Chennai, Feb. 15 -- What is Mountaineering?

Mountaineering has become increasingly popular across the world and like other adventures sports it's catching on pretty rapidly in India too. With the country's northern borders being graced by the mighty Himalayas, Indian mountaineers have easy access to some of the world's best mountain terrain. It is also home to some of the most unforgiving harsh terrains, where carelessness and oversights can prove fatal.

Just how real are the risks of mountaineering and should we even be concerned?

Popular media tends to grossly exaggerate the risks of mountaineering and the activity is not as high risk as one would assume. This does not mean that it is risk-free. One should never underestimate the haz...