Love Letters on Scotland’s Isle of Skye.

Feel like some love from Scotland’s Isle of Skye?  We do – Scottish Love Letters photography art prints from Landscape365.

Isle of Skye-based photographers Andrew and Rosie Woodhouse, aka Landscape365, have created this sweet way to tell your loved ones you care.

Their latest Love Letters collection brings together the landscapes of the west coast of Scotland with hand-painted letters spelling out ‘Love’.

Says Andrew Woodhouse, founder:

“(The Love Letters) mean different things to different people; we’ve met people who have fallen in love with the west coast of Scotland, visiting time and time again, we know people who have got engaged on local beaches and we know that some just dream about coming here. The ‘Love Letters’ collection not only brings together our love of the Isle of Skye but it hopefully goes someway to expressing how inspiring and rousing the landscape can be and how much it means to people who see it.”

The photographers will also create bespoke images featuring names, short phrases or dates which can be gifts for weddings, christenings and anniversaries.

Their photography art prints are available in varied sizes from 12 x 8in to 38 x 28in.

The Love Letter prints are finished in a classic white wooden or ornate antique frame or presented as a canvas wrap or acrylic print.

For more info, visit the site www.landscapes365.com.

Image courtesy of Landscapes365.

Courtyard door at Shey.

Walking tour and homestay company Shakti Himalaya has new village houses and trekking and camping options in Ladakh, India.

Called “Little Tibet”, Ladakh is a high-altitude desert in India’s northernmost region primarily accessible to mountain travelers during the summer and fall.

Shakti Himalaya offers mountain travelers custom, private itineraries with activities including village-to-village walks, treks, monastery visits, camping, and rafting the Shayok and Indus Rivers.

In the 2011 Shakti Ladakh season (May 1 – October 31, 2011), there are three new village houses and Indus Valley treks and camping.

British interior designer Ellie Stanton has worked to create Western standards and maintain Indian authenticity in the village houses with stylish and comfortable décor.

Each village house has solar power and grey water recycling facilities; locally-source wood and mud bricks and sustainably-harvested willow for the interior, traditional style roofing.

Here are the village houses and treks:

• Shey: This village house offers views of nearby Shey Palace and the Tibetan-Buddhist Thiksey monastery.  Features include three bedrooms, an en-suite bath, large sitting room and traditional kitchen.

• Eego: This village house is a 150-year-old, three-storey stone baronial mansion situated near a glacier.  Features include three bedrooms, a sitting room, a dining room and an open terrace with views of snow-capped peaks.

• Likhir: This village house sits above the Likhir monastery and below the glacier. Features include two bedrooms, en-suite bath and views of the valley and snow-capped peaks.

• Stakmo to Eego Four-Day Trek option: This three-night/four-day trek travels through valleys and villages. On daily 5-6 hour treks, guests trek along some of the highest ridge lines, traversing from west to east across the northern side of the Indus Valley.  Highlights will include high-altitude flora and fauna (ibex, yaks, and marmots), daily picnics, village visits and camping in canvas tents.

Here are more scenes from Shakti Ladakh:

Monastery in Likhir.

Monastery in Likhir.

Monastery in Thiksey.

Bedroom.

Living Room.

Terrace.

All images courtesy of Shakti Himalaya.

An artist painting mountains in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Mountain arts festivals can capture hearts and minds.  If you’re traveling or living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this fall, the resort town will hold its Fall Arts Festival, September 8 to 18, 2011.

The Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival will be a mash-up of visual, contemporary, culinary, Western, landscape, wildlife and Native American arts.

Dwayne Harty’s painting “Strength & Vulnerability” is featured on the 2011 festival poster.

The festival’s Wild West influence will be seen in everything from a historic ranch tour, deluxe cowboy garb and bling from the Western Design Conference’s jewelry and fashion show.

Artist Dwayne Harty was commissioned by the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) to paint vistas and wildlife in some of the most remote sections of the famous mountain migratory corridor.

These paintings will be part of a traveling exhibition from Jackson’s National Museum of Wildlife Art to the Whyte Museum in Banff, Canada.

The festival roundup will include:

• Palates & Palettes gallery walk, September 9;
• Taste of the Tetons, September 11;
• National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions Wild West Artist Party and Miniatures and More Show & Sale, September 15 and 16;
• QuickDraw Art Sale and Auction in Town Square on September 17  and
• Exhibition of Western decorative arts and fashion, the Western Design Conference, September 8 – 11.

Images courtesy of the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival.

Sandy Patch wrote this guest post about his mountain documentary El Último Hielero (The Last Ice Merchant).  He has worked in the film industry in the United States for 10 years.

