CURIOSITIES ABOUT MOUNTAINEERING AND MOUNTAINS: 10 things you should know about mountaineering.
He mountaineering It is a sport that involves ascending and descending 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 very strict preparation, in addition to a desire for improvement and a great passion for adventure.
But we also know that it is an activity that never ceases to surprise us every day and causes us great respect and admiration. Perhaps right now we think we know a lot about mountaineering, but here we bring you some facts that you probably didn't know at all:
10 THINGS YOU SURELY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MOUNTAINEERING
1.The most correct term is “Mountaineering”.
We commonly call the action of climbing mountains “alpinism”, but the term that best refers to this discipline is “mountaineeringThe term alpinism comes from the fact that the beginnings of mountaineering date 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 sport. It began to be considered as a sporting activity at the end of the 18th century, when a group of Englishmen embarked on a voyage of exploration to the Alps, and subsequently maintained this place as a mecca for its practice as a sport. In 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard reached the summit of Mont Blanc (the highest peak in the Alps at 4,810 m) for the first time in history.
2. The highest mountains in the world are called “Eight-thousanders.”
The 14 highest mountains in the world are known as “eight-thousanders” because, as their name indicates, they are over 8,000 metres above sea level. The 14 eight-thousanders are:
- Everest (mountain) with 8,848 m of height. Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal)
- K2 (peak) with 8,611 m height. 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 8,167 m high. Himalayas (Nepal)
- Manaslu (peak) with 8,163 m height. Himalayas (Nepal)
- Nanga Parbat (peak) with 8,125 m height. Karakoram (Pakistan)
- Annapurna (peak) with 8,091 m height. Himalayas (Nepal)
- Gasherbrum I (peak) with 8,068 m high. Karakoram (China, Pakistan, India)
- Broad Peak (peak) with 8,047 m height. Karakoram (Pakistan)
- Shisha Pangma (peak) with 8,046 m high. Himalayas (Tibet)
- Gasherbrum II (peak) with 8,035 m high. Karakoram (Pakistan, China)
3. Only 40 people have summited all 14 eight-thousanders in history.
Many mountaineers are currently in the race to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, but only 40 have achieved this goal to date. Reinhold Messner (Italy) was the first man to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, between 1970 and 1986, and Edurne Pasaban (Spain) was the first woman, completing them between 2001 and 2010.
4. Everest is not the largest mountain in the world.
Look, no, you haven’t been lied to your whole life. Mount Everest is indeed the highest climbable mountain on planet Earth, but the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea is taller, measuring a total of 10,203 m from its base at the bottom of the ocean to its summit, surpassing the 8,848 m that Mount Everest measures in its entirety. Translated as “white mountain” in Hawaiian, Mauna Kea only has 4,200 m that protrude from the surface, but its geographical location has been very useful for astronomical observations.
5. Scott Parazynski He is the only man to have summited Everest and gone into space.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas (USA) in 1961, Scott Parazynski has been the only man to climb Mount Everest (May 20, 2009) and also traveled to space on 5 different occasions as a NASA astronaut.
6. Gangkhar Puensum It is the highest mountain on earth that has never been summited.
The highest mountain in the Kingdom of Bhutan (Himalayan Mountains), known as Gangkhar Puensum, is 7,570 m high and tops the list of the highest mountains whose summit has never been summited to date. Due to religious reasons, mountaineering was completely banned in Bhutan in 2003, and there have been no further attempts to reach its summit since then. It is the 40th highest mountain in the world.
7. After reaching an altitude of over 7,500m you reach the “Death Zone”.
The Swiss physician Edouard Wyss-Dunant defined the term “death zone” in 1953, attributing it to areas above 7,500 m in altitude, where humans are unable to properly perform certain bodily functions such as acclimatization, breathing, digesting food, etc. However, some mountains may have 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 above sea level.
8. Mountaineering offers countless physical benefits to those who practice it.
Mountaineering or alpinism offers a series of very important health benefits, not only related to maintaining a healthy weight, but it is also a discipline that helps improve heart and lung health, which are key to cell development and blood flow that supports all the organs in our body and the functions that each one performs. In addition, you will undoubtedly develop greater strength and muscular resistance, as well as adapt your body and mind to certain conditions, which are taken to the extreme in mountaineering.
9. Climbing mountains also leaves a significant emotional and mental mark.
It is clear that climbing mountains is not easy at all. But the truth is that not only the physical demands will 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 sport teaches you very important things, such as persistence, patience and gratitude. It is important to take into account that many mountaineers may go through negative thoughts before transforming them into positive ones, and it would not be surprising if they enjoy the little things more than other people, such as drinking water, or enjoying a beer with friends, and that because of this they have a different appreciation of life.
10. Climbing a mountain will never be the same twice.
Every time you climb a mountain, the feeling will be different from the previous one, even if you climb the same one twice on different occasions, because you will be subject to different weather conditions, different equipment, different companions, and even you yourself will surely be a different person on a physical and psychological level. Each mountain experience will be unmatched in its own way, and with each one you will learn something new about the sport as such and also about yourself, your limits and your abilities to overcome them. It is through experience and practice that the best mountaineers are built.
