MOUNTAINEERING

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.
Mountaineering is often called Alpinism, especially in European languages, which implies climbing with difficulty such high mountains as the Alps. A mountaineer with such great skill is called an Alpinist. The word alpinism was born in the 19th century to refer to climbing for the purpose of enjoying climbing itself as a sport or recreation, distinct from merely climbing while hunting or as a religious pilgrimage that had been done generally at that time.
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.

Snow

 

Compacted snow  conditions allow mountaineers to progress on foot. Frequently cramprons 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 the 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

 

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 cramprons  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 climing

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

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

 

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.

Tent

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

Where conditions permit snoe 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.