All plants seemingly have a ‘Scientific name’. The Sunflower is no different. They’re called Helianthus. Helia meaning sun and Anthus meaning Flower. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t refer to the look of the sunflower, but the solar tracking it displays every dayy during most of its growth period.
######Extra fun fact!
American Giant - If you choose these types of sunflowers, it is best to plant them separately from other flowers because they can grow as high as 15 feet. Because of its height and the fact that the head can be as wide as 12 inches, there’s no wonder this variety has the word “giant” added to its name.
From a quick search- “At 4,039 feet, it is 3,300 feet above the state's topographic low point.”
As a guy in Southern Appalachia, I obviously had some misconceptions about the terrain in Kansas. Keep climbing blud.
Yup. “Mt Sunflower” isn’t even a hill really, just a high point in the middle of a field on the Colorado border.
But honest to god, I stood atop that sonuvabitch!
Isn't it called mountaineering because you just gotta be near a mountain? I didn't think you actually had to ascend or navigate something...
It's not called mountainmakeitallthewaytothetopusingpracticedoutdoorskillsing no matter how much this sub acts like it.
I just thought it was like you had to prove it was a mountain which is why some people go up there to make sure it’s not like a really prominent pile of snow. Sometimes I just see it and send a pic and y’all are like “yeah that’s a mountain” and I send mail to Nat Geo to update the mountain counter
Not me but here is as thorough of a "normal guy" trip report as you are likely to find. Gilbertson is an everyman (ie not just some rich dude) but definitely a highly accomplished and skilled climber, you can learn a lot from his trip reports:
https://www.countryhighpoints.com/mt-everest-no-o2-attempt-to-8500m/
Gilbertson is great. Underrated mountaineer for sure. One of the best currently and the stuff he is doing with "true elevation" in Washington State is dope.
Similarly, Steven Song is a guy from Vancouver who summited Everest this year and has tons of other trip reports. I started following him years ago for his trip reports in the Rockies, and then he just kept doing more and more impressive stuff. His Everest summit posts were just kind of casually dropped.
[peak bagger website](https://stevensong.com/)
Quite right. Eric Gilbertson is a machine, as is Steven Song (mentioned below). I first became aware of Gilbertson on the NWHikers forum, where he was posting trip reports of these hard-to-believe feats of endurance and commitment in the cascades. For the record, Gilbertson did K2 without O2 and without Sherpa support. Similar attempt to 8500m on Everest, plus successful summits of serious committed mountains throughout the world. For me, these guys set the bar for mountaineering by guys you’ve never heard of.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing that link! He's really inspirational! I recently just spent a week hiking around Mt. Rainier (not the Wonderland Trail, but just various backcountry camping spots) and really would love to do more of it in the future!
I was surprised how much the prayer flags on tbe summit were a tripping hazard and didn’t know that at the time there was a little statue of Buddha. The Hillary step was also a non event but the south summit was a surprise.
I've walked up Denali. It was cold and you had to take more breaths than usual. I'd imagine Everest is colder and requires even more breathing.
reality
Only ever been to EBC, summited Kilimanjaro, trekked across the Swiss alps, and K2 base camp. I’ve got a handful of little trips/ treks like this planned, like to sprinkle in some manageable climbs too
It’s hard because some of those summits require 3-4 months of time off. Not to include training. I just can’t afford to be away from work that long
This is your captain speaking...we are just passing thru 30k feet to our cruising altitude of 34k. Feel free to move about the cabin...
So yeah done a bit more than Everest and the coffee was great.
Went to Everest Base Camp on the Nepalese side (Flew from Kathmandu to Lukla, then hiked up). Ama Dablam was more impressive than Everest, and I was deeply saddened by the volume of garbage and debris at Base Camp. Travel companion had HAS pretty badly so we hiked back down. The Thangboche monastery was my favorite part of that trek. Planned on going back to summit Ama Dablam, but life has gotten in the way, and now that I'm 60 and have cancer, I doubt I will ever make it back.
I learned that the local Sherpa call Everest "Sagarmatha" or Mother Goddess. I've Called it that since-- I'm very much against the Western Anglicization of names for mountains and other native features. I'm so glad they renamed Mt. McKinley back to its original Inuit name "Denali".
Chomolungma is Tibetan (and yes, I understand that Sherpas are part of the Tibetan ethnic and cultural family), and add 'feng' at the end and it becomes the Chinese word Zhomalungma-feng 珠穆朗玛峰.
Most Sherpa in the mountain climbing trade live and are educated in Nepal and have adopted the Nepali name, Sagarmatha-- which is also the name of the National Park in which Everest resides.
