Posted by Jane Carswell on Mon, Aug 23, 2010 @ 01:11 PM
by Ellen Barone
Knowing yourself can help you have a better time on your next vacation. Take this quiz and discover if adventure travel is in your future.
1. The unknown:
a. Totally freaks you out, you'd never leave on vacation without a plan.
b. You're okay with leaving some parts of your vacation up to serendipity, but you rely on favored brands, respected providers and trusted resources for the core essentials.
c. Your dream is to buy a round-the-world-ticket and embrace the unknown with wonder, awe and ingenuity.
2. Cultural differences:
a. In theory, you're fine with different. In reality, you're much more comfortable when you know what to expect.
b. A little goes a long way. You sprinkle your daily dose of different with a dash of the familiar.
c. Where others see differences you find commonality. The ability to suspend judgment is just built into your DNA.
3. Taking risks:
a. Flinging yourself out of airplanes, running river rapids, or summiting thin-air mountain peaks is your idea of crazy. No way. No how.
b. Sure, you're willing to challenge yourself and push the boundaries of your comfort zone. But only with the guidance and support of those with proven track records for success and safety.
c. You inner adventurer is willing to try nearly anything at least once.
4. Travel tech:
a. Wherever you go, the techy toys go too. You wouldn't dream of leaving home without your smart phone loaded up with the latest travel apps, digital camera, laptop, iPod, Kindle, etc. The more the merrier.
b. You like and use technology as much as the next guy, but you view gadgets as just another travel tool.
c. To leave the technological tethers at home is WHY you travel. You abhor any device that keeps you connected to the 'real world.'
5. Trip planning:
a. Your favorite way to prepare for a trip is by reading up on the destination. Guidebooks, travel magazines, novels, classics, Trip Advisor, you name it. You know more about the place than the locals by the time you leave home.
b. Your intentions are good. You have the bulging files of dog-eared articles, restaurant reviews and well-thumbed coffee table books to prove it. Thing is, that's as far as it goes.
c. You're a purist and purposefully avoid reading about the opinions and experiences of others. There's little you enjoy more than discovering a place with an open mind and fresh eyes.
Scoring: Add up the total value of your answers i.e. One point = 'a' response; Three points = 'b' response; Five points = 'c' response.
If your score is:
• Less than 10: TAKE A FLYING LEAP. You NEED an adventure. Please go somewhere now.
• 10-15: JUST SAY YES: You're ready, willing, and able but far too busy putting the needs of others above your own. Get out there more.
• 16 -20: LIFE IS GOOD: Your bags are packed. Passport's ready. You're already living life to the fullest. Where to next?
• 21- 25: ROCK ON: You're already living with the deliberate intent to enjoy the view. We applaud you!
Travel expert Ellen Barone did what many of us only dream of doing: at the age of 35, she traded a successful academic career for the wild blue yonder and set out to explore the world and herself. In the dozen years since that intrepid decision, she has turned passion into profession, journeying to more than 60 countries in search of evocative images and life-enriching adventures. Learn more at EllenBarone.com
Posted by Jane Carswell on Wed, Aug 18, 2010 @ 05:32 PM
The one item I never heli-hike without is a good hat to keep the high-altitude sun off my head. What makes the perfect hiking hat? To find out, I chatted with Dave Mahoney from Outdoor Research (OR).
JC: Dave, CMH has been selling OR gear in our shops for a couple of years now. Can you share with our readers some insight on the company and your philosophy around keeping people comfortable in the outdoors?
DM: Here at OR our company mission statement is “we build functional solutions for human powered adventures”. Every product has to perform perfectly for the intended end use or, we do not develop it. This simple function test insures all our products not only perform at their very best but, keep the user doing what they love longer.
JC: Can you tell me a little bit about the OR Lab Rats and what this has done for product innovation over the last few years?
DM: The OR Lab Rat program is another way for OR to gather feedback at the consumer level and apply this feedback to future products. We have taken individual feedback and updated a current style, or added a new style all together. An example of this is the Transit Hat made from Organic Cotton Canvas. This product was suggested from a consumer in the desert south west who encouraged us to expand our synthetic styles to include cotton. Cotton hats can be dunked in water and placed on your head for an “active” evaporative cooling. The Transit hat is one of our top sellers now.
JC: In addition to great pants, jackets, gloves and gaiters, OR makes some great hats. We recommend to all our CMH Summer Adventures guests to make sure they take a hat with them each and every day. My Mom told me this too and I practice the theory with my kids…but why can the right hat really make or break your day in the mountains?
