Hobbies And Interests
African Mountains
Mount Kenya is located within Kenya's Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park and stands 17,057 feet tall. The lower slopes support vegetation such as its cedar forest which begins at about 6,000 feet, followed by a bamboo forest at approximately 7,500 feet. Wildlife living in these forests include elephants, black and white Colobus monkeys, and an endangered antelope variant called the bongo. Sir Halford MacKinder's party became the first group to ascend to Mount Kenya's summit in the summer of 1899. Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa's tallest mountain, standing 19,340 feet tall. The mountain is stratovolcano, with characteristic broad lower slopes which abruptly steepen, and has a small volcanic crater at its summit. While Kilimanjaro emits volcanic gas, it's not otherwise active. Johannes Rebmann became the first European to view Kilimanjaro in 1848, and in October 1889, Dr. Hans Meyer became the first man to reach its summit.
Asian Summits
Mount Everest is the world's tallest peak at 29,035 feet. Part of Asia's Himalayan range, the action of the Indian tectonic plate forcing up the European plate created Everest and its neighbors, and it's still growing a few millimeters every year due to the continuous plate activity. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to conquer its summit in 1953, and more than 4,000 climbers have made the ascent since their trek. Mount Everest supports a tourism industry that accounts for approximately four percent of Nepal's revenue. In Japan, Mount Fuji or "Fuji-San," has been celebrated in art and poetry for centuries. Mount Fuji was created along with the Japanese islands by the interaction of the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates, which forced rocky landforms above the ocean's surface. While Fuji's rocky trails are steep, many able-bodied people can hike to the mountain's summit with little difficulty.
European Peaks
Mont Blanc is Western Europe's tallest mountain, towering 15,781 feet over the Chamonix Valley in France. Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard became the first to reach its summit in August 1786, and as many as 200 climbers a day try to duplicate this feat during the summer months. It's a dangerous ascent -- storms and avalanches killed 60 climbers in 2009 alone. Mount Olympos is Greece's tallest mountain, standing 9,570 feet tall, and is the second tallest peak in the Balkans. Ancient Greeks believe the mountain was the home of their divine pantheon, and Homer proclaimed the Gods could be found within the mountain's crevasses. Alexander the Great diligently offered sacrifices at Olympos' base before embarking on conquests. Mount Olympos' slopes support a rich variety of vegetation, with more than 1,700 species of flora living upon the mountainsides.
North American Mountains
Mount Logan, located within the Yukon's Kluane National Park, is Canada's tallest mountain, looming 19,551 feet over the St. Elias Icefields. Its summit ridge holds 11 different peaks, and the mountain is the site of the coldest temperature on Earth recorded outside Antarctica, with a reading of -106.6 degrees Fahrenheit in May 1991. Mount St. Helens is part of the Cascade mountain range in the U. S. state of Washington and held the world's attention in May 1980 when it erupted after a massive earthquake. The mountain's summit exploded violently, blowing a column of 520 tons of ash upward, enough to plunge Spokane, Washington into total darkness. A lava flow surged out of the volcano that destroyed everything in its 50-mile path from the mountain's summit into the Colditz River. While the volcano currently appears to be dormant, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey monitor its activity.