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Difference between Alpine Climbing and Mountaineering?

Rwwon ru · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 35

Boy, this thread would of been nice for my life insurance interview. The company was poorly defining some of these terms and applying an inaccurate risk assessment on me. Great discussion

Beean · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 0

There was a great post on Summitpost about this, where IIRC the quote was

"Mountaineering is cleverly finding the easiest way up a mountain. Alpine climbing is cleverly finding the hardest."

BigFeet · · Texas · Joined May 2014 · Points: 385

"Mountaineering is cleverly finding the easiest way up a mountain. Alpine climbing is cleverly finding the hardest."

^^^ This, but could be defined further, as at least, what I understand the terms to mean.

Mountaineering is cleverly finding the easiest way up and/or through the mountains - navigation, etc. Where apline climbing had a direct goal of ascent of a particular mountain, and is just one aspect of combined mountaineering knowledge/skill.

Mountaineering seems to me to mean more exploratory and distance of travel.

I can't remember which one has the gators, though?

I Man · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 0
Kris Holub wrote: The trade routes on Everest are certainly mountaineering,
The recent Messner article...

livemint.com/Leisure/bkivHA…

...would suggest that 'most' of the standard routes on the 8000m peaks are now considered tourism, not mountaineering. I would venture to guess that Everest is at the top of that list. Along with some other surprising ones. But I digress...purposely of course.

That was a great explanation, Kris. I think the part about identifying the crux is at the heart of it. Who cares though, both alpine climbing and mountaineering are great fun!
MTN MIA · · Vail · Joined May 2006 · Points: 405

My 2c

Mountaineering is the art of traveling in the mountains. It may or may not include ascending a mountain (Glacier travel for example)

Alpine climbing, as the word states, is the art of climbing in an alpine environment

So I ditto the above sentiment that alpine climbing is a subset of mountaineering

Ray Pinpillage · · West Egg · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 180
I Man wrote: The recent Messner article...
To sum up any past and future Messner writings...anything Messner did was great and everyone else is a tourist. Same shit, different century.
Jim T · · Colorado · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 469

I always thought of it like:

Mountaineering is extreme hiking/backpacking.
Alpine is extreme Rock climbing.

But I have never done alpine or mountaineering, so this might be off.

Donald · · Westminster, CO · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 0

Speaking striclty, Mountaineering is the act of the traveling in the mountains which can include hiking, navigation, even camping techniques and also...climbing. Alpine climbing is climbing done in the mountains or alpine. So technically alpine climbing is an aspcet of mountaineering. But the words are not mutually exclusive. All alpine climbing would be mountaineering but all mountaineering is not necessarily alpine climbing. The common interchangeable use of the words comes because realistically it becomes difficult to do an alpine climb without engaging in mountaineering. And most times the "climb" is the objective of the mountaineering outing in the first place.

Skeletor 69 · · MT · Joined May 2016 · Points: 120

Kris by and large your definition was one of the most clear and succinct that I have come across, so thank you for that. Although this is definitely a question of semantics by this point...take a route like the Cassin Ridge on Denali. Pretty much everyone would safely call that alpine climbing; with technical cruxes up to grade 4 ice and moderate rock which must be done in clunky mountain boots. However almost anyone I know who has done the route always says that the crux is the last 1000 meters of snow prodding to the top, so by your definition then since the "crux" of the route is basically just a whole bunch of snow walking at altitude, things that are largely associated with mountaineering.... would the Cassin Ridge be a mountaineering objective? I don't mean to "stir the pot"... but I'm just curious.  

Arthur Eng · · NM · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 5
Owen Silitch wrote:

Kris by and large your definition was one of the most clear and succinct that I have come across, so thank you for that. Although this is definitely a question of semantics by this point...take a route like the Cassin Ridge on Denali. Pretty much everyone would safely call that alpine climbing; with technical cruxes up to grade 4 ice and moderate rock which must be done in clunky mountain boots. However almost anyone I know who has done the route always says that the crux is the last 1000 meters of snow prodding to the top, so by your definition then since the "crux" of the route is basically just a whole bunch of snow walking at altitude, things that are largely associated with mountaineering.... would the Cassin Ridge be a mountaineering objective? I don't mean to "stir the pot"... but I'm just curious.  

Who has told you that the crux of the Cassin is the last 1000 meters? Sure, the third rock band is a mental crux. But, the third rock band is definitely not the technical crux. That 5.8 mixed pitch is definitely the crux of the climb. Otherwise, the Japanese Colouir was pretty cruiser. And the first and second rock bands are more or less just a test of route finding ability. 

Skeletor 69 · · MT · Joined May 2016 · Points: 120

I was referring to the long snow slog at altitude after having already done all of the technical cruxes

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Mountaineering
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