DM: At OR we build all products with a specific end user in mind. From the top of Everest, to a hike with the family all products must function correctly. Placing Gore WINDSTOPPER in our headwear in the fall/winter allows the user to enjoy a warmer piece of headwear in the worst of conditions. Adding a full brim with foam insert to our sun hats, keeps the sun off your head, face, shoulders, ears, and allows the hat to float in the event you are participating in a water sport. From Waterproof sombreros to sun hats with proper brim dimensions and materials we always have you covered….literally. Chosing the correct piece of headwear can be the difference between frost bite, sun burn, sun glare, temperature regulation etc.
What about you? What's your favourite hat that you never leave home without?
CMH Summer Adventures provides 3 and 6 day mountain adventures based from remote mountain lodges in western Canada. Professional guide service, distinctive hospitality, exhilarating helicopter flights and adventures ranging from the serene to the extreme. Learn more by visiting www.cmhsummer.com.
Posted by Jane Carswell on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 05:37 PM
from The Wild Pair
Is traveling with your sister on vacation a recipe for disaster? It doesn’t have to be as long as you lay down some ground rules first. Here are a few travel-tested truths for keeping peace in the sister hood.
1. Leave the baggage at home. Traveling with sisters should be easy. You carry the same DNA. You’re alike. Right? Wrong. Sibling relationships can be fraught with the peril of childhood roles, divergent interests and unspoken resentments. So, no matter if you’re the big sis used to being in charge or the baby accustomed to being indulged, leave the birth-order baggage at home. Commit to appreciating each other as you are NOW and let the magic begin. The bonds born out of the shared experience of upbringing is like nothing you can ever have with a friend, partner or coworker. Let it blossom.
2. Privatize: Allow for private time in your itinerary. Even if you and your sister(s) are BFF, heading off on separate adventures gives you something to chat about when you regroup. Compare wish lists and decide which activities are best suited to individual exploration. If you love tromping through museums and castles and she thinks the perfect vacation is watching life from the seat of a café table, then one of you is going to be disappointed or resentful. Make time to break away and do your own thing. It will enhance your experience and the quality of time spent together.
3. Get thee to chocolate. Not much sweetens a disagreement or hurt feelings better than chocolate. If you start to get snarky, or she does, take two chocolates and another in the morning. If symptoms escalate, wine is also recommended.
4. Play well with others. Remember those grade school report cards with a check box for plays-well-with-others? Well the rules haven’t changed much. Return home from your vacation with top marks. Say please and thank you a lot. Show respect, admit your mistakes and never be a tattletale. What happens in Nevis, stays in Nevis.
5. Money, money, money. Communication is important when it comes to money, especially if one of you has to watch your pennies more than another. Sharing the expenses can be a big motivator for traveling together. But, don’t insist on eating at the most expensive restaurant in Paris and expect your unemployed sister to split the bill. Or, book $150 Cirque du Soleil tickets on a whim and then ask to be compensated after the fact. Be sure to discuss in advance your expectations for sharing costs, the level of accommodation or how paying for meals is to be handled.
Hat tip for some great suggestions from our virtual Twitter sisters: @swellwomen; @pen4hire; @ableimes. If you’re not following them, you should be!
CMH Sister Getaways
CMH has a handful of women-only adventures. A great way to explore the mountains with your sisters and friends.
1. Be Bodacious! CMH’s Hostess with the Mostess, Ellen Slaughter joins forces with Yoga instructor Angie Smith for a bodacious combination of fun, pampering, physical fitness & challenge, shopping and friendship. Bodacious in the Bugaboos comes in three flavours: Classic, Yoga and Bold offered throughout the summer at the Bobbie Burns and Bugaboo Lodges.
2. Stretch ‘n Stir Sisterhood. Join sisters Julie and Sandra for a weekend of cooking demonstrations, yoga and heli-hiking. Hike at your own pace amid the dramatic Bugaboo Spires, through alpine meadows and explore ancient glaciers with like-minded, fun-seeking pals and certified mountain guides. Bugaboo Lodge August 19-23 2010 and 2011.
3. Bikini Boot Camp. Calgary-based fitness instructor and Bikini Boot Camp founder Dawn Kosloski puts her own spin on a women- only Heli-Hiking trip. Combining high –intensity workouts with energetic heli-hiking makes for a great girlfriend getaway to kick-start your fall fitness routine. Bugaboo Lodge, September 4 – 7, 2011.
