Climbing Mount

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” – Anatole France

General

If you decide to do an activity such as going on an organized trek you will usually find that there are several different companies offering the activities. When you make your decision do not only decide based on price, there may be big differences in the quality of the equipment and the food and how much the local porters get paid. Ask for references from other travelers. Sometimes you find that even though you book with one company they pool their customers with customers from other companies in order to make more money. If this is a problem for you then ask before you book.

Make sure that you are physically prepared for the activities you plan to do, bring the right equipment or rent it locally. Make sure you have enough water and food and beware of the sun.

Rock climbing

Rock climbing is a good way to get some adrenalin going. In most countries there are local climbing clubs that usually can assist you with advice on where to go. Or they might come along as climbing partners if you ask them. If you do not have proper training and do not know how to handle the equipment securely there are usually commercial companies offering guided tours on beginner routes.

If you end up climbing in areas rarely visited you might want to check when the area was last rebolted. Bolts are affected by the wear and tear of water, especially if they are close to the ocean.

Note that different crags have different rules of what protection to use. In some places chalk is forbidden too. Make sure to stick with the local climbing rules.

A good place to find route maps (topos) on the Internet is Wikitopo.

Personal Experience – The Mont Blanc Misery

I was in Chamonix and decided to climb Mont Blanc. As this was not part of our schedule we were in a rush to bring something to eat with us. We brought some cans of food but as we were pretty tired on our way down there was not enough time to stop to cook it. Sandwiches or energy bars would have been more convenient. Preparing alpine climbing is a must as the risk increases when you get tired and hungry.

Trekking

Trekking in the mountain gives you fresh air and builds your character at the same time. When you trek to higher altitudes the air pressure gets lower. At sea level the oxygen percentage is about 21% with an air pressure around 760 mmHg. As you climb higher the oxygen percentage remains the same but the air pressure gets lower. This means that your body gets less oxygen with each breath. You will lose your breath and get more tired than you perhaps anticipate.

At 6 000 ft (1 828 m) the air pressure is 609 mmHg. At 12 000 ft (3 658 m) the air pressure is 483 mmHg. At 18 000 ft (5 486 m) the air pressure is only 380 mmHg.

People are affected differently at high altitude. Already at 3 000 meters you can get a severe headache. It is important to listen to you body as you can get brain oedema and lung oedema if you keep on pushing on to higher altitudes.

The usual recommendation is modest altitude gains of not more than 300 meters per day above 3 000 meter and to spend 2 nights in the same place every 1 000 meters.

Another thing when you are at high altitude is that water boils at a lower temperature than at sea level. You may therefore have to cook food for a longer period of time.

The temperature can change drastically during the day. It may be freezing cold in the morning, extremely hot during they day and cold at night again. If you change altitude it gets colder the higher you get, around 10 degrees Centigrade (=5,5 degrees Fahrenheit) per 1 000 meters. As an example, if you start out at 10 degrees Centigrade at sea level, this can mean a temperature of -20 degrees Centigrade at 3 000 meters. The chill factor from the wind can make it even colder.

Plan your trip accordingly and allow plenty of slack in your schedule to be able to get down before dark.

If there is snow it is important to wear alpine sun glasses to avoid getting snow blind (or a severe headache).

Scuba diving and snorkeling

Going under water gives you new perspectives of the world. If you intend to get your diving license abroad it makes sense to do some research beforehand. Try to go for the two big certificates: PADI or CMAS.

Renting equipment has it pros and cons. On the upside you do not have to carry your own heavy equipment all over the world. On the downside the rental equipment in many parts of the world is rather poor. Bring your own mask, snorkel and dive watch as a minimum if you intend do some serious diving.

The quality of dive companies and liveaboards also differ greatly. In Australia it is usually very well organized and the instructors show respect to the sea and its inhabitants. In other places dive masters start chasing fish or bend up corals just to show you something “extra”. Do not encourage this behavior. Other people want to see the stuff too!

In some places, such as the Red Sea, the snorkeling is almost as good as the scuba diving. Even though scuba diving increases the chances of seeing “big”animals.

Personal Experience – The Zanzibar Snorkeling Zest

I was staying on the east coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania. I was going for a dive with a bunch of people, but before we got to the dive site we spotted some dolphins nearby. The boatman took us there and I was so eager to get into the water that I forgot my fins. Meanwhile the other people had entered the water and were swimming towards the dolphins. Back on the boat the driver said: “Do not worry. The dolphins have moved. I will take you there.” When I jumped into the water the second time I was all alone with 8 dolphins for a few minutes before the rest of the crowd came and scared them away for good. Magical.

Riding

Horseback riding is fun. And camel riding too. Being a novice is usually not a problem. If you are a skilled rider you might find rental horses non-responsive and pretty dull. This is what happens when hundreds of kids pull them in the ears all day.

If you are going on a longer tour, make sure that you get a proper inspection of the horses, camels or whatever you are going to ride.

Personal Experience – The Jaisalmer Jeopardy

In Jaisalmer, India we signed up for a 3-day camel tour out in the desert. We paid a bit extra to get “premium camel” and “premium food”. Well, it turn out my camel (nicknamed Ernst) were the slowest one in the Rajastan desert. And the special food – served every lunch and dinner – was Alu Gobi, which is a mix of potato and cauliflower. Probably the cheapest they could offer. So, it makes good sense to try to check what you are really getting if possible. Or talk to other backpackers or just browse the web.

