India opens remote trekking and mountaineering routes

by Kraig Becker on

Adventure travelers were given even more incentive to travel to India recently when it was announced that the government would begin allowing access to previously restricted areas in the remote Jammu and Kashmir provinces. The move has both economic and political motivations that officials hope will provide benefits for the country in years to come, but trekkers and mountaineers will begin receiving benefits of their own beginning this summer.

In all, 104 new mountain peaks have been removed from the restricted list, and opened up to climbers for the first time. Most fall in the Leh and Ladakh regions, along India’s border with both China and Pakistan. Because of their close proximity to the disputed Kashmir region, only ten previous mountaineering expeditions, primarily made up of Indian climbers, have made their way into the region. This means that the vast majority of those mountains have not yet been climbed. Climbers looking to claim a first ascent will find plenty of altitude to challenge them. Many of the peaks top out above 22,000 feet, including Saser Kangri I, II, and III, which stand 24,327 feet, 24,649 feet, and 24,590 feet respectively.

Backpackers will find plenty to love in this remote and stunningly beautiful region as well. High altitude passes and trails that have previously been off limits are now open to foreign travelers, including a route that leads to the village of Turtuk in the Nubra Valley. The village played a historically important role in the region in centuries past when caravans traveling the Silk Road passed through the high altitude settlement, ferrying goods from East to West.

This move by the Indian government comes following a recommendation from the Ministry of Defense. The region has been a source of conflict for years between India and Pakistan, but tensions have now eased in the area, and this will signal a return to normalcy. The influx of climbers, trekkers, and other adventure travelers is likely to help the local economy as well.

Two climbers missing, one dead on Mt. Hood

by Kraig Becker on

It was a long and tragic weekend on Oregon’s Mt. Hood, where search and rescue teams combed the area searching for three missing climbers. That search turned tragic on Saturday when one of the climbers was found dead high on the mountain, while his two companions remain missing as of this writing.

On Friday, 26-year old Luke T. Gullberg, Kattie Nolan, 29, and Anthony Vietti, 24, set off to climb the 11,249 foot Mt. Hood, which is a popular mountaineering destination in all seasons, although obviously more challenging in the winter months, when deep snow and unpredictable weather can cause all kinds of problems. The three climbers were due back at 2 PM that afternoon, but when they didn’t arrive by Saturday, the search teams went into action.

Gulberg’s body was discovered on the Reid Glacier at about 9000 feet, along with some climbing gear, but no trace of Nolan or Vietti was discovered. The recovery team said they found a digital camera in Gulberg’s pack, which gave clues to the location of the missing climbers, but due to bad weather, heavy snow, and avalanche conditions, finding them won’t be an easy task. That task will be made all the more difficult by an incomplete climbing registration form and conflicting reports on the route they were taking to the summit.

The search is expected to continue today, with a National Guard and Coast Guard helicopter reporting to the area. The Coast Guard aircraft comes equipped with thermal imaging that should prove helpful to SAR teams, despite the adverse weather conditions. Search teams remain hopeful that Nolan and Vietti will still be found alive.

Sharpen your ice axe, Ouray Ice Park opens tomorrow!

by Kraig Becker on

Global warming? Where? Thanks to unseasonably cold temperatures, the Ouray Ice Park, one of the premiere ice climbing locations in the world, will be opening tomorrow, a full week ahead of schedule. The park’s website credits a new water system, a dedicated team of ice makers, and two solid weeks of cold temps for allowing them to open earlier than ever.

Located in the Uncompahgre Gorge, near Ouray, Colorado, the Ice Park is a unique and popular destination for ice climbers from around the globe. When it opened in 1995, it was the first site exclusively dedicated to ice climbing anywhere in the world, and it has remained a top destination for the sport ever since. The park is maintained by a group of volunteers who work the climbing routes and ensure that the massive walls of ice are safe for others. This year, that crew has a new water system that provides more water pressure, which means harder and more stable ice. The results, according to park officials, is the best climbing conditions in Ouray ever.

Each year the park plays host to the Ouray Ice Festival as well, which includes major climbing competitions and clinics, live music, parties, and seminars put on by top climbers and mountaineers. The Ice Fest serves as a major fundraiser for the park and helps to provide resources to keep the place open for climbing each winter. As a result of this great event, the park remains fee free for adventurous climbers looking to to get a winter workout. The 15th annual Ouray Ice Festival will take place from January 7-10, 2010.

Amazing timelapse movies of the Alps

by Kraig Becker on

The Alps are one of the most beautiful and iconic mountain ranges on the planet. Stretching across the continent from France to Austria, and sweeping through Italy, Switzerland, and Germany in the process. The Alps gave rise to a culture of mountaineering that would eventually spread across the globe and spur the exploration of mountains in every corner of the planet, led by a host of European mountaineers who cut their teeth on peaks like Mount Blanc and The Eiger.

The very essence of those mountains has been captured very well in a series of timelapse videos by photographer Michael Rissi who shot them in the Swiss Alps this past summer and fall. The images are stunning and will inspire you to want to go there yourself, and the music by Beethoven, is a perfect accompaniment. Enjoy!

[via Boing Boing]

Timelapse movie: The Alps — part I from Michael Rissi on Vimeo.

The Longest Climb: from the Dead Sea to the summit of Everest

by Kraig Becker on

Many adventurers are driven to go to extremes. They visit remote places and seem to revel in the challenge and suffering that goes along with those expeditions. Back in 2006, a team of climbers from the U.K. took that philosophy to new limits, when they set out on an expedition that began at the Dead Sea and ended on the summit of Everest.

The team began their adventure at 1385 feet below sea level on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan, where they climbed aboard their bikes and proceeded to ride all the way Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side of the mountain. The journey took more than six months to complete, and they faced about every type of weather imaginable along the way.

Upon reaching Everest, their challenges were just beginning of course. They still had to face the tallest mountain on the planet, and all of the difficulties that that entails. In the end, they reached the summit, located at 29,029 feet, having chalked up 30,414 feet of elevation gain along the way.

To get a taste of their journey, check out the video below, as the team goes from the lowest point on Earth to the highest, completely under their own power.