Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
A really fantastic adventure is to buy a Chinese bike in Lhasa and ride the Friendship Highway to Katmandu, via Everest.
Many adventurers are doing this — but it is technically illegal. (As is most of the hiking in Tibet.)
Interested? Check Kym McConnell’s authoritative website and guidebook.
Tibet Overland – Cycling in Tibet
Every hiker wants to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5896m (19,344ft). It’s actually the highest freestanding mountain in the world, a volcano rising 4600m (15,000ft) above the giraffes and elephants roaming the plains.
No independent hiking is allowed. You must sign on with a trekking company — minimum cost in 2006 is US$800 on the Marangu Route. Over 80% of people choose Marangu often disparaged as the tourist route, or the Coca Cola route. This is the easiest, fastest and quickest line. And the only route where you have the option to sleep in huts.
If you can afford it, opt instead for one of the more challenging tent routes: Machame or Rongai.
The other major consideration is altitude sickness. Unlike the Andes and the Himalaya, it is difficult to acclimatize here. Best strategy is to climb lower Mt. Meru just before you start Kilimanjaro.
The snows of Kilimanjaro are melting. Get there soon.
Mt. Kilimanjaro on besthike.com
During a one night stop at the luxury ski resort I took the opportunity to research the hiking opportunities in these fantastic mountains close to Vancouver.
I was shocked at how little hiking is being promoted. A visit to tourist information will get you only a list of short day walks appropriate for non-hikers.
Why? The problem is that Whistler has so much to offer besides hiking — especially skiing and mountain biking.
The tourist infrastructure is geared for the 2 million+ gift shop tourists each year.
No need for a serious hiker to plan on basecamp hiking out of Whistler. Head for the much less expensive climbing mecca of Squamish instead.
A day hike up granite Stawamus Chief looming over the town is an excellent warm-up.
To plan your hikes, grab a copy of “Don’t Waste Your Time in the B.C. Coast Mountains” and head for the hills independently.
A highlight of my recent stop at Whistler Ski Resort was being entertained by a local bear, right beside the Creekside lift.
Click play on the video below or watch it on YouTube.
Nobody called the police. No one got excited. This bear appears under the luxury hotel balconies almost every morning in the Spring.
I am impressed that official policy is to cohabit peacefully with bears. Well done Whistler!
Contrast that enlightened and brave approach with that of the Lake Louise village in the Canadian Rockies. Parks Canada put up an electric fence around the campground to protect the tourists from bears. Sad.
Of course there are Grizzlies at Lake Louise, not at Whistler.
A great site for anyone looking at Africa is AfricaTravelResource.com
They promote an excellent selection of activities including hiking.
Check their Kilimanjaro page, which advises against the Marangu Route (also known as the Tourist Route or Coca Cola Route) used by 80% of hikers.
I want to do this!
4-days helicopter supported bike, swim, sail, kayak, hike, bike, raft, Cessna, sail.
The guides calls it only “The Adventure”.
Journeys at the Edge “The Adventure”.
Climber Scott Whiteside who lives in the Crowsnest Pass recommends the Crowsnest Mountain scramble in the Canadian Rockies. It’s 4-7hrs return, 1100m (3609ft), non-technical. Good fun — but no mountaineering gear needed when dry.
No map needed, just Alan Kane’s book.
A group of us are planning to do it Saturday, June 17th. Email or leave a comment if you want to join us.
Hiking for years in the Rockies, I’ve still only seen two Grizzlies. Bear aware, they do not worry me.
But Parks Canada bear management is getting more savvy.
For the next two seasons (2006 and 2007) two specific areas will be closed during berry season where attacks have been frequent. Over the past 8 years, there have been 5 bear attacks in Banff National Park — 3 near Allenby Pass in the Bryant Creek area, and 2 on the Aylmer Pass trail near Lake Minnewanka. In all cases, the attacks were a result of hikers travelling alone or in a small group, who surprised female grizzlies with cubs during berry season.
In the death zone everyone is at risk. It’s not an Olympic yacht race. The same rules do not apply.
Anyone who climbs that high knows the risks.
As I write at least 10 have died during the 2006 Everest high season. Thomas Weber died on the way up at 8,700m. His partner David Sharp freaked out on the way down and died 300m below the summit. Perhaps 40 climbers passed unwilling or unable to save him.
They were criticized by Edmund Hillary — but I don’t judge them. I’m not sure what I would do.
Lincoln Hall, another day, was left for dead at 8,800m. He survived overnight, a miracle, and was helped down the mountain next day.
What I am saying is that this issue is more complicated than it seems. Read Beck Weathers uplifting book Left For Dead before you pass judgement.
One of the best websites for Kiwi hikers is backcountryNZ.com
It is edited by Jan Robertson from Auckland. He is a conservationist who likes nothing better than to tramp and photograph the astonishing New Zealand outdoors.
BestHike.com links to many of his hiking pages.
besthike.com 