Adventures by Alan and Melanie
On our first stop in Southeast Asia, we stayed a couple days in Bangkok and ate (and cooked!) some of the best food of our entire trip so far. We saw some sights, like the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Chinatown, and of course the backpacker filled Khao San Road.
For our last two weeks in Japan, we stayed in homes instead of in guesthouses or hostels. First, we stayed in Hadano, with a lovely couple that hosted us through Workaway. Then, we moved to my Obaachan’s house in Nagoya for a few days.
Our decision to go to Kanazawa was rather spontaneous but so worth it! After getting shut down in the Alps in the rain, we decided that rain can’t stop culture. We booked two nights in the city and set out to explore.
After getting citied-out in Tokyo, we were eager to get into the mountains. The skies were grey on our train ride out of the city, but we were optimistic about adventures! Climbing and hiking in “the Yosemite of Japan” were on the agenda, but mother nature had other ideas.
Continue reading “The Japanese Alps: still on our bucket list”
After a long journey taking us through Dubai, we arrived in Tokyo. The sprawling metropolis swallowed us whole as we stepped into the neon craziness of Shinjuku and walked to our hotel. In the following 10 days, we explored Tokyo, and then Kyoto, and Nara with Dan and Jake who were visiting from LA.
We found ourselves newly carless after selling our van in Chamonix. Without Bleu Lightning, our plan of driving and climbing our way back across France was no longer possible. Luckily this gave us the chance to visit our friend Sebastian in Asturias, Spain and another day with Michelle and Zach, who gave us a ride to Zurich on their way home.
Continue reading “Climbing in Spain, and saying goodbye to Europe”
As we approached Chamonix, a mountain town at the base of Mont Blanc, my excitement was twinged with nerves. In a few kilometers we would exit the long tunnel through the mountains from Italy, and finally set foot in a place that had only existed in dreams and photographs. Chamonix was filled with tourists, and most restaurants required a reservation – two big strikes in our book. But when the clouds cleared and the sun-lit peak of Mont Blanc appeared towering over the town, I knew the magic was real. We settled into a campground near town, allowing us to explore the mountains and town on foot. Our fellow campers were also climbers, and conversations were highly reminiscent of those in El Chalten. Weather windows, gear, and the most epic climbs.
Our day started before the sun lit the valley, and we excitedly finished off oatmeal and coffee before lacing up boots and beginning the walk to the Aiguille du Midi chairlift. Our goal was Rebuffat-Baquet (6a/5.10-), a beautiful and sustained eleven pitch alpine granite route that finishes with a rappel onto the tourist viewing platforms.
Our drive into the Dolomites took us through picturesque mountain towns where “danke schoen” worked just as well as “gratzie” and restaurants served pizza and pasta alongside pretzels and schnitzel. The views opened up suddenly and the towering dolomites took our breath away. While in this Italian mountain range, we hiked, climbed, and “via ferrata’d”, all offering incredible adventure and scenery.
This long alpine route was at least as mentally demanding as it was physically demanding. In the mostly stable weather of August 1st, 2018, Melanie and I set off from the Muttekopfhutte hut (1,934 m) at 6:15 AM. The route summits the Hintere Platteinspitze (2728 m) after about 690 m of 5th class climbing.