Where do you climb?

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MCS AlexClimb Climbing School

Why do rock climbers climb mountains, and why do alpinists scale the vertical cliffs?

The incorrect wording in the title is intentional — we constantly encounter this kind of ignorance!

You don’t climb mountains! You go to the mountains, just like you go to sea

The thing is, people who are called into our mountain universe by the voice of their soul do not always understand right away where they’ve ended up. Sadly, they often can’t even define what exactly they want or what they’re striving for.

To avoid confusion and disappointment from the very beginning, we need to separate flies from cutlets, rock climbers from alpinists — and put everything neatly in its place. It will be much more convenient for everyone!

Alpinism and rock climbing are as far apart as the two sides of the same coin

First, not everyone who climbs something is an alpinist or even a climber. Roof workers climb while clearing snow, firefighter climbs into window to put out a burning socket in a lady’s bedroom, thieves and sleepwalkers climb their own routes toward their coveted goals.

But alpinists go to the mountains — and note, they are alpinists, not rock climbers. Why? That’s a separate story that even alpinists themselves can rarely explain.

Romance comes later; for now everyone just thinks, “Why on earth did I climb up here?!”

Let’s say you’re drawn by the romance of distant journeys, the chance to see divine landscapes through a hole in your tent — the same hole through which a snowdrift formed overnight on your sleeping bag…

A clear morning after snowfall — not pictured: how we held the tent all night so it wouldn’t blow away

Or maybe you dream at night of the ringing song of a heavenly trail above the clouds, where you trudge along in monstrous boots that give you blisters down to the depths of your soul…

If this resonates, then your path leads directly to alpinism. In our friendly company, you will always be welcome, because alpinism is a widely recognized social form of severe madness.

The Bezengi Wall, viewed from Shkhara Ridge. And from a plane, it looks even better

But if common sense hasn’t yet left your consciousness, and your natural sense of self-preservation is swearing in three floors of profanity — rethink your choices while it’s not too late!

There’s still time to sell the expensive gear you bought in a fit of insanity and remain — even if at a loss — a perfectly normal, ordinary, grey human being. Work, subway, booze, and quiet family happiness on the couch in front of the TV.

In the midst of family happyness, you sometimes especially want to go to the mountains…

It’s still not too late to step back, before high-altitude hypoxia devours your brain and membrane-jacket sellers tear your family budget apart like a dog ripping a hot-water bottle.

If your mind remains sound and madness hasn’t built a nest under your pillow, stuffing it with dreams of magnificent mountain peaks on the horizon — there’s still an alternative.

Go to the store and buy climbing shoes

If you’ve got money left — add a harness and a chalk bag. Because to start rock climbing, that’s all you really need.

Though rock climbing is not the alpinism described above, the intensity of sensations and the level of masochism can still satisfy any connoisseur of weird pleasures!

Climbing across the ceiling — what could be more wonderful?

Just think: you’ll climb walls and ceilings like a fly or a cockroach, enjoying the process itself regardless of the environment around you.

For a climber, a dusty indoor gym is like a beehive for bees — a warm, beloved home and refuge.

This is how a rock climber spends their free time

If you choose rock climbing — congratulations! You certainly won’t lack adventures above the clouds. Your thirst for adrenaline will be satisfied without dangerous consequences.

In time, your body will become flexible and agile, your social circle will expand in quality, and new perspectives will appear in your life. Even if they end up somewhere near the ceiling of the climbing gym.

Persistence is the road to success

As a bonus for bruised shins and rubbed-raw calluses, you’ll gain the ability to literally look down from above at pot-bellied tourists on the beach!

Instead of a normal vacation with beer on a sun lounger, you’ll be “pumping the crux” on some tricky rock climbing route, far from the noise and global problems of modern life.

There is no distance in this world longer than to the next unclipped quickdraw

And here’s the main thing — I’ll share my little secret! Despite all your efforts, to your lazy friends who can’t be bothered to learn the terminology, you’ll still be an alpinist, even though in reality you’re just an ordinary rock climber!

Because understanding the difference requires trying all of this yourself — and only true lovers of complicating their own lives are capable of that.

Author of the text and photos, climbing and alpinism programs — Alex Trubachev
International mountain guide, climbing and ice climbing coach

MCS EDIT 2025