Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports in their own right. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering are also considered variants of mountaineering by some, but are part of a wide group of mountain sports.
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at 8,163 metres (26,781 ft) above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the spirit" and the word is derived from the Sanskrit word manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul". Manaslu was first climbed on May 9, 1956, by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu, members of a Japanese expedition. It is said that, given the many unsuccessful attempts by the British to climb Everest before Nepali Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary, "just as the British consider Everest their mountain, Manaslu has always been a Japanese mountain".
Kamet is the second-highest mountain in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India, after Nanda Devi. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. Its appearance resembles a giant pyramid topped by a flat summit area with two peaks.
The Aiguille de Bionnassay is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the Alps in France and Italy. It has been described as "one of the most attractive satellite peaks of Mont Blanc", and is located on its western side. The mountain's south and east ridges form the frontier between the two countries, and its summit is a knife-edge crest of snow and ice. Reaching it via any route provides a "splendid and serious snow and ice climb".
Jbel Toubkal or Tubkal is a mountain peak in southwestern Morocco, located in the Toubkal National Park. At 4,167 m (13,671 ft), it is the highest peak in Morocco, the Atlas Mountains, North Africa and the Arab world. Located 63 km (39 mi) south of the city of Marrakesh, and visible from it, Toubkal is an ultra prominent peak, the highest for over 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Toubkal is ranked 27th by topographic isolation.
Y Garn is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales, part of the Glyderau.
A serac is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. Even when stabilized by persistent cold weather, they can be an impediment to glacier travel.
Huayna Potosí is a mountain in Bolivia, located near El Alto and about 25 km north of La Paz in the Cordillera Real.
Annapurna II is part of the Annapurna mountain range located in Nepal, and is the eastern anchor of the range.
Jess Fenton Roskelley was an American mountaineer. On May 21, 2003, at age twenty, he became the youngest American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He died in an avalanche while climbing on Howse Peak in the Canadian Rockies.
The Kangshung Face or East Face is the eastern-facing side of Mount Everest, one of the Tibetan sides of the mountain. It is 3,350 metres (11,000 ft) from its base on the Kangshung Glacier to the summit. It is a broad face, topped on the right by the upper Northeast Ridge, and on the left by the Southeast Ridge and the South Col. Most of the upper part of the face is composed of hanging glaciers, while the lower part consists of steep rock buttresses with couloirs between them. The steep southern third of the Kangshung Face also comprises the Northeastern Face of Lhotse; this section may be considered a separate face altogether following the division of the South "Neverest" Buttress up to the South Col. It is considered a dangerous route of ascent, compared to the standard North Col and South Col routes, and it is the most remote face of the mountain, with a longer approach.
The Hillary Step was a nearly vertical rock face with a height of around 12 metres (40 ft) located near the summit of Mount Everest, about 8,790 metres (28,839 ft) above sea level. Located on the southeast ridge, halfway between the "South Summit" and the true summit, the Hillary Step was the most technically difficult part of the typical Nepal-side Everest climb and the last real challenge before reaching the top of the mountain. The rock face was destroyed by an earthquake that struck the region in 2015.
Hannelore Schmatz was a German climber and the fourth woman to summit Mount Everest. She collapsed and died as she was returning from summiting Everest via the southern route; Schmatz was the first woman and first German citizen to die on the upper slopes of Everest.
Eldorado Peak is a 8,868-foot (2,703 m) peak, and is the 25th highest peak in Washington. The mountain is located in the North Cascades of Washington, approximately 27 miles (43 km) east of Concrete. It is located in North Cascades National Park at the head of Marble Creek and just west of the Inspiration Glacier. Other glaciers in the immediate vicinity include Eldorado Glacier and McAllister Glacier; thus Eldorado is flanked by the largest continuous non-volcanic ice sheet in the lower 48 states.
The Lewes avalanche occurred on 27 December 1836 in Lewes, East Sussex, when a huge build-up of snow on a chalk cliff overlooking the town collapsed into the settlement 100 metres (330 ft) below, destroying a row of cottages and killing eight people. It remains the deadliest avalanche on record in the United Kingdom.
The Höfats is a 2,259 m high mountain in the Allgäu Alps. Located near Oberstdorf, it separates the Oy and the Dietersbach valleys, along with the Rauheck and other lower summits. With its very steep faces it is the most striking of the Allgau "grass mountains" (Grasberge) and is unique in the Eastern Alps. It may be compared to the mountains of the Lofoten.
The Goûter Route is one of the two normal mountaineering routes used to reach the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps, ascending to a height of 4,808 metres (15,774 ft). The route lies on the north side of the mountain, in France. Usually reckoned as the easiest route up Mont Blanc, it is extremely popular with mountaineers, seeing thousands of ascents per year.
The 1970 British Annapurna South Face expedition was a Himalayan climb that was the first to take a deliberately difficult route up the face of an 8,000-metre mountain. On 27 May 1970 Don Whillans and Dougal Haston reached the summit of Annapurna I, which at 26,545 feet (8,091 m) is the highest peak in the Annapurna Massif in Nepal. Chris Bonington led the expedition, which approached up a glacier from the Annapurna Sanctuary and then used rock climbing techniques to put fixed ropes up the steep South Face. Although the plan had been to use supplementary oxygen, in the event it was not possible to carry any cylinders high enough for the lead climbers to use on their summit bid.
Hansjörg Auer was an Austrian mountaineer, noted for his free solo climbs, and particularly of Fish Route in the Italian Dolomites, the first-ever big wall solo at 5.12c (7b+). National Geographic described him as "one of the boldest and best climbers in the world", and he won the 2019 Piolet d'Or for this free solo ascent of the Lupghar Sar West. He died in an avalanche while climbing on Howse Peak in the Canadian Rockies.
A cornice of snow about to fall. Cracks in the snow are visible in area (1). Area (3) fell soon after this picture was taken, leaving area (2) as the new edge.
A piece of snow cornice which has fallen off a ridge in early spring
The summit of San Jacinto Peak covered by a cornice formed by wind-blown snow
Massive snow cornices line the summit ridge of Siula Grande, and are a characteristic feature of this peak.
Alternating cornices on the Rochefort-Crest in the Mont Blanc area in the European Alps—always overhanging above the steeper face of the crest
