#101 The Different Mountain Sports

There are many ways to travel through the mountains, depending on whether you want to observe them, climb them or push your limits. Here is an overview of the most widely practised disciplines, with no claim to being exhaustive. Hiking is the foundation discipline of all mountain sports. Accessible from day one, it requires nothing more than a pair of suitable shoes and a trail. It can be practised as a day trip or over several days (trekking), with or without load carrying depending on the difficulty and the level of commitment. As simple as it may seem, hiking holds essential subtleties — pack management, walking technique, setting up a bivouac — that every serious practitioner must master. Mountain running (trail, ultratrail, skyrunning, vertical kilometre) consists of covering mountain routes at a run. Trail (under 80 km) and ultratrail (over 80 km) have seen significant growth since the 2010s. The discipline is not limited to organised races: self-supported challenges, notably through FKT (Fastest Known Time) records, are an expression of it in their own right. See the page #101 - Getting Started in Trail-Running. Fastpacking combines running and trekking. The goal is to cover long distances over several days with gear stripped down to the absolute minimum, bivouac included. This discipline assumes solid hiking experience in order to make sound gear choices and know how to handle the unexpected. See #101 - What Gear for Fastpacking?. Climbing and bouldering refer to ascending rock faces using the rock's natural holds, indoors or outdoors. Bouldering is practised without a rope on routes low enough to the ground, protected by crash pads. Climbing requires a rope and a belayer. It can be sport climbing (fixed protection in place) or traditional climbing (protection placed by the rope team). Sub-disciplines exist: drytooling (climbing rock with ice axes and crampons) and ice climbing (climbing ice with ice axes and crampons). See #201 - Climbing. Mountaineering combines hiking and climbing: the approach is done on foot, then the progression alternates between rock, ice or mixed terrain depending on the route. A route can take several days. The commitment — and therefore the risk — is noticeably higher than in classic climbing, as rescue options shrink as the difficulty increases. See #203 - Advanced Mountaineering. Snow sports bring together the ski disciplines: alpine skiing (mechanised ascent, descent on groomed terrain), off-piste skiing (mechanised ascent, descent on wild terrain) and ski touring (ascent and descent on wild terrain without ski lifts). Snowboarding and its touring equivalent — the splitboard — let you ride the same terrain. See #202 - Snow and Ice. Mountain biking (MTB, gravel) lets you cover routes in natural environments. Fitted with carrying bags, the bike becomes the tool of bikepacking, enabling self-supported traverses over several days. An effective alternative for reducing motor vehicle use on approaches. See #301 - Bikepacking. Adventure racing links several disciplines over a long course, where navigation skills are just as important as physical fitness. Among the most demanding practices, along with mountaineering.