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That’s on the Amphitheater trek in the Drakensburgs, South Africa. Sentinel car park is the trailhead.
LARGEST waterfalls in the world
Ascent – Chris Bonington’s autobiography
In 2016 Sir Chris Bonington updated his 1989 biography.
He added accounts of his later expeditions to Greenland, India, Morocco and his re-ascent of the Old Man of Hoy in 2014, with new climbing companion Leo Houlding. The Old Man climb was filmed by BBC. Chris was not at all sure he could still do it.
Bonington was one of the few high altitude mountaineers to survive the kind of climbs he did. AND he’s an excellent writer.
He’s known a lot of tragedy including the drowning death of a young son.
Though known as one of the great expedition leaders he had many die under that leadership.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28955087-ascent
All that said, I did enjoy this book. And recommend it to everyone regardless of whether or not you have an interest in mountaineering.
Boys of Everest by Clint Willis
The Boys of Everest: Chris Bonington and the Tragedy of Climbing’s Greatest Generation (2007) is the full title.
Of the famed high altitude climbers I’ve always related most to Bonington. He seemed to be the smart, articulate and careful one.
Not so, I learned. There were a dozen times Chris could have / should have died like so many of the others.
Though reviews have been mixed, I did enjoy this book. Especially the audio version reader James Adams.
… courage, achievement, and heartbreaking loss tells of Bonington’s Boys, a band of climbers who reinvented mountaineering during the three decades after Everest’s first ascent. …
Next I’ll be reading Bonington’s biography – Ascent (2017)
my first Panorama photo
This is Laguna de los Tempanos and Glacier Vinciguerra, Ushuaia, Argentina.
Here’s my trip report from that hike. Made on my iPhone X.
Altavista Trail out of Villa O’Higgins, Chile
trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
There are 3 hikes promoted out of Villa O’Higgins.
Most popular is the short Mirador (Viewpoint) Trail taking you up above town.
Few do the Altavista Trail. On a perfect day I saw only 3 other hikers.
To find the trailhead walk out of town and over the bridge.
Oddly, in 2019, you had to climb over a fence to get to the signed trailhead.
The trail winds up and along the Mayer river. Easy going.
On a clear day there are terrific views to surrounding pristine wilderness.
As skies were starting to cloud up, I stopped at the second and final viewpoint marked on the Maps.me route. El Loco.
Back at the bridge I bumped into some folks from Argentina who’d I’d met on a previous hike. They drove me back to Villa O’Higgins. Nice.
new Torres del Paine trekking guidebook
Paine in Chile is one of the best hiking destinations in the world. No question.
But foreigners are endlessly frustrated trying to organize their trip from abroad. Many — including myself — show up on a hope and a prayer trying to make it happen onsite.
Check our Paine Circuit Information page.
Try downloading Trekking Torres del Paine (2016) by Rudolf Abraham long in advance of your trip. It’s available for Kindle.
NBA star Jimmy Butler tries hiking
Jimmy Butler, shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, was in town a few months ago and decided to hike the Stawamus Chief in Squamish — and it definitely not a slam dunk. …
NBA star Jimmy Butler hilariously documents his struggle to make it through this BC hike
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
NEW – Khopra Ridge trek, Nepal
Annapurna region.
You see 23 big mountains from Khopra Ridge.
… 3 are amongst the 14 highest mountains in the world – Mt Manaslu (8th highest), Mt Annapurna I (9th highest) and Mt Dhaulagiri I (7th highest) …
It costs about $500 for 8 days to join an IndiaHikes guided tour to and from Pokhara. Everything included. Accommodation and meals at teahouses.
Sounds GREAT to me.
hike to Lago Windhond, Isla Navarino, Chile
Quite famous in 2019 is the Dientes de Navarino Circuit out of Puerto Williams, Chile.
It’s billed as the most southerly established hike in the world.
HOWEVER the Lago Windhond hike also out of Puerto Williams goes further south. But it’s far less popular.
From Here to Nowhere:
… Now, after failing to reach the Windhond trail from the Dientes Circuit a few days before due to dangerous snow conditions, my plan was to reach the lake via the Rio Ukika valley and, if time permitted, walk around the eastern edge of the lake to truly reach the southern end of Isla Navarino. Beyond that point Cape Horn is the only land before Antarctica. …
For the first half of the day the Windhond trail follows the Ukika valley, gradually climbing to its head, passing several pretty lakes which are the source of the Rio Ukika, and offering magnificent views of the backs of the mountains I walked along only a few days before on the Dientes Circuit.
Ahead, the Dientes de Navarino slowly come into view – and to be honest, the views of the mountains were better than those from the Dientes Circuit. …
Compared to the Dientes Circuit there was very little elevation change involved, and after my experience on that circuit I decided not to be too fussy about following the path exactly when the markers disappeared because of beaver damage. …
Solo Hike to Lago Windhond, Isla Navarino
related – An Outdoors Family did it coming from the day 1 route of the Dientes Circuit.
I believe this trail is now available free on the Maps.me app.
However … it’s a route, not a trail. You’ll be mucking through beaver damaged, wet meadows for long sections.
Alma Wagen – 1st climbing guide on Mt Rainier
Celebrating girls and women in the outdoors on #InternationalWomansDay.
Alma Wagen was the first female guide to work in Mount Rainier National Park. The bulk of her work as a guide consisted of leading tourists on hikes to nearby glaciers, but she occasionally assisted in leading parties to the mountain’s summit, which she was said to have done “like a master”. …
besthike.com 