snow and ice – Page 26

November 3, 2008

trek the Pakistan / India border?

The Indian army has gone ahead with plans to allow trekkers to visit the disputed Siachen glacier, despite protests from Pakistan. Three civilians were among 42 members of an expedition which left Leh in Ladakh on Wednesday for the glacier area, an army spokesman told the BBC.

It is not the first time that civilians have been to Siachen, between Pakistani and Indian-administered Kashmir.

But new Indian plans for “adventure tourism” there have angered Pakistan.

The two sides have fought and argued over the 5,500m-high glacier – described as the world’s highest battlefield – for decades. …

The expedition has been made possible because of a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan which has held for almost four years. …

Officials say that India has decided to open 200 peaks, including four on Siachen, to climbers as part of a national “adventure park” project to attract more tourists.

BBC

‘Adventure park’ is the term being used now by India. But some dreamers have called the proposal a “peace park“.

This looks more like posturing to me. I doubt I’ll be heading for the Kashmir border â€” the World’s Highest Battle Field â€” any time soon.

India has perhaps 5,000 troops on the Siachen glacier, while Pakistan has fewer than half that number. Harsh weather in claims many more lives than fighting.

original – flickr – more photos from this set

It must be a beautiful, but boring, military outpost.

The beautiful coincidence point of Siachen and Baltoro glaciers (75 km & 64 km respectively).The two longest non-polar glaciers in the world.More than 60 peaks (above 7000 metres) of Karakoram mountain range are clustered around the both two.Baltoro glacier contains 28 peaks above 7000 metres with 4 even above 8000 metres & the Siachen glacier contains 32 peaks above 7000 metres.

larger version – flickr – Heartkins

more interesting photos tagged “Siachen glacier” on flickr

October 24, 2008

climber found alive on Mt Adams

We climbed Mt Adams this summer. It was a walk in the park.

Not so for Derek Mamoyac who fell when snow gave way under his feet.

A 27-year-old Oregon climber who survived five days on southern Washington’s Mount Adams with a broken ankle told rescuers he ate centipedes and drank water from creeks as he tried to crawl to safety. …

… ate centipedes and other bugs after running out of food early in the week. He drank water from creeks.

He was wearing water-resistant pants, insulated boots and gloves but was still very cold. …

Missing climber found alive on Wash. mountain – AP

Thank God for the search dog.

(via Sierra Blogging Post)

Steep – extreme skiing movie

Just watched the film. Highly recommended.

The history of extreme skiing.

… The movie, photographed in high-definition video by Erich Roland, is an undeniably impressive visual spectacle that follows the sport from Wyoming to France, British Columbia, Iceland and Alaska. Like that of its sister sport, surfing, extreme skiing has a history of one feat topping another as techniques are developed and challenges devised.

The worldwide search for the highest wave is paralleled by the search for the steepest, wildest, most dangerous slopes and for perfect snow. Perfection is to be found, according to the movie, in the extreme-skiing mecca of Valdez, Alaska, where the white stuff has the texture of velvet.

â€œSteepâ€ arbitrarily begins its history with a lone descent of Bill Briggs in 1971 on Grand Teton mountain in Wyoming. His accomplishment, witnessed by no one but attested to by aerial photographs of his ski tracks, was all the more remarkable because he was born without a hip joint, and multiple surgeries had left him with a limp.

Since then a widening search for adventure has sparked the popularity of what is called big mountain skiing, two of whose hubs, visited by the movie, are Chamonix, in the French Alps, and Valdez. The sportâ€™s popularity has been spread by video, with Greg Stumpâ€™s 1988 film, â€œThe Blizzard of Aahhhâ€™s,â€ cited as a seminal work. …

Movie Review – Steep (2007) – New York Times

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

See more on the official website.

August 29, 2008

day hiker dead on Mt Rainier

We climbed Mt. Adams in the Cascades in beautiful weather. But our guide Matt insisted we haul survival gear up to the summit including parkas, emergency sleeping bag, stove, fuel.

On the descent Matt suggested a future trip up to Camp Muir on Rainier. No doubt he’d insist we carry survival gear yet again.

