Every year thousands of people trek up the different mountain ranges of the world across the globe in a bid to discover the hidden mysteries that these vast terrains have in offer. If you are also one of those who love to go for high altitude treks then it’s high time to know these facts in case don’t.
Here are some of these facts that you may not know:
7 Cool Facts of Trekking in the Mountains
- Ideal Height Gain per Day is 1000 Feet
- 95% of the Earthquakes occur in the Mountains
- 80% People Requires Oxygen Cylinders beyond 20000 Feet
- Only 5 out of 1000 People Go for Solo Treks
- 1% People Abort Trekking Midway due to Snow Blindness
- 90% of Non-Technical Summits are Trekkable
- 5 out of 100 People get Affected by AMS beyond 15,000 feet
In order to get acclimatized to the local weather properly, the average height gain for high altitude treks should not be more than 1000 feet. This is because the air in the atmosphere gets thinner as we move up, so if you try to climb too much in one day, it can have an adverse effect on the body. It can also lead to a very early onset of mountain sickness.
This is mainly because of the fact that most of the mountain ranges of the world are situated near the edge of plate boundaries. For example, the Himalayas that is the highest mountain range in the world lies near the plate boundaries of the Indian and the Eurasian plate. As the two plates come closer, they collide causing severe earthquakes. This holds true for other mountain ranges of the world too.
As mentioned above, the air gets thinner as we go higher up leading to the scarcity of Oxygen in the upper layers of the atmosphere. The O2 levels beyond 20,000 feet is fairly low so it is always recommended to carry your own Oxygen cylinders for trekking to the higher reaches of a mountain.
Solo treks are usually not recommended unless you an expert in this field. Considering the innumerable dangers that are associated with the mountains, it is always best to trek in groups. In case of an emergency, you will at least have someone by your side who call for rescue.
Snow Blindness is a very common mountain ailment that is caused due to the overexposure of the eyes to UV rays. As snow is a very good reflector, it can reflect off the sunlight falling on it very effectively in different directions. This is why it is always recommended to carry a pair of sunglasses to prevent these harmful rays from affecting the eyes.
Yes! Around 90% non-technical summits are trekkable without having much prior knowledge or skills of trekking. There are many summits in the world that you can climb to conquer your fears. Some of the most popular non-technical peaks across the world are Mt Fuji, Japan; Mt Rainier, USA; Mont Blanc, France and Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
AMS or Acute Mountain Sickness is a condition that causes severe headache, nausea, and dizziness. This is usually caused due to the fall of air pressure and low O2 levels in high altitude. Proper acclimatization and slow ascend can prevent this ailment from hitting you in the middle of your trek.
Facts and Features of Trekking in the Mountains (Infographic)
