Alpenglow Adventures

22/08/2020

Really interesting article that speaks to the current conflict we are seeing between promoting access to the outdoors and the environmental damage caused.

'We need reflect that not all our pursuits are essential to the enjoyment of the outdoors. Some of them are created by a culture with an increasingly unhealthy relationship with the environment. Why race between Scotland, Wales and England for the Three Peaks Challenge? Why bag every Munro? Why fly between continents for the Seven Summits?'

https://theconversation.com/amp/is-it-time-to-stop-climbing-mountains-obsession-with-reaching-summits-is-a-modern-invention-144748

Before reaching summits became part of the new 'sublime' in the late 18th century, people didn't climb mountains.

04/07/2020

Dramatic views from the Sefinafurgga Pass across to the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau 🏔 🇨🇭

24/06/2020

Few model shots of a flowering semlervivum, or house leek by it's common name. Such a beaut and one of our favourite alpine flowers. If you're interested to learn more about them Google search 'the incredible houseleek' and a great blog by alpine naturalist simone van velzen will pop up. She's the founder of chamonix nature nerds (check out the page on fb) and leads nature walks on our Alps hiking retreats. @ Ceresole Reale

21/06/2020

Happy fathers day to all the wonderful dads out there! Sending out our thoughts to all of you who can't be with your loved ones today.

On an unrelated note, this friendly chap is an Alpine Ibex. They are one of the biggest mammals in the Alps growing up to 1m tall and weighing over 100kg. Although they were pushed to the brink of extinction in the 1800s, they are now a protected species and no longer hunted. This means they are really chilled out around humans. We found this lovely guy munching on some leaves on our way down from a climb near Chamonix.

17/06/2020

During lockdown, my Zen teacher Hamid has been hosting weekly meditation sessions on zoom which includes a discussion afterwards.

This is our talk from last Tuesday during which Hamid addressed the very important and poignant issues of racial inequality and discrimination.

Hamid discusses how spiritial organisations, including the zen school, have not always spoken out against injustice in the past, and in some cases have even stood on the wrong side of history.

Our spiritual practice can be simply a quest for self-enlightenment in which we isolate ourselves. Conversely, it can become a vehicle for deepening empathy and compassion, deeply engaging us with the world and helping us to heed the call to face injustice.

If you would like to join our online group at 7pm UK time Tuesday evenings - comment below and I will DM you the details. We are a diverse and friendly group from all across the world with a variety of backgrounds. No experience of meditation is necessary as all instruction will be given. Hope to see some of you there, Jen x

01/04/2020

My Zen teacher Hamid and I are holding bi-weekly online meditation sessions at 9pm UK time Saturdays and 7am UK time on Tuesdays.

Each session lasts one hour and we have 30 minutes of silent meditation and then Hamid gives a 20 minute teaching on different aspects of the dharma that relate to our daily lives.

I found this teaching from last Saturday particularly poignant as it speaks to the heart of our difficulty in these uncertain times. Hamid shares how a regular meditation practice helped him deal with a particularly painful event recently and enabled him to be present to all that unfolded. When we are fully present, we may still suffer, but we don't magnify that suffering by struggling against the reality of things as they are.

I hope you all find this teaching as healing as I did.

Our next meditation session will be this Saturday evening - if you are interested in joining please comment below or drop me a message and I will send you the details x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42ZiXI24yKw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR219BcQnulUzd1G-4UCFPPP12KokAQZpfOgmtK9rxK31FRtYtSs6GdNdg8

28/03/2020

It's times like these when we have to return to the joys and pleasures in life that are always there for us regardless of circumstance - the feeling of the sun, spring flowers beginning to bloom and the mountains that always watch over us. I feel very lucky to be passing my quarantine over here in the Alps and for now we can still get out on walks and runs near to where we live which is a blessing.
I wanted to share this photos of some beautiful snowflakes growing in the forest near our home. A carpet of them bloom at this time every year in a beech forest near our village and they are one of the only little flowers that grow there, along with a few crocus.
I hope that all of you are healthy and happy and able to still enjoy some time in nature.
My Zen teacher Hamid has started offering online meditation sessions. We had our first one yesterday and it was so great to practice together. If any of you are interested just drop me a DM and I'll send you the details 🙏

26/03/2020

I'm really happy to share that my teacher Hamid is going to be offering online meditation sessions starting this Friday and Saturday. I have studied Zen and Zen meditation with Hamid for 9 years now and his teachings have been invaluable to my practice and daily life. It's rare to meet a authentic teacher in these days of commercialised spirituality and I am really happy that technology will allow his message to reach further.

