COVID-19 My Coronavirus Mount Everest Climbing and Fundraising Challenge

Posyrose said:
Free?! Really? That must have cost a lot to build
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Tissot are the big watch consortium that own a number of brands (including being the leader in sports events timing and watches), so for them it is quite an advertisement and they are not doing badly... ;)
 
Posyrose said:
I've made it to another Lake, this time in Alberta Canada. Lake Louise is 1,600m above sea level and not far from Banff, which I visited a little while ago.

The pictures are amazing - it's famous for its turquoise water and is fringed by mountains. View attachment 147052View attachment 147053

Here's one from above
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But what I can't understand is who on earth granted planning permission for THIS :rant::no::doh:
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It's not photoshopped - someone actually thought this was a good idea!

Next stop Australia - I'm certainly clocking up some miles!
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We were supposed to go here last month. 😭😭
 
Remember the rather expensive train going up further on from the Kleine Scheidegg pass between Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen from a few weeks ago?
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Well, I have now reached the terminus of it - and what a terminus it is!
Welcome to the Jungfraujoch at 3466 m!
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On the other side, the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau peaks (the middle and the right peak of the Eiger group) looks out on the valley where three ice flows meet to form Switzerland's largest glacier, the Aletsch glacier (sadly in retreat due to global warming).

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Apart from being a tourist destination, the Jungfraujoch is also an important climate research station that is accessed via a different and not publicly accessible tunnel from the train station inside the mountain - the train is mostly running inside the mountain and is another Swiss engineering feat. Maintenance is of course not cheap - and that is reflected in the ticket price.
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Wiebke said:
Remember the rather expensive train going up further on from the Kleine Scheidegg pass between Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen from a few weeks ago?
View attachment 147415

Well, I have now reached the terminus of it - and what a terminus it is!
Welcome to the Jungfraujoch at 3466 m!
View attachment 147416
On the other side, the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau peaks (the middle and the right peak of the Eiger group) looks out on the valley where three ice flows meet to form Switzerland's largest glacier, the Aletsch glacier (sadly in retreat due to global warming).

View attachment 147412

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Apart from being a tourist destination, the Jungfraujoch is also an important climate research station that is accessed via a different and not publicly accessible tunnel from the station inside the mountain.
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Wow, wow, wow. Those pictures are amazing - and very interesting facts about the area. Well done Wiebke.

I went on a walk this morning and have been in too much pain to do the stairs today. I only have a few metres to reach my next objective in Australia.
 
Posyrose said:
Wow, wow, wow. Those pictures are amazing - and very interesting facts about the area. Well done Wiebke.

I went on a walk this morning and have been in too much pain to do the stairs today. I only have a few metres to reach my next objective in Australia.
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I hope that you can get there tomorrow!
 
Posyrose said:
I hope you'll be able to reorganise it for another time. I've always wanted to go! You'll see quite a few visits to the Canadian Rockies on my journey!
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We have flight credits good for 2 years from Air Canada since they cancelled our flight. Hubby and I would want to go during the summer time (we don't like having cold holidays), so if it's not possible on June next year, then the following year.
 
anyar.dris said:
We have flight credits good for 2 years from Air Canada since they cancelled our flight. Hubby and I would want to go during the summer time (we don't like having cold holidays), so if it's not possible on June next year, then the following year.
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I agree, Canadian winters are best avoided - I hope you make it next June.
 
Tonight I am putting up at the Blüemlisalp massif ('The mountain meadow of the little flowers') with its various peaks that carry some rather evocative names like Morgenhorn ('Morning Horn' 3623 m), Wyssi Frau (White Woman 3648 m), Blüemlisalphorn (3662m) and the Oeschinenhorn on the right (3486 m). One of the minor peaks is called the Wildi Frau (Wild Woman). It is in the Bernese Alps, not very far from the Eiger massif.

