Mammut is using this shot in a current advertising campaign.
Ken sent us the link for the “making of the photo” video.
… It finally came down to the Kleines Kamel in the Furka region, using the Sidelen hut as an operational base. …
attempt to climb Ben Macdui FAIL
The midges of Glen Nevis convinced me to quit the western highlands. And forego the western islands. (sob)
Furious scrutiny of my guide book led me to decide, instead, on the Cairngorms. Perhaps a climb of the second highest mountain in Scotland, Ben Macdui (1309m).
That would make me a right Munro bagger … since I’d already stolled up Ben Nevis with my hands in my pockets.
Scottish hill walking parlance:
• Munros = 3000ft+
• Corbetts = 2500ft+
• Grahams = 2000ft+
Lonely Planet Hiking in Scotland recommends a route they call Cairn Gorm High Circuit … with a side trip climb to the top of Ben Macdui.
The basic circuit is 7.5mi (12km). The much more difficult scramble to the summit is 5mi (8km) return.
Here’s the easier Cairngorm summit. On a good day.
I was first up to the summit of Cairn Gorm. Dense cloud. Howling winds. … What a contrast from Ben Nevis!
I could only barely see the highest cairn.
Weather is everything in Scotland. I was forced to descend to the controversial new funicular complex. It wasn’t open yet for the day. I had to sweet talk one of the employees in order to be allowed entrance.
Ben Macdui will have to wait.
At the bottom I asked the Ranger (the first National Park Ranger I’d seen in Europe) the wind speed. He confidently estimated 50-60 MPH.
The only higher winds I’d experienced were at Paine in Patagonia, the day backpack covers blew off and flew away like Helium balloons. And the unforgettable day I attempted Mt St Helen in Washington State. I was crawling boulder to boulder on that one. Could not stand up.
The Ranger was not at all interested. At that spot was recorded the “greatest British wind speed 150 knots (170 mph or 274 kmh) on 20 March 1986”.
Here’s how it was blowing for me after I descended down into just a lively breeze.
Click PLAY or watch me hiking Scotland on YouTube.
Midges were not a problem!
Mt Everest of Scotland – Ben Nevis
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Ben Nevis (1344m) is the highest mountain in Britain, the trailhead near sea level.
Over 100,000 attempt it every year making it perhaps the most climbed “famous” summit in the world.
Needless to say, many of those have hardly any walking experience.
I was there on one of the finest days of the year. Thousands of people made the top. Some in Crocs. Tiny children in thin coats. Extended families. Elderly couples. They were very, very lucky.
The top of the big Ben is cloud shrouded 6 days out of every 7. But not today.
At the summit it was cold and windy. I felt I was the only one on top with warm enough clothing. (3 under layers, full hooded down jacket, Gortex shell)
The temperature is normally 9C (48F) colder at the top than the base. Not counting wind chill.
Via the standard tourist route, the Pony Track:
9mi (14.5km)
I went for speed making it up in just over 2hrs, walking. Nobody passed me on the climb, not even the trail runners who walked up, ran down.
Each year a race up-and-down is held in September.
1hr 25min 34sec (mens record)
1hr 43min 25sec (ladies record)
See my 30 photos of this most excellent climb.
hiking Jungfrau, Switzerland – day 3
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Jungfrau hike – day 3
Descending into Lauterbrunnen valley was amazing. It’s (obviously) a valley of waterfalls, the most famous of which is Trummelbach.
My goal for the day … and for the past 20yrs or so … was carless, careless Gimmelwald. (Not to be confused with Grindelwald.)
“… Once a secret bolthole for hikers and adventurers looking to escape the region’s worst tourist excesses, tiny Gimmelwald is seeing a lot more foot traffic these days. But even even increasing crowds can’t diminish the scintillating … Swiss scenery and charm. …”
The views from there and nearby Mürren are AMAZING.
Sadly, I was too energetic and excited to stay a night or two at Mountain hostel in Gimmelwald. Or at Esther’s Guesthouse next door. I wish I had.
The weather was perfect yet again so I decided to push on, perhaps climb up to Schilthorn 2970m.
Guidebooks say the view from this is even better than that from the TOP OF EUROPE … though it’s a much less expensive ride up. Free if you walk up to Schilthorn.
You’ve seen Schilthorn. It was used in the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
I climbed without my pack up only to the second last station, Brig. What a view!
Then descended quickly so I’d have a chance to make it over the next high pass before nightfall.
It was a beautiful walk in the late day alpine light.
I did manage to clear the next pass, Sefinenfurgge, just at dusk. Not having a proper guidebook, it was a big surprise to find these stairs on the other side.
This valley most visitors to the Jungfrau region never see. It’s more precious for being less travelled.
