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Mother arrested after two boys found dead in Blue Mountains home

<p>A mother has been arrested after the tragic discovery of her two sons, aged nine and 11, dead at their home in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. The boys, Russell and Ben, were found by their father at the family's home in Faulconbridge shortly before 12:40pm.</p> <p>Their mother, Trish Smith, 42, was also found at the scene with several self-inflicted injuries. She has been taken to Westmead Hospital and is in a stable condition. No charges have been laid so far.</p> <p>Superintendent John Nelson of the Blue Mountains police confirmed that Mr Smith, the father, discovered the bodies and contacted authorities. "The father is helping us with inquiries, and he was the one who contacted police... all avenues are open for investigation," Nelson stated. While the police have not confirmed whether a weapon was involved, they are working to understand the sequence of events leading to the boys' deaths.</p> <p>The family, who had no prior history of domestic violence and minimal contact with the police, has left the community in shock. Superintendent Nelson said that the investigation is still in its early stages, and no speculation will be made at this time.</p> <p>The boys had attended school on Monday with no apparent issues, and authorities are now trying to trace their movements on Tuesday to piece together what might have happened.</p> <p>The nearby Springwood High School was involved in the emergency response as its oval was used as a helipad for medical evacuations. Homicide detectives from the State Crime Command have been assigned to the case, and police are continuing to speak with neighbours to uncover any possible motives.</p> <p>Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill expressed the community’s grief in a statement: "Our community has lost two precious souls in the most awful circumstances. Now is a time to come together and remember these two beautiful children."</p> <p>NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb acknowledged the profound emotional toll the incident has had on law enforcement officers. "I think the older and more experience you get in this job, things like this still cut to the core. It’s a tragic situation," she said.</p> <p>Authorities have confirmed that no one else is being sought in connection with the deaths, and there is no ongoing threat to the community.</p> <p>The investigation continues as police work to understand the full circumstances surrounding this heartbreaking incident.</p> <p><em><strong>Need to talk to someone? Don't go it alone. </strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>SANE: 1800 187 263; saneforums.org</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image: Supplied</em></p>

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Mummified body of missing climber found after 22 years

<p>Twenty-two years ago, William Stampfl and two of his friends went missing when an avalanche buried them as they made their way up one of the highest peaks in the Andes mountains in Peru. </p> <p>William's family had little hope of finding him alive, or even retrieving his corpse from thick layers of snow, but in June his daughter got an unexpected call. </p> <p>A stranger said he had come across the climber's frozen, but mostly intact body as he made his own way up the Huascaran peak. </p> <p>"It's been a shock" Jennifer Stampfl said. </p> <p>The 53-year-old added: "When you get that phone call that he's been found your heart just sinks. You don't know how exactly to feel at first."</p> <p>A group of policemen and mountain guides retrieved his body on Tuesday, putting it on a stretcher and slowly taking it down the icy mountain. </p> <p>His body was found at an altitude of 5200m, around a nine-hour hike from one of the camps where climbers stop when they are climbing the summit. </p> <p>William's body and clothing were preserved by the ice and freezing temperatures, with the driver's licence in his hip pouch used to identify him. </p> <p>Lenin Alvardo, one of the police officers who participated in the recovery operation, added that the hip pouch also contained a pair of sunglasses, a camera, a voice recorder and two decomposing $20 bills.</p> <p>William still had a gold wedding ring on his left hand.</p> <p>"I've never seen anything like that," Alvarado said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="es"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%C3%81ncash?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Áncash</a>🚨| ¡Rescatan cadáver en glaciar!<br />Agentes del Departamento de Alta Montaña, tras una intensa búsqueda ubicaron el cuerpo momificado y deshidratado de una persona NN en el nevado de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Huascar%C3%A1n?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Huascarán</a>. Sus restos fueron internados a la morgue de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yungay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Yungay</a> para su identificación. <a href="https://t.co/WJGklwUwbp">pic.twitter.com/WJGklwUwbp</a></p> <p>— Policía Nacional del Perú (@PoliciaPeru) <a href="https://twitter.com/PoliciaPeru/status/1809394543512416721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote> <p>The climber who found his body then called William's relatives, who then got in touch with local mountain guides. </p> <p>His daughter said that the family plans to move the body to a funeral home in Lima, where it can be cremated. </p> <p>"For 22 years, we just kind of put in our mind: 'This is the way it is. Dad's part of the mountain, and he's never coming home,'" she said.</p> <p>William was trying to climb Peru's highest peak with his friends Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine in 2002. </p> <p>Erskine's body was found shortly after the avalanche, but Richardson's corpse is still missing.</p> <p>William's daughter said that a plaque in memory of the three friends was placed at the summit of Mount Baldy in Southern California, where the trio trained for their expeditions. </p> <p>She hopes to return to the site with her father's remains. </p> <p><em>Image: Peruvian National Police/ X </em></p>

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Altitude sickness is typically mild but can sometimes turn very serious − a high-altitude medicine physician explains how to safely prepare