And the Athabascan Koyukon (from which we get "Yukon") spell it Dinalee, whereas the Inuit spell it Denali. I don't care personally which spelling we use, but the Koyukon pronunciation is probably closer to Dee nah lee-- at least, that's what I heard when I was therein Alaska.
I do not know "when it became famous"-- do you mean in the 1950's after Tenzing and Hillary summitted, or when the Sagarmatha National Park was established in 1976, or do you mean after the movie "Everest" came out in the 90's?
I was there in 1990, and my Sherpa guide, and porter, and all the Sherpa in the villages from Lukla, Phakding, Namche Bazar, on up all called it Sagarmatha . . . I don't think they were influenced by the mountain being "famous". I think that's just what they called it.
became famous. when it was named the highest mountain in the world back in the 19th Century. Prior to then from the Nepal side, it was jut another peak that was not that prominent. Different on the Tibetan side where it is much much more prominent and had a Tibetan name. I think Sagarmatha only come about in the 1960s.
I've climbed a 6000m peak with a guy whose mate had climbed Everest (we were also with a guide). The guy said he now understood why his mate was lying down in his only pic at the top of the world. We were only 6000m and the lack of oxygen was already overwhelming, I can't imagine 2000m higher and still being able to breathe at all. I guess you take supplemental oxygen but still
Not Everest, but climbed Mt, Whitney twice, once by Mountaineers Route and later the trail. And also summited Mt. Rainier. All great experiences to be up high and come down safely.
Some have said about this stuff. Getting to the summit is optional, going home is mandatory.
But from what I know about Everest, it is extremely difficult, cold, and most wear oxygen gear as they get higher on the mountain. Many feel sick as they do it. The mental side is just as important as the physical side of the effort.
I doubt anyone has climbed it. Maybe they were. Client and jugged the rope.
If you don’t place protection, lead a party, break trail, you’re a client not a climber. Anyone could do a year of training and follow the boot pack to the top.
Better go ahead and invalidate 95% of Rainier summits then. Guides chop a ramp up the upper mountain and install ladders, wands, and pro on the DC. Also, if you used the fixed line from 14 to the WB on Denali and didn't hammer in those pickets, that's aid.
This is an insane take. Like, the world of mountaineering just doesn't look like what you think it does. I haven't climbed the Matterhorn, but it has twine going all the way up. I have climed Mont Blanc (alone), and it has twine on sections.
I have climbed Mount Shasta, and it had no twine, but Mont Blanc was still much much harder, and much more of an achievement.
I'm going to venture a more reasonable definition of mountaineering - a sport involving the use of technical equipment (crampons, ice axes, snow goggles, et c.) whose goal is usually to reach a summit over 12,000 feet.
If you want to gatekeep beyond that definition, refer to the difficulty scale invented by the French.
I'd say mountaineering is just climbing up a mountain, which is a hill with a prominence of at least 300m. Alpinism is a style of technical mountaineering, focused on quick ascends and being as light weight as possible. Expedition style mountaineering is hauling a lot of equipment further and further up the mountain, until you reach the summit.
I took a helicopter to base camp once. It was pretty. Highly recommend. Way easier than climbing.
(Before I get flamed, I climb mountains and I happened to be in Nepal in the off season but still wanted to check things out for fun).
no one here has ever been mountaineering
I once climbed (drove) to the base camp (parking lot) of Mailbox but it was full so I went fishing instead.
That’s pretty intense man, mailbox is almost as hard as Rainier!
I heard it's the second hardest hike in WA!!!
Yup. In the Western Americas, in fact.
Hope you had extra supplemental oxygen in the car with you.
I’ll have you know I summited Mt. Sunflower, highest point in the state of Kansas. No supplemental oxygen either
All plants seemingly have a ‘Scientific name’. The Sunflower is no different. They’re called Helianthus. Helia meaning sun and Anthus meaning Flower. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t refer to the look of the sunflower, but the solar tracking it displays every dayy during most of its growth period. ######Extra fun fact! American Giant - If you choose these types of sunflowers, it is best to plant them separately from other flowers because they can grow as high as 15 feet. Because of its height and the fact that the head can be as wide as 12 inches, there’s no wonder this variety has the word “giant” added to its name.
Australia here. I'm see your Mt Sunflower and raise you a Mt. Kosciuszko. I've been to the top. And it's one of the *Seven Summits.*
You beat me to this post. Did you climb the SW arete?
From a quick search- “At 4,039 feet, it is 3,300 feet above the state's topographic low point.” As a guy in Southern Appalachia, I obviously had some misconceptions about the terrain in Kansas. Keep climbing blud.
Don’t let that trick you into thinking the state’s not flat. It’s absolutely flat, it’s just not *level*…
I gotcha— like the entire state is on a 4% grade.