Even if you have never meditated before, you are very welcome to join the sessions and the first one will include instruction regarding the sitting posture.

We hope that these sessions will continue once or twice per week and will include meditation, a teaching from Hamid and opportunity for questions.

We are really looking forward to sharing the practice with you all across the world =)

How to join the online meeting
The meetings will be hosted on zoom and you will need to download the application on your mobile or laptop and create a free account to join.

10 minutes before the session, simply click the link found in the email you will receive after you register and it will take you to a 'waiting room' where you will wait until Hamid joins the session. You will automatically join with your microphone turned off and your video turned on. We will leave microphones off for the duration of the session to limit sound interference during meditation. You are welcome to keep your video on or turn it off - however you are most comfortable.

Hamid will join the meeting 5 minutes before the session to do a sound check and make sure that everyone can hear. There is a chat box on Zoom that you can use to notify him if you are having trouble.

Friday 27th March
Time: 7am London time/ 8am Paris
Topic: Zazen (Zen Meditation)
Duration: 1h30
During this session, Hamid will start with instruction of how to sit correctly and then we will sit together in silence for 30 minutes. Afterwards he will give a teaching and open up to questions which you can type in the chat box.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/…/uZwkcO-qrT0vV7IDpg2wyuacuBbKy_Gezg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Saturday 28th March
Time: 9pm London time/ 10pm Paris
Topic: Zazen (Zen Meditation)
Duration: 1h
We will sit together in silence for 30 minutes and Hamid will give a teaching and open up to questions which you can type in the chat box.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/…/vJMrdemqrTwi7ZnDhI9LUasQkAYI49KQSg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Feel free to share with friends
If you know anyone who would enjoy or benefit from these online meditation sessions please feel free to forward the above information to them.

Donations
The online sessions are free of charge and all are welcome to join regardless of income. If anyone is in the financial position to make a small donation via paypal it would be much appreciated but is absolutely not necessary. If you would like to make a donation you can do so via paypal to [email protected]

Technical problems?
This will be the first time that Hamid will hosting a virtual meeting for so many people and so there could be a couple of teething problems to start as we all get used to zoom ;) If any of you come across technical issues, please drop a message in the chat box during the session and we will do our best to help. If you are completely stuck feel free to message or call me on whatsapp +447790288657 and I will be happy to help you get going.

Look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow =)

Jen x

09/03/2020

'One of the best exemplars of Beginner’s Mind is a baby learning to walk. Babies don’t read books about walking or go to walking seminars. They just stand up, take a step, and fall down. Then they do it all over again. They might get frustrated or angry when they fall, but they don’t get discouraged. They don’t say, “See, that proves that I can’t walk! I’ll never learn to walk. Walking is impossible!”
(Bernie Glassman).
How often do we learn new things as adults and get frustrated with our lack of progress? How often do we compare our performance to others who have been practicing for years what we have just started?
This last week I've been having a go at ice climbing and it's safe to it wasn't the most graceful sight. However, with instruction from my friend I started to get the 'swing of it' 😉 and I really enjoyed learning the new techniques needed.
How boring life would be without learning! And how much more joyful it is to laugh at ourselves when we suck at things, relaxed in the knowledge that, just like a baby taking its first steps, we will improve naturally with time.
What new skill would you like to try if you weren't too embarrassed to give it a go?

08/03/2020

Happy international womens day! Our shout out goes to the incredible who was our amazing guide in Nepal this February.
In Nepal, gender roles are still very defined and so it's difficult for women to find work as guides. was established to provide training and jobs for the women of Nepal so they can be financially independent and do the job they love.
Indra was born in a small village in the Everest region and became a guide 10 years ago. To become a guide she spent two years as a porter carrying heavy loads so she could learn English and the trekking routes. She's now a senior hiking guide for 3 sisters and is involved with training new female guides.
Many people ask what the need is for feminism and celebrations such as international women's day. Well the uncomfortable truth is, despite how far gender equality has come, it's still international mens day every day.
Until every woman in every country has the same opportunities in life as men, then we don't have true equality.