BON VOYAGE from the Wild Pair!
ABOUT THE WILD PAIR: Ellen Barone and Judith Fein,
They’re smart, sassy, savvy, award-winning travel journalists and photographers and now they’ve joined forces to become THE WILD PAIR, bringing you cutting-edge information and tips on how to turn your next vacation into a life-enhancing experience.
© Ellen Barone and Judith Fein. All Rights Reserved.
Posted by Jane Carswell on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 @ 12:14 PM
by The Wild Pair
The worst part of adventure travel isn’t the security checkpoints with prison-issue wands, puffs of air blowing in your face or gloved agents pawing through your belongings. It’s not the airline seats with their lumbar supports that spear your spine or the $2.25 you pay for a small bottle of filtered tap water at airport restaurants. It’s not the jetlag—which can be so brutal that your left foot doesn’t know where your right foot is walking—or the suitcase that vanished with the travel clothes, gadgets and gear you have spent half a decade assembling.
The worst part of travel is actually coming home. One day you are in Peru, gaping at Machu Picchu or in the Canadian Rockies, heli-hiking amid the granite spires of the Bugaboos. Maybe you’ve been cycling in Italy, trekking in Nepal, cruising down the Nile in Egypt, or sauna hopping in Finland. The next day, you open the door to your digs and…chaos.
The answering machine is blinking, there are hundreds or thousands of emails, the snail mail spills over the edge of a huge tub and stares at you from the floor. There are bills to be paid, deadlines to be met, appointments to be kept. Your hair needs new highlights, your car is due for servicing, there’s a leak in your office, you forgot to send your sister-in-law a birthday gift. The exotic fades as you slip into the quotidian and start trouble-shooting, catching up, returning calls, and squirming in the dentist’s chair. Hooray! You are home.
I have not yet figured out how to make homecoming a celebration. But I have a few tips if you are as overwhelmed as I am when you step over your own welcome mat.
1) Even if you are committed to NOT being wired when you travel, try to check your email at least once before the big return.
You will have a good idea of what awaits you and can perhaps forestall a crisis or two.
2) Set the vacation response on your computer before you leave on a trip. It can say something like, “Hi, there. Sorry I will be a continent away from my computer from (fill in the date) to (fill in the end date). I will respond to you upon my return.” This lets folks know that you weren’t ignoring them, and they learn when you will be back so they can re-contact you then.
3) When you set the vacation response, allow yourself a day or two to land. Pick a return date that is day or two after your actual homecoming.
4) Don’t schedule too many things for the first week of your return. Allow yourself to re-acclimate slowly.
5) Do something pleasurable for yourself. A bath in Dead Sea salts. Print out your favorite photos from the trip. Go for a wrap and massage. Go to bed early. The emails will not evaporate if you don’t answer them right away.
6) Tell selected friends and family a few trip highlights, so the memories stay vivid and fresh in your mind.
7) Contact a new friend from the trip and moan a little about how overwhelming it is to come home and how you wish you were back on the trip again.
Bon voyage and bon retour. If you have any other tips for landing softly, by all means let us know. If you get an automated vacation response, you will know that the homecoming was too much, and we’re on the road again.
ABOUT THE WILD PAIR: Ellen Barone and Judith Fein,
They’re smart, sassy, savvy, award-winning travel journalists and photographers and now they’ve joined forces to become THE WILD PAIR, bringing you cutting-edge information and tips on how to turn your next vacation into a life-enhancing experience.
Posted by Jane Carswell on Mon, Jul 12, 2010 @ 09:54 PM
by Ellen Barone for CMH Summer Adventures
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it” ~John Steinbeck
Sure, you vowed to love each other “for better and for worse,” but who said anything about trekking Machu Picchu, tackling a via ferrata in the Canadian Rockies or a culinary bike tour through Tuscany, for that matter? For many, adventure travel wasn’t what they had in mind when they promised ‘til death do us part’.
Not to worry. In nearly two decades of marital globetrotting, I’ve learned a thing or two. In fact, my married life started when my now-husband, Hank, and I eloped during a 3-month vacation. Two years later, we packed up the Subaru and didn’t return home for more than a year. And for the past decade we’ve divided our time between homes in Old and New Mexico.
In addition, I put the word out to my, facebook friends and twitter followers, asking for their best strategies for how to travel together AND save the marriage. Listed below is a collection of our best advice. What are your secrets? Use the comment box below to sound in on the subject.