The Blüemlisalp is the setting of one of the more gruesome Swiss myths of a spoilt abusive son of a rich farmer living the high life while mistreating everybody, including his doting parents, and is finally cursed by his dying mother causing a big storm and an avalanche of rock and ice wiping the alp and its inhabitants from the face of the mountain forever...
The Alpine area seems to have a decided penchant for some rather gruesome myths, perhaps not quite surprising when trying to eke out a living very much against the extreme powers of their hostile and very capricious environment.
Here is a little peak at some of the more amusing folktales: Myths and legends from Switzerland


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Blüemlisalphorn (centre peak) with Lake Oeschinen.
From this side of the mountain you can see better why so many of its peaks are called 'horn'.
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the glacier
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Since there is currently no interesting Swiss peak at the height I am now, I am whizzing across the border to pay homage to Austria's highest peak, the Grossglockner ('the Great Bell') at 3798 m. Like the other highest Austrian peaks it is situated in the Tauern range.
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Not to be outdone by the Swiss, they have their own mountain road which is as popular with drivers and cyclists as the Swiss pass roads.
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There is always a bit of a historic rivalry between Austria and Switzerland, not least because Switzerland has started out by rebelling against the Habsburgs in 1291 (the first three cantons around Lake Lucerne) although its independence wasn't officially confirmed until the end of 30 years war in 1648, by which time most of today's cantons had joined and the Swiss Confederacy had long been accepted as an independent political unit between the two large blocks of France and the mighty Habsburg Empire.

The Swiss neutrality has come about after some increasingly bloody battles between the French and Austrians in Northern Italy with Swiss mercenaries (who were the military elite of the day) fighting on both sides and being left for a very short time the dominant power of Europe with both France and Austria in the nadir but without the resources of upholding this position. The Swiss pikemen (Landsknechte) bore the brunt of the devastating loss of life in 1515 at the battle of Marignano just outside Milan, which was the largest battle of its time.
The death toll amongst the Swiss specialist pike battalions was so high that the Swiss decided to no longer fight for other nations and only to defend the indepence of their own confederation from now on. Thus was the oldest neutral state born 500 years ago; what makes it stand out is that its armed neutrality is entirely self-imposed and not enforced by other super-powers. It is still the best known and most respected neutral country of the world even though the Swiss have slightly softenend their stance and joined the UN in this millenium after much debate and after a public vote.

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It is hard to imagine today but Switzerland was mostly a dirt poor country in the time when agriculture and mining for silver dominated; its current wealth is a rather recent phenomenon and not least a result of the two World Wars.
Not much in the Swiss Alps but stones, stones and more stones and definitely not enough flat fertile land for the kind of crops that made the UK so wealthy! The younger sons often only had the choice to emigrate and make a living as a comparatively well paid member of a specialist mercenary troop.

The last remnant of this tradition is the colourful Pope's Swiss Guard in the Vatican, which is responsible for the security (nothing oldfashioned behind the scenes!) and is still recruited from Catholic Swiss who have chosen an army career. The Swiss don't have a standing army but they have a military service training duty although it is much more voluntary these days and won't land you in prison for refusal anymore!

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The Swiss national anthem (also nicknamed the Swiss Psalm) is widely said to have been sung by the Swiss at Marignano and therefore lays claim to be the oldest national anthem, which is not true. But it certainly stands out from the usual 19th and 20th century crowd in that it is a rather solemn melody and resembles more a church hymn. It is sung in all national languages although the original is the German version.
(German version)

Swiss national anthem in english (lyrics translation)
 
Wiebke said:
Since there is currently no interesting Swiss peak at the height I am now, I am whizzing across the border to pay homage to Austria's highest peak, the Grossglockner ('the Great Bell') at 3798 m. Like the other highest Austrian peaks it is situated in the Tauern range.
View attachment 147726
View attachment 147727

Not to be outdone by the Swiss, they have their own mountain road, which is very popular with drivers and cyclists.
View attachment 147725

There is always a bit of a historic rivalry between Austria and Switzerland, not least because Switzerland has started out by rebelling against the Habsburgs in 1291 (the first three cantons around Lake Lucerne) although its independence wasn't officially confirmed until the end of 30 years war in 1648, by which time most of today's cantons had joined and the Swiss Confederacy had long been accepted as an independent political unit between the two large blocks of France and the mighty Habsburg Empire.

