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george-sykes86 · 8 years ago

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When 2 became 3

It was now time for the arrival of a Mr Patrick Hunt. Our ranks would be bolstered for the next 2 weeks in which would see us venture out of the wilderness and into the more populous locations of Bariloche, Mendoza and Santiago.

Fresh from our 24 hour bus journey we fell through the door of our apartment to find Paddy had already done the evening shop and had beers on ice for us. What a man! Desperate to shake of the the journey we showered and changed and headed out into town to explore the nightlife which proved to be excellent. One street in particular owns closed off to cars after 8pm and as the bars opened temporary stages housed local bands. With only a short amount of time to take in the enormous lakeside town and the surrounding national parks we quickly booked ourselves onto a raft of activities.

Day 1 took us to a stunning lake in search of kayaks. After serif up camp Harriet set off in the direction of the only kayaks visible only to return dejected having failed to use her feminine charms to persuade the hotels resident kayak specialist to part with his prized possessions for an hour. After a bit more sun we set off on a walk around the lake to see some waterfalls marked on the map. At the end of the path we were faced by a dilemma. Two signs, one pointing to the falls the others saying kayaks. I am sure you can guess which won. Day 1 also featured a major highlight. Steak night. Finally we found a restaurant in Argentina that sold us mountains of meat with incredible wine for an outstanding price. Smiles all round! Day 2 featured a ferry trip on the main lake to the last remaining myrtle forest and the beautiful Victoria island. The scenery was spectacular and the day was only tainted by the presence of other people. It started on the ferry with a procession preferring to ignore their amazing surroundings and instead desperately battling each other to get a photo of a seagull eating a cracker out of their hands. This resulted in a lot of rubbish photos, a few painful fingers and my bag being covered in seagull poo. Next up was the myrtle forest and amongst the amazing orange trees were hoards of Asian tourists taking awful selfies. Harriet quickly lost patience and most of the tourists were lucky not to be thrown over the edge of the walkways as she stormed through. Finally we reached Victoria island with our strategy now well defined. Go in the opposite direction to the crowd. With the majority of people flooding to the only restaurant on the island we headed to the beach with its wooden jetty perfect for a bit of tomfoolery. Finding it deserted we set about absorbing as much sun as possible and honing our synchronised diving and bombing skills. By the time the crowds descended upon us we had had our full and headed off to explore the rest of the island in peace. On day 3 it was time to inject some exercise into the week to counteract the steak and wine. This came in the form a 35km hilly cycle around the circuit Chico in the national park. Before setting off we were instructed to take the bikes for a ride to make sure everything was in order. Suitably satisfied and decked out in high via jackets we set off down the road. At the foot of the first steep hill a quick lesson in using gears was quickly dismissed by Harriet who declared her legs were made for cycling. Sadly her attention to detail when checking the bike initially was not up to the same level and although she was able to generate as much power as lance armstrong in his prime a 30% incline without the bottom cog on the front proved her undoing and also almost the undoing of our relationship. After a quick call to the shop a replacement was delivered and things went much more smoothly after that. Beautiful views, some fine cycling and all topped off with a trip to the Patagonia brewery where craft beers were enjoyed in one of the best located bars on the continent. That was pretty much it for Bariloche as after a day washed out with heavy storms it was off again in the bus for another 20 hours up to Mendoza Being the main wine producing region in Argentina we always knew what would take centre stage in Mendoza. During our 5 days there most of the activities either focussed on wine or involved drinking plenty of it. We tried our hand at being proper gauchos with a sunset horse ride in the hills followed by a BBQ and bottomless wine from the vineyard. Despite only booking the activity in the afternoon the sunset was sadly obscured by thick cloud to then unhelpfully be informed by our guide that Mendoza only has 60 days of cloud a year. We managed to pick two of them for our stay. This was a mere speed bump though and we had an excellent evening which finished with a sing along to some classic Argentinian folk songs such as Wonderwall by Oasis. Having not had enough of the bikes in Bariloche we decided to hit the road again but this time at a more sedate pace as we trundled between vineyards to sample the local produce. Harriet was the only casualty of the day not partaking of the final vineyards bounty citing too much sun as the cause. I am prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt on this occasion. Wanting to take it up a notch we took to the waters with a morning of white water rafting followed by paddle boarding in the near by lake. The rafting started as a pleasant wholesome activity but as soon as the white water began to crash over the boat it became a fierce competition between the two boats culminating in the guide for the other boat being pulled into the river after a sneak attack. The paddle boarding was conducted at a slower pace but Harriet was able to demonstrate an unexpected proficiency for the sport. Added to this smorgasbord of excursions was the main reason we were in Mendoza on those particular dates. The annual harvest festival was not to be missed. The streets, lined with outdoor restaurants were treated to an enormous parade with each region having it own float to showcase ta local produce and more importantly its queen. This unexpected extra turned out to be a glorified beauty pageant with one region taking home the bragging rights. Having been warned that the floats often involved the throwing of gifts into the crowd and that concussions were not uncommon, I had my first taste when I was hit between the eyes by a piece of fruit. Luckily only a grape. Bigger items were to follow but I had my wits about me by then. One the floats had passed we were treated to matching bands and some extremely overdressed dance troops. The working theory is that the dancing is some sort of local weight loss initiative as we were passed by wave after wave of thickset Argentinians dressed head to toe in what can only be described as a mix of costume between a flamenco dancer and a Spanish matador. Combine his with 30 degree heat and the pained expressions on their faces said it all. Having seen all this we should not have been surprised when the grand finale, a huge ceremony in the towns amphitheatre, was postponed by a day. The reason given was that there was political problems leading to payment of the dancers. In think the more likely reason is most of the cast were on an IV drip after their earlier exertions. This could have put a damper of the end of the visit but we instead substituted t with a trip to the world famous 1884 restaurant by Argentinian hero Frances Malmann for some excellent steak and wine. Thankfully the next leg of the journey was to Santiago which was a mere 6 hour bus journey over the Andes. This could quite possibly be the most spectacular bus trip on the planet. Santiago was just a short stop to see the major sites but we were all impressed by its understated charm and haphazard layout as a result of the seismic activity that it suffers from. After a couple of days of gentle sightseeing we crowned our two weeks with Paddy with a few drinks. As it turns out the local favourite, a Pisco Sour, slips down nice and easily. I am sure there will be a few more to be had, particularly as both Peru and Chile claim to be the inventors so t would only be fair to try both. 2 weeks has whistled by and we said our goodbyes before jumping into desperate taxis. Paddy headed for the airport to catch his flight home and we set off for the bus station, next stop the port town of Valparaiso.

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tamboradventure · 4 years ago

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The 32 Best Things to See and Do in Amsterdam

Posted: 6/4/2020 | June 4th, 2020

Amsterdam is known as a party city, full of wild nights and all kinds of questionable debauchery. It’s a fun, eclectic, and party-focused destination popular with young backpackers looking to let loose.

But it’s a city with a lot more to offer too.

I’ve visited Amsterdam more times than I can count (it’s one of my favorite cities in the world) and I’m never disappointed. There are tons of museums, lots of chill cafes, and more nightlife than you can handle.

It’s a city with something to offer everyone. Even if you’re not looking to party the nights away you’ll still enjoy your visit.

To help you make the most of your trip, here are the best 32 things to see and do in Amsterdam:

1. Take a Free Walking Tour

Whenever I arrive in a new city I start off by taking a free walking tour. They help you get oriented and give you an overview of the city, culture, and the main sights worth seeing. You’ll learn some history and be able to ask a local guide all the questions you have, which is the best way to get insider tips.

Free Walking Tours Amsterdam and New Europe both offer daily free walking tours. They last 2-3 hours and give you the perfect introduction to the city. Just be sure to tip your guide at the end!

2. Visit the Van Gogh Museum

This museum is home to many of Van Gogh’s best works. It’s also the largest collection of Van Gogh’s works in the entire world. The museum does an excellent job of outlining his life, chronicling his works from beginning to end so you can better understand and appreciate his style and evolution (as well as his life beyond painting). Opened in in73, it’s one of the most popular (read: crowded) sites in the city, but don’t let that stop you from visiting. The museum also has paintings by other famous artists of the period, like Monet, Manet, and Matisse. If you want to beat the crowds, try visiting later in the afternoon.

Museumplein 6, +31 20 570 5200, vangoghmuseum.nl. Open Sunday–Thursday from 9am–7pm and Friday—Saturday from 9am–9pm. Admission is 19 EUR for adults. Students 18 and under enter free.

3. Explore Jordaan

Jordaan is a trendy residential area. While it’s become more popular in recent years, it’s still one of the most overlooked parts of the city. The area is full of cozy shops and boutiques, bars and pubs, and hip restaurants. It’s also the area of the city where Rembrandt lived during the final years of his life. It’s a quiet place to explore away from the crowds if you want to get a better feel for the city outside its main tourist areas.

4. Take a Canal Tour

Amsterdam is a beautiful, picturesque city thanks to the scenic canals that break up the city’s sprawl. To see the city from a new perspective, take a canal tour. There are large tour boats that can take you up and down the waterways, but you can also rent your own boat for a self-guided tour (if you’re comfortable driving a boat). Self-guided rentals are for small, open-air boats that give you a more intimate, unique experience. They cost around 50 EUR, which makes it super affordable if you have a few friends to join you. For a standard guided tour on a larger boat, expect to pay around 16 EUR per person.

5. See Anne Frank House

This is one of the most popular tourist sites in the entire city. While it’s an important and somber place to visit, it’s also incredibly overcrowded. You just shuffle through the house and never really have time to digest what you’re seeing. Personally, I think the Jewish History Museum does a better job at highlighting her life. However, if you do want to visit then be sure to book your ticket in advance or arrive very early.

Prinsengracht 263–267, +31 20 556 7100, annefrank.org. Opening daily from 9am–10pm (shorter hours in the winter). Admission is 10.50 EUR.

6. Visit the Rijksmuseum

Established in 1798, The Rijksmuseum is an art and history museum located right next to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum, recently renovated, features an extensive Rembrandt collection including the famous painting “The Night Watch.” In addition to works by Rembrandt, the museum is also home to an a robust collection of other classic Dutch painters, like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. There are over 1 million items in the collection (it’s the largest museum in the country) with over 8,000 on display — so you can easily spend a few hours here.

Museumstraat 1, +31 20 674 7000, rijksmuseum.nl. Open daily from 9am–5pm. Admission is 19 EUR for adults. Students 18 and under are free.

8. Relax in Oosterpark

If you need to get away from the crowds, head to Oosterpark. It’s a relaxing green space east of the city center and is perfect for lounging and enjoying a sunny day. It’s much less busy than the city’s popular Vondelpark and will show you a different, more residential part of the city. There are sculptures (including the National Slavery Monument that commemorates the abolition of slavery in 1863), playgrounds, ponds, and plenty of space to picnic or lounge. It was the city’s first large park too, dating back to the 1890s

9. Try the Heineken Experience

Heineken is one of the most famous (and popular) beers in the world. You can take an interactive self-guided tour this former brewery and learn about how the beer was made and how the company evolved over the centuries (the beer dates back to the 1870s). Admission also includes two beers, so if you’re a fan be sure to book a tour. It’s a fun way to learn some history.

Stadhouderskade 78, +31 20 721 5300, heinekenexperience.com. Open Monday–Thursday from 10:30am–7:30pm and Friday–Sunday from 10:30am–9pm. Admission is 21 EUR at the door and 18 EUR when booked online.

7. Wander the Red Light District

Unsurprisingly, Amsterdam’s Red Light District is one of the city’s main draws. Though much tamer than in previous years, the Red Light District manages to balance sex and seediness with being a major international tourist attraction. While it’s worth seeing, I’d keep your time here brief. While it’s quite calm and quiet during the day, at night the area is bursting with drunken revelers and gawking tourists that clog the sidewalks. Even if it’s not your scene, I’d still make sure to see the area with your own eyes. It’s certainly unique!

10. See the Erotic Museum and the Amsterdam Sex Museum

Tucked away in an old warehouse in the Red Light District and has an exhibition about eroticism in all its various forms throughout the ages. It has sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, and other artwork. And, of course, there is a gift shop if you want a more unique souvenir from the city.

The Amsterdam Sex Museum is the more serious museum and if much more informative than the Erotic Museum (but also a little less fun). It was the world’s first sex museum, having opened in 1985. It highlights the history of sexual views and norms, as well as the lives of some of the world’s most sexually famous individuals (like the Marquis de Sade).

Erotic Museum: Oudezijds Achterburgwal 54, +31 20 623 1834. Open Sunday–Thursday from 11am–1am and Friday–Saturday from 11am–2am. Admission is 7 EUR.

