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Ed Viesturs – No Shortcuts to the Top

After seeing Ed speak at the Banff Mountain Festival, I immediately got his book.

He’s one of the few normal people in high altitude mountaineering. (The only other that jumps to mind is Chris Bonnington.)

I, probably wrongly, assume serious climbers are egocentric risk takers. And most often masochists.

Ed Viesturs is none of these. He’s known as a “nice guy”.

There are very few new insights into what happened in the disaster on Everest 1996. Ed was with the IMAX film Everest team.

I highly recommend it though it’s written for the general public, not the outdoors elite.

Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks

PS

I did not enjoy my one and only true mountaineering adventure, guided to the top of 6000m (20,000ft) Huayna Potosi in Bolivia. Being connected by rope was tedious. Having no input into the speed of the climb, annoying.

Much better are trekking peaks. I scrambled independently 5822m (19,101ft) Misti in Peru. And trekked close to 6000m on the Rongphu glacier off Everest.

Kilimanjaro 5896m (19,344ft) appeals in the same way.

On the rare perfect day you can walk up Aconcagua 6962m (22,841ft), the highest peak outside Asia.

Serious mountaineering above that I’ll have to do vicariously.

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when will I hike South Africa?

… some day.

One of our contributors, George Novak, lived in South Africa and is always urging me to get there for “trekking”.

Top of my list — the Drakensberg Mountains in Kwa-Zula Natal.

img47.jpgGarth and Lee-Anne from GoVertical Mountaineering Adventures guide routes including:

  • DRAKENSBERG TRAVERSE (5-10 days)
  • AMPHITHEATRE TO CATHEDERAL PEAK OR TO GIANTS CASTLE
  • SENTINEL TO SANI (16 days)

    • The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage site of incredible basalt cliffs, giant peaks, dramatic pinnacles, pristine rivers and ancient San Rock Art. Join GoVertical for a guided backpacking experience along the Drakensberg Great Escarpment, a wilderness area which separates South Africa’s coastal lowlands from the highveld plateau.

    All Drakensberg Traverse Treks include:

    GoVertical Mountaineering guides, all meals & necessary restocks, Park fees, general camping gear, a celebratory dinner & B&B accommodation on the last night at a local mountain lodge

    GoVertical Trekking

    I’m tempted to sign on for a guided hike on my first trek in South Africa. Security is a bit of an issue in that country. It’s safe — but you need to know which areas to avoid. Tourists sometimes make the mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    Related post: Trekking the Drakensberg in South Africa (photos)

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    hike Palmetto Trail, South Carolina

    Have you heard of this new project?

    The Palmetto Trail is an ambitious plan for a 425 miles (684 km) foot and mountain bike trail in South Carolina for recreational hiking and biking. Several of the sections are also equestrian trails. It will extends from the Oconee County mountains to the Intracoastal Waterway in Charleston County. …

    Palmetto Trail – Wikipedia

    Snakes?

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    source – American Southwest

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    Palmetto Conservation – larger interactive map

    (via American Hiking Society’s Southeast Trail Program)

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    Plague cause of death in Grand Canyon

    An Arizona-based wildlife biologist likely died of the plague, officials from Grand Canyon National Park announced on Friday.

    Autopsy reports for Eric York, a 37-year-old wildlife biologist for the National Park Service, showed that he had plague in his body. …

    Officials said York was most likely exposed to the plague when he performed an autopsy on a mountain lion that had been infected and most likely killed by it. York was the only person to come in contact with the dead mountain lion, according to officials.

    York presented symptoms of exposure on Oct. 30, three days after the mountain lion autopsy. He went to Grand Canyon Clinic, located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, with flu-like symptoms. York was sent home that day because the symptoms of plague are difficult to detect and are often confused with the flu, officials said.

    Plague blamed for biologist’s death – USATODAY.com

    UPDATE:

    Plague Confirmed As Cause of Death for Grand Canyon Biologist

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    wolf pack kills a man

    I am for reintroduction of wolves to the wilderness.

    Elk and porcupine worry me more than wolves in the wild. But this is significant. The first documented case of wolves hunting and killing a man:

    Environmentalists backing the re-wolfing of the American West have often said, “Don’t worry, there’s no documented instance of wolves killing any person.”

    That reassurance came under question with the discovery of the body of a 22-year-old college student, Kenton Joel Carnegie, two years ago in northern Saskatchewan. …

    GOAT – A High Country News Blog » Wolf pack killed a man

    At the Banff Mountain Film Festival I saw a fantastic slide show on some of the wildest wolves in the world.

    Then watched a preview of the PBS Nature TV special:

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    In 1995, the first gray wolves were transported from Alberta, Canada to Yellowstone National Park, to repopulate the sprawling landscape with the species, absent for more than 70 years. …

    In the Valley of the Wolves was produced and shot in High Definition by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Bob Landis.

    On the Web site for In the Valley of the Wolves, you’ll learn how the successful reintroduction of Yellowstone’s apex predator has changed the entire ecosystem of the park, and about the threats that these majestic animals continue to face on their road to recovery.

