Category: alpine

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South Island weekend walks – New Zealand

There are many great hiking guidebooks for New Zealand including our top pick Lonely Planet Tramping in New Zealand.

Rather than compete directly against LP, a new speciality guide takes a different focus:

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The reality for most New Zealand trampers is that their tramping often has to be fitted into weekends.

In recognition, Nick Groves, a leading New Zealand outdoor photographer, and now writer, has collected together the best of the South Island’s two or three day tramping trips.

These trips, selected from all over the South Island, range in difficulty to ensure that there are tramps for every ability. Essential information on length, grade, time, suitable maps, access and sources of information are provided for each tramp. This is followed by a more detailed description of the tramp and what you might expect to experience.

The book is heavily illustrated, with colour reference maps for each section and the author’s stunning photographs throughout.

South Island Weekend Tramps – New Zealand guide books, books and maps from Clearwater Tarn – Online shop

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Lonely Planet author’s body found

Sad news.

Clem Lindenmayer is author of one of my favourite hiking guidebooks, Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes.

Clem Lindenmayer, 47, disappeared while hiking near Minya Konka mountain, also known as Gongga Shan in Sichuan province.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said villagers found his body on July 19.

Mr Lindenmayer’s family said they last heard from him on May 2 when he contacted his wife by email to tell her he was preparing for a hike around the mountain range, which lies in a rugged region that was once part of Tibet. …

The email stated his intention at that stage was to do a six-day circuit around Mount Gongga.

But by the end of May the family had still not heard from him, and a search was undertaken.

… rescuers searching for Mr Lindenmayer had earlier found a body believed to be that of a Japanese mountaineer who vanished 26 years ago. …

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Lonely Planet author’s body found – World – smh.com.au

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video – hiking Flat Top Mountain, Alaska

Alaska Podshow has introduced a Hike of the Week feature. It’s well done

To see a sample, check out the 7min video for Flat Top Mountain close to Anchorage, the most popular day hike in the State:

We take you to the famous Chugach State Park! This park offers 495,000 acres of forests, lakes, mountains and valleys located right at Anchorage’s doorstep – and the welcome mat is out.

Today’s Hike of the Week is just a 30-minute drive from downtown places you in prime Alaskan wilderness adventures, which offers the ultimate solitude and wilderness beauty in every season!

» Blog Archive » Show #155 “Flat Top Mountain / Hike of the Week”

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start in Seattle and walk NORTH

Married couple Erin McKittrick (Molecular Biologist turned jewelry artist) and Bretwood (Hig) Higman are incredible adventurers.

Where to begin …

Currently they are on a 9 month trip from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska by human power:

Journey on the Wild Coast will be an unprecedented four-thousand-mile expedition along the northern edge of the Pacific Ocean, through some of the most rugged terrain in the world. No road or trail follows this steep and fragmented coastline.

We’ll be traveling through forests, between islands, around glaciers, and across the tundra – by foot, packraft, and skis. No one has done this before.

Journey on the Wild Coast

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more detailed itinerary

I’ve subscribed to their trip blog. It’s an expeditions to explore environmental issues.

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I’ve you’ve any doubt Sig and Erin have the ability to finish it, check their previous Alaska Treks. Wow!

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Blockade Glacier – 2005

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world’s most southerly trek – Isla Navarino

Any arguments?

The Dientes Circuit is the most southerly track we can find listed in a hiking guidebook.

It’s in Patagonia, the jumping off point Puerto Williams, Chile.

From there you can circumambulate the jagged spires of Cordon de los Dientes with constant vistas as most of the route is above treeline.

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Nick & Jenni felt it was one of the big highlights of their round-the-world adventure. Certainly Jenni posted the best trip report we’ve yet seen:

From the Paso de los Dientes we had great views over the islands making up Cape Horn (about 150km further south). We wondered how many people there were further south than us at this point, not many – cruise ships in Antartica & the scientists on Antartica & not many others. …

… Apart from the tent on the first day, we didn´t see another soul until we hit the road on the last day. It was a really good walk & we both really enjoyed it. There was a lot of fresh snow on the Dientes and the surrounding mountains – making it all very picturesque.

Isla Navarino – the Dientes Circuit » TravelBlog Archive » Nick & Jenni’s Wanderings

How to trek Dientes Circuit – besthike information page:

  • 53.5km (33mi) plus sidetrips
  • 5 days, 4 nights minimum

Be ready for wind and rain!

Related post: Nick & Jenni’s Choquequirao to Machu Picchu trek

Check our Dientes information page.