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brian-strickland-1506270">Brian Strickland</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-colorado-anschutz-medical-campus-4838">University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus</a></em></p> <p>Equipped with the latest gear and a thirst for adventure, mountaineers embrace the perils that come with conquering the world’s highest peaks. Yet, even those who tread more cautiously at high altitude are not immune from the health hazards waiting in the thin air above.</p> <p>Altitude sickness, which most commonly refers to <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000133.htm">acute mountain sickness</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2010.02.003">presents a significant challenge</a> to those traveling to and adventuring in high-altitude destinations. Its symptoms can range from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2017.0164">mildly annoying to incapacitating</a> and, in some cases, may progress to more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0096-2016">life-threatening illnesses</a>.</p> <p>While <a href="https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284424023">interest in high-altitude tourism is rapidly growing</a>, general awareness and understanding about the hazards of visiting these locations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2022.0083">remains low</a>. The more travelers know, the better they can prepare for and enjoy their journey.</p> <p>As an <a href="https://som.cuanschutz.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/36740">emergency physician specializing in high-altitude illnesses</a>, I work to improve health care in remote and mountainous locations around the world. I’m invested in finding ways to allow people from all backgrounds to experience the magic of the mountains in an enjoyable and meaningful way.</p> <h2>The science behind altitude sickness</h2> <p>Altitude sickness is rare in locations lower than 8,200 feet (2,500 meters); however, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430716/">it becomes very common</a> when ascending above this elevation. In fact, it affects about <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/environmental-hazards-risks/high-elevation-travel-and-altitude-illness">25% of visitors to the mountains of Colorado</a>, where I conduct most of my research.</p> <p>The risk rapidly increases with higher ascents. Above 9,800 feet (3,000 meters), up to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430716/">75% of travelers</a> may develop symptoms. Symptoms of altitude sickness are usually mild and consist of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2017.0164">headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and insomnia</a>. They usually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rceng.2019.12.009">resolve after one to two days</a>, as long as travelers stop their ascent, and the symptoms quickly resolve with descent.</p> <p>When travelers do not properly acclimatize, they can be susceptible to life-threatening altitude illnesses, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resp.2007.05.002">high-altitude pulmonary edema</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/1527029041352054">high-altitude cerebral edema</a>. These conditions are characterized by fluid accumulation within the tissues of the lungs and brain, respectively, and are the <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/environmental-hazards-risks/high-elevation-travel-and-altitude-illness">most severe forms of altitude sickness</a>.</p> <p>Altitude sickness symptoms are thought to be caused by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fbjaceaccp%2Fmks047">increased pressure surrounding the brain</a>, which results from the failure of the body to acclimatize to higher elevations.</p> <p>As people enter into an environment with lower air pressure and, therefore, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.18036">lower oxygen content</a>, their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fbjaceaccp%2Fmks047">breathing rate increases</a> in order to compensate. This causes an increase in the amount of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s1357-2725(03)00050-5">oxygen in the blood as well as decreased CO₂ levels</a>, which then increases blood pH. As a result, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fbjaceaccp%2Fmks047">kidneys compensate</a> by removing a chemical called bicarbonate from the blood into the urine. This process makes people urinate more and helps correct the acid and alkaline content of the blood to a more normal level.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iv1vQPIdX_k?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Tips for preventing or reducing the risk of altitude sickness.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>The importance of gradual ascent</h2> <p>High-altitude medicine experts and other physicians <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(76)91677-9">have known for decades</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2010.1006">taking time to slowly ascend is the best way</a> to prevent the development of altitude sickness.</p> <p>This strategy gives the body time to complete its natural physiologic responses to the changes in air pressure and oxygen content. In fact, spending just <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2010.1006">one night at a moderate elevation</a>, such as Denver, Colorado, which is at 5,280 feet (1,600 meters), has been shown to <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-118-8-199304150-00003">significantly reduce the likelihood of developing symptoms</a>.</p> <p>People who skip this step and travel directly to high elevations are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taad011">up to four times more likely</a> to develop altitude sickness symptoms. When going to elevations greater than 11,000 feet, multiple days of acclimatization are necessary. Experts generally recommend ascending <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2010.1006">no more than 1,500 feet per day</a> once the threshold of 8,200 feet of elevation has been crossed.</p> <p>Workers at high altitude, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2020.0004">porters in the Nepali Himalaya</a>, are at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2018.06.002">particular risk of altitude-related illness</a>. These workers often do not adhere to acclimatization recommendations in order to maximize earnings during tourist seasons; as a result, they are more likely to experience <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/environmental-hazards-risks/high-elevation-travel-and-altitude-illness">severe forms of altitude sickness</a>.</p> <h2>Effective medications</h2> <p>For more than 40 years, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm196810172791601">a medicine called acetazolamide</a> has been used to <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682756.html">prevent the development of altitude sickness</a> and to treat its symptoms. Acetazolamide is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557838/">commonly used as a diuretic</a> and for the <a href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/glaucoma">treatment of glaucoma</a>, a condition that causes increased pressure within the eye.</p> <p>If started <a href="https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.09-2445">two days prior</a> to going up to a high elevation, acetazolamide can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.09-2445">prevent symptoms of acute illness</a> by speeding up the acclimatization process. Nonetheless, it does not negate the recommendations to ascend slowly, and it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2019.04.006">routinely recommended only</a> when people cannot slowly ascend or for people who have a history of severe altitude sickness symptoms even with slow ascent.</p> <p>Other medications, including ibuprofen, have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2012.08.001">shown some effectiveness</a> in treating acute mountain sickness, although <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.10.021">not as well as acetazolamide</a>.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2028586/">steroid medication called dexamethasone</a> is effective in both treating and preventing symptoms, but it does not improve acclimatization. It is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2019.04.006">recommended only when acetazolamide is not effective</a> or cannot be taken.</p> <p>Additionally, it is important to <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-to-high-altitudes">avoid alcohol during the first few days at higher altitudes</a>, as it impairs the body’s ability to acclimatize.</p> <h2>Unproven therapies and remedies are common</h2> <p>As high-altitude tourism becomes increasingly popular, multiple commercial products and remedies have emerged. Most of them are not effective or provide no evidence to suggest they work as advertised. Other options have mixed evidence, making them difficult to recommend.</p> <p>Medications such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2007.1037">aspirin</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01355-2017">inhaled steroids</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2011.0007">sildenafil</a> have been proposed as possible preventive agents for altitude sickness, but on the whole they have not been found to be effective.</p> <p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcp026">Supplements and antioxidants have no proven benefit</a> in preventing or treating altitude sickness symptoms. Both normal and high-altitude exercise are popular ways to prepare for high elevations, especially among athletes. However, beyond <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/jes.0b013e31825eaa33">certain pre-acclimatization strategies</a>, such as brief sojourns to high altitude, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2013.12.002">physical fitness and training is of little benefit</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://missouripoisoncenter.org/canned-oxygen-is-it-good-for-you">Canned oxygen</a> has also exploded in popularity with travelers. While <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(90)93240-p">continuously administered medical oxygen</a> in a health care setting can alleviate altitude sickness symptoms, portable oxygen cans <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2019.04.006">contain very little oxygen gas</a>, casting doubt on their effectiveness.</p> <p>Some high-altitude adventure travelers sleep in <a href="https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200131040-00002">specialized tents</a> that simulate increased elevation by lowering the quantity of available oxygen in ambient air. The lower oxygen levels within the tent are thought to accelerate the acclimatization process, but the tents aren’t able to decrease barometric pressure. This is an important part of the high-altitude environment that induces acclimatization. Without modifying ambient air pressure, these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2014.04.004">tents may take multiple weeks</a> to be effective.</p> <p>Natural medicines, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1580/08-weme-br-247.1">gingko</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0095-7">coca leaves</a>, are touted as natural altitude sickness treatments, but few studies have been done on them. The modest benefits and significant side effects of these options makes their use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2019.04.006">difficult to recommend</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8469948/">Staying hydrated</a> is very important at high altitudes due to fluid losses from increased urination, dry air and increased physical exertion. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12889-018-6252-5">Dehydration symptoms</a> can also mimic those of altitude sickness. But there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1580/1080-6032(2006)17%5B215:AMSIOF%5D2.0.CO;2">little evidence that consuming excessive amounts of water</a> can prevent or treat altitude sickness.</p> <p>The mountains have something for visitors of all interests and expertise and can offer truly life-changing experiences. While there are health risks associated with travel at higher elevations, these can be lessened by making basic preparations and taking time to slowly ascend.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222057/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brian-strickland-1506270"><em>Brian Strickland</em></a><em>, Senior Instructor in Emergency Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-colorado-anschutz-medical-campus-4838">University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/altitude-sickness-is-typically-mild-but-can-sometimes-turn-very-serious-a-high-altitude-medicine-physician-explains-how-to-safely-prepare-222057">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Anti-vegan chef launches clothing line against activist