Amsterdam Sex Museum: Damrak 18, +31 20 622 8376, sexmuseumamsterdam.nl. Open daily from 9:30am-11:30pm. Admission is 5 EUR.

11. Visit the Tulip Museum

The Netherlands is known for its stunning and Insta-worthy tulip fields. This tiny museum, located in a tulip shop, does a wonderful job of telling the history of tulips in country. It’s one of the best off-the-beaten-path attractions in Amsterdam. It’s never very busy and and it’s only 5 EUR (which makes it one of the cheapest museums in the city).

Prinsengracht 116, +31 20 421 0095, amsterdamtulipmuseum.com. Open daily from 10am-6pm. Admission is 5 EUR.

12. Take a Bike Tour

Bikes are to Amsterdam like wine is to Bordeaux. The locals love to bike everywhere and there are supposedly more bikes than people in the city. Bike useage has shot up 40% in the past two decades and locals collectivly cycle over 2 million kilometers every day! If you want to explore the way the locals do, take a bike tour.

Mike’s Bike Tours is the best company to use, whether for a tour or to rent a bike on your own. Not only do they offer city tours but they also offer bike tours of the surrounding countryside as well. Tours start at 32 EUR and last around 3 hours.

13. Spend a Day in Haarlem

Haarlem is a walled city that dates back to the Middle Ages, located just 35km from Amsterdam. The city is home to around 160,000 people and it’s quite quiet and calm. It has a beautiful central church, great outdoor market, and all the beauty of historic Amsterdam with fewer crowds. If you feel like getting out of the city, spend a few hours here just wandering about. You’ll get a much better feel for the country away from the busy and tourist-heavy streets of Amsterdam. Be sure to visit the Windmill too. It’s right on the water and offers tours as well as a nice view of the city.

14. Learn Something New at the Amsterdam History Museum

This is a huge museum that offers an in-depth and insightful look at Amsterdam’s past. There are a lot of artifacts, maps, paintings, and multi-media displays throughout that provide a comprehensive overview of the city and how it has evolved. museum. It’s one of the best history museums I’ve ever visited and you could easily spend 3-4 hours here. Even if you’re not a history buff like me it’s worth a visit. I can’t recommend it enough!

Kalverstraat 92, +31 20 523 1822, amsterdammuseum.nl. Open daily from 10am–5pm. Admission is 15 EUR.

15. Chill Out in Vondelpark

Created in 1865, this is Amsterdam’s largest (and most popular) park. Spanning over 120 acres, it’s the perfect place to walk, bike, people-watch, or relax — especially after a visit to a local coffee shop. In the summer, the park is filled with people and there are often lots of events here too. Pack a lunch, bring a book, and enjoy a picnic on a sunny afternoon!

16. See the FOAM

Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum and home to a stunning collection of incredible pictures. Surprisingly it also sees few crowds even though it’s in the main part of the city. Opened in 2001, the museum is composed of four exhibitions that are constantly changing so you never know what you might see (check the website to see what is on display during your visit). They have a beautiful outdoor garden too. It’s a small museum and it doesn’t take long to see so don’t pass it by!

Keizersgracht 609, +31 20 551 6500, foam.org. Open daily from 10am–6pm (9pm on Thursdays and Fridays). Admission is 15.50 EUR.

17. Visit the Jewish Historical Museum

This is the only Jewish history museum in the country, though it’s often overlooked in favor of The Anne Frank House. Personally, I think the museum does a better job whe it comes to highlighting the history and struggles of Jews in the Netherlands. Specifically, they have an excellent exhibit on World War II that highlights the Dutch resistance, complacency, and guilt over the Holocaust. Established in 1932 (and reopened in 1955, after WWII), the museum houses over 11,000 items, artifacts, and works of art.

Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1, +31 20 531 0310, jhm.nl. Open daily from 11am–5pm. Admission is 17 EUR.

18. Browse the Waterlooplein Flea Market

This is the oldest and biggest market in the city. With over 300 stalls, this open-air market is essentially a giant flea market. You can find anything and everything here if you’re willing to look. Secondhand clothing, hats and accessories, antiques, electronics, and much more can all be found here (both new and used). If there’s something you want, you’ll probably find it here so be sure to spend some time wandering and browsing. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, it’s a fun place to explore and people watch.

Waterlooplein 2. Open Monday to Saturday from 9:30am-6pm.

19. Visit the Rembrandt House Museum

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is widely considered to be one of the greatest artists in human history (his famous painting, The Night Watch, is in the Rijksmuseum). This house, which he lived and worked in between 1639 and 1658 has been converted into a museum that highlights his life and work. You can see how he painted and how his house was decorated during his life. It’s a neat snapshot into history. If you’re an avid art/art history fan, this shouldn’t be missed.

Jodenbreestraat 4, +31 20 520 0400, rembrandthuis.nl. Open daily from 10am–6pm. Admission is 14 EUR.

20. See the Museum Amstelkring

Hidden inside a 17th-century canal house, this is one of the most interesting churches I’ve ever been to. Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (“Our Lord in the Attic”) is a clandestine Catholic church that was secretly built during Protestant rule on the 3rd floor of a regular house (it was never really a secret, but since it was out of sight the authorities didn’t crack down on them too harshly). Built in the 1660s, the chruch has a beautiful drawing room and the furnishings and artifacts make this one of the best 17th-century rooms still intact.

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38, +31 20 624 6604, opsolder.nl. Open Monday–Saturday from 10am–6pm and Sun days from 1pm–6pm. Admissions is 11.50 EUR.

21. Learn About Drugs at the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum

No trip to Amsterdam is complete without learning a little bit about drugs. This museum (which has a sister museum in Barcelona as well) is full of information about the historical and modern use of cannabis. It covers all the medicinal, religious, and cultural uses of the plant and focuses on how hemp can be used for all sorts of beneficial agricultural, consumer, and industrial products. It’s actually really educational!

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148, +31 20 624 8926, hashmuseum.com. Open daily from 10am–10pm. Admission is 9 EUR.

22. Explore the Museum Van Loon

Built in 1672, this museum is located in a canal house on the Keizersgracht canal. Originally, the house was owned by the wealthy Van Loon merchant family. They collected beautiful works of art and their house is now a museum full of period furniture, the Van Loon art collection, and Van Loon family portraits. Albeit small, it’s another museum that makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. There’s an immaculate garden here too.

Keizersgracht 672, +31 20 624 5255, museumvanloon.nl. Open daily from 10am–5pm. Admission is 10 EUR.

23. Indulge at Foodhallen

Foodhallen is an indoor food market offering all kinds of delicious food. Opened in 20014, it’s essentially like having a bunch of food trucks all in one indoor location. There are over 20 different stalls here, making it the best place in the city for foodies. Personal favorites include Viet View and Le Big Fish.

Bellamyplein 51 or Hannie Dankbaarpassage 47, foodhallen.nl. Open daily from 11am-midnight.

24. Visit Noord

Noord has evolved into one of the cooler and trendier districts in recent years. It’s one of the cheaper areas in the city so a lot of new bars and restaurants have opened here. The old industrial areas have been reclaimed and there is lots of green space too. It’s a fun, vibrant area with much fewer crowds than the central part of the city. Rent a bike and explore — you won’t be disappointed!

25. Browse the Stedelijk Museum

I’ll be honest: I don’t like modern art. It’s just not my cup of tea. But if you do, this is the place in the city to see it. Opened in 1874, the museum is home to over 90,000 items including works by Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. The exhibitions cover paintings, drawings, graphic design, sculptures, sound, and installations. To be fair, there is a ton of variety here — it’s just not my favorite style. But definitely check it out if you’re an art fan!

Museumplein 10, +31 20 573 2911, stedelijk.nl. Open daily from 10am–6pm (10pm on Fridays). Admission ins 18.50.

26. Take an Alternative Art Tour

Amsterdam is home to some incredible street art. You’ll see it all over while you explore, but if you really want to appreciate it and learn about the alternative art scene in Amsterdam then take a tour. Alltournative Amsterdam runs an amazing, insightful tour where you can learn all about the alternative arts while getting to see the best murals in the city. All the people I took on the tour loved it!

27. Visit Quirky and Offbeat Attractions

There are tons of offbeat attractions in Amsterdam. Here are a few more of the best if you’re looking for more unique, quirky experiences:

The Houseboat Museum – This decorated houseboat gives you a glimpse into what living on the canals is like. It’s cramped but interesting to see how people live on the canal.

Electric Ladyland – The world’s first museum dedicated to fluorescent light. It’s definitely not your typical art gallery/museum but it’s fun to wander and interact with the colors and the fluorescent space.

Micropia – A “zoo” home to all sorts of microbes and bacteria. It’s super educational as you can learn about all the invisible microbes that we interact with day to day (you can also scan yourself to see what actual bacteria and microbes are on you right then and there).

The Torture Museum – This museum showcases the punishments prisoners faced throughout the city’s history. There are all sorts of brutal tools as well as a hanging cage and Inquisition chair. Disturbing but insightful!

Museum Vrolik – This museum is home to one of the largest collections of human (and animal) deformities. It has some 150 different items, including creepy jars holding fetuses, human and animal skeletons, and even the remains of a pair of conjoined twins. Super weird!

28. Take a Food Tour

As a foodie, one of the best parts of any trip is getting to eat my way around a new city. Food is an important part of every culture, and it’s something I’m always happy to splash out on when given the chance. If you’re looking to learn more about Amsterdam’s food scene and sample some of the city’s best offerings then I suggest taking a food tour. Not only do you get to try amazing foods but you learn a ton about their history, how they’re made, and how the food culture here has evolved.

If you’re looking to try a food tour, some companies worth checking out are:

Amsterdam Food Tours

Hungry Birds

Secret Food Tours

***

Amsterdam is more than just wild nights, drugs, and the Red Light District. It’s a hip, fun city with tons of museums and greenspace, as well as lots of history and delicious food. Plus, it’s incredibly scenic. It’s everything you want in a European capital!

Whether you’re looking for a weekend getaway or planning a trip around Europe, make sure to spend a few days in Amsterdam. It won’t disappoint!

Want the real, most honest, straight to the point guide on Amsterdam?

Want to plan the perfect trip to Amsterdam? Check out my comprehensive guide to Amsterdam written for budget travelers like yourself! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money in one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. You’ll find suggested itineraries tips budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, and my favorite non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!! Click here to learn more and get started.

Book Your Trip to Amsterdam: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Get Your Guide Check out my detailed guide to planning a visit to Amsterdam with suggested itineraries, places to stay, things to do, where to eat, and how to get around. Just click here to get the guide and continue planning today!

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You should book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Some of my favorite places to stay in Amsterdam are:

St. Christopher’s at the Winston

Flying Pig Downtown

ClinkNOORD

If you’re looking for more place to stay, here is a complete list of my favorite hostels in Amsterdam!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Photo Credits: 4 – Jukka, 5 – Jason Riedy, 6 – Rain Rabbit, 8 – Patrick Müeller, 9 – martin_vmorris, 11 – Tine van Voorst, 12 – Kotomi_, 13 – Sharon VanderKaay , 14 – Guilhem Vellut

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topfygad · 5 years ago

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Non-technical mountain climbs: 12 mountains for mortals

There are no ‘death zones’ on these non-technical mountain climbs but they offer plenty of challenges for mere mortals like me

As a climber, I have completed several indoor climbing and winter mountaineering courses but my technical climbing skills sill leave a lot to be desired. I have mastered basic rope, ice axe and crampon skills but don’t practise them as often as I’d like.

All too often I only find time for some wilderness backpacking in Europe or low-altitude scrambling in the UK. Regardless, I still have high hopes of climbing the seven summits (three down, four to go).

I’m aware that I’ll never be a Reinhold Messner or Chris Bonington (I’ll settle for reading their books instead) but I still long to pitch myself against tall mountains with imposing names.

If, like me, you’re in the amateur climber base camp, you’ll surely enjoy these great non-technical mountain climbs. There are no ‘death zones’ on these mountains but they offer plenty of challenges for mere mortals like me.

Non-technical mountain climbs

With the help of Adventure Consultants, we have classed the following as non-technical mountain climbs.

These peaks are below 7,000m (23,000ft) and do not require extensive high-altitude experience or practical knowledge (e.g. rope, crampon and ice axe skills or the ability to abseil and rappel).

That said, as with all adventure sports, the more experienced and prepared you are for these challenges, the better.