Here’s why …

Wikipedia

Park rangers say the three — two men and a woman — planned a day hike Monday to Camp Muir, which stands at about 10,000 feet feet on the 14,410-foot mountain and has a shelter. However, a wintry storm that blew in pinned them down near that location. Park officials say the storm dumped 2 feet of snow and created 5-foot drifts at Paradise and generated winds of 70 mph at Camp Muir.

At 3:30 a.m. Tuesday the trio, which dug a snow shelter to avoid the brunt of the storm, managed to get through to park rangers with a 911 emergency call; but because of heavy snow and near zero visibility rangers were unable to safely initiate a search at that time. At about 7:15 a.m. one member of the party found his way to Camp Muir and was able to direct a search team, made up of climbing guides and park rangers stationed at Camp Muir, to the partyâ€™s location near Anvil Rock.

All three of the stranded hikers were under shelter at Camp Muir by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, though all suffered hypothermia and frostbite and one was unconscious and unresponsive and ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

The man who died was the husband of the surviving woman. All three were in their early 30s and from Bellevue, Washington. They all were experienced mountaineers who had visited Camp Muir in the past and enjoy hiking on Mount Rainier. …

Day Hike Turns Fatal at Mount Rainier National Park – National Parks Traveler

That site has a Category called: Missteps in the Parks

August 25, 2008

evidence – atop the Mt Adams summit

Proof positive.

Video of my Funtastics Adventure Racing Team topping out on the second highest peak in the Cascade Range, Washington State.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

trip report

photos – flickr

August 19, 2008September 5, 2021

trip report – climbing Mt. Adams, Washington 2008

A die hard hiker, I consider mountaineering the pursuit of egotistic masochists. While climbers are suffering in their tents at base camp, hikers are enjoying every minute of their adventure far below.

So it was with some reluctance that I signed on with my Adventure Racing Team (The FARTs) on a volcano climb. My only previous experience in the Pacific Northwest was an unsuccessful attempt to scramble Mount St. Helens some 10yrs ago.

Our trip report was inked by Chief FART Evangelist Dave Adlard … who had not carried a backpack nor slept on the ground in many years:

… Lisa, Morgen, Rick, Matt and Dave set out for Mt. Adams, which at 12, 272 feet, is the second highest peak in the Cascades, just behind Rainier. …

… Mt. Adams is notoriously windy and cold, but we lucked out with high temps, and essentially no wind on Saturday, and as we went to bed, the full moon was coming up — to quote Matt, it was an epic evening! …

… just after 5:00 am, we headed toward the summit, some 3000 feet and 2 miles up. …

… Overall, it was a great weekend, and we learned a TON! We hope to join the Mountaineers ourselves and take several of the classes, so that we can attack Rainier and some of the other peaks next season. It is an addictive hobby, as there is something really special about reaching the top, with the great efforts required. It was also a heckuva workout! …

Dave Adlard – Funtastics Adventure Racing Team – — and so they pressed on

Dave’s right. It was a fantastic weekend. And I’m tempted to do more peaks. Especially Rainier.

Or … hopefully the urge will subside. And I’ll hike the Wonderland Trail around Rainier, instead. (I assume there must be a mountain called Rainiest, as well.)

And my favourite of Dave’s photos. A basecamp tent shot with rockwall behind.

The highlight of the trip for me was sledding down the mountain on our butts!

MORE photos.

April 15, 2008

trailspotting top 10 popular outdoor adventures

The hiking blog I most admire in terms of it’s layout and special features is trailspotting.

And I’ve been reading it closely during the last 3wks. Studying their many posts on Kauai, Hawaii, researching my own hikes.

Here’s a recap of our most viewed hikes during March 2008:

1. Big Sur – Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
2. Tahoe Region – Castle Peak Snowshoeing
3. San Francisco Peninsula – San Bruno Mtn Summit Loop
4. Big Island, Hawaii – Kilauea Crater
5. Kauai, Hawaii – Alaka’i Swamp Trail
6. Tahoe Region – Donner Memorial SP Snowshoeing
7. Mendocino County – Russian Gulch State Park
8. Tahoe Region – Mt. Ralston Peak
9. Kauai, Hawaii – Hanakapiai Falls
10. Napa County – Sugarloaf Mountain Trail

read more on trailspotting

April 11, 2008

Return to the Outdoors

Timex is sponsoring a contest where you and I can share our stories about why we love the outdoors.

