Adventure is something that is very challenging for true nature lovers, but it would seem daunting to people who always live alone. Mountaineering or the sport of climbing mountains is simply one of the finest outdoor opportunities available to the lover of high places. Mountain climbing is all about challenge and perseverance, about putting hands and feet onto rocks and ice and snow and finally reaching a summit. There, high above the world of cities and civilization, the climber can pause and look across a natural world ruled by nature and her raw beauty.

Mountaineering, also called alpinism, is not only climbing mountains the hard way with an ice axe, crampons, cams, and rope, but it is also simply challenging and difficult hiking up steep rocky slopes, talus fields, and along airy ridges studded with gendarmes  in the high mountains. Lots of people who would never think about rock climbing and its perils enjoy climbing or hiking up mountains throughout the United States, finding their challenges on Colorado’s Fourteeners or 14,000-foot peaks, Washington’s Mt. Rainer, California’s Mt. Whitney, the 4,000-foot peaks of New York’s Adirondack Mountains, or Old Rag Mountain in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Farther afield are easily climbed peaks like Mt. Kosiusko, the highest point in Australia, and Mt. Kilimanjaro, the summit of Africa.

Mountain climbing is, like rock climbing, a risky activity and not to be taken lightly not matter how easy or benign your chosen peak might seem. Remember: Looks can be deceiving. The mountains are filled with danger and drama. Lightning can stab out of a clear sky. Thunderstorms quickly form and drench you with rain and sleet. Rockfall and avalanches sweep down mountain faces. Difficulties can slow you, forcing you to bivouac in the open. You or your climbing partner can have an accident, causing all kinds of complications. If you’re a novice and inexperienced in the ways of the mountains, then it’s wise to go with more experienced companions or a guide. You can learn from them what it takes to be safe in the mountains so you can return another day for a new adventure.

The mountains draw climbers who love the natural world and possess an adventurous spirit. To reach the summit of a mountain peak is not always easy, but it always seems worthwhile. It always seems worth the effort to stand atop a mighty peak and look across the world with the eyes of a soaring eagle. It’s at those precious mountain moments that you will remember Helen Keller’s admonition: “A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”