Calum Macintyre is the youngest person to have climbed Ama Dablam, which at 22,525ft (6812m) is five times the height of Ben Nevis. The young mountaineer was raising money for the Teenager Cancer Trust. Calum’s father and sister have both…
Every time I stepped outside my hotel in Zermatt there would be a gaggle of tourists holding up their phones to take a photo. Not of me, annoyingly, but of the big pointy peak rearing up into the heavens. The…
I think I was already in love with Machapuchare before I ever visited Nepal. My parents went to Pokhara in 2002, and at the time I was most put out. Since I was a teenager I had had a fascination…
With glaciers wrapped around tall dark mountain peaks, and continual wind blowing through fields and forests, Patagonia’s wild landscape may seem daunting and unconquerable. However, trekking Mount Fitz Roy proves to be an exhilarating and perfectly achievable experience for any…
One of our favorite trips is our Central Andes Alpine Climbs, a fun, shorter duration 10-day trip on which we climb three classic high altitude peaks in the heart of the Chilean Central Andes. This trip is perfect for those…
After such an epic, wildly-successful first day, we were a little adrift as to what to do for a follow-up. Michele had suggested the Cadini di Misurina — a dense maze of improbably-pointy mountain peaks looming east of town —…
Since Nepal’s civil war ended in 2006, the number of trekkers visiting the Everest region has more than doubled to 35,000 a year. At the height of the season, around 60 flights land at Lukla airport each day. The Sherpa…
Climbing Mount Fuji (3776 meters), Japan’s highest and most prominent mountain, can make for lifelong memories. The mountain itself may look more attractive from afar than from close up, but the views on clear days and the experience of climbing…
Located in northern Italy and with a unique mix of Italian and Austrian culture the Dolomites has the highest concentration of via ferrata in the world, boasting some 170 historic routes. The metal wires intespersed with ladders and unlikely suspension…
Once the island of Kalymnos in Greece’s Dodecanese cursed the hand nature had dealt it. Huge rock escarpments line its western coast, overlooking the Aegean. The slopes below, covered in wild oregano, thyme and mint, were good only for goats…
It feels like the apex of an immense white roof – the point at which three ridges to the top of the world finally meet and you can’t go any higher. Unlike some summits, where mountaineers have to take it…
On arrival, every guest will receive a travel ticket from their host (where the host is a member of the local Tourist Association). The HOLIDAY PASS entitles guests to use all public transport throughout the whole of South Tyrol. This…
There has been a lack of significant new snow in the Alps but existing snow has held well in the relatively cold conditions. Last night 5cm of new snow was fairly widespread, however, up to 45cm of new snow is…
Obergurgl, one of the highest ski villages in Europe, set at 1,930m at the end of the Ötztal valley near the city of Innsbruck, used to trade on its reputation as Austria’s most snowsure non-glacial resort. These days its image…
Purpose-built Val Thorens is not only the highest resort in the giant Trois Vallées ski area that includes Courchevel and Méribel, but the highest in Europe. Its lofty altitude means that doorstep skiing with guaranteed snow cover is possible from…
‘It’s puking snow up here again today,” said Anton Horvath, Whistler’s avalanche forecaster, peering out of his office window on Wednesday last week. “If you took off your skis outside, you would literally sink up to your armpits. I’ve been…
Joe Harkess, freestyle coach, All Mountain Academy Tricksters inspired by Jenny Jones’s Olympic bronze medal should ride the snowpark at Bellevarde (under the Mont Blanc chairlift). It has jumps of varying sizes, as well as boxes and rails – so…
While your friends head to Spanish beaches and Italian hills, Chile – with its numerous ski resorts – is an adventurous alternative to the typical summer holiday. Andean skiing offers an unforgettable combination of beach-style weather, great snow and exotic…
It wasn’t the usual airport transfer. We bumped along in the back of a friendly stranger’s battered old jeep, the resident cocker spaniel having obligingly moved to sit on his owner’s lap in the front seat. But our shuttle driver…
Pretty Puy-Saint-Vincent sits on the edge of the Ecrins national park in the southern French Alps, not far from the Italian border. The closest airport is Turin, less than two hours away, or add another hour to drive from Grenoble…
Before I had kids, my dream winter break was all about mixing great snowboarding with a good après scene involving live music and big jugs of beer, while a powder-tastic snow movie played in the background. Post-children, I still want…
This season, Europe’s slopes have been so barren there were practically tumbleweeds blowing across them, until thankfully a deep covering of snow finally dropped over the Alps last weekend. But those who’ve been holding out for thigh-deep powder before bagging…
These beautiful images show thousands of Thai Buddhist monks gathering to carry lanterns and venerate a statue of Buddha to mark one of the holiest days of the religious calender. Makha Bucha commemorates the full moon day which falls on…
If the thought of exploring Greece’s ancient world makes your skin tingle with anticipation, you’ll struggle to contain your excitement on a holiday to Athens. The historical capital of Europe, Athens’ landmarks and old ruins are known the world over,…
Heaping plates of light-as-air pasta. Art by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini. Some of the most entertaining people-watching on the planet. Rome is a city like no other. But as welcoming as it can be, to the first-time visitor Rome can…
Although there are days when tourists outnumber locals by two to one, Venice never loses its capacity to enchant. Summer brings some of the most daunting crowds, but there’s a reason why they come: the sheer loveliness of an exquisite…
The best way to discover Moscow is on foot. It may seem unrelentingly urban, dominated by cars and towering skyscrapers, but to find the flowering courtyards, icon-filled churches and house-museums, you need to walk through the back streets and pathways….
It is often derided as a cultural desert, but a younger generation of Singapore’s residents and expats is determined to bring an edgier side to the city. They are leading an improvisation drive, chiefly culinary, and the results are rarely…
The English writer Samuel Johnson famously said, “You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all…
The City of Light draws millions of visitors every year with its unforgettable ambiance. Of course, the divine cuisine and vast art collections deserve some of the credit as well. The gentle River Seine rambles through the city, flanked by…
It’s a balmy Saturday morning in Rio de Janeiro and, unlike everyone else in town, I’m heading away from the beach. Ipanema, Copacabana and Leblon may be among the city’s most loved attractions, but Santa Teresa, a small district in…
Constructed between 1996 and 2007 at the request of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and first president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is by far the most popular of Abu Dhabi’s sights, and…
Eating out The most exciting new restaurant in Valencia is the Arrop Ricard Camarena, set in the spectacularHotel Palacio Marqués de Caro. The owners, Santiago Máñez and Luis Bellvís (the latter a descendant of the last Moorish King of Valencia,…
Every tourist board loves a major motion picture. Think Braveheart, think Scotland. Think Jean de Florette, think Provence. Similarly, if you go and see The Beach, you will be treated to 90 minutes of the kind of subliminal advertising that…
They’ve stolen my shoes. After 13 hours on a plane, a smiling man has placed them firmly into a bag labelled “No News, No Shoes” and pulled the drawstring tight. I am now barefoot in the Maldives and I feel…