Mount Sanford (Alaska)

Elevation 16,237 ft (4,949 m)
Location Alaska, USA
Range Wrangell Mountains
Prominence 7,637 ft (2,328 m)
Coordinates [show location on an interactive map] 62°12′50″N, 144°7′44″W
Topo map USGS Gulkana A-1
Type Shield volcano
Age of rock Holocene
Last eruption 320,000 bp
First ascent July 21, 1938 by Terris Moore and Bradford Washburn
Easiest route Sheep Glacier (North Ramp) Route, Alaska Grade 2

Mount Sanford is a shield volcano in the Wrangell Volcanic Field, in eastern Alaska near the Copper River. It is the third highest volcano in the United States behind Mount Bona and Mount Blackburn. The south face of the volcano, at the head of the Sanford Glacier, rises 8,000 ft in one mile (2,400 m in 1,600 m) resulting in one of the steepest gradients in North America.


Geology

Mount Sanford is mainly composed of andesite, and is an ancient peak, being mostly of Pleistocene age, although some of the upper parts of the mountain may be of Holocene age. The mountain first began developing 900,000 years ago, when it began growing on top of three smaller shield volcanoes that had coalesced. Two notable events in the mountain's history include a large lava flow which traveled some 18 km to the north east of the peak, and a flow erupted from a rift zone on the flank of the volcano some 320,000 years ago, which was basaltic in nature, marking the most recent dated activity of the volcano. The flow was dated using radiometric methods. History

The mountain was named in 1885 by Lt. Henry T. Allen of the U.S. Army after the Sanford family (Allen was a descendant of Reuben Sanford).

Mount Sanford was first climbed on July 21, 1938 by noted mountaineers Terris Moore and Bradford Washburn, via the still standard North Ramp route up the Sheep Glacier. This route "offers little technical difficulty" and "is a glacier hike all the way to the summit"[1] but is still a serious mountaineering challenge (Alaska Grade 2) due to the altitude and latitude of the peak. The base of the route is usually accessed by air, but landing near the mountain is not straightforward.

On March 12, 1948, Northwest Airlines Flight 4422 crashed into Mount Sanford. All 24 passengers and 6 crew members were killed. The wreckage was quickly covered by snow and was not found again until 1999.

The first solo ascent of Sanford was achieved on September 19, 1968, by famed Japanese mountaineer Naomi Uemura, who later died just after making the first solo winter ascent of Mount McKinley.

Mount Foraker

Mount Foraker is a 17,400 feet (5,300 m) tall mountain in the central Alaska Range, in Denali National Park, 14 miles (23km) southwest of Mount McKinley. It is the second highest peak in the Alaska Range, and the fourth highest peak[1] in the United States. It rises almost directly above the standard base camp for Mount McKinley, on a fork of the Kahiltna Glacier.

The mountain was named in 1899 by Lt. J.S. Herron, USA, for Joseph B. Foraker, U.S. Senator from Ohio. Its North Peak was first climbed on August 6, 1934, and its higher South Peak was climbed four days later on August 10, by C.S. Houston, T.G. Brown, and Chychele Waterston.

This peak along with Mount McKinley was called "Bolshaya Gora", or "big mountain", by the Russians. The Tanaina Indians of the Susitna River valley and Tanana Indians to the north are reported to have had the same name (Denali) for Mt. Foraker as they had for Mount McKinley, and it appears as if the names were not applied to individual peaks but instead to the Mount McKinley massif. The Tanana Indians in the Lake Minchumina area, however, had a broadside view of the mountains and thus gave dinstinctive names to each. According to Rev. Hudson Stuck, these Indians had two names for Mount Foraker; "Sultana" meaning "the woman" and "Menlale" meaning "Denali's wife", Denali being Mount McKinley.

Subpeaks and nearby Mount McKinley

Besides the North Summit mentioned above, other less significant features on the massif which are sometimes included as separate peaks are:

* South Buttress, 15,885 feet (4,842 m); mean prominence = 335 feet (102 m)
* East Buttress high point, 14,730 feet (4,490 m); mean prominence = 380 feet (116 m)
* East Buttress, most topographically prominent point, 14,650 feet (4,465 m); mean prominence = 600 feet (183 m)
* Browne Tower, 14,530 feet (4,429 m); mean prominence = 75 feet (23 m)

None of these peaks is usually regarded as worthwhile objectives in their own right; however they often appear on lists of the highest peaks of the United States.

Nearby important peaks include:

* Mount Foraker
* Mount Hunter
* Mount Huntington
* Mount Dickey
* The Moose's Tooth

(Mount McKinley) Weather station

The Japan Alpine Club installed a meteorological station on a ridge near the summit of Denali at an altitude of 5710 m in 1990. In 1998, this weather station was donated to the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In June of 2002, a weather station was placed at the 19,000-foot level. This weather station was designed to transmit data in real-time for use by the climbing public and the science community. Since its establishment, annual upgrades to the equipment have been performed with instrumentation custom built for the extreme weather and altitude conditions. This weather station is one of only two weather stations in the world located above 18,000 feet.

Use of Denali and McKinley

Mount McKinley is also commonly known as Denali, which means "the great one" in the Athabaskan language, and which is also the name currently recognized by the State of Alaska. In 1896 the mountain was officially named Mount McKinley, after the former Governor of Ohio and future U.S. President William McKinley. When Denali National Park and Preserve was established by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, December 2, 1980, the Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain back to Denali. However, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names maintains McKinley, which helps visitors differentiate between the mountain and Denali National Park, where the mountain is located. Alaskans tend to use "Denali" and rely on context to distinguish between the park and the mountain.