The Swiss neutrality has come about after some increasingly bloody battles between the French and Austrians in Northern Italy with Swiss mercenaries (who were the military elite of the day) fighting on both sides and bearing the brunt of the losses in 1515 at the battle of Marignano just outside Milan, which was the largest battle of its time.
The death toll amongst the Swiss mercenary troops was so high that the Swiss decided to no longer fight for other nations and only to defend the indepence of their own confederation. Thus was the oldest neutral state born 500 years ago; what makes it stand out is that its armed neutrality is entirely self-imposed and not enforced by other super-powers. It is still the best known and most respected neutral country of the world even though the Swiss have slightly softenend their stance and joined the UN in this millenium after much debate.

View attachment 147728

It is hard to imagine today but Switzerland was mostly a dirt poor country in the time when agriculture and mining for silver dominated; its current wealth is comparatively recent phenomenon and not least a result of the two World Wars.
Not much in the Swiss Alps but stones, stones and more stones and definitely not enough flat fertile land for the kind of crops that made the UK so wealthy! The younger sons often only had the choice to emigrate and make a living as a comparatively well paid member of a specialist mercenary troop.
The last remnant of this tradition is the Pope's Swiss Guard in the Vatican, which is responsible for the security (nothing oldfashioned behind the scenes!) and is still recruited from Catholic Swiss who have chosen an army career.
View attachment 147730

The Swiss national anthem (also nicknamed the Swiss Psalm) stems from this time; it was sung by the Swiss at Marignano and can lay claim to be the oldest national anthem. It certainly stands out from the 19th and 20th century crowd in that it is a rather solemn melody. It is sung in all national languages although it goes back to the German Swiss version.
(German version)
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What great progress. Love the photos and the background history lesson!
 
Tonight I am putting up at Mont Dolent (3823 m). The peak is part of the Mont Blanc massif. What makes it special is that you can be in three different countries with just a another step on its top: it is the point where Switzerland, France and Italy meet.
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Not quite sure whether the little statue on top is the most tasteful thing, but as I am highly unlikely to climb up there to admire the admittedly stunning views, it doesn't matter exactly...

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PS: If you would like to do the three countries experience in much easier accessible fashion, then I would recommend to visit the Dreiländereck in Basel, which is conveniently located in the Rhine and demarkates the point where Switzerland, France and Germany meet. Not quite the view, but on the other other hand, you can reward yourself with a nice piece of Black forest gateau or other cake and a cup of coffee in one of the tearooms afterwards...
Basel is the end point of the Rhine river cruises. The Three Countries Point (which Dreiländereck translates as) in Basel port (I bet that you'd never guess that there IS actually a Swiss shipping fleet and that Basel is officially a port city!) can be visited by ship or by tram.
MUCH more civilised - and of course inevitably the subject of a primary school trip or where we'd take our German family round...

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My stair climbing has been badly impacted by an increase in my back and sciatic pain. I limp badly even when walking around the house and I'm often bent double, so stairs are a challenge. However, I have made progress (very slowly) and need to catch up, as I haven't posted the mountains that I have reached over the last week or so.

My sister lives in Brisbane, so this one's for her! It's Mount Bartle Frere and at 1,611m it's the tallest point in Queensland Australia.

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Here's the view from the top at sunrise
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Posyrose said:
My stair climbing has been badly impacted by an increase in my back and sciatic pain. I limp badly even when walking around the house and I'm often bent double, so stairs are a challenge. However, I have made progress (very slowly) and need to catch up, as I haven't posted the mountains that I have reached over the last week or so.

My sister lives in Brisbane, so this one's for her! It's Mount Bartle Frere and at 1,611m it's the tallest point in Queensland Australia.

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Here's the view from the top at sunrise
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Fab views from both of you x
 
Posyrose said:
My stair climbing has been badly impacted by an increase in my back and sciatic pain. I limp badly even when walking around the house and I'm often bent double, so stairs are a challenge. However, I have made progress (very slowly) and need to catch up, as I haven't posted the mountains that I have reached over the last week or so.

My sister lives in Brisbane, so this one's for her! It's Mount Bartle Frere and at 1,611m it's the tallest point in Queensland Australia.

View attachment 147907

Here's the view from the top at sunrise
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Well done! I bet that you never imagined you'd get as high as this! It must be so hard to do it through all the pain you are suffering.
 
It's been tough going, but I've managed to do some stair climbing and am now in India! I've made it to the top of Kalsubai, which is the highest peak in Maharashtra at 1646m.

