Category: alpine

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South American Explorers


If you trek in South America, you spend a lot of time at the SAE clubhouses in Cuzco and Lima, Peru.

Hikers and mountain climbers rendezvous there to organize trips.

I’m a Facebook friend of the Lima Clubhouse. They offer many special events for international travelers. For example:

trek-south-americaWednesday, January 14, 2009
Location: Lima Clubhouse

Interested in trekking, but have no idea how, where, when, with whom to start? Join us on January 14th for “Trekking in Peru 101”. SAE Lima Clubhouse hosts trekking expert, Virgilio Marmanillo, to answer all your questions and concerns. Virigilio has been guiding trekking and adventure tourism travelers for over 10 years in Peru. He’s an expert in the Salkantay, Inka and Choquehuanca trails.

Stop by and learn tips from a pro, find out what you need for your route, and maybe even start prepping for a trekking adventure!

***cold cerveza for sale!!!!***

Cost: free for all

official website – South American Explorers

I highly recommend you join the SAE if you travel in Peru.

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trekking Manaslu and Annapurna, Nepal


Wow. Check out a 39-day mega-trek photo trip report posted by Tubby.

And this is only PART 1 of their adventures in Nepal.

Tubby’s group connected a trek around Manaslu with the Annapurna Circuit. AND the sidetrip to Annapurna Base Camp.

They had wondrous moments. And many challenges.

Here’s the receipt from Maoist rebels for the group “donation”:

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This extortion is supposed to be ended. But I expect the odd local in Nepal will still be asking for cash for the cause.

As always, the charming people were a highlight:

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I can’t find a way to summarize this monster trip in a short blog post. You need to check it out yourself: Trekking our arses off in Nepal #1

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Manaslu

Annapurna Circuit information page.

Annapurna is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

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hike Monkman Provincial Park, B.C.


Bluepeak was the first blog to announce the opening of the Monkman Pass Memorial Trail in Northern British Columbia.

This 63-km long trail follows the route that Alex Monkman and his band of pioneers established in the 1930s. Most of this little-known, but spectacular trail is in Monkman Provincial Park, leading from Kinuseo Falls over the Rocky Mountains to Hobi’s Cabin on the Herrick River. There are very few facilities along the route – this is a true wilderness experience.

The most famous feature is Kinuseo Falls.

waterfall
original – flickr – wgelnaw

Monkman Expeditions can guide you on the new historical trail.

But it looks quite doable for experienced wilderness hikers independently.

Start planning your future adventure. First you have to get there …

map
map

related:

  • map of the Monkman Pass Memorial Trail
  • Monkman Provincial Park – Wikipedia
  • Monkman Provincial Park – official website

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    Tiger Leaping Gorge a best hike?


    It’s on our list of best hikes in Asia.

    tiger-leaping-gorge-map

    It should be one of the best trekking adventures in China.

    But ceaseless Chinese development may have already ruined it. (Though a proposed hydroelectric dam that would have submerged the Gorge was cancelled in 2007.)

    tiger-leaping-gorge
    larger version – flickr – livepine

    Tiger Leaping Gorge (Chinese: 虎跳峡; pinyin: Hǔtiào Xiá) is a canyon on the Yangtze River …

    Around 15 km in length, the gorge is located where the river passes between 5,596 metre Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山; Yùlóngxuĕ Shān) and 5,396 m Haba Xueshan (哈巴山; Hābā Shān) in a series of rapids under steep 2000 metre cliffs. Legend says that in order to escape from a hunter, a tiger jumped across the river at the narrowest point (still 25 metres wide), hence the name. …

    The hiking path (“the high road”) is well-maintained and marked, although sometimes narrow, and is used by the Naxi as part of everyday life. This trail is longer than the lower road, approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi), but more varied, with fantastic scenery—mainly mountain views—a challenge for most but well worth it. It features a surprising variety of microecosystems, waterfalls and a fair number of guesthouses for trekkers. …

    Wikipedia

    I hiked it about 11yrs ago. And it was already too developed for me. By the sounds of the trip reports I’ve read, it’s gotten much worse.

    Someday the Chinese governments will learn to preserve their best wilderness areas. This is part of a World Heritage Site. And yet it’s still threatened.