Since January 2011, he has been in Ecuador to produce three short documentaries and a photography book for his company Cotopaxi Productions.

Shooting as Baltazar breaks the ice down into uniform blocks on Ecuador’s Chimborazo.

Ecuador’s Chimborazo may not make the list of the top 100 tallest mountains in the world, but because of its proximity to the equator, the 20,700-foot high summit is the closest point on Earth to the sun.

For years, indigenous locals have made their way up this sacred mountain to harvest ice from the fossilized glacier – which they called the ice mine.

At times, 40 ice merchants worked these slopes with pick axes and pry bars. Today, there is only one remaining ice merchant: Baltazar Ushca.

For 55 years, Baltazar has climbed Chimborazo twice a week – not for pleasure, nor for sport; he climbs for work.

At the edge of the glacier, Baltazar hacks and chips at the ice to break away 40-kilogram blocks. These he wraps in hay and carries back down on the backs of his donkeys.

On Saturdays, Baltazar sells the ice at the local market for $2.50 a block. Vendors crack the ice into pieces and blend it into fruit drinks and ice cream to sell.

When I met Baltazar, I knew immediately I wanted to tell his story before the tale of the ice merchant was lost forever. Thus, the short documentary, El Último Hielero (The Last Ice Merchant), was born.

I set up camp with my guide outside Baltazar’s house in the rural community, Cuatro Esquinas, on the slopes of Chimborazo.

We spent three weeks following Baltazar and his two brothers Juan and Gregorio.

The only way up the mountain is by foot on gravely paths and goat trails.  Carrying breakable camera and sound equipment up the mountain in heavy 40-pound packs was a challenge. Our packs grew heavier each mile upward.

Juggling the delicate equipment on uneven, rocky and icy terrain, and maintaining our footing while keeping one eye in the viewfinder was extremely difficult.

Getting the shots and coverage we needed challenged even the most nimble of us, who learned to slide and fall on the arm not holding the camera.

The air was thin and cold at 16,000 feet. The force and glare of the high-altitude sun was mighty. Chimborazo’s weather changed in an instant.

One day, a storm blew in and caught us filming on the mountain.  The wind was so strong it blew us over and the snow so sharp it bit our skin.

Baltazar lives through the worst mountain weather and harvests the ice through rain and snow and sleet and hail.

The blinding snow and pounding hail forced us to take refuge in a small mountain hut.  We had to hole up there for the night before the skies cleared enough to allow us to make our way back down the mountain.

In making this short documentary, I’ve learned a lot about hard, backbreaking work and old-fashioned perseverance. About doing one thing and doing it well.

The Last Ice Merchant may be the story of one man. It’s also the story of inevitable change that comes to cultures and societies over time, and threatens to chip and hack away at unique views of the world.

In a few weeks, I will return to New York City to begin editing and scoring the film, so that I can submit it to film festivals.

If you’d like to help support our film, we have a fundraising project on Kickstarter, with only a couple of weeks left to donate funds!

The crew on the mountain.

Baltazar hacks away at the glacier.

Chimborazo on a clear day.

The unique high altitude landscape that surrounds the mountain.

Images and video courtesy of Sandy Patch.

Mountainfilm wrote this guest post about its “Mountainfilm Inspired Me To…” campaign.

Mountainfilm in Telluride is happening in Telluride, Colorado, May 27-30, 2011.

Mountainfilm lovers in Telluride, Colorado share how the festival inspired them to take action.

Last week, we previewed some of this year’s Mountainfilm trailers.

Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining.

This year, the festival theme is “Awareness Into Action.” Ask anyone that’s been to Mountainfilm, or attended a Mountainfilm on World Tour screening, and you will undoubtedly be told how inspired the viewer was.

Awareness Into Action means taking that inspiration and turning into tangible actions that become a catalyst for positive change.

As part of this year’s festival, Mountainfilm wants to know what that inspiration has led to. Maybe it’s riding your bike more, maybe it’s starting a garden or maybe it’s giving up plastic bags. Whatever it is, everyone has a story.

Mountainfilm is encouraging those inspired by their films, speakers and overall message to share how they’ve been inspired, in the “Mountainfilm Inspired Me To…” campaign.

Grab a camera, find something to write on (whiteboard, paper, rocks, whatever!), and share with the Mountainfilm community how you’ve been inspired to take action by finishing the sentence: “Mountainfilm inspired me to…”

Submissions will be taken leading up to and during the festival, all of which will be featured on the Mountainfilm website.

Just write down your action, take a photo and upload it to the Mountainfilm Flickr pool.

We hope that Mountainfilm inspires you to take action, wherever you are in the world!

Photo credits: Mountainfilm.

This is a Guest Post.