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The view from the top is pretty good.

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Next stop is a truly iconic mountain in New Zealand - I'm getting about a bit.
 
Posyrose said:
It's been tough going, but I've managed to do some stair climbing and am now in India! I've made it to the top of Kalsubai, which is the highest peak in Maharashtra at 1646m.

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The view from the top is pretty good.

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Next stop is a truly iconic mountain in New Zealand - I'm getting about a bit.
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That is one amazing, weird looking mountain , it almost looks man-made, like a pyramid.

Well done on keeping on keeping on x
 
This is one of the most famous mountains of the Alps and still one of the more challenging climbs in the world - the Eiger North Face above Grindelwald.

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The Eiger is actually the lowest peak of the Eiger (Ogre?), Mönch (Monk) and Jungfrau (Virgin) trio at 3967 m but its sheer north-facing 1800m high rock face that is in the shade during the heat of the day and therefore always icy in places has been one of the classic challenges as the Alpine mountain that was conquered last - and at times seemed impossible to conquer.

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Several attempts in 1935 and 1936 ended in tragedy, some of it rather horrendous, and another failed attempt in 1937 also caused yet another fatality. This quickly gave the North Face ('Nordwand' in German) the nickname the Murder Face ('Mordwand') - the notoriously impossible climb.
However 24th July 1938 under intense press scrutiny, the climb was mastered by a team of four Austrians. Their leader Anderl Heckmair had learned from the mistakes made by previous teams to treat the climb primarily as an ice and not as a rock climb. Another member of original team, Heinrich Harrer, became later even more widely known after the helped the young Dalai Lama to escape the Chinese when they invaded Tibet.
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(Kasparek and Harrer resting during the climb)

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(The successful foursome after their return)

Since then, the Eiger North Face has become one of the climbs that every serious mountaineer wants to have in their bag. Several new routes have been created since the early days and especially after the hiatus that WWII brought.

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Wiebke said:
This is one of the most iconic mountains and still one of the most challenging climbs in the world - the Eiger North Face above Grindelwald.
The Eiger is actually the lowest peak of the Eiger (Ogre?), Mönch (Monk) and Jungfrau (Virgin) trio at 3967 m but its sheer north-facing 1800m high rock face that is in the shade during the heat of the day and therefore always icy in places has been one of the classic challenges as the Alpine mountain that was conquered last.


View attachment 148369View attachment 148366

Several attempts in 1935 and 1936 ended in tragedy, some of it rather horrendous, and another failed attempt in 1937 also caused another death. This quickly gave the North Face ('Nordwand' in German) the nickname the Murder Face ('Mordwand') - the notoriously impossible climb.
However 24th July 1938 under intense press scrutiny, the climb was mastered by a team of four. Their leader Anderl Heckmair had learned from the mistakes made by previous teams to treat the climb primarily as an ice and not as a rock climb. Another member of original team, Heinrich Harrer became even more widely known after the helped the young Dalai Lama to escape the Chinese invading Tibet.
View attachment 148379
(Kasparek and Harrer resting during the climb)

View attachment 148378
(The successful foursome after their return)

Since then, The Eiger North Face has become one of the climbs that every serious mountaineer wants to have in their bag. Several new routes have been created since the early days and especially after the hiatus that WWII brought.


View attachment 148367
Click to expand...

I'll still never forgive it for treating Dumbledore so terribly.
 
Posyrose said:
It's been tough going, but I've managed to do some stair climbing and am now in India! I've made it to the top of Kalsubai, which is the highest peak in Maharashtra at 1646m.

View attachment 148362

The view from the top is pretty good.

View attachment 148363

Next stop is a truly iconic mountain in New Zealand - I'm getting about a bit.
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It looks a bit like a South American temple! Very striking and great views! Well done!
 
I'm so excited to post pictures of my latest conquest. It is an iconic peak in a beautiful location. I'm in Milford Sound in New Zealand, one of the few Fjords in the Southern Hemisphere and I've reached the top of Mitre Peak, 1692m.

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It's quite a climb to the top, but sooo worth it for the view. Stunning!

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and here's an aerial shot of Milford Sound

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I'm going even further South for my next mountain!
 
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