(Mount McKinley) Timeline

* 1896-1902 Surveys by Robert Muldrow, George Eldridge, Alfred Brooks.
* 1903. First attempt, by Judge James Wickersham.
* 1906. Frederick Cook falsely claims the first ascent of McKinley.
* 1910. The Sourdoughs ascend the North Summit.
* 1912. The Parker-Browne attempt almost reaches the South Summit.
Mt. McKinley in July 2006
Mt. McKinley in July 2006
* 1913. First ascent by Hudson Stuck, Walter Harper, Harry Karstens, Robert Tatum.
* 1932. Second ascent, by Alfred Linley, Harry Liek, Grant Pearson, Erling Strom. (Both peaks were climbed.)
* 1947. Barbara Washburn becomes the first woman to reach the summit as her husband Bradford Washburn becomes the first to summit twice.
* 1951. First ascent of the West Buttress Route, led by Bradford Washburn.
* 1954. First ascent of the very long South Buttress Route.
* 1959. First ascent of the West Rib, now a popular, mildly technical route to the summit.
* 1961. First ascent of the Cassin Ridge, the best-known technical route on the mountain. This was a major landmark in Alaskan climbing.
* 1963. Two teams make first ascents of two different routes on the Wickersham Wall.
* 1967. First winter ascent, via the West Buttress, by Dave Johnston, Art Davidson, and Ray Genet.
* 1967. Seven members of Joe Wilcox's twelve-man expedition perish in a storm near the summit. Up to this time, this was the third worst disaster in mountaineering history in terms of lives lost.
* 1970. First solo ascent by Naomi Uemura.
* 1984. Uemura returns to make the first winter solo ascent, but dies after summitting. Tono Križo, František Korl and Blažej Adam from the Slovak Mountaineering Association climb a very direct route to the summit, now known as the Slovak Route, on the south face of the mountain, to the right of the Cassin Ridge.
* 1988. First solo winter ascent with safe return, by Vern Tejas.
* 1990. Alaskan Norma Jean Saunders became the first woman to officially document a solo ascent of Mount McKinley. She climbed the West Buttress.

(Mount McKinley) Climbing history

The first recorded attempt to climb Mount McKinley was by Judge James Wickersham in 1903, via the Peters Glacier and the North Face, now known as the Wickersham Wall. This route has tremendous avalanche danger and was not successfully climbed until 1963.

Famed explorer Dr. Frederick Cook claimed the first ascent of the mountain in 1906. His claim was regarded with some suspicion from the start, but was also widely believed. It was later proved fraudulent, with some crucial evidence provided by Bradford Washburn when he was sketched on a lower peak.

In 1910, four locals (Tom Lloyd, Peter Anderson, Billy Taylor, and Charles McGonagall), known as the Sourdough expedition, attempted McKinley, despite a complete lack of climbing experience. They spent approximately three months on the mountain. However, their purported summit day was impressive: carrying a bag of doughnuts, a thermos of cocoa each and a 14-foot (4.2 m) spruce pole, two of them reached the North Summit, lower of the two, and erected the pole near the top. According to them, they took a total of 18 hours — a record that has yet to be breached (as of 2006). No one believed their success (partly due to false claims that they had climbed both summits) until the true first ascent, in 1913.

In 1912, the Parker-Browne expedition nearly reached the summit, turning back within just a few hundred yards of it due to harsh weather. In fact, that probably saved their lives, as a powerful earthquake shattered the glacier they ascended hours after they safely left it.

The first ascent of the main summit of McKinley came on June 7, 1913 by a party led by Hudson Stuck. The first man to reach the summit was Walter Harper, an Alaska Native. Harry Karstens and Robert Tatum also made the summit. Tatum later commented, "The view from the top of Mount McKinley is like looking out the windows of Heaven!" They ascended the Muldrow Glacier route pioneered by the earlier expeditions, which is still often climbed today. Stuck confirmed, via binoculars, the presence of a large pole near the North Summit; this report confirmed the Sourdough ascent, and today it is widely believed that the Sourdoughs did succeed on the North Summit. However, the pole was never seen before or since, so there is still some doubt. Stuck also discovered that the Parker-Browne party were only about 200 feet (61 m) of elevation short of the true summit when they turned back.


The mountain is regularly climbed today, with just over 50% of the expeditions successful, although it is still a dangerous undertaking. By 2003, the mountain had claimed the lives of nearly 100 mountaineers. The vast majority of climbers use the West Buttress Route, pioneered in 1951 by Bradford Washburn, after an extensive aerial photographic analysis of the mountain. Climbers typically take two to four weeks to ascend the mountain.

Layout of the McKinley

Mount McKinley has two significant summits: the South Summit is the higher one, while the North Summit has an elevation of 19,470 feet (5,934 m) and a prominence of approximately 1,320 feet (402 m). The North Summit is sometimes counted as a separate peak (see e.g., the List of United States fourteeners) and sometimes not; it is rarely climbed, except by those doing routes on the north side of the massif.

Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain. The Peters Glacier lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the Muldrow Glacier falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the Traleika Glacier. The Ruth Glacier lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the Kahiltna Glacier leads up to the southwest side of the mountain.

(Mount McKinley ) Notable features

Mount McKinley has a larger bulk and rise than Mount Everest. Even though the summit of Everest is about 9,000 feet (2,700 m) higher as measured from sea level, its base sits on the Tibetan Plateau at about 17,000 feet (5,200 m), giving it a real vertical rise of little more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m). The base of Mount McKinley is roughly a 2,000-foot plateau, giving it an actual rise of 18,000 feet (5,500 m).

The mountain is also characterized by extremely cold weather. A thermometer left exposed at an elevation of 15,000 feet on Mount McKinley over 19 years recorded a temperature of −100°F (−73.3°C) at some point during its exposure[citation needed]. There is also an unusually severe risk of altitude illness for climbers, due to not only its high elevation but also its high latitude. At the equator, a mountain as high as Mount McKinley would have 47% as much oxygen available on its summit as there is at sea level, but because of its latitude, the pressure on the summit of McKinley is even lower.

Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska is the highest mountain peak in North America, at a height of approximately 20,320 feet (6,194 m). It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park.

Bottled oxygen controversy

Most expeditions use oxygen masks and tanks above 8,000 m (26,246 ft). Everest can be climbed without supplementary oxygen but this increases the risk to the climber. Humans do not think clearly with low oxygen, and the combination of severe weather, low temperatures, and steep slopes often require quick, accurate decisions.

The use of bottled oxygen to ascend Mount Everest has been controversial. George Mallory himself described the use of such oxygen as unsportsmanlike, but he later concluded that it would be impossible to summit without it and consequently used it. When Tenzing and Hillary made the first successful summit in 1953 they used bottled oxygen. For the next twenty-five years, bottled oxygen was considered standard for any successful summit.

