Introduction to Mountain Climbing

Generations and generations of people have lived in the mountains all over the world. They have learned and mastered the ways of these mountains. These people have come to live easily in them and have developed techniques in order to move safely through and over them. These people are called "mountaineers" and this exercise of their skills is called "mountaineering". When these mountaineers climb a particular mountain with the aim of reaching its summit, they become "mountain climbers".

Mountain Climbing is actually just part of the wider adventure activity called mountaineering and for a long time, these two were practiced only because they were useful skills. Mountaineers used mountain climbing to rescue stranded people or strayed sheep. They used it for hunting animals in higher terrain. Mountaineers would also guide travelers over difficult and often high paths that they had to cross. However, they would never do it for the sake of adventure or for fun. This was because they thought that there were monsters and demons lurking in the higher peaks so they stayed away and lived as close to the plains as they could.

However in early Renaissance Europe, individuals started to venture into the mountains simply for the pleasure of it and sometimes as a sport. For instance, Petrarch wrote about his 1335 climb of Mont Ventoux in France as being exhilarating. Instead of being tired or terrified, he rejoiced in the mountain's hidden beauty, views and closeness to heaven. By 1786, these individuals started climbing in sizable groups. They started scaling higher and higher peaks and others were ambitious enough to climb the unclimbed peaks of Europe. In 1786, mountain climbing was given a boost as a sport in Europe with the successful ascent of the 15,781-foot Mont Blanc, the highest point in the Swiss Alps. By 1850, the Swiss Alps were regularly climbed by English climbers during their summer vacations. Because of this, the tradition of the trained and dedicated Swiss guides was established. These guides would go with expeditions that began to explore and climb the other great mountains of the world.

The first ever successful ascent of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, is probably the most famous climb in history. It was done in the year 1953 by a British expedition under the command of Colonel John Hunt. Two members of the expedition, Edmund Hillary who was a New Zealander and Tenzing Norkey who was a Sherpa (a Tibetan tribesman), reached the peak on May 29. 32 years before this colossal achievement, 11 attempts to summit were made and a lot of lives were lost. This included the great British climber George Leigh-Mallory and Andrew Irvine, his fellow climber. They were last seen heading for the summit of Mount Everest during their expedition in 1924.

Since the scaling of Mount Everest, the sport of mountain climbing has become more popular than before. Every year, more and more people are starting to climb and more expeditions are sent that try new routes to reach different mountain peaks. There is a growing list of countries making serious mountaineering efforts. The list includes, of course, the European countries that have actively participated long before. South American countries are also joining in. They compete with nations like India, People's Republic of China, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Since mountain climbing is a sport that is practiced worldwide, all cities that have a mountain or a cliff in its area is sure to have a local mountaineering club where people can learn to climb safely and skillfully. These local clubs are often affiliated with their national counterparts. The Alpine Club of London is the oldest and most famous climbing club. In the United States, three of the most important clubs are the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Sierra Club and the American Alpine Club.