Summit fever is the dangerous, single-minded determination to reach a summit despite mounting warning signs — bad weather, late timing, exhaustion, or deteriorating conditions — that should prompt a turnaround. A psychological trap rather than a physical condition, it has contributed to many mountaineering accidents and deaths. The antidote is disciplined decision-making, especially honoring a predetermined turnaround time.
Pressure breathing is a high-altitude breathing technique in which the climber forcefully exhales against slightly pursed lips, creating back-pressure in the lungs that helps keep the airways open and improves the transfer of oxygen into the blood. Used on strenuous, high-altitude ascents and paired with the rest step, pressure breathing can help maintain oxygen saturation, reduce breathlessness, and support performance and acclimatization where the thin air makes every breath count.
Supplemental oxygen is bottled oxygen, delivered via a regulator and mask, used by mountaineers at extreme altitude to offset the dangerously low oxygen of the thin air. Most associated with the highest peaks and the death zone above 8,000 meters, supplemental oxygen makes climbing safer and more feasible by raising the effective oxygen available, reducing the risk of altitude illness, frostbite, and exhaustion. Its use on the highest peaks is common but also debated on ethical and 'purist' grounds.
A snow bollard is an improvised snow anchor created by carving a large, teardrop- or horseshoe-shaped trench in the snow, leaving a mound around which the rope is run to anchor a rappel or belay. Requiring no hardware, the bollard relies entirely on the strength of the snow and its size and shape, making it a valuable tool when gear is scarce — but its security depends heavily on snow conditions and proper construction, so it must be built large and backed up where possible.
A high camp is a temporary camp established high on a mountain, above base camp, to stage a summit attempt or break a long ascent into manageable stages. Spartan and exposed compared to base camp, high camps shorten the final push to the summit and aid acclimatization, but expose climbers to greater cold, wind, and altitude. Big peaks may have several numbered high camps (Camp 1, Camp 2, etc.).
Base camp is the primary, semi-permanent camp established at the foot of a mountain or expedition objective, serving as the main hub for supplies, rest, acclimatization, and coordination. It is where climbers stage gear and food, recover between forays higher up, and from which they push to establish higher camps. On big peaks, base camp may be occupied for weeks.
The rest step is a mountaineering walking technique in which, with each step uphill, the climber pauses momentarily with their rear leg locked straight so their skeleton — not their muscles — supports their weight for a beat, giving the leg muscles a brief rest before the next step. Combined with rhythmic breathing, the rest step lets mountaineers maintain a slow, sustainable pace on long, steep ascents and at altitude, conserving energy and reducing fatigue.
A running belay is a technique used in simul-climbing where two roped climbers move at the same time while keeping at least one or more pieces of protection clipped to the rope between them, so that if either falls, the protection (rather than a belayer at a fixed stance) catches the fall. It allows fast, continuous movement over long, moderate terrain, but it's an advanced technique with serious risks, since a fall can pull the other climber.
Simul-climbing (simultaneous climbing) is a technique in which two roped climbers move at the same time, both climbing while connected by the rope with protection placed between them, rather than one climbing while the other belays from a stance. It greatly speeds travel on long, easier terrain like alpine ridges and moderate routes, but it's an advanced, higher-risk technique because a fall by either climber can pull the other off.
A via ferrata (Italian for 'iron path') is a protected climbing route equipped with fixed steel cables, rungs, ladders, and bridges, allowing people to travel exposed mountain terrain with the security of clipping into a continuous cable. Climbers use a specialized via ferrata set with two energy-absorbing lanyards. It bridges the gap between hiking and technical climbing.