<p dir="ltr">Chef John Mountain has taken his feud with vegan activist Tash Peterson to the next level by unveiling a clothing line that names and shames her and her animal rights beliefs. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Perth chef, who has taken legal action against Ms Peterson after the pair tussled during protests at his restaurant Fyre, showed off the provocative range of tank-tops, t-shirts and hoodies on his new merchandise website.</p> <p dir="ltr">The merch page, which was launched on Saturday, promises customers will love the clothing “hopefully more than Tash loves chef”.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is now selling clothing that carries the restaurant's branding and slogans such as “Pleased to meat stew”, “no animals were harmed in the making of this shirt” and “all they have done is added fuel to the Fyre”.</p> <p dir="ltr">One t-shirt design features a half-star Google-style review graphic with the words: “Absolutely f***ing chaotic Tash Peterson”, which makes fun of Ms Peterson's description of a protest and the flood of Fyre reviews posted by vegans.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another design asks. “What's the difference between a vegan and a heroin addict? The vegan keeps it to themselves.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The clothing line comes after John Mountain announced all vegans would be banned from his restaurant due to “mental health reasons”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mountain and Peterson have clashed several times at the Perth eatery, with Peterson’s latest demonstration resulting in legal action being taken against the staunch vegan and animal rights activist. </p> <p dir="ltr">After Peterson <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/furious-chef-lets-loose-after-clash-with-vegan-protestors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stormed</a> his booked-out restaurant with other activists in tow, they stood outside with a megaphone, while shouting and playing sounds of squealing pigs, moments before the altercation was caught on camera.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mountain and Peterson came to physical blows as he wrestled them out of the restaurant, as he defended his choice to retaliate against the protestors, saying he chose to stand up to the bullies to "protect my business". </p> <p dir="ltr">"Bullies come in all different shapes and sizes and these lot just happen to be the vegans."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: A Current Affair / Fyre</em></p>

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Furious chef lets loose after clash with vegan protestors