    Read a positive trip report with photos by Edbo on Shutterfly.

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    trek to Mt Tronador, Argentina

    As usual, the best trip report was posted by Photodiary of a Nomad.

    Their 3 day traverse of Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentina — on an unusual route — without meeting any other hikers on the trail, appeals to me. (They did have a dog or two tag along.)

    … it was hard to decide the highlight – was it the glinting granite slabs of Cerro de las Cristales, the amazing blue of Laguna Azul, the perfect form of the green-clad glacial valleys, the richness of the wetlands, the great vistas of Tronador glistening in the sun – was today better than yesterday? – did it really matter? – tonight we would have some very pleasant dreams.

    Personally, I want to see Mt Tronador.

    tronador.jpg
    larger version – flickr – fainmen

    Check the trip report for yourself: Nahuel Huapi Traverse

    Our besthike Nahuel Huapi Traverse information page.

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    Fitz Roy – best mountain vista anywhere

    What do you think?

    fitzroy.jpg

    It’s rare to get this clear a view.

    Photodiary of a Nomad had perfect timing. Lucky ducks!

    From their trip report:

    argentinamapsm.gif

    At 6.30am I looked outside the window of our room; snow still lay on the ground in El Chalten and the hills around, but it was glistening ….. in the sunlight. A fine sunny day is a precious object in this part of the world and there was no time to dally. We were up, showered, fed and on the track by 8am, hoping to catch our first glimpse of the mountains of Fitzroy. With the promise of fine weather, we decided to head up the lesser known track to the the Mirador de Loma de Pliegue Tumbado, with the promise of a magnificent panorama of the two icons of this area – 3120m Cerro Torre and 3405m Monte Fitzroy. …

    It was cloud covered the entire time I was there.

    … Almost on cue, the clouds parted to reveal one of the best alpine panoramas that we have ever seen; the incredibly sharp needle of Cerro Torre and the dark bulk of the south face of Monte Fitzroy standing guard on each side of Glacier Torre, curving down into the milky green waters of Laguna Torre.

    a28080.jpg

    read on – Los Glaciares – Fitzroy Treks (part 1)

    Want to trek there yourself?

    Check our besthike Fitz Roy information page.

    All hikers who travel to Fitz Roy trek nearby Paine, as well.

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    another Inca Trail alternative – Moonstone Trek

    First off, this adventure does not have you hiking into Machu Picchu.

    It finishes 7mi away in (amazing) Ollantaytambo. From there you take the train to Aguas Calientes. Then the bus up to the ruins.

    machu-picchu.jpg
    larger version – flickr – FranUlloa

    On the other hand, it does look pretty good compared with the over-popular, problematic Inca Trail.

    It passes through seldom-visited Andean villages, Inca and pre-Inca ruins and heads onto a beautiful altiplano plateau surrounded by glaciated peaks. Most groups won’t encounter any other tourists for the entire trek and the combination of stunning mountain scenery and wildlife, fascinating relics and real isolation is truly rewarding. …

    Supported by horses rather than porters. It’s claimed to be a little tougher than the standard Inca Trail, as “it goes higher and covers slightly more distance”.

    moonstone-altitude-chart.jpg

    Exodus Guide Tours – Moonstone Trek

    lamas.jpg
    larger version – flickr – FranUlloa

    (via The Adventure Blog)

    The best alternative is still Choquequirao to Machu Picchu.

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    scrambling Annapurna Base Camp, NEPAL

    My old hiking buddy from South America 2004, Canadian Grant Assenheimer, just climbed down from the high Himalayas. He was on a “holiday” between assignments for Doctors Without Borders.