Reinhold Messner was the first climber to break the bottled oxygen tradition and in 1978, with Peter Habeler, made the first successful climb without it. Although critics alleged that he sucked mini-bottles of oxygen - a claim that Messner denied - Messner silenced them when he summited the mountain, without supplemental oxygen or support, on the more difficult northwest route, in 1980. In the aftermath of Messner's two successful ascents, the debate on bottled oxygen usage continued.

The aftermath of the 1996 disaster further intensified the debate. Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (1997) expressed the author's personal criticisms of the use of bottled oxygen. Krakauer wrote that the use of bottled oxygen allowed otherwise unqualified climbers to attempt to summit, leading to dangerous situations and more deaths. The May 11, 1996 disaster was partially caused by the sheer number of climbers on that day) attempting to ascend, causing bottlenecks at the Hillary Step and delaying many climbers, most of whom summited after the usual 2 p.m. turnaround time. He proposed banning bottled oxygen except for emergency cases, arguing that this would both decrease the growing pollution on Everest—many bottles have accumulated on its slopes—and keep marginally qualified climbers off the mountain. The 1996 disaster also introduced the issue of the guide's role in using bottled oxygen.Guide Anatoli Boukreev's decision not to use bottled oxygen was sharply criticized by Jon Krakauer. Boukreev's supporters (who include G. Weston DeWalt, who co-wrote The Climb) state that using bottled oxygen gives a false sense of security.Krakauer and his supporters point out that, without bottled oxygen, Boukreev was unable to directly help his clients descend. They state that Boukreev said that he was going down with client Martin Adams, but when Adams slowed down[citation needed], Boukreev later descended faster and left him behind

Death zone

While conditions for any area classified as a death zone apply to Mount Everest (altitudes higher than 8,000 m/26,246 ft), it is significantly more difficult for a climber to survive at the death zone on Mount Everest. Temperatures can dip to very low levels, resulting in frostbite of any body part exposed to the air. Because temperatures are so low, snow is well-frozen in certain areas and death by slipping and falling can also occur. High winds at these altitudes on Everest are also a potential threat to climbers. The atmospheric pressure at the top of Everest is about a third of sea level pressure, meaning there is about a third as much oxygen available to breathe as at sea level.

In May 2007 the Caudwell Xtreme Everest undertook a medical study of oxygen levels in human blood at extreme altitude. Over 200 volunteers climbed to Everest Base Camp where various medical tests were performed to examine blood oxygen levels. A small team also performed tests on the way to the summit.

Even at base camp the low level of available oxygen had direct effect on blood oxygen saturation levels. At sea level these are usually 98% to 99%, but at base camp this fell to between 85% and 87%. Blood samples taken at the summit indicated very low levels of oxygen present. A side effect of this is a vastly increased breathing rate, from 20-30[citation needed] breaths per minute to 80-90 breaths, leading to exhaustion just trying to breathe.

Lack of oxygen, exhaustion, extreme cold and the dangers of the climb all contribute to the death toll.

One death-dealing phenomenon, however, does not plague climbers — lightning. Lightning does not strike Mount Everest. NASA's lightning detection system does record significant lightning in the Tibet plateau, but none along the high Tibetan mountains, from about 2000 m (7,000 feet) and above.

2006 - David Sharp controversy

Double-amputee climber Mark Inglis revealed in an interview with the press on May 23, 2006, that his climbing party, and many others, had passed a distressed climber, David Sharp, on May 15, sheltering under a rock overhang 450 meters below the summit, without attempting a rescue. The revelation sparked wide debate on climbing ethics, especially as applied to Everest. The climbers who left him said that the rescue efforts would be useless and only cause more deaths because of how many people it would have taken to pull him off.

Much of this controversy was captured by the Discovery Channel while filming the television program Everest: Beyond the Limit. A crucial decision affecting the fate of Sharp is shown in the program, where an early returning climber (Max Chaya) is descending and radios to his base camp manager (Russell Brice) that he has found a climber in distress. He is unable to identify Sharp, and Sharp had chosen to climb solo without any support, so he did not identify himself to other climbers. The base camp manager assumes that Sharp is part of a group that has abandoned him, and informs his climber that there is no chance of him being able to help Sharp [at 8000+ meters in altitude, barely anyone has the strength to help another man who is only semi conscious, and Max Chaya is only an amateur mountaineer]. As Sharp's condition deteriorates through the day and other descending climbers pass him, his opportunities for rescue diminish: his legs and feet curl from frost-bite, preventing him from walking; the later descending climbers are lower on oxygen and lack the strength to offer aid; time runs out for any Sherpas to return and rescue him. Most importantly, Sharp's decision to forgo all support leaves him with no margin for recovery.

As this debate raged, on May 26, Australian climber Lincoln Hall was found alive, after being declared dead the day before. He was found by a party of four climbers (Dan Mazur, Andrew Brash, Myles Osborne and Jangbu Sherpa) who, giving up their own summit attempt, stayed with Hall and descended with him and a party of 11 Sherpas sent up to carry him down. Hall later fully recovered. Similar actions have been recorded since, including on May 21, 2007, when Canadian climber Meagan McGrath initiated the successful high-altitude rescue of Nepali Usha Bista.

Ascent

2003 - 50th Anniversary of First Ascent

2003 marked the 50th anniversary of the first ascent, and a record number of teams, including some very distinguished climbers, climbed or attempted to climb the mountain.

2005 - Helicopter landing

On 14 May 2005, pilot Didier Delsalle of France landed a Eurocopter AS 350 B3 helicopter on the summit of Mount Everest (without any witness) and took off after about four minutes. (His rotors were continually engaged, constituting a "hover landing", and avoiding the risks of relying on the snow to support the aircraft.) He thereby set rotorcraft world records, for highest of both landing (de facto) and take-off (formally).

Delsalle had also performed, two days earlier, a take-off from the South Col; some press reports suggested[citation needed] that the report of the summit landing was a misunderstanding of a South Col one.

2006 - North Face ski descent

On 16 May 2006, adventurers Tormod Granheim and Tomas Olsson skied the Norton Couloir from the summit to the North Col. During the descent Olsson fell an estimated 1700 meters to his death.

1996 disaster

During the 1996 climbing season, fifteen people died trying to come down from the summit, making it the deadliest single year in Everest history. Eight of them died on May 11 alone. The disaster gained wide publicity and raised questions about the commercialization of Everest.

