Forum: outdoors.stackexchange.com
Tags: <mountaineering><rock-climbing>
Title: What are the key differences between Mountaineering and Rock Climbing?
Question: I think the title speaks for itself.  I have done a basic  google search  and I do not find the references to be sufficient.  I'm looking for a short synopsis that would educate a layman such as myself.

Answers:
sents: text: There are two interpretations of 'Mountaineering' depending on the context in which you use the word: Mountaineering is any activity in a mountainous environment.
text: It includes rock climbing, ice climbing, hiking, orienteering, skiing, and 'mountaineering' in its own right (see below)...
text: Mountaineering as a specific activity is usually used to include climbing of a whole mountain, encompassing a wider variety of skills than simply rock climbing.
text: For example, climbing up a cliff face might be rock climbing, but climbing Everest is mountaineering as it requires ascending a complete mountain, and uses skills from rock climbing, ice climbing, survival, navigation, endurance etc.
text: But there is a grey area in this.
text: Is climbing El Capitan in Yosemite rock climbing or mountaineering?
text: What about if you climb an unclimbed face of a mountain in the Himalaya, but without trying to summit the mountain?
text: At the end of the day, it boils down to the seriousness of the adventure.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/437/Rich
score: 22
sents: text: The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has a definition of Mountaineering right here: Welcome to Mountaineering Scotland .
text: The British Mountaineering Council has a great wealth of articles about the topic, which I can only recommend.
text: Typically "Mountaineering" involves the use of technical equipment in order to navigate through the terrain, like ropes, ice axes or crampons.
text: As opposed to a leisurely walk on a paved road, or hill walking.
text: It encompasses most of the more adventurous activities which take place in the mountains.
text: Rock climbing as such is defined as an athletic activity which comes in different flavours: Bouldering, indoor climbing, Traditional climbing, sport climbing, deep water soloing and so on.
text: Usually a mountain face, sea cliff or boulder is either climbed up on or traversed.
text: Although technically it can be done without any equipment, the bare minimum that is necessary are the specifically designed rock climbing shoes.
text: Personally, I'd consider a hike which requires basic navigating/orienteering skills, and goes into more difficult mountain terrain to be mountaineering.
text: Everything which involves climbing up a wall with hands and feet, thus using rock climbing techniques and equipment, would be rock climbing.
text: "
text: Via ferrata" routes I would rather classify as mountaineering since it does not involve rock climbing techniques as such and uses specialised equipment.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/453/Pitt Pauly
score: 12
sents: text: According to my father (a self-identified mountaineer), the difference is as follows: A rock climber encounters a cliff on a mountainside.
text: He spends some time studying it, finds the most interesting route, climbs up and back down, and calls it a day.
text: A mountaineer encounters a cliff on a mountainside.
text: He pulls out his map, finds a route around it, and continues up the mountain.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/3112/Mark
score: 7
sents: text: Mountaineering refers to ascending a natural feature, although it doesn't necessarily imply summitting, nor must it be rock, as the same can be applied to the ascension of glaciers.
text: Mountaineering has a subset of various skills which include climbing, skiing, hiking and scrambling.
text: You can hike, ski, climb and boulder without mountaineering.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/231/furtive
score: 5
sents: text: Context Mountaineers sooner or later must climb ice and snow and camp for days at a time in high altitude.
text: Rock climbers climb rock and in winter the rock that forms on climbs that are quite small in relation to that of what a mountaineer will climb.
text: Rock climbers focus on climbing rocks and ice covered rocks and then going down.
text: The face they are on may take days but it will not generally be above 18k feet.
text: Climbers will seek to be on YDC 5.0 and above and need a rope.
text: Terrain Mountaineers may be in terrain 5.0 and under and above.
text: They are theones that go to the top of the world.
text: Rock climbers don't seek the top they seek to climb and their aim isimprove at the context strength game.
text: The more sheer the face , themore impossible to find a hold yet manage to, that is the rockclimber.
text: They may even do seemingly impossible holds all day lone 100feet off the ground.
text: Goals
text: The Mountaineer wants to go up, up, up and climb mountain tops anduse as much gear as they need to get there.
text: They typically make basecamps along the way for support and to retreat to for 2nd attempts.
text: Climbers have rope and chalk or ice axes.
text: Hope this helps.
text: A goodclimber may not make a good mountaineer and a great mountaineer maynot make an incredible rock climber.
text: Mindset
text: The mind of the mountaineer is that of a survivalist.
text: The mind of a rock climber is that of a sportsman.
text: Pain tolerance Both are game to suffering, only the mountaineer is game to sufferthe most.
text: To loose body parts, team mates, they are game to facemother nature at the hardest.
text: TL;DR
text: Many a great Mountaineer has never done super hard free solos takingonly 2 hours.
text: Many a great rock climber has never been to the top of Everest.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/8674/user8674
score: 3
sents: text: I would consider "Rock Climbing" as something in the Class 5 definition of the YDS grading system.
text: Wikipedia definition Class 4 and 6 might also be considered "rock climbing" but I've been climbing for nearly 2 decades, and I would say class 5 = rock climbing.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/459/user2101
score: 2
sents: text: Mountaineering is one of them terms that means different things to different people.
text: To me mountaineering is spending time ascending mountains , simples.
text: I would argue that rock climbing is a skill you may or may not use in the process of mountaineering .
text: For example ascending the north face of the eiger (one of the most classic and famous lines in mountaineering ) requires lot's of rock climbing.
text: So this to me proves that rock climbing is part of mountaineering as a general activity.
text: Mountaineering is broader though and also includes activities such as skiing (see ski touring, etc), hiking, scrambling, via ferrata, etc.
text: etc.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
Some consider that mountaineering suggests survivalist, whereas rock climbing suggests sportsmanship. Typically, mountaineering involves the use of technical equipment to navigate the terrain, although it may simply refer to ascending a natural feature. Rock climbing may describe an athletic activity with a number of different styles - indoor climbing, bouldering etc. - and may be a lot smaller than the features that a mountaineer may climb.
Mountaineering is a survivalist activity that involves spending time ascending natural features. Rock climbing is an athletic activity that involves scaling rocks and ice rocks, using equipment.