Category: alpine

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Five Passes Route, New Zealand

This Hiking Life:

Distance : 40 miles (64 km)

Avg.Time : 4 or 5 days

Start / Finish: Lake Sylvan car park / Routeburn shelter.

The Five Passes Route is a wilderness tramp (Kiwi speak for ‘hike’ or ‘trek’) that requires good route finding and map reading skills. If you are looking for a well marked, easy to follow trail, you may want to try the nearby Routeburn Track. …

There are no huts, except for the somewhat dilapidated Rock Burn Shelter, situated a few kilometres north of Lake Sylvan car park.

There are rock bivvies at Beans Burn, Olivine Ledge, Parks Pass and Theatre Flats. See Moir’s Guide for details of exact locations. The Beans Burn and Parks Pass bivvies are the pick of the bunch.

It is possible to spend all of your nights under the rock bivvies, however considering the challenging terrain and unpredictable nature of the weather, you would be wise to bring your own shelter.

A challenging trek for experienced hikers only. Scenically stunning from start to finish. …

The Hiking Life – Five Passes Route

5-Passes-Route

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Langtang village destroyed by avalanche

😦 Details on the 2015 Nepal earthquake are still emerging.

I trekked Langtang in November 2014.

The 2014 Nepal snowstorm disaster had just happened, killing at least 43 people including at least 21 trekkers. That was in Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. 😦

I loved Langtang village in 2014. Everyone did.

Langtang Village 2014

😦

Robbie Barnett relays information from Austin Lord on the Modern Tibet Facebook page:

“The village of Langtang was the site of the largest single catastrophe, as the entirety of village was completely buried by an avalanche that came from thousands of feet above on the southern slopes of Langtang Lirung and Langtang II.

Smaller settlements on the outskirts of Langtang, such as Chyamki, Thangsyap, and Mundu were also buried. It is impossible to determine exactly how many people died there, but the estimate is perhaps over 300 people in total.

The handful of survivors, roughly twelve locals and two foreigners, walked down to Ghodatabela below after spending the night of the 25th in a cave – thus there is no one at Langtang itself. This avalanche is perhaps 2-3 kilometers wide …

Above, at Kyangjin Gompa, there were reportedly fewer casualties (perhaps 5-10) yet many injured. …”

Sad. Sad. Sad.

But there are a few miracle stories to celebrate. Pemba Tamang, the 15-year-old who was rescued after being trapped for five days under rubble.

And 4-month-old Sonit Awal pulled from underground.

baby rescued Nepal

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NEW – Kings Canyon High Basin Route

Andrew Skurka:

Seven years ago I thru-hiked with Buzz Burrell the Sierra High Route, which parallels the crest of the High Sierra between Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park. Its 200 miles represents less than 1 percent of the total miles that I have hiked, yet the experience proved to be one of the most influential: it revealed to me the grander sense of adventure when off-trail. …

A few months ago in “Short is the new long,” I wrote vaguely about my future backpacking plans. Rather than single expeditions lasting multiple months and covering thousands of miles, my emerging interest is shorter routes that showcase a single topographic feature like a mountain range, watershed, or canyon system. Not only are such routes more practical for a husband and home-owner, but they can sustain a higher level of overall awesomeness than longer trails or routes, which invariably include mind-numbingly boring “transition” miles between worthy sections.

Today I’m thrilled to introduce my first original project, which I stitched together over two summers. The 124-mile Kings Canyon High Basin Route circumnavigates the upper watershed of California’s Kings River and is encompassed entirely within Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. It’s an instant classic, and I believe it’s at least on par with the original, Roper’s Sierra High Route, for being the finest route in the High Sierra. …

Two-thirds of the Kings Canyon High Basin Route — specifically, 82 of its 124 miles — is officially off-trail. Five of these segments are longer than 10 miles, and one extends for 21! Save for the very beginning, very end, and 11 miles on the High Sierra Highway (aka John Muir Trail) in the middle, its on-trail miles are typically on lightly traveled pathways deep in the backcountry. …

Finest route in the High Sierra? Introducing the Kings Canyon High Basin Route.

windy-ridge-615x463

If interested, here are the best links:

Kings Canyon High Basin Route and Kings Canyon High Basin Route Guide – Download $25.00

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Expedition Alaska Adventure Race

I’m planning to volunteer for Dave Adlard’s NEXT expedition race. Social media. Photos. Video.

June 28th – July 4th, 2015.

Over almost 7 days, teams will undertake a 340 – 600 km (200 – 350 miles) expedition over some of the most beautiful, epic and challenging terrain on Earth.

Racers will use a map, compass and their own wits to navigate their way over a (mostly) unmarked route by mountain biking, rafting, paddling, trekking, canyoneering, coasteering, glacier travel, orienteering, trail running, fixed ropes, and a few other surprises through the amazing expanse of Alaska’s Kenai peninsula!

expeditionak.com

Expedition Alaska

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Sawback Trail – Banff to Lake Louise

Sawback Trail:

74 km; elevation gain: 734 m

This trip takes you over three spectacular mountain passes. The trail traverses a good portion of Banff National Park, linking the town of Banff with the hamlet of Lake Louise.

Trailheads are located at Mt. Norquay ski area and the Fish Creek trailhead. Portions of this area are frequented by commercially guided horse trips. There are many camping options–a possible 7-day itinerary is provided here.

… Gem Trek recreational map:Banff and Mount Assiniboine …

Sawback

Like most people, I’ve only rarely hiked the east side of the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park. All the famous hikes are on the west side.

My next big hike there will be Sawback. You can do it without a vehicle as there’s good public transport to and from Banff and Lake Louise.

Mt Edith
Mt Edith

Barbara Martin did 11 days in this area in 2009.

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Ascent for Alzheimer’s

Kilimanjaro.

Since 1998, the Ascent for Alzheimer’s has seen over 180 committed Canadians go on a journey to hike to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. These dedicated participants fundraise to contribute to research for a cure and to help ensure that those impacted by dementia have access to support services and education resources. …

Introducing the 2015 Ascent for Alzheimer’s Team

Ascent for Alzheimers

(via Dsd Stones)

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new Kilimanjaro route – 9 days

Adventure Blogger Kraig Becker:

… When selecting the route for the Climb for Valor, the team at Tusker Trail decided that they wanted to do something a little different. The idea was to give the climbers on our team a complete unique look at the mountain, along a route that is seldom hiked. We began by entering Kilimanjaro National Park at the Londorossi Gate and proceeding up the traditional Lemosho Route along the western flanks of the mountain. …

On Day three we began to divert from the Lemosho Route at last and ventured out onto the all-but abandoned Northern Circuit of the mountain. At this point, we left all other teams behind and had the trail completely to ourselves. …

Kilimanjaro 2015: The Route

Crater Camp 5700 meters (18,700 ft)
Crater Camp 5700 meters (18,700 ft)
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Video: Day+Dream Nepal

Kraig Becker:

Ever wonder what a day spent trekking the Himalaya of Nepal is like? Than this video is definitely for you. It encapsulates that experience very nicely, boiling it down to a two-and-a-half minute clip that captures the essence …

Video: Day+Dream Nepal

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/117063208
 
So far I’m still good to return to Nepal November 2015.