Range Costa Rica-Panama Ranges
Volcán Miravalles is a stratovolcano located in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It is the highest peak in the Cordillera de Tilarán, rising to over 2,000 metres above sea level. The volcano powers several geothermal power plants at its base and offers hot springs for tourists. As usual we start early in the morning…
Range Central Central America
The shuttle takes us from Managua to Liberia in Costa Rica, but we have plenty of time, a couple of hours drive and not much to do the rest of the day. So we look at the map and see a tourist sign for the Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya. There is also a small peak…
Range Central Central America
The ferry leaves in the afternoon, so we get up early and make our way to the Volcano Maderas trailhead. The road is asphalted and not bad, but the biggest danger is the “sleeping policemen” who are hard to see. But that’s what they were invented for, to drive slowly. I can say that they…
Range Central Central America
An active stratovolcano, the most prominent lake mountain in the world, the most prominent mountain in Nicaragua, and maybe the “most” of something else… For us, it’s enough that it’s an ultra peak. We try to get on the first ferry in the morning, but we don’t know if we’ll make it. To transfer the…
Range Central Central America
After a successful ascent of Volcán Cosigüina, we head towards Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. It is also known by several other names: Lake Nicaragua, Lake Cocibolca, Lake Granada, Lago de Nicaragua, Lago Cocibolca, Mar Dulce, Gran Lago, Gran Lago Dulce or Lago de Granada. I would not be surprised if there…
Range Central Central America
After breakfast we say goodbye to Renee. She and Dave have successfully climbed some peaks in Honduras and yesterday we climbed together Volcán San Cristóbal in Nicaragua. Today she is on her way to Managua to fly home, Dave and I head for the Gulf of Fonseca, where the Cosigüina volcano rises on the coast….
Range Central Central America
This is my first introduction to the world of Nicaragua’s smoking volcanoes. First impressions are important and these are great. One of Nicaragua’s two ultra mountains is Volcán San Cristóbal, an active stratovolcano with a bush-covered base and a half kilometre high volcanic sand slope. Today we’ll have a great opportunity to get our legs…
Range Pampas
We have breakfast, call a taxi to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), and indicate in the app that we want to go via Av. Francisco Beiró 4150, C1419. The taxi driver gives us the all-clear sign, and we go. The address was actually further away than I thought, but we have plenty of time; we…
Range Puna de Atacama
This is the last major hill on this trip and likely the last for the year, though you never know, there might be one along the way. At the hotel, we agree to check out in the late afternoon and head towards the trailhead. We start climbing, and a local farmer shouts that we are…
Range Puna de Atacama
And again, it is forbidden… And again, an interesting top, next to the golf course. We leave the car and somehow magically get punched on the other side of the fence. A hundred metres across the meadow, and we are at the top. We get a good view of the surroundings, measure the height, and…
Range Puna de Atacama
There are no easily accessible ultra peaks around, so we opt for a nicely shaped ribu rising from the Dique la Angostura lake. Franco says that Nuñorco means breast, so we will climb the breast, which has a thousand metres of prominence. The weather is beautiful in the morning. We choose one of several trails…
Range Puna de Atacama
There was heavy rain in the morning, but we are not afraid of rain, unfortunately the weather forecast for the rest of the day is even worse. The day starts late, and we are in no hurry, so we drive towards Dique la Angustura lake. On the way, we have to wait for a few…
Range Puna de Atacama
After we drive ten or fifteen kilometres along a private road, we stop at a farm, Franco talks to the owner’s brother, and we pitch our tents in the yard. The most spectacular sight of the evening is the huge insects flying around and glowing bright green. The light is so strong that you can…
Range Puna de Atacama
For the second time, we head towards Cerros de Pereyra. The first time we came to a gravel road, due to a very heavy downpour, we turned around. Maybe we would have reached the village of El Fuerte, but we probably would not have reached the trailhead. This time the weather was good. We believe…
Range Puna de Atacama
Very prominent peak, one of the world’s top 100 by prominence. No other reason was needed to climb it. We are little acclimated from the previous two mountains – Cumbres Calchaquies and Cerro Malcante; and only need a good weather window. And here we go: Sunday morning should be fine for summit. Franco arranged mules,…
Range Puna de Atacama
The forbidden fruit is sweeter, and Cerro Malcante also intrigues us more than the other mountains. We arrive early in the morning, park the car on the side of the road, and a few minutes later we are climbing up the steep slope. So far, no one has stopped us, but a few hundred metres…
Range Puna de Atacama
We stay in the tidy town of Cachi. It’s still late in the evening, and through the hotel window I can see a few small hills, also marked on the map as viewpoints. We go to visit them. Start by checking out the UFO landing strip. It’s a meticulous job; the white pebbles are arranged…
Range Puna de Atacama
The first Cerro Pan de Azúca climb was great, but it didn’t help us acclimatise and get used to the higher altitude. Next, we chose the Cumbres Calchaquies, as the first night would be at 3000m, the second night at 4100m, and the summit at 4740m. Optimistically, we decided that this would be the right…
Range Sierras de Cordoba
After a coffee break in Asunción, our plane lands in Córdoba. Through the aeroplane window, I can see a mountain range. The first question is whether there is a peak that we could reach relatively easily. The second question is how much time we have before the next flight. The third question is: what transportation…
Range Great Britain
On this trip, this is the last of Scotland’s four p600’s peaks. Arūnas decides to walk along Loch Lomond, so I get out of the car at the closed gate and walk about three kilometres to the trailhead on the tarmac road. A first-class walk with spectacular views illuminated by the morning sun. It is…
Range Great Britain
It’s raining, but not heavily, so it won’t scare us. We leave the car on the side of the road. The first obstacle is a stream. Of course, you can wade and cross, but I want to enjoy my dry shoes for more than a few minutes. We walk along the river and find a…
Range Great Britain
Today’s goal is simple and quick: a few kilometers of distance and a few hundred meters of elevation gain. In exchange, I will bag a relatively isolated P600 peak in Southern Uplands. We are leaving car at the road side and walking along the fence (start at right side). Most of the tral will go…
Range Great Britain
Merrick is far enough away from the other mountains to be the southernmost peak of Scotland’s P600. It is the highest mountain in the Southern Uplands and southern Scotland, so I had enough arguments for visiting it. Several cars are already parked in the parking lot. We change our shoes, get dressed, and start climbing….
Range Great Britain
Just outside Birmingham, we turn off the M6 motorway, drive for a few miles, and stop in a large car park. I thought we were going to drive all the way to the top, but it turns out we have to walk a few hundred meters. Nice. There is a memorial at the top, apparently…