<p>Celebrity chef John Mountain has doubled down on his vow to ban vegans from his restaurant in Perth, after he was targeted by angry vegan activists for the second time. </p> <p>The chef clashed with vegan protestor Tash Peterson on Saturday, after she stormed his booked-out restaurant with other activists in tow. </p> <p>Peterson and other activists stood outside with a megaphone, while shouting and playing sounds of squealing pigs, moments before the altercation was caught on camera.</p> <p>Speaking candidly on <em>A Current Affair</em>, Mountain said he planing his revenge to aggravate the protestors in retaliation. </p> <p>"You're barred for life and whenever I open any other business, now I'm going to start opening steak restaurants just to piss you off," John Mountain told <em>ACA</em> host Leila McKinnon about the activists who tried to storm his restaurant.</p> <p>When Peterson and her posse of protestors stormed his restaurant, called Fyre, on Saturday, Mountain said he'd had enough and confronted them. </p> <p>"I lost my cool because now it's really disrupting my business and I could see the look on my customers' faces, my staff — they were all a little scared and a bit nervous and I just stormed out," Mountain said.</p> <p>Police are investigating allegations of assault during the clash, after Peterson filed a report with attending officers.</p> <p>"We're not going after this restaurant because they're banning vegans — yes that was maybe a reason that instigated it — but at the end of the day it's because this man is profiting from animal abuse and murder and he's also glamourising it," she said on Sunday. </p> <p>Mountain defended his choice to retaliate against the protestors, saying he chose to stand up to the bullies to "protect my business". </p> <p>"Bullies come in all different shapes and sizes and these lot just happen to be the vegans."</p> <p>The chef became emotional while discussing the altercation, sharing how the war against vegans has greatly impacted his personal life.</p> <p>"I lost my partner because of this, I lost a relationship, I thought I was going to marry this woman and she just couldn't handle the amount of attention," he said while choking up with emotion.</p> <p>"Thanks vegans."</p> <p>The clash with protestors comes just weeks after Mountain posted on social media that vegans were now <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/f-k-vegans-top-chef-bans-vegans-from-restaurant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> from his restaurant due to "mental health reasons", sparking outrage among activists and the vegan community.</p> <p><em>Image credits: A Current Affair / 9News </em></p>

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“I didn’t want to come out!”: Spanish mountaineer emerges after 500 days underground

<p>When Spanish mountaineer Beatriz Flamini descended into her cave - and home for the next 500 days - the world was an entirely different place. </p> <p>COVID-19 restrictions were still enforced, Queen Elizabeth II was still alive and on the throne, war hadn’t been declared in Ukraine, and Flamini herself was only 48. </p> <p>She entered the cave on November 20 2021, and while she was forced to surface for eight days while repairs were made to a router - one used for transmitting audio and video - she spent that brief period isolated in a tent. </p> <p>And then, a year and a half later, a 50-year-old Flamini emerged from 230 feet underground outside of Granada, Spain. And while most would be eager for some sunshine and some company after such a stint, Flamini had an entirely different take, informing everyone that she had actually been sound asleep when her team came to collect her. </p> <p>“I thought something had happened,” she said. “I said, ‘already? Surely not.’ I hadn’t finished my book.”</p> <p>And when it came to whether or not she’d struggled while down there, Flamini was quite to declare “never. In fact, I didn’t want to come out!”</p> <p>To keep herself occupied during the marathon stay, Flamini tried her hand at a whole host of popular pastimes, from knitting to exercising, painting, knitting, and reading. The effort paid off, the days flying by as the determined mountaineer successfully lost track of time.</p> <p>“On day 65, I stopped counting and lost perception of time,” she explained. “I didn’t talk to myself out loud, but I had internal conversations and got on very well with myself.</p> <p>“You have to remain conscious of your feelings. If you’re afraid, that’s something natural, but never let panic in, or you get paralysed.”</p> <p>Flamini was given a panic button in case of emergency, but she never felt the need to use it. And while her support team were on hand to give her clean clothing, provide essential food, and remove any waste that had accumulated, they were not to talk to her.</p> <p>“If it’s no communication it’s no communication, regardless of the circumstances,” Flamini said of that particular decision. “The people who know me knew and respected that.”</p> <p>As for what comes next, Flamini will now be studied by a team of experts - psychologists, researchers, and the like - to determine what impact the isolation of her extended time below might have had on her. </p> <p><em>Images: Getty, Sky News</em></p>

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The world’s most colourful mountains

