alpine – Page 121 – besthike.com

February 24, 2009February 23, 2009

top 10 treks in the World

As chosen (and marketed) by Adventure Center.

Mont Blanc Highlights

Kilimanjaro Climb – Rongai Route

Toubkal & the High Atlas

Everest Base Camp and Kala Patar

The Inca Trail

Walking the Great Wall

Ladakh: the Markha Valley

Ethiopia: The Simien Mountains

Torres del Paine Trek

Bhutan – The Snowman Trek

Not a bad list.

We’d replace the Inca Trail with one of the better treks in the Andes.

For details – Adventure Center

Personally, I’m looking at trekking Ladakh … independently. I can’t afford these tour prices. My budget is $40/day.

Ladakh: The Markha Valley
15 Days – from $2367

A classic trek in ‘Little Tibet’, combining stunning mountain panoramas and barren hillsides with pretty villages and lush meadows

Isolated for many months of the year by snow, Ladakh remains one of the best places to experience the unique culture of the High Himalaya. Crossing the Ganda La we follow the Markha River, climbing through gorges, barley and mustard fields and picturesque Ladakhi villages. We hope to spot blue sheep and Ibex scrambling over the rocky slopes, with the stark peaks of the Stok, Matho and Zanskar ranges towering above.From the high-altitude yak pastures we have time to explore some of the surrounding peaks, and from the top of the highest pass, the Gongmaru La (5200m) we can enjoy incredible views of the Karakorum, the Himalaya and into Tibet. We end the trek with a spectacular walk down a gorge to Hemis, the largest and most famous of the Ladakhi monasteries.

Exodus

markha-river

February 18, 2009February 15, 2009

7 trekkers die in the mountains

Himalayas?

Andes?

Nope. The UK.

Icy conditions in the fell country lead to seven trekker deaths on Wales’ Mt. Snowdon and the English Peak and Lake Districts.

Terrible.

I had no idea that winter walking in the United Kingdom was so dangerous.

The lesson here? Easy is all about conditions. When the slopes and trails are wet, or muddy, or icy, or the lightning’s flying and the wind’s howling, your easy hike just turned into a big deal. Whenever you go into the woods in winter, never scrimp on safety and travel equipment like poles, crampons, axes, skis, snowshoes, gaiters, goggles, bivy gear and clothing.

You have two choices out there: If you’re ready for the conditions, have fun. If you’re not, turn around. It’s a simple decision, but one that people often have a hard time making. If you let desire pull you onward when you’re not prepared….well, you can learn from the examples above, or learn it on your own. Always do your suffering vicariously.

Hike safe. – Steve Howe

Backpacker – Danger in the British Isles

February 10, 2009

7800mi backpacking the Andes

Deia Schlosberg & Gregg Treinish were named Adventurers of the Year by one of the National Geographic magazines.

Congratulations.

Two years. 7,800 miles. No roads. That was how Deia Schlosberg, 28, and Gregg Treinish, 26, vowed to trek the length of the Andes. They had no idea what they were getting into. Beginning in Papallacta, Ecuador, the two Montana-based wilderness educators cobbled together a route of llama tracks, old Inca roads, and forgotten trade paths down the spine of the world’s longest mountain range. It was an Andes few outsiders had seen before. For good reason: “We were lost the entire time,” Treinish says. “Every time we wanted to quit, we were so far in the middle of nowhere that it wasn’t even an option.” …

National Geographic Adventure – Trekking the forgotten Andes

As I write I’m listening to their audio interview on Wend magazine.

… successfully completed the trek, after covering 56 degrees of the globe, trekking more than 7800 miles, we became the first two people to backpack the Andes Mountain Range, the first two to walk it through the mountains without relying on roads, and Deia became the first woman to have walked South America. …

finalmap

It was a struggle at many times. There are no fixed long distance trails.

across-the-andes

home page – Across the Andes

February 7, 2009February 5, 2009

View from 7 Highest Peaks

The Sierra Trading Post blog linked to a terrific photo article on the 7 Summit.

Only a select few have conquered the Seven Summits, a grueling challenge that involves climbing the highest peak of every continent. They’ve seen the spectacular mountain-top views firsthand, and now you get a chance to soak in the scenery too as we go on a whirlwind tour of images captured by these exceptional mountaineers. …

But first, an explanation: Because of conflicting continental border definitions, there are actually two lists of the Seven Summits; the first was created by Richard Bass and the second revised by Reinhold Messner shortly after. Without question, six of the seven peaks on each list match, although one is disputed: Bass chose Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) as the highest peak in Australia whereas Messner decided on the more challenging Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m) in Indonesia as the top of Australia-New Guinea.