Journalist Jon Krakauer, on assignment from Outside magazine, was in one of the affected parties, and afterwards published the bestseller Into Thin Air which related his experience. Anatoli Boukreev, a guide who felt impugned by Krakauer's book, co-authored a rebuttal book called The Climb. The dispute sparked a large debate within the climbing community. In May 2004, Kent Moore, a physicist, and John L. Semple, a surgeon, both researchers from the University of Toronto, told New Scientist magazine that an analysis of weather conditions on May 11 suggested that freak weather caused oxygen levels to plunge approximately 14%.

The storm's impact on climbers on the mountain's other side, the North Ridge, where several climbers also died, was detailed in a first hand account by British filmmaker and writer Matt Dickinson in his book The Other Side of Everest.

First successful ascent by Tenzing and Hillary

In 1953, a ninth British expedition, led by John Hunt, returned to Nepal. Hunt selected two climbing pairs to attempt to reach the summit. The first pair (Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans) came within 100 m (300 feet) of the summit on 26 May, but turned back after becoming exhausted. As planned, their work in route finding and breaking trail and their caches of extra oxygen were of great aid to the following pair. Two days later, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with its second climbing pair, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay from Nepal. They reached the summit at 11:30 a.m. local time on May 29, 1953 via the South Col Route. At the time, both acknowledged it as a team effort by the whole expedition, but Tenzing revealed a few years later that Hillary had put his foot on the summit first. They paused at the summit to take photographs and buried a few sweets and a small cross in the snow before descending.

News of the expedition's success reached London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, Hunt (a Briton) and Hillary (a subject of Elizabeth, through her role as head of state of New Zealand) discovered that they had been promptly knighted in the Order of the British Empire, a KBE, for the ascent. Tenzing (a subject of the King of Nepal) was granted the George Medal by the UK. Hunt was ultimately made a life peer in Britain, while Hillary became a founding member of the Order of New Zealand.

Early expeditions

In 1885, Clinton Thomas Dent, president of the Alpine Club, suggests that climbing Mount Everest is possible in his book Above the Snow Line.

On June 8, 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, both of the United Kingdom, made an attempt on the summit via the north col/north ridge route from which they never returned.

On May 1, 1999, the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition found Mallory's body in the predicted search area near the old Chinese camp. Controversy has raged in the mountaineering community as to whether or not one or both of them reached the summit 29 years before the confirmed ascent (and of course, safe descent) of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The general consensus among climbers has been that they did not.

Mallory had gone on a speaking tour of the United States the year before in 1923; it was then that he exasperatedly gave the famous reply, "Because it is there," to a New York journalist in response to hearing the question, "Why climb Everest?" for seemingly the thousandth time.

In 1933, Lady Houston, a British millionaire ex-showgirl, funded the Houston Everest Flight of 1933, which saw a formation of aircraft led by the Marquess of Clydesdale fly over the summit in an effort to deploy the British Union Flag at the top.

Early expeditions – such as Bruce's in the 1920s and Hugh Ruttledge's two unsuccessful attempts in 1933 and 1936 – tried to make an ascent of the mountain from Tibet, via the north face. Access was closed from the north to western expeditions in 1950, after the Chinese reasserted control over Tibet. However, in 1950, Bill Tilman and a small party which included Charles Houston, Oscar Houston and Betsy Cowles undertook an exploratory expedition to Everest through Nepal along the route which has now become the standard approach to Everest from the south.

Northeast ridge

The northeast ridge route begins from the north side of Everest in Tibet. Expeditions trek to the Rongbuk Glacier, setting up Base Camp at 5,180 m (17,000 ft) on a gravel plain just below the glacier. To reach Camp II, climbers ascend the medial moraine of the east Rongbuk Glacier up to the base of Changtse at around 6,100 m (20,000 ft). Camp III (ABC - Advanced Base Camp) is situated below the North Col at 6,500 m (21,300 ft). To reach Camp IV on the north col, climbers ascend the glacier to the foot of the col where fixed ropes are used to reach the North Col at 7,010 m (23,000 ft). From the North Col, climbers ascend the rocky north ridge to set up Camp V at around 7,775 m (25,500 ft). The route goes up the north face through a series of gullies and steepens into downsloping slabby terrain before reaching the site of Camp VI at 8,230 m (27,000 ft). From Camp VI, climbers will make their final summit push. Climbers must first make their way through three rock bands known as First Step: 27,890 feet - 28,000 feet, Second Step: 28,140 feet - 28,300 feet, and Third Step: 28,510 feet - 28,870 feet. (The Second Step includes a climbing aid called the "Chinese ladder", a metal ladder placed semi-permanently in 1975 by a party of Chinese climbers. It has been almost continuously in place since, and is used by virtually all climbers on the route.) Once above these steps, the final summit slopes (50 to 60 degrees) to the top.

China is paving a 130-km (66-mile) dirt road from Tingri County to its Base Camp in order to accommodate growing numbers of climbers on their side of the mountain. It will become the highest asphalt-paved road in the world. Construction began on June 18, 2007, at a cost of 150 million yuan (US$19.7 million). China also plans on routing the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay over Everest, going up the South Col route and back down the North Col route, on the way to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Southeast ridge

The ascent via the southeast ridge begins with a trek to Base Camp at 5,380 m (17,600 ft) on the south side of Everest in Nepal. Expeditions usually fly into Lukla (2,860 m) from Kathmandu and pass through Namche Bazaar. Climbers then hike to Base Camp, which usually takes six to eight days, allowing for proper altitude acclimatization in order to prevent altitude sickness. Climbing equipment and supplies are carried by yaks, dzopkyos (yak hybrids) and human porters to Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier. When Hillary and Tenzing climbed Everest in 1953, they started from Kathmandu Valley, as there were no roads further east at that time.

Climbers will spend a couple of weeks in Base Camp, acclimatizing to the altitude. During that time, Sherpas and some expedition climbers will set up ropes and ladders in the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. Seracs, crevasses and shifting blocks of ice make the icefall one of the most dangerous sections of the route. Many climbers and Sherpas have been killed in this section. To reduce the hazard, climbers will usually begin their ascent well before dawn when the freezing temperatures glue ice blocks in place. Above the icefall is Camp I at 6,065 m (19,900 ft).

