Playgrounds on High

Snowboarding (photo by USA Snowboarding Assocation)

Have you ever climbed high on a rocky face? Skied swiftly down a snowy slope? Worldwide, mountains provide obstacle courses for mountain bikers, challenges for climbers, and thrills for snowboarders and paragliders. Alpine skiers hurtle down slopes at over 100 miles per hour. Intrepid mountaineers brave the slopes of Mt. Everest. Others, preferring solitude, go to the mountains to escape their busy lives or to enjoy the natural world.

Some mountain sports have been around for millennia. Carvings of skiers and even ancient skis from 4,500 years ago have been found in Norway. In 633 AD, a Japanese monk named En-no-Shokaku climbed to the summit of Mt. Fuji.

Unfortunately, mountain tourism has its price. Mountain tourism today accounts for almost one-fourth of tourism worldwide, and it is growing rapidly. The base camps of many Himalayan peaks are scattered with the trash of careless climbers. Forests are disappearing, and rare alpine plants are being trampled. Sometimes the Alps are hard to distinguish underneath gondolas, tourist paths, and resort developments. In order to enjoy mountains, we must also do our part to take care of them.

Whitewater rafting (photo by R. Harrison)

Would you like to see mountain sports in action? Try these links:

Bear snowboarding
Animated GIF by Peter Anderssen of Peter’s Palace

Whitewater kayaking
Animation by “Wear On Earth” (700 Kb)

Find more great learning resources by searching our on-line guide. Or, click on the keyword to do an automatic search for mountain learning resources related to adventure , mountain climbing , recreation , or tourism.