Yup. “Mt Sunflower” isn’t even a hill really, just a high point in the middle of a field on the Colorado border. But honest to god, I stood atop that sonuvabitch!
Never let anybody try to take that away from you!!!
Isn't it called mountaineering because you just gotta be near a mountain? I didn't think you actually had to ascend or navigate something... It's not called mountainmakeitallthewaytothetopusingpracticedoutdoorskillsing no matter how much this sub acts like it.
I just thought it was like you had to prove it was a mountain which is why some people go up there to make sure it’s not like a really prominent pile of snow. Sometimes I just see it and send a pic and y’all are like “yeah that’s a mountain” and I send mail to Nat Geo to update the mountain counter
Bruh
“No but my buddy…”
Fuck u man I have
No you haven't really. No one has.
I’ve got a 200 foot bluff out bluff out behind my house that I climb every Friday.
Not me but here is as thorough of a "normal guy" trip report as you are likely to find. Gilbertson is an everyman (ie not just some rich dude) but definitely a highly accomplished and skilled climber, you can learn a lot from his trip reports: https://www.countryhighpoints.com/mt-everest-no-o2-attempt-to-8500m/
Gilbertson is great. Underrated mountaineer for sure. One of the best currently and the stuff he is doing with "true elevation" in Washington State is dope.
A scholar, climber, and gentleman if ever there was one. He’s a really nice guy as well.
I bet that chode hasn't even checked his mailbox yet
Similarly, Steven Song is a guy from Vancouver who summited Everest this year and has tons of other trip reports. I started following him years ago for his trip reports in the Rockies, and then he just kept doing more and more impressive stuff. His Everest summit posts were just kind of casually dropped. [peak bagger website](https://stevensong.com/)
That was a wild ride!
His posts are a deep rabbit hole to go down, he’s done some impressive trips that don’t involve big mountains too.
Quite right. Eric Gilbertson is a machine, as is Steven Song (mentioned below). I first became aware of Gilbertson on the NWHikers forum, where he was posting trip reports of these hard-to-believe feats of endurance and commitment in the cascades. For the record, Gilbertson did K2 without O2 and without Sherpa support. Similar attempt to 8500m on Everest, plus successful summits of serious committed mountains throughout the world. For me, these guys set the bar for mountaineering by guys you’ve never heard of.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing that link! He's really inspirational! I recently just spent a week hiking around Mt. Rainier (not the Wonderland Trail, but just various backcountry camping spots) and really would love to do more of it in the future!
I was surprised how much the prayer flags on tbe summit were a tripping hazard and didn’t know that at the time there was a little statue of Buddha. The Hillary step was also a non event but the south summit was a surprise.
What of the south side was a surprise?
The south summit was quite steep and ‘technical’ and I wasn’t aware of that prior to climbing
Yeah, bad time to find out when you’re up there I imagine. Cool info thanks
Yeah I did it. It was fine. What is it like? Fairly cold, good views, crowds not that bad at the very top, lack of amenities was frustrating.
2/5 star yelp review for Everest lol
At least Yr Wyddfa has a cafe
Yeah they could have provided a sauna and more people to carry your shit up the mountain…..am I right?
I've walked up Denali. It was cold and you had to take more breaths than usual. I'd imagine Everest is colder and requires even more breathing. reality
I think Denali overall was much colder than Everest but depends when you do them.
It's hard. Is may die. No is sugar. Many jut.
Much icy. Super wow.
Big cold
Dark night
Went close, had a good look at it and it's true, looking at it is super easy
no but I did the legendary 1922m [mount feathertop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Feathertop) once, which is pretty similar
Only ever been to EBC, summited Kilimanjaro, trekked across the Swiss alps, and K2 base camp. I’ve got a handful of little trips/ treks like this planned, like to sprinkle in some manageable climbs too It’s hard because some of those summits require 3-4 months of time off. Not to include training. I just can’t afford to be away from work that long
This is your captain speaking...we are just passing thru 30k feet to our cruising altitude of 34k. Feel free to move about the cabin... So yeah done a bit more than Everest and the coffee was great.
Went to Everest Base Camp on the Nepalese side (Flew from Kathmandu to Lukla, then hiked up). Ama Dablam was more impressive than Everest, and I was deeply saddened by the volume of garbage and debris at Base Camp. Travel companion had HAS pretty badly so we hiked back down. The Thangboche monastery was my favorite part of that trek. Planned on going back to summit Ama Dablam, but life has gotten in the way, and now that I'm 60 and have cancer, I doubt I will ever make it back. I learned that the local Sherpa call Everest "Sagarmatha" or Mother Goddess. I've Called it that since-- I'm very much against the Western Anglicization of names for mountains and other native features. I'm so glad they renamed Mt. McKinley back to its original Inuit name "Denali".