From Camp I, climbers make their way up the Western Cwm to the base of the Lhotse face, where Camp II or Advanced Base Camp (ABC) is established at 6,500 m (21,300 ft). The Western Cwm is a relatively flat, gently rising glacial valley, marked by huge lateral crevasses in the centre which prevent direct access to the upper reaches of the Cwm. Climbers are forced to cross on the far right near the base of Nuptse to a small passageway known as the "Nuptse corner". The Western Cwm is also called the "Valley of Silence" as the topography of the area generally cuts off wind from the climbing route. The high altitude and a clear, windless day can make the Western Cwm unbearably hot for climbers.

From ABC, climbers ascend the Lhotse face on fixed ropes up to Camp III, located on a small ledge at 7,470 m (24,500 ft). From there, it is another 500 metres to Camp IV on the South Col at 7,920 m (26,000 ft). From Camp III to Camp IV, climbers are faced with two additional challenges: The Geneva Spur and The Yellow Band. The Geneva Spur is an anvil shaped rib of black rock named by a 1952 Swiss expedition. Fixed ropes assist climbers in scrambling over this snow covered rock band. The Yellow Band is a section of interlayered marble, phyllite, and semischist which also requires about 100 metres of rope for traversing it.

On the South Col, climbers enter the death zone. Climbers typically only have a maximum of two or three days they can endure at this altitude for making summit bids. Clear weather and low winds are critical factors in deciding whether to make a summit attempt. If weather does not cooperate within these short few days, climbers are forced to descend, many all the way back down to Base Camp.

From Camp IV, climbers will begin their summit push around midnight with hopes of reaching the summit (still another 1,000 metres above) within 10 to 12 hours. Climbers will first reach "The Balcony" at 8,400 m (27,700 ft), a small platform where they can rest and gaze at peaks to the south and east in the early dawn light. Continuing up the ridge, climbers are then faced with a series of imposing rock steps which usually forces them to the east into waist deep snow, a serious avalanche hazard. At 8,750 m (28,700 ft), a small table-sized dome of ice and snow marks the South Summit.

From the South Summit, climbers follow the knife-edge southeast ridge along what is known as the "Cornice traverse" where snow clings to intermittent rock. This is the most exposed section of the climb as a misstep to the left would send one 2,400 m (8,000 ft) down the southwest face while to the immediate right is the 3,050 m (10,000 ft) Kangshung face. At the end of this traverse is an imposing 12 m (40 ft) rock wall called the "Hillary Step" at 8,760 m (28,750 ft).

Hillary and Tenzing were the first climbers to ascend this step and they did it with primitive ice climbing equipment and without fixed ropes. Nowadays, climbers will ascend this step using fixed ropes previously set up by Sherpas. Once above the step, it is a comparatively easy climb to the top on moderately angled snow slopes - though the exposure on the ridge is extreme especially while traversing very large cornices of snow. With increasing numbers of people climbing the mountain in recent years, the Step has frequently become a bottleneck, with climbers forced to wait significant amounts of time for their turn on the ropes, leading to problems in getting climbers efficiently up and down the mountain. After the Hillary Step, climbers also must traverse a very loose and rocky section that has a very large entanglement of fixed ropes that can be troublesome in bad weather. Climbers will typically spend less than a half-hour on "top of the world" as they realize the need to descend to Camp IV before darkness sets in, afternoon weather becomes a serious problem, or supplemental oxygen tanks run out.

Climbing routes

Mt. Everest has two main climbing routes, the southeast ridge from Nepal and the northeast ridge from Tibet, as well as many other less frequently climbed routes. Of the two main routes, the southeast ridge is technically easier and is the more frequently-used route. It was the route used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and the first recognised of fifteen routes to the top by 1996. This was, however, a route decision dictated more by politics than by design as the Chinese border was closed to foreigners in 1949. Reinhold Messner (Italy) reached the summit of the mountain solo for the first time, without supplementary oxygen or support, on the more difficult Northwest route via the North Col to the North Face and the Great Couloir, on August 20 1980. He climbed for three days entirely alone from his base camp at 6500 meters. This route has been noted as the 8th climbing route to the summit.

Most attempts are made during May before the summer monsoon season. A change in the jet stream at this time of year reduces the average wind speeds high on the mountain. While attempts are sometimes made after the monsoons in September and October, the additional snow deposited by the monsoons and the less stable weather patterns makes climbing more difficult.

Comparisons

Everest is the mountain whose summit attains the greatest distance above sea level. Several other mountains are sometimes claimed as alternative "tallest mountains on Earth". Mauna Kea in Hawaii is tallest when measured from its base; it rises over 10,200 m (6.3 mi) when measured from its base on the mid-ocean floor, but only attains 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level.

By the same measure of base to summit, Denali, in Alaska, is also taller than Everest. Despite its height above sea level of only 6,193.6 m (20,320 ft), Denali sits atop a sloping plain with elevations from 300-900 m (1,000-3,000 ft), yielding a height above base in the range of 5,300-5,900 m (17,300-19,300 ft); a commonly quoted figure is 5,600 m (18,400 ft).[19] By comparison, reasonable base elevations for Everest range from 4,200 m (13,800 ft) on the south side to 5,200 m (17,100 ft) on the Tibetan Plateau, yielding a height above base in the range of 3,650 m (12,000 ft) to 4,650 m (15,300 ft).[13]

The summit of Chimborazo in Ecuador is 2,168 m (7,113 ft) farther from the Earth's centre (6,384.4 km or 3,967.1 mi) than that of Everest (6,382.3 km or 3,965.8 mi), because the Earth bulges at the Equator. However, Chimborazo attains a height of only 6,267 m (20,561 ft) above sea level, and by this criterion it is not even the highest peak of the Andes.

The deepest spot in the ocean is deeper than Everest is high: the Challenger Deep off the Mariana Islands, is so deep that if Everest could be placed into it there would be more[citation needed] than 2 km (more than 1.3 mi) of water covering it.

Measurement

Radhanath Sikdar, an Indian mathematician and surveyor from Bengal, was the first to identify Everest as the world's highest peak in 1852, using trigonometric calculations based on measurements of "Peak XV" (as it was then known) made with theodolites from 240 km (150 miles) away as part of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India. Measurement could not be made from closer due to a lack of access to Nepal. Peak XV was found to be exactly 29,000 feet (8,839 m) high, but was publicly declared to be 29,002 feet (8,840 m). The arbitrary addition of 2 feet (0.6 m) was to avoid the impression that an exact height of 29,000 feet was nothing more than a rounded estimate.

