mount fearthertop

Mount Feathertop is the second-highest mountain in the Australian state of Victoria. It rises to 1,922 metres (6,306 feet) AHD. Snow remaining in the summit gullies in spring give the appearance of feathers - hence the name "Feathertop".
Access routes

The main access routes are the Razorback, Bungalow Spur and the North-West Spur. The Razorback is a very popular walk in summer and it is a spectacular ski tour in winter. The Razorback starts near the Mount Hotham ski resort and is the shortest route. The proximity of the mountain to this ski resort has led to Mount Feathertop becoming a popular back country skiing destination. The Bungalow Spur track starts near Harrietville. It starts at an elevation of only 480m and after the first few kilometres has steep switchbacks up most of the mountain.
Mountain huts

There are two huts on the mountain. Melbourne University Mountain Club (MUMC) hut is situated on the North-West Spur close to the tree line.[1] It has a unique dome shape, and has an upstairs sleeping area.[2] Federation Hut is situation at the top of Bungalow Spur near Little Feathertop, and was rebuilt in 2005 after it was destroyed by the 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires.
From 1925 to 1939 Feathertop also boasted a ski lodge, the Feathertop Bungalow, where visitors in summer and winter could get a bed and a meal. [3]

mount kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania[2] rising 4,600 m (15,100 ft) from its base (and approximately 5,100 m (16,700 ft) from the plains near Moshi), and is additionally the highest peak in Africa at 5,891.8 metres (19,330 ft), providing a dramatic view of the surrounding plains.

Description

The highest point on Kilimanjaro is Uhuru Peak, on the volcano Kibo. Its height value attracted a lot of interest as the reports of the first Europeans to see the mountain reached Europe. Since 1889, several attempts have been made to determine the exact height of the mountain, but the several methods have given varying results and differ by as much as 100 metres.[3] The Kilimanjaro 2008 Precise Height Measurement Expedition used GPS and gravimeter methods to output the value of 5,891.8 metres (19,330 ft).[4] On top of Kibo is a 1.5 mile wide crater. As the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak is one of the Seven Summits. The summit was first reached by the Marangu army scout Yohanas Kinyala Lauwo, German Hans Meyer and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller, on October 6, 1889. Two other peaks are also dormant volcanoes: Mawenzi (5,149 m, 16,890 ft), the third highest peak in Africa (after Mount Kenya) and Shira (3,962 m, 13,000 ft). Yohanas' Notch is named after Lauwo.
Due to Kilimanjaro's equatorial location and high elevation, almost every climate type on earth is represented, including a year-round snow-topped summit.
The summit of Kilimanjaro is covered by a GSM mobile phone network, and was previously the highest point in the world with mobile phone service.
Climatic conditions

While the volcano appears to be dormant on the inside, events on top of the mountain draw global attention. The top of the mountain has seen a retreat of the most recent covering of glaciers,[5] with the most recent ice cap volume dropping by more than 80%.[6]
Sources disagree when the glaciers will be gone due to melting. In 2002, a study led by Ohio State University ice core paleoclimatologist Lonnie Thompson predicted that ice on top of Africa's tallest peak would be gone between 2015 and 2020.[7][8][9] In 2007, a team of Austrian scientists from University of Innsbruck predicted that the plateau ice cap will be gone by 2040, but some ice on the slope will remain longer due to local weather conditions.[10] Yet, another, the California Academy of Sciences, predicts that the [glaciers] will be gone by 2050.[11] A comparison of ice core records suggests conditions today are returning to those of 11,000 years ago. A study by Philip Mote of the University of Washington in the United States and Georg Kaser of the University of Innsbruck in Austria concludes that the shrinking of Kilimanjaro's ice cap is not directly due to rising temperature but rather to decreased precipitation.[12] In May 2008 The Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources, Ms Shamsa Mwangunga, said that there were indications that snow cover on the mountain was actually increasing.[13] In January 2006, the Western Breach route was closed by the Tanzanian government following a rockslide that killed four people at Arrow Glacier Camp. On December 1, 2007 the Western Breach route was reopened for climbing.

matterhorn

The Matterhorn (German), Cervino (Italian) or Cervin (French), is a mountain in the Pennine Alps. With its 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high summit, lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps[2] and its 1,200 metres (3,937 ft) north face is one of the Great north faces of the Alps. It is also one of the deadliest peaks in the Alps: from 1865 to 1995, over 500 alpinists have died on it.[3]
The mountain overlooks the town of Zermatt in the canton of Valais on the north and Cervinia in the Aosta Valley on the south.
Although not the highest mountain in Switzerland, the Matterhorn is considered as an iconic emblem of the region of the Swiss Alps.

