Spanish climber sets new speed record on Kilimanjaro

by Kraig Becker on

Kilian Jornet, a Spanish mountain climber and endurance athlete, set a new record for the fastest climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro earlier this week, making his way from the base to summit, and back again, in just 7 hours and 14 minutes. The previous record for the climb was held by Tanzanian Simon Mtuy, who made the round-trip journey in 8 hours and 27 minutes.

Standing at 19,340 feet, Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and a popular trekking destination amongst adventure travelers. Most hikers who go to the summit take six or seven days to complete the trip, which means Jornet was moving at a pace of roughly one days worth of climbing per hour. A pretty impressive feat no matter what the trail conditions are.

Jornet set out on his record-breaking attempt at 8AM local time on Tuesday and reached the summit just five hours and 23 minutes later. Running past the famous Uhuru Peak sign, he immediately started back down the mountain, finishing up an hour and fifty minutes later.

Kilimanjaro is famous for its five climate zones that begin in at the base on the savannah, which gives way to cloud forests and then marshlands. From there, climbers proceed up into high alpine desert and finally arctic conditions at the top. Jornet had to not only deal with those changes in climate along the way, but also large fields of rock left over from the last time that the volcanic Kilimanjaro erupted.

Upon reaching the finish line after his record breaking run, Jornet was greeted by the previous record holder who embraced the man who just shattered his old mark by an hour and thirteen minutes. I guess even he was impressed by this amazing display of strength and endurance.

[Photo credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim via WikiMedia]

Women adventurers heed the Call of the Wild

by Kraig Becker on

With the adventure travel market continuing to grow at an astonishing rate, women only adventures have become an increasingly popular option as well.These trips generally offer all the same wild and challenging options that any other adventure vacation would, with perhaps a few creature comforts added in for good measure.

One of the top travel companies that specializes in women’s only travel is Call of the Wild, based out of Mountain View, California. The company first began organizing adventure vacations back in 1978 when founder Carole Laitmer was unceremoniously fired from her secretarial job. In order to make ends meet, she soon began organizing guided trips for women into the High Sierra Mountains of California, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Now in its 32nd year of business, Call of the Wild continues to organize some of the best adventurous getaways both domestically and abroad. For instance, some of their upcoming trips include hiking around Lake Tahoe to enjoy the Indian Summer, trekking in the the shadow of Mt. Everest in Nepal, and a weekend of snowshoeing in Sequoia National Park. Other trips will take clients to Peru, New Zealand, Guatemala, and beyond.

But just because you’re traveling to remote corners of the globe doesn’t mean you can’t pamper yourself at the same time. One of the hallmarks of any Call of the Wild trip is the gourmet cuisine and the company puts a great deal of thought, and effort, into planning a wide variety of healthy and delicious meals on all of their trips. Even their backpacking excursions offer fantastic meals on the trail thanks to fresh ingredients that are dehydrated prior to departure, and combined to make surprisingly tasty backwoods offerings. The ladies on these trips all agree, an amazing meal after a long and challenging day of trekking, can make everything feel better.

Many of Call of the Wild’s clients return for multiple trips, and often report making good, life-long friends on their journeys. These vacations allow them to get closer to nature and escape the daily grind, while putting some much needed adventure into their lives. For a complete list of Call of the Wild adventures and to choose one that best fits your style of travel, click here.

[Photo credit: Call of the Wild]

Big City Mountaineers begin early registration for 2011 adventures

by Kraig Becker on

Big City Mountaineers, an organization dedicated to changing the lives of urban youth through outdoor, wilderness encounters, has announced that early registration for the Summit For Someone program is now available, allowing altruistic and adventurous travelers to take part in one of their 2011 expeditions simply by paying a $50 early application fee. This reservation earns them one of just 150 slots on their 2011 roster of mountain climbs, giving participants the chance to scale such famous peaks as Mt. Rainier, Mt. Shasta, or even Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

The Summit For Someone program is the number one mountaineering fund raiser in the U.S., and a primary source of funding for the Big City Mountaineers. Those that choose to join a climb pledge to raise a certain amount of money for the organization, and in return they receive an adventure of a lifetime, and a gift card to help them purchase gear for their adventure. The amount of money that they pledge to raise varies depending on the climb, for instance, on a four day expedition to the top of Rainier, they’ll need to earn $4000, while a seven day ascent of the Alaskan peak Denali requires a pledge of $7500.

This year, the Summit For Someone program is more accessible than ever. In years past, a $1000 deposit was required by October 1st for participants to claim their spot. This year, they have been given the option to either pay a $450 deposit or raise $1250 in funds that will serve as the deposit instead.

Some of the other climbs that are included on the 2011 schedule for Summit For Someone include the 14,505 foot tall Mt. Whitney in California or the 13,809 foot Gannett Peak in Wyoming. There is also an expedition planned to climb volcanoes in Mexico, a beginner mountaineering seminar in Rocky Mountain National Park, and a full traverse of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire as well. For a complete list of the planned expeditions click here.

