Colorado residents petition to change name of Kit Carson Mountain

by Kraig Becker on

Residents of the Colorado town of Crestone have petitioned the U.S. government to change the name of a local mountain, sparking a heated debate and controversy that revolves around community rights, history, and the lasting legacy of an American legend.

At the heart of the controversy is the 14,165-foot tall Kit Carson Mountain, located in the he Sangre de Cristo Mountains, not far from Crestone itself. The peak is named for the famous trapper and frontiersman who gained notoriety when he led explorers through the American West back in the 1840’s. Later he would play a part in the expansion into California and would also organize the New Mexico militia during the Civil War. But he is also accused of leading a brutal military campaign against the Navajo Indians that resulted in the tribe being forced off their lands, and into captivity, for a number of years. It is because of those actions, that the residents of Crestone are seeking the name change. The 104 Crestone residents who have signed the petition requesting a name change say that the city was founded back in 1880’s and the mountain was always called Crestone Mountain dating back to that era.

The mountain was officially given the name of Kit Carson back in 1970, when it still sat on privately held lands. But in 2004, the U.S. government purchased those lands to expand the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, moving the mountain squarely into the realm of public property. The U.S. National Park Service manages the lands that surround Kit Carson Mountain, and they don’t seem too keen on letting a small number of locals dictate the name of any monuments or landmarks that are on property that they oversee. Likewise, hikers and climbers have known the peak as Kit Carson Mountain for over 40 years, and they feel the name change would cause confusion as well. With 54 mountains above 14,000 feet in height in Colorado, the outdoor enthusiasts take their climbing seriously.

The debate over the topic will continue for another few months at least. The Board of Geographic Names, the 18-person committee that reviews these kinds of petitions and disputes, will need to review the situation before they cast their votes, but at the moment, it isn’t looking good for Crestone.

[Photo credit: Leahcim506 via WikiMedia]

Hundreds of trekkers stranded in Himalaya due to bad weather

by Kraig Becker on

More than 2000 travelers remain stranded in the Himalaya after bad weather moved into the region earlier this week. High winds and thick cloud cover have conspired to cut off all flights back to Kathmandu, leaving the high altitude trekkers with an unexpected extended stay in the mountains.

Most of the travelers were returning from treks in the Khumbu Region of Nepal, which includes hikes up to Everest Base Camp, located at 17,600 feet. Those treks generally begin and end in Lukla, a small and remote village in the Himalaya, which sits at an altitude of roughly 9100 feet, and offers the only true airport in the region. That airport is little more than a runway that runs up the side of the mountain, and is widely considered to be amongst the most dangerous in the world. The already tricky approach to the village becomes impossible when you add bad weather to the equation.

Fortunately, help began arriving yesterday when the Nepali army sent helicopters to Lukla to start evacuating some of the stranded travelers back to Kathmandu. Their helicopters perform much better in the poor weather conditions and offer plenty of lift to get the trekkers and their gear out of the Himalaya safely. With so many travelers waiting for a ride however, it’ll take a few days before everyone is back in the capital.

Having visited Lukla this past spring, I can’t even imagine where all of these trekkers are staying at the moment. While it is one of the larger villages in the Khumbu Valley, that isn’t saying a whole lot. There are a number of good teahouses to stay in there, but the rooms fill up quickly, and generally it is a very transient place, with adventure travelers coming and going on a regular basis. With 2000 trekkers in the village, it must be one very busy and crowded place.

National Geographic maps available on new GPS device

by Kraig Becker on

Earlier this week National Geographic announced that it was joining forces with Satmap to release a handheld GPS device that offers support for a range of maps from their library. The collaboration of the two organizations means that backpackers, hikers, and adventure travelers will have an electronic version of Nat Geo’s award winning Topo!, Trails Illustrated, and AdventureMaps in the palm of their hands for the first time.

The Active 10 TREK is a fully featured GPS device that has been on sale in Europe for some time, but makes its way stateside thanks to this partnership. It comes fully loaded with U.S. and World base maps, which offer a solid level of detail for the average user looking to navigate between landmarks. But the device also supports expansion through the use of SD cards, and that is where the National Geographic maps come into play.

