Category: alpine

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Uinta Highline Trail – documentary

The Uinta Highline Trail is a trail in the Uinta Mountains of Utah that traverses the range 104 miles (167 km) from east to west. The trail passes through expansive alpine …

The trail crosses eight named passes that exceed 11,200 feet (3,414 m) elevation and many other smaller saddles and ridges. …

… the striking character of the trail is its openness and expansive views …

An excellent documentary on the hike began streaming April 7th on  Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vimeo, Vudu, and Microsoft Video.  It’s also available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Paul Mags recommends it.

Paul hiked it east to west in 2013.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

 

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Hiking the Indian Himalaya

It’s easy to hike Nepal. Not so in India.

The hiking infrastructure for foreign tourists is not nearly so well developed. There are far fewer hiking guidebooks.

You need to do much more research when planning a hiking trip to India. The easiest jumping off point is Leh, Ladakh — a region administered by India as a union territory, and constituting a part of the larger region of Kashmir.

Stok Kangri seen from Leh

AT A GLANCE

IH

  • Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal in the west
  • Darjeeling and Sikkim in the east
  • many peaks over 7000m (23000ft)
  • every serious hiker wants to travel to Nepal. The savvy trekkers to the Indian Himalaya, as well.
  • though challenging, India is a wonderful tourist destination
  • English is widely spoken
  • public transportation is slow at best, downright terrifying at worst
  • getting to the trailhead may be much more dangerous than anything you do on the trek. Take the train rather than a vehicle whenever you can.
  • best for experienced, confident, self-sufficient high altitude hikers
  • hiking season somewhere May-Nov (though micro-climates vary greatly). Many treks are not recommended Jul-Aug — though you can hike most places in Ladakh most of the year.

Our list of BEST HIKES in INDIA is on our Asia information page.

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K2 Base Camp and the Gondogoro Pass

I was planning on making this trek August 2020 …

… not much chance it’s going to happen this year. #COVID-19

Atlas & Boots was there in 2019:

My 14-day K2 base camp trek in Karakoram mountains of #Pakistan, followed by a crossing of the technical Gondogoro La Pass.

At 8,611m (28,251ft), #K2 is the second highest mountain in the world.

The K2 base camp trek route is via Concordia, the confluence of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers at around 4,700m (15,419ft).

It is one of the few places in the world where you can see four 8,000m peaks: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II.

Read the trip report.

K2 as seen from Concordia

Click PLAY or watch their trip on YouTube.

 

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HOW to trek Paine in Chile

UPDATE – National Parks in Chile have been closed. 

If you’ve ever researched the Paine Circuit in Chile, you know that it’s complicated.

Difficult to make reservations from overseas. 

Happily, Kraig Adams arrived March 2020 with no reservation and yet had a terrific hike.  The last half of the video is TIPS on how you could do the same.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

AT A GLANCE

  • close to the southern tip of South America
  • 100km (62mi) Paine Circuit is unique & gorgeous
  • recommended 9 days, 8 nights
  • shorter, easier 5-day alternative called “the W“

Paine

Read more on our Paine Circuit information page.

(via Adventure Blog)

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NEW Great Walk in New Zealand – Paparoa Track

Fully opened March 1, 2020.

Bookings will open on Wednesday 10 June 2020 at 9:30 am, for trips from 1 October 2020 to 30 June 2021.

The Paparoa Track is a 55.7 km (34.6 mi) shared hiking and mountain biking track located in Paparoa National Park in the South Island of New Zealand.

The track was created as a memorial for the 29 miners who lost lives in the Pike River Mine disaster.

The track is the tenth Great Walk to be created …

Highlights

      • Explore the spectacular Pororari River Gorge with dramatic limestone cliffs, beech forest and glades of subtropical nīkau palms.

      • Sit back and enjoy in incredible sunsets over the Tasman Sea from the Moonlight Tops Hut.

      • Follow in the footsteps of gold miners on the historic Croesus Track. Take a side trip to Garden Gully to see gold-mining remains.

      • Enjoy the stunning views. You’ll spot the Lone Hand rock formation on the way to Pororari Hut.

Official DOC website.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

 

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Bhutan’s Snowman Trek

Ramblin’ Boy posted a detailed trip report on the famed Snowman / Lunana Trek.

He was guided by Yangphel, a Thimphu adventure travel agency though he had booked through the trip through World Expeditions.

Snowman is one of the best treks in the world. However, the cost to trek in Bhutan was $300 / day.

If money is no object, go for it.

…  Covering over three hundred kilometres in twenty-three days at high altitude means there is lots of time for something to go wrong –

There were 16 in our trekking party, most with a tent of their own. As well, perhaps ten locals – guides, cook team, tent team, horse handlers.  The horses made up the single largest group – there were 43 of them.  We were a village on the move! …

Narethang camp
vista on the Narethang-Tarina section
vista en route to Rerethang after crossing Tempe La, the last pass

Start on this page. Follow the links.

Bhutan’s Snowman Trek Preview:

Part 1 – Paro To Shana To Laya

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walk to Everest Base Camp via Tumlingtar

Most who walk to Lukla (rather than fly) do so from Jiri (1,905m), Nepal over 5-8 days of trekking.

The main downside is the terrible 10 hour bone rattling bus ride Kathmandu to Jiri.

Here’s a little known alternative — Tumlingtar (460m) to Lukla. (8-12  days)

      • fly Kathmandu to Tumlingtar (avoiding the dangerous roads)
      • start lower. More time for acclimatizing to altitude.
      • very few hikers means few & rudimentary bhattis (teashops) with simple menus. Mostly dal bhat.
      • you can hike independently or hire a porter / guide en route as needed

Sue and Howard have hiked via Tumlingtar three times. Read one of their trip reports:

Nepal Khumbu to Arun Valley

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7 of the World’s Best Hikes

Dientes Circuit, Chile 

Chinese Wall, Montana 

Laugavegur Trail, Iceland 

Rockwall, British Columbia

Jomolhari Loop, Bhutan 

John Muir Trail, California 

Pinhoti Trail, Alabama & Georgia  

Outside 

I’m planning on the Chinese Wall in Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana myself. June 2020.

Start about 85 miles west of Great Falls, at the South Fork Sun River Trailhead, and hike 23 miles northwest. You’ll climb along the Continental Divide and spot elks, moose, and mountain goats along the way. Once you reach White River Pass, at the southern end of the wall, you’ll find a choice of multiple routes, including an eight-mile trail along the wall that ends at a lookout called Larch Hill Pass.