1. Choose the right spouse: That’s exactly what BootsnAll Italy expert, Jessica Spiegel (@Italylogue) posted in reply to my twitter shout-out. She’s joking right? Well kinda. She did, after all, publish the following quote on her wedding invitations: “The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right traveling companion.” - Adrian Anderson.
In my case, Hank and I didn’t know when we married that our future would be quite so mobile. And trust me, we’ve improved our roadside manner considerably over the years. Our #1 hard-won rule of travel? Do not make the other person responsible for your happiness. Whether you’re in Timbuktu or Topeka, commit to respect individual preferences, communicate your needs and appreciate each other as you ARE and your travels – and marriage - will be the better for it.
2. Divide and conquer: Even if your spouse IS your perfect traveling companion, allow time in your itinerary to go your separate ways. I love exploring a new destination on foot, without an agenda and with a camera in hand. Hank is happiest chatting up the regulars at a local coffeehouse or touring with a native guide, getting to know a place people-first. Often those preferences overlap and we hang out together, then separate again for a while. Later when we regroup, as Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of CruiseCritic.com points out, “There’s so much more to share when you come back together.”
3. Let it go: When it comes to control issues, leave em’ at the border faster than you can say “lost luggage”. Nothing ruins a trip more than thinking you’re in charge.
“Not being a control freak helps,” recommends writer/consultant Deston Nokes. “Usually one is running the schedule and the other feels victim. Just letting go and enjoying the experience can really ease the stress.”
“Trade off being the ‘tour guide,’” suggests freelance writer Shelley Seale. “My boyfriend let me do all the leading, out of niceness thinking he was letting me do what I wanted. But it’s exhausting! Take turns being the one to plan, and lead, the itinerary for the day. It’ll be more fun for both people.”
4. Go solo. Don’t laugh. I meet more happily married people off exploring this beautiful blue planet sans spouse than you might imagine. Hank and I included. “Leave the bugger behind, writes Chardel Lewis (@NewYorksTrio). And why not? Who’s to say a little heli-hiking vacation with your sister, or setting off alone for a yoga retreat, won’t do the marriage good?
“Dick & I are celebrating our 50th Anniversary this year,” says veteran travel journalist and author, Sally Moore. “And one of the ways we’ve solved the problem [travel compatibility] is not traveling together when I’m on the job. He hates my usually frantic schedule of interviews, photo shoots, etc., and I don’t like worrying about whether or not he’s enjoying the trip. Keep work and pleasure separate.”
5. Love the one you’re with: Remember those bumper stickers that remind you to practice random acts of kindness? Well, be sure to keep that in mind when he won’t ask for directions or she wants to stop at ‘just one more’ boutique. “In traveling, as in marriage, the old saying applies: Instead of being right, be kind,” says L.A. publicist Stacy Lewis (@slewismopr).
“After being stranded in the Miami airport for two miserable days because I misread our flight’s departure time, I discovered I’d married a Saint,” said Frances Crockett, my seatmate on a recent flight. “He missed two days of work and all he ever said was, “It was an easy mistake to make.” Can you imagine? I learned a lot about my husband, and myself, from the experience.”
6. Tell it like it is. Don’t let your vacation dreams get lost in translation. Communication is important when it comes to returning home from a trip still talking. “Successful spouse travel starts with being straight with one another about likes and dislikes,” advises life coach Gwen McCauley (@GwenMcCauley). Being truthful about your needs and listening to your partner’s desires is indeed a big piece of the travel puzzle. Be sure to discuss in advance your expectations. Or, when all else fails, “get a room or suite with two bathrooms …” J Stacy Small (@EliteTravelGal)
Travel expert Ellen Barone did what many of us only dream of doing: at the age of 35, she traded a successful academic career for the wild blue yonder and set out to explore the world and herself. In the decade since that intrepid decision, she has turned passion into profession journeying to more than 60 countries in search of evocative images and life-enriching adventures. Learn more at EllenBarone.com
Posted by John Entwistle on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 @ 12:48 PM
June 25! How is it already June 25?!? Where have the last... well, the last 6 months gone! I only have 2 more months here at
CMH before I have to go back to school in September to finish off the last year of my University degree... Now that is a scary thought!
Now, I have a bit of a bone to pick here... You see, 4 years after moving away from home to go to university, my family FINALLY came to visit me over the may long weekend this year. It took them 4 YEARS! But finally, they actually got in their vehicle and drove the 6 hours to come visit.