1. Mount Kilimanjaro

Location: Tanzania, Africa Elevation: 5,895m (19,341ft) Range: None – freestanding Duration: 5-7 days

Andrzej Kubik/Shutterstock Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest freestanding mountain

Kilimanjaro was the first seven summit I completed because it’s by far the easiest. There are several easy to moderate routes to the summit, making it one of the most accessible moderate-altitude treks in the world.

Africa’s highest mountain is also the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Like many volcanoes, it is not attached to a mountain range.

The Machame Route is by far the most picturesque but the mountain is very popular among tourists and hikers so don’t expect to have any of the routes to yourself.

More info: Adventure Consultants

2. Mount Temple

Location: Canada, North America Elevation: 3,544m (11,627ft) Range: Bow Range Duration: 1-2 days

Dreamstime Mount Temple dominates the western landscape of Banff National Park

The most accessible peak above 3,400m (11,000ft) in the Canadian Rockies is also one of the most frequently climbed. The summit can be gained in a day thanks to its relatively low elevation gain: approximately 1,600m (5,250ft).

Despite the relative accessibility, it should be noted that the mountain is a giant and dominates the western landscape of Banff National Park. Some fairly moderate to intense scrambling is required even on the ‘easy’ route.

More info: A Scrambler’s Guide to Mount Temple

3. Ojos del Salado

Location: Argentina/Chile, South America Elevation: 6,893m (22,615ft) Range: Andes Duration: 12 days

Dreamstime Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world

Positioned on the Argentina-Chile border, Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world. It is also the second-highest mountain outside Asia, second only to Aconcagua 630km further south.

Due to its proximity to the Atacama Desert (the driest place on Earth), conditions on the mountain tend to be fairly dry all year round. Despite this, expect to find snow on the slopes as it can fall all year round due to the volcano’s exposed slopes.

More info: Adventure Consultants

4. Khüiten Peak

Location: Mongolia, Asia Elevation: 4,375m (14,354ft) Range: Tavan Bogd Duration: 7 days

Dreamstime Khüiten is the highest peak in Mongolia

The highest peak in Mongolia is probably the most remote mountaineering experience in the world. Its peak sits on the trilateral border of Mongolia, Russia and China!

It is not a technical mountain but is challenging to reach. The surrounding wilderness comprises spectacular flowering fields and vast open mountain tundra inhabited only by traditional herding families – everything one would expect of the plains of Mongolia.

More info: Adventure Consultants

5. Mount Whitney

Location: USA, North America Elevation: 4,421m (14,505ft) Range: Sierra Nevada Duration: 1-3 days

Dreamstime Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States (i.e. excluding Hawaii and Alaska).

It looks intimidating on the first view but the popular Mount Whitney Trail starts at an elevation of 2,550m (8,360ft) meaning the summit can be reached in just a day (if you’re brave!).

Most hikers prefer to take at least two days to complete the 35km round trip with an elevation gain of just over 1,900m (6,100ft).

More info: National Park Service

6. Mount Elbrus

Location: Russia, Europe Elevation: 5,642m (18,510ft) Range: Caucasus Mountains Duration: 7 days

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Elbrus was my second of the seven summits. It requires some crampon and ice axe use but these basic skills can be learnt from guides prior to ascent.

A cable car takes would-be summiteers to the accommodation at the base of the climb at 3,600m (11,800ft). Here, climbers can undertake some acclimatisation hikes before tackling the mountain proper.

Huts along the route make for a relatively ‘comfortable’ ascent before the 3am summit bid.

More info: read my trip report on climbing Elbrus

7. Mount Brewster

Location: New Zealand, Oceania Elevation: 2,516m (8,255ft) Range: Southern Alps Duration: 1-2 days

Leigh Blackall/CC BY 2.0 Mount Brewster does not require acclimatisation

Brewster is a great mountain if you’re looking for a taste of alpinism in the wilderness of New Zealand’s South Island. There’s no need for acclimatisation on this mountain but your guide will cover some basic alpine skills (ice axe and crampon) that you’ll need during the ascent.

Apart from that, just plenty of stamina and a pair of steady legs should be all you need to get to the top. Brewster Hut provides comfortable overnight bunk beds at 1,450m (4,750ft), making for a pleasant summit day via either the West or South Ridge.

More info: Adventure Consultants

8. Pokalde Peak

Location: Nepal, Asia Elevation: 5,806m (19,049ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 9-12 days

Daniel Karfik/Shutterstock Pokalde offers glimpses of Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest

Pokalde Peak is one of Nepal’s most popular trekking peaks and provides an excellent introduction to Himalayan mountaineering if you plan to take your skills further. You’re among the big dogs around here. Expect to glimpse the Himalayan giants of Nuptse, Lhotse and of course Everest.

Luckily for you, on this mountain, you’ll be well below any death zones. Ideally, you’ll have some experience of ice axe and crampons before attempting this but there will be plenty of opportunities to hone these skills.

More info: Adventure Consultants

9. Mera Peak

Location: Nepal, Asia Elevation: 6,476m (21,246ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 18-20 days

Janos Rautonen/Shutterstock Mera is Nepal’s highest trekking peak

Nepal’s highest trekking peak is less technically demanding than Pokalde Peak but its higher altitude requires longer and higher acclimatisation days.

The gentle climb to the summit should not deceive would-be climbers. This mountain is very high and as with any Himalayan peak, it is susceptible to severe weather conditions. Additionally, the trekking route from the north requires some high-altitude glacier walking.

More info: Adventure Consultants

10. Stok Kangri

Location: India, Asia Elevation: 6,153m (20,182ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 7-9 days

AL-media stockhouse/Shutterstock Stok Kangri is one of the more accessible Himalayan mountains outside of Nepal

Stok Kangri lies in the middle of the captivating area of Ladakh in the northern part of the Indian state Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the more accessible Himalayan mountains outside of Nepal. High above the Indus Valley, many mountains in the area quickly rise above 6,000m (19,700ft).

You’ll probably fly into Leh, the capital of Ladakh, at 3,524m (11,560ft) and acclimatise thoroughly before moving onto base camp at 4,980m (16,340ft) to attempt the summit.

More info: Summit Post

11. Mount Chimborazo

Location: Ecuador, South America Elevation: 6,268m (20,564ft) Range: Andes Duration: 7-15 days (depending on experience/skills and program)

Dreamstime Chimborazo’s summit is Earth’s closest point to the sun

On the summit of Chimborazo, you’ll be at Earth’s closest point to the sun. Due to the mountain’s location along the equatorial bulge, its summit is the farthest point from the Earth’s core.

Depending on your experience, it may be best attempted as part of an Ecuadorian volcanoes expedition taking in the Cotopaxi and Cayambe volcanoes beforehand.

These lower-altitude volcanoes are no easy feats themselves and will equip you with the acclimatisation and basic mountaineering experience you’ll need to tackle the (currently) inactive stratovolcano of Chimborazo.

More info: Adventure Consultants

12. Aconcagua

Location: Argentina, South America Elevation: 6,961m (22,838ft) Range: Andes Duration: 14-17 days

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Aconcagua was the third seven summit I completed. The highest mountain outside of Asia, Aconcagua is an awesome mountain for professional and amateur climbers alike.

The route is non-technical and often referred to as the ‘highest trekking peak in the world’. The key to mastering this mountain is time and acclimatisation – there is no shortcut to the top. It is perfect preparation if you dream of going on to tackle the big mountains of the Himalaya.

More info: read my trip report on climbing Aconcagua

Other non-technical mountain climbs

Another popular alternative to Mera Peak in Nepal is Island Peak (Imja Tse). Island Peak, at 6,189m (20,305ft), is usually considered to be Nepal’s second-highest trekking peak.

Mount Toubkal in Morocco is North Africa’s highest peak at 4,167m (13,671ft) and a popular introduction to the Atlas Mountains.

The Breithorn at 4,164m (13,661ft), located on the border of Switzerland and Italy, is one of the Alps’ most accessible trekking peaks.

Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia is another popular trekking peak. At 4,095m (13,435ft) it is the highest mountain in Malaysia as well as the wider the Malay Archipelago.

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills covers everything from the basics of equipment, knots, rappelling techniques and leave-no-trace principles to the more advanced skills of setting up complex anchors, evaluating avalanche terrain and developing your leadership skills.

Lead image: Dreamstime

from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/39kUTTq via https://ift.tt/2NIqXKN

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lalorrunningclub · 6 years ago

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New York City Marathon by Paul Tait

After a huge training campaign I was finally in New York ready to go. The last week before the start I was feeling ordinary on taper runs. A normal feeling during taper time. I couldn’t wait to get started! The day before I was still concerned about getting to the ferry from the hotel, so I went to the front desk and asked the best way. I was worried an uber might be tough to get. Good move, turns out they had a car service that would take me there, phew!

Marathon morning started with the alarm going off at 5am. A few bites to eat of cereal and a banana and I head down to the car service at 5.50am. I arrive in time for the 6:15am ferry from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island. A nerve breaker for me is to just start a conversation with a total stranger. This chap was from Canada and had ran over 100 marathons. He shared some great advice which is always handy. Sitting next to him is a fellow Melbournian from Hawthorn. A ripper bloke named Peter. Off the ferry we were shuttled by bus to the start area which took forever. Bumper to bumper traffic and heavy security when getting off the bus. It was 8:30am and my wave was to start at 10:15am. A long time to wait and a lot of people in the same situation. A great area with fruit, bagels, protein bars and drinks etc of plenty. I took a few bites of a bagel and kept up the hydration. Wave 2 was called to go through more gates to be shuffled to the start, still chatting to fantastic people on the way. Aussies everywhere as with other internationals along for this amazing event!

All of a sudden I’m at the start looking towards the Bayonne Bridge which crosses from Staten Island into Brooklyn. The American anthem is sung and the cannon goes off, we are away! We head up over the bridge, pace was about a minute off as the running crowd is huge but it didn’t matter, it was the first km. 2nd km I settle into my pace. Get over the bridge into Brooklyn and are greeted by the street lined with awesome spectators about 4 to 5 deep. Police everywhere making sure it is safe doing an amazing job. My pace had settled in and was cruising. 5km, 10km, 15km, 21km and feeling amazing. At this point I was about 2mins off where I had planned to be but still wasn’t concerned. Feeling great I thought I could really put the hammer down here and go, but as we know a marathon starts at 30km's so just keep doing what I was doing was the smarter move.

25km and still in cruise control, my foot had started to play up but didn’t slow me and on I went. A lot of long stretches of gradual uphills and bridge crossings were more than I expected but I was still running strong. 30km's down and the quads are starting to feel the pinch and the foot issue had escalated. Great call not to go hard at halfway. Still keeping great pace spotting Aussie flags in the crowd and giving them a shout ant touching the flag for a power up! Seeing Aussies running also displaying our colours proudly was also a great boost. 35km's drink stations are very consistent for every mile of the course and I utilised every 2nd one (3.2km) 7km to go and still strong. I hadn’t stopped running this whole time and said to myself, this is going to be the first time I run a marathon without stopping. Determined and push on get to 40km and my pace had dropped but I was still running, one foot in front of the other feeling absolutely spent.

Next thing I hear a voice behind me say "geez mate you're a long way from Lalor Running Club" lol, I get a good giggle and its a fellow Melbournian who obviously has seen this brand back home! We spot Central Park and you think I’m nearly done. Well if you have been there you know how big it is. Still a fair bit to go what a teaser lol 2.195km to go and the climb up beside Central Park is long, a tough finish as we run into the Park with a few more undulating rises I spot the finish chute. Grandstands either side packed with spectators I try to spot my niece in the crowd but its just too big. I’m sure you have seen her video of me finishing and yes it wasn’t a pretty stride, but it was all I could muster putting my all into this Marathon.

This Marathon you run into the 5 boroughs of New York! I cross the line bent over in complete exhaustion, get my well earned bling YEAHHHH!! 😂 a minute goes by and feeling very sick and trying to catch my breath. A lovely medic comes to me and asks if I was ok, I reply "I feel like throwing up" next second dry reaching, sorry if too much detail but this is the reality of what you can go through. Not much compared to others you see struggling big time out there. I start to walk feeling better and better, collecting my finisher goodies and poncho to keep warm.

A truly amazing experience! Super happy with my time of 3:38:09 which was 38secs off my Berlin Marathon a year earlier. Berlin the fastest Marathon and New York some are saying is the toughest of the majors shows I was a lot fitter for this one due to the help of my program put together by Vula which didn’t end there. Having someone to kick you in the backside when you needed it, and to commend you on working and doing well. Doing long runs and riding the bike along with me is a testament to the person she is and how well she wanted me to do. Vula's husband Matt who also had great advice and massages kept me on track! Always trying to work in with availability. The always encouraging LRC people always with kind words in messages of support. Especially the ones up all night tracking! Superstars all of you. Thanks and see you for more sessions and events back home.

