Best read Cam Honan’s comprehensive advice …
Tips for Backpacking in Bear Country
Ball Pass route, New Zealand
Some in New Zealand will tell you Ball Pass is … closed.
It’s possible. But tough. A route not a trail.
Halfway Anywhere posted a detailed trip description on how to pull it off yourself. In good weather.
Guide to Hiking Ball Pass Route in New Zealand
2006 murder in the Himalayas
Winner of the 2011 Banff Mountain Festival Book Award: Best Book, Mountain and Wilderness Literature.
… in 2006, an impulsive, naïve young Tibetan nun and her best friend, both yearning for religious freedom from Chinese rule, joined a group of fellow Tibetans desperate to escape to India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since the 1950 annexation of Tibet by China.
Kelsang Namtso and Dolma Palkyi embarked on the brutal journey over the Himalayas. Smuggled by illegal guides past Chinese border police, the group braved freezing temperatures and snow, the high altitude, and perilous crevasses.
Green alternates the refugees’ trek with that of Luis Benitez, an American celebrity mountain guide leading a rich group of international clients to the Himalayan peak Cho Oyu. The two groups met on the peak as Chinese guards, alerted to the refugees’ presence, chased after the escapees with machine guns ablaze, and Kelsang was killed in full view of the Westerners. …
Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet by Jonathan Green (2010)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The author is a good writer. But there are numerous factual errors. He needed a better editor and more expert proof readers.
Green doesn’t sound like a climbing insider to me. I suspected he’d never visited Cho Oyu nor Tibet in writing the book.
WHY Adventure Race?
“I don’t know how else to explain … it’s CRAZY.”
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Expedition Alaska 2015.
Snowman Trek, Bhutan – Fastest Known Time attempt
Wow. This looks epic.
A team of Ultra-marathon runners (Benjamin Clark, Timothy Olson, Anna Frost, & Matt Trappe) journey to Bhutan to set a speed record on the world’s hardest trek.
But Bhutan’s Himalayan landscape isn’t welcoming to athletes unused to the conditions, and it’s inhabitants must be persuaded to let the runners pursue their dream.
The result is a shared accomplishment and an adventure that constantly teeters on the edge of total failure.
It’s going to be launched in select U.S. theatres May 17, 2018.
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
North Coast Trail, Vancouver Island
My Feet Hurt:
I hiked the North Coast Trail from August 27 to September 1 in 2014. I spent 5 nights and 6 days on the trail.
The North Coast Trail might be very, very tough.
We recommend easier alternatives to the standard route. There are other similar hikes on Vancouver Island of course, all easier than the NCT.
4 Wheel Bob – the film
Having been on Bob’s support team for his 2007 ascent of 14,252-foot (4344m) White Mountain Peak, California, I can highly recommend his inspiring documentary.
Bob’s smiling here. But let me confirm that trip was bloody tough. I could never possibly have made it in his chair.
The new film covers his attempt to cross 11,845-foot Kearsarge Pass in the Sierra Nevada. It’s much rougher than White.
Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.
Click through for details.
4wheelbobfilm.com
protecting food from bears
Andrew Skurka:
Personally, I own a BearVault BV500 and Ursack Major. I use the BV500 when it’s required, and the Ursack Major in areas with bears and/or mini-bears but without canister regulations.
Buyers guide: Bear canisters || Comparison of volume per weight & cost
Good advice. I do the same.
I’m still using a clear BEARVAULT BV500. Or an Ursack.
The canister is a little better, but bulky.
I hang my Ursack, when I can.
But in areas with bears — and inappropriate trees — tying directly to a tree at eye level works too. I’ve never had a bear approach my food … though I did once have a mouse get inside the Ursack.
North American Avalanche Danger Scale
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
BEST pit toilets – Ecodomeo
- toilets work completely without water
- do not require any additional material (chemicals, saw dust, etc.)
- less odour than traditional pit toilets
- far less maintenance
I learned about this system from the Outside magazine podcast –
Ep. 19: An Amazingly Crappy Story
Canadian researcher Geoff Hill is now putting the French design into National Parks in North America.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related – Williams, Brennan – Risks And Benefits of the Use of Urine-Diverting Vermicomposting Toilet Systems
besthike.com 