Why climbing

Freelance writer and blogger Millie Kidson can usually be found writing about books and wine. She is a huge fan of exercise and takes to the climbing wall to increase her strength. Posted by Millie Kidson on 16 Sep About the author.

Millie Kidson Freelance writer and blogger Millie Kidson can usually be found writing about books and wine. All posts I find I recycle more, use less and reuse items to help in any way possible. If you have negative thoughts about climbing a mountain it is probably your one-way ticket to failure. If you are positive, even if the climb is impossible at the moment, you will continue to try.

You can do more than you think you can and you just have to trust yourself, believe in yourself and take it one bit at a time, before you know it you will be standing on the peak. A grueling six hours of vertical in the heat and you stop for water break. It will probably be the best water you have ever tasted in your life.

We overlook the small things in life that we take for granted, like water. When you reach the peak but forgot to bring your extra coat you will realize how cold the wind can make you and how important the little things are when they are not there.

We learn to become more prepared and to respect comfortable things, like not sleeping on hard rocks in the cold for instance. If you have ever spent time in the mountains you should know that the weather changes in a heartbeat so being prepared is key.

Every mountain is different so much of the time you also have to change your route. There is never just one way up a mountain, sometimes the route is many other ways or something is blocking your way. Mountains will teach you that things are always changing and you just need to find another tactic to over come the change. I always find that every mountain I have climbed has taught me at least one important lesson.

One rainy climb I learnt that cameras are not waterproof! Another climb taught me to be better prepared at finding the route more research etc. The chances of frostbite are also dramatically increased at such altitude as the heart works harder to pump blood around the body delivering oxygen.

The life-giving organs are first priority; digits are last. The vast majority of climbers ascending Everest use tanks of oxygen to reduce the effects of the extreme altitude. However, bottled oxygen has its own drawbacks and risks. Lastly, oxygen units are notoriously unreliable, as Everest guide Adrian Ballinger discovered in on summit day when his team experienced a systematic failure of their breathing systems.

The glowing mass of tents forms Everest Base Camp, which completely assembles each spring amidst the moving glacial ice and rubble and disassembles at the end of the season. Each tent platform is painstakingly carved out of the ice by the Sherpas before the foreigners arrive, but once complete, it's a veritable city with international chefs prepping sushi, giant party tents with glowing TV screens and libraries, and blanketed wi-fi networks.

It was a bustling base camp scene this season, until the unexpected and tragic avalanche hit. Although 17 different routes have been pioneered to the summit of Everest, almost everyone climbs it via one of two routes. Although experienced mountaineers say the overall difficulty of the two routes is comparable, the challenges are different.

Despite the risks, Everest draws hundreds of mountaineers from around the world to its slopes each year. In the Nepal Ministry of Tourism issued individual climbing permits to foreign climbers, and reports that of them summited, along with high-altitude workers. On the North side of the mountain, meanwhile, respected Everest chronicler Alan Arnette estimates that an additional people reached the summited.

For local logistics companies and the Government of Nepal, Everest is big business. The industry is built on the backs of a small cadre of professional Nepalese guides who work together each spring to prepare the route with fixed ropes and ladders, stock each camp with essentials like tents, stoves, bottled oxygen, and food, and then patiently coach their foreign guests up to the summit. In recent years, thanks to educational opportunities like the Khumbu Climbing Center , Nepalese guides have begun to receive training and certifications to international standards.

The best weather for reaching the top of Everest typically arrives in the second half of May, but preparations for a successful ascent begin months beforehand. Most teams assemble in Kathmandu in late March to begin acclimatization. With over climbing gyms in the US alone, the sport is now more accessible than ever before, and looks set to make its Olympic debut at Tokyo Nothing compares to breaking down walls of the mind and body.

And for climbers, their passion facilitates this sense of accomplishment, personal growth and euphoria. It might seem like a pipedream right now. Maybe you go to the gym already, and you can adapt your workout to help you climb more freely.

And be sure to try your hand at different types of climbing too.