Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering are also considered variants of mountaineering by some.
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Religious pilgrimages have existed much longer but they involve walking long distances for a spiritual purpose associated with specific religions.
Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing.
This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related to rock climbing and mountaineering. The specific terms used can vary considerably between different English-speaking countries; many of the phrases described here are particular to the United States and the United Kingdom.
Hiking (walking) boots are footwear specifically designed for protecting the feet and ankles during outdoor walking activities such as hiking. They are one of the most important items of hiking gear, since their quality and durability can determine a hiker's ability to walk long distances without injury. Hiking boots are constructed to provide comfort for walking considerable distance over rough terrain. Boots that protect the hiker's feet and heel are recommended. Hiking boots give ankle support and are fairly stiff. A less popular alternative is to use light trainers with thin soles. Footwear should be neither too loose nor too tight, to help prevent blisters and sore feet. Hiking socks that wick sweat from the feet, provide warmth, and cushion the feet are recommended and a thin, inner sock may also help. Most hiking boots are also designed for other outdoor activities such as backpacking, climbing, mountaineering, and hunting.
The Teufelshörner are a pair of mountains on the German-Austrian border in the Berchtesgaden Alps. The two peaks, which form a mountain ridge, are the Großes Teufelshorn and the Kleines Teufelshorn.
The Salober ist a 2,088 -high grass mountain in the Allgäu Alps. It lies northeast of the Laufbacher Eck.
The Stadelhorn (2,286 m) is the highest and most prominent peak in the Reiter Alm on the Austro-German border, lying on the boundary between the states of Bavaria and Salzburg.
The Lärchegg is a 2,123-metre-high (6,965 ft) mountain in the Kaisergebirge range of the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria.
Schrofen, a German mountaineering term, is steep terrain, strewn with rocks and rock outcrops, that is laborious to cross, but whose rock ledges (schrofen) offer many good steps and hand holds. It is usually rocky terrain on which grass has established itself, but it can also refer to purely rocky slopes. Schrofen are found especially where the rock has broken off against its angle of dip.
The Sonneck is a 2,260-metre-high (7,410 ft) mountain in the Kaisergebirge range of the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria. On its broad peak stands a solid summit cross, the panorama is comprehensive and there are particularly good views of the Ellmauer Halt, the highest mountain in the range, the Treffauer and Lake Hinterstein.
At 2,304 metres (7,559 ft), the Treffauer is the third highest mountain in the Kaisergebirge range of the Alps. It lies in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
The Steinbergstein is a mountain, 2,215 m (AA) (7,267 ft) high, in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria.
The Brechhorn is a 2,032 m above sea level (AA) high mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria. It lies between the valleys of the Aschauer Ache and the Windau.
An alpine route is a trail or climbing route through difficult terrain in high mountains such as the Alps, sometimes with no obvious path. In the Alps, the Alpine clubs define and mark an alpine route, also called alpinweg or alpinwanderweg.
Exposure is a climbing and hiking term. Sections of a hiking path or climbing route are described as "exposed" if there is a high risk of injury in the event of a fall because of the steepness of the terrain. If such routes are negotiated without any protection, a false step can result in a serious fall. The negotiation of such routes can cause fear of falling because of the potential danger.
A high mountain tour is a mountain tour that takes place in the zone that is covered by ice all year round, the nival zone. High mountain tours require special preparation and equipment.
The Noppenspitze is a rocky summit, 2,594 metres high, in the central part of the Hornbach chain of the Allgäu Alps.
The Geierköpfe form a triple-summited mountain massif in the Ammergau Alps in Tyrol, Austria. The main summit is 2,161 m (AA) high, the West Top 2,143 m high and the East Top 2,060 m. The summit group is located southwest of the Ammer Saddle.
The Zettenkaiser is a 1,968 m high mountain with a summit cross in the Kaiser Mountains (Kaisergebirge) in the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria. It rises to the west of the almost 150-metre-higher Scheffauer, from which it is separated by a col. It is one of the more rarely visited summits in the Kaiser. There are great views south to the main chain of the Alps, north to the Zahmer Kaiser and west into the Inn Valley; to the east at the foot of the summit is the rock needle known as the Kaindlnadel and then the mighty Scheffauer.
