What is mountaineering (photo)?

The article tells about what mountaineering is, what is characteristic of this sport, and in particular, mountaineering is considered industrial.

Sport

In our time, no one doubts the value of sports, as well as its usefulness. It contributes not only to physical health, but also strengthens the will and spirit of man. All developed civilized countries devote a lot of attention to various sports, providing all kinds of support and facilitating its development. If we consider the example of Russia, then the greatest importance to sports education of youth was given in times of the USSR. Then in each city or village there were several sections for every taste, and the Soviet team repeatedly took prizes in international competitions.

Our ancestors also understood the value of sports education of youth, and probably the most developed it was in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, where up to now some varieties of sports disciplines and the Olympics itself have come down.

There are many kinds of sports, ranging from relatively simple, designed to develop the mind (chess), and ending with very risky and dangerous, for example, mountaineering. So what is mountaineering, how did it originate and how does it happen? We will talk about this.

Definition

Mountaineering is called a kind of sport, the meaning of which is to conquer the peaks of the mountains. In addition, the sports component of it is to overcome various obstacles of a natural kind - gorges, decays, sheer cliffs and so on. All this is complicated, as a rule, by uneasy weather conditions and low temperature. So sometimes climbing is a very dangerous occupation. But everything depends, of course, on the complexity of the route.

During the sporting events, the key factors on which the assessments are based are: the height of the conquered peak, the complexity of the route, its length, time spent, and much more. So now we know what mountaineering is.

Occurrence

In different sources, you can meet different dates, when this sports discipline was formed. But still most often it is associated with the conquest of the highest point of the Alps, Mount Mont Blanc. Did this doctor Michelle Packard and his guide Jacques Balma in 1786. Later they installed a monument, which is located in the world center of mountaineering - Chamonix. We continue to answer the question about what mountaineering is. Now let's take a closer look at the techniques and some of its varieties.

Equipment

As we already know, the essence of mountaineering is in overcoming various natural obstacles in the mountains, and it's not just rocks. Such can be very fast and deep rivers, glaciers, snow and so on. All this inevitably entails a great danger for the athletes, and for safety it is always necessary to adhere to the developed technology based on the experience of climbers of past generations. So first of all mountaineering is a strict adherence to safety instructions. Now let us consider the peculiarities of overcoming certain obstacles.

Rocks

The technique of overcoming these obstacles depends heavily on their steepness. Usually overcome them in conjunction with other climbers. The meaning lies in the fact that as you climb on the cliffs, companions in a bundle insure each other. Since mountaineering is a sport that is characterized by increased danger, apart from insuring in climbing steep or steep mountains, there is a rule of so-called three points: three of the four limbs of a person must necessarily have a fulcrum. In this case, in case of an abnormal situation or the loss of one of the supports, the athlete is much easier to maintain his balance.

If the rocks are not very steep, simultaneous lifting of all ligament participants is allowed. In this case, the one who goes first, chooses the route so that when one of the climbers falls, the other one can hold it by laying ropes on the ledges of the rocks.

When the rocks are steep or very steep, a system of insurance is used from metal stakes, which are hammered into the crevices by a hammer. If there are sharp stones on the site that can cut a rope in case of a climber's fall, then use a system of double, spare ropes.

If you need to climb a steep rock, on which there are cornices, then for this special rope ladders are used.

We have analyzed what mountaineering is, the definition of this word and one of the ways that is used for lifting. Now consider the rest.

Ice

In the mountains, especially the high-altitude parts of them, there are often glaciers and icefalls that climbers need to overcome. For this, "cats", ice axes, rope ladders and handrails and so on are used.

When the glacier passes, there is always a danger of falling into a crack, therefore they move only along the lines, constantly insuring each other. If the ice is very steep, then use "cats" with ice axes, organizing intermediate points of insurance athletes.

Snow

With snow, everything is somewhat simpler. Depending on his condition, snowshoes or skis are used. On insurance also do not forget, because there is always the risk of getting into a snowy crevice.

Style

At the moment there are two main styles of climbing - Alpine and Himalayan. The first is suitable for not very high mountains, it is characterized by the fact that the climb is carried out immediately with all the equipment and does not imply return without good reasons.

And the Himalayan is used most often for the conquest of very high mountains, the so-called eight-thousand-meter mountains. The meaning of it is that at first the route, the points of insurance are gradually laid, the camps are equipped with fuel, oxygen, food. Most of all, this is similar to the "siege" of the mountain, and it takes sometimes more than one month, but it is through such methods that the highest mountains were conquered.

What is industrial climbing?

This type of mountaineering is used to perform high-altitude works when erecting structures.

The working space of such a climber is equipped with means of lifting and insurance against falling from a height. Such a technology is used for construction or repair work in places where scaffolding, ladders, hoists and other devices can not be used. For example, when working on skyscrapers. Now we know what industrial climbing is. The photo below shows an example of such work.

The scope of such mountaineering is very diverse - it is installation, construction, laying of high-rise cables between buildings, repair and simply maintenance of some technological structures or high-rise objects. For example, washing windows, cleaning the cornices from ice, snow, painting towers and stuff.

Such activities, even if insurance is observed, is still very dangerous, and therefore is paid fairly well, and employees enjoy various benefits. But anyone who wants to become such an alpinist can not, for this it is necessary to finish special training courses and get professional training.

For the first time this type of mountaineering appeared in the early 30s of the last century.

Now we know what mountaineering is, and what kinds of mountaineering exist. This sport is currently one of the most popular among extreme sports.