Croatia Photos: Hiking the Island of Mljet

Ryder-Walker trip leaders Daniel Sundqvist and Ken Fuhrer are having the time of their lives on our new Croatia hiking tour. Daniel shot the first photo (above) while hiking with our group on the island of Mljet. In the second photo, Ken, 'Kenny', takes the captain's chair on one of the many ferry boats that ply the waters between Croatia's enchanted isles. 

Next stop: Dubrovnik—an ancient walled city and UNESCO World Heritage Site that is quite possibly the most beautiful coastal city in all of Europe.   

Images: by Daniel Sundqvist

Norway: All the pieces come together.

Our new Norway hiking tour finished on Tuesday and the trip was a complete success! Our guests loved it, our trip leaders loved it, and there is no doubt that our tour will be "wait list-only" next year. This trip rocks!
  
Don’t just take our word for it though; see what one of our guests had to say about the tour. And while you’re at it, stop by our facebook page for a look at our Norway 2013 photo album. We’ll continue to add photos as they come in. Enjoy!

Today was magnificent! All the pieces came together of the mountains in Lofoten. We experienced the essence of mountains by the shore. It was the mist of the fog; the sheep; the green, green grass; the smell of the ocean; the sound of silence with the oceans waves; the smell of the wet rock and the red kelp from the water; the Norwegian, Tommy, offering us waffles and coffee in his surfing B&B in the village that was the twin to Ophir, CO; the British hikers laughing while they discussed literature; our group laughing at most anything; Staffan assuring us that we would be ok on the wet rock covered in slippery sheep sh!#; Lina's effervescent spirit; the remnants of the German listening posts; the Filipino women serving coffee at the German historic structure and the drive into Henningsvaer—Magnificence that will definitely add to our spirits until we can be in mountains again. Thanks to you and Staffan.

P.S. The queen disembarked through her yacht through our hotel in our presence. Excitement for sure!

—Jan

Photo: by Staffan Bjorklund

Guest Blog: Another country, another great hike.

Just sitting in our room after another beautiful hike though the hills surrounding Bled, Slovenia and up pops a rainbow. This is how we ended the trip last year in the Engadine. Where will the rainbow take us next?

Greg Light

Props for Mike Thurk and Peter Inglis

Congrats to Ryder-Walker trip leaders Mike Thurk and Peter Inglis. Mike recently passed his EMT exam and ‘Pi’ passed his AMGA ski mountaineering exam.

We tried to catch up with Mike and Pi , but they're both on Denali at the moment (North America’s tallest peak). Please be sure to slap some high fives the next time you see them. Way to go Mike and Pi!

Dunton Hot Springs—A ghost town comes back to ultra-luxurious life.

It’s no secret that we’re proud of our Telluride Trek. There aren’t many places in the United States where a person can put together an inn-to-inn hiking tour like the one that we’ve assembled in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. If you like our village-to-village hiking tours in Europe, but you’ve been yearning for something in the U.S, then check out our Telluride Trek. You get all the hotel-to-hotel hiking goodness that we offer in Europe, with a Texas-sized sampling of the Old West. Think of it as a Heidi-gets-it-on-with-John Wayne kind of tour.

One of the highlights of our Telluride Trek is an overnight stay at Dunton Hot Springs resort. Originally established as a mining town in 1885, Dunton recently earned a reputation as a secluded luxury hideaway with a sophisticated touch of historic ambiance and rustic charm. We love this place! Even more, Dunton recently caught the eye of bon appetit magazine, earning a top five spot on their list of Best Food Lover’s Hotels in America. Check out the article, then put on your ten-gallon hat and join us for a soak beneath a starry western sky. Who knows? You might just see John Wayne and Heidi at the opposite end of the pool.

Be sure to visit Dunton's homepage for a slideshow of their award-winning property, and visit our website for a look at the Telluride Trek.

Photo: Courtesy of Dunton Hot Springs.

In the Alps of Goethe and James Bond

Here's a really nice story from the New York Times about hiking through the Berner Oberland region of central Switzerland. Even if you're not a James Bond fan, (would you admit it?), you'll enjoy reading about the snow-capped summits, cascading waterfalls and flower-filled meadows that grace so many photographs from Switzerland's most famous region.

If you are a James Bond fan, then you'll enjoy reading about the Schilthorn, the setting for the 1969 Bond flick On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the centerpiece of this article. In fact, you may want to book a plane ticket after reading this piece. The Schilthorn Cableway will open Bond World 007 during the summer of 2013, in addition to a new viewing platform at the Piz Gloria. The new viewing platform is the first step in a series of renovations leading up to the Cableway's 50th anniversary in 2017.

Enjoy this story, and don't forget about our own collection of hiking tours that explore the Berner Oberland region. From loop hikes to point-to-point expeditions, (custom or standard), we can send you anywhere you'd like to go in the Bernese Oberland. Let us plan the perfect Switzerland hiking tour!

In the Alps of Goethe and James Bond
By Joshua Hammer
Published  May 1, 2013
Courtesy of the New York Times

We were hiking in fog and drizzle up the barren slopes of Mount Schilthorn, a 9,748-foot-high peak overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland. As I inched along a narrow trail, the mist cleared to reveal a long drop on either side into a boulder-strewn abyss. My legs wobbled; my feet slithered over the soggy ground. I reached out to grasp what seemed like a taut rope line, only to feel it sag beneath my trembling fist. Then the trail widened, I steadied myself, and continued my arduous climb toward the summit. Read more...

Photo: Courtesy of Joshua Hammer and the New York Times.

Desert Photos: Anasazi X Games

If you think the Winter X Games are a relatively new phenomenon, then think again. Peter Walker captured this photo of an inverted ski boot (and ski) while wandering the canyon country in advance of our upcoming Arches & Canyonlands hiking tour. Considering the age of this particular petroglyph, it appears that the ancient pueblo people of the Colorado Plateau were hucking themselves upside down long before any of the Freeskiing champions of recent fame.

The inverted ski boot kind of makes you wonder, too, about the circular image on the right. Are those spectacle-shaped circles really just ski goggles?

You can find this ancient image of an inverted air on the Wolfman Panel of Butler Wash. The location is southeast Utah, home to our Arches & Canyonlands hiking tour. Gus Kenworthy, eat your heart out!