Category: guided hikes

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hiking the Tour de Mont Blanc

Carol gives a shout out for Alpine Exploratory, a company specializing in walking and trekking holidays in the Alps.

They did the “self-guided” version of the tour.

I think self-guided is a nice compromise. You don’t need to follow behind your group (like sheep). But you have experts who speak the local languages setting your itinerary for you.

+ Trek all the stages, completing the whole route
+ Start on any day you choose
+ Expert, unlimited advice on all the options

The Tour du Mont Blanc is a trek of superlatives: the most famous trek in Europe, forming a circuit of Western Europe’s highest mountain Mont Blanc (4,808m). Our circuit takes the standard 11 days, starting and finishing in the Chamonix valley. …

Tour du Mont Blanc – Self-guided trekking holiday

tourdumontblanc-map

What does all this cost?

14 nights, staying in:
3-star hotels (4)
2-star hotels (5)
Auberges (2)
Mountain huts (3)

Included
Accommodation and itinerary
Breakfasts and 6 evening meals
Expert and unlimited advice
Routecards, maps, local info
Emergency card, language card

Dates
July to mid-Sept 2010 …

Prices
£860 per person
(Single supplement £140)

£860 = US$1,410

===

UberFit is blogging their TMB from this past summer. Great photos. (Especially food pics.)

• MBT Stage I – Chamonix to Les Contamines

• MBT (Stage 2: Les Contamines to Bonhomme de la Croix)

TMB-guidebook

besthike TMB information page

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Ultra Tour Trail du Mont Blanc 2009

Laura Jones, a reporter from the U.K., hiked a 10 day tour:

… the lovely thing about the TMB is that the drama of those awesome panoramas of glaciers and mountain peaks are interspersed with walking green valleys filled with Alpine flowers, twisty turney streams, chalky blue mountain lakes – and if you’re lucky marmosettes.

The changing scenery that accompanies the ascents and descents kept me hooked.

There were whole days where we didn’t see another soul as we walked ridges running alongside racks of glaciers.
Other days we passed through hamlets, villages and towns and then really appreciated being back in civilisation:
Champex, Courmayer and La Fouly were particularly lovely. …

read more – Tour de Mont Blanc

That article links to the most extreme version of the TMB:

… the biggest trail ultra in the world. With 2300 competitors, 166kms of Alpine trails, 9,400 metres ascent and 3 countries to pass through …

Spud’s Blog

TMB-race

Check out TMB information page if you might be interested in hiking it yourself one day.

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Your Own Machu Picchu: Choquequirao, Peru

An excellent article on one of the best hikes in Peru was posted on Matador Trips: Discover Your Own Machu Picchu: Choquequirao, Peru

Did you visit Machu Picchu thinking you’d arrived 50 years too late? Wish you could’ve seen it before the tourist hordes and luxury hotel moved in? Then Choquequirao might be for you. …

There are very few trekkers there in comparison with Machu Picchu. We did it in 2005 and had the ruins to ourselves.

photo George Novak
photo George Novak

It’s a massive up and down hike. We hired a mule and mule driver to carry our packs.

The scenery is fantastic, of course.

photo George Novak
photo George Novak

Our biggest concern was the tiny biting flies. (Especially after their bites get infected.)

read the entire Matador article: Discover Your Own Machu Picchu: Choquequirao, Peru

Read the comments for some personal stories on continuing from Choquequirao to Machu Picchu without a guide.

P.S.

There’s one drastic mistake in the story:

From the village to the ruins and back, you’re looking at 74 km (46 miles). …

It’s nowhere near that far. … Is it?

More details and links on our besthike Choquequirao Trek information page.

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2 hikers dead on Kokoda Track

The Kokoda Track is one of the best, and toughest, hikes in the world.

kokoda

… a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs 96 kilometres (60 mi) overland — 60 kilometres (37 mi) in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track is the most famous in PNG and is renowned as the location of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942. ..

On Wednesday, a 26-year-old New South Wales man became the second Australian to die on the track in less than a week.

He died at Ioribaiwa village while trekking with Executive Excellence.

The company says it is working with authorities to have his body returned home as soon as possible. …

Last week 36-year-old Samantha Killen, from Hamilton in south-west Victoria, died on the trek.

samanthakillencrop-420x0

The mother of two was trekking with her father when she collapsed and died on Friday afternoon.

Her father told police his daughter had developed sore legs and appeared to be dehydrated and disorientated in the lead-up to her death.

Just a coincidence?