#lalorrunningclub #lrc

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rehnro · 6 years ago

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After a lengthy wait at the passport control, I enjoyed a sunny sunday afternoon back in Nis, Serbia. First up i checked if my bike was still there… All good. I was dead tired from the previous festivities and ended up back in the hostel munching away another Serbian hamburger and watching some YouTube stuff on Laos – my destination for February.

One thing that was missing were my cycling pants. Probably still in london. So before setting off next day i quickly popped to the cycle store. Going without pants is just too cruel on my backside i figured. Gonna be enough pain anyway.

Off to Pirot

The Bulgarian border was a good 100km away on the roads – more if you avoid them and go off-road. The person in the hostel said the first 30km out of Nis are horrible on the road, so i followed the GPS tracks of the trail once more.

That worked well for a while until it took me uphill somewhere (generally the terrain is much more hilly now) and roads turned to dirt roads and those eventually disappeared too. I was somewhere in the forest with a GPS yet no trail. Brilliant!

Walking through these bushes would have been hard enough… But with a touring bike and panniers it was yet another challenge. I must have pushed the bike for over an hour before dirt roads reappeared. Scratches from branches all over me and half a forest somewhere stuck on my bike. Fun!

Eventually the road had me back and i abandoned my GPS markings for today. Initially it was a bit busy, but soon i was on a sort parallel road next to the new motorway and was in peace. Well, the sun didn’t give me much peace.

By 4.30pm i reached Pirot passing by its castle and called it a day after 80km. I booked myself into Ana Lux hotel, had a massage and a huge piece of meat for dinner. Time to relax a little more. Tomorrow i head for Sofia. The last capital city before Istanbul.

Sofia… Its been a while

The border to Bulgaria was some 35km away from pirot and the crossing again very straightforward – much better than at airports 😁

The countryside got hillier though all towns and little villages up to Sofia were little inspiring to be honest.

Even Sofia, some 60km from the border, left me unimpressed. Definitely not a great place for cyclists even with some random cycle lanes. Well, i has reached the fifth and final capital city on this trip before Istanbul.

After a little sightseeing and a decent sushi dinner on the main shopping street, realising that i remembered almost nothing from a business trip to see the banks years ago, i headed back to the hostel for a lengthy chat with the manager – a Bulgarian lady in her 50’s – before hitting the bed super tired.

She was very friendly yet loves gossiping about other guests behind their back’s… I wonder what she thinks about me 🤣😂 well, not really. Thanks for everything.

Pushing the bike

This days target was Samokov, a town nestled on the foot of the Rila mountains. I chose to go offroad again after leaving Sofia in what seemed an endless straight road out of town.

After a decent climb on normal roads heading for the hills i had to capitulate… Dirt roads are not made for my touring bike. A jeep would struggle on these! My back wheel just kept spinning… So pushing was on the menu all the way up. Sofia’s concrete towers slowly disappearing in the background.

Well, nice views compensated for all the sweat and thankfully i had plenty of water with me. The way down was better though i had to carefully maneuver rocks, gravel, sand, bushes…

On the other side, not far from a large lake, i enjoyed a great lunch. Proper chicken soup (TWO in fact) and pork shashlik’s. Delicious 😋.

From here it was more or less flat (it never really seems to be in Bulgaria) and by late afternoon i reached Samokov some 70km later. Tired. Even a horse carriage overtook me 😉

The hotel Aleks was a great place to stay. The owner is a biker as well and speaks german. Good chat about travelling. He also recommended a local restaurant just around the corner. Very traditional and, as i found out, with huge portions. Tasty though.

I slept early after spending a little time watching world stock markets crash (correct?)… Gladly no office for me tomorrow. 🗽💹📉

Too tired…

Aleks prepared filled pancakes this morning and told me about this plans to cycle to the Danube delta in Romania next year. All the best for you man!

It was pretty fresh outside, but i got going just after 9am. The scenery of the Rila mountains remained impressive though i opted to keep to the roads after yesterdays offroad experience.

Not an hour into my ride some screws decided to go over board… Again the panniers holders. Clearly due to the rather shaky downhill ride yesterday. Well, it was quickly fixed with a spare screw and cable ties. I also added a little more air to the tires and reached the town of Dupnica by lunchtime after a good 40km. Brisk (helped by a long downhill stretch 😁).

To get to the Rila monastery was only 40km more. But i was not at all in cycling mood and tired. So i abandoned my target for today and checked into the town of Kocherinovo to hang out for the afternoon.

Dont know why i am so tired, but my legs just feel heavy. Well, afternoon in a Bulgarian village then that has not a lot more than through traffic to the monastery. Maybe just what i need 🤔🤣😂 Tomorrow off to see the monastery allowing for a good amount of time… After all Aleks told me they keep all the Bulgarian history there. I am curious.

Sultan’s trail (part 3): Through Sofia into the Rila Mountains (Bulgaria) After a lengthy wait at the passport control, I enjoyed a sunny sunday afternoon back in Nis, Serbia.

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timtamtalestakestwo · 6 years ago

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Month-iversary already

Another couple of weeks have absolutely flown by and somehow I’ve just passed my monthiversary here!

Work-wise, last week I was back onto normal day shifts which was nice to have the team around! Managed to do a fair few procedures too which is really great to have the opportunity to gain experience with, as well of lots of interesting and some more challenging cases coming through ED to see and build confidence managing.

I managed to catch up with two old friends, Asad and Andy over dinner and drinks on an evening last week which was lovely. They actually both now live in the house I lived in when I was first here 4 yrs ago (although weren’t my housemates at the time..!). Was so good to catch up and also to frequent the chocolate restaurant for dessert afterwards which I have missed so dearly!!

The weekend was again spent with many singings and lovely singing friends- we sung for a wedding of an ex-choir person on Saturday so there were some great tunes which made up for the bride being 45 minutes late….!

I got up extra early on Sunday to check out the weekly Farmer’s Market in Broadmeadow - it was an amazing atmosphere there even at 07.30, a massive local market absolutely packed with people pulling along their own shopping baskets and boxes filled with fresh produce and bakes! I found an Irish stall selling lots of fresh soda bread (also called nanny bread in our family as our Irish grandmother used to bring a homemade loaf round wrapped in a tea-towel whenever she came to visit!) which I haven’t been able to find anywhere in the shops so I stocked up and have been enjoying all week- delicious!

Been on twilight shifts again all week so have tried to make the most of my mornings to get some fairly unexciting admin bits done, but on Wednesday morning, took a trip back to Blackbutt Reserve. I used to live right next to this so went a lot, and it was no less exciting this time round! It’s a large area of woodland filled with Australia wildlife but there’s a little corner of it with koalas, wallabies, emus, wombats, echidnas, and a whole host of beautiful birds! It was only when a little 2 yr old came up to me and said ‘where’s your baby?’ that I looked around and realised I was the only adult there without a child in tow..! Clearly I am just a massive child. Nevertheless, I love it and will continue to go on my own until Tom arrives!

On Friday morning I braved an early morning dip in the Merewether ocean baths! The first few seconds completely took my breath away (not really in the good way, in the ‘it’s so cold I can’t physically breathe’ way) but very quickly acclimatised and spent a very lovely and refreshing 30 minutes swimming up and down, and got out feeling revitalised for my late shift and very ready for a hot drink on the beach!

I had a visitor from Nottingham this weekend- my beautiful friend Thea is over here at the moment visiting her Australian partner, Byron, so the two of them kindly made the trip up to Newcastle to see me! We filled out tummies at the Olive Tree Market with goods including a variety of bits from the haloumi hut including ‘hallouminati fries’ and a dessert halloumi covered in salted caramel sauce...it was fairly life-changing. We then went on a lovely bushwalk through Glenrock Conservation Area along the Yuerlarbah track which ends up at the lagoon and a beautiful sheltered beach! In the evening we dragged Byron along to see Mamma Mia 2 at the cinema which was so much fun! Came out feeling so warm inside- a real feel good movie..! Unfortunately, they had to leave back to Sydney on Sunday morning after an early breakfast out on Hunter Street but it was fantastic (and very strange) to see them on this side of the world!.

On the 7th October, I’m doing The Bloody Long Walk with a few friends, to raise money for mitochondrial disease research. It is a 35km walk (46,200 steps apparently subjective on leg length…) from Belmont up through Newcastle. I am aiming to raise $10 (around £5.5) for every km if I can, to end with a nice rounded $350 or not so rounded £194.28 to donate to the Australian mitochondrial disease foundation. For those who were once taught in biology class that the mitochondria was the ‘powerhouse of the cell’ and then moved on never to speak of it again, mitochondrial disease is a devastating, progressive, and currently incurable disease causing debilitating physical, developmental and cognitive impairment. There has been a raised awareness of it recently in the UK with the devastating stories of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans.I would be really grateful if you could visit my sponsorship page https://blw-newcastle-2018.everydayhero.com/au/jane-3 to read more and consider donating a small amount if you are able. It there are any issues with donating internationally then please let me know and I’ll arrange a different way of transferring donations.

This week saw my brother bravely get through a hip operation and wishing him a speedy recovery – I’m sure he’ll be nimble on the crutches in no time!!!

It was also the 33rd wedding anniversary of my lovely parents on the 31st August - your love is an inspiration to all of us, and I’m glad you got some quality time away together in Italy to celebrate!

41 days until Tom arrives!!! Considering we started at 75 days, this week will mark a momentous halfway point!

Have a wonderful week, all!

Jane xxx

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poweredbydietcoke · 7 years ago

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Gobi March 2017 Race Report

TL;DR this is going to be really, really long as I attempt to cover months of race prep, gear selection, travel to western China, gear replacement, the race, the people, and the lessons...so be warned. The summary is this: three of us (Mark Gilbert, Angela Zäh, and I) trained (not enough), traveled to the Gobi Desert in far western China (losing only one bag of gear in the process), and ran ~250km and 4000m of vertical in conditions varied from cold pouring rain to brutal sun and heat up to 48*C (119*F), carrying all of our supplies (except water and tents) on our backs for the 6 days. And we enjoyed it!

The event was reasonably well-run (the race organizers were in a little over their heads, I think, but also faced a ton of challenges planning a race of this scale in China, especially with the local government; the medical team was clearly A+ and seemed to bleed over into actually managing large parts of the race, which was incredibly helpful) and the 107 competitors who started were awesome and totally fun. Probably the best part of the entire event was getting to hang out in the mountains & deserts for a week with these people and become friends. It's always amazing to me how well people work together when they're faced with a big challenge, and the amount of sharing (of advice, gear, food, you name it) to make sure everyone made it was fantastic.

Origin Story

This whole idea (for us) started late on New Year's Eve of 2015, when Mark and his sister-in-law Sue were looking for a challenging event for the year (recall that the past N years, Mark and I along with various other friends have always picked something silly to do without really training enough ... Mallorca 70.3, IM Australia, etc). Sue's challenge was the Gobi March or another Ironman in Capetown (I think). Mark texted me and offered the options, and I said we'd just done an Ironman, let's do something else, so we agreed to do Gobi (neither of us had imbibed at all by this point, of course). With all that was going on at work and only a few months to train for the 2016 event, we ended up doing a 50k together in Wyoming to train (and I did my first 100mi in Arizona), and signing up for Gobi 2017. Vlad Fedorov of course agreed to join us, and he dragged poor Angela into the mix before abandoning her, as he was forced to stay back in SF to handle a couple things (in his defense, Angela ran the 400m hurdles and the 800m in college, so she clearly enjoyed pain already).

Training

Being such dedicated athletes with loads of free time, we promptly wrote out and followed extensive training plans to the T ... largely consisting of weekly red-eyes to New York (our equivalent of sleeping in an altitude chamber -- it literally is), walking 1x1s during the day, and trying lots of different hydration options (white wine, red wine, rum & coke, whiskey). By the time the race was only a few months away, we were convinced we were in peak shape, but our better halves ganged up on us and forced us to another level of training we didn't even know existed. I started running with a 20lb weight vest to simulate the pack I'd be wearing (which looks like an odd cross between a bulletproof vest, and a suicide-bomber vest ... got some very strange looks running in that + my tights on the Embarcadero in San Francisco), Mark started carrying his pack with extra weight once we finally acquired packs...and we even tried a few of the freeze-dried meals we planned to eat on the course (those turned out great). In the end I'd say our training was actually more than adequate for our goal (to finish), although not nearly enough if we'd wanted to be competitive.

