Tagged: mountain culture

Christmas Markets In Italy

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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 Artist Honored

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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

Wild West Art Visions

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Mary Roberson, The Living Forest, Oil on canvas, 78 x 48 inches.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole is now holding its Western Visions event.

Until September 26, 2010, the museum will showcase 1,000+ works on display and for sale.

Some 150 top artists will contribute sculpture, painting, prints, photography, jewelry, sketches, and textiles for the museum fundraiser.

The event includes:

  • A hands-on plein air sketching workshop on the National Elk Refuge featuring artist and Idaho painter Mary Roberson;
  • A museum gallery walk and evening program featuring artist and UK sculptor Simon Gudgeon;
  • Photography and Sketch Shows & Sales;
  • West Artist Party;
  • the Jewelry & Artisan Luncheon and
  • Miniatures and More Show & Sale.

Image courtesy of the National Museum of Wildlife Art

Mountainfilm In Telluride

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“The Wildest Dream”

Mountain film festivals educate and inspire us.  One of the most popular mountain film festivals in the world is Mountainfilm in Telluride, coming up May 28-31, 2010.

With the motto “Celebrating Indomitable Spirit”, the 2010 festival promises to be the biggest ever with more venues, special guests and programming.

“We are particularly excited about the festival this year,” says David Holbrooke, festival director.

“We have a very strong and varied lineup of films, speakers, and artists. We have accomplished mountaineers like Ed Viesturs and Conrad Anker but we also have artists like Maya Lin and Chris Jordan. We have environmental activists like Dave Foreman and Tim DeChristopher but we also have civil rights activists with two Freedom Riders coming to town.”

Here are more photos from festival films:

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“Forgotten on the Roof of the World”

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“Eastern Rises”

For the full festival program and other info, visit Mountainfilm.org.

Images courtesy of Mountainfilm in Telluride.

Trekking Corsica

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Thinking about trekking the mountains of Corsica?  Walks Worldwide calls the GR20 walking route through the mountains of Corsica “the toughest trek to be found this side of the Himalaya.”

The company’s 15-day Corsica trips depart in June, August and September and include flights, all transportation, 14 nights’ accommodation, most meals, baggage transfers and guide.

Says Mike Wynne, managing director, Walks Worldwide:

“We are very careful who we take on our GR20 trips because if you do not have a very high level of fitness, and have tough-trek experience, quite simply, you won’t make it. The trail traverses the island diagonally following the high granite barrier of mountains that form the natural boundary across the country.”

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Hikers will learn about the authentic and traditional working mountain community.  They will meet shepherds who spend the summer months with their flocks on the high fresh airy pastures.  Trip accommodations will include a mix of camps, refuges, gîtes and shepherds’ cabins.

The mountain terrain will be over 1000 metres with steep ascents over high ridges, deep descents into dramatic chasms and some ‘via ferrata’ across granite slopes.  This trek promises challenging ascents over high mountain passes with the possibility of ,weather permitting, the summiting Paglia Orba (2525 metres).

For more info, check out WalksWorldwide.com.

Images courtesy of Walks Worldwide.

Tirol’s Next Top Yodel

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The Tirol Tourist Board is searching for Britain’s Yodel Idol.   That’s right, the Board is trying to get Brits to “cast off their reservations” and get yodelling.

Brits are invited to participate in the yodel-off  by submitting their entry at www.yodeloff.co.uk for a chance to win a holiday to an Alpine mountain hut for themselves and five friends in August.

Yodelling originated as a way of communicating between the mountain valleys and developed into music and entertainment in Alpine regions across Austria and Switzerland.

Says Eckard Speckbacher, Tirol Tourist Board:

“We decided to celebrate yodelling and use it as a fun way to picture the beauty of our region. If you observe a yodeller’s voiceprint, you can compare it to the mountainous topography of the Tirol’s landscape as it gravitates from peak to peak.”

For more info, check out Visit Tirol.

Image courtesy of the Tirol Tourist Board.

Mountain Photography Holidays

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Photography holidays are an exciting, emerging trend in mountain travel.

In Europe, Tatra Photography now offers photography workshops including a three-day photography holiday in Germany’s Bavarian National Park and a landscape course in the surroundings of the Tatra Mountains.  An additional week- long break will feature the mountains’ peaks and valleys.

While in Slovakia, the company will offer three-day photography breaks in the Tatra Mountains focusing on the lakes and waterfalls and week long breaks in the peaks and valleys of the mountains.  These packages will  include staying in remote mountain lodges and lake locations for reflection and sunrise shots.

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A longer photography course will feature a special overnight stay on Lomnicky Peak, (2634 metres above sea level), to photograph sunsets and sunrises and star trails. This  peak is reached by cable car from Tatranska Lomnica.

Wildlife breaks in Germany will give photographers “the chance to capture some of Europe’s great predators including: brown bears, wolves and lynx as well as the endangered European bison, deer, otters, wild horses and birds of prey.”

Slovakia photography breaks will highlight Tatra Mountains known for their giant waterfalls, lakes, valleys, deep green forests, blue mountain tarns, snowy peaks, brown bears, wolves, lynx and deer and diverse flora.

Award-winning photographers Chris Weston, Nick Jenkins and Andrew James will lead these photography holidays.  The holidays are designed for moderately fit photographers of all abilities who work in digital or film, from 35mm up to large format.

Photographic tuition will cover composition, exposure, shutter speed, focus and depth-of-field, apertures and understanding histograms.  Participants will learn to ‘read’ the landscape, create panoramas, HDR imaging and black and white photography.

For more info, check out Tatra Photography online.

Images courtesy of Tatra Photography.

New Himalayan Eco-Adventures

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Are you interested in green travel? Jet Airways has developed a new series of East Himalayan Eco-Adventures.

The packages feature  “volunteerism coupled with sightseeing in a stunning landscape of majestic mountains, gorgeous lakes, quaint villages and serene monasteries.”

Local eco-tourism experts have planned the 9- to14-day packages focused on the natural and cultural heritage of the North East of India in a responsible manner.

Trip highlights include:

• In Darjeeling – the world renowned Toy Train, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) and the Darjeeling Zoo and its Red Pandas and their Animal Conservation Initiatives.

• Tinchulay Eco Village which is declared a model village by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India for its efforts to develop sustainable agriculture.

• Pelling, in the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim with stunning views of Mt. Khanchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world; Pemayangtse Monastery and the Khecheopalri ‘wishing’ Lake.

• Neora Valley Jungle Camp which is an eco-lodge where visitors dine on organic food sourced from neighboring villages and volunteer at the local Kolbung Primary school.

For more info, check out Jet Airways online.

Image courtesy of  Jet Airways