28/02/2020

Even when you live in a beautiful place like the Alps it can be hard to motivate yourself to get up and out of the house at times. But that's the funny thing about motivation, you can't just wait around for it to appear, you have to act as if you have it and then it will eventually join you on the ride. And if you are really struggling with motivation, find a good friend who can help you stick to healthy habits like getting outside and exercising.
After the big dump of snow yesterday, my motivational friend got me out for a little ski tour above Notre Dame de la Gorge in Les Contamines. Mont Blanc was hiding in the clouds but we got some great views of the Dome de Miage.
Who are you going to help get out on an adventure this weekend? 💪

25/02/2020

'It's not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent.' (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Several monks will work together on a sand mandala like this for weeks at a time. The sand granules are painstakingly laid down on top of intricately drawn geometric patterns using narrow funnels. When the mandala is finished, it's destroyed.
The sand is then collected in a jar and transported to a river to be released back to nature. Thus the art becomes a visual representation of impermanence and interconnectedness.
All things decay and all things pass. Meditation allows us to directly experience the impermenent and transient nature of our emotions as we observe myriad states of mind in a single sitting with little stimulus from the outside world. We can experience everything from extreme joy and boundless energy to grief and anxiety in just a few minutes while sitting on a cushion.
The realisation that all things are impermanent allows us to live more fully, appreciating things moment to moment and reducing our anxiety during times of transition.

15/02/2020

Learn the beautiful art of Sumi-e during a 3 day beginner workshop in the Yorkshire Dales this September 25th to 28th.

Sumi-e literally translates as ‘black ink’ and has been practiced by Zen monks in Japan for centuries. Whilst painting, practitioners focus on their posture and breathing and enter a concentrated state, similar to during meditation. Each element in sumi-e is painted with a single brush stroke meaning that corrections cannot be made and so the practitioner must remain present in each moment. In order to paint in a natural and fluid way, all mental activities that complicate the painting (and your life) must be given up.

In this concentrated and aware state we are able to overcome our sense of being a ‘separate self’ and the limits of our ego.

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/yorkshire-dales-zen-retreat

12/02/2020

Join us for a long-weekend of hiking, Zen ink painting, Zen meditation and yoga in the stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park
25th September to 28th September 2020 (from £365)

Here is an example day on our retreat:

7am: Tea
730am: Zazen (Zen meditation)
8am: Breakfast
9am – 12pm: Walk in nearby hills
1230pm: Lunch
2pm: Talk – ‘History of Sumi-e’
230pm – 4pm: Sumi-e painting
4pm – 430pm: Tea/coffe and snacks
430pm – 530pm: Sumi-e painting
6pm – 7pm: Yin yoga
730pm – 9pm: Dinner and free time
9pm: Zazen (Zen meditation)
930pm: Tea and evening relaxation time

Find out more information at https://alpenglow-retreats.com/yorkshire-dales-zen-retreat

12/02/2020

Thank you so much for an incredible week on the P**n Hill Mardi Himal Trek. It was such an amazing experience and we learned so much from you about the mountains here and Nepalese culture. If anyone is looking for a fun, smiley, knowledgeable, caring guide in Nepal then we highly recommend 3 sisters trekking company - and especially Indra!

3 sisters adventure trekking is a female owned trekking company that works alongside the NGO 'Empowering Women of Nepal' to train and employ female guides and porters. They are based in Pokhara and have some incredible trips on offer and can provide private guiding too.

09/02/2020

Wohooo it's the weekend! They say that youth is wasted on the young, well we're sure that dogs think that being human is wasted on humans.

Follow Honey's (our lovely dog in the photo) recipe for the perfect Sunday:

1) Cuddles in bed
2) Have a big yummy breakfast
3) Take a long walk out in nature, preferably with a few friends to chase around!
4) Eat lots of lovely snacks along the way
5) Take a cosey nap on the sofa when you get home
6) Eat a big yummy dinner
7) Cuddles on the sofa
8) Early night to get ready for another adventure tomorrow!

What's your perfect Sunday??

Photo of Honey by David Thexton Photography

08/02/2020

After a couple of cloudy days we were rewarded with sunrise views of Annapurna South and Machapuchare from P**n Hill above Ghorepani. The P**n hill hike in Annapurna National Park is one of the shorter hikes in Nepal but the panoramic views are hard to beat!

05/02/2020

This is Simone. She is an Alpine Nature specialist who writes for outdoor magazines and leads nature excursions in Chamonix. If you join us on one of our Alps Hiking Retreats you will get to spend a day with her exploring the incredible flora and fauna of the Alps. Her knowledge of the local nature is vast and her love of the natural world is contagious!

Simone studied Wildlife Management in the Netherlands and spent many years living in the Canadian Rockies where she discovered a love for the mountain environment. When she returned to Europe, she decided to move to Chamonix where she has been living full time for six years.

When she isn't writing articles or leading nature excursions, Simone devotes most of her free time to studying alpine plant ecology, volunteering in wildlife rescue centres or bird watching.