<p>Imagine taking a photo of a destination that’s so colourful that you don’t need to apply any filters. Or so bright that your camera settings only need to be changed to make sure the entire scenery is captured through your lens. Among many of Earth’s colourful landscapes, there are mountains and rock formations whose hues go beyond monotone shades.</p> <div> </div> <h2>Rainbow Mountain, Peru</h2> <p>Also known as Vinicunca or Montaña de Siete Coloures (the Mountain of Seven Colours), this colourful mountain near Cusco became well-known throughout the world in recent years. It attracts 1,500 visitors daily during Peru’s high tourism season. The mountain’s rainbow look is revealed as the surrounding snow begins to melt, unveiling its true colours. In part from environmental conditions, over time marine, lake, and river sediments formed layer deposits resulting in turquoise, gold, red and fuchsia colours. Visits to Rainbow Mountain often involve full-day excursions through tour operators, where it’s best to be physically able to handle high altitudes. Consider the less-travelled yet equally colourful Cordillera de Coloures Palcoyo, also within the Cusco region.</p> <h2>Landmannalaugar Mountain, Iceland</h2> <p>Iceland is known for its diverse topography and this mountain in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve based within the country’s Southern Highlands fits in quite brightly. Its hues come from rhyolite, a type of rock producing quite the range of shades, from red, pink, and green to blue and golden yellow. Collectively, Landmannalaugar Mountain is a colourful mountain that makes for a picture-perfect backdrop to be captured with your smartphone lens. Aesthetics aside, Landmannalaugar is touted as a great hiking destination, where trekkers can venture along its three major trails: Mount Brennisteinsalda, Mount Bláhnjúkur, and Ljótipollur, the latter a crater lake. Speaking of water, after a long stretch, weary bodies can relax within the warm streams heated by geothermal energy, which could be why Landmannalaugar is also known by the moniker, “Pools of the People.”</p> <h2>The Pitons, St Lucia</h2> <p>Near the town of Soufriere, on St Lucia’s southwestern coast, this pair of mountainous volcanic cones are truly green and they’re also blessed in being covered with a lush forest that is home to a number of rare plant species. Collectively they are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, each of these two spires has its own name and, well, “personality.” Gros Piton is the taller of the two while Petit Piton is shorter but also said to be steeper. These two spires can offer hearty challenges to those who wish to go up to them – a guide is a must – but also reward visitors for their efforts in reaching their summits with mesmerising views. From the top of Gros Piton, you can see Petit Piton and Soufriere; Petit Piton will have you overlooking the Piton Bay.</p> <h2>Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, USA</h2> <p>Designated in 2000, this 280,000-acre national monument in Northern Arizona and near the Utah state line makes you feel like you’ve stepped onto another planet. Towering cliffs, slot canyons, and churned coloured sedimentary formations are found across this site’s many regions. But wait a minute: There are certain areas that require obtaining specific permits in advance to explore them, so do your homework first. Coyote Buttes are split into Coyote Buttes North, which has The Wave, a swirling sandstone formation, the Melody Arch, and the Grotto, while Coyote Buttes South is also visually striking with Paria Canyon and its petroglyphs.</p> <h2>Zhangye National Geopark, China</h2> <p>In northwestern China’s province of Gansu, within the foothills of the Qilian Mountains, this UNESCO national park is considered to be one of China’s most beautiful natural wonders. At first glance, it looks like a rainbow was carefully applied to a palette. And there’s a science to it. The striped colours within the 320-kilometre colourful rainbow mountain have been around for quite some time, in that they are comprised of deposits of cretaceous sandstones and siltstones that developed before the Himalayan Mountains were formed. These sand and silt deposits also held iron and trace minerals which created these vivacious colour formations. Then, as Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided into each other millions of years ago, mountains were lifted up and underneath sedimentary rock got exposed, thus leading to this colour scheme that’s still bright.</p> <h2>Montagne Sainte Victoire, France</h2> <p>What makes this limestone mountain ridge in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur so magnifique is that it has served as a muse for the French artist Paul Cézanne. This Post-Impressionist painter was inspired by this distinct landscape so much that Montagne Sainte Victoire became the constant subject of his paintings. Apparently, Cézanne never grew tired of capturing its appearance on this canvas, as he lived below the mountain and create a series of paintings on Montagne Sainte Victoire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.These days, Montagne Sainte Victoire can be taken in through mountain biking and rock climbing; it’s also the location for religious heritage sites such as the Saint-Ser Hermitage, a tiny chapel built inside a cave.</p> <h2>Serranias del Hornocal, Argentina</h2> <p>Translated as the Hill of 14 Colours, this jagged-looking yet multicoloured geological formation in the northwestern Argentinian province of Jujuy has gotten visitors’ attention in recent years. According to Jujuy’s tourism board’s website, you reach this colourful mountain by driving with care from the town of Humahuaca. Your ride will go along the winding and gravel-covered Provincial Route 73, traveling roughly 24 kilometres to reach this Hill of 14 Colours. At this location, visitors can view the panoramic scenery and park their vehicles at an observation point that’s 4,350 meters high.</p> <h2>Remarkable Rocks, Flinders Chase National Park, Australia</h2> <p>How could we not include this amazing rock formation found in this park on Australia’s Kangaroo Island? These aptly-named granite boulders are said to have been shaped by 500 million years of environmental impact from the natural elements. The end result is quite an abstract vision. Some of these rocks are covered with golden orange lichen, which is a fungus and algae organism that reflects the sunlight. Other spotted colours include black mica, bluish quartz, and pinkish feldspar. Interpretive signs tell the story behind these rocks plus there’s a viewing platform for those with accessibility needs.</p> <h2>Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia</h2> <p>A World UNESCO Heritage site, this national park in northern Ethiopia is a biosphere onto its own with an abundance of flora and fauna. Canyon gorges, soft turfs, deep valleys and vegetation such as a type of flowering tree known as Erica arborea are all nestled here. Wildlife can be found within the park as well. Walia ibex, an endangered species of goat that’s native to this region of Ethiopia, is a resident. Other coinciding rare animals include the Ethiopian wolf (also known as a Simien fox) and Gelada baboon and several birds of prey.</p> <h2>Seven Coloured Earths, Mauritius</h2> <p>While they’re technically sand dunes, this colourful granular grouping stands out to us because of their blended hues. Found near the village of Chamarel, this geological marvel is a result of volcanic rock becoming clay that bridged together various elements and brought forth a result of different colours that have swirled together. Surrounded by forest, this harmonious blend of shades have settled amongst each other with red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple, and yellow shining in their own right.</p> <p>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/destinations/the-worlds-most-colourful-mountains?pages=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.</p> <p><em>Images: Shutterstock</em></p>

