Category: snow and ice

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hike Kearsarge Pass, Onion Valley, California

The 4.0-mile trail to 11,760-foot Kearsarge Pass switchbacks up a sunny slope towards its namesake mountain pass, providing access to a sparkling High Sierra lake basin, the John Muir Wilderness, and the dramatic backcountry mountain scenery of Kings Canyon National Park—superb destinations for any day hiker.

Begin your hike at the trailhead located at the end of Onion Valley Road (Market Street in town), a 13-mile drive from the town of Independence, California—starting at an elevation of 9,189 feet, you might already feel breathless …

Natural Born Hikers

Here’s the winding road that gets you up to over 9000ft.

trailhead

Quickly you reach that wonderful stoney Sierra landscape. I saw far more fishermen than hikers. Dogs are allowed as far as the Pass.

Sierra-waterfall

Rain threatened.

rain-clouds-over-the-mountain

But it just seemed to not be able to get over the mountains.

Sadly, I never made it to the “Pass” itself at 11,823ft. The snow was still heaped close to the top.

snow-on-the-trail

See all my photos from this half day hike.

Onion Valley was named one of the 10 best hikes in the Eastern Sierra.

But famed local author R. J. Secor pooh-poohed this hike, I read. He disparages it as over popular.

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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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World’s Best Glacier Treks

As chosen by My Several Worlds:

… Glacier treks come in a range of exciting opportunities for beginners and experienced climbers. Experienced climbers who are looking for something more challenging than a standard day hike can try an introduction to the sport of ice climbing on the ice walls of a glacier. You can even combine the thrill of a helicopter ride with the opportunity to explore a remote part of the glacier on foot. A helicopter can take you on a scenic flight over the glaciers and surrounding region, and then drop you off for some intensive hiking and climbing. If you’re looking for an unforgettable travel experience, there are few things more rewarding or satisfying than spending a full day on ice.


1. The Franz Josef and Fox Glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand

2. Snæfellsjökull Glacier in Iceland

3. The Icefields Parkway in Canada

4. Kennicott, Alaska’s Root Glacier

5. The Swiss Alps, Switzerland The Aletsch Glacier

6. Patagonia, Argentina and Chile The Southern Patagonian Ice Fields

7. Bolivia

8. The Peruvian Andes

9. Nepal and the Indian Himalayas

10. Bhutan.

For photos click through to My Several Worlds – The World’s Best Glacier Trekking Getaways

The Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina is the BEST I’ve visited.

larger original – flickr – Matito

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickmccharles/sets/72157612420033468/">my Perito Moreno photos</a>

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7 trekkers die in the mountains


Himalayas?

Andes?

Nope. The UK.

Icy conditions in the fell country lead to seven trekker deaths on Wales’ Mt. Snowdon and the English Peak and Lake Districts.

Terrible.

I had no idea that winter walking in the United Kingdom was so dangerous.

tents-mt-snowdon

The lesson here? Easy is all about conditions. When the slopes and trails are wet, or muddy, or icy, or the lightning’s flying and the wind’s howling, your easy hike just turned into a big deal. Whenever you go into the woods in winter, never scrimp on safety and travel equipment like poles, crampons, axes, skis, snowshoes, gaiters, goggles, bivy gear and clothing.

You have two choices out there: If you’re ready for the conditions, have fun. If you’re not, turn around. It’s a simple decision, but one that people often have a hard time making. If you let desire pull you onward when you’re not prepared….well, you can learn from the examples above, or learn it on your own. Always do your suffering vicariously.

Hike safe. – Steve Howe

Backpacker – Danger in the British Isles

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Torres del Paine Circuit trek, Chile


Hank Leukart posted a magazine quality essay on one of our top treks in the World, the Paine Circuit.

Adopted by Kiwis in Chilean Patagonia. How to hike the Torres del Paine Circuit on someone else’s family vacation

… The only thing standing between us and views of 270-square-kilometer Glaciar Grey was Paso John Garner, a steep and rocky pass through the Patagonian Andes Mountains. My brother Brian and I looked up nervously at the severe mountain crags and glacial ice surrounding us, and though we hadn’t been able to substantiate the rumors of a lost hiker’s death during a blizzard in the pass three days before, the gossip made us uneasy. We knew that some hikers had turned back, failing to conquer the pass due to dangerous weather. …

glaciar-grey

read the 3-part series article on Without Baggage

Especially if you want to find out why Hank decided to climb on to an iceberg.

hank

related posts – more Without Baggage trip reports

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Mongolia or Baffin Island?

Kraig on The Adventure Blog profiled two upcoming projects:

  • Expedition: Mongolia 2010
  • Expedition: Baffin Babes 2009

    • … former British solider Ripley Davis will set out on a solo, unsupported trek across Mongolia in an effort to raise funds and awareness of the Hope and Homes for Children project, and UNICEF.

    The expedition is slated to get underway next April, with Ripley pulling all of his supplies behind him in a wheeled cart. He anticipates that he’ll be towing more than 100kg (220 pounds) of gear over a 3000km (1865 miles) course between 47º and 50º north latitude. The journey is expected to take roughly 90 days. …

    //www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/33324648/sizes/l/">larger original</a> - flickr - tiarescott
    larger original - flickr - tiarescott

    Expedition: Mongolia 2010

    … And for the ladies:

    … 80 day ski expedition through Baffin Island beginning in March. The plan is to ski over 1400km (870 miles) as they survey the impact of climate change on the fragile environments on the island, while visiting three remote Inuit villages along the way.

