Dispatches from Larry Habegger

May

2

On Everest: Thin Air, Thin Hair, Thin Skin?

Posted by Larry Habegger

It’s climbing season again on Mount Everest, and like most years, it looks to be a busy time at high altitude. The peak period for reaching the summit is a few short weeks in late April and early May, and reports say at least 32 expeditions are planned from the Nepal side. That makes for quite a crowd trying to inchworm its way up the mountain. Tempers, no doubt, will flare.

Just a few days ago, in a widely reported story, things did get out of hand when a crowd of Sherpas fought with three foreign climbers in a dispute over fixing ropes on the route high up the mountain. In a story for National Geographic News, Brot Coburn provides good context for understanding the relationship between Sherpas and foreign climbers, one that has been and continues to be positive in almost all respects. Jon Krakauer’s bestselling book from 1997, Into Thin Air, illustrates how badly things can go wrong when the mountain gets crowded and the weather changes.

But most of us don’t need to worry about the crush of climbers on the route above base camp. Elite mountaineers climb, the rest of us hike — or trek, as they say in Nepal. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Asia, Hike/Backpack, Nepal, Nepal, Travel

Jan

9

Swiss Snow!

Posted by Larry Habegger

As we rolled through the holidays into 2013, I’ve been having daydreams of the Swiss Alps. A few years ago I took my family there in the summer and found the most extraordinary playground on the slopes of the Matterhorn. We spent a blissful day picnicking, hiking, and watching the kids enjoy the slides, swings, ropes, and other playground paraphernalia, all beneath a backdrop of that amazing mountain.

More recently I hiked with friends in the Jungfrau region, basing ourselves in Mürren on the flank of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, what has to be one of the most scenic settings on earth. At other times I’ve explored Geneva, Lausanne, Luzern, St. Moritz, Gindelwald, Appenzell, Chur, and other places, but I’ve never been there in winter. Continue reading »

1 Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Cross Country Skiing, Europe, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports, Switzerland, Switzerland, Travel

Mar

29

Monterey’s “Oldest Golf Course in the West”

Posted by Larry Habegger

Many golf dreams begin and end with Pebble Beach. I remember as a kid in snowbound Minnesota watching Bing Crosby and his pals on TV frolicking in the seaside sunshine playing golf with the pros at his annual “clambake”; I remember watching a U.S. Open or two and other PGA events, and I know that that’s where my California dream started. I had to play Pebble Beach.

A few years ago I got my chance, and on one glorious weekend I played Pebble, Spyglass, and the Links at Spanish Bay. All three courses are managed by the Pebble Beach Company, but at the time I’d forgotten about the fourth course in the fold, Del Monte Golf Course, the granddaddy of them all just a few miles inland. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under California, California, Golf, Monterey, North America, Northern California, Travel, United States

Mar

2

Ski Utah!

Posted by Larry Habegger

For years I’ve been hearing about the dry snow in Utah, how the mountains around Salt Lake City have the best ski conditions in the West, how Park City and other nearby resorts produce the most memorable ski experiences.

But I live in San Francisco and can be on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe in less than four hours. Lake Tahoe, the place with more ski resorts and ski acreage than any region in the USA, plus the glorious spectacle of the lake from many peaks. Why run off to Utah, or Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or Big Sky, Montana, or Vail or Aspen or Whistler, BC when I live so close to such a winter wonderland?

One reason this winter was the pitiful snowfall in the Sierra. Another was a group of friends from college days who wanted to meet there for a reunion. So, with tickets booked far in advance, I had powder dreams reminiscent of Warren Miller films and couldn’t wait to get going. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, North America, Skiing, Spa/ Resort, Sports, Travel, United States, Utah, Winter Fun

Jan

17

Great Travel Reading

Posted by Larry Habegger

One of the great pleasures of travel is reading about places, whether on the road, before you go, or after you’ve returned. The UK’s daily Telegraph recently posted a list of great expat travel books, both memoirs and novels, to get you started dreaming or reminiscing.

World Hum canvassed its contributors and fans for their favorite travel books, and the list that resulted could build a great library of travel literature.

And of course a reliable source for superb travel reading is Travelers’ Tales, whose annual Best Travel Writing collections take you all over the world and back. Or Townsend 11, a new e-book series from a San Francisco writers group.

