Annapurna: Nepal’s Commercialization Initiative For An Endangered Landscape

By Jason A. Hendricks

There have been many debates over the years surrounding the commercialization of the world’s highest peaks.  Mt. Everest is the biggest example of mountain commercialization, where hundreds of climbers a year flock to the world’s highest mountain, paying thousands of dollars for a guided chance to reach the coveted summit.  The recent tragedy on K2 has sparked conversations of concern for it’s own commercialism, after it was being reported that high-altitude porters had been brought in for some of this years climbs.

Annapurna, while not as well-known to the outside world as Mt. Everest or K2, is still a very important peak to high-altitude alpine climbing.  The peak rises 26, 538 ft., making it the 10th highest mountain in the world.  Along with the climbing, Annapurna also happens to be the focal point for a 7,629 sq. km. conservation and protection initiative known as the Annapurna Conservation Area Project.

The Annapurna Conservation Area Project helps to protect an area that offers some of the finest trekking trails in the Himalayan region and the world.  These trails have become a world destination for many venturers into the Himalayan region and offers a nice glimpse at the natural wildlife and ecology of Nepal.  This area is the largest protected area in all of Nepal and has been looked upon as an area of prestige and value to a country where income is hard to come by.

That could be changing in the very near future.  Nepal has enacted plans to commercialize the area known as the Annapurna circuit.  The thought is to capitalize on the area’s growing popularity with trekkers and make it more tourist friendly.

Read the story »

My First Ghost Town Trip, Part II: Cortez, Nevada

By Clint Thomsen

Click Here For Part I To This Ongoing Series

CORTEZ? I didn’t remember seeing a Cortez on Chris Case’s map, but our collective euphoria spiked again and we were off. The mining woman’s instructions led us up a winding canyon past a modern-ish mining operation. We stopped on a sandy knoll and got out of the Jeep to do what men do after they’ve just downed a twelve-pack of Dr. Pepper. That’s when we noticed remains of foundations in the distance and old wood strewn on the ground.

That’s also when we noticed the flames under the Jeep.

We frantically tossed handfuls of sand until we extinguished the fire. Turns out the Jeep’s undercarriage had collected some brush during earlier bushwhacking. Unfortunately, the Jeep also leaked oil. Oil plus brush plus engine heat makes for a scary situation, and we were happy once the flames were doused. We were even happier when the Jeep still worked.

Read the story »

Hiking With Olivia: Trail Entertainment

By Olivia Reese

Hiking is about the scenery, the physical exertion, accomplishing goals and of course, the food. But playing games and singing songs while wandering through mountain meadows and shaded forest paths keeps our brains fresh and makes us laugh. Check out some of my favorites:

20 Questions

20 Questions is an old standby capable of entertaining for hours. It is simple and one of my favorites. I spent a weekend last month hiking the Great Sequoia National Forest and it took 3 hours of intense questioning to determine what my friend Victoria was thinking about…it was a mailbox. We played the game again hiking in Tahoe. It took us 2 hours to figure out “keyboard”.

The rules:

One person thinks of an object. Everyone else asks yes or no questions about the object, attempting to determine what it is. Some helpful questions: “Can you buy it at Walmart?”, “Is it made of plastic?”, “Would it cost more than $50?”, “Do you own one?”.

Read the story »