I figured that with such a rare occurrence, I should probably give them a reason to come visit me more often. So, with some help from our friends at Alpine Helicopters, I arranged to take my brother Scott up for a helicopter tour of the Canmore area. Both of my parents actually declined this opportunity as they would be in Calgary for the day, so I brought my cousin Peter as well.
I decided to completely surprise both Pete and Scott and so didn't tell either of them what we were doing. On the Monday of the long weekend, they would be competing in a Parent/child golf tournament at a local golf course. So naturally, as an excuse of something to do to make them leave the house, I came up with what I thought to be one of the most boring activities possible; a walking tour of the golf course.
As you can imagine, the boys were "thrilled" when I forced them to turn off their video games and movies to leave the house so that we could walk around a golf course with no intention of playing. Begrudgingly they got up off the couch and got dressed. I then forced them both to bring cameras because I told them that I would definitely want pictures of myself walking around the golf course. My brother thought this was a completely ridiculous idea and refused to bring any form of camera. Luckily for him, I had an extra which I brought for him to use.
As we got in the car to drive down to the Alpine heli-port, a Bell 407 helicopter flew directly overhead. I of course pointed out the helicopter to the boys which caused my cousin Pete to explain that there was a heli-port in Canmore. Little did he know, that is exactly where we were headed. So as we started to approach the heli-port, Pete kept trying to point out where it was. Finally we arrived at the turn and he said "Oh yeah, there is the heli-port". So of course, when I made the left turn in to the parking lot, the boys were both slightly confused. My brother, not being a Canmore local, thought that we had arrived at the golf course which just magically happened to be beside the heli-port. It was at this point when I told the boys that I thought a walking tour of the golf course was going to be far too boring, and we should probably go up in a helicopter and do it from the air. I think this just confused them even more.
As we walked in to the building and were ushered straight in to the pre-flight safety room, the boys were in a complete state of shock. They didn't really even have time to realize where we were before they were watching a film on how to walk near the helicopter and adjust your seat belts. We then proceeded to the flight deck where helicopters were taking off left right and center. It was at this point where I think the boys finally were aware of where they were. But it had still not sunk in that they were actually going to go up in one of these things! Finally, our Bell LR6 came in and landed, it was time for us to go. I think that they both thought that this was still a joke at this point... expecting me to laugh and take them walking around the golf course. But sure enough, we got in the helicopter and took off for a flight around the Spray Lakes, Mt. Assiniboine, and the golf course.
Upon return, the boys couldn't really explain what had just happened. When asked by our parents what they had done, they projected what can only be described as incomprehensible verbal excitement. Luckily they have pictures of the events, otherwise not many people would believe, or understand, what they were trying to say.
It was definitely one of those days to remember, and a pretty good story to share on a Friday afternoon!
CMH has been using Alpine Helicopters as their helicopter providers since 1981 for both HeliSkiing and Summer Adventures Operations.
Ps. In case you were wondering... We did manage to see the golf course from the air!
Posted by Topher Donahue on Fri, Jun 11, 2010 @ 09:34 AM
I just read one of those books that could change the world. Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, is a best seller of such magnitude that its implications will send ripples through families, universities, and - hopefully - our entire culture.
In it, Louv coins the term “nature deficit disorder”, and gives the reader a shocking view into the wide range of issues today’s children face and how many of the issues can be blamed – at least in part - on how little direct contact with nature they have compared to earlier generations. The book opens the floodgates of contemporary studies that are in the process of proving that our electronic, indoor, hyper-compartmentalized lifestyles are liable for issues including ADHD and obesity – and that time in the natural world has therapeutic potential to help with the very same issues.
The other day I watched my twin three-year-olds grow hyper and irritable as a spring snowstorm prevented even a short play in the garden. It seemed obvious that the time outside was crucial to their learning and happiness as I reread a few of Louv’s best lines:
“Increasingly, nature is something to watch, to consume, to wear – to ignore.”
“As far as physical fitness goes, today’s kids are the sorriest generation in the history of the United States.”
“They (researchers) say the quality of exposure to nature affects our health at an almost cellular level.”
“Pediatricians now warn that today’s children may be the first generation of Americans since World War II to die at an earlier age than their parents.”
“The CDC found that the amount of TV that children watch directly correlates with measures of their body fat.”
“A study of Finnish teenagers showed that they often went into natural settings after upsetting events; there, they could clear their minds and gain perspective and relax.”
