10 things you should know about mountaineering or mountaineering

CURIOSITIES ABOUT MOUNTAINEERING AND THE MOUNTAINS: 10 things you should know about Mountaineering.

Mountaineering is a sport that involves the ascent and descent of high mountains, which entails a series of skills, knowledge and techniques aimed at reaching the highest point of said summit.

It is known that mountaineering stands out for being a very broad physical discipline depending on its specialty, and that it is highly recognized by the sports community and the general public, since it involves a large number of associated risks that certainly require preparation very strict, as well as a desire to excel and a great passion for adventure.

But we also know that it is an activity that never ceases to amaze us every day nor does it cease to cause us great respect and admiration. Perhaps right now we think we know a lot about mountaineering, but here we bring you some information that you surely did not know at all:

10 THINGS YOU SURELY DID NOT KNOW ABOUT MOUNTAINEERING

1.The more correct term is “Mountaineering”.

Commonly we call the action of climbing mountains “alpinism”, but the term that best refers to this discipline is “mountaining”. The term mountaineering is derived from the fact that the beginnings of mountaineering go back to the Alps, at the end of the 17th century, when mountain climbing emerged in society as a challenge to nature itself and a way of exploring the human sense, rather than as a a sport. It began to be considered as a sporting activity from the end of the 18th century, when a group of Englishmen embarked on a journey of exploration to the Alps, and later maintained this place as a mecca for their practice as a sport. In 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard reached the top of Mont Blanc (the highest peak in the Alps with 4.810 m) for the first time in history.

2. The highest mountains in the world are called "Eight Thousands".

The 14 highest mountains in the world are known as “eight thousand”, because, as their name indicates, they exceed 8.000 meters above sea level. The 14 eight thousand are:

• Everest (mount) with 8.848 m high. Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal)
• K2 (peak) with 8.611 m high. Karakoram (China, Pakistan)
• Kangchenjunga (peak) with 8.586 m high. Himalayas (Nepal, China)
• Lhotse (peak) with 8.516 m high. Himalayas (Nepal)
• Makalu (peak) with 8.462 m high. Himalayas (Nepal, Tibet)
• Cho Oyu (peak) with 8.201 m high. Himalayas (Nepal, Tibet)
• Dhaulagiri (peak) with 8.167m high. Himalayas (Nepal)
• Manaslu (peak) with 8.163m high. Himalayas (Nepal)
• Nanga Parbat (peak) with 8.125m high. Karakoram (Pakistan)
• Annapurna (peak) with 8.091 m high. Himalayas (Nepal)
• Gasherbrum I (peak) with 8.068 m high. Karakoram (China, Pakistan, India)
• Broad Peak (peak) with 8.047 m high. Karakoram (Pakistan)
• Shisha Pangma (peak) with 8.046 m high. Himalayas (Tibet)
• Gasherbrum II (peak) with 8.035m high. Karakoram (Pakistan, China)

3. Only 40 people have crowned the 14 eight-thousanders in history.

Many alpinists or mountaineers are currently in the race to reach the 14 eight-thousander mark, but only 40 have achieved this goal to date. Reinhold Messner (Italy) was the first man to tread the 14 eight-thousanders, between the years 1970-1986 and Edurne Pasaban (Spain) was the first woman, managing to complete them between 2001 and 2010.

4. Everest is not the biggest mountain in the world.

Okay, no, you haven't been lied to all your life. Mount Everest is the highest scalable mountain on planet earth, but the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea is higher, since from its base located at the bottom of the ocean to its top it measures a total of about 10.203 m, exceeding 8.848m that measures Everest in its entirety. Translated as "white mountain" in Hawaiian, Mauna Kea has only 4.200 m above the surface, but its geographical location has been very useful for astronomical observations.

5. Scott Parazynski is the only man to summit Everest and space.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas (USA).USA) in 1961, Scott Parazynski has been the only man to scale Mount Everest (May 20, 2009) and also travel to space on 5 different occasions as a NASA astronaut.

6. Gangkhar Puensum is the highest mountain on earth that has never been crowned.

The highest mountain in the Kingdom of Bhutan (Himalayan Range), known as Gangkhar Puensum, is 7570 m high and tops the list of highest mountains whose summit has never been summited till date. Due to religious reasons, mountaineering was completely banned from Bhutan in 2003, and since then there have been no further attempts to reach its peak. It is the 40th highest mountain in the world.

7. After passing 7.500m high you arrive at the "Death Zone".

Swiss physician Edouard Wyss-Dunant defined the term “death zone” in 1953, attributing it to zones that exceed 7.500 m high, before which the human being stops correctly fulfilling certain bodily functions such as acclimatizing, breathing, digesting food, among others. However, it is possible that some mountains present a "death zone" at a lower altitude, for example, the Andes, where these symptoms (also known as "mountain sickness") can appear as early as 6.000-6.5000 m high.

8. Mountaineering supposes countless physical benefits for those who practice it.

Mountaineering or mountaineering has a series of very important benefits for health, not only related to maintaining a weight in line, it is also a discipline that helps improve heart and lung condition, which are key to cell development and the blood flow that supports all the organs of our body and the functions that correspond to each one. In addition, without a doubt you will be able to develop greater strength and muscular resistance, as well as adapt your body and mind to certain conditions, which in mountaineering are taken to the extreme.

9. Climbing mountains also leaves an important emotional and mental mark.

It is clear that climbing mountains is not easy at all. But the truth is that not only will the physical demands put you to the test, you will also notice that your emotional and psychological state can also be pushed to the limit. This type of adventure sports teaches you very important things, such as persistence, patience and gratitude. It is important to take into account that many mountaineers could go through negative thoughts before transforming them into positive ones, and it would not be surprising that they enjoy little things more than other people, such as drinking water, or enjoying a cane with friends, and for this reason they have a different appreciation of life.

10 Climbing a mountain will never be the same twice.

Each time you climb a mountain, the feeling will be different from the previous one, even if you climb the same mountain twice at different times, since you will be subject to different weather conditions, different equipment, different companions, and even yourself insurance that you will also be a different person on a physical and psychological level. Each mountain experience will be unique in its own style, and with each one you will learn something new about the sport as such and also about yourself, your limits and your overcoming abilities. With experience and practice is that the best climbers are built.