So school is over and its time for you to conquer the world by backpacking. Or if the thought of Joe Paperclips and Mike Eraser starts to climb Mount Monitor in Republic of Cubicle starts appearing to you, then you also want to think about discovering diversities of the universe outside that box. What should you do before going backpacking for the first time?

1. Start learning some basic languages of the country you’re going. It helps a lot by making it easier to purchase and bargain goods, order foods, and most of all, this knowledge saves you from being cheated. Your trip will go easily if you accept some of the notion of learning some of the language.

2. Make a point of trying to embrace new things. Leave the usual western bars later, and go local. Make the point of going somewhere new a life changing experience. You traveled a long way, so you might as well adjust. Embrace the local taste.

3. Bring a few keepsakes from home – your favorite music, family photos, souvenirs, and such. Not only that will help you to cope long – distance traveling, but the people you meet will be curious to learn more about you, and the connecting will be much easier. Pictures are one of the best swaps you can exchange for lifetime friendships with new people you encounter.

4.If you like to keep a journal or diary, bring one along. If you can play an instrument reasonably good, and it’s not too heavy, you might wish bring that too. You could be the night’s performer at your hostel or campfire, and makes it easier to meet and connect new people.

My travel blog dedicated in sharing tips in traveling : www.bargainkl.blogspot.com

The high mountains of Colorado still had a lot of snow in mid June. In fact, the Arkansas river was close to flooding here in Canon City, despite there being no rain in weeks. The snow melt was enough to raise it to its highest level in years. But my friend Mike and I were still hoping to go backpacking up high.

We had been up to 9,000 feet a couple weeks earlier and saw just one snowbank in the woods. Driving home we could see that though there was a lot of snow in the high peaks of the northern Sangre De Christo mountains, it was in patches. There were large areas without snow, even above 13,000 feet. It was time to give it a try.

We decided on a two night trip to Bushnell Lakes and possibly to the top of Bushnell Peak (13,105 feet). About this time I received a phone call. I own a backpacking website, so I get emails with questions all the time, but this was only the second time someone had called me at home. The man on the other end was calling from Texas, wondering about the conditions in the Sangre De Christos – was there too much snow?

“I hope not,” I told him. “Me and a friend are headed up there tomorrow.” He said he had called the forest service rangers for an area south of where we would be, and they had told him everything was still snowed in up high. He was going for a week, starting a few days after us, and wondered if they might be exaggerating. We agreed that they probably were.

Challenges Of High Mountains

It was hot when we started, even with only 13 pounds on my back (I like to go light). Where the trail split we decided to go to the Stout Lakes instead, by the Twin Sisters Peaks. This was the next valley over from Bushnell Lakes, and a shorter hike. When we came to a trail register we noted that only a couple people had been up there this year. One had left an entry on the way down: “Lost the trail in the snow at 10,800 feet.” It was dated just a few days earlier.

We headed up the trail, soon hearing the roaring stream it follows. We saw the first small patches of snow before we crossed it at about 9,600 feet. Then we were hiking on a trail that doubled as a stream itself, complete with small waterfalls. The snow patches were more frequent, and we walked over the stream/path on a snow bridge at one point before realizing that it was a three-foot fall if it had broken.

Several hours up the trail there was no trail. It was somewhere under several feet of snow. It is hard to get too lost following a stream up a valley, though, so we kicked steps into the hard snow and continued on. In places we found the trail again, and even had long dry stretches to hike. The melting process is very irregular. In one of our photos Mike is standing on dry grass next to a seven-foot high wall of snow. In another, I’m trying to climb a twenty-foot snow-cliff.

Then there is the photo from the first lake. It is of myself, standing on it. There was dry ground around half of it, but it was frozen. We headed back down to a small pond that was only partially covered in ice. It had been a hot day of backpacking in deep snow. We put our water bottles in a snowbank and set up the tarp on the grass. Marmots came near to investigate.

The next day we hiked up past the first and second lakes, both above tree line. We followed a stream up a steep hill and into a meadow full of wildflowers at about 12,000 feet. There were frozen lakes below, flowers around us, and a 13,012-foot mountain waiting above, past rocky climbs and slippery fields of snow. We made it to the top – the highest Mike had ever climbed – and signed the register. We could see mountains in all directions, some of them over 60 miles away.

By the time we made it back to the camp, I was sick. I hadn’t anticipated the effect of the sun. I had a hat and sunglasses, but the sunlight reflects at you from all sides when you cross snow and ice. It wasn’t just a sunburn, but sun-sickness. I spent the night alternating between feeling on fire and having chills run through my body. Mike got the chills the following day. With that in mind, here are some tips for backpacking in the high mountains.

1.  Call the forest service. Find out what the conditions are where you plan to hike, so you can bring the proper equipment and clothing.

2. Have a good map and know how to use it. This is especially important in early summer, when you might lose the trail in the snow.

3. Sun block is just a start. Where a hat, sunglasses and long sleeves.

4. GPS your car location. If you have a GPS device, mark your car in case you lose the trail.

5. Check the trailhead register. Those backpacking before you may have stopped on the way out to note that a bridge is washed out, fallen trees have covered the trail, or something else you should know.

6. Climb high early. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in many high mountain ranges. If you want to go to the summits and high ridges, it’s best to do it early and be lower before noon.

It’s great to have meadows and valleys to yourself. That’s one of the advantages of backpacking in the high mountains early in the season. Just be ready for a wide variety of hiking conditions.