High Land Walks

24/05/2024

Harold "Hap" Johnson climbing a Sitka Spruce. He was from Castle Rock, Washington.

"An avid sportsman, Mr. Johnson enjoyed hunting and fishing. He also enjoyed horses. He was a world champion tree topper, high climber and ax thrower and competed and performed in logging shows and sports shows throughout the United States. He doubled for John Wayne in the movie, 'North to Alaska', performed at three world fairs (Seattle, New York and Montreal, Canada,) and appeared on Arthur Godfrey's 'You Asked For It' television show." (Sourced from obituary)

Johnson earned his nickname before he could talk, according to his older brother. "When Hap was a baby, he always had a grin on his face and he was laughing all the time. So we called him 'Happy.'"

16/05/2024

Danish Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen with his first wife, Navarana Mequpaluk in 1912. She would pass away from the Spanish Flu in 1921.⁣
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Freuchen went on to participate in several Arctic explorations, one including a 1,000 mile dogsled trip across Greenland. Freuchen also wrote more than a dozen books (fiction and non-fiction), participated in the Danish resistance against Germany during World War 2 and was imprisoned by the N***s and sentenced to death, but managed to escape to Sweden. He eventually came to Hollywood and worked as a consultant and scriptwriter, but also starred in the Oscar winning movie "Eskimo" (1933). In 1956, he won $64,000 on "The $64,000 Question", an American quiz show.⁣
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But perhaps his most famous feat was barely escaping death when he once got trapped in a snow cave due to the warmth generated by his own breath, which created an impassable frozen crust that blocked the entrance.⁣
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He writes about the experience in one of his memoirs: “What a way to die…I gave up once more and let the hours pass without another move. But I recovered my strength while I rested and my morale improved. I was alive after all. I had not eaten for hours, but my digestion felt all right. I got a new idea! I had often seen dog’s dung in the sled track and had noticed that it would freeze as solid as a rock. Would not the cold have the same effect on human discharge? Repulsive as the thought was, I decided to try the experiment. I moved my bowels and from the excrement I managed to fashion a chisel-like instrument which I left to freeze…I was patient. I did not want to risk breaking my new tool by using it too soon…At last I decided to try my chisel and it worked!”⁣
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While he managed to escape, he was forced to amputate several of his toes and eventually lost his left foot entirely to frostbite.⁣
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In 1957, Freuchen died of a heart attack.

10/05/2024

Probably shared before but worth a share again.

Lucy Smith and Pauline Ranken of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, climbing the Salisbury Crags cliff in Edinburgh. Scotland, 1908.

23/02/2024

WHO ARE THESE BRAVE NEPALI ADVENTURERS?

In April 2011 Sano Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa began their three-month quest for the Ultimate Descent. They planned to climb Mount Everest, paraglide down, then kayak to the Indian Ocean.

Here Babu and Lakpa trek along the Western Cwm, a U-shaped valley carved out by the Khumbu Glacier. Set between Camps 1 and 2 at around 22,000 feet, this area is littered with giant crevasses. Lakpa, a mountaineering guide, pushed Babu, a professional kayaker, to learn quickly. They didn't stay at Camp 1, deciding to push on to Camp 2 instead.

With nearly 72,000 votes, Sano Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa are the 2012 National Geographic People's Choice Adventurers of the Year. Their Ultimate Descent expedition to climb Everest, paraglide down, and paddle to the sea truly embodies the spirit of adventure. With borrowed gear and a bare-bones budget, there were no corporate sponsors nor social media campaigns, just the essentials for adventure—vision, creativity, and friendship.

10/02/2024

An Teallach in January⛰️ Definitely not for the faint hearted 😮

📸 Ben James Mckenna

30/12/2023

I have them in my shed and they work a treat for me living in an old house. Forever grateful. 🤎🤍

Let them do their work.

28/12/2023