mountaineering

The mountaineering is a sport activity implying climb a high mountain. The term, according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), comes from alpine, a adjective which, in turn, refers to Alps.

With this in mind, it is worth mentioning that Alps They are a mountainous cord that is in the European continent and that extends by Swiss, France, Austria, Italy, Monaco, Germany, Liechtenstein Y Slovenia. Its highest peak reaches 4810 meters height above sea level: it is the Mont Blanc, located between France and Italy. The RAE also accepts the notion of Alps to refer to any mountain of considerable height.

Mountaineering, on the other hand, is synonymous with mountaineering and even of climbing (This last concept has its origin in the Andes, a mountain range of the American continent). This means that when a person You decide to climb a large mountain, it can be indicated that you are practicing mountaineering, mountaineering or mountaineering.

There are other synonyms, such as being Himalayanism, but the most correct and widely accepted is mountaineering, since it describes in a neutral way that the activity it consists of climbing mountains. This does not mean, on the other hand, that the most popular is mountaineering. Broadly speaking, we can say that it is divided into the following areas, each of which requires a well-defined specialty:

* trekking: in English it is called hiking, and we can also find it with this name in Spanish-speaking countries. It is a sporting activity that takes place on roads that an organization must previously mark and approve. As in other cases, it is not a sport competitive; However, this does not mean that from time to time events are held in which a record is left of the order in which each participant reaches the goal, or of the number of walks they have been able to finish;

* hiking: a specialty of mountaineering focused on the realization of crossings or routes by places that are usually remote and without traced paths. The objective of this activity is recreation, so it is not a competitive sport either. The normal thing is that the tour is carried out on foot, and in this case the English term can be used trekking as a synonym;

* climbing: its purpose is to climb walls with a very steep slope, making use of physical strength, but also mental strength. The difficulty level of the ascent it is not decisive to consider an activity as part of the climb. Unlike other mountaineering specialties, it requires the use of the upper extremities in combination with the lower ones. In fact, sometimes you also need to use your knees;

* canyoning: It is an adventure sport that focuses on ravines or river canyons. The tours This activity can be very varied, with desert landscapes or thick vegetation, dry or with bodies of water, and one of its disciplines, called torrentism, requires overcoming these changes along the way by alternating different actions, such as swim, walk, climb Y descend.

Although it can be considered as a sport, mountaineering also has links with the Adventure trip and even with the exploration of unknown lands. Its practice requires excellent physical condition, knowledge about the mountains and various specific skills: otherwise, the person will not only be unable to reach the summit, but will also put his life at risk.

Beyond physical skills and techniques, who is dedicated to mountaineering must have the appropriate clothing to withstand low temperatures and with accessories such as ropes, climbing pick, etc.