Mountaineering Resume
This website exists to chronicle my “mountaineering” adventures. I was going to call it Atlanta Mountaineer, but Atlanta Climber sounded better.
It has become more of a general adventure travel/photo album website. It's mostly looked at by my extended family, but occasionally I'll get a hit from someone searching for info on one of the places I've visited. I’m planning a trip to Colorado this summer so thought it would be a good time to get the site back to its roots. Here goes…
So what's the difference between "climbing" and "mountaineering," you ask? Well, mountaineering may contain an element of climbing, but climbing isn't necessarily mountaineering. You can climb on some rocks in the hills near your house or on a wall at your gym. You can't mountaineer on a wall at your gym.
Mountaineering (as I define it) is the experience of pursing a goal on a mountain, like the summit, which cannot be achieved by just walking up a worn path. Technical skills and a rope may or may not be required, depending on the route. Classic routes, however, usually do have section of true, roped rock climbing.
Mountaineering does require route finding. It is usually an overnight endeavor that requires technical equipment. Depending on the length of the trip, knowledge of local weather patterns may be necessary. It requires a basic understanding of human physiology as it relates to extreme weather conditions, altitude, nutrition and exhaustion. Basic survival skills are important...what would you do if you lost a key piece of equipment, if there was a sudden change in weather, if you broke your leg in a fall?
Climbing Everest is the classic example of mountaineering. You need to understand the weather in the Khumbu Himal to know when to attempt the climb. You need to understand what altitude sickness looks so you'll know when to rest or return to a lower camp. You need really technical gear like crampons for boots, ropes and ice axes. You need to know route finding so you make it to the next camp and not the bottom of a crevasse.
I'm headed back to Colorado this summer to do a little sudo-mountaineering. I'm going after a couple more of its 54 14,000-ft peaks. Most don't require true mountaineering, there is usually some semblance of a path and most can be completed in a day. But on most peaks, there are also a couple of true mountaineering routes, a path to the top that does require some advanced skills...an overnight camp, route finding, a rope…some balls. I’m looking for a couple of these climbs.
I thought it would be cool to put some info about the decision-making process leading up to a climb on the site.
I'll start with my mountaineering resume...
Click here to see my climbing resume
(Me rappelling off of Longs Peak in Colorado)
It has become more of a general adventure travel/photo album website. It's mostly looked at by my extended family, but occasionally I'll get a hit from someone searching for info on one of the places I've visited. I’m planning a trip to Colorado this summer so thought it would be a good time to get the site back to its roots. Here goes…
So what's the difference between "climbing" and "mountaineering," you ask? Well, mountaineering may contain an element of climbing, but climbing isn't necessarily mountaineering. You can climb on some rocks in the hills near your house or on a wall at your gym. You can't mountaineer on a wall at your gym.
Mountaineering (as I define it) is the experience of pursing a goal on a mountain, like the summit, which cannot be achieved by just walking up a worn path. Technical skills and a rope may or may not be required, depending on the route. Classic routes, however, usually do have section of true, roped rock climbing.
Mountaineering does require route finding. It is usually an overnight endeavor that requires technical equipment. Depending on the length of the trip, knowledge of local weather patterns may be necessary. It requires a basic understanding of human physiology as it relates to extreme weather conditions, altitude, nutrition and exhaustion. Basic survival skills are important...what would you do if you lost a key piece of equipment, if there was a sudden change in weather, if you broke your leg in a fall?
Climbing Everest is the classic example of mountaineering. You need to understand the weather in the Khumbu Himal to know when to attempt the climb. You need to understand what altitude sickness looks so you'll know when to rest or return to a lower camp. You need really technical gear like crampons for boots, ropes and ice axes. You need to know route finding so you make it to the next camp and not the bottom of a crevasse.
I'm headed back to Colorado this summer to do a little sudo-mountaineering. I'm going after a couple more of its 54 14,000-ft peaks. Most don't require true mountaineering, there is usually some semblance of a path and most can be completed in a day. But on most peaks, there are also a couple of true mountaineering routes, a path to the top that does require some advanced skills...an overnight camp, route finding, a rope…some balls. I’m looking for a couple of these climbs.
I thought it would be cool to put some info about the decision-making process leading up to a climb on the site.
I'll start with my mountaineering resume...
Click here to see my climbing resume
(Me rappelling off of Longs Peak in Colorado)
posted by atlantaclimber at 6:48 PM
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