Nat Geo has already made 14 of their Topo! map guides, which contain USGS topographic map data, available for use on the Active 10. Those maps cover Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, the Mid-Atlantic region, Montana, Nevada, New England, New Mexico, North and South Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The rest of the states and other regions of the U.S. will be made available in the first quarter of 2011. Additionally, three of the Trails Illustrated maps are available as well covering California’s Sierra Nevada, the Southern Appalachians and America’s “Greatest National Parks.” Entries into the AdventureMaps category, which includes international destinations, will be added in the future as well. Topographic map packs are also available for most Western European countries too.

The actual GPS device clocks in at an MSRP of $369.99 and each of the National Geographic Maps SD cards run $99.99 each. The complete line of products launched this week and is already available online. Click here for more information on the Active 10 Trek and here for a look at the various maps packs that are currently available.

This combination of the Active 10 and the Nat Geo map packs should be a great tool for adventure travelers. The National Geographic maps are packed with information and preset points of interests, which make them perfect for navigation in a variety of remote locations around the world. The device has plenty of nice options as well, including a long battery life, a bright, color screen, ruggedized construction, and a fast processor, all of which help to ease the navigation process. I know I’d certainly enjoy finding one of these under my tree this holiday season.

Human castles may make UNESCO World Heritage list

by Sean McLachlan on

You gotta love Spain. Not only do they like having giant tomato fights and getting chased through the streets by bulls, but they build giant castles out of people.

That’s right. Not content with having some of the best castles in Europe, the Spaniards like constructing living towers up to ten people high. Called a castell, the tradition originated in the region of Catalonia in the 18th century.

A bunch of strong, big castellars make up the pinya (base) and support their teammates as they create level upon level with progressively fewer (and lighter) people. Once a level is complete, the people who make up the next one climb up the backs of the others and take their place. Then the top person, called an enxaneta (rider) climbs all the way to the very top and, supported by only two people, raises a hand with four fingers up to symbolize the Catalan flag. The enxaneta and the very top levels are often made up of children to lighten the load on the bottom levels. Then the castell disassembles itself from the top down by each level climbing back to the ground. Only when everyone is safely back on the ground is the castell considered a success.

It’s an unusual tradition and now the castellars are applying to get their art on UNESCO’s list of “intangible world heritage”. The list includes examples of rare cultural practices that are relatively unknown and unpracticed outside a certain region. Check out the website for more bizarre and amazing practices around the world.

Mark Burnett casting for new adventure travel show

by Kraig Becker on

Mark Burnett, the famous television producer responsible for such reality shows as Survivor and The Apprentice, is looking for teams of contestants to compete in a new race that will send them to remote places, where they’ll solve problems and compete in various challenges.

The new show is entitled Expedition Impossible and seems to resemble The Amazing Race, at least on a cursory level. The program will pit teams of three against one another as they race through deserts, up mountains, and across rivers. In all, there will be ten legs to the race, with a new one being revealed each week, as the contestants battle it out for the, as of yet, undisclosed prize.

The casting notice can be read in full by clicking here, but in a nutshell, the three people on each team will need to have the entire month of April free to compete in this race. All competitors must also be 18 years of age or older, be a resident of the United States and hold a valid U.S. passport that is good through the end of 2011.

To be considered for the show, teams will need to send the following information to David 
Polanzak 
at 
dpo.casting@gmail.com:

•
Name,
age,
location 
and 
contact 
info 
for
 all 
three 
(3) 
team 
members

•
Recent 
photo 
of 
all 
3 
team 
members

•
Level 
of 
individual 
and 
team’s 
experience 
with 
competitions/races, 
etc.

•
Brief 
description 
of 
why 
your 
team
 is
 great 
for
 this 
competition 
and 
why
 you 
will
 win

•
Anything 
else 
that 
makes 
your 
team 
memorable 
and 
unique


Expedition Impossible sounds a bit like a project that Burnett produced back in the mid-1990’s called Eco-Challenge, which saw teams of four racing non-stop against one another through a remote course in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. It’s doubtful that this new show will come anywhere close to being as challenging as that race, but it sounds interesting for adventurous travelers looking to compete in a reality television show. I can’t wait to hear more details about the race.