Race Format

This type of race (particularly the 4 Deserts series) have an interesting format. You start in a campsite on a Saturday night, and start racing Sunday morning. The first four days are roughly a marathon each (technically it increases every day from ~35km to ~45km, but it's close), and then the fifth day is called the Long March (~80km, or 50 miles), which you have a total of 30 hours to complete (bleeding into the sixth day, which is a rest day for people who finish quickly), and the seventh day is a "victory lap" that makes up the last of the 250km (usually ~10km). Of course all of this planning goes up in smoke given the weather and the government, but more on that later.

Gear

The race organizers required every competitor to carry a fixed list of mandatory gear -- you could choose the exact item, but it had to fulfill certain requirements (a sleeping bag rated to 32*F or below, a waterproof jacket, etc), and then you could choose to carry extra gear on top of that (more food, a sleeping pad for comfort, etc)...but everything you choose to carry is on your back and added weight, and the more weight you carry, the more calories you burn, and therefore the more food you need to carry, meaning the more weight you carry again, and so on (we called this the "rocket fuel problem"). In the end the lightest pack I saw was about 7.5kg, and the heaviest were upwards of 15kg (hint, your pack weight was directly and strongly correlated to your finishing position -- the lower the weight, the lower your time). Mine ended up weighing in at 9.6kg without water, Mark's was about 10.4kg, and I think Angela's was high 8s.

If you're interested in the gear or are planning to do this race (or something like it), read this post in detail...if you don't care, skip it, because it will get boring fast. :) Food

As mentioned above, they required you to carry a minimum of 14,000 calories a day, or 2,000 calories per theoretical day you were on the course. Really, though, you're going to want more than that (at my height and weight, roughly 6' and 200lbs, I probably burn 2,500 calories a day *without* running), but the good news is, you're not really running 7 days. Saturday night and Sunday morning you're in camp 1, so you don't need to count that weight -- it's never in your pack for a run. Friday is a rest day, so you don't need that many calories; and Saturday is an easy 10km to the finish line (and it doesn't count for official results, so most people walk/jog it together rather than racing), so worst case you could do that with no food and just plan on eating a lot at the finish line. Of course cutting this too close could cause you problems if/when plans change. :)

I settled on roughly 19,000 calories for the week, broken down like this:

(Yes, everyone has pretty complex spreadsheets to manage this, including calorie distribution per day, weight-per-gram trade offs, when to eat, etc). I ended up planning on about 800 calories for breakfast each day (we were usually up by 6am for an 8am race start, so plenty of time to get warm food in), about 1200 calories on the course / right after, and another 800 calories for dinner, with more calories on the day before/of the Long March, a lot less for rest day, and 400 calories for breakfast on the last day.

Aside from United losing 6800 calories of that (which Mark & I were able to replace in Shanghai with mostly ramen and oatmeal ... happily all of my bars/gels/powders were in my carry on, as those would have been much harder to replace), I think I did pretty well on food. 800 calories turns out to be about the most I could get down for breakfast, but not too much at all...some people brought 1200 calorie breakfasts but were getting really sick of them by the end and couldn't finish them. The Mountain Home breakfast skillet was the best, and savory was much better than sweet (eg porridge-type stuff) where possible. 800-1000 calories for dinner was great, with the hits being local ramen, Mountain Home beef stroganoff (always a favorite of mine, so much so that when I first started eating freeze-dried meals backpacking 25 years ago, I was convinced I would enjoy it at home in normal circumstances...not so much!), and Mountain Home chili mac with beef (so good!). I also brought a Recoverite to add to my water bottle for every day right after I finished, which seemed to work incredibly well (maybe I just recovered easily/well, but I felt great starting each day). I also brought a desert (dark chocolate cheesecake from Backpacker's Pantry) as a surprise to share with my tent-mates on the rest day, which was nice but in the end not worth it (a couple of us split it and it was fine but not as delicious as we thought it would be given our hunger).

During the day was a little harder -- every day I took two bars (a Tram Bar from Jackson Hole, and an almond-butter-filled Clif Bar), one Perpeteum, one Heed, and an almond butter packet, and a couple Gu gels for emergency energy. The Clif Bars were great and easy to get down with the almond butter center, but only 250 calories. The Tram Bar at 370 cals was great energy but a little harder to get down, especially when thirsty, and a little too much to take at once but hard to hold onto for two hours since I didn't have a great place on my vest to stash it. In hindsight I might take more Clif and less Tram next time, same number of calories. The only Perpetuem I could find before I left was Orange Vanilla, which was mediocre at best. It has the advantage of 270 cals and 220mg sodium, so it helps with electrolytes as well (a good thing), but it tastes like garbage...so by the end of the Long March I couldn't choke it down without gagging and risking vomiting (which would make things much worse because you lose all your hydration + calories + electrolytes and start over).

Next time I'd find a better flavor (strawberry? Both my Recoverite and Heed were strawberry and great) and train with it more to make sure I could get down 3-4 packets on a long day (1 was easy, and 2 was doable, which was my training max). The Heed was a nice change, but with only 100 cal and 70mg sodium I might drop it next time for just more Perpetuem if I can stomach it. And the almond butter was unnecessary on most days (a lot of it went to Mark who had brought more meals and fewer daytime snacks), but worked well when I wanted it / used it. The gels were a lifesaver (most of them went to Mark), I'd have brought a few more next time for quick fixes especially when I bonked on the Long March (happily Angela force-fed me a Stroupwaffle since I was out of my own gels)...they turn out to be not that dense (weight-per-calorie) so not great for the bulk of your calories, but good for speed-of-absorption.

To replace electrolytes (salt++) in the heat, I was relying primarily on Perpetuem supplemented by Endurolyte salt pills (80mg per two)...these worked fine but were annoying (I was scarfing them 4 at a time during the hot days), and next time I'll switch to Nuun or Gu Hydration...they dissolve in water with 320mg per tablet, and although they make me burp occasionally (because of the carbonation they introduce, I assume) if I can find a flavor I like they are much easier. Lots of the faster guys were using Tailwind for nutrition, which was like a denser Perpetuem combining more calories with more sodium, so I plan to try that going forward.

Finally, Mark & I both brought 12x Starbucks Via instant coffee for the mornings (we each only had one per morning, leaving us lots of extras to give someone else and make them happy -- for a few grams per packet, this is so worth it). Mark specified "Italian or French, dark roast only, with powdered milk" so he lived the high life, while I just drank whatever I'd found (a medium roast Colombian) and did just fine. :) We also each threw in a few cubes of chicken bullion, which has a lot of salt but not many calories, for cold nights when we were hungry ... totally worth it, both for ourselves and to share (put these in a separate bag as they turn out to be super oily). Angela brought a small bottle of olive oil to add to food for flavor + calories (it's super calorically dense), which was an amazing idea (mine was once again United'd so I had to borrow). Mark brought a small container of salt which was also helpful.

Getting There

The race itself started in Hami, a "small" town of half a million in the rural western Chinese province of Xinjiang...this a lesser-known version of Tibet, with lots of "interesting" political situations (Mark said that when he lived in Shanghai, the internet in this province was "turned off" for two solid years). To get there, we all met up first in Shanghai (Angela & I went direct, Mark went through LA, Seoul, fourteen other places, and then to Shanghai) and spent a night at Le Royal Meridien. Thinking it would be hard to screw up a bag on a direct flight, I checked my knife, hiking poles, bottles of olive oil for us, and stupidly also put some of my food, sleeping pad, and camp clothes/shoes in there because I had space. Of course it stayed in San Francisco for an extra few days and by the time it made it to Shanghai, I was in the middle of the Gobi. Oh well -- Mark made a trip to Decathalon to get some stuff he needed anyway, Angela borrowed a mat and poles from Luke for me, and I found a grocery to stock up on ramen etc.

We then hopped on Juneyao Airlines for the flight to Urumqi (or Wulumqi, depending on how you transliterate), the capital of Xinjiang province, and all carried on / managed to make it with all our gear, and crashed at the Sheraton for a night (clearly the most happening place in this rural metropolis of 3-4M people). The next day we took the high-speed (3.5 hour) train to Hami, which included another two security screenings (everywhere has outside magnetometers + X-ray to get into the building, then the normal travel checkpoint, as well as a few passport checks to control movement of people), where people finished their sewing...leaving the train station we got detained for a while by the police who were surprised to see a bunch of gweilos in this area (to say it's an occupied province is to put it lightly, the tensions between the Han Chinese and the native Uighurs appears to be quite high), but we'd made friends with some of the other (native Chinese) competitors on the train who spoke both perfect English, Mandarin, and some of the local dialects, and they very helpfully sorted it out for us before getting us all in taxis to the hotel...thanks guys!

(photo credit Angela)

Saturday at the hotel was occupied with race briefings, gear checks, medical checks, running out to get anything you were missing in the market (Mark and I went out to buy cheap pocket knives ... it seems you’re not supposed to have knives in this province, though, as there are magnometers and X-rays at the entrance of every single shop/building ... amusingly if you walk through with your bag on your shoulder and keep going, people rarely say anything ... but in the end the helpful shopkeeper wrote us a note saying we needed the knives to cut fruit in case anyone stopped us. When in China...)

Saturday afternoon we boarded busses for the three hour drive to the start and found ourselves in a beautiful yurt campground at the base of some large mountains. We were supposed to change camps every night as we progressed along the original Silk Road, over the mountains, and out into the desert, but the government had other plans, "for our own safety." So instead for the first four days we'd pack up everything, leave the camp (which was sometimes guarded by very bored-looking local police in whatever dark clothing they could cobble together, with every group of 4-5 guys issued one shield, one baton, one vest that said SWAT, and one belt that said SWAT ... not kidding ... and they always faced inward, not outward), run a while, and then return to the same camp.

(photo credit unknown)

Anyways, we'd pack up, go run 40km, and then come right back to the same camp. At least it was, aside from the pit toilets, quite a nice place to be! Saturday night at camp we got our first chance to meet our tent-mates for the week. Beside Mark, Angela and I, we had Ben & Richard, both British ex-pats living in Hong Kong, and serious runners -- Ben would finish the race 5th, and Richard 9th. Then Aussie Mark, who also lived in HK with Ben & Richard, Michael (an American who lived in Singapore with Chevron and was just moving back to SF with Google), and Donald, a retired Scottish policeman from Edinburgh who ran everywhere in amazing Tartan shorts, and whose lovely wife was volunteering to help out with the race. We'd have a chance to spend a lot of time together, on and off the course, over the week, and we couldn't have asked for a better group -- I would happily do another week or more of racing with every single person in that tent, which is saying something given the pain and smells we endured!

We also got to start hanging out with the race's wonderful medical team, six doctors (all seemingly Stanford emergency- or trauma-affiliated, and all with wilderness/backcountry backgrounds) who would precede and follow us everywhere and help with everything from the smallest blister to people passing out on the course, always with a smile and a word of encouragement. Doc Julie led the team, along with her husband Doc Adam -- both of them live in Salt Lake City and work with a friend of mine from undergrad, Nick Kanaan (turns out that Nick had volunteered for Gobi a few years ago and all the docs knew him, which was funny). Adam had previously raced in a 4 Deserts race (the Sahara, I think) and Julie had worked a bunch of them. Avi was the other old-timer, I think this was his 8th race, and it turns out that he lived about 2 blocks from me in San Francisco; Patrick, Michael Shaheen, and Alexis (all from Stanford, some now at San Diego I think) rounded out the team on the younger side...and all were fantastic.

After our first freeze-dried meal on Saturday night (note to self, next time bring good fresh food for that first meal!) and an early bedtime, we were up at 5:30am Sunday to start getting ready. Breakfast, a race briefing at 7:30am, and onto the busses at 8:00am to head to the start line (we would start elsewhere and run back to camp on day 1, given our newly confined schedule). It was only supposed to be 35km and 600m of climbing, and given the changed plans, promised to be even shorter and less climbing that planned...so it seemed easy. Wrong attitude.

It all started out pretty easy and downhill, and we ran the first while to get ahead of the pack. The first few legs were fast and fun, and on pretty good terrain, until we hit the last aid station at the base of the Barkhol sand dune. It was a strange but gorgeous collection of dunes in the middle of the plains, the tallest one being probably 300-400m tall, and we were going up one ridge, along the top, and down the other end. But it's ok, only 12km to go and a little sand. The first approach was easy, but quickly got very steep very fast, and all of us went anaerobic just trying to make forward progress (each step slid back a good percentage of the distance you covered), wearing us out before we made the first ridge line. Our low gaiters with Velcro turned out to be no match for sand that was mid-calf, so our shoes were quickly filled, and the temps were climbing past 35*C, but we made it up and trekked along the ridge lines, up and down along the dune. Breathtaking views

(photo credit Angela)

We found the end and tumbled down, having a lot of fun on the descent until we hit the base and realized we had a lot more sand to wade through, and camp was a lot farther away than we thought! I stopped to empty my shoes and tape a toe that had started to rub in the sand (happily it would actually improve and heal entirely during the week!), and we kept pushing on. An hour or two later we were seemingly no closer to the camp, and I started to regret my decision not to keep any Endurolytes in the front of my pack...by 5km to go I was starting to get kind of out of it, but Mark stuck next to me, forced me to take some more (I kept thinking we were close enough just to tough it out), and made it home only losing a few minutes of time. That left us the rest of the day to hang out in camp and get to know people, which was consistently fun.

