Arc’teryx sponsored 5 women on a remote six day adventure. Part of their “Where We Belong” promotion.
The Coast Mountains of B.C. are crazy wild and inaccessible. I’m impressed.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
(via Hiking in Finland)
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.
😦
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.
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!
Banff Alberta in winter
I stayed a February night in Banff, one of our top 10 hiking towns in the world.
Wanting to do some day hiking, I stopped by the National Parks office for advice.
Unfortunately, the local trails are a mess in winter. Snowy, icy and often CLOSED.
I still managed a short afternoon walking from town to the Banff Springs Hotel.
Shortly after I gave up. And caught the bus up the mountain to the Hot Springs.
I’ll come back in summer. 🙂
Towers of Paine, Chile in winter
Guardian:
Patagonia off season: winter hiking in Torres del Paine
Tourists flock to the Torres del Paine in the southern summer, but our writer finds hiking there in winter brings a different set of snowy rewards
Andrew Gilchrist:
It’s minus five outside. Not great conditions for roughing it. The previous night, in an unheated, near-deserted refuge covered in snow, we had bedded down in extreme-weather sleeping bags, complete with hoods. But tonight, after a thrilling 20-mile hike through some of the finest scenery on the planet, we are warm, dry and, frankly, ecstatic beneath polar blankets in a chic ecodome that feels more penthouse than campsite. Steam rises from our boots as they dry by the log-burning stove and, through the round windows in the curved ceiling, I can pick out what seems like every star in the southern sky.
“This is sublime,” I think, as I ease myself off my furry headboard and pour another glass of velvety Chilean red. “Where is everyone?” …
Check our Paine Circuit information page.
Two Weeks in Iceland
Kraig Becker linked to this inspiring edit. I’ve hiked Iceland once. But need to go again. SOON.
A new low cost airline might help flight costs go down. 🙂
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
Fitz Roy vs. Torres del Paine
Of the two best hikes in Patagonia, which should you trek?
… you can’t decide between El Chalten (Argentina) and Torres del Paine (Chile), the self-proclaimed “trekking capitals” of their respective countries …
The good news is you can’t go wrong. Both options provide incredible access to some of the most spectacular mountain scenery you’ll ever see.
We can’t really recommend one over the other purely based on natural beauty as they are both equally stunning national parks. However, there are definitely distinct differences between the two trekking meccas that may push you toward one or the other. Here are some things to think about based on our experience in both locations that will help you decide (although the best decision is to do both!)
The Best Trekking in Patagonia – El Chalten vs. Torres del Paine
Do both. With a sidetrip to the Perito Moreno Glacier.
Gosainkund & Helambu – day 3
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Gosankund 4380m – Gopte 3439m
My toughest day in the Himalaya 2014. Up and over the Lauribina Pass 4,610m.
I’d not slept well, getting out of bed 4 times during the night to check the auspicious full moon over sacred Gossankund lake.
In fact, myself and an Israeli guy had hoped to (early morning) follow a guided group up the popular trekking peak called Surya (Sun) 5145m.
He was worried that no guided groups were scheduled. And he was right. Later we learned that there is too much snow and ice at the top. Guides were not going up right now.
First light a chopper landed.
They were evacuating a lady, altitude sick. She looked in rough shape. Could barely walk.
Cost would be something under $10,000. Hopefully paid by insurance.
The chopper crew all rushed to Gosainkund to collect holy water and take selfies. It was this water that Shiva once drank to quench his thirst after having been poisoned.
So … instead of an extra day scrambling Surya, I headed towards the Pass with everyone else.
There are 108 lakes in this area, actually. You pass a series of them on the trail. They should be frozen by now, but are not.
For some reason I found this day very, very tough. The Pass was fine. But the long descent to Gopte was taxing.
On the bright side, I saw a rarely spotted Red Panda en route. Surprising him on the trail itself, he jumped uphill instantly. Then, happily for me, dashed back across the trail downhill. It’s a tiny beast with a huge, unmistakable tail. Two distinct colours.
But I was a bit of a wreck arriving Gopte 3439m, early in the afternoon.
I went straight to bed in order to prevent chills.