International Travel

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Retreat with private lake and outdoor bar for sale

<p dir="ltr">A massive mansion tucked away in the mountains with its own lake and outdoor bar has hit the market for the first time in 15 years.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cedar Lodge Retreat sits on top of Tamborine Mountain in Queensland and offers breathtaking views of Canungra Valley to the Great Dividing Range.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Every day you will feel like the last on earth to see the sun as it falls behind the ranges, displaying colours and visual tones which need to be seen to be believed,” the <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/tamborine-mountain-qld-4272-2017753766?utm_source=nine.com.au&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=editorial-content" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listing</a> reads.</p> <p dir="ltr">The huge property, which also offers another home on the land, can be accessed along a private road but is still remote and private.</p> <p dir="ltr">The main residence, which was built in 1974, boasts five huge bedrooms and four bathrooms and has been constantly renovated to “align with the estate’s timeless quality”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Master Suite on the top floor, includes a kingsize bedroom, parents retreat, luxury ensuite with dual shower heads, spa and large walk-in-robe.</p> <p dir="ltr">The lounge room has high ceilings and an open fireplace which is perfect for those cooler nights.</p> <p dir="ltr">There is also a tennis court, a large basement wine cellar and an entire top-floor primary suite.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Outlook Bar is also perfect to host a number of guests with the stunning views.</p> <p dir="ltr">Built only 12 years ago, the second residence includes an open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen experience.</p> <p dir="ltr">Perfect for guests staying the night or a few days, with the four bedroom and three bedroom amenities.</p> <p dir="ltr">The property is only minutes away from the local town centre, multiple wineries, cafes, breweries and distilleries.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cedar Lodge Retreat will go to auction with the real estate agent keeping mum about how much the property could fetch.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-47066484-7fff-67e2-3616-087d9feb883c"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Domain</em></p>

Real Estate

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Mountain biking gives this Tasmanian town a sustainable future. Logging does not