Altitude

The Matterhorn has two distinct summits, both situated on a 100-metre-long rocky ridge: the Swiss summit (4,477.5 m) on the east and the Italian summit (4,476.4 m) on the west. Their names originated from the first ascents not for geographic reasons as they are both located on the border.
A recent survey (1999) using Global Positioning System technology has been made[4], allowing the height of the Matterhorn to be measured to within one centimetre accuracy, and its changes to be tracked. The result was 4,477.54 metres (14,690 ft).
TourismRail and cable-car facilities have been built to make some of the summits in the area more accessible. The Gornergrat railway was inaugurated in 1898. Areas served by cable car are the Unterrothorn and the Klein Matterhorn ( 3,883 m). The Hörnli Hut (3,260 m), which is the start of the normal route via the Hörnli ridge, is easily accessible from Schwarzsee and is also frequented by hikers.
The Matterhorn Museum in Zermatt relates the history of mountaineering in the region.
Climbing history

The Matterhorn was one of the last of the main Alpine mountains to be ascended, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early mountaineers. The first serious attempts began around 1857, mostly from the Italian side; but despite appearances, the southern routes are harder, and parties repeatedly found themselves having to turn back. However, on July 14, 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the golden age of alpinism, the party of Edward Whymper, Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Robert Hadow, Michel Croz and the two Peter Taugwalders (father and son) was able to reach the summit by an ascent of the Hörnli ridge in Switzerland. Upon descent, Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier, and all but Douglas (whose body was never found) are buried in the Zermatt churchyard.
Climbing routes

Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and mountain guides take a large number of people up the northeast Hörnli route each summer. By modern standards, the climb is fairly difficult (AD Difficulty rating), but not hard for skilled mountaineers. There are fixed ropes on parts of the route to help. Still, several climbers die each year due to a number of factors including the scale of the climb and its inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes.
The usual pattern of ascent is to take the Schwarzsee cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the Hörnli Hut (elev. 3,260 m/10,695 ft), a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day, climbers rise at 3:30 am so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in. The Solvay Hut located on the ridge at 4,003 m can be used only in a case of emergency.
Other routes on the mountain include the Italian (Lion) ridge (AD Difficulty rating), the Zmutt ridge (D Difficulty rating) and the north face route, one of the six great north faces of the Alps (TD+ Difficulty rating).
The table below gives an overview of the different routes and climbing grades:

mount olympus

Mount Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος; also transliterated as Ólympos, and on Greek maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece at 2,919 metres high (9,577 feet).[1] Since its base is located at sea level, it is one of the highest mountains in Europe in terms of topographic prominence, the relative altitude from base to top. It is situated at 40°05′N 22°21′E / 40.083°N 22.35°E / 40.083; 22.35, in mainland Greece. It is located in Macedonia, about 100 km away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city.
Mount Olympus is noted for its very rich flora with several endemic species. The highest peak on Mount Olympus is Mitikas at 2,919 metres high (9,577 feet), which in Greek means "nose" (an alternative transliterated spelling of this name is "Mytikas"). Mitikas is the highest peak in Greece, the second highest being Skolio (2912 m).
In Greek mythology the mountain was regarded as the "home of the gods", specifically of the Twelve Olympians, the twelve principal gods of the ancient Hellenistic world.[2] Any climb to Mount Olympus starts from the town of Litochoro, which took the name City of Gods because of its location on the roots of the mountain.
Mount Olympus is a popular mountain name. Apart from the Greek Olympus, there was a mountain of the same name in ancient Phrygia and also currently one in Cyprus, one in Utah, one in Washington, one in San Francisco, CA, one on Mars, and many others.