“There is a real world, beyond the glass, for children who look, for those whose parents encourage them to truly see.”
“Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle maintains that each hour of TV watched per day by preschoolers increases by 10 percent the likelihood that they will develop concentration problems and other symptoms of attention-deficit disorders by age seven.”
“I was intrigued by the way children defined play: often, their definition did not include soccer or piano lessons. Those activities were more like work.”
“Typical Americans spend 101 minutes in their car daily, five times the amount they spend exercising.”
“Time in nature is not leisure time, it’s an essential investment in our children’s health (and also, by the way, in our own).”
“Two-thirds of American children can’t pass a basic physical: 40 percent of boys and 70 percent of girls ages six to seventeen can’t manage more than one pull-up; and 40 percent show early signs of heart and circulation problems.”
Louv reveals that even our playgrounds, parks, and arenas are not providing the experience in the natural world that has nurtured children’s development since the beginning of time. And the Internet, while a gateway to the world in so many ways, is entirely devoid of the very same sensory experiences that nature supplies in abundance: the smell of a pine tree; the deep vibration of a wave crashing into a rocky shore; the tickle of a cool breeze blowing off a snowfield.
For adventure travelers, skiers, mountaineers, hikers, farmers, gardeners, sailors, surfers, people like us in the business of providing exceptional experiences in the natural world, or anyone who finds time in nature is essential to their health, "Last Child in the Woods" puts to words something we have been feeling for a long time.
Photo by Topher Donahue
Posted by Topher Donahue on Fri, Jun 04, 2010 @ 01:16 PM
For the past 20 years I’ve been trying to capture the mountain experience with a camera. It doesn’t work.
Somehow the experience is always so much more. In choosing these five favorites, I learned that I am partial to pictures that show the person small and the mountains big - just like it feels when you’re out there. Here are my top five, a little taste of the adventure surrounding the photograph, and why I like each photo:
#1 Summit Ridge, Silberhorn Arete, Mt. Tasman, New Zealand
Mt Tasman is, to put it simply, the most geometrically beautiful peak I’ve ever touched. From the summit you can see the Tasman Sea on one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. We spent nearly two hours on the summit, gazing out over this awesome planet. I like this photo because of the depth. The footprints on the sharp ridge in the foreground, the climber in the middle distance, and the summit at the edge of the photo combine to tell a story about the mountaineering process in a single photo.
#2 Paso Superior, Fitz Roy Range, Argentine Patagonia
The otherworldly light and shapes in this photo put it easily in my top 5. This thrill-filled trip included three first ascents in three weeks, rappelling through one of the most violent storms the locals had seen since the 70s, and watching from a Buenos Aires hotel window as Argentina’s economy collapsed and people took to the streets. The story of the epic trip was chosen for publication in the anthology Adrenaline 2002: The Year’s Best Stories of Adventure and Survival.
#3 Jan’s Perch, Columbia Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
A trip to the Columbia Mountains with CMH introduced me to the region’s fantasy-like mountains and fantastic ease of access. It was a great awakening for me to learn that you don’t have to endure white-knuckles, thin air, and bad food to get to these kinds of places.
This shot stood out among the 100,000 others in my archive because this is the way I want to feel when I’m in the mountains: Being part of an intimate team of adventurers having a great time while surrounded by pure wilderness for as far as the eye can see.
#4 Mills Glacier, Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
My first time to the top of the 4000-meter Longs Peak was when I was 7 years old. Since that time I’ve spent several months of my life climbing, skiing, hiking, taking pictures and learning on the peak’s diverse terrain.
This photo reveals an unusual perspective looking almost straight up with a fisheye lens to capture the vertical walls of the Chasm Lake cirque and the infamous Diamond; however, it is the climber’s body position of enthusiasm, motion and awe that put this photo in my top 5.
#5 Rinrijirca, Cordillera Blanca, Peru
According to the guidebook, this was supposed to be an easy route – a good warm up for harder climbs in the region. And at one time the guidebook was right. But by the time we got there, a couple of decades after the first ascent, global warming had changed the peak so dramatically that an easy snow ridge had turned into an overhanging ice climb.
This is the only photo I have taken that does alpine climbing justice. I like the gymnastic element of the climber’s figure juxtaposed against the tortured high-altitude ice - that, and I don’t think I’ll go back to this particular route again!
It would be fantastic if you let us know by posting here which my photos is YOUR favorite - and why. Thank you!