Day 2 started early again

with a 7:30am briefing and 8:00am departure straight from camp...4km down a gravel road before we turned up into the forest and started climbing the mountains, ultimately up to 2900m. We were supposed to continue straight through the pass and down the other side, but plans change, and we were running out-and-back...all good, at least it was pretty! We cruised out to the base of the climb pretty fast and then just dug into the switchbacks, trying not to be offended when mountain goats passed us...but we made good time together to the middle checkpoint at the pass, almost 20km and 1200m in under four hours with pretty full packs. We passed the race leaders on their way back as we were starting the final climb, stopped to refill at the top, and a torrential downpour started.

Waterproof jackets on and start hammering down...Angela started to chill so she went ahead to keep moving fast and stay warm, and I hung back a bit with Mark, and we just cruised down and back. All in all a nice day, and the rain wasn't too bad. Back in camp we took over the fires to dry everything (clothes, shoes, backpacks) and passed out early. I think this was the night that both Mark and Angela decided / were convinced that carrying deodorant was a waste of weight, and so got rid of it (the rest of us never even tried). Of course from then on we complained about Angela's lack of deodorant...

Day 3 was a bus to the start, and a bus home. Yuck. But the terrain was maybe the most consistently beautiful we had all week, a river valley up and down about 1000m, so life was good. We started in a slightly gray morning and climbed up and up and up through this valley, cresting the top a few hours in. Angela cruised ahead again to stay warm, and Mark and I started the descent...it started to warm up but Mark had hammered on the way up and seemingly didn't cool down enough on the way down, as he started to overheat. By 7km to go he was hating life and couldn't stop shivering (despite it being 27*C outside and wearing lots of layers), so we stopped by one of the roving 4x4 support vehicles, got his feet up, and got Doc Adam on the radio...he was there pretty quickly and immediately said "heat exhaustion", got him de-layered and in the shade, a cold Pepsi for a quick sugar hit, and we were back on our way down within the hour. We were pushing it closer to the cutoff times than we wanted, but made it easily and on the last bus back to camp, where the whole tent helped sort out gear, get it dry, get food ready, and generally speed up recovery.

Day 4 was another out-and-back from camp, which was nice to avoid busses and see other people on the course, despite not being as much new scenery. 1.5km on a gravel road down to the forest, 6km through the forest out into the plains, up the foothills through a lot of pasture to some lower hills, and then down a beautiful valley on the other side to the 22.5km mark, turn around and do it again. It would be about 45km with another 1200m of climbing, which suited us given SF-based hill training, and the temperatures would stay down well under 40*C for another day, which was nice. Given the cold day and our pace, Angela hammered ahead to stay warm (if you get cold it's really, really hard to get warm again) and Mark and I just took it easy on the way out...Angela would end up finishing as second woman that day, I think, and emerge as a dark-horse contender for the overall race if she wanted it).

We climbed to the first checkpoint in 2.5 hours, just under the cutoff, and then did the second leg in 3 hours out to CP2, where Adam was waiting for us to check in. The previous day's exhaustion had also hammered Mark's feet (when you get tired your form goes, and blisters start/take hold), so the climb out was torture for him, in addition to the exhaustion and not a lot of time to recover...feeling as if he was just going to repeat day 3, he sadly (but very intelligently) decided to call it at CP2 and ride back with the 4x4s. I loaded up on water and advice from Adam and left CP2 in 104th place for the return journey, 22.5km and lots of climbing to get back, and only 2.5 hours to make the cutoff for CP3. I was feeling great, though, and passed almost 30 people on the way to CP3 in 1:45 flat...I barely broke stride going through to refill my bottles and keep pushing home. I passed another 25 people on the last leg to finish 49th on the day, in a little under 3:30 for the return trip. It was a huge bummer to lose Mark but a really smart decision not to risk it, and the trip back turned out to be a lot of fun even solo. Stopped by at the end to hang out with the docs and say thanks, and ended up lucking into some sprayable painkiller for the small shin splints that had developed on my legs. Better living through chemicals!

Day 5 turned into a rest day with our new plans, so we slept in until 8 or 9am, had a leisurely breakfast, and we all tried to stay out of the sun and rest. Our yurt basically spent the day inside reading, laughing (my sister would send me a really bad running joke every day, which I would happily relay to a large chorus of groans), and napping, as we got ready for a midnight bus departure to the start line of the Long March. Most memorable quote of the race:

Donald: "does anyone have any extra salt I can put in my lunch?" Richard: "you could wring out one of my socks in there, I'm sure it has plenty of salt."

And Laura's jokes:

What's Forest Gump's password? 1forest1

What do you get if you run in front of a car? Tired What do you get it you run behind a car? Exhausted

It might be hard to picture from here, but we were having a blast. :) We had a leisurely lunch and went back to sleep, an early dinner and back to sleep, and then woke up around midnight to make more food (we were all furiously trying to recalculate our food plans to have enough calories on a pre-long-march rest day and still have enough food for the long march, and there was a lot of trading / sharing of food) and get on the busses. Our government protectors decided we couldn't leave yet, so we sat around until 1:30am or so and finally pulled out in a giant convoy of flashing lights for the slow drive to the start...finally arriving sometime around 5:30am. Quick pit stop, top off water bottles, and it was time to go. Angela & I decided to stick together for the long march, with a strategy of running as much as we could early in the morning before it got hot to put in some distance, and then just a forced march during the peak heat until it cooled off or we finished.

We pulled away early, scarily close to the leaders, and ran a lot through the first two checkpoints and 26km before it started to get hot and we backed off a bit. By the third checkpoint at 37km it was getting hot, and the next 6km through a dry, still wadi were an absolute slog (at least for me)...at some point I managed to pee and it was a dark brown-yellow, which is never a good sign, and I'd already consumed over 7L of water in 6 hours. We made it to CP4 by 12:45pm, where we were forced to stop for 3 hours (the race implemented a mandatory 3 hour rest for everyone given the heat)...which was amazing. 29 people made it to CP5 for the stop, 20 people at CP4 (we were numbers 4 and 5 to make it there), and the rest stayed back at CP3. Flat on our backs in the shade (which at this point was 45*C ... rumor had it that a thermometer in the sun read 56*C, but the highest confirmed temp I heard was 48*C), with an amazing volunteer (Katya) walking around the tent with a spray bottle in each hand for three hours, misting water on us, and trying to get in more water, electrolytes, and calories. Talked to Adam about my water consumption and tried to up it even more (by the end of the day I consumed almost 20L) and then it was time to get back to it. As each person got ready to leave, Adam would quietly go over and say "drink some of your water...ok now give me the bottle", and come back a minute later with a few ice cubes in the top. Cool water never tasted so good (most of the water on the course by this point was 40-45C at least).

Back on the trail and we were feeling pretty refreshed after a break and lots of water, so we pushed through to CP5 at a decent pace given the temperature (through all of this Angela appears basically unaffected to me and barely drinking water, although she promises it was hard). At some point in here we stopped to perform some more shoe surgery on her heel to free up the Achilles, which was a nice 2min break in the one piece of shade we saw.

Making it to CP5 I decided it was the opportune time to use Laura's latest joke, which I'd received on the satcom during the rest stop...we walked into the tent and I told the lead volunteer that I'd started hallucinating on the course. She looked concerned and called for the doctor, Avi, as I told her I'd seen a talking pig (Angela is rolling her eyes), and he told me that I needed to help him because "he was bacon out here." It took her about ten seconds to process just how bad of a joke it was and that I wasn't in fact hallucinating (which made it even funnier), just enough time for Avi to arrive and pronounce that I did in fact need treatment if I was telling jokes that were that bad...and quickly launch into his own series of bad jokes (all of which he blamed on Nick). We had a blast telling dumb jokes for 10 minutes in the shade while we nursed our surprise Pepsis from the medical team (they brought enough for every single competitor to get one at CP5!)...the best one: "What do you call someone who tells bad jokes but isn't a dad? A faux pas"

(photo credit unknown)

Before it was time to head back onto the course. The Pepsi carried us through the next 10km to CP6, where Donald's wife was waiting (we'd seen him at CP4 during the rest stop and he was doing ok, if hot, which she was happy to hear), a quick (to me, maybe 10-15min in real terms?) shade and water break and back on the trail to CP7. We saw Dirk, one of the race leaders, at CP6, where he'd unfortunately been forced to drop out due to heat exhaustion...he'd spent an hour sitting in a 4x4 with the AC running and still couldn't stop hyperventilating, so he decided to call it, and was just starting to recover by the time we arrived. :(

I tried to get my last Perpetuem down on this leg and just couldn't, so by the time we were a few km from CP7 I started to run out of gas, hard. Electrolytes and water were ok, but I just hadn't had enough to eat for the day (or at least not enough simple sugars that didn't require too much blood to digest, since it was mostly busy carrying oxygen to my legs)...I tried to push through it again to get to CP7 (because the first thing a bonk does is make you dumb), but happily Angela forced me to eat, first one of her sugar-filled waffles and then one of my Clif bars, so that by the time we crawled into CP7 I had some calories in my stomach to start digesting.

CP7 was a war zone, with at least 6 people splayed out all over the floor passed out and trying to recover from heat, electrolytes, calorie deficits, etc. I got another bar in and laid on my back for 20min to get some calories to digest before we picked up and moved again, just as the sun started to set. We had 11km along a road to go to the finish, and we just forced-marched it under headlamps. We'd long ago given up talking much, instead favoring simple "thumbs up" for "you good? I'm good", hands flat and wiggling for "I'm so-so", and happily never getting to thumbs-down, but we kept moving, I managed to get my Heed down, Angela's Achilles stayed ok, her knee didn't get much worse, and we crossed the finish line just before midnight on Friday. Ben and Richard had crossed the line together just before sunset, Michael was probably an hour ahead of us at 23rd, and we finished 26th and 27th for the day. Mark was already there having helped out at camp and the aid stations during the day, and they'd all claimed a big tent for us near the finish line. After a few minutes of catching up and joking, getting weighed and prodded for medical tests, and chugging our almost-cool finish line Pepsis and waters, we were all fast asleep by 12:30am.

Unfortunately that didn't last long, as we were rudely awakened by a huge sandstorm that started to collapse our tent around 3:15am. We traded off holding the tent in place while everyone hurriedly packed their kit, and then hung out in the tent for a bit debating what to do while the wind whipped around outside and quickly destroyed about half the camp. We decided with all the metals poles flying around we were probably safer away from the tent, so everyone loaded up and we made a run for the leeward side of a big rock formation nearby, where the winds were lower and there were fewer flying projectiles. We made our little post-apocalyptic refugee camp there and were gradually joined by more and more people from collapsed tents...at least it was cool (ish) outside!

We all had our buffs wrapped around our faces

And dozed in and out between brief sleep and chatting all night, curled up on some shared sleeping pads. The last finisher finally crossed about 9:45am (happily under a huge cloud of dust, the sun stayed slightly hidden and the temperatures stayed lower, probably under 40*C), we all got up to run the final "victory lap" (which was really just so the race organizers could get marketing photos, so it was cut down to probably under 1km) and cross the official finish line together to get soda, beer, and bowls of real food (rice, veggies, and a little unspecified meat).

(Donald at the finish line, photo credit Donald’s wife Elaine?)

30 minutes later we were all ready to get on the busses and head back to Hami, which was a solid 2+ hour drive.

And that was it. We got back to the hotel, drank beer in the hallways while we waited for our rooms to be ready, enjoyed very long showers, drank more beer while we waiting for dinner, had a great big banquet (of course our yurt all sat together...it was strange to us that most tents didn't), drank more beer in the lobby, and passed out.

(Photo credit Angela)

The travel home was less eventful, although fun to do a lot of it with these groups of people we'd gotten to know so well. The trains to Urumqi were easy, although the security checks caught some more stuff (people just cared less), we just kept walking and didn't stop. :) The airport at Urumqi was clearly on high alert, as they ran each of our carry-ons at least 4 times, and to their credit (as annoying as it was, because it was pointless), they found almost everything that we weren't supposed to have (those sewing scissors and hiking poles were clearly a threat) and ended up with a large haul of stuff for themselves. Back in Shanghai after a few-hour delay we had a day to rest, get massages, and eat, and now on the plane back to SF.