Alps

The Alps (Italian: Alpi; French: Alpes; Occitan: Arpes; German: Alpen; Romansh: Alps; Slovene: Alpe) is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west.
The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc, at 4,808 metres (15,774 ft), on the Italian–French border. All the main peaks of the Alps can be found in the list of mountains of the Alps and list of Alpine peaks by prominence.
The English name "Alps" was taken via French from Latin Alpes, which may be ultimately cognate with Latin albus ("white"). The German Albe, Alpe or Alp (f., Old High German alpâ, plural alpûn) in the singular means "alpine pasture", and only in the plural may also refer to the mountain range as a whole.[1]

Geology and orogeny

The Alps form a part of a Tertiary orogenic belt of mountain chains, called the Alpide belt, that stretches through southern Europe and Asia from the Atlantic all the way to the Himalayas. This belt of mountain chains was formed during the Alpine orogeny. A gap in these mountain chains in central Europe separates the Alps from the Carpathians off to the east. Orogeny took place continuously and tectonic subsidence is to blame for the gaps in between.
The Alps arose as a result of the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, in which the western part of the Tethys Ocean, which was formerly in between these continents, disappeared. Enormous stress was exerted on sediments of the Tethys Ocean basin and its Mesozoic and early Cenozoic strata were pushed against the stable Eurasian landmass by the northward-moving African landmass. Most of this occurred during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. The pressure formed great recumbent folds, or nappes, that rose out of what had become the Tethys Sea and pushed northward, often breaking and sliding one over the other to form gigantic thrust faults. Crystalline basement rocks, which are exposed in the higher central regions, are the rocks forming Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and high peaks in the Pennine Alps and Hohe Tauern.
The formation of the Mediterranean Sea is a more recent development, and does not mark the northern shore of the African landmassClimateThe Alps are a classic example of what happens when a temperate area at lower altitude gives way to higher-elevation terrain. Elevations around the world which have cold climates similar to those found in polar areas have been called Alpine. A rise from sea level into the upper regions of the atmosphere causes the temperature to decrease (see adiabatic lapse rate). The effect of mountain chains on prevailing winds is to carry warm air belonging to the lower region into an upper zone, where it expands in volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of heat, often accompanied by the precipitation in the form of snow or rain.
Political and cultural history

little is known of the early dwellers of the Alps, save from scanty accounts preserved by Roman and Greek historians and geographers. A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus. Also, recent research into Mitochondrial DNA indicates that MtDNA Haplogroup K very likely originated in or near the southeastern Alps approximately 12–15,000 years ago.
During the Second Punic War in 218 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal successfully crossed the Alps along with an army numbering 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants.[3] This was one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare.[3]
Much of the Alpine region was gradually settled by Germanic tribes (Langobards, Alemanni, Bavarii) from the 6th to the 13th centuries, the latest expansion corresponding to the Walser migrations.
Not until after the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th and 11th century can the local history of the Alps be traced out

Exploration

The higher regions of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers (as distinguished from Alpine climbers) began to visit these valleys. The two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were H.B. de Saussure (1740–1799) in the Pennine Alps, and the Benedictine monk of Disentis Placidus a Spescha (1752–1833), most of whose ascents were made before 1806, in the valleys at the sources of the Rhine.
Travel and tourism

The Alps are popular both in summer and in winter as a destination for sightseeing and sports. Winter sports (Alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, snowshoeing, ski tours) can be practised in most regions from December to April. In summer, the Alps are popular with hikers, mountain bikers, paragliders, mountaineers, while many alpine lakes attract swimmers, sailors and surfers. The lower regions and larger towns of the Alps are well served by motorways and main roads, but higher passes and by-roads can be treacherous even in summer. Many passes are closed in winter. A multitude of airports around the Alps (and some within), as well as long-distance rail links from all neighbouring countries, afford large numbers of travellers easy access from abroad. The Alps typically see more than 100 million visitors a year.

Mannlichen

Männlichen is a 2,343 metre mountain in the Swiss Alps located within the Canton of Berne.
It can be reached from Wengen by the Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen (LWM) cable-car, or from Grindelwald using the Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen (GM) gondola. It then takes 15 minutes to walk to the summit. It is a popular viewpoint over the Lauterbrunnen valley and a popular start location for hikers and skiers.