We walked to this spot in less than half an hour out the door of Kelly and Lexi’s new home in Canmore, Alberta. Very close to the headquarters of the Alpine Club of Canada. Canmore is one of the best outdoor adventure towns in the world.
It’s ideal for dog walking … except that Cougar Creek is named such for a reason. Pets are at risk in this part of the mountains.
Ash
Fall is my favourite season for mountain walking. No bugs. Crisp, clean air. Magical.
The Grand Traverse starts on the shores of Lake Wakitipu and stretches the length of the Greenstone and Routeburn Valleys, crossing the main divide twice in the process. The Greenstone and Routeburn Tracks have long been New Zealand’s most accessible and popular routes into the spectacular South Island high country.
The Grand Traverse passes through two national parks: Fiordland and Mount Aspiring, and is part of Te Wahipounamu, South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. The pristine bush is home to a myriad of native birdlife: the Robin; Kea; Fantail; Parakeet; Bellbird; and Yellowhead, just to name a few. The sheer isolation and raw beauty of the Greenstone provide the perfect stage for the breathtaking scenery of the Routeburn. An unsurpassable combination to make a memorable walking experience. …
Sure you could sign on with the tour (above). It costs between $1,600 and $2,500 New Zealand, depending on what optional extras one prefers. … Or you could do it independently like Scottwoz for about $100.
Here’s his independent trip report:
… Most of the scenery and landscape we covered was nothing short of spectacular and over the course of the five days we got to see a lot more than we should have, certainly more than the law of averages would normally allow. We hiked, on average, around six hours each day and covered an incredibly diverse terrain. …
… The movie, photographed in high-definition video by Erich Roland, is an undeniably impressive visual spectacle that follows the sport from Wyoming to France, British Columbia, Iceland and Alaska. Like that of its sister sport, surfing, extreme skiing has a history of one feat topping another as techniques are developed and challenges devised.
The worldwide search for the highest wave is paralleled by the search for the steepest, wildest, most dangerous slopes and for perfect snow. Perfection is to be found, according to the movie, in the extreme-skiing mecca of Valdez, Alaska, where the white stuff has the texture of velvet.
“Steep†arbitrarily begins its history with a lone descent of Bill Briggs in 1971 on Grand Teton mountain in Wyoming. His accomplishment, witnessed by no one but attested to by aerial photographs of his ski tracks, was all the more remarkable because he was born without a hip joint, and multiple surgeries had left him with a limp.
Since then a widening search for adventure has sparked the popularity of what is called big mountain skiing, two of whose hubs, visited by the movie, are Chamonix, in the French Alps, and Valdez. The sport’s popularity has been spread by video, with Greg Stump’s 1988 film, “The Blizzard of Aahhh’s,†cited as a seminal work. …
The Portuguese group IMOCOM presented its latest project in Argentina, a Hilton branded hotel in Bariloche (Patagonia) that was introduced as “eco friendly“. According to the company’s CEO, Hugo Canessa, the broad term refers to the hotel layout, which will blend with the mountain it’s located in to reduce visual impact, and the fact that during the building process and later in its operational phase, the hotel will have efficient use of energy and water and “proper management of soil and drainage.”
Besides the green talk, neighbors are concerned about the impact the building will have in this beautiful area. The fact that the hotel is placed in a mountain, is going to get water from the pristine Nahuel Huapi lake, and is surely disposing water nearby, are causes for worry.
Green or greenwashing? Keep reading for more info and pictures. …
Fears of road construction ruining our #8 trek in the world have been somewhat exaggerated.
Hikers are concerned when they see articles like this:
… Late last year, the Australian tour operator Peregrine Adventures, which has organised trips to Nepal for more than 30 years, abandoned the “classic” Annapurna Circuit, which stretches for 300 kilometres and reaches altitudes of more than 5000 metres.
“We’ve dropped that trip altogether because of the road,” operations director Tietse Stelma says. “Ten years ago it was such a beautiful trek going up into the mountains with the Annapurnas in front of you. Now you have more and more traffic on the road and building activity – when you go on a trek, you don’t want to hear that.” …
In 2006 a climber disrobed on the summit of Mt. Everest. Ang Tshering, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association, was not amused.
I assume the highest nudist in history was inspired by the example of George Mallory.
Howard Somervell (left), without trousers, Arthur Wakefield (centre) without boots and George Mallory (right) naked after fording a stream en route to Everest. Mallory was known by team members to favour nude bathing!
Artist / photographer: George Finch. Date: 1922 – source
Mallory was the inspiration for the Nude Mountaineering Society. Here’s the President, the unfortunately named Hank Wangford.
Aaron Doody points out our list of the best hikes in North America is missing Mount Katahdin, in Maine’s Baxter State Park.
He’s right. We’ve added it.
The hike up Katahdin, preferably via the Chimney Pond Trail, to Cathedral, and across the Knife’s Edge climbs one of the most prominent peaks (4,292 ft) in the Eastern US, and has been blessed with a glacial history that’s created several steep-walled cirques and the corresponding alpine lakes.
The fact that the peak is located in a north woods wilderness region adds to the allure, because access to services (such as the gift shop on top of Mount Washington) is non existent. A week long stay in Baxter Park, listening to the call of the loons (and buzzing of mosquito’s in the ear) will help anyone get back to nature.
Thanks Aaron.
Knife’s Edge, Mount Katahdin
Katahdin – SummitPost says the summit is even higher: 5267ft / 1605m
besthike.com 