Mountain Climbing

Learn here about mountaineering or the sport of climbing mountains, one of the finest outdoor opportunities for the lover of high places. Mountain climbing is about challenge and perseverance, about putting hands and feet onto rocks and ice and snow and finally reaching a summit.

A 2006 study shows that climbing mountains is hazardous to your brain, with the lack of oxygen causing brain damage and loss of brain cells.

The world’s 14 highest mountains are an exclusive club of peaks whose summits tower more than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) above sea level.The Eight Thousanders all lie in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges in central Asia.

Learn interesting facts about Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan and one of the world's most beautiful and famous mountains, and how to climb Fuji-san.

Learn all about Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan, the world's highest unclimbed mountain.

Learn all about Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe and the Alps, and a popular mountain for climbers.

Learn all about about the Matterhorn and climbing the Matterhorn, Switzerland's most famous mountain.

Learn here about Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico and the highest volcano in North America.

All about Iztaccihuatl, the third highest mountain in Mexico, the seventh highest in North America, and a popular high-altitude climb.

A route description and photograph of the Normal Route, the usual rock climbing route used to climb to the summit of Stetind, Norway's National Monument.

Pilot Rock, the highest peak in Petrified Forest National Park, is reached by a seven-mile hike across the Painted Desert. Get a route description and hiking tips to plan your climb up Pilot Rock.

Pilot Rock is the highest mountain in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Check out lots of facts about this volcanic peak in one of the world's premier fossil areas.

A complete list of New Hampshire's 48 4,000-foot-high mountains. New Hampshire, with the highest peak in New England, has 48 mountains that rise above 4,000 feet. Check out this complete list of all the Four-Thousanders, their elevations, and their mountain ranges.

California, with the highest peak in the contiguous US, offers 13 Fourteeners or peaks above 14,000 feet for climbers. Check out this complete list of all the Fourteeners, their elevations and mountain ranges, and 10 sub-peaks.

Learn all about avalanche safety and precautions at the National Snow and Ice Data Center's website.

The Second Seven Summits are the second highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Some of the mountains like K2 and Mount Tyree are very difficult and rarely climbed. As of 2010, no one has climbed the Second Seven Summits. Who will be first?

Learn all about Mount Kenya, the second highest mountain in Africa and the highest mountain in Kenya. Mount Kenya is popular with rock climbers and mountaineers since it offers a greater challenge than Kilimanjaro.

Learn all about Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador and one of the highest volcanos in the world. Chimborazo is a popular mountain for climbers with excellent snow and ice routes up its glaciated flanks.

Climbers, like birds of prey, like high places. Cliffs, crags, and mountains provide important wildlife habitat, so many climbing areas have seasonal closures to protect nesting birds and other animals. Find out more about wildlife closures at American climbing areas and where to find a list of closed areas.

Learn interesting climbing history and geographic facts about Denali, also called Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America, the United States, and Alaska, and one of the Seven Summits.

Yoga Cave, a small cave system in England's Peak District, offers an excellent caving adventure for novice cavers. The cave is relatively easy to explore and has a notorious section called The Corpse Crawl where the caver has to crawl through a passageway half-filled with water.

Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is a popular peak for lots of climbers. Learn basic information to climb Kilimanjaro, including acclimatization, finding an outfitter, hiring anguides and porters, and why it's such a strenuous climb.

Explore the Medieval Chamber, a fabulous canyoneering adventure with a couple big rappels, some scrambling, and great hiking through a sandstone canyon in the red rock country east of Moab, Utah.

Learn lots of interesting facts about Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Borneo and a refuge for exotic plants and orangutans.

Learn all about Snowdon, the most climbed mountain in Great Britain as well as its most famous peak. Find out lots of interesting facts about Snowdon and how to climb its ridges and cliffs.

Mount Foraker, also called Sultana, is Alaska's third highest mountain and appears from a distance to be a twin to Denali. Find out lots of interesting facts about Mount Foraker, including it's discovery, different names, first ascent, and other routes up its steep snowy faces and ridges.

Mount Shasta towers majestically above northern California. This massive stratovolcano, one of California's Fourteeners, has a long colorful history and is a popular mountain for climbers. Find out lots of interesting facts and Mount Shasta's geology, volcanism, history, ascents, and how to climb it.

Mount Sneffels in the San Juan Range in southwestern Colorado is one of the state's most recognizable and beautiful mountains. Sneffels, a Fourteener or 14,000-foot peak, boasts an interesting climbing history. Read all about Mount Sneffels and four of the best routes up it.

The Grand Teton, the second highest mountain in Wyoming, is one of America's most famous mountains with over 85 climbing routes and variations to its rocky 13,775-foot summit. Learn lots of interesting facts about the Grand Teton, including its name, geology, historic ascents, the peak's two most popular routes, and the controversy over its...

Grand Teton National Park is America's premier area for alpine rock climbing, mountaineering, and ice and snow climbing. Climbers come to test themselves on soaring rocky ridges, steep icy couloirs, and steep rock faces. While the Tetons offers thousands of climbing routes, most climbers come to ascend the Grand Teton, its highest peak and one...

Grand Teton National Park with its majestic Teton Range is one of America's premier alpine climbing areas. Plan your next climbing trip to the Tetons with lots of useful trip planning information, including camping, finding a guide, climbing guidebooks, climbing restrictions and permits, and the best climbing seasons.

Mount Vinson in the Ellsworth Mountains is the highest mountain in Antarctica and one of the Seven Summits, the highest points on the Seven Continents. Discover lots of interesting facts about Mount Vinson, including its discovery in 1957, first ascent by Americans in 1966, and how to climb Mount Vinson now.

Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, stretches along the border of Nepal and Tibet/China in southern Asia. Find out lots of interesting facts about Mount Everest, including its first ascent, the usual climbing routes, and strange feats on the roof of the world.