Expedition to the peek of Taygetos, Greece.

Mountaineering is about trekking in mountains and climbing the mountains, often with specialised equipment.

The sport of mountaineering aims at reaching the highest point of mountains, preferably high, difficult to climb or (mostly historically) yet unclimbed ones. The techniques differ depending on whether the terrain is rock, snow or ice, and in many cases the mountaineer has to face all of them in difficult (cold and windy) conditions at high altitudes after a long wilderness hike. Except the easiest mountains, mountaineering requires experience, athletic ability, good equipment, and technical knowledge, and safety can seldom be guaranteed.

Destinations

See also: Seven Summits, Mountain ranges

High peeks

• Himalayas
  • Mount Everest
  • Annapurna
• Alps
  • Mont Blanc
  • Dufourspitze (Punta Dufour, Monte Rosa; see Zermatt)
  • Matterhorn (Mont Cervin)

"Easy" high peaks

• Kilimanjaro
• Mount Kinabalu
• Ojos del Salado, in Northern Chile
• Pokalde, 12 km southwest of Mount Everest

Other areas

• The Scandinavian range (see also Hiking destinations in Norway)
  • Jotunheimen
  • Romsdal alps

Get around

Mountaineers descending in the High Tatras, Slovakia.

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Sleep

Camp in the Tangra Mountains, South Shetland Islands.

Stay safe

When climbing, there is the risk of falling. On deep ice and snow there can be crevasses obscured by snowbridges. There are also the risks of avalanches, falling rock and ice, altitude sickness, snow blindness, cold weather etc.

• Altitude sickness
• Avalanches
• Cold weather
• Glaciers
• Sunburn

See also

• Rock climbing
• Wilderness backpacking
• Winter sport