    From Grant’s email:

    Just got back from ABC and had a fantastic time. The ‘scare’ tactics used by the tour companies almost had me convinced that I should take a guide but it is TOTALLY NOT NECESSARY. Pass the word! Even if you are only moderately fit, you can easily do any of the teahouse trekking without a guide or porter.

    grant.jpg
    larger version – flickr

    My favorite day was a scramble up from the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Although most people stop at ABC, I rounded up a couple of New Yorkers and the 3 of us did this great day trip UP to the base camp for Tent Peak, one of the smaller ‘trekking peaks’ in the area. We started at 4100 m, went down and crossed the stone-covered glacier and then climbed to 4800 m via a steep morrain, icy river through a narrow gorge and finally a bit of a slog through steep high-altitude grassy slopes. This gave us GREAT views of the Annapurna Range, Machapuchre and some other ‘lesser’ 5 and 6 thousand meter peaks. The way UP was a bit challenging (ie. GREAT) because we didn’t see the PATH until we were already pretty much at the top. Lets just say that the way down was MUCH easier and didn’t involve navigating that icy river in that steep canyon or the 60 degree grassy slopes…

    I also read Annapurna by Herzog during the hike. Wow. All I can say is that the Nepal of today is NOTHING like the Himalayas of the early mountaineers. I mean, they actually walked in from India. No apple pie or internet cafe waiting at 4000 m for them. What a story.

    I started in Phedi, walked to ABC and then came out via Gorenpani and Poon hill. Truly spectacular and worth putting up with everyone else for the views. Definitely NOT a wilderness experience but if you go in without expecting one, its a great time.

    nepal.jpg
    larger version – flickr

    Thanks Grant.

    The Base Camp is the best side trip off the famed Annapurna Circuit.

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    5 best day hikes in the Alps

    As selected by Greg Witt, adventure guide. He is the author of The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures 1 .

    His adventure travel company, Alpenwild, specializes in hiking, trekking, and photographic adventures in the Alps.

    alps.jpg

    1. Höhenweg Höhbalmen

    Where: Zermatt Length: 11miles/18km Duration: 5-7 hours Zermatt is touristy, to be sure, but within five minutes of the center of town you’re already leaving wildflower-spangled meadows to ascend through larch forests. …

    2. Riffelsee to Sunnegga

    Where: Zermatt Length: 8 miles/13km Duration: 3-5 hours Once again, the Matterhorn is the showstopper here, but you access the postcard views quickly by taking the cog-wheeled Gornergrat train to Riffelsee, where you’ll have mirror-reflections of the Matterhorn in the small glacial lakes. …

    3. Lac de Louvie

    Where: Verbier Length: 9 miles/15km Duration: 6-8 hours Make a quick escape from the ski-resort bustle of Verbier by taking the gondola to Les Ruinettes and continuing on a short stroll to the Cabane du Mont Fort for views of the Mont Blanc massif. …

    4. The Faulhornweg

    Where: Grindelwald (Jungfrau) Length: 9 miles/15km Duration: 6-8 hours For high-level panoramic views of the Jungfrau, the Faulhornweg is a hiker’s dream. …

    5. Mürren

    Where: Lauterbrunnen (Jungfrau) Length: 6 miles/10km Duration: 3-4 hours The Lauterbrunnental is the world’s largest glacial valley (it’s hard to imagine someplace that outshines Yosemite) and it’s ringed by 72 waterfalls, including some of the highest in Europe.

    read more – Adventure Travel – About.com

    800px-lauterbrunnen_valley_mid_summer.jpg
    Lauterbrunnen valley – larger original – Wikipedia

    They sound great. We’ve added all 5 to our list of the best hikes in Europe.

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    most hazardous walk to school

    The world’s remotest school

    Children in a remote part of China face a hazardous walk to school – because it is halfway up a sheer cliff.

    1449797.jpg

    The school in Gulu village, Sichuan province, lies halfway up a mountain and climbing up from the base takes five hours.

    The elementary school has only one teacher who has been there for 26 years, reports the West China City Daily.

    Villagers say going to school is very dangerous for the children, since the path is only 1ft 4ins wide at the narrowest point and has a sheer drop on one side.

    Walking along the narrow, zigzagging path also makes the children feel dizzy, they say.

    1449798.jpg

    The school has five concrete buildings and a playground with a basketball hoop made of two wooden poles and a broken blackboard.

    However, the children are allowed to only pat the balls, as if they throw them and they go over the edge of the cliff, it would take half a day to retrieve them.

    Shen Qijun, 45, the teacher, has threatened to quit several times, but each time the villagers plead with him to stay as there would be nobody else to teach their children. …

    Ananova

    (via Dark Roasted Blend)

    Check, too, their “Most Dangerous Roads in the World” Series.