More recently, the mountain has been found to be 8,848 m (29,028 feet) high, although there is some variation in the measurements. The mountain K2 comes in second at 8,611 m (28,251 ft) high. On May 22, 2005, the People's Republic of China's Everest Expedition Team ascended to the top of the mountain. After several months' measurement and calculation, on October 9, 2005, the PRC's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping officially announced the height of Everest as 8,844.43 m ± 0.21 m (29,017.16 ± 0.69 ft). They claimed it was the most accurate measurement to date. This height is based on the actual highest point of rock and not on the snow and ice covering it. The Chinese team also measured a snow/ice depth of 3.5 m, which is in agreement with a net elevation of 8,848 m. The snow and ice thickness varies over time, making a definitive height of the snow cap impossible to determine.

The elevation of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) was first determined by an Indian survey in 1955, made closer to the mountain, also using theodolites. It was subsequently reaffirmed by a 1975 Chinese measurement. In both cases the snow cap, not the rock head, was measured. In May 1999 an American Everest Expedition, directed by Bradford Washburn, anchored a GPS unit into the highest bedrock. A rock head elevation of 8,850 m (29,035 ft), and a snow/ice elevation 1 m (3 ft) higher, were obtained via this device. Although it has not been officially recognized by Nepal, this figure is widely quoted. Geoid uncertainty casts doubt upon the accuracy claimed by both the 1999 and 2005 surveys.

A detailed photogrammetric map (at a scale of 1:50,000) of the Khumbu region, including the south side of Mount Everest, was made by Erwin Schneider as part of the 1955 International Himalayan Expedition, which also attempted Lhotse. An even more detailed topographic map of the Everest area was made in the late 1980s under the direction of Bradford Washburn, using extensive aerial photography.

It is thought that the plate tectonics of the area are adding to the height and moving the summit north-eastwards. Two accounts suggest the rates of change are 4 mm per year (upwards) and 3-6 mm per year (northeastwards), but another account mentions more lateral movement (27 mm), and even shrinkage has been suggested.

The Mount Everest region, and the Himalayas in general, are thought to be experiencing ice-melt due to global warming.[17] The exceptionally heavy southwest summer monsoon of 2005 is consistent with continued warming and augmented convective uplift on the Tibetan plateau to the north.

Naming

The Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma or Qomolangma ,and the related Chinese name is Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng . The Tibetan name, Chomolungma, gets a mention in the 2008 American film The Bucket List, in which one of the dying wishes of the two lead characters is to see the mountain. According to English accounts of the mid-19th century, the local name in Darjeeling for Mount Everest was Deodungha, or "Holy Mountain."In the 1960s, the Government of Nepal gave the mountain the official Nepali name of Sagarmatha , meaning "Goddess of the Sky".

In 1865, the mountain was given its English name by Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor-general of India. With both Nepal and Tibet closed to foreign travel, he wrote:

"I was taught by my respected chief and predecessor, Colonel Sir George Everest to assign to every geographical object its true local or native appellation. But here is a mountain, most probably the highest in the world, without any local name that we can discover, whose native appellation, if it has any, will not very likely be ascertained before we are allowed to penetrate into Nepal. In the meantime the privilege as well as the duty devolves on me to assign…a name whereby it may be known among citizens and geographers and become a household word among civilized nations."

Waugh chose to name the mountain after George Everest, first using the spelling Mont Everest, and then Mount Everest. However, the modern pronunciation of Everest is in fact different from Sir George's own pronunciation of his surname.

In the late 19th century many European cartographers incorrectly believed that a native name for the mountain was "Gaurisankar". This was a result of confusion of Mount Everest with the actual Gauri Sankar, which, when viewed from Kathmandu, stands almost directly in front of Everest.

In the early 1960s, the Nepalese government realized that Mount Everest had no Nepalese name. This was because the mountain was not known and named in ethnic Nepal (that is, the Kathmandu valley and surrounding areas). The government set out to find a name for the mountain (the Sherpa/Tibetan name Chomolangma was not acceptable, as it would have been against the idea of unification (Nepalization) of the country. The name Sagarmatha was thus invented by Baburam Acharya.

In 2002, the Chinese People's Daily newspaper published an article making a case against the continued use of the English name for the mountain in the Western world, insisting that it should be referred to by its Tibetan name. The newspaper argued that the Chinese (in nature a Tibetan) name preceded the English one, as Mount Qomolangma was marked on a Chinese map more than 280 years ago.

Mount Everest

Mount Everest, also called Chomolungma or Qomolangma or Sagarmatha is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8,848 meters or 29,028 feet. The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet. By the end of the 2007 climbing season there had been 3,679 ascents to the summit by 2,436 individuals. There have been 210 deaths on the mountain, where conditions are so difficult that most corpses have been left where they fell; some are visible from standard climbing routes.

Climbers range from experienced mountaineers to relative novices who count on their paid guides to get them to the top. This means climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to $25,000 (USD) per person.

Mental Preparedness

It should not be overlooked what the will to live means in a life and death situation. All of the training and tools in the world will prove of little or no consequence without the desire to live. Stories of heroic feats of survival by regular people with little or no training are not uncommon. Even with a strong understanding of the way we may be mentally affected, even a trained survival expert may feel the crushing effects of psychological strain during duress. In order to overcome these affects it is important to study stress and how it may affect us both good and bad.

Studying stress will reveal to us that while it may not always seem like it, stress is a necessary evil and belongs for not only for malice but good as well. It serves as a measuring stick for our success, it presents one with challenges, and it is a good way to show us how far we can bend and not break. Stress sometimes has a nice way of pointing out that things could indeed be much worse. On the flip side of the coin too much stress can be a awful thing. The carnage that stress can breed within a human being is almost without limits. Too much stress can lead to forgetfulness, increased propensity to making mistakes, lessened energy, outbursts of rage, and carelessness.

Emotions are hard wired into our DNA. Survival situations are bound to invoke strong emotional reactions from anyone evolved. There are a few emotions that most often accompany this type of event. They drastically lessen our ability to combat the situation. It is not something that initially comes to mind when thinking of surviving but they are as important as any other survival skill.

