Footsteps on the Mountain
If you’ve been following my adventures on a bike in Scotland and Ecuador, you will know that cycle touring is an acquired taste that I’m still struggling to acquire. By contrast, I love hiking and I was recently given a good lesson why.
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I’ve recently been reading In Ethiopia With a Mule, about a trek across – you guessed it – Ethiopia, in the company of a mule, by the famously brave travel writer Dervla Murphy. She is widely admired for her intrepid travelling style, but does this come at a price?
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I was lucky to live and work for a year in Rome, where the highest peaks of the Apennines were accessible within a couple of hours. It was a hill walker’s paradise, with a feast of mountains of great variety,
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As we made our way from base camp for an acclimatisation hike on Ojos del Salado in the Puna de Atacama region of the Andes last month, we witnessed a strange phenomenon in the sky.
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Last year I returned from the Himalayas and reported that I may have discovered the easiest 6,000m peak in the world to climb. But there is another place in the world where lots of easy 6,000m peaks can potentially be climbed on a day hike from the road.
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Forest fires have been in the news recently. Some are natural, but many people believe that climate change is causing them to occur more frequently. Earlier this year, we witnessed a Himalayan forest fire that we believe was entirely man-made.
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Sirente-Velino has only regional park status, but don’t let this put you off. It’s easily the equal of the three surrounding massifs with national park status. There is great variety to be found here, from emerald-green paradise, to bare moonlike landscapes and dramatic cliff faces.
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Last week AFP reported that a group of insurance companies from Britain, Australia and New Zealand have given the Nepal government a deadline of 1 September to take concrete steps to prevent helicopter rescue fraud, or it will stop providing cover to tourists.
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Are you keen to branch out and develop the skills to climb higher peaks? Here is a series of mountains further afield that more experienced hikers should visit if you are interested in reaching a challenging altitude.
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Abruzzo National Park is the wildlife capital of the Apennines. Its peaks are slightly lower in altitude and are aproned in forest which are a sanctuary for bears, wolves, lynx, chamois and deer. It is particularly vibrant in autumn, when the peaks rise in a rainbow of colours.
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