Mountaineering, Land

Mountaineering is more an Art than a Sport

Every man has a dream to touch the clouds, walk through tiny streams, sit in a place of solace and peace, and experience the fresh non polluted air. But only a mountaineer can experience all of them and enjoy it to the fullest. Some take it up as a hobby and some as a full time profession. Long hikes, misty weather, unexplored mountain peaks, are the main subject of interest for a mountaineer. Apart from the normal hike to the top of the mountain, mountaineering can be classified as rock crafts i.e. mountaineering on the rocks and the snow craft i.e. mountaineering on the snow covered mountains or ice. All of these like any other sport need a lot of stamina, training, experience, and knowledge to maintain safety.

The back packs on the back, ready to eat energy foods, sleeping bags, tents, and warm clothing in all sets up a perfect mood for mountaineering. The mountaineers have a fixed target and a day to day plan so that they reach the mountain peak within the desired time. They also use different types of shelter depending on the climatic conditions because the weather in the mountain is very unpredictable. If there is an unexpected change in weather the mountaineers take shelter at the base camps built at regular intervals.

Mountaineering is an exciting profession but also considered to be the most hazardous of all. A number of mountaineers lose their lives every year because of natural calamities like falling rocks, avalanches, ice slopes, stormy weather, and equipment failure. Many mountaineers also loose their lives due to a common sickness called altitude sickness. Altitude sickness includes severe headache, sleep problems, nausea, lack of appetite, lethargy, and body ache. The underlying cause for altitude sickness is that, the atmospheric pressure is low at high altitudes and this reduces the amount of oxygen in the air leading to the sickness. Hence the only remedy for this problem is to carry bottled oxygen.

Another major problems faced by mountaineers while hiking on the snow clad mountains is the solar radiation. The solar radiation increases considerably as one goes to a higher altitude absorbing less ultraviolet radiation. This leads to sunburn and snow blindness which is also very dangerous and can be fatal. Hence to select and follow a route using one's skills and experience to lessen these dangers is an art by itself and is usually decided by the lead of the group.

Mountaineering has become a popular sport throughout the world. Hence the number of students opting for mountaineering as profession has also seen an inclination in recent times. The famous mountaineering institutes in India are Nehru Institute of Mountaineering and the Himalayan institute of mountaineering. Here in these institutes the students are given a sound training on the various safe techniques of mountaineering.

Mountaineers are believed to carry a “never to say die attitude” and “never to give up attitude” and reach high heights overcoming all the difficulties which come their way with ease and poise.