]

Since 2005, Hahn has been a sponsored athlete for Powersox.^[6] Hahn is a member of Eddie Bauer's "First Ascent" climbing team.^[7] He is currently sponsored for ski equipment by Salomon and for climbing equipment by Whittaker Mountaineering, a climbing store in Ashford Washington. Hahn was a 2008 ESPY Award nominee for Best Outdoor Athlete.^[8]

Numerous organizations use Hahn as a guide including Rainier Mountaineering Inc., International Mountain Guides, Fathom Expeditions, and Geographic Expeditions. Hahn is a regular guide on Mount Rainier in Washington with more than 250 ascents, as well as a professional ski patroller at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico where he has been employed since 1985. He has guided climbers to the summit of Cho Oyu twice, the sixth-highest mountain in the world, bordering Nepal and Tibet. Hahn has also made a specialty of guiding the “Shackleton Crossing” on South Georgia, the island in Antarctic waters that figured prominently in the Endurance saga of 1914-16.^[9]

Hahn is a contributor to Outside magazine and has acted as a correspondent for several websites, including PowerSox.com, GreatOutdoors.com and FirstAscent.com. He has contributed to several books dealing with Mount Everest and the search for George Mallory and Andrew Irvine.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dave Hahn writing selection, International Mountain Guides
• Rainier Mountaineering

Arlene Blum
Arlene Blum at a 1977 fundraiser in Berkeley, CA, USA for her 1978 climbing expedition
Born	(1945-03-01) March 1, 1945 (age 67) Davenport, Iowa, USA
Residence	Berkeley, California, USA
Education	Reed College, B.A. University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D.
Occupation	Mountaineer, Writer, Environmental health scientist
Known for	Leading first American and also all-woman ascent of Annapurna Environmental health research
Notable work(s)	Annapurna: A Woman's Place Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life
Religion	Jewish
Children	Annalise Blum
Website
http://www.arleneblum.com

Arlene Blum (born March 1, 1945^[1]) is an American mountaineer, writer, and environmental health scientist. She is best known for leading an all-woman ascent of Annapurna (I), a climb that was also the first successful American ascent. She was also a deputy leader of the first all-woman ascent of Mount McKinley and the first American woman to attempt to ascend Mount Everest.^[2]

Start in mountaineering[link]

Blum was born in Davenport, Iowa and raised from the age of five on in Chicago by her Orthodox Jewish mother and grandparents.^[1] In the early 1960s, she attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Her first climb was in Washington, where she failed to reach the summit of Mount Adams. However, she persevered, climbing throughout her college days. Writing her senior thesis on the topic of volcanic gases on Oregon's Mount Hood enabled her to go climbing as part of her research. Blum graduated from Reed and attended MIT and UC Berkeley, where she earned a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry. After graduate school, Blum embarked on what she called the "endless winter"—spending more than a year climbing peaks all over the world.

Major climbs[link]

As deputy leader, Blum was part of the first all-woman team to ascend Alaska's Mount McKinley in 1970. She participated in a 1976 expedition up Mount Everest as part of the American Bicentennial Everest Expedition, but did not reach the summit. In 1978, she organized a team of ten women to climb Annapurna (I) in Nepal which, until then, had been climbed by only eight people (all men). It was called American Women's Himalayan Expeditions - Annapurna. They raised money for the trip in part by selling T-shirts with the slogan "A woman's place is on top". The first summit team, comprising Vera Komarkova and Irene Miller and Sherpas Mingma Tsering and Chewang Ringjing, reached the top at 3:30 p.m. on October 15, 1978. The second summit team, Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz and Vera Watson, died during this climb. After the event, Blum wrote a book about her experience on Annapurna, called Annapurna: A Woman's Place.^[3]

She led the first expedition to climb Bhrigupanth in the Indian Himalayas, leading a team of Indian and American women. She then attempted what she called the "Great Himalayan Traverse", a two-thousand-mile journey across the treacherous but beautiful peaks of the Himalayas from Bhutan to India. She crossed the Alps from Yugoslavia to France, bearing her baby Annalise on her back in a backpack.

Current science policy work[link]

As a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, in the late 1970s, Blum’s research contributed to the regulation of two cancer-causing chemicals used as flame retardants on children's sleepwear.^[4] Blum taught at Stanford University, Wellesley College, and the University of California, Berkeley.

After a long hiatus, Blum returned to science and policy work in 2006 — when her daughter started college — and her memoir Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life was published. She discovered that the same Tris her research had helped remove from children’s pajamas was back in California couches and baby products.^[5]

In 2007 Blum co-founded the Green Science Policy Institute (GSP) with the goal of bringing scientific research results into policy decisions to protect human health and the environment from toxic chemicals. As executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute, Blum and her team have led several successful national and international campaigns against the use of toxic chemicals.

Blum has published articles about science policy in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, and Science magazine.

Current GSP projects[link]

• Helping create safer standards for consumer products, including bedding materials, furniture, and baby products.
• Reducing the use of toxic chemicals in buildings by informing architects and builders of alternative materials, building codes, and the adverse health effects associated with exposure to flame retardants.
• Working with Chinese scientists, industry leaders, academics, and government to create greater awareness of the growing chemical-flame-retardant industry in China.
• Conducting research on exposure to toxic chemicals and health of fire fighters, flight attendants, and U.S. and Chinese workers.^[6]

Writing and Awards[link]

Her first book, Annapurna: A Woman's Place was included in Fortune magazine's 2005 list of “The 75 Smartest Business Books We Know” and chosen by National Geographic Adventure Magazine as one of the 100 top adventure books of all time. Her award-winning memoir, Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life tells the story of how Blum realized improbable dreams among the world's highest mountains, in the chemistry laboratory, and in public policy.

Blum’s awards include a Purpose Prize to those over 60 who are solving society’s greatest problems, National Women’s History Project selection as one of "100 Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet”^[7] and a Gold Medal from the Society of Women Geographers, an honor previously given to only eight other women including Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead, and Mary Leakey. Breaking Trail received an Honorable Mention from the National Outdoor Book Award in 2005.

Arlene Blum is the founder of the annual Berkeley Himalayan Fair and the Burma Village Assistance Project. She serves on the boards of the Society for the Preservation of Afghan Archeology; ISET, an organization dedicated to solving climate, water and disaster problems in South Asia; and the advisory boards for Project REED which builds libraries in Asia, Environmental Building News, and the Plastic Pollution Coalition.^[8]

Blum was the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award for 1982.^[9]

On April 7, 2012, the American Alpine Club inducted Blum into its Hall of Mountaineering Excellence at an award ceremony in Golden, Colorado.^[10]

Quotes[link]

• "With a global and virtual expedition team, we are attempting challenging and important mountains and reaching for the summit of a healthier world to benefit us all." – Purpose Prize profile^[11]

• "The health and environmental problem from such chemicals could be as threatening as climate change, but I believe it is a problem that can be solved relatively easily. It's a matter of informing the public - and political will." – Purpose Prize profile^[11]

• “My new adventure in science and policy work is the most challenging and important of my life and I feel lucky to look out at the horizon and see endless rows of mountains to climb.” – Reed 100th Anniversary Festschrift Volume^[2]

Personal life[link]

Blum lives and works in Berkeley, California. She has a daughter, Annalise Blum, an environmental engineering major and member of the class 2010 at Stanford University.^[12]

External links[link]

• Arlene Blum official website
• Green Science Policy Institute website
• Purpose Prize Profile
• Article about Arlene Blum in Reed College Magazine
• Interview with Arlene Blum for Breaking Trail

References[link]