Lessons Learned

I mentioned a bunch inline above, but fundamentally this was an exercise in logistics and training more than anything else ... no individual race day was that challenging by itself (granted I finished in the mid-40s place-wise and not top-10, where I'm sure the running itself was much more challenging), and if you had a lightweight pack, managed your nutrition well, and took care of your feet every day, you seemed to have a pretty good chance of finishing well (modulo heat & exhaustion issues like Mark faced--I think he might have been sick at the same time, because he was eating and drinking well all day). Then it's just a matter of persistence, but even less of that is required here than in eg. a straight 100-miler.

I did find this race format far more enjoyable than a one-day 100-miler, I think largely because of the camaraderie on the trail and in camp. It would be cliche and dramatically exaggerated to say I made best-friends-for-life in this race, but I certainly made another 5 friends who I look forward to visiting around the world as our paths collide.

In the end I could have carried a little less food, as I think I only lost about 10 pounds over the course of the race (I wouldn't skimp on on-course food, but less weight for dinner and run a higher calorie deficit at night would have worked). This would have been less weight, and let me run less conservatively on the first few days, probably saving a lot of time. Only one toenail (so far) fell victim to the trails, and a few annoying blisters on the last day, but remarkably few given the terrain and mileage and they're already largely healed. And the hotel in Hami collected a large pile of donated/trashed gear...my beloved shoes (complete with an extra lining of velcro for the gaiters) were pushing 600 miles and didn't make the return trip, along with the gaiters themselves (wouldn't use that style again, and they were trashed), my socks (biohazard), running top (likewise), and camp clothes and shoes I'd purchased cheaply in Urumqi along with the crappy folding knife from Hami. And, of course, Luke's poles he so generously loaned me, confiscated by the crack airport security team (happily, only on the return trip!)...Luke, I still owe you a beer (or many) for those poles!

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silverhands-etcetera · 7 years ago

Text

Gimme 40 Acres.

I made the widest U-turn possible on the Camino. There are points where all the different routes connect, as they all funnel together toward Santiago, and at any one of these intersections a peregrino has the option (though few take it) of setting off toward a different starting line, rather than merging into the bottleneck that condenses all of the paths into the the homestretch leading to the checkered flag in Santiago.

Turning myself around toward another city wasn’t something I’d ever considered, but by chance, one of the meeting points of the southern Caminos is in Merida, where I met my friend Blanka, who was walking from the north and reached the intersection at the same time I did.

While I was taking the long loop down to El Puerto, Blanka continued walking south and east, coming closer & closer to Córdoba, and eventually Granada. My three-step U-turn involved a semi-truck, and midnight bus ride, and one final leg in a BlaBlaCar.

A what?, you say?

A ride sharing app, -native to Spain? I’m not sure. But everybody knows about it, it’s cheap and safe and the exact opposite of a mode of transportation that I’m inclined to use. But I needed to get out of the city and into a tiny no-horse town in the vallley of Los Pedroches, at the top of Andalucía, on the edge of the sierra. One car was going there- a fella driving to his county home late in the day, after a day of work in the city.

The meeting point was a gasolinera on the edge of Córdoba, about a 40-minute walk from El Centro. I spotted my targeted black VW Golf and said Hola to Jose, who looked at me & said “you came here walking? That’s crazy, it’s way too hot for walking”

Sure thing, buddy.

The highways cut around the mountains, and put me in the village of Alcaracejos in less than an hour. In a smooth, swift turbodiesel, the inclines were hardly noticeable, but the crest of the last mountain overlooking the valley of Los Perdroches gave clear perspective on what was going to be involved in finding one’s way out of the basin once a peregrino has feet on the ground.

I was dropped at one edge of town, and the hostel was at the other, it was perhaps five minutes covering the distance between. It was good to see Blanka again. It was good to be back on the Camino. I was traded midseason from Equipo Macarena, to join the newly formed Equipo Contrario- the only team walking the wrong direction on the Camino Mozarebes.

This Camino has far fewer peregrinos than La Plata, and the municipal hostel was empty except for us. I shared a few pieces of standard I-IV-V americana on the guitar (what I refer to as “rewriting Rockytop”) and she busted out a Hungarian folk tune on her flute, with depth of melody and uniqueness of phrasing that makes a guy put the guitar down, rather than try to follow with something by Hank or ET.

–

My new team doesn’t wake up early either, thankfully. But we had a walk of at least 35km (perhaps 38, opinions conflict) to the village of Villaharta.

The Camino leaves the valley almost immediately, with a climb that maintains a steady rise for at least a mile before giving to plateaus & dips, where you can see the first tall mountains of the range. At this first leveling, a man behind a fence called out to us, telling us that we were too far away from Villaharta to make it in a day, and that we’d be sleeping in the mountains for sure. -that mountain there that we could see- well that was halfway.

He offered to take us a few kilometers down the road in his car.

Wasn’t this the Camino De Santiago? -we asked him.

He replied that it was, and that peregrinos pass by here all the time going the other way, but there was no way we could walk to Villaharta. I wondered where he assumed the incoming peregrinos were coming from, since we were all in agreement that there was nothing in between here & there.

We’ll walk, gracias.

–

Following arrows, one can walk all the way to Santiago without any missteps, and without a map. But going in the other direction requires a lot of looking back, and at times you’ll find yourself in a place that may be a confluence going north, but appears as a fork when going south, and the only way to know which way the camino came from is to go down one path or another until you find arrows, or not.

But only in finding arrows do you have the proof, walking along without an arrow doesn’t mean you are on the wrong fork. It might mean that the last arrow is just up around the next bend. More than once we ventured down separate forks putting precious distance between us in search of the right path, calling out and waiting for the other when we’d find proof. On a day this long, it was good to be a team in this venture.

We’re both strong walkers, but in the course of a day, we each have our moments- Blanka finding the urge to run more often than I. Mostly on the downhill sections, where she gains a lot of ground on me, but I cringe at the thought of my steps falling hard on a steep decline- …you go ahead, kid. I’ll keep any cartilage that’s left in my knees right where it’s at & in one piece, for now..

She did lament that this camino has been a little tougher than when she did it two years ago, and I told her how it gets even better as you get older, and things will start to get easier -then I had to try to relate my brand of sarcasm. ..the best jokes are the ones that you have to explain, right?…

–

It was a long & ever-changing day, but with the blessing of big, fluffy clouds keeping the direct heat of the sun off us for several hours of the mid-day. But as we reached kilometer 30, the cover had turned into just a spattering of little fluffy sheep up in the sky, with wide swaths of sunshine in between them. What’s more, the final 5 (or 8?) kilometers were all uphill. We were exhausted, and only hoping that our goal was at the crest of this never-breaking hill.

The path ended and we followed under the power lines, along the paved road that hopefully led into town. It was 7pm as we reached the first streets of Villaharta. We had been walking for 11 hours.

There’s no hotel in Villaharta proper, there’s only the municipal hostel, which we knew nothing about.

Blanka greeted a man lifting a huge stack of tiles out of the trunk of his car & asked him if he could direct us to the hostel.

“Look, you’re going to get lost, but..” the man went on speaking, standing with 50 pounds or more of floor tiles in his arms in the hot sun of the street, as he directed us to the end, then left, then up, then right, etc..

After the first two turns, we asked the same question again to the next people we saw.

A man with a perfect wave of white hair, loading a beautiful, 40 year-old, two-tone Citroen walked over to us, with perfect straight posture of his shoulders and hips despite a two-inch platform on the bottom of just his right shoe. The municipal hostel is just the locker room of the municipal sports complex, he says, and we’d need to find the man with the key -that would be Juan Claudio.

“Look, go directly down here, and at the first street, there’s a grocery -that’s not the street, and it’s not the next one either. Go to the third street, at the pharmacy, and go to house number 4, ask for Juan Claudio, he has the key.”

Again, halfway there, we began doubting ourselves, and asked an abuela if she could help us. We were talking to her when the man with the Citroen drove by and told her our story.

Ah! Estas buscando Juan Claudio. The abuela was The Abuela, that is to say the grandmother of Juan Claudio. She was visibly proud of the importance of her grandson, but told us that he was out of town, and if we’d walk with her, up here we’ll find her granddaughter sitting in the street and she will help us.

The granddaughter was not to be found, but two other local girls were. There was much confusion as to whether Juan Claudio was actually out of town. La rubia was in accord with Abuela, but la morena was certain that the car she saw leaving town that looked like Juan Claudio’s wasn’t actually him…

It went on like this for some ten minutes, with much explanation of circumstances, but no solutions for the peregrinos. We were even shown to the house of the Mayor, (which everyone in this town pronounced as “arcarde” rather than “alcalde” -which led me to consider if “Villaharta” was something derived from local dialect, and really that this village on a mountain was “Villa Alta”?..)

The mayor wasn’t home, and eventually, la rubia gave us the personal phone number of a woman named Lupe, who works for the city. She can help us.

We went to the bar, for some much needed supper & beer, and gave Lupe a call. Blanka navigated the phone call (and the preceding wrong number) with perfect Spanish over the phone, which can be difficult, but ultimately, Lupe couldn’t help us either.

It was 9:30, with supper in us, we felt less desperate, but still dirty and tired. But we knew where Juan Claudio lived, and he’d have to come home sometime…

We rang, & Juan Claudio opened the door, barefoot, and with a baby resting on his shoulder. We needed to call ahead, he told us. If he doesn’t know that we’re coming before 3, he can’t help us. These were the rules.

We didn’t move.

He asked if we carried Credentials -Blanka does, I don’t. He told us we’d have to leave in the morning, which was fine, we had no plans of taking up residence in the locker room. -he was just checking, he said. He’s had to call the Guardia Civil to evict people before.

Juan Claudio was cracking, he told us to run ahead, he’d come over & unlock it for us in a few minutes.

–

Villaharta is just a speck on the map, half the length of the island of Sabula, but they’ve got a soccer field up on the hill overlooking the town, with basketball hoops and facilities for any athletic pursuit, despite not seeing enough children in the pueblo to make one side of a soccer match.

The sun was set, and it was hot. We dragged a giant mat cushion out of the stuffy, mosquito-laden locker room, and laid out on the hot concrete soccer pitch. I hadn’t been outside for such a clear sky & stars for the duration of this trip so far. There was no light in the town, & the entire sky was visible, and with the full reach of my knowledge of astronomy, the most interesting thing I could say was “hey look, there’s the Big Dipper”

It was an epic day on the ground, finished with an infinite night sky. Once again, time has a different course in Spain. It just goes on forever.

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loiswolf · 5 years ago

Text

Day 18 June 17 Murren - Iseltwald 35kms

In case you hadn’t guessed, yesterday was a rest day. It turned out to be very quiet because my sister and niece had spent a lot on train/cable car passes and justifiably wanted to use them. I went for a walk with them before breakfast and a longer walk later on in the day. I couldn’t have had a rest day in a more beautiful place!

The plan today was to cycle to Bern, but again, I changed my mind. I decided to go up the mountain with Frances and Georgia as it was such a perfect day.

We could see all the mountains today and were able to walk in the snow. ( F and G went up 3 days ago and it was too foggy to walk there ).

Our pace was not fast! We had a great time sliding the downhill sections. F and G had puffy jackets that worked very well as toboggans. Unfortunately I only had a thin wind-proof cycling jacket and ended up losing a large patch of skin from my left thigh. We also had a snowball fight and a lovely break sitting on the grass with a stunning view.

There was virtually no one else up there until we reached a lovely cafe with a big playground where we had coffee and cake. Of course!

By the time I walked back down to Murren to collect Shirley it was 2pm. I loaded her up and set off down the mountain. Following the path I walked yesterday I knew it was going to be tricky. The first section was easy. Just a nice paved pathway which we cruised down easily. The next section was horrible. Rough dirt and gravel track covered in huge tree roots. Going uphill was hard, going downhill was harder. I walked nearly all of it . Trying to keep Shirley under control on the steep downhill sections was nearly impossible. The weight at the back made the back wheel slide sideways pushing us forward. This struggle seemed to go on forever until finally I saw a car! Yay! Actual road!! Still dirt but rideable and a real relief.

Soon it turned to sealed road and we were off! The next 20kms were nearly all downhill with beautiful scenery as well.

Nearing Interlaken I turned off to the right to go to my accommodation. Now 14 years ago when I toured Europe in a car with my family, we saw this gorgeous little place. I though it would be nice to come back as we were able to get reasonably priced accommodation here. ( it a crummy hostel, that’s why it’s cheap! )

The ride along the lake to get here was particularly beautiful except for the last section which veered up the hill for a climb long enough to make me very sweaty!

