Mountaineering - The Sport With Altitude

Mountaineering is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and is becoming so popular that with it comes a number accidents and fatalities that could otherwise have been avoided

Many people today see the Alps as a play ground for skiing, climbing and mountaineering, but tend to forget that you should only venture into the mountains if you have the correct equipment and knowledge. It is an inherently dangerous sport, but one of the few remaining outlets for the modern-day adventurer, as climbers around the world look for new challenges and harder technical routes; climbing Everest is just like climbing any other mountain to the hardened elite.

Everest is the mountain whose summit attains the greatest distance above sea level. At 29035 feet, five miles up, about the cruising altitude of a jet airliner.

Everest is part of the Himalaya Mountain range along the border of Nepal and Tibet and is covered with huge glaciers that descend from the main peak and its nearby satellite peaks; it is viewed by many as the ultimate climbing challenge because of its reputation for hardship and danger.

On the morning of June 8th 1924, Mallory and Irvine left the highest camp on Everest bound for the summit form what we know there is the likely hood that they made the summit but both died on the way down, but this is only speculation as know one really know what happened to them and if they really did reach the top. In 1953 Terzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made it to the summit and became heroes around the world overnight. In the following years many more climbers have stood on its summit some have paid dearly with there lives and some have been lucky.

If you want to climb Everest, you're going to have to be in fantastic physical shape, as this mountain will not provide anyone with any favors. Mountaineering expeditions to Everest usually are broken into three phases, the trek to Everest Base Camp, the climb to the North Col and the summit attempt, all, in all it will take you around 3 months to climb this mountain from start to finish.

Due to its high altitude, the climate is extremely cold and the constant walking and hauling gear up and down the mountain in these conditions is, one of the most difficult aspects climbing this mountain. This mountain is no pushover so be prepared to suffer a little during your expedition, this will be a test of one's endurance and determination in scaling the lofty pristine heights of Mt Everest.

The real art of mountaineering is the art of surviving and by its very nature a potentially hazardous activity.