<p>In the late 19th century it was tin mining that drove the economic life of Derby, about 100 km from Launceston in north-eastern Tasmania. But the mine has long closed. From a peak of more than 3,000, by the 2016 census Derby’s population <a href="https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC60149">was 178</a>, with a 20% unemployment rate.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431452/original/file-20211111-17-1hl4tek.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="Map of Derby's location in northeast Tasmania." /> <br /><span class="caption">Derby’s location in northeast Tasmania.</span></p> <p>What has saved Derby from becoming another <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-21/world-class-mountain-bike-trail-transforms-derby-from-ghost-tow/9677344">mining ghost town</a> is finding a more sustainable mountain resource: mountain biking.</p> <p>This transition could be considered a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-08/mountain-bike-boom-a-boon-for-country-towns/9153572">role model</a> for the world, a story of hope for mining communities seeking to transition away from unsustainable resource extraction to something more about maintaining balance with nature.</p> <p>But there’s something competing against this vision. As in many parts of Tasmania, and elsewhere, the forests through which the Blue Derby Trail Network trails have been built are still threatened by logging.</p> <h2>Origins of the the Derby venture</h2> <p>In 2015, with funding from the federal government, two local councils (Dorset Council and Break O'Day Council) opened the first 20 km section of the Blue Derby Trail Network, a system of mountain-bike trails that now extends 125 km through temperate old-growth rainforest, catering to a range of skill levels and riding styles.</p> <p>There are easy trails such as “Crusty Rusty”, a “mostly undulating” track with two crossings of the local Cascade River. There are extremely difficult trails, such as “23 Stitches”, 800 metres of “fast, descending jump trail, littered with dirt jumps, rollers and tabletops”.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3MJEoTyXbcg?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <br /><span class="caption">The 23 Stitches, rated ‘extremely difficult’</span></p> <p>The attractions of Blue Derby Trail Network were quickly acknowledged by interstate and international mountain-bike enthusiasts. By 2017 Dorset Council mayor Greg Howard was boasting the trails were attracting <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-26/mountain-bike-trails-driving-major-change-in-derby/9276384?nw=0">30,000 visitors</a> a year, with the initial investment of $3.1 million returning $30 million a year.</p> <h2>Turmoil amid renewal</h2> <p>Logging of Tasmania’s public forests is overseen by the state-owned business known as Sustainable Timber Tasmania (previously Forestry Tasmania). It manages 816,000 hectares of public forest designated as “Permanent Timber Production Zone land”. This area represents about 12% of Tasmania’s total land area and 24% of its forests.</p> <p>Each year Sustainable Timber Tasmania is required to extract 137,000 cubic metres of sawlogs from these forests. It maintains a “Three Year Plan” for what parts of Tasmania it is going to log. It updated this document in July 2021.</p> <p>This plan includes logging two coupes (<a href="https://www.sttas.com.au/forest-operations-management/our-operations/three-year-wood-production-plans/3yp-north-east-region">CC105A and C119A</a>) covering 85 hectares that border the Blue Derby Trail Network by the end of the year. A third coupe, covering 40 hectares, is scheduled for <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7070498/protesters-descend-on-mountain-bike-trails/">clear-felling in 2022</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431419/original/file-20211111-21-jy54dd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431419/original/file-20211111-21-jy54dd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Part of the Blue Derby trail system." /></a> <span class="caption">Part of the Blue Derby trail system.</span> <span class="attribution"><a href="https://www.ridebluederby.com.au/" class="source">Blue Derby Pods Ride</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a></span></p> <p>Local views on this logging are mixed. Dorset Council mayor Greg Howard has said <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-31/derby-mountain-bike-trail-logging-concerns/12502316">it won’t make any difference</a> to the mountain bike trails. Conservationists and others are more defiant. Local conservation group Blue Derby Wild has <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7070498/protesters-descend-on-mountain-bike-trails/">organised protests</a>) involving cyclists, hikers and activists.</p> <p>This battle between logging and outdoor recreation in Derby exemplifies the conflict between extraction and conservation affecting communities across Tasmania, Australia and the world.</p> <h2>The value of mountain bike tourism</h2> <p>This week more than 180 Tasmanian tourism businesses signed <a href="https://tasmaniantimes.com/2021/11/on-forestry-tourism/">an open letter</a> calling for the state government to end logging in native forests. The letter says:</p> <blockquote> <p>Brand Tasmania promises an island at the bottom of the world where ancient forests and wild rivers await to reconnect people to their wild side, through nature based tourism experiences found nowhere else on earth.</p> </blockquote> <p>Mountain biking has become an increasingly valuable part of this tourism mix since the late <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222216.1997.11949800">1990s</a>, when communities in iconic destinations such as Moab, Utah and Whistler, British Columbia began building mountain-bike trails.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431415/original/file-20211111-21-1hob0f3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431415/original/file-20211111-21-1hob0f3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Mountain biking in Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, Utah." /></a> <span class="caption">Mountain biking in Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, Utah.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></p> <p>While the size and value of the industry internationally is difficult to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1354816620901955">assess</a>, mountain bike tourists are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356766719842321">typically affluent</a>. They travel an average 12 nights a year, spending US$130 to US$23O each day of their visit. A <a href="https://www.auscycling.org.au/nat/news/mountain-biking-australia-economic-and-participation-analysis">study</a> published in March 2021 (commissioned by the group AusCycling and funded by the federal government’s <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/regions/regional-community-programs/building-better-regions-fund">Building Better Region Fund</a>), estimates Australia’s mountain bike market is worth <a href="https://www.auscycling.org.au/nat/news/mountain-biking-australia-economic-and-participation-analysis">about A$600 million a year</a>, supporting more than 6,000 jobs.</p> <p>How does the mountain-bike tourism compare with the value of logging? Again, while there are no studies that directly quantify this, comparisons between logging and ecotourism more generally point strong to the latter. A study on the economic contribution of ecotourism versus logging in the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Securing_the_Wet_Tropics.html?id=N9UshWGGUAIC&amp;redir_esc=y">Wet Tropics of Queensland area</a>, for example, found ecotourism was worth up to ten times more than logging.</p> <p>In Tasmania, the tourism industry directly employs about <a href="https://www.tra.gov.au/data-and-research/reports/national-tourism-satellite-account-2019-20/national-tourism-satellite-account-2019-20">21,000 poeple</a>, compared with about 2,500 in logging (at the time of <a href="https://www.tffpn.com.au/forest-facts/">the 2016 census</a>).</p> <h2>Clear-cut choice</h2> <p>Derby has been pioneer in mountain-bike tourism. Communities looking to emulate its success include <a href="https://lalarrbagauwa.harcourt.vic.au/">Harcourt</a> in Victoria, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-05/york-trails-adrenaline/100350674">York</a> in Western Australia. and <a href="https://aboutregional.com.au/mogo-locals-worry-about-the-impact-of-logging-on-mountain-bike-tourism/">Mogo</a> in New South Wales – which is also battling logging plans threatening the mountain bike trails.</p> <p>Mountain bikers predominantly seek out destinations based on the quality of the trail systems, the attractiveness of the terrain and appeal of the natural <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsm/30/3/article-p265.xml">scenery</a>. But just as important is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14775085.2016.1164069">support from the local community</a> and <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/tri/2014/00000018/00000001/art00002">politicians</a>.</p> <p>In Derby the choice between logging and sustainable tourism should be clear-cut. Mining didn’t last. Nor can logging. Long-term protections are needed now.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166176/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-buning-943392">Richard Buning</a>, Lecturer in Tourism, School of Business, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/mountain-biking-gives-this-tasmanian-town-a-sustainable-future-logging-does-not-166176">original article</a>.</p>

Domestic Travel

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New Gold Mountain review: a compelling murder mystery shines light on early Australian multiculturalism