Earlier, a Kokoda Track tour operator said it was inevitable more deaths would occur unless operators he has described as “cowboys” were banned.

The chairman of the Kokoda Ethics Committee, Aidan Grimes, said some companies skimp on safety by taking up to 150 people trekking and by failing to check their fitness levels. …

ABC – Kokoda deaths not deterring trekkers

related – Kokoda death highlights safety concerns

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Trail on Kilimanjaro – part 2

Entertaining!

Its day three of Trail Magazine’s attempt on Mt Kilimanjaro via the Machame route, and things are starting to get tough. The mountain is getting seriously spectacular but the air is getting thin and exhaustion is kicking in. As midnight on the last day approaches, will it be a glorious dawn on Africas Highest mountain or a whopper of a disappointment? Join Trail Magazines Simon Ingram to find out…

Click PLAY or watch Part 2 on YouTube.


official website of TRAIL and Country Walking magazines – Live for the Outdoors

To see a 6min highlights clip of Day 1 and Day 2 of the Machame Route, click through to The Adventure Blog.

best hike – Kilimanjaro information page

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15-day Tahoe Rim Trail $1750


Book fast if you want one of the 30 spots. Late July 2009.

It’s a fund-raiser for the trail association.

Hiking a long-distance trail from end to end in one push, or thru-hiking, is a badge of honor for those who have accomplished such a feat. It takes a lot of planning to coordinate food, water, campsites, and the like. Plus, you have to be extremely fit to carry your lodging and all of your food on your back for days on end.

But there’s a great way to get a similar experience without sacrificing all of your weekends to planning from now through May. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association, steward to the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail in Nevada and California, is offering people the chance to participate in a 15-day guided thru-hike with support in the way of food and other supplies. You’ll still need to be in good shape and carry a backpack with personal gear and one- or two-days’ worth of food and water. But that’s pretty cushy, by most thru-hikers’ standards. …

details via – Where Next? – Thru-Hike the Tahoe Rim Trail

tahoe-rim1

larger version – flickr – asmythie

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Mountain Travel Sobek – half price

Outside reports:

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Mountain Travel Sobek is doling out 40 free adventures. Travelers who book a trip by Apr. 17 can bring a friend for free. Destinations include: Machu Picchu, Morocco, the Swiss Alps, and more.

40 Free Trips

40-free-trips

home page – Mountain Travel Sobek

There are some good deals out there for guided hikes. Shop around.

Leave a comment if you’ve seen any good value deals on treks.

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Kilimanjaro climbing video

It’s the world’s highest free-standing mountain, one of the seven summits and the highest peak in Africa. While a host of celebrities gear up to set foot on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, TRAIL magazine – the UK’s best-selling hill-walking magazine – has just got home from the mountain.

Click PLAY or watch the promo video for the climb on YouTube.


official website of TRAIL and Country Walking magazines – Live for the Outdoors

To see a 6min highlights clip of Day 1 and Day 2 of the Machame Route, click through to The Adventure Blog.

best hike – Kilimanjaro information page

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climbing Island Peak, Nepal

intights from March 2008. Some nice trekking footage. Great music.

Compilation of short video clips and some stills taken on Trek from Lukla to Gokyo, over the Cho-La, to Gorak Shep, Everest base camp, then with an Ascent of Island Peak (Imja Tse). Includes additional photos/footage of Kathmandu and flight to/from Lukla.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (8min)

The rest of this Aussie travel blog posts are well worth a browse.

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Roraima Trekking, Venezuela

I just got a recommendation from Andreas for a German / Venezuelan trekking guide company Kamadac based out of Santa Elena in the Gran Sabana.

Looks good.

For those who love to hike, the Roraima Trekking is one of the highlights of Venezuela. The tablemountains belong to the oldest rock formation in the world. During millions of years they have been formed. Most of the vegetation you find there, grows only at the table mountains.The Roraima tepui is the highest in Venezuela. Bizzare stone formations, barren rock landscape and unique plants shape the landscape. A three day tour brings us up to the Roraima. On the top we make a day excursion and visit the valley of crystals and the place where three countries meet “Brasil, Venezuela and Guyana.”

This tour can made any time of the year. During the rainy season we recommend it in combination with a boat trip to the Angel Falls.

Duration: 6 days

Daily walks: 3 to 7 hours

PRICE PER PERSON : 520 EUR (2 persons), 470 EUR (3 persons), 295 EUR (4 persons), additional day 50 EUR

roraima

kamadac.de

besthike Roraima information page