I thought a mountaineer was one who lived in the mountains, supporting himself by trapping or however else he could eke out a living. I thought mountaineers lived in log cabins and wore fur coats and had long beards, and were rather maladjusted socially. Oh well, guess all good things have to come to an end.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), July 30, 2001

Answers

Huh....I think that you are thinking of Grizzly Adams, man. Mountaineering has a long rich history. The definition has always been mountaineering-the act of being on a mountain, just like canyoneering or orienteering. You my friend are thinking of mountain men. Which also has a long history, like the Hudson Bay Co. Before you jump into assumptions you should check your references. If you piss off a mountaineer you may find an ice axe in your privates. Later

-- Dingo (david_brendgard@hotmail.com), July 31, 2001.

Yikes!

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), July 31, 2001.

A mountaineer is to me someone who mountaineers, which happens to be the act of summitting large mountains. Now, there happens to be quite a bit that goes into the definition actually. One cannot, for instance, ride their bike up, as this is the bike doing the mountaineering work even if it is the human muscle propelling it. One also may not, for another instance, run on a treadmill, store the energy in batteries, and then use those batteries to drive a car up the mountain for, again it is the car doing the mountaineering even if it is run off of the power of the human driving it. What must take place is the human using his own power AND mountaineering skill (i.e. the ability to guide himself up the mountain as swiftly and efficiently as possible) to gain the summit. In other words, mountaineering is more or less the act of attempting to gain the summit of a mountain using power AND brains. I must find a route with my brain, I must make sure the route is safe enough to guide me without the aided skill of a machine and whatnot, and I must use my body to propel myself. Done.

-- peas and carrots, yo (climbhoser@yahoo.com), July 31, 2001.