Hiking, Trekking, and Mountaineering: All You Need to Know

Many people may use mountaineering, trekking, and hiking synonymously. Although these terms refer to somewhat similar outdoor activities in a mountainous area, they are quite different. Hence, it’s crucial to learn the difference between the three before you plan a trip. Otherwise, you might find yourself with a group of people equipped with totally different skills and gears than you.

Read on if you want to learn more about these fun activities.

Hiking

Hiking refers to a long walk on trails. It’s also referred to as hillwalking. The difficulty and duration of a hike could vary from one trail to another. If you’re just a beginner, start with a trail that doesn’t have a lot of elevation and is easier to follow. Some people might be too ambitious to try a challenging trail on their first attempt, but they may underestimate the skills and stamina needed to complete the hike.

As a rule, there’s not much technical knowledge involved in hiking. All you need is good physical fitness and a sense of some basic navigation. Generally, you can hike all year round unless there’s a snowfall, in which case you’ll need to wear snow boots.

Trekking

Trekking, on the other hand, refers to a more challenging walk in the wild with difficult terrain. Trekking may take several days compared to hiking and involves night camping. It can be anywhere from 30 miles to 15,000 miles or more.

Mountaineering

Mountaineering may also range from a couple of hours to several weeks. However, mountaineering is quite different from trekking and hiking. It requires technical skills, terrain knowledge, better physical health, and, more importantly, the right equipment.

While you simply walk when you’re hiking or trekking, mountaineering requires you to climb mountains surpassing different terrains such as snow, cliffs, etc. Moreover, when you’re climbing over 4,000 meters, you need to be better acclimatized with the environment and train accordingly.

Some basic mountaineering equipment includes:

• Helmet
• Harness
• Ropes
• Ice screws
• Carabiners
• Crampons

Hiking, trekking, or mountaineering may lead to serious physical injuries such as back pain, knee ache, or muscle injuries.

If you’re struggling with such injuries, physiotherapists at 5 STAR CLINIC LTD can help you. Our trained experts at the pain relief clinic offer physiotherapy sessions to help you treat body pains without using any medications.

Our clinic also offers a wide range of other non-surgical pain relief treatments, including massage therapy, hypnotherapy, and acupuncture treatments.

Contact us today to learn more about our services.