Weekly trekking tales #14
Anjani Mahadev near Solang (Himachal Pradesh)
Anjani Mahadev, 2016 © www.tarungoel.in
We have always wanted to complete this trek in winters, but Tarun Goel beat us to it. Congratulations Tarun. Read the whole story on LOOP-WHOLE (pun?).
What kind of climbing is right for you?
Take this short quiz and find out. Our Chief Editor and Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life is a Free-soloist.
Adventure cartoons
Tegan and Axel © http://unclippedadventure.com/
Explore new places with Tegan and Axel, a pair of clumsy adventurers (human and bicycle, respectively) at their cartoon blog.
A visual poem about our storytelling adventures across Africa. ___________________________________________ Sinamatella is about to turn 6 years old. In this time we have been privileged to film in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. Across these travels we have met incredible people, who's stories and landscapes blew us away. We are indeed fortunate to live on such a unique, dramatic, nuanced continent. We aim to keep travelling, keep learning, keep smiling.
Online topographical map resources for the world
A comprehensive list of topographical map resources across the world with other mapping libraries. For Indian Himalayan check out The Himalaya Maps project. It is available for free download and use by the community. Thank you, Depi Chowdhary.
Conrad Anker, Interview with Meru's motivator
“For people who live in the shadow of Everest, whether in Tibet or Nepal, they both share the same religion; they’re Tibetan Buddhist by nature, so they share that commonality. For them, Chomolungma is the name of the mountain, the goddess of the snows and the goddess of the Earth. The mountains are a deity and the place where the gods live, so there’s that special aspect.”
In our last weekly newsletter, we claimed Meru was the best mountaineering movie to come along in 2015. This week TheClymb interviews Conrad Anker, the motivator and the strength behind Meru.
Meru peak as viewed from Bhujbasa (Garhwal Himalayas) © Soumit ban (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The second video of Arnaud Petit, Read Macadam and Alex Ruscior in Oman, where they climbed at Hadash and the mountain Jebel Misht.
February's best photo gallery
“Fifty years ago, a team of 10 American men made the daring first ascents of six of Antarctica’s tallest peaks, including Vinson Massif. The AAC will honor the 1966 team for their landmark accomplishments in Antarctica with the President’s Gold Medal at the 2016 Annual Benefit Dinner on February 27. The following exhibit documents the expedition and celebrates the achievements of team members Nicholas Clinch, Barry Corbet, John Evans, Eiichi Fukushima, Charley Hollister, Bill Long, Brian Marts, Pete Schoening, Samuel Silverstein, and Richard Wahlstrom.”
American Alpine Club (AAC) celebrates the 1966 American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition with a spectacular photo gallery. A must view for anyone with a shred of adventure sinew in their bones.
Rejoice! Sherpas getting much overdue recognition
Nepal’s Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita has been nominated National Geographic People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year 2016. Read more.
“Pasang Lhamu is considered one of the best women climbers in Nepal and an important example for everyone. In 2006, she became the first woman to summit Nangpai Gosum (7321m), while a year later, aged 22, she summited Mount Everest. In 2012 she climbed Ama Dablam (6812m) with the first all-women Nepali-French expedition and in 2014, she ascended K2 with two other Nepali women. Furthermore, she is also the first female mountaineering instructor in Nepal, a fact of not secondary importance in the very much a male-dominated Nepalese society.”
Micro 4/3 is the best
Micro 4/3 is the best compromise between size and image quality for an outdoor photographer. See our “What’s in our camera bag” article for size comparison and more.
“Before we begin, Micro 4/3 is the best, when you’re talking about the size and graceful proportion of lenses relative to the cameras they fit on. “Stipulated,” as they say in courtrooms. That means: even though we’re about to get argumentative, we’re willing to concede that point. So no need to argue or prove that.”
Read more on The Online Photographer.
The video of American rock climber Chris Sharma on his boulder problem Catalán Witness the fitness 8C at the crag Cova de Ocell in Spain.