Snowflake 2 by Mark Ward.

Alps ski and snowboard company rudechalets is collaborating with Mark Ward for winter 2011.

Artist Mark Ward, whose clients include Red Bull, Nike, Adidas and Burton Snowboards, has been working on rudechalets snowflake series.

Three inter-linked canvases will be reproduced as limited edition signed prints and T-shirts.

Snowflake 3 by Mark Ward.

The original “strikingly colorful” canvases will be on display in the flagship chalet Christophe.

Snowflake prints will brighten up the walls of the other three rude chalets.

This season, rudechalets will also adorn walls with a limited edition STASH snowboard designed by Jono Wood and hand built by Burton Snowboards; snow art from Robin Puplett and Mimi Hall’s Vogue collage bikini girls.

For more info, visit rudechalets.com.

Images courtesy rudechalets

The British Ski + Board Show, October 29-31, 2010, in Birmingham will launch its first Winter Film Festival.

This weekend, the Winter Film Festival will showcase adventure-packed movies from around the world.

Australis: An Antarctic Ski Odyssey, a film shot in the beautiful Antarctic Peninsula, will open the film festival.

The film’s ski mountaineering team search for virgin territory to find the ultimate ski line. They take on mountains, glaciers and icy sea waters and find couloirs, natural ski ramps and 45-degree descents.

Another festival film showing will be Follow Me, which is dedicated to the life of mountain biking.

The British Ski and Board Show will be open from 12noon until 8pm on Friday and 10am until 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

For more film and festival info, visit the festival site.

Image courtesy of British Ski + Board Show’s Winter Film Festival

Fancy a mountain gourmet getaway? If you’re living or traveling in Australia, there’s a new Gold Coast food and wine experience.

A gourmet getaway on Tamborine Mountain will feature a cooking class and boutique accommodation.

This Tamborine Food & Wine Experience will includes two nights’ accommodation for two at Witches Falls Cottages.

This package will also include:

• Gourmet or barbecue breakfast hamper;

• A cooking class with professional chef Terri Taylor at the Tamborine Cooking School and

• Transfer to the cooking school in the morning.

Guests can visit the nearby Queensland Wine Centre which showcases some 100 wines from 14 Queensland wineries.

For more info, visit the Witches Falls Cottages site.

Image courtesy of Witches Falls Cottages

Mercatino di natale – Trentino.

Mountain Christmas markets in Italy can be warm ways to celebrate the holiday season.

In South Tirol and Trentino, there will be a selection of Christmas markets with a Germanic tradition and an Italian flavor.

Many Trentino towns and locations host Christmas markets every year.  Here are some of the upcoming 2010 markets:

• Trento, November 20 to December 23.  Along Piazza Fiera, market stands will feature sculptures, pottery, floral compositions, arts and crafts, decorations and many local specialties.

• Arco, November 19 to December 23.  The historic centre will be a stage for 40 arts and crafts stands, local delicacies such as the “apple brule’”, local cheeses and honeys.  There will be camel rides on village streets and village train ride through Arco and surrounding areas.

• Levico, November 20 to January 6. Set in Parco delle Terme, the market will showcase the tastes and scents of Valsugana. There will be Hapsburg style, horse-drawn carriage rides.

• Andalo, December 2 to 24.  In the medieval town, market stands will sell Christmas decorations, local food and brule wine.

• Rovereto, November 27 to January 2. The main streets and piazzas will host the “Christmas of the People” market which will showcase Christmas works from northern Europe.

For more info, visit the Trentino Christmas site.

Image courtesy of the Italian Tourist Board

Mount Fuji by Hokusai.

Legendary Japanese artist Hokusai (1760-1849), known for his Mount Fuji views, is celebrated in a new book by Matthi Forrer.

The new book Hokusai is an authoritative and deluxe monograph to be published in December 2010 by Prestel Publishing to mark the 250th anniversary of Hokusai.

Hokusai may be best known for ‘Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji’, a series of prints featuring images of the Japanese landscape.

Author and Hokusai expert Matthi Forrer is a curator for Japanese Arts at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, Germany.

His book follows the life and career of the Japanese artist, from his humble beginnings as a print-maker for amateur poets to his creation of masterpieces ‘The Great Wave’ and ‘Thunder Below the Top of the Mountain’.

One of the world’s leading authorities on Hokusai, Matthi Forrer comments on 350 color reproductions from every period of Hokusai’s life.

Forrer has written other books on Hokusai and Japanese art including Hokusai: ‘Mountains and Water, Flowers and Birds’ and ‘Hokusai: Prints and Drawings’.

For more info, visit Prestel Publishing online.

Image courtesy of Prestel Publishing