    The team consists of Vera and Emma Simonsson of Sweden and Ingebjoerg Tollefsen, and Kristin Folsland Olsen of Norway. …

    baffin_babes_kort_fin_lowres

    Baffin Babes 2009

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    hiking Coyote Buttes in winter


    Fantastic photos.

    These rock formations are just “wow”

    The hike was difficult at times. Not difficult as dangerous, just difficult as in trying to figure out ways of getting up the rocks without sliding and falling. Well, there was a bit of sliding as I mentioned before and yes, there was some falling too. We were not in any danger at any point and time.

    … So having done this hike I have to say that this so far is one of the best hikes I’ve ever done. Hardly any people, tons of spectacular jaw dropping scenery – I must have taken over 400 photos during the hike.

    122908_az_coyote_buttes40x

    more gorgeous photos and the trip report – excessivelocity – Arizona: Hiking Coyote Buttes in the snow

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    New Year’s FART Adventures


    Sadly I did not make it out to the New Year’s Eve adventure party hosted by Dave and Lisa Adlard, in Idaho.

    Many of my Adventure Racing Team were there. The outdoor activities were extreme due to the record snow fall in 2008.

    snowshoe-trekking

    … It was very interesting to snowshoe along trails that we run and bike so often during the rest of the year: your normal landmarks are muted, and distances are thrown off, but the snow makes everything look like a real winter wonderland!

    At the edge of the park, we decided to make our way to Scout rocks, which we had been to countless times on foot, but never in four to five feet of snow! We were warned that if we continued, there were no more directional signs, and no groomed trails, which suited us perfectly, and off we went.

    The trail, if you can call it that, is mostly uphill to the rocks for about 3/4 of a mile, and the fact that we were walking was more than made up for the fact that the snow laden branches were now at face level.

    Once we got to the base of the rocks, we started our way up the near vertical cliff, covered in feet of snow, with crevasses, roots, and boulders hidden underneath! It was awesome! …

    New Year’s FART Training!

    hot-tub

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    scrambling Annapurna Base Camp, NEPAL

    My old hiking buddy from South America 2004, Canadian Grant Assenheimer, just climbed down from the high Himalayas. He was on a “holiday” between assignments for Doctors Without Borders.

    From Grant’s email:

    Just got back from ABC and had a fantastic time. The ‘scare’ tactics used by the tour companies almost had me convinced that I should take a guide but it is TOTALLY NOT NECESSARY. Pass the word! Even if you are only moderately fit, you can easily do any of the teahouse trekking without a guide or porter.

    grant.jpg
    larger version – flickr

    My favorite day was a scramble up from the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Although most people stop at ABC, I rounded up a couple of New Yorkers and the 3 of us did this great day trip UP to the base camp for Tent Peak, one of the smaller ‘trekking peaks’ in the area. We started at 4100 m, went down and crossed the stone-covered glacier and then climbed to 4800 m via a steep morrain, icy river through a narrow gorge and finally a bit of a slog through steep high-altitude grassy slopes. This gave us GREAT views of the Annapurna Range, Machapuchre and some other ‘lesser’ 5 and 6 thousand meter peaks. The way UP was a bit challenging (ie. GREAT) because we didn’t see the PATH until we were already pretty much at the top. Lets just say that the way down was MUCH easier and didn’t involve navigating that icy river in that steep canyon or the 60 degree grassy slopes…

    I also read Annapurna by Herzog during the hike. Wow. All I can say is that the Nepal of today is NOTHING like the Himalayas of the early mountaineers. I mean, they actually walked in from India. No apple pie or internet cafe waiting at 4000 m for them. What a story.

    I started in Phedi, walked to ABC and then came out via Gorenpani and Poon hill. Truly spectacular and worth putting up with everyone else for the views. Definitely NOT a wilderness experience but if you go in without expecting one, its a great time.

    nepal.jpg
    larger version – flickr

    Thanks Grant.

    The Base Camp is the best side trip off the famed Annapurna Circuit.

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    Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal

    My buddy Grant Assenheimer just emailed:

    Leaving tomorrow for the Annapurna Base Camp.  Have to get my permits today, pick up a sleeping roll and sleeping bag and some chocolate and I’m good to go.  Haven’t managed to find anyone to go with me yet but I’m not going to let that slow me down.  Should be able to find someone in Pokara and, if not, surely on the trail!  No guide or porter…I agree with you and don’t think it is needed at all!!
     
    I’ll send you a pic!

    abc.jpg
    larger version – flickr – mikemellinger

    more interesting photos of Annapurna Base Camp

    My own solo trek to ABC in Nepal was one of my personal best hikes.

    Here’s an excerpt from my 1998 trip report:

    … Access to the Sanctuary is via an intensely scenic gorge; a narrow, winding trail through dense bamboo and huge trees. You scramble over river boulders; gnarled, polished hardwood roots; traverse the most recent avalanche tracks; climb bamboo ladders.

    There are no permanent settlements here. This is the only major trekking route in Nepal subject to serious avalanche risk. Occasionally backpackers are trapped at basecamp when tons of snow collapse into the gorge from the unseen. On November 11, 1995 a freak early winter storm resulted in the death of 63 people in Nepal. This caused a bit of unease when it started raining, hailing, and snowing while I ascended to the notch of the Sanctuary gate.

    The basecamp itself is bleak. An eerie calm. No wind, though clouds swirl in every direction up on the mountain tops. The scene is dominated by huge, white, vertical Annapurna — one of the most difficult faces ever climbed. On Christmas day 1997 an avalanche here killed Anatoli Boukreev, the Tiger Woods of high altitude, and subject of the best seller, The Climb. …

    Annapurna Sanctuary – trip report

    annapurna.jpg
    original – flickr – Gianni Scopinaro

    related: besthike Annapurna Circuit information page