Tibet Reopens To Foreigners

by Kraig Becker on

China has announced that it intends to reopen the borders of Tibet on April 5th, allowing foreigners back inside on the eve of the country’s biggest tourist season. The borders were closed at the beginning of March due to fears of internal unrest on the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama going into exile in India.

By most accounts, the anniversary, and the month of March, passed uneventfully, allowing China to deem the region “harmonious and safe”. Despite that, the Chinese military still patrols the country, and the foreign press is not allowed to roam freely just yet.

Still, the reopening of the borders should help bolster the Tibetan economy, which is largely based on tourism. Most reports indicate that the number of visitors was down by as much as half before the closure, and the past month has not been kind to the Tibetans who make their living off the tourists trade. But the Ministry of Tourism says that the hotels, resorts, and guide services are standing by, and ready for foreigners to return.

The news of Tibet rejoining the world comes at the right time for several mountaineering teams as well. Most climbers elected to avoid the North Side of Everest this year due to the uncertainty of the situation in Tibet. But the few that elected to remain, will find a quiet, and uncrowded base camp, a far cry from the circus that will be occurring on the Nepal side of the mountain.

While the question of China’s claim over the sovereignty of Tibet remains, at least for now, the country is set to reopen and allow adventurous travelers to experience its unique culture and natural beauty once again.

Ed Viesturs, America’s Top Mountaineer, Returns To Everest

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we mentioned that Kathmandu has become a very busy place this week as climbers and trekkers heading to the Himalaya arrive in the city before setting out on their various adventures in the more mountainous regions of Nepal. Amongst those making the journey once again this year is Ed Viesturs, who many consider to be America’s premiere mountaineer.

Viesutrs has a long, and storied career climbing mountains, and has topped out on some of the most famous peaks in the world, including Rainier, Denali, and of course Everest, which he’s successfully summitted six times. Back in 2005, on his third attempt at the mountain, Viesturs added Annapurna to his resume, completing his Endeavour 8000 project, which was a decade long mission to reach the summit of the world’s 14 8000 meter peaks. Not only did Ed finish this task, becoming the first, and to date only, American to do so, he topped out on each of the mountains without the use of supplemental oxygen.

After finishing the Endeavour 8000 project, Ed vowed to retire from climbing the big peaks, saying that he had accomplished everything that he had ever hoped to do on those mountains, and for a time, his attention was drawn to other adventures. But the lure of the Himalaya is strong, and Viesturs is once again in Kathmandu, planning to make an attempt on Everest, and claim his seventh summit on the world’s tallest mountain.

For this attempt, Ed is part of an all-star team of climbers, that includes Dave Hahn, who has 10 Everest summits to his credit already, and Peter Whittacker, son of legendary climber Lou Whittaker and nephew to Jim Whittaker. The team was put together by gear manufacturer Eddie Bauer, who are launching a new line of outdoor gear uner the First Ascent label.

There will be few teams on Everest with as much experience as this one. But they’ll have to still go through the same process if they hope to successfully reach the top of the mountain. Over the next few weeks they’ll be acclimatizing, establishing their high camps, and preparing to make their summit bid. With any luck, Viesturs will soon be adding another chapter to his already substantial legend, standing at the Roof of the World for the seventh time.

Spring Climbing Season Begins in the Himalaya

by Kraig Becker on

The arrival of spring means different things in different parts of the world. In northern Alaska it marks the end of the long darkness, with the returning of the sun. Further south, in the Mission at San Juan Capistrano welcomes the swallows home, while in the Midwest, the last of the winter snows give way to blooming flowers.

Likewise, each spring in the Himalaya is marked with a ritual of its own. The end of March is the beginning of the climbing season in Nepal and Tibet, a time when hundreds of climbers and trekkers descend upon Kathmandu, where they complete the final preparations for their expeditions, before heading out to their mountain of choice, where they’ll spend as much as six to eight weeks preparing to make their summit attempts.

The majority of the climbers come for Everest, the tallest mountain on the planet. But the Himalaya are rich with challenging, and high, peaks, and plenty will have their sights set on lesser known, but no less challenging, mountains such as Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, and Annapurna.

