Who does not love mountains? They define landscapes, people risk their lives to climb them, and they can even make their weather. Mountains rise all over the world, including the oceans. International Mountain Climbing Day is celebrated on August 1 every year.
The adventurous day was established in honor of Bobby Matthews and his friend Josh Madigan, who successfully climbed the 46 high peaks of New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. These two young men climbed the final 46th peak (Whiteface Mountain) on August 1, 2015, and were formally inducted into the “Adirondack 46er Club” in May, 2016.
Most geologists classify a mountain as a landform that rises at least 1,000 feet (300 meters) or more above its surrounding area. A mountain range is a series or chain of mountains that are close together. Mountains often serve as geographic features that define the natural borders of countries. Their height can influence weather patterns, stalling storms that roll off the oceans and squeezing water from the clouds
On the occasion of National Mountain Climbing Day 2020, here’s a look at top 5 mountaineers in the world:
Bachendri Pal:
Bachendri Pal became Indian first woman mountaineer to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain peak. She accomplished it on May 23, 1984, just a day before her thirtieth birthday. At the time participation of women in sports was not a norm, since then she has inspired hundreds of other women to climb up the rungs.
Tenzing Norgay:
Tenzing Norgay GM OSN also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two individuals known to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which he accomplished with Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953.
Nirmal Purja:
A Nepali mountaineer and former soldier of Britain’s Special Boat Services, Purja created a new record by touching the world’s 14 highest mountains (all above 8000 m and also known as the ‘eight-thousanders’), in a record time of six months and six days. By doing so, he also broke the previous record of just under 8 years. Before this, the record was held by Jerzy Kukuczka, a Polish mountaineer, who took seven years, 11 months and 14 days in 1987 to reach the 14 summits.
David Lama:
David Lama was an Austrian sport climber and mountaineer. He won the European Championship in bouldering in 2007 and the European Championship in lead climbing in 2006. He is known for his first free ascent of the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre.
Lama along with two other elite mountaineers died in an avalanche in Banff National Park on April 16, 2019.
George Mallory:
George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest, in the early 1920s. Born in Cheshire, Mallory was introduced to rock climbing and mountaineering as a student at Winchester College.
During the 1924 expedition, Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, disappeared on the north-east ridge of Everest. The pair were last seen when they were about 800 vertical ft (245 m) from the summit. Mallory’s ultimate fate was unknown for 75 years until his body was discovered on 1 May 1999 by an expedition that had set out to search for the climbers’ remains