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hike Carthew-Alderson, Waterton, Canada

waterton.jpgWaterton Lakes National Park is the best kept hiking secret in Canada. YOU can go — but let the non-hiking hordes jam the roadways of Banff and Jasper instead.

Contributors Kelly and Lexi (getting married Aug. 4th in the Yukon, by the way) raved about their 2006 Carthew-Alderson hike in Waterton. Based on their recommendation, we added Carthew-Alderson to our list of the best hikes in North America.

Last Friday the weather was hot and clear so we made a dash to Waterton.

Unfortunately, Saturday morning the weather changed as we approached the summit, high point of the day hike.

To see what happened click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Stuck in the clouds, we missed most of the best vistas. We even got lost crossing the top of the ridge having to ask a marmot for directions.

Click PLAY to see how it looks on a “sunny” day. Or watch it on YouTube.

You might have noticed, the biggest drawback of Waterton is wind.

Carthew-Alderson 20km (12.4mi) from Cameron Lake to Cameron Falls. Highly recommended. Hiker’s shuttle C$10 / person available at Tamarack Mall.

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trek the remote Huayhuash Circuit in Peru

I’m jealous.

Frequent contributor Eu-Jin Goh is just returned from 12 days hiking my personal favourite trek in the World.

… the Huayhuash circuit is the most spectacular extended hike that we’ve done so far.

There were four of us on the hike, Emily Rains, Ray Woo, together with Serene and I.

I had contacted Chris Benway from Cafe Andino to organize our trip for us and he did an incredible job of making sure everything went smoothly; I highly recommend Chris to anyone going to Huaraz.

I arranged for a fairly deluxe trip this time; we had two arrieros, Fernando and Juan-Carlos, taking care of the ten (!) mules and two horses, together with our cook, Zacarias Carrera, or Zac.

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Zac did an amazing job showing us the way and also cooking great food for us; he has great instincts and would figure out what we wanted to do (and then organize it) without us even mentioning it to him. I thought he was head and shoulders above anyone I’d ever had for my trips. Despite all the luxuries, it still cost about 3 – 4 times less than an organized trip by a western agency. …

Peru – Cordillera Huayhuash and Blanca, 11 June to 3 July 2007

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more favourite photos from the Huayhuash Circuit – Eu-Jin Goh

The Huayhuash is big, high and potentially dangerous:

  • minimum 140km (87mi) plus numerous sidetrips
  • many mountain passes over 4600m (15,092ft)
  • this forbidding range was made famous when Joe Simpson & Simon Yates climbed Siula Grande in 1985. Simpson wrote Touching the Void.

    • how to hike the Huayhuash Circuit – besthike information page

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    video – closest black bear ever

    Just finishing the Wall Lake hike in Waterton, I commented to George: “We haven’t seen our bear yet today.”

    (One time in Waterton National Park my hiking group had seen at least one bear a day. They are easy to spot here. One day we saw 5 bears.)

    Right then a bear came strolling directly towards our car. George let the vehicle roll down a hill, quietly pacing the animal. You’ll see it was completely unconcerned by our presence.

    Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

    To Identify the mule deer, also in the video, I used the Road Watch in the Pass website.

    They are a non-profit organization monitoring animals on the roadways in the Crowsnest region of Alberta. Trying to improve safety for large animals including hikers.

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    Road Watch Wildlife Information Primer – Mule Deer

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    Road Watch photo contest winner

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    hiking Snow Peak, Idaho

    We hiked Snow Peak, the most spectacular mountain off the popular, scenic St. Joe’s River near Spokane, Washington.

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    looking up at a final off-trail scramble to the fire tower

    This region would be completely undeveloped if it wasn’t for the lumber industry and big game hunting. (We got lost trying to find our way to the trailhead.)

    We 3 hikers shared the trail that day only with a solo mountain goat.

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    annotated Snow Peak hike photos – flickr

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    The jumping off point for Snow Peak is historic Avery (#5).

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    hiking Willmore Wilderness in Canada

    If you are looking for wilderness, consider hiking the Willmore Wilderness north of Jasper, Alberta.

    You can get “into the wild”.

    One of our contributors, George Novak, will be there in about 10 days. He plans to cycle as far as possible, then bushwhack further towards the mountains.

    There are very few developed hiking trails in Willmore. But it’s gorgeous:

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    To get a feel for the region, check an excellent trip report jammed with video clips and photos: Willmore Wilderness Park « the electronic experiment

    Willmore Wilderness – Wikipedia