For adventure travelers, the Summit For Someone program is a great opportunity to not only experience a true wilderness adventure, but also give something back in the process. The money they raise goes directly to the Big City Mountaineers program, which in turn uses the funding to create meaningful experiences for at-risk urban youth who would normally never receive the opportunity to explore the outdoors in such a way. Each year, BCM helps hundreds of kids to build self-esteem, confidence, and communications skills through their program.

Travel, adventure, the great outdoors, and a chance to help a great organization. What more could you ask for?

[Photo credit: Walter Siegmund via WikiMedia]

New online tool, AvidTrips, offers adventure travel options

by Kraig Becker on

AvidTrips, a newly launched website, is giving adventure travelers a new option for finding unique places to explore and connecting them with tour operators that can help them do it. The site is currently in beta form, and still lacking a lot of travel options at the moment, but the interface shows a great deal of potential, which bodes well for the future.

Upon visiting AvidTrips for the first time, you’ll notice that it has a nice clean design that is approachable and simple to use. The site offers the ability to search by location and activity, with such options as cycling, climbing, fishing, and more. However, for even greater control over your search, you’ll want to use the advanced features of the “Trip Finder”, which allows you to filter by a variety of criteria including the dates you would like to travel, duration of trip, difficulty level, price you want to pay, and so on. Scrolling further down the page, you’ll also find AvidTrips’ top rated options for the week, as well as new additions to the site and special discounted offers.

Selecting a destination brings up a brief, but well done, overview about the country that includes climate information, currency type, time zone, and more. The destination page also allows you to see the various activities that are available there as well. For instance, visitors to Nepal can choose from trekking, climbing, safari, and world culture options. Clicking on any one of those activities will display a list of tour operators that offer those adventures in the particular destination you are browsing.

The main drawback at the moment is that the database for destinations is still a bit lacking. For instance, when you click on Africa, the only two options are Kenya and Tanzania, despite the fact that there are at least a dozen other great adventure destinations on the continent. Similarly, South America only offers Argentina and Chile, while North America doesn’t list any options at all. Given some time however, this can easily be rectified. After all, it takes time to build such an extensive database, and this project is still listed as being in beta after all.

The potential is there however, and perhaps given some time to mature, this will grow into a very useful site for adventure travelers. Once more options are available, it may even be useful for finding destinations that are a bit more under the radar, but for now, it is mostly offering up the places you would expect, albeit still some of the top adventure destinations on the planet.

Hiking the East Highland Way–the practicalities

by Sean McLachlan on


Hiking a brand-new trail has both advantages and challenges. The main plus to hiking the East Highland Way was that I had the trail all to myself. I never did meet that mysterious German who was a day ahead of me, and I met nobody else doing the trail. Hotel owners along the route do report a steady trickle of hikers, and that trickle will only increase. In the short term, however, you will get some peace and quiet on this hike. Another advantage is that you get to feel like a trailblazer, helping out with a work in progress.

Some challenges are apparent from the beginning. While the route already has a website and a Facebook page, there’s no guidebook. The East Highland Way guidebook is due out in a month or so and in the meantime author Kevin Langan can offer helpful advice. Check the website for contact information.

Accommodation requires some planning. If you want a roof over your head at night instead of a tent, your options are limited. Most villages only have one or two places to stay so you need to book well in advance to ensure you have a room. Do not simply walk into a tiny Scottish village in the hopes of getting a room that night. Chances are you won’t, and you might have a long walk before getting to your next chance for a bed. Luckily all of the places I stayed on the route were friendly, helpful, and good value for money. Some, like Tulloch Station, require you to reserve meals ahead of time. All are accustomed to serving hikers as a major part of their business and have useful amenities like drying rooms for soggy gear and information about local trails. Many sell hearty packed lunches, which again need to be reserved in advance.As I commented in a couple of previous posts, the trail is having a bit of a teething problem in that a few short stretches have no trail at all and one is forced to walk along rural roads with no shoulder. This situation is be potentially hazardous and will hopefully be solved in due course. I tended to walk along the grassy side of the road, an awkward way to move but at least it kept me safe from the cars.

While there are some pitfalls to this new route, I don’t hesitate to recommend it. The East Highland Way passes through some beautiful and remote countryside and isn’t crowded like some of the more popular routes like the West Highland Way.

Like with all Scottish hikes it is essential to pack clothes for all conditions. The weather can change from hot and sunny to freezing rain, and everything in between, in the course of a single day. Sturdy, waterproof boots are also a must. A couple of days I needed sunscreen! Getting sunburned and soaked in the same afternoon is a very real possibility in the Highlands. Other essentials are the Ordnance Survey maps numbers 41, 42, and 35. In addition to covering the entire route, these finely detailed maps enrich any hike by pointing out spots of historical importance. Don’t rely on them too closely, however. As I discovered on my final day, the OS maps can be a bit out of date. The guidebook will include sections of these maps with the route clearly marked. Also, a good compass and a sound knowledge of orienteering is essential for any long-distance hiker. Forget the GPS. That’s for wimps!

So if you’re looking for some solitude and scenery in the Highlands, give the East Highland Way a try. With sufficient preparation, you’ll have a great time.

Check out the rest of my series on the East Highland Way!