Click through to see all my photos from day 3
This is the highlight section of what some call the Alpine Pass Route (20 days):
- Over the Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald
- Over the Kleine Scheidegg to Lauterbrunnen
- Over the Sefinenfurgge to Griesalp
- Over the Hohtürli to Kandersteg
Guidebook – Cicerone Alpine Pass Route, Switzerland, Europe – A Trekker’s Guide. Once again, by Kev Reynolds.
This was my last major hike in the Alps. I headed next to Scotland.
hiking Jungfrau, Switzerland – day 2
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Jungfrau hike – day 2
By coincidence, I was in Grindelwald the same time as the annual Eiger Bike Challenge. In fact, I hung out at the main tent two days running.
Hikers, the train and the cycle race all climbed from from the valley to Klein Scheidegg.
Most cyclists had to walk some sections. Fitness and ability level was mixed at this race. Certainly I would have been tempted to rent a bike and join in had I had arrived one day earlier.
My goal. The hotel at Kleine Scheidegg. I remembered the description well from reading The Eiger Sanction 20yrs before. I bought it as an audio download and enjoyed it again on my iPod during this hike.
The train from here to Jungfraujoch 3454m “TOP OF EUROPE” is super expensive. I asked several times if there was somehow I could hike up there instead. … Not without ice climbing equipment, unfortunately.
The short climb up to the glacial moraine was as high as I got, sadly.
There’s a feature there I’d never seen before. Benches in water where you can rinse your feet. It even has a bubbler.
By nightfall I found a fantastic place to put up my tent, on a cliff edge overlooking the lovely, tranquil Lauterbrunnen valley.
That evening when I was cooking supper an Italian hiker stopped by. He and his fiance were doing a long through hike through the Alps. Had been on the trail for a couple of months.
BestHike Eiger Sanctioned
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Jungfrau hike – day 1
After completing the High Route in the Alps, what other destination there could not possibly be a let down?
Eiger North Face, of course.
The Eiger Sanction is a 1972 thriller novel by Rodney William Whitaker, written under the pseudonym Trevanian. The story was made into a film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood in 1975.
Click PLAY or watch the trailer to Eiger Sanction on YouTube.
youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tFxmcIrJBU
Travanian (one of my favourite authors) thought the film vapid, by the way. The book is better.
Actually, because of the movie, the Eiger is more famous than dangerous. Just around the corner is the much more difficult Black Monk face.
“Dominated by the famous Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau (Ogre, Monk and Virgin) … the Jungfrau Region boasts the highest density of dramatic scenery. …”
Over the next 3 days I hiked left to right across the face of the Eiger.
It’s a scenic train journey just getting to Interlaken, the “adventure capital” of Europe. Many Jungfrau hikers base themselves out of this busy tourist trap, but I’d recommend you buy provisions at the huge super market across from the station, and catch the next train up to start at Grindelwald.
Early in my trip a Swiss hiker from Bern had recommended a route, jotting it down in my note book. Since I could not easily get my hands on either of the guidebooks I wanted in Grindelwald …
• The Bernese Alps by Kev Reynolds
• Tour of the Jungfrau Region by Kev Reynolds
… I decided to follow her suggestion using only tourist brochure maps. It turned out to be excellent.
I started by walking up to a ski chalet appropriately named “First” … Here’s the vista.
The Jungfrau region was everything I hoped it would be.
There are supposed to be 90km of signed hiking trails (and roads) about this resort. Intriguingly, for Switzerland, 48km of those are supposed to be hikeable year round.
I stayed up high so long that I actually did not get back to my tent until well after dark, getting lost on the way down. I needed my headlamp to find where I had stashed my pack.
I tucked into the trees discretely above Grindelwald. “Wild camping” is legal in Switzerland, but it’s best not to draw attention to yourself.
Mt Blanc to Matterhorn – day 7
Hiking trip report by site editor Rick McCharles. Day 7 of 7.
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | info
Heaven.
The sky was clear at dawn, again. Matterhorn beckoned.
I love these high traverse walks. You have a superb bird’s eye view of the highest peaks on the other side of the valley. But without so much climbing and descending.
Today I planned on nearly 30km walking to finish this trek above Zermatt. The highlight is views of the most sought after mountaineering peak in Switzerland, Weisshorn.
I left a Summit Stone with St. Bernard, the patron of mountain travellers.
He will keep it safe until collected by another High Route walker.
I said farewell to the goats, too. Pretty creatures spending the Summer in this alpine idyll.
The Europaweg has many, many interesting sections.
I heard it was “closed” at one point. Due to rock slide.
This is the most dangerous section. Those tunnels (now crushed) were meant to protect walkers from falling stones.
In the end, I was able to complete the entire route as laid out in Kev Reynold’s guidebook, including the under-the-waterfall section.
FINALLY, Zermatt. It took me at least 10hrs of walking to get here!