    Watch an exclusive online podcast. In this podcast, Emmy Award-winning wildlife cinematographer Bob Landis discusses the making of the film, including the ideal circumstances for filming a predation scene; the importance of spending a vast amount of time in the field; the uniqueness of Yellowstone’s Druid wolf pack, and more.

    Watch the video clip – PBS Nature

    Bob Landis has spent more time with wolves than anyone. I trust his opinion most.

    Bob, of course, is in favour of humans learning to co-exist with wolves.

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    More Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies

    Where I come from, the guidebook Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, 3rd edition by Alan Kane is essential. Increasingly my hiking friends prefer hard, fun one day adventures over multi-day walk hauling a pack.

    I love this book. And curse it, alternately. Needless to say, route finding on scrambles are not without their challenges. (We’re still arguing about the actual summit of Storm Mountain.)

    I’m happy to announce the sequel, by a new author: Andrew Nagura.

    Looks great. New routes for those of us who like to climb high, but don’t want to gear up for climbing.

    More Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies

    More Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies

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    Kendal Mountain Film Festival starts today

    Guests at the biggest UK festival include Sir Chris Bonington, Doug Scott, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Greg Child, Joe Simpson, Simon Yates, Canadian Will Gadd and many, many others.

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    “Since 1980, the very best showcase for mountain sports, culture & environment”

    First we have news of a film coup on the opening Friday night: Far North

    Only shown at the Venice and London Film Festivals, this is a dark epic tale set in the harsh beauty of the Arctic starring Sean Bean, Michelle Yeoh and Michelle Krusiec. A powerful film that combines action, love and survival in the frozen wastes. Shot in Svalbard and Northern Norway in by Asif Kapardia, director of Warrior.

    Kendal Mountain Film Festival

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    lightweight Dirty Girl Gaiters

    My hiking buddy Mark Glaser invented “InstaGaiters” years ago. He wears modified women’s nylon stockings.

    Looks like he should have patented the idea. This is similar:

    From the Happy Feet blog:

    Gaiters are an important for trail runners, and for that matter, hikers, adventure racers, and even walkers. They cover the top of the shoe and prevent debris from going inside the shoe. It is this debris, between the shoe and sock, which leads to hot spots and blisters. A simple pair of gaiters can help prevent problems.

    For my money, I like the gaiters made by Chrissy Weiss, called Dirty Girl Gaiters. Chrissy has a lock on gaiters that make a statement. They are bold and colorful. They are in-your-face patterns that inspire. Most of the runners yesterday wore Chrissy’s gaiters. They are made from soft, comfortable four-way stretch spandex unisex with gaiter hooks under the front shoe lace and secures to the back of the shoe with a self-adhesive Velcro strip. They are dirt-cheap for $13 per pair, including postage.

    And, yes, guys are wearing them too. A lot of guys.

    Happy Feet

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    Dirty Girl Gaiters – photos

    (via Two-Heel Drive)

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    climbing Naeba Mountain, Japan

    One of my favourite blogs is Batish.net. I read every post.

    The photos are particularly well done. Almost Japanese in their elegant simplicity, though the author is an expat.

    A good example:

    The hike up was one of the most challenging trails I have come across in Japan in terms of terrain – a seven-hundred meter gain in less than 1.5 km. While it was short enough that, even after a leisurely morning, we reached the summit just in time for sunset, much of it was almost vertical …. It was satisfying to me to see that everyone made it despite admissions that this was the most difficult trek they had ever done. …

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    bastish.net: Hiking Tour of Japan’s Naeba Mountain

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    was Alexander Supertramp crazy?

    Finally saw the film Into the Wild last night.

    Compared with the many other reviews you’ve read, I have little to add:

  • excellent movie
  • a little too lengthy
  • excellent acting
  • Academy Award consideration, perhaps for Emile Hirsch who played Christopher McCandless. Perhaps for Hal Holbrook and several others.

    • Hirsch was great too in Lords of Dogtown. He’s got a career ahead of him.

    I went to the movie with a hiking buddy, Rocco Cioncio, who had just reread the superb book by Jon Krakauer. Rocco was impressed how little the film was Hollywoodized. Director Sean Penn loves the book and obviously went to pains to stay true to the story.

    I want to thank the McCandless family for letting the film go forward. That must have been very painful. I trust it was something of a cathartic resolution.

    And I want to thank Jon Krakauer for having the vision to follow-up this, one of many run-a-way tragedy stories.

    Krakauer has done more than anyone else over the past 10 years to bring main stream attention to the outdoor lifestyle. Yet he’s lightning rod for criticism, most of it unfair.

    One new angle, to me, is the possibility that Chris and Alexander (his alter ego) was a manifestation of mental illness.

    This story was published in the Anchorage Daily News recently and it was sent to me by Azzfan. The gist of the story is that the writer, Craig Medred, believes that Into The Wild, both the book and the movie, fail to tell Chris McCandless’ story because they ignore the fact that he may have been a schizophrenic. …

    The Adventure Blog: Was Chris McCandless Crazy? Literally?

    Actually, I don’t buy it.

    What Chris McCandless did seems consistent with many other 23-year-old men. Like Krakauer. Like Sean Penn.

    Certainly this is a must see movie.

    wild.jpg

    Into the Wild – Amazon