So sit back at home, en route, or abroad, and prepare to be carried away.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Books, Travel

Jul

5

Sun Valley’s Summer Rush

Posted by Larry Habegger

Now that summer is in full swing and the snowmelt is finally clearing out of the mountains in the West, it’s time to think about getting out and having some adventures.

Recently I joined a mini reunion of college pals in Sun Valley, Idaho for a trifecta of outdoor activities: mountain biking, fly-fishing, and river kayaking.

Read all about it in the San Francisco Chronicle travel section: Sun Valley’s Summer Rush.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Canoe/Kayak, Fishing, Idaho, Mountain Biking, North America, Sun Valley, Travel

Apr

5

Why We Travel

Posted by Larry Habegger

With all of the uncertainty shaking up the world right now (hasn’t it always been this way?) in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Japan, and recently in Egypt and Tunisia, you begin to wonder where you should travel these days and what places you should avoid. The renowned author of many novels and travel books, Paul Theroux, has an answer: go just about anywhere.

He wrote in a recent New York Times essay that if you’re willing to put up with some discomfort and able to be flexible with your movements, the rewards of travel in troubled places are enormous. Such travel can show you the utter stupidity of much human conflict and the inspiring ways people manage to live their lives.

And isn’t that ultimately why we travel? To understand life on our planet and see how others express their humanity?

Rough travel can be, well, rough, and sometimes the lessons learned come only in retrospect, but they are lessons worth learning, now and in the future.

1 Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Travel

Apr

1

Culinary Adventures in Crete

Posted by Larry Habegger

I had coffee this morning with Nikki Rose, old friend and fellow San Francisco transplant who’s spent most of the last decade in Crete, her ancestors’ land. Her specialty? Cooking!

Since 1997 she’s worked to conserve Crete’s cultural and natural heritage through her own version of a slow food movement, engaging more than 40 small business and individuals in “Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries” to offer visitors a taste of traditional Cretan cuisine. Ingredients come from local organic farms, and chefs put a modern twist on the old cuisine so there’s always a tasty surprise.

Her programs have received sustainable development awards from the likes of National Geographic, and she’s booking tours for the summer. Visit artisan food producers, organic farmers, rural communities that have been inhabited for 4,000 years, and take botanical hikes in the land of the Minoans. Explore ancient sites, too.

And of course, eat well.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Crete, Culture, Europe, Food, Greece, Travel

Mar

16

Take Me to Tahiti

Posted by Larry Habegger

If you’re tired of the March mud or a winter that just won’t quit, maybe a trip to Tahiti is the fix you need. Moon Handbooks has just released the 7th edition of David Stanley’s guidebook to Tahiti, and you can just about feel the sea breezes wafting out of the book.

Triporati’s South Pacific expert, Stanley has spent much of the last 30 years traveling, crossing six continents overland and visiting 212 of the world’s 245 countries and territories. That puts him right up there as one of the world’s most traveled people.

As much as he’s traveled, he returns to the South Pacific again and again and considers it his favorite area, which says a lot about the appeal of the place. His book is full of the practical advice you’d expect from any good guidebook, but Stanley’s decades of experience in the region give this volume a special appeal. He knows the people, he knows the territory, and he knows how to share it with his readers. This make him the ideal guide to get you started on your journey.

Me? I can’t make it to Tahiti this year, but next month I’m going to Fiji. And I’ll be carrying Stanley’s new Moon Fiji Handbook with me when I go. This one is in its ninth edition, and I’m getting started in my pre-trip preparation.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Books, Budget Travel, South Pacific, Spa/ Resort, Student Travel, Tahiti

Feb

8

New Old Arty Neighborhood in Delhi

Posted by Larry Habegger

A Delhi neighborhood that became popular in the 1980s but fell out of favor has been reborn as a vibrant setting for cafes, art studios, bookshops, and other enterprises.

Brendan Spiegel reported on the Hauz Khas Village district, hidden among narrow lanes behind the ruins of a 13th-century mosque and royal tomb, in the New York Times.

It looks like a great place to spend a day or two on your next visit to Delhi. I want to go to the bookshop, Yodakin.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Asia, Delhi, India, Travel

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