At this very moment, the worlds top climbers are arriving in Kathamandu and organizing their gear for the climbs ahead. By the first of April, most of them will be catching a flight to Lukla, a remote town in Nepal that marks the beginning of the trail that leads to Everest. On the Nepali side of the mountain there are no roads that lead to base camp, and climbers are forced to make a 10+ day hike up the Khumbu Valley to reach their eventual destination. At night they’ll stay in traditional tea houses, and the long trek helps to begin the acclimatizaion process, which will serve them well on the mountain. By the time they reach base camp, they’ll be at 17,575 feet, and their real adventure will just be getting started. If everything goes according to plan, and the weather cooperates, by mid-May they’ll get their chance at the summit, and with a little luck they’ll be home by the first of June. But until then, they’ll work very hard, concentrate on acclimatizing, and hope that before the season ends, they’ll be standing on top of the world.

Amazing Destinations That Can’t Be Reached By Car

by Kraig Becker on

Modern transportation has made it extremely easy for travelers to get to just about any place in the world. Each day there are international flights that can take us to the four corners of the globe and modern roads and trains will deliver us to the best sights and monuments to be found at our destination, before whisking us back to a comfy hotel, complete with hot and cold running water, room service and a big comfy bed.

But not all of the world’s great places are accessible by vehicle. There are still some amazing destinations that fall way off the beaten path, that will force us to work a little harder to take in their splendor. The Times Online has put together a collection of these places, which they’ve dubbed “Holidays you can’t reach by car“, with a variety of unique locations that you’ll have to trek, paddle, or both if you plan to ever see them in person.

One of the more intriguing places to make their list is the Source of the Ganges River in India. The famous river which plays such an indelible part of Indian culture gets its humbles start at the foot of the Gangotri Glacier, located in the Himalaya at 12,600 feet in the Garhwal region. Anyone wanting to make the journey should be prepared for a ten day trek that will take them high into the mountains, past ancient caves where Hindu practitioners still meditate in their search for enlightenment.
The Omo River in Ethiopia is yet another interesting destination to appear on this list. The 470 mile long stretch of water drops more than 6000 feet over its length before emptying into Lake Turkana, while passing through rocky gorges and over beautiful water falls, offering up great whitewater in the process. The trip can only be made by raft or kayak, and along the way travelers will encounter crocodiles, hippos, and remote villages that still remain mostly untouched by the outside world.

There are plenty more similar treks, climbs and other adventures on the list as well, offering up great destinations that don’t just fall off the beaten path, they leave that path far behind. But for the adventure traveler, there is plenty to like here, with some ideas for your next trip that you may not even have considered before.

12-Year-Old Climber Sets Sights on Seven Summits

by Kraig Becker on

The Seven Summits are the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents, and climbing them all is considered one of the premiere achievements for climbers and adventurers the world over. The concept originated with a man named Dick Bass who was the first to successfully gain this achievement back in 1985, and since then, dozens of other climbers have followed in his footsteps.

Currently, the youngest person to have climbed the Seven Summits is Samantha Larson, who accomplished the feat at the age of 18 when she topped out on Mt. Everest back in 2007. But there is another young climber looking to snatch that record, as 12-year-old Jordan Romero closes in on the mark.
Jordan, who was recently interviewed by Outside Online, caught the climbing bug when he reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, at the age of 10. After that, he made it a goal to go after the remaining summits as well, and has now successfully reached the top of Elbrus (Europe), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), and Kosciuszko (Australia). That leaves Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, and Everest in Asia, as the two remaining mountains in the traditional Seven Summits. This summer, Romero will climb a mountain called Carstensz Pyramid in Papua New Guinea. Carstensz is considered the tallest mountain in Oceania, often replacing Kosciusko as the seventh summit. Jordan’s covering all his bases and climbing both, making this a Seven Summits plus One.

If everything goes as planned, the young climber will be on Everest by the time he’s 16, and finishing off his quest. Jordan says that the most difficult challenge is actually fund raising, and he estimates he’ll need roughly $180,000 to complete the Seven Summits, the bulk of which will be used on Everest and Vinson. Good luck Jordan!