F and G will be joining me soon and tomorrow I might actually get to Bern!

0 notes

topfygad · 5 years ago

Text

Non-technical mountain climbs: 12 mountains for mortals

There are no ‘death zones’ on these non-technical mountain climbs but they offer plenty of challenges for mere mortals like me

I’m aware that I’ll never be a Reinhold Messner or Chris Bonington (I’ll settle for reading their books instead) but I still long to pitch myself against tall mountains with imposing names.

Non-technical mountain climbs

With the help of Adventure Consultants, we have classed the following as non-technical mountain climbs.

These peaks are below 7,000m (23,000ft) and do not require extensive high-altitude experience or practical knowledge (e.g. rope, crampon and ice axe skills or the ability to abseil and rappel).

That said, as with all adventure sports, the more experienced and prepared you are for these challenges, the better.

1. Mount Kilimanjaro

Location: Tanzania, Africa Elevation: 5,895m (19,341ft) Range: None – freestanding Duration: 5-7 days

Andrzej Kubik/Shutterstock Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest freestanding mountain

Africa’s highest mountain is also the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Like many volcanoes, it is not attached to a mountain range.

The Machame Route is by far the most picturesque but the mountain is very popular among tourists and hikers so don’t expect to have any of the routes to yourself.

More info: Adventure Consultants

2. Mount Temple

Location: Canada, North America Elevation: 3,544m (11,627ft) Range: Bow Range Duration: 1-2 days

Dreamstime Mount Temple dominates the western landscape of Banff National Park

More info: A Scrambler’s Guide to Mount Temple

3. Ojos del Salado

Location: Argentina/Chile, South America Elevation: 6,893m (22,615ft) Range: Andes Duration: 12 days

Dreamstime Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world

Positioned on the Argentina-Chile border, Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world. It is also the second-highest mountain outside Asia, second only to Aconcagua 630km further south.

More info: Adventure Consultants

4. Khüiten Peak

Location: Mongolia, Asia Elevation: 4,375m (14,354ft) Range: Tavan Bogd Duration: 7 days

Dreamstime Khüiten is the highest peak in Mongolia

The highest peak in Mongolia is probably the most remote mountaineering experience in the world. Its peak sits on the trilateral border of Mongolia, Russia and China!

More info: Adventure Consultants

5. Mount Whitney

Location: USA, North America Elevation: 4,421m (14,505ft) Range: Sierra Nevada Duration: 1-3 days

Dreamstime Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States (i.e. excluding Hawaii and Alaska).

It looks intimidating on the first view but the popular Mount Whitney Trail starts at an elevation of 2,550m (8,360ft) meaning the summit can be reached in just a day (if you’re brave!).

Most hikers prefer to take at least two days to complete the 35km round trip with an elevation gain of just over 1,900m (6,100ft).

More info: National Park Service

6. Mount Elbrus

Location: Russia, Europe Elevation: 5,642m (18,510ft) Range: Caucasus Mountains Duration: 7 days

youtube

Elbrus was my second of the seven summits. It requires some crampon and ice axe use but these basic skills can be learnt from guides prior to ascent.

A cable car takes would-be summiteers to the accommodation at the base of the climb at 3,600m (11,800ft). Here, climbers can undertake some acclimatisation hikes before tackling the mountain proper.

Huts along the route make for a relatively ‘comfortable’ ascent before the 3am summit bid.

More info: read my trip report on climbing Elbrus

7. Mount Brewster

Location: New Zealand, Oceania Elevation: 2,516m (8,255ft) Range: Southern Alps Duration: 1-2 days

Leigh Blackall/CC BY 2.0 Mount Brewster does not require acclimatisation

More info: Adventure Consultants

8. Pokalde Peak

Location: Nepal, Asia Elevation: 5,806m (19,049ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 9-12 days

Daniel Karfik/Shutterstock Pokalde offers glimpses of Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest

More info: Adventure Consultants

9. Mera Peak

Location: Nepal, Asia Elevation: 6,476m (21,246ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 18-20 days

Janos Rautonen/Shutterstock Mera is Nepal’s highest trekking peak

Nepal’s highest trekking peak is less technically demanding than Pokalde Peak but its higher altitude requires longer and higher acclimatisation days.

More info: Adventure Consultants

10. Stok Kangri

Location: India, Asia Elevation: 6,153m (20,182ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 7-9 days

AL-media stockhouse/Shutterstock Stok Kangri is one of the more accessible Himalayan mountains outside of Nepal

You’ll probably fly into Leh, the capital of Ladakh, at 3,524m (11,560ft) and acclimatise thoroughly before moving onto base camp at 4,980m (16,340ft) to attempt the summit.

More info: Summit Post

11. Mount Chimborazo

Location: Ecuador, South America Elevation: 6,268m (20,564ft) Range: Andes Duration: 7-15 days (depending on experience/skills and program)

Dreamstime Chimborazo’s summit is Earth’s closest point to the sun

On the summit of Chimborazo, you’ll be at Earth’s closest point to the sun. Due to the mountain’s location along the equatorial bulge, its summit is the farthest point from the Earth’s core.

Depending on your experience, it may be best attempted as part of an Ecuadorian volcanoes expedition taking in the Cotopaxi and Cayambe volcanoes beforehand.

More info: Adventure Consultants

12. Aconcagua

Location: Argentina, South America Elevation: 6,961m (22,838ft) Range: Andes Duration: 14-17 days

youtube

Aconcagua was the third seven summit I completed. The highest mountain outside of Asia, Aconcagua is an awesome mountain for professional and amateur climbers alike.

More info: read my trip report on climbing Aconcagua

Other non-technical mountain climbs

Another popular alternative to Mera Peak in Nepal is Island Peak (Imja Tse). Island Peak, at 6,189m (20,305ft), is usually considered to be Nepal’s second-highest trekking peak.

Mount Toubkal in Morocco is North Africa’s highest peak at 4,167m (13,671ft) and a popular introduction to the Atlas Mountains.

The Breithorn at 4,164m (13,661ft), located on the border of Switzerland and Italy, is one of the Alps’ most accessible trekking peaks.

Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia is another popular trekking peak. At 4,095m (13,435ft) it is the highest mountain in Malaysia as well as the wider the Malay Archipelago.

Lead image: Dreamstime

source http://cheaprtravels.com/non-technical-mountain-climbs-12-mountains-for-mortals/

0 notes

topfygad · 5 years ago

Text

Non-technical mountain climbs: 12 mountains for mortals

There are no ‘death zones’ on these non-technical mountain climbs but they offer plenty of challenges for mere mortals like me

I’m aware that I’ll never be a Reinhold Messner or Chris Bonington (I’ll settle for reading their books instead) but I still long to pitch myself against tall mountains with imposing names.

Non-technical mountain climbs

With the help of Adventure Consultants, we have classed the following as non-technical mountain climbs.

These peaks are below 7,000m (23,000ft) and do not require extensive high-altitude experience or practical knowledge (e.g. rope, crampon and ice axe skills or the ability to abseil and rappel).

That said, as with all adventure sports, the more experienced and prepared you are for these challenges, the better.

1. Mount Kilimanjaro

Location: Tanzania, Africa Elevation: 5,895m (19,341ft) Range: None – freestanding Duration: 5-7 days

Andrzej Kubik/Shutterstock Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest freestanding mountain

Africa’s highest mountain is also the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Like many volcanoes, it is not attached to a mountain range.

The Machame Route is by far the most picturesque but the mountain is very popular among tourists and hikers so don’t expect to have any of the routes to yourself.

More info: Adventure Consultants

2. Mount Temple

Location: Canada, North America Elevation: 3,544m (11,627ft) Range: Bow Range Duration: 1-2 days

Dreamstime Mount Temple dominates the western landscape of Banff National Park

More info: A Scrambler’s Guide to Mount Temple

3. Ojos del Salado

Location: Argentina/Chile, South America Elevation: 6,893m (22,615ft) Range: Andes Duration: 12 days

Dreamstime Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world

Positioned on the Argentina-Chile border, Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world. It is also the second-highest mountain outside Asia, second only to Aconcagua 630km further south.

More info: Adventure Consultants

4. Khüiten Peak

Location: Mongolia, Asia Elevation: 4,375m (14,354ft) Range: Tavan Bogd Duration: 7 days

Dreamstime Khüiten is the highest peak in Mongolia

The highest peak in Mongolia is probably the most remote mountaineering experience in the world. Its peak sits on the trilateral border of Mongolia, Russia and China!

More info: Adventure Consultants

5. Mount Whitney

Location: USA, North America Elevation: 4,421m (14,505ft) Range: Sierra Nevada Duration: 1-3 days

Dreamstime Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States (i.e. excluding Hawaii and Alaska).

It looks intimidating on the first view but the popular Mount Whitney Trail starts at an elevation of 2,550m (8,360ft) meaning the summit can be reached in just a day (if you’re brave!).

Most hikers prefer to take at least two days to complete the 35km round trip with an elevation gain of just over 1,900m (6,100ft).

More info: National Park Service

6. Mount Elbrus

Location: Russia, Europe Elevation: 5,642m (18,510ft) Range: Caucasus Mountains Duration: 7 days

youtube

Elbrus was my second of the seven summits. It requires some crampon and ice axe use but these basic skills can be learnt from guides prior to ascent.

A cable car takes would-be summiteers to the accommodation at the base of the climb at 3,600m (11,800ft). Here, climbers can undertake some acclimatisation hikes before tackling the mountain proper.

Huts along the route make for a relatively ‘comfortable’ ascent before the 3am summit bid.

More info: read my trip report on climbing Elbrus

7. Mount Brewster

Location: New Zealand, Oceania Elevation: 2,516m (8,255ft) Range: Southern Alps Duration: 1-2 days

Leigh Blackall/CC BY 2.0 Mount Brewster does not require acclimatisation

More info: Adventure Consultants

8. Pokalde Peak

Location: Nepal, Asia Elevation: 5,806m (19,049ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 9-12 days

Daniel Karfik/Shutterstock Pokalde offers glimpses of Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest

More info: Adventure Consultants

9. Mera Peak

Location: Nepal, Asia Elevation: 6,476m (21,246ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 18-20 days

Janos Rautonen/Shutterstock Mera is Nepal’s highest trekking peak

Nepal’s highest trekking peak is less technically demanding than Pokalde Peak but its higher altitude requires longer and higher acclimatisation days.

More info: Adventure Consultants

10. Stok Kangri

Location: India, Asia Elevation: 6,153m (20,182ft) Range: Himalaya Duration: 7-9 days

AL-media stockhouse/Shutterstock Stok Kangri is one of the more accessible Himalayan mountains outside of Nepal

You’ll probably fly into Leh, the capital of Ladakh, at 3,524m (11,560ft) and acclimatise thoroughly before moving onto base camp at 4,980m (16,340ft) to attempt the summit.

More info: Summit Post

11. Mount Chimborazo

Location: Ecuador, South America Elevation: 6,268m (20,564ft) Range: Andes Duration: 7-15 days (depending on experience/skills and program)

Dreamstime Chimborazo’s summit is Earth’s closest point to the sun

On the summit of Chimborazo, you’ll be at Earth’s closest point to the sun. Due to the mountain’s location along the equatorial bulge, its summit is the farthest point from the Earth’s core.

Depending on your experience, it may be best attempted as part of an Ecuadorian volcanoes expedition taking in the Cotopaxi and Cayambe volcanoes beforehand.

More info: Adventure Consultants

12. Aconcagua

Location: Argentina, South America Elevation: 6,961m (22,838ft) Range: Andes Duration: 14-17 days

youtube

Aconcagua was the third seven summit I completed. The highest mountain outside of Asia, Aconcagua is an awesome mountain for professional and amateur climbers alike.

More info: read my trip report on climbing Aconcagua

Other non-technical mountain climbs

Another popular alternative to Mera Peak in Nepal is Island Peak (Imja Tse). Island Peak, at 6,189m (20,305ft), is usually considered to be Nepal’s second-highest trekking peak.

Mount Toubkal in Morocco is North Africa’s highest peak at 4,167m (13,671ft) and a popular introduction to the Atlas Mountains.

The Breithorn at 4,164m (13,661ft), located on the border of Switzerland and Italy, is one of the Alps’ most accessible trekking peaks.

Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia is another popular trekking peak. At 4,095m (13,435ft) it is the highest mountain in Malaysia as well as the wider the Malay Archipelago.

Lead image: Dreamstime

from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/39kUTTq via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Cheapr Travels

0 notes