Happily, I awoke just in time for one of the best and strangest sunsets. People compared this sunset with the best they’d ever seen.
My preference is to eat as late as possible. This evening, however, chatting with an adventurous couple from Rocky Mountain House, I waited too long. The kitchen shut down about 8pm.
I begged a chance to join in the Dal Baht feed with the porters and guides, only the second time I’ve ever got the chance to eat with them. It’s not done in the Himalaya. 🙂
see all my high resolution photos from this day
day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info | … Langtang
Langtang Trek – day 6
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Langshisha Kharka 4110m to Kyanjin Gompa 3830m
… day hike towards Tilman’s Pass basecamp
Dawn broke clear and cold.
Up to pee and walk down to the river (my water bottle had frozen), plan was to return to my sleeping bag until the sun hit the tent at 7:19am.
I’d not been cold wearing all my clothing layers, including down parka, in a -3C sleeping bag.
A few minutes later, the sun reached the nearby Japanese group.
The green number is their toilet tent.
Tenting groups are up and gone quickly in the morning. Yaks move in immediately for urine. Like other mountain mammals, they are salt deprived.
I took an hour before finding a way to cross the icy Langtang without getting my feet wet. Some large expedition had built 3 sections of temporary bridge.
Luckily I’m a gymnast. 🙂
Very few each year scramble up this gap in the high mountains towards Tilman’s Pass, the Langshisha Glacier.
Major Harold William “Bill” Tilman … (14 February 1898–1977) was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages. …
During his extensive exploration of the areas of Langtang, Ganesh and Manang in Nepal in 1949, Tilman was the first to ascend Paldor, 5896 metres, and found the pass named after him …
He penetrated the Nanda Devi sanctuary with Eric Shipton in 1934 …
In my wildest dreams I’d hoped to join a mountaineering expedition crossing Tilman’s Pass to make a loop of the Langtang. Finishing at the luxurious Last Resort.
It’s much tougher than I’d imagined. If interested, click through:
• trip report – Across Tilman’s Pass to Naya Kanga 2010
• trip report – Trekking and climbing in the Langtang, Nepal 2009
Even better are Bob’s notes. A Spring crossing.
Instead, I scrambled up the easy way. As high as I could go.
About 2hrs up I came across these instruments.
Utrecht University and other researchers are measuring snow and rainfall here.
This is as distant on the Langtang as I would get. I believe the lowest notch to the right of the peak is Tilman Pass.
To get there you’d descend to the glacier then climb to the notch. Ugly.
This day hike was fairly straight forward. I did need to work my way through snow at one point.
I drank melt water on the way down having brought no food nor water with me.
Psychologically I was ready to turn back. Down is easier. Right?
Unfortunately “Nepali flat” means endless ups and downs. “Nepali down” means endless ups and downs.
You do not see many wild animals on the Langtang trek, but the birdlife is plentiful and interesting.
These are swarms of red-billed and yellow-billed choughs. Similar to crows.
By far the last hiker walking back towards Kyanjin Gompa this afternoon, I had – aside from grazing beasts – the valley to myself.
Whew.
I was extremely relieved to have made it back before nightfall. Just.
Instead of checking in to the Holyland, where I’d already spent 2 nights, I tried Dorje Bakery, instead. Turns out Dorje is not attached to a tea house. But the chef had his brother take me over to one in the family.
I slept well that night. 🙂
day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | day 8 | info | … Gosainkund
see all my high res photos from this day
deaths on the Annapurna Circuit
Rescuers in Nepal are trying to reach more than 20 trekkers trapped below a high Himalayan pass by heavy snowfalls and avalanches as the death toll from the unfolding tragedy was reported to be as high as 32.
High winds and blizzards hit much of central Nepal this week as the tail end of a cyclone travelling west across northern India reached the Himalayan mountain chain. The head of the Trekking Agencies Association Nepal said there had never been a disaster like it. …
Local officials said 24 bodies had been found on the Annapurna circuit, which circles the Annapurna mountain and attracts thousands of walkers every year.
I was there last year. In perfect weather. 😦
There was a similar disaster some years ago. Many killed. Many hikers trapped at the Annapurna Sanctuary.