There are 6 emotions that must be overcome to allow a chance at survival

* Fear - Once placed into a survival situation one of the initial reactions for anyone is fear. It is a perfectly normal reaction however fear is the enemy. It drastically lessens our ability to make clear decisions, which ultimately will lesson the chance for survival. In an effort to minimize our fears, we can train in realistic situations to condition ourselves to have the mentality needed to increase our confidence and more effectively manage fear.
* Anxiety – Typically anxiety and fear run hand in hand with one another. It may start as a uneasy feeling in the pit of our stomach but by the time the mind is added into the situation it may quickly spiral out of control. Anxiety will often times take over the mind and quickly make it difficult to make decisions with any clairvoyance. Anxiety must be fought through in order to focus on the tasks at hand. Typically once some of the critical survival needs have been met, anxiety will be easier to keep at bay.
* Anger – It is inevitable that in a survival situation there are going to be problems. With the endless possibilities of things that can go wrong and probably will to imagine that tempers may flair should not come as a surprise. Anger can sap one’s drive necessary to want to survive. Finding other ways to channel this emotion will prove more useful than losing ones temper.
* Depression – An overall sense of malaise is not uncommon in wilderness. Being alone in the wilderness trying to survive is almost certainly bound to bring about a depressed state. Overwhelming depression can lead to the body shutting down and not unlike anxiety can also cause a human being to give up hope. Staying positive can allow one to combat this.
* Guilt – Often accompanying a survival situation is loss of life. The guilt may not even come from someone taking responsibility for the person’s death, rather a sense of guilt as they are alive and the other person is dead.
* Boredom & Loneliness – An often unanticipated side affect of being in a survival situation. Boredom or loneliness can both contribute to lowering morale. It is important to be able to keep your mind busy and you spirits up it may be one of the most critical skills to survive.

Training

Survival Training has many components, mental competence and physical fitness being two. Mental competence includes the skills listed in this article, as well as the ability to overcome panic and think clearly. Physical fitness includes, among other abilities, carrying loads over long distances on rough terrain. Theoretical knowledge of survival skills is useful only if it can be applied effectively in the wilderness. Almost all Survival Skills are environment specific and require training in a particular environment.

Survival Training is broken down into three types, or schools; Modern Wilderness Survival, Bushcraft, and Primitive Survival Techniques. Modern Wilderness Survival teaches the skills needed to survive Short-Term (1 to 4 Days) and Medium-Term (4 to 40 Days) survival situations. Bushcraft is the combination of Modern Wilderness Survival and useful Primitive Survival Techniques. It normally splits its skill acquisition between Medium-Term Survival Techniques (4 to 40 Days) and Long-Term Survival Techniques (40 Days Plus). Primitive Survival Techniques teaches the skills need to survive over the Long-Term (40 days plus). Many primitive technology skills require much more practice and may be more environment specific.

Several organizations offer wilderness survival training. Course ranges from one day to field courses lasting as long as a month. In addition to teaching survival techniques for conditions of limited food, water, and shelter, many organizations that teach bushcraft and Primitive Survival seek to engender appreciation and understanding of the lifestyles of pre-industrialized cultures.

There are several books that teach one how to survive in dangerous situations, and schools train children what to do in the event of an earthquake or fire. Some cities also have contingency plans in case of a major disaster, such as hurricanes or tornadoes.

Other survival skills

For long-term survival some other skills are useful:

* Knife or Multitool - usage and sharpening (a knife or Multitool is very important for all survival situations and for many aspects of bushcraft)

A sheath knife of high carbon steel with a 4 to 6 inch blade is invaluable for the creation of tools, splitting wood for fire building using a baton, building shelters and many other skills.

* Climbing and Mountaineering techniques
* Ropework
o Making rope from materials such as the inner bark of trees, other plant fibers, or animal sinews
o Knowledge of knots and their applications
* Making a raft or boat
* Weapons are an essential part of a large survival outfit. Weapons protect you and those around you and allow you to procure food through hunting. There are many points of view on this issue but by and large, a good 22 long rifle will serve to procure game and provide for moderate protection from predators both the four legged and two legged variety.
* Be sure to get proper training to be safe with firearms.
* Basic primitive weapons can be important tools: they include spears, Vietnam crossbows, longbows, the throwing stick, clubs etc. Many primitive tools can also fill the weapon class as well such as a stone axe. First hand instruction is essential.

Navigation

Survival situations are resolved by finding one's way to safety. This requires some navigation or movement:

* Celestial navigation, using the sun and the night sky
* Reading a map (particularly a topographic map), together with a compass
* Using a GPS receiver, if one is available

First aid

First aid (wilderness first aid in particular) can help a person survive and function with injuries that would otherwise kill or incapacitate him/her. Common and dangerous injuries include:

* Lacerations, which may be infected
* Bites from venomous animals, such as snakes
* Bone fractures
* Sprains, particularly of the ankle
* Burns

The survivor may need to apply the contents of a first aid kit or naturally-occurring medicinal plants, immobilize injured limbs, or even transport incapacitated comrades.

Food

Food is not urgently needed in survival situations, since a human can survive for several weeks without it. However, much like dehydration, hunger can bring about many consequences long before it causes death, such as:

* Irritability and low morale
* Weakness
* Loss of mental clarity, such as confusion, disorientation, or poor judgment
* Weakened immune system
* Difficulty maintaining body temperature

It is actually rather easy to find food in most wild environments, provided one knows where to look. A basic knowledge of animal trapping, hunting, and fishing will provide meat. Equally important is a knowledge of edible plants, fungi, and lichens. One cannot always rely on the most abundant or most easily accessible type of food. To survive for long periods of time, one must maintain a balanced diet. In order to do this, one must consume a balanced variety of foods.

Many survival books promote the "Universal Edibility Test": allegedly, one can distinguish edible foods from toxic ones by a series of progressive exposures to skin and mouth prior to ingestion with waiting periods and checks for symptoms. However, many other experts including Ray Mears and John Kallas[9] reject this method, in main part because a very small amount of some "potential foods" can cause anything from gastric distress to illness or death. An additional step called the "scratch test" is sometimes included. In this step (before mouth contact of the proposed food) one makes an abrasion on the surface of an area of skin (such as with fingernails) and then lightly rubs some of the food product on the abrasion. Foods that cause surface inflammation, discomfort, itching or eruption should be avoided.