She is a volunteer data collector for Chamonix's Alpine Climate Research Centre; tagging birds, counting bird eggs and collecting mountain hare droppings for dna analysis. She's one busy bee!

If you are interested in nature, follow what Simone is upto on her page Chamonix Nature Nerds

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

01/02/2020

The mighty Ibex is a species of wild goat that lives in the European Alps. Overhunting almost led to their extinction, but luckily some forward thinking individuals created the Gran Paradiso National Park in 1922 to ensure their protection.

Today there are 3,000 ibex in the Gran Paradiso National Park and around 5,000 individuals in the rest of the Alps. They are all genetically similar as they descend from the protected herd in the Gran Paradiso. Ibex are a common sight in the Aiguilles Rouges National Park close to Chamonix. If we are lucky we may spot one on our guided nature hike in June 🤞

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

27/01/2020

Book by this Friday to qualify for £100 off our Alps Hiking Retreat this June!

- Guided hikes in the most beautiful valley in the Alps
- Luxury ensuite room in a beautiful Alpine chalet with views of Mont Blanc
- Morning and evening meditation sessions
- Yin Yoga class each day
- 3 Delicious, healthy vegan meals per day
- Guided nature hike with Alpine nature specialist
- Outdoor whirlpool bath with views of Mont Blanc
- One day Sumi-e (japanese ink painting) workshop

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

25/01/2020

'Staff day out' last summer above Le Tour village in Chamonix valley. Dave is our photographer (David Thexton Photography), Nic bakes beautiful vegan cakes on our retreats (check out her amazing creations at Le Cacen) and Hayley is a UX designer wizz who helps out with our website.

The two pooches aren't so much help but they do remind us to get up off the laptop and go for some adventures!

24/01/2020

**£100 off our Alps Hiking Retreat until 31st Jan**

When: 30th May to 6th June 2020
Where: Chamonix
How much: from £1150 per person

Price includes:
- Guided hikes with international mountain leader
- Luxury ensuite chalet accommodation
- Daily yin yoga class
- Twice daily meditation
- Delicious vegan menu
- Guided nature hike with an alpine specialist
- One day Zen ink painting workshop

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

22/01/2020

We never get bored of the skyline from Chamonix. Mont Blanc is the big dome shaped mountain in the middle, with Mont Maudit and Mont Blanc du Tacul to the left. at 4810m, Mont Blanc, meaning 'white mountain' is the highest mountain in Western Europe and sits on the border between France and Italy.

On our Alps Hiking Retreat in June we will be staying on the French side of Mont Blanc in the beautiful mountain town of Chamonix. We will also take a day trip to hike on the Italian side of Mont Blanc and gaze up at it's much rockier south face.

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

21/01/2020

June is one of our favourite times to hike in Chamonix as the alpine flowers are at their absolute best! Here are some tiny spring crocuses peeking up at Mont Blanc, having just emerged from the snow a week before. With such incredible vistas in the Alps it's important to remember to look down and take notice of the small things too!

20/01/2020

A short, beautiful and heart warming documentary of a farmer who battles for years with his conscience as a cattle farmer and transitions to agriculture. The moment when you see his cows released to an animal sanctuary and galloping around with joy is a reminder of the very sentient nature of these beautiful animals. It has made our day and we hope you enjoy it too ☺️

73 Cows is the story of Jay Wilde, a beef farmer who battles with his conscience every time he takes his cows to slaughter. Feeling trapped within an industry he…

19/01/2020

While we love winter in Chamonix, an especially cold and windy day out skiing today got us dreaming of sunny afternoon picnics in alpine meadows. This is the view from the Alpage de Loriaz, looked over by mighty Mont Blanc and the Aiguille Verte. It's one of the places we love to go for guided nature walks on our Alps hiking trip.

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

18/01/2020

There aren't many towns in the world where you can drink a cup of tea on a warm sunny terrace while gazing up at snowy peaks and their glaciers. This is Chamonix; a village nestled at the base of the highest mountains in Western Europe and the home of our June hiking retreat.

We've guided groups all over the Alps, but still think this is the most beautiful valley around.

There's an amazing energy here. Walking down the pedestrian street you will pass hikers, runners, paragliders, rock climbers and tourists from all over the world. Some have come to marvel at Mont Blanc from it's base, others to conquer it's summit.

Join us on our Alps Hiking Retreat this June to discover the best hiking that Chamonix has to offer.

https://alpenglow-retreats.com/alps-hiking-retreat/

16/01/2020

Koalas are losing their homes and their lives in the bushfire crisis. Become a Koala Protector from £25