To celebrate completing Rick’s High Route, I toasted the Matterhorn.
Wonderful. Wonderful.
It’s a wonderful world.
See the rest of my photos from day 7.
Or start reading from the beginning of this 7-day journey, a valuable resource if you MIGHT want to do the Haute Route yourself.
I highly recommend this adventure. You can do it independently as I did. Or sign on with a guide or group. Or … do as another Canadian did. Hire a company to do all the logistics … (booking accommodation, meals, ground transport, etc.) … then hike it independently. This cost about CAD$1500 in his case.
The best guidebook in English is Chamonix to Zermatt: The Walker’s Haute Route by Kev Reynolds.
Mt Blanc to Matterhorn – day 6
Hiking trip report by site editor Rick McCharles. Day 6 of 7.
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | info
Out of bread, as usual, I wanted to stop in the quaint, quiet town of Gruben for supplies.
There was only one stale loaf of bread left in the small hotel shop. What! This is Europe. The grocery stores are terrible. But you can always get good fresh bread! (subsidized by the National government)
Turned out that these blokes had tented by the river in town. And then bought up all the bread first thing in the morning.
Here are manly men, even the 2 wearing skirts. They were the first to pass me on the trail since I started this hike.
Amongst the 7 friends they were fluent in French, German, Spanish and Italian. Nice.
We hiked the same day towards a challenging goal, Augstbordpass. It was high. Well above the helicopters.
In fact, Augstbordpass is the last high pass before the Zermatt valley. Many are excited to cross it. I was less so having opted to do the high, long and difficult 31km Europa Way traverse to finish.
But it was fun to drop down and down towards the valley far, far below.
A hiker walking the other direction tipped me to the fact that Ibex were posing on the rocks.
We assumed they’d been staked there by the tourist industry. What a photo op!
When we finally got to the valley floor, I dashed around like a madman trying to resupply with food. And still catch the bus up the other side to the trailhead. I wanted to get up high so I could start the long traverse to the finish first thing in the morning.
… the U.K. hikers passed me again! Waving from another bus.
Blast.
Pushing hard, I did manage to climb back up to 2300m to greet St. Bernard at dusk.
Kev Reynolds:
The satue of St Bernard … commemorates the opening of the Europaweg in 1997. This patron Saint of mountain travellers was … Bernard of Menthon, who had spent many years caring for travellers and pilgrims in trouble after crossing the alpine pass named after him…
Bernard died in the 1080s and was beatified shortly after. In 1923 Pope Pius XI conifrmed St Bernard as patron saint of the alps. …
I could just see the top of the Matterhorn in the distance.
The goats were my only companions up there.
My best tent site of the trip.
Mt Blanc to Matterhorn – day 5
Hiking trip report by site editor Rick McCharles. Day 5 of 7.
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | info
From my ideal tent site it was a pleasant wander down into the valley of Lac de Moiry.
At the same time, an American couple hiking the Haute Route were descending from their night at this interesting farm refuge.
We crossed the Lac de Moiry dam at about the same time.
And met up at the bus stop on the other side.
We decided to cheat (again) by skipping the next pass, and bus instead to Zinal. It was an “easy” pass but I was turned off when I saw a car joy riding the switchbacks up that slope. I’ve no desire to hike where there are roads.
If you ask hikers what impressions they remember of the Alps, early in the conversation they’ll mention the cows and their loud cowbells.
Everybody loves them. I never got tired of them.
Famed Hotel Weisshorn disappointed.
The area around the hotel was under some serious construction. I’m happy I didn’t stay there. The American couple walked on to Bella Tolla cabin.
I walked from the Hotel to the next high pass. It was easy and interesting, though the typical afternoon rain began again.
Another superb hiking day.
I had supper on the other side sitting out of the rain near a giant teepee. (Europeans love North American Indian culture.) Then chased some deer away from a spot they liked to sleep upon in the trees and set up my tent.
About 4AM one of the deer was barking up a storm. Perhaps barking at my tent.
climbing Kilimanjaro for Crohn’s disease
I have a friend with Crohn’s. It’s a bad disease.
From Jeremy Twigg via email:
… This September, 16-year-old Clinton Shard of Squamish, B.C. is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro as a part of a team of six people led by Crohn’s patient Rob Hill, who is the founder of the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society, or I.D.E.A.S. Both of these adventurers have Crohn’s disease, and have overcome tremendous obstacles in order to be able to take on this challenge.
While they are on their journey, they will be posting updates on Twitter (#roberthillclimb, #weneedideas); blogging, posting photos and videos (IBDAdventures.com); and even answering questions via video from their fans on the web while they are climbing! …
Check out their IBD Adventures website.
I’ve subscribed to the blog.
Good luck to all.
besthike.com 