Origins.....

According to Britannica.com, for thousands of years the Himalayas have held a profound significance for the peoples of South Asia, as their literature, mythologies and religions reflect. Since ancient times, the vast glaciated heights have attracted the attention of the pilgrim mountaineers of India, who coined the Sanskrit name Himalaya - from hima (snow) and alaya (abode) - for the great mountain system. In contemporary times, the Himalayas have offered the greatest attraction and the greatest challenge to mountaineers throughout the world.