<p>The beautifully shot and evenly paced New Gold Mountain, the new series from SBS, is an 1850s-era murder mystery set in the Ballarat goldfields during the gold rush heyday.</p> <p>In 1851, gold was discovered in Ballarat – a little known pastoral outpost of the British empire. News of the strike quickly spread and the town rapidly developed. Initially, the first arrivals came from other parts of Victoria. Others followed from other Australian colonies. Soon after, international arrivals came from all regions of the globe and in 1852 many arrived from Southern China in search of gold.</p> <p>New Gold Mountain focuses on this Chinese-Australian goldfields experience, primarily from the point of view of Leung Wei Shing (Yoson An), the brooding headman of the Chinese miners and his relationships with his younger, errant brother Leung Wei Sun (Sam Wang) and his loyal assistant Gok (Chris Masters Mah).</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-8U7AmNp-U?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>The narrative is widened to include Belle Roberts (Alyssa Sutherland), the English widow turned newspaper proprietor; Hattie (Leonie Whyman), the resilient Indigenous woman trying to get by; and Patrick Thomas (Christopher James Baker), the troubled Irish miner whose wife’s disappearance drives the plot.</p> <p>In their own ways, each character is caught between different cultures, friendships and allegiances in the rapidly forming goldfields frontier society on the far side of the world.</p> <h2>A Chinese Australian tale</h2> <p>Chinese migration patterns to Australia were largely based on regional associations, particularly in the localities of Toi Shan, Sze Yup and Sam Yup in Guangdong, Southern China. These regional associations and “brotherhoods”, as they are referred to in the series, were labour recruiting mechanisms similar to the one Wei Shing runs at this Chinese camp.</p> <p>Here, Cheung Lei (Mabel Li) brings into play the connections, allegiances and complexities between Chinese gold seekers in the Australian colonies and their backers in China.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425586/original/file-20211010-25-7hpfvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425586/original/file-20211010-25-7hpfvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Production image: a white woman and an Asian man talk." /></a></p> <p>On one hand, relations between key characters and groups (primarily between the Chinese and Europeans) are typified by racism and hostility. But there is also cooperation, as Wei Shing and Belle unite to solve the murder. Sometimes there is brutal friendship, as when Wei Shing and the Chinese protector, Standish (Dan Spielman), finally establish exactly where they stand with each other.</p> <p>Director Corrie Chen and creator Peter Cox pull no punches while maintaining a compelling murder mystery and this lively ensemble offers a nuanced reading of the Australian goldfields experience, telling a mature and ambiguous account of the frontier.</p> <p>The other stars of the series are the distinctive former mining landscapes and Sovereign Hill providing the visual backdrops for the 1850s goldfields society. You can imagine how startled recent arrivals from the bustling South China trading ports of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau must have been on disembarkation. The flora and fauna – literally everything – was so different to home.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425633/original/file-20211011-23-vtq501.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425633/original/file-20211011-23-vtq501.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A Chinese man stands amid red lanterns" /></a></p> <p>Chen explores this shock in a moment of brief magical realism with Wei Shing’s encounters with a kangaroo. It seems the bush sees all. The Chinese miners and their Indigenous and European counterparts were all coming to terms with a landscape broken by mining and colonised by a disparate society coming to terms with its own experiences and opportunities. New Gold Mountain evocatively captures this moment.</p> <h2>The gold rush on screen</h2> <p>Australian goldfields life has been shown on television before, notably <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071046/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_7">Rush</a>, the Victorian gold rush era drama from the 1970s.</p> <p>But the obvious cultural point of reference is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348914/">Deadwood</a> (2004-06), David Milch’s multi-layered historical narrative based on the 1850s gold-rush town in the Black Hills Indian Cession, a region that subsequently became South Dakota.</p> <p>Much of Deadwood centres on the business dealings between the Chinese headman, Mr Wu, and the corrupt saloon owner and town powerbroker, Al Swearengen. The inherent racism of frontier life is apparent, as is the mutual respect the two men have for each other as they seek to benefit from nefarious business dealings.</p> <p>Similar complex, intertwined plots of shifting alliances and a mutual desire to win money run through New Gold Mountain.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425627/original/file-20211011-21-1dkjedm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425627/original/file-20211011-21-1dkjedm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Production image: a Chinese man looks for gold in his hands." /></a></p> <p><span class="caption"></span>On closer viewing, the series also shares a watermark with the New Zealand made <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195822/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Illustrious Energy</a> (1988), directed by Leon Narbey, which also explored the goldfields experience from a Chinese perspective. Other Australian colonial stories have been told in John Hillcoat’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421238/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2">The Proposition</a> (2005) and Jennifer Kent’s recent <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4068576">The Nightingale</a> (2018).</p> <p>Yoson An’s smouldering portrayal of Wei Shing resembles Jay Swan’s character in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7298596/">Mystery Road</a> (2018–). Both are extremely resourceful, conflicted and move between different worlds while confronting the ghosts of their own respective pasts in remote Australia.</p> <h2>Historical voices together</h2> <p>New Gold Mountain emphasises the little told history of the Chinese on the diggings. The paradoxical nature of the colonial gold seeking era is best understood when all the historical voices are heard together. If one story dominates, much of the historical themes which help to explain Australian society in the present day are missed.</p> <p>The show also reminds us of the complex enduring relationship between China and Australia, which has often been driven by the mining industry.</p> <p>But, ultimately, it’s a cracking murder mystery that reminds viewers the first Australian multicultural moment happened in the mid-19th century – not the 20th.</p> <p><em>New Gold Mountain premieres on SBS Wednesday 13 October.</em></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/keir-reeves-872184">Keir Reeves</a>, Professor of History &amp; Director Future Regions Research Centre, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/federation-university-australia-780">Federation