I like the concept: Return to the Outdoors. It flies in the face of statistics I keep hearing about decreasing numbers in the outdoors.

A couple of celebrities inspire:

Conrad Anker is a world renowned mountaineer, big wall climber, author, and conservationist. He shares a vivid memory of one of his earliest outdoor moments and why he is inspired to help conserve the wild places he loves.

Click PLAY or watch Conrad on YouTube:

Nice.

Steph Davis is an elite Big Wall climber, author, and conservationalist. She was the first woman to climb the Salathe Wall on El Capitain without equipment. Steph shares a story about one of the wild places she loves.

Click PLAY or watch Steph on YouTube:

Return to the Outdoors – official website

Conservation Alliance – official website

Thanks TIMEX.

(via The Adventure Blog)

Related post: Banff Festival – Where are the Women?

March 20, 2008

cost of trekking in Bhutan increasing

Bad news for me.

I’ve been waiting on Bhutan to open up for independent trekking. Planning on being one of the first to get a hiking permit.

It was Rogier Gruys of BluePeak.net who first got me interested in hiking Bhutan.

original – BluePeak on flickr – more photos

Now Kira Salak penned a wonderful Snowman Trek trip report / article for National Geographic.

A small excerpt:

… Then I saw the tiny fortress, Lingshi Dzong, sitting on a hilltop before the great audience of the Himalaya. I stopped. For some reason I never quite understood, I sat down and wept. Maybe it had something to do with the starkness of the distances, with the dramatic vying of sunlight and storm. Or perhaps it was subtler, harder to explain. As if, in that ancient dzongâ€”that speck of human proclamation sitting before the indifferent valleys and rise of the Himalayaâ€”it was my own voice calling out into the void. I found myself making an appeal of grief about my brother, who’d had his own history, his stories. What would happen to them now? Where do theyâ€”where do any of our storiesâ€”go? …

Lingshi Dzong – larger version – flickr – reddoggirl01

read the entire lengthy, intense travelogue – Trekking Bhutan’s Higher Planes

VISITING BHUTAN: Though there is no cap on the number of annual visitors, the Bhutanese government charges at least $200 a day for any in-country travel, and all tourists must book trips with one of 77 government-approved outfitters. Once you’re there, a guide accompanies you at all times.

National Geographic Bhutan Adventure Guide

In her article, Kira Salak states that she’s heard price will double in the near future. Go from $200 to $400 / day.

Leave a comment if you can confirm that rumour.

(via The Adventure Blog)

trekking in Bhutan

Snowman Trek, Bhutan

March 16, 2008

best hike out of Palm Springs, California

In winter, Mt. San Jacinto looks very appealing from down in the desert.

original – flickr – bossco

I’ve always loved mountain gondolas.

Instead of slogging hours up the hill, in just a few minutes, you can get to altitude.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is one of the premiere tourist attractions of Southern California. A great experience for all. Tickets about $20.

If you have any kind of fear of heights, do not read this paragraph:

In October 2003, a steel cable broke and caused a mechanical failure that left more than fifty tram customers hanging in mid-air … During the crisis, tram officials sought a rescue helicopter but could not locate one. The obstruction was finally removed by a tram operator with no training in maintenance, utilizing a borrowed Leatherman utility knife. …

Wikipedia

My thinking was to make the first winter ascent of Mt. San Jacinto. By “first”, I mean “my first” as it’s highly likely people have been up there in the snow before me. And by “Mt. San Jacinto” I mean the lower peak on which I stand:

As you can see, the actually summit behind was not worthy of me. I ignored it, instead wandering around the sub-summit snapping photos of weird ice features sculpted by wind and sun:

My best fun that day was running and glissading down the steep sections:

On returning to the top of the tramway, I learned I had missed the San Jacinto summit completely. Zigged when I should have zagged.

Cannot imagine how I made this error. I tried to follow the signage:

more photos from this hike / scramble – flickr

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is recommended for all. Serious hikers (with 2 vehicles) should ascend by Tram, then overnight hike, exiting via Idyllwild.