TMB Day Six: Rifugio Bonati to La Fouly We had a fairly restful night at the Bonati. Though it was a shared room, three of the seven beds were entirely empty, and one gentleman sleeping by the window, reading a book most of the time, said not a word the whole time. (Well he said six, actually…”Mind if I open […]
Tour du Mont Blanc: Our Buddy, Monte Bianco!
TMB Rest Day One: Courmayeur After four days of hiking we were more than ready for a rest. So what better thing to do on our rest day then head up to 11,000 feet for a close look at Our Buddy, Mont Blanc? Our Monte Bianco, as it is called on the Italian side. Fortunately, today we DID finally have […]
Tour du Mont Blanc: An Improvised – But Full(y)-Ass(ess)ed – Plan!
TMB Day Three: Refuge du Bonhomme to Refugio Elisabetta *The Tour du Mont Blanc is the most famous and celebrated hike in Alpine Europe and is the fifth Bucket List Hike that Brian and Sylvia have completed together. It is also our first hike together of any kind in Europe.* Morning of Day 3 began with our Isreali roommate bursting […]
Tour du Mont Blanc: Uphill Both Ways…or, the Circle Begins!
TMB Day One: Les Houches to Refuge de Truc *The Tour du Mont Blanc is the most famous and celebrated hike in Alpine Europe and is the fifth Bucket List Hike that Brian and Sylvia have completed together. It is also our first hike together of any kind in Europe.* Despite a long and difficult day of travel we were […]
The Great Circle: TMB
*The Tour du Mont Blanc is the most famous and celebrated hike in Alpine Europe and is the fifth Bucket List Hike that Brian and Sylvia have completed together. It is also our first hike together of any kind in Europe.* I am sure how when exactly when I became seriously interested in the idea of completing the Tour of […]
Tour du Mont Blanc: We Done It!!!
Brian and Sylvia have successfully completed the Tour du Mont Blanc, Alpine Europe’s most famed long distance walking route! We completed the entire circular route on foot, without the aid of cable cars, chair lifts, buses trains or other mechanical contrivances. No cheating! It was every bit as spectacular as advertised! It was also VERY challenging. Sylvia and I had […]
Climate Change Resources for the Skeptical
New Page Added — Climate Change Resources for the Skeptical Climate Change — aka Global Warning — is a very complex subject over which there has been significant debate in recent years. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being skeptical about this or any other subject, especially one as highly politicized as Climate Change. But when ‘skepticism’ continues even in the face […]
Is the Santa Cruz Trek for You?
The Santa Cruz Trek: Logistics and Planning What about me? Can I do the Santa Cruz Trek? This is what you may be asking yourself. The scenery looks great, sure, but can I do it? How hard it is really? If you are an experienced hiker with lot of time spent at high altitude the answer is an emphatic yes, […]
The Other Side of the Mountain
The Santa Cruz Trek, Day 2: Punta Union We awoke the next morning to the sound of the guides already up and busy with the camp chores. Sylvia had, as she often does, suffered through the whole night from cold feet. We had brought along a pair of hand warmers to counter this but, considering the next campsite promised to be […]
A Slowly Dying Lake of Ice
Pastoruri Glacier…or, what’s left of it **An older version of this post originally appeared in 2015 on the old legacy blog. We hope you enjoy this updated version! Most trips to Huaraz include a side trip to Pastoruri Glacier, one of the few glaciers remaining in tropical South America. Except that nowadays, it’s more correct to say, what’s left of […]