Finding food in the wild depends on your environment (i.e. vegetation, animals, and water sources).

Fire

A fire is as important as a safe water supply, because of its many uses:

* Boiling water to kill pathogens
* Cooking food, including wild-caught fish and game
* Staying warm, particularly when wet
* Repelling dangerous animals and certain insects (e.g. mosquitoes)
* Provides a sense of companionship and morale boost
* Signaling to rescuers (bright at night, smoky by day)

The area chosen should be flat and dry, with protection from wind.

Water

A human can survive a maximum of three days without the intake of water, assuming you are at sea level, at room temperature, and a relative humidity.

In colder temperatures and/or with rain or snow the length or likelihood of survival would be greatly reduced. In addition to the aforementioned priorities, length of survival also depends on amount of physical exertion. A typical person will lose 2-3 liters of water per day in ordinary conditions, but more in hot, dry, or cold weather.

A lack of water causes dehydration, resulting in lethargy, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and eventually death. Even mild dehydration reduces endurance and impairs concentration, which is dangerous in a survival situation where clear thinking is essential. Your body requires 4L to 6L of water or other liquids each day in the wilderness to avoid dehydration and to keep your body functioning properly.

Dark yellow or brown urine indicates dehydration. Because of these risks, a safe supply of drinking water must be located as soon as a shelter is built (or even before, depending on conditions).

Water can be gathered in numerous ways: scooped out of a creek or pond; rainwater can be caught in makeshift containers; collect dew from vegetation in clothing articles. Many tree roots and vines contain water. The cactus is also a source of water, confirming the myth- pulp can be removed from the broken stem.

In a survival situation, any water supply may be contaminated with pollutants or pathogens (see Potability of backcountry water). Although little can be done to remove molecular contaminants, particles and microorganisms can be removed and/or killed (see Portable water purification). In a beach situation, digging in the sand below sea level, the sand well will fill with drinkable water; it may taste salty or brackish, but the sand acts as a filter reducing the salt content the further you dig inland. Stagnant water can be made drinkable by filtration through a sieve of charcoal.

Animal blood is not suitable for rehydration as it may be diseased. In addition, because of the nutrients it contains, it requires energy to digest. Mammals all have blood-borne pathogens so the animal must also be cooked. Urine contains salt and other toxins, which also makes it unsuitable to drink, although it can be refined in a solar still.

Many birds, mammals, and some insects, such as bees, ants, and mason flies, are reliable indications of water, either through a stream or a soaked patch of earth.

The U.S. Army survival manual recommends that you use your water whenever thirsty to avoid "voluntary" dehydration. Other groups recommend rationing water through "water discipline".

While finding water is most important, preventing water loss is also an issue. Resting, avoiding smoking, and breathing through the nose are recommended.

Survival priorities

Human survival priorities are found in the "Rule of Three":

1. Humans cannot survive more than three minutes without air (O2)
2. Humans cannot survive more than three hours exposed to extreme low-temperature
3. Humans cannot survive more than three days without water (H20)
4. Humans cannot survive more than three weeks without food

The Rule of Three should be viewed as generalities. The record is 10 minutes, 17 seconds without air; the crew of a boat lasted 8 days without water; people have survived without food for over 40 days.

In most survival situations, three priorities must be addressed before any other needs are met:

1. Finding or making shelter is the most important because it allows a person to stay protected from the elements.
2. The next priority after finding shelter is water. The length of survival mostly depends upon climate conditions and physical exertion.
3. Food is the third essential for survival. This is especially important during winter, as one has higher calorie-burning needs.

These priorities may change depending upon environmental factors.

A shelter will protect one from potentially disastrous weather, help prevent hypothermia, and allow restful sleep. It will also boost how you feel emotionally, as it will become a base or home. Therefore, in typical survival situations, a shelter should be able to be moved with you, if possible, and be set up quickly. If one spends too much time on a shelter it takes away from other survival tasks.

A shelter should provide a somewhat comfortable place to sleep. To this end, it should account for the following:

* Immovable rocks, animal nests, and other obstacles and hazards should be avoided.
* Dry watercourses may be flat, sandy, and comfortable to sleep on, but they will flood in a storm.
* Sunlight provides warmth (which is not always welcome), and help one to wake up in the morning. However, sunny, open areas are vulnerable to wind.
* Heat transfer: an excessively large or well-ventilated shelter will not retain warmth well.
* Flashing (weatherproofing) to provide protection from elements.
* A cave would be a very useful shelter because it is very resistant to rain water getting in and maintains a constant temperature. Unfortunately, caves can present additional problems such as ground water, dampness and wildlife. Bears also nest in caves, so before selecting a cave to stay in, you should check it for signs of inhabitance.

The simplest and most mobile shelter is a tarp, supported by make-shift frame work or rope. Large leaves, such as ferns or fir branches, can be added to a latticework of branches. Ferns on a shelter provide insect repellent. Branches propped against a fallen tree make a simple and effective refuge, but animals such as ants and snakes may nest under the tree. With some practice, more advanced shelters such as a debris shelter can be constructed without modern tools or implements.

Survival skills

Survival skills are skills that may help everyone to survive dangerous situations (such as storms or earthquakes), or in dangerous places (such as the desert, the mountains, and the jungle). Useful skills include lighting a fire, finding shelter, making water safe to drink, finding and identifying food, treating injuries, and climbing, swimming, and using specific or makeshift tools.

Each type of wilderness challenges a person with a different range of dangers (see hazards of outdoor activities). An environment may be dry, wet, hot, cold, high altitude, low altitude, desert, rural, urban, wilderness, subterranean, or an island. There are four basic necessities of life which apply in all of these cases: shelter, water, fire, and food. A fifth is oxygen for high altitudes and subterranean environments, and also specific survival situations such as drowning and landslide/avalanche.

Survival skills used on a more permanent basis, or as a component of daily life are referred to as bushcraft.

Developments in outdoor equipment and survival techniques have skewed the scale towards man- if one is prepared, but there is nothing to replace experience in a survival situation. Those who are most prepared physically and mentally stand the greatest chance of survival.