Tag Alps

Harmen Hoek: Prepare to be Dazzled

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

Are you ready for a cinematic experience that rules YouTube in the adventurer genre?

In his latest super-achievement, Harmen Hoek takes viewers from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland on the most demanding route in the Alps under the best of conditions. But he does it when he must wear snowshoes most of the way over nine days. His journey involves a helicopter, along with astounding footage of his rescue.

The solo backpacker from The Netherlands has conquered difficult trails around the world and his adventures and photography are likely to lead you to join his 259,000 followers. He lets the film tell the story, foregoing narration, using composers like Thomas James White, who composed exclusive music to enhance The Alps.

If you are like me, Harmen Hoek’s 72 YouTube videos will become habit-forming. He is simply the best solo hiking filmmaker. Please let us all know what you think.

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 5

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

Record-setting Appalachian Trail runner Jennifer Pharr Davis said it was her favorite trek in the world. “You can do it,” she told us about the Tour du Mont Blanc during her visit to Ashland, Oregon. We weren’t as certain, but after months of nervous debate, we jetted to France, played tourists in Paris and Strasbourg, then rode two trains to Chamonix, one of the world’s most popular winter sports cities.

It was July 2016. The Tour du Mont Blanc was our greatest challenge to date. The trail guided us from Chamonix around western Europe’s tallest mountain (15,766 feet) and its massif, counterclockwise, through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Although the TMB never climbed above 9,000 feet, it offered steep tests, sections of snow, and a blizzard that we barely avoided.

The Alps treated us to a grand show as we climbed nearly 30,000 feet and walked 110 miles over 10 days. We stayed several nights in rustic mountain huts, sharing drinks and meals with adventurers from all over Europe and even a few from America. At Rifugio Elisabetta, the tiny window in our bunk room revealed a glacier.

When we quit the working world in 2012, we longed for adventure, expecting to travel by planes, trains, and automobiles. Maybe a day hike here and there. We never, I mean never, would have dreamed (or had nightmares?) about such a foolhardy enterprise as the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Never assume.