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Mike Horn’s list of accomplishments as a solo explorer is unparalleled, so we were privileged to have him talk to us about the travel that changed him
The great explorers Roald Amundsen and Ernest Shackleton would surely look upon Mike Horn with approval and admiration. He is arguably the world’s greatest modern-day explorer.
The South African-born Swiss explorer and adventurer has probably seen more of the world than any other person on Earth.
The seven second summits are considered to be a much harder mountaineering challenge than the more popular seven summits
Previously, I’ve written about my dream of climbing the seven summits and laid out a realistic if not deeply challenging and expensive program of how to achieve that goal.
This week I look at the seven second summits; the second-highest mountains on each continent. The highest summits are a dream of mine, but I draw the line at the second-highest – they’re simply too scary for an amateur enthusiast like me!
Polar adventurer, expedition guide, dog musher and educator, Eric Larsen, talks to us about the travel that changed him
In 2006, polar adventurer Eric Larsen completed the first-ever summer expedition to the North Pole. As the Arctic ice has no land mass beneath it, it’s at its thinnest and most treacherous in the summer making it impassable on foot.
From Canada’s wild backcountry to the jungles of Brunei, we share some fantastic hikes through the cleanest air in the world
A few months after we moved to the country, some friends from London came up to visit. Stepping from the car, one commented that ‘it feels like mountain air up here’. I laughed and said, ‘it’s not that cold.’ He shook his head and said, ‘I don’t mean the temperature. I mean the quality.’
Climbing the seven summits – the highest mountain on every continent – is an improbable dream of mine… but that’s the beauty of dreams
I have always loved trekking and climbing. I usually spend several weeks of any given year on the grades of the Scottish Highlands or Welsh Snowdonia or ideally further afield such as the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland or the K2 base camp trek in Pakistan.
From remote deserts to polar escapes, these unknown treks will get you far off the beaten trail
I spent 10 years living in London, riding the crowded tube to work, fighting for space with those around me and standing in queues at bus stops, supermarkets, anywhere really – I am British after all.
Naturally, this inspired daydreams of escaping it all and running off to the wilderness with only my backpack, tent, camping stove and a handful of freeze-dried meals.
A series of interesting facts about the Arctic, prompted by our recent trip to the Greenland ice sheet
Our first trip to the Arctic Circle delivered more than we had hoped for: stunning Northern Lights, a close encounter with Arctic reindeer and a night-time husky hike replete with husky puppies. Based in the city of Tromso, however, we saw little of the wilderness that defines the polar regions.
We share the most interesting facts about Greenland collected on a visit to the spectacular polar region
My recent trip to Greenland was defined by highs and lows – literally and metaphorically. My up-and-down adventures trekking the Arctic Circle Trail were thrilling but also tinged with bitter disappointment when I failed to complete the trek due to a wildfire.
Our selection of the best things to do in Ilulissat will help you make the most of your time in this breathtaking part of the world
Ilulissat is the Greenland of glossy brochures. Smatterings of multi-coloured houses, iceberg-strewn waters, majestic sled dogs and gigantic glinting glaciers all contribute to the region’s raw photogenic appeal. It is quite simply one of the most spectacular environments on Earth.
Hiking around Ilulissat is the quickest and easiest way to get close to the immense icefjord that fringes the town
Ilulissat in Greenland is utterly unique in its location at the mouth of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ilulissat Icefjord. Nowhere else in the world is it possible to wake up at a hotel, eat breakfast and then stroll down to such a giant body of ice.
Iceberg sightseeing in Ilulissat is best done at night, not by moonlight but beneath the Arctic’s infamous midnight sun
Ilulissat is the Greenland you’ve always imagined. Positioned at the mouth of the 40km-wide Jakobshavn Glacier (Sermeq Kujalleq) itself buttressed by an immense icefjord, Ilulissat’s sprinkling of multi-coloured houses on the picturesque iceberg-strewn Disko Bay is one of the most wondrous settings on Earth.
The Eqi Glacier boat tour takes travellers to the precipice of the planet. There you will find an almost supernatural experience
The gigantic Eqi Glacier in Greenland sits around 430km north of the Arctic Circle and around 1,600km south of the North Pole. On a planet of nearly eight billion people, very few carve out an existence at these latitudes.
Our selection of the best things to do in Kangerlussuaq will help you make the most of your time in this remote corner of the world
At first glance, the lonely settlement of Kangerlussuaq in Greenland might not seem much more than a necessary stepping-stone for travellers en route to Ilulissat, Greenland’s most popular tourist destination.
Visiting the Greenland ice sheet and Russell Glacier offers an unparalleled opportunity to observe the country’s infamous interior
The understated and lonely settlement of Kangerlussuaq in Greenland feels like the edge of the world. Despite lying 50km north of the Arctic Circle, however, there is little evidence of the spectacular scenery that can only be found in the most extremes of the planet: the Polar Regions.
Our tips for trekking the Arctic Circle Trail, gathered from the many questions our readers sent in
Before, during and after my adventures on the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland, we received dozens of questions about the experience via email and social media. We’ve collated them below in a detailed Q&A that includes all our tips for trekking the Arctic Circle Trail.
Trekking the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland has long been a dream of mine. A dream I came tantalisingly close to fulfilling but for a freak natural event
I wanted to begin this post by triumphantly announcing that I had finished trekking the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland – but I can’t, for my trek ended in bitter disappointment. It (quite literally) left a stale taste in my mouth and gave rise to a cloud of unanswerable questions; a maddening maelstrom of ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ to lament and regret.
A selection of some of the most interesting facts about the world’s least-known countries we’ve picked up over the years
This is a subjective topic I know. What counts as an interesting fact? What counts as one of the world’s least-known countries?
There is no scientific answer but when this question was posed on Q&A site Quora, it certainly threw up some noteworthy particulars about some of the more obscure sovereign and not-so-sovereign states of the world.
From Inuit hunting grounds to sacred mountain monasteries, UNESCO’s newest World Heritage Sites offer outstanding cultural value
The aim of UNESCO’s list is to identify, protect and preserve sites of cultural and natural heritage considered to be of exceptional value to humanity. These sites include a range of locations such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, east Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt and Machu Picchu in Peru.
Since I first started climbing, I must have spent hours typing “when is the best time to climb…” into search engines and then crawling through websites to find the key piece of information I needed. Only when I have a date in mind can I start to think about the practicalities of actually trying to climb a mountain (i.e. booking time off work, flights, budget, gear etc).
To solve this problem once and for all, Atlas & Boots has put together a mountaineering calendar of the world’s greatest mountains and the optimal time of year at which to climb them. Drawing on Adventure Consultants’ expedition calendar, we list the world’s major mountains and ranges month by month.
The list is not entirely inclusive as it would take too long to list every mountain on the planet. Likewise, to avoid repetition we list select mountains in a range, considering the world’s 100 highest mountains lie within the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. We have also excluded winter ascents from the list because, well, if you’re that guy, you probably don’t need a calendar.
A curated selection of eco-friendly wildlife tours that place animal protection at the top of their agenda
Having just returned from an incredible diving trip in the Great Barrier Reef, we’ve seen first-hand how important it is to choose eco-friendly wildlife tours to minimise the environmental impact of our travels.
We’ve always maintained that tourists should be able to visit vulnerable places as long as they do so in a sustainable way. Of course, no tourism is impact-free. Only last month, a cruise ship guard tragically shot dead a polar bear in Norway.
