Mountaineering including rock climbing and ice climbing is one the most favorite outdoor activity all over the world. One needs advance skills of trekking in mountains and on rough terrain before experiencing mountaineering. One should get initial training from the specialized adventure clubs available in the local area. It is not a spontaneous activity; one must have prepare oneself before time and make ready oneself for the expedition after solid planning. Getting training in regard is an essential part of planning. In this article, you can learn related terminologies used in mountaineering and rock climbing.
Mountaineering
It is a set of all activities that involves ascending a mountain. It includes outdoor climbing and traversing via ferrates, a protected route with steel fixtures or cables to climb a mountain. Proper training and equipment are required for climbing, otherwise it becomes dangerous for life. It includes to climb a mountain peak, mountain pass, or glacier.
Climbing
It is physical activity of using hands, feet, or other parts of body to ascend mountains or steep topographical objects. It is performed on natural surface including rocks, ice, or artificial surfaces. Climbing routes are defined to ascend different peaks and mountains. The equipment required for climbing depend upon the grades of difficulty.
Rock Climbing
It involves ascending over the nature rock in an outdoor environment. A proper guideline is normally provided to explain the route ranging from a few meters to 1,000 meters in height and normally 4,500 meters in length. Bouldering is type of rock climbing on small rock without use of ropes or harnesses.
Ice Climbing
It is climbing on the frozen water and glaciers. Special equipment is required to ascend the ice route. The ice climbing routes includes frozen waterfall, high alpine snow-covered gully, or giant icicles.
Acute Mountain Sickness
It is an illness that affect mountain climbers, skiers, hikers, or travelers at very high altitude, normally above 8,000 feet. It is normally caused by low air pressure and low oxygen level at high altitude. To avoid such type of sickness, a gradual ascend is preferred mode of climbing or hiking. One need to spend few days before ascending more than 10,000 feet. It is beneficial to travel slowly and never increase altitude more than 1000 feet to 1600 feet per day.
Altitude Sickness
It is mildest form of acute mountain sickness and is harmful effect of high altitude resulting in rapid exposure of low amount of oxygen. It has symptoms like headaches, tiredness, vomiting, dizziness, and mind confusion. It normally occurs at above 8000 feet. It can be controlled by increasing altitude by 1000 feet per day. Sufficient water or some other fluid intake can used to treat it, otherwise descent immediately.
Base Camp
It is physical shelter space to start the rough terrain to traverse a trekking or climbing route. It can be accessed easily by walking trek including smooth ascends, streams, and glaciers. It is a station to prepare oneself to change gear for next adventure. All of the high-altitude peaks have their base camps. Trek to base camp is done by anyone with determination and courage. It gives you a clear view of the adjoining peak. It is a location that is normally safe from harsh terrain and weather. Multiple base camps are located at fixed locations, if summit is not achievable in a single day.
Hiking
It is a long and vigorous walk on trails or defined routes. It normally includes one day activity to cover easy and short distance. Proper residence in the form of hotel or rest-house is available to spend night. It normally includes ascending a small size mountain, round-trip of small lake, walk in forest, to access lake or glacier at small distance, etc.
Trekking
It is a type of hiking involves multi-day activities over long-distance trails. Camping is normally performed while trekking to spend nights. A proper guide is required while perform multi-day trekking activity to achieve certain destination such as mountain base camp, accessing high altitude lakes, crossing glaciers, ascending small mountains, etc.
Camping
It is an activity to build an artificial shelter to spend night by using tents. It provides protection from harsh weather, wild animals, etc. Other equipment such as sleeping bag, portable equipment, and essential food are also essential while doing camping. Site for camping must be carefully analyzed before installing tents, if not already designated for camping site. Camping is not preferred other residency options are available.
Mountain Huts
It is a small room constructed at high elevation in mountain terrain to provide food and shelter to climbers and hikers. These are normally built by local people or shepherd to spend night while moving their animals to high altitude meadows in summer. These huts can be used by hikers while traversing a route in mountains. It is more secure than camps in harsh weather conditions.
Bivouac Shelter
It is temporary shelter in open area for one or two persons in the form of small tent or fully body cover. It is normally preferable for climber and mountaineers where proper camping site is not available, or unable to fixed tent due to shortage of time to avoid harsh weather conditions. It can be constructed by using natural material like wood, leaves, or stones, but artificial bivouacs can be constructed using available materials such as sheets, or using lightweight and portable bivouac sack.