In any case, bravo to the 229 people who have completed all seven on either list …

Click through to see photos of all 8 Seven Summits: Environmental Graffiti – The View from the Seven Highest Peaks on Earth

February 6, 2009February 4, 2009

Best treks in Africa

Anouk Zijlma on About.com posted a terrific list of the Best Hikes and Treks in Africa.

… Africa’s most popular trekking destination is Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the continent. Lesser known ranges like Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains offer an incredible array of snow-capped peaks right next to the equator.

Other fantastic hikes in Africa that don’t necessarily involve great heights include the Wild Coast (South Africa) and the Fish River Canyon (Namibia). …

Others on the list:

Mount Kenya

Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

The Drakensberg, South Africa

Mount Meru, Tanzania

Mount Elgon, Uganda and Kenya

Mount Cameroon, Cameroon

Mulanje Mountain, Malawi

Click through for more information, links and recommended guides – About.com Best treks in Africa

Most foreign trekkers prefer to go with a guiding company to ensure their safety.

mountstanley Mt. Stanley – Sylwia Duda/Creative Commons

mulanje Mulanje Mountain, Malawi – larger original – flickr – fffriendly

Compare this About.com list with our own Best Hikes in Africa

February 4, 2009February 2, 2009

Rockies hiking pics – Lake O’Hara

Photographer Conny Ellison loves Lake O’Hara in the Canadian Rockies.

We agree it’s the most photogenic hiking area of all, the best place to take first time visitors to the region.

Check out a slideshow to see for yourself.

No doubt about it: Lake O’Hara is our most favourite place (“Happy Place”) on this planet. We have been very fortunate and been able to make a trip here at least once every year since 2002 (getting seats on the bus into O’Hara can be a bit of a hassle). Often there is too much snow on the alpine traverse and we have to “make do” with the Lake Oesa and Opabin trails. The highline is definitely our favourite trail though!

opabin-lake

woodrat

see the rest of the photos on Pbase – LAKE O’HARA

Our besthike Lake O’Hara information page.

February 2, 2009February 1, 2009

Torres del Paine Circuit trek, Chile

Hank Leukart posted a magazine quality essay on one of our top treks in the World, the Paine Circuit.

Adopted by Kiwis in Chilean Patagonia. How to hike the Torres del Paine Circuit on someone else’s family vacation

… The only thing standing between us and views of 270-square-kilometer Glaciar Grey was Paso John Garner, a steep and rocky pass through the Patagonian Andes Mountains. My brother Brian and I looked up nervously at the severe mountain crags and glacial ice surrounding us, and though we hadn’t been able to substantiate the rumors of a lost hiker’s death during a blizzard in the pass three days before, the gossip made us uneasy. We knew that some hikers had turned back, failing to conquer the pass due to dangerous weather. …

glaciar-grey

read the 3-part series article on Without Baggage

Especially if you want to find out why Hank decided to climb on to an iceberg.

hank

related posts – more Without Baggage trip reports

January 31, 2009January 28, 2009

backpacking the John Muir Trail

An entertaining 6min HD video by Pete Bell.

… an end to end hike of the JMT this past summer. It features 5 high school students from Chapel Hill, NC and their experience along the trail. We took 16 days at about 15 miles of hiking per day to hike all 220 miles from Yosemite Valley south to Mt. Whitney. We had one resupply at Vermilion Resort where the group cleaned out the small store there trying to stock up with 9 days of food.

It includes one bear encounter.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "High Sierra HD – Backpacking the John…", posted with vodpod

BestHike JMT information page.

January 12, 2009

climbing Mt Shasta, California

Friends tell me this is the best climb in CA. May – July.

summit-shasta
larger version – flickr – Darcy McCarty

And that it’s quite doable for a non-mountaineer.

The The Mozmonkey Blog is planning for summer 2009, as well:

… Typically the climb and decent will take two days, although, some people do it in one.

Day 1 starts with a 4 – 6 hour hike from the parking lot up to Helen Lake (which is really just a glacier) where you setup base camp. The rest of the day is spent admiring the view, making food (yay, dehydrated meals!) and preparing your day pack for the next morning.

The summit ascent begins somewhere between 12 AM – 3 AM the next morning. You’ll want to start super early while the snow is still firm and solid and get to red banks before the sun starts making it soft and slushy.

When you reach the summit stop to enjoy the view, regain your energy and prepare for the best part of the journey — glissading down the mountain! This literally means you will sit on your butt in the groove created by the people before you and slide down the entire mountain; stopping briefly at base camp to collect the rest of your gear. Not to worry, you will have an ice axe with you as a safety device that will help you regulate your speed down the mountain.

So that’s it, 2 days to get to the top and and 3 – 4 hours down. …

Climbing Mount Shasta

more photos tagged Shasta on flickr

Sounds something like our climb of Mt Adams, Oregon last year.

January 7, 2009

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:

Wednesday, 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