I wrote this article for Walk in Wild Places, but thought it may be useful here too. So, here’s a list of mandatory and recommended vaccinations if you intend climbing Kilimanjaro, or travelling in East Africa and Africa in general. Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B – Even if you skip all the other vaccinations, and are …
Continue reading “What vaccinations do I need to climb mountains in Africa?”
The beautiful Beverin Nature Park was our snowshoeing destination for the first part of the Easter weekend. The centrepiece of the park is Piz Beverin (2998m). Home to large herds of ibex (or capricorns in the local Romansh vernacular), Piz Beverin is surrounded by imposing rock faces and flanked by deep gorges. One of which …
A few weeks ago I came to this area, intending to hike to the Wildsee area. I kept sinking into the snow. Knee-deep. So, after a couple of hundred metres, I gave up. Deciding that this wasn’t going to work. On Sunday, I came back with Barbara. This time we were going to make our …
Africa. Home to the Namib and Sahara deserts, deep impenetrable jungles, acacia-covered plains and sand-covered beaches. Home to some of the world’s most iconic animal and bird species. Birthplace of Lucy, our oldest ancestor. And home to some of the most fascinating mountains on earth! Mountains so diverse that Africa’s highest mountains could easily be …
The weather looked miserable and cold. Like minus sixteen degrees Celsius cold. And neither of us were keen to spend four to five hours in that kind of cold. We had had enough of that the previous weekend snowshoeing to Dreibündenstein. Ticino looked a lot warmer, so we decided to head in that direction. We …
Continue reading “Giro del ponte Tibetano – across the suspension bridge”
Our very first snowshoeing outing, about two years ago, was to Dreibündenstein. Brave little soldiers that we are, we went all the way from Brambrüesch to Feldis on that first snowshoe outing. Last Sunday, a lot more experienced, and less likely to trip over our own feet, we repeated this route. And nearly got blown …
Kilimanjaro. Africa’s highest mountain. The roof of Africa. Surrounded by African plains, the 5,895-meter-high Mount Kilimanjaro consists of three volcanic cones: Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo. To get to the summit of Kilimanjaro, you have to climb to the top of Uhuru peak, which is situated on the crater rim of Kibo, the highest of the …
Continue reading “Climb Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest peak”
The previous time Barbara and I came to climb Pischahorn we were thwarted by thick unstable snow. On our second attempt to climb Pischahorn we followed the same route as the ski-touring parties do, and after a couple of hours of working steadily upwards we stood on top of the summit of this somewhat unassuming …
Continue reading “Pischahorn – success on our second attempt”
It snowed for nearly two days… There was snow everywhere. Snow covered the trees and the lawn, and we even had some on the balcony. Snow covered the streets and the sidewalks disappeared. Uetliberg, our local mountain, turned into a winter wonderland. Saturday morning. We decided to play it by ear today. Which meant, that …
Argania spinosa, the tree from which we harvest the fruit that yields ‘liquid gold’, or, as we commonly know it: argan oil. A magic elixir that is reported to have cholesterol-lowering, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and a whole list of other medicinal benefits. As a cosmetic oil it has anti-ageing properties and helps to clear acne, psoriasis, …