Frostbite
It is a type of skin damage that occurs at extreme low temperature. The main cause of it is the freezing of skin or tissues of fingers, toes, cheeks, ears, and chin area. Hands and feet are more prone of it. It starts with feeling of coldness, and followed by clumsiness with a white or bluish skin color. People traveling for long period in low temperature are at great risk. Proper warm clothes and heating mechanism will be effective to avoid it. In forth degree frostbite, skin becomes black and mummified. Amputation can be performed after two months in forth degree frostbite.
Hypothermia
It is a condition of body based on the outer temperature. There is shivering and mental disturbance. In moderate stage, the confusion increases whereas shivering stops. In severe stage, patient tries to remove his clothes, known as paradoxical undressing, to increase the risk of heart failure due to low temperature. The basic condition of disease is exposure to cold weather and there is decrease of heat in body. It can be treated by taking warm drinks, wearing warm clothes, and doing physical activity to get body heated.
Dehydration
It is a physical condition in which body disrupts metabolic process due to lack of total body water. It is normally occurred excessive sweating, less water intakes, or loss of body water. Loss of body water more than 10% results in physical and mental deterioration with severe increase in thirst. Death may occur if loss of water is between 15 to 25%. It can further cause hypernatremia that is increase of sodium ions in blood, or kidney stone or chronic kidney disease. Mild dehydration can be controlled by taking more water intake with sugar and salt.
Safari Tour
It is journey to observe and experience wildlife and nature in natural habitat using a vehicle. It is equipped with well-organized guide and route guideline. It may be one day activity or multi-day activity. Specialized safari parks provide a good opportunity to observe the wildlife maintaining in an artificial way. A long multi-day trip to observe different towns, observe culture, and enjoying local food. The purpose of tour is not to explore the town in detail, just rough observation of nature, weather condition, and culture will be enough.
Jeep Trail
It is unpaved road and designed for four-wheel drive vehicles. It is not possible to travel on these unpaved roads using conventional vehicles. Locals or guide will provide detail information about that jeep trail, so never do any mistake in selecting a type of vehicle to cover that part of the journey.
Off-road Trek
It includes unsurfaced roads, natural terrain like mud, rocks, or sand. A four-wheel drive vehicle or jeep is required to perform such type of activity. Motor-bike is more suitable type of conveyance for off-road treks. These treks provide an opportunity to explore natural beauty of valley including meadows, glaciers, streams, or lakes. For off-road trekking, navigational equipment such as compass, maps, a proper guide, and route guideline must be required.
Landslide
It includes several forms of ground movements such as mudflows, rockfalls, debris flows, and slop failures. In case of heavy rainfall or earthquake, the landslide may occur. A severe type of movements in rocks and soil slide the surface and causing the rapid movement in rocks to separate it from the surface. Heave rain results in creating mud and flow out debris in the form of mudflow or debris flow in fast moving streams. Due to its speed and size, it becomes dangerous and destroyed everything in front of it.
Avalanche
It is rapid and spontaneous flow of broken glacier or snow down a slope from a hill. It can be caused due to increased precipitation, weakening of snow structure, crack in glacier, earthquake, or external activity by humans or animals. The mass includes snow, rocks, and broken trees and it can dangerous for objects such as human, houses, animals, etc.
Wire Bridge
It is a simple structure to cross the river side, where proper bridge is not available. It is equipped with a small box for two to four persons, hanging on a steel wire. Structured moves over the cable to cross the river or deep ridges.
Suspension Bridge
It is a wooden bridge constructed over a river using suspended steel cables. Most of these types of bridges are only for pedestrians, but some of these type of bridges can be used to cross using single vehicle. Now these suspension bridges are constructed with steel infrastructure and able to transport heavy vehicles.
Rafting
It is an outdoor activity by using inflatable raft to navigate a river. It is normally performed on whitewater with different level of risk. It is only performed in certain sections of rivers, otherwise it is considered as dangerous. Life jacket must be worn before doing such activities in river.
Leave No Trace (LNT)
It is an ethical promoting activity to promote conservation of outdoors to avoid all of ecological damage due to wilderness recreation. Therefore, it is recommended to dispose of waste properly during all of the travel activities such as camping, campfire, etc. Try to minimize campfire, dispose of human and other waste properly, clean camp site properly, protect sites such as lakes, rivers, etc., respect wildlife by maintaining their natural environment, preserve historical sites, leave what you find there, avoid noises and loud voices, and respect other visitors.