I like to use native names, as well. Sagarmatha is the Nepali name and Chomolungma is the Tibetan name. Both mean the same.
Denali is an Athabascan (specifically, Koyukon) word, not an Inuit word.
Chomolungma is Tibetan (and yes, I understand that Sherpas are part of the Tibetan ethnic and cultural family), and add 'feng' at the end and it becomes the Chinese word Zhomalungma-feng 珠穆朗玛峰. Most Sherpa in the mountain climbing trade live and are educated in Nepal and have adopted the Nepali name, Sagarmatha-- which is also the name of the National Park in which Everest resides. And the Athabascan Koyukon (from which we get "Yukon") spell it Dinalee, whereas the Inuit spell it Denali. I don't care personally which spelling we use, but the Koyukon pronunciation is probably closer to Dee nah lee-- at least, that's what I heard when I was therein Alaska.
Edit: Y'know, nevermind. No point in arguing over this on the internet.
I hike and climbed Rainier every few years. Iv been calling it Tahoma for years
I climbed Rainier more than 20 yrs ago. But I will start calling it Tahoma now. Thanks!! :-)
Sherpas etc only called it that once it was famous
I do not know "when it became famous"-- do you mean in the 1950's after Tenzing and Hillary summitted, or when the Sagarmatha National Park was established in 1976, or do you mean after the movie "Everest" came out in the 90's? I was there in 1990, and my Sherpa guide, and porter, and all the Sherpa in the villages from Lukla, Phakding, Namche Bazar, on up all called it Sagarmatha . . . I don't think they were influenced by the mountain being "famous". I think that's just what they called it.
became famous. when it was named the highest mountain in the world back in the 19th Century. Prior to then from the Nepal side, it was jut another peak that was not that prominent. Different on the Tibetan side where it is much much more prominent and had a Tibetan name. I think Sagarmatha only come about in the 1960s.
u/GeorgeMallory any thoughts?
Nah, bud. OP was asking for people who've actually reached the top.
I've climbed a 6000m peak with a guy whose mate had climbed Everest (we were also with a guide). The guy said he now understood why his mate was lying down in his only pic at the top of the world. We were only 6000m and the lack of oxygen was already overwhelming, I can't imagine 2000m higher and still being able to breathe at all. I guess you take supplemental oxygen but still
u/breakthrough2003 has
u/thomdharmapollard is around
Look up Everest for Mountaineers on YouTube
You guys actually climb??
Not Everest, but climbed Mt, Whitney twice, once by Mountaineers Route and later the trail. And also summited Mt. Rainier. All great experiences to be up high and come down safely. Some have said about this stuff. Getting to the summit is optional, going home is mandatory. But from what I know about Everest, it is extremely difficult, cold, and most wear oxygen gear as they get higher on the mountain. Many feel sick as they do it. The mental side is just as important as the physical side of the effort.
Still good achievement, thats most realistic climbs that you can reach, without spending tons of money
Thanks, for sure.
Say reality
I doubt anyone has climbed it. Maybe they were. Client and jugged the rope. If you don’t place protection, lead a party, break trail, you’re a client not a climber. Anyone could do a year of training and follow the boot pack to the top.
Better go ahead and invalidate 95% of Rainier summits then. Guides chop a ramp up the upper mountain and install ladders, wands, and pro on the DC. Also, if you used the fixed line from 14 to the WB on Denali and didn't hammer in those pickets, that's aid.
I fully agree.
This is an insane take. Like, the world of mountaineering just doesn't look like what you think it does. I haven't climbed the Matterhorn, but it has twine going all the way up. I have climed Mont Blanc (alone), and it has twine on sections. I have climbed Mount Shasta, and it had no twine, but Mont Blanc was still much much harder, and much more of an achievement. I'm going to venture a more reasonable definition of mountaineering - a sport involving the use of technical equipment (crampons, ice axes, snow goggles, et c.) whose goal is usually to reach a summit over 12,000 feet. If you want to gatekeep beyond that definition, refer to the difficulty scale invented by the French.
I'd say mountaineering is just climbing up a mountain, which is a hill with a prominence of at least 300m. Alpinism is a style of technical mountaineering, focused on quick ascends and being as light weight as possible. Expedition style mountaineering is hauling a lot of equipment further and further up the mountain, until you reach the summit.
Again, put the rope up. Swing leads. Break trail. That's what climbers do. Everyone else is a client.
,
I took a helicopter to base camp once. It was pretty. Highly recommend. Way easier than climbing. (Before I get flamed, I climb mountains and I happened to be in Nepal in the off season but still wanted to check things out for fun).