Basel Serves up Van Gogh

If you like Van Gogh, and you’re looking for something to do following your hiking tour, then swing by the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland.

The Kunstmuseum Basel presents a major exhibition of paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. The exhibition features a broad cross-section of paintings from every creative period of the famous master, with a thematic focus on landscapes from around the world. Helping to place the master’s work in a broader context, the exhibition also features examples from Van Gogh’s contemporaries Monet, Pissarro, Degas, Cézanne and Gauguin.

This exhibition runs from now until September 27, 2009

Location: Kunstmuseum Basel
Address: St. Alban-Graben 16
For more info: www.vangogh.ch

Let us know if you like to do this. We can help you with accommodations and great places to eat.

Image courtesy of vangogh.ch

Save Money and Receive a Free Alps DVD!

Don't forget. Book one of our special tours and save $200 per person PLUS receive a complimentary DVD featuring the IMAX movie The Alps. (Limited time only).


This special film follows mountaineer John Harlin III up the North Face of the Eiger as he attempts to honor the memory of his father who died on the same mountain 40 years before. The film beautifully captures one of Europe’s greatest mountain ranges and offers a stunning look at the landscapes that our signature tours explore. Click here to read more about the film, including behind the scenes, photos, and more.

Save money, get your free copy of the film, and see the filming locations in person by registering for one of the following guided tours.

The Eiger Trail
The Jungfrau Ramble
The Hiker’s Haute Route

Please contact us to register or for more details.

What about bugs?

This morning I ran across an old article from Iowa State University concerning bug repellent research. The study concluded that catnip is 10 times more effective than DEET for repelling mosquitoes.

As an avid canoeist and explorer of backwoods waterways, I enjoyed this bit of woodsy info. The subject matter confirmed, however, just one more reason why I love hiking in the Alps. Bugs simply aren’t an issue over there. While it’s true that we might encounter them once in a while around humid areas or at lower elevations, in general, we just don’t have to deal with them.

We’ve had a number of guests ask about bugs on our hiking tours and our response is always the same. Leave the bug dope at home. You just won’t need it.

If you’re one of the consistently over-prepared, tuck a few sprigs of catnip in your hat and watch the alpine cats go crazy.

Cheers!

Quick Tip: Dry your trekking poles.

Pull your trekking poles apart and let everything dry following a particularly rainy hike. Performing this simple maintenance will help to prevent the barrel adjustment screw from corroding like the one in this photo.

Once the screw corrodes, the barrel adjuster freezes and your poles neither expand nor collapse. Some newer poles appear immune to this problem, but it never hurts to be on the safe side.

If you don't feel like completely dismantling your poles, at least expand them and give everything a quick wipe down before putting them away. Doing this, even with new poles, also affords the opportunity to visually inspect your sticks to ensure they're in good working order for your next hike.

See you on the trail!

Music is in the Air!

If you happen to start, or finish, one of our hiking tours around Saas Fee, then be sure to check out the International Alpine Music Festival. Attention Hiker's Haute Route and Swiss Haute Route guests; THIS MEANS YOU.

This year’s 12th annual International Alpine Music Festival takes place in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, a mountain-ringed village also known as the “Pearl of the Alps”, from July 9-12, 2009.

The emphasis of this year's festival is "Folk music for, and by, folk musicians".
There will be dancing and entertainment evenings as well as different performances on the village square. The entire village of Saas-Fee becomes a stage, and different Swiss folk music bands will perform outside a number of restaurants from Friday through Sunday.

Do something fun and unique during your trip. Experience storybook Switzerland in a true storybook village.

Please contact us for more details.


Image courtesy of www.saas-fee.ch

Our 25th Year Officially Begins

It's pictures like this one, of the people that we meet along the trail, that remind us of the many reasons that we do what we do.

Ryder Walker guides Ken Fuhrer and Mike Thurk sent me a celebratory message this morning. "Ryder-Walker's 25th anniversary guided hiking season has officially begun in Europe!"

Indeed it has. Our Italian Dolomites Trek departed this morning and marked the first guided hiking trip to depart in Europe this summer.

Please join us as we raise our glass to 25 extraordinary years of adventure both in the U.S. and abroad. We couldn't have done it without our guests, so to everyone that accompanied us throughout the years, we salute you.

Please drop us a note, and tell us about your most memorable moment with Ryder-Walker.

Here's to many more!

Photo by Ken Fuhrer

Using the iphone to curb Global Warming?

Using the iphone to help protect Europe's vast, melting Glacier System. What an interesting and modern world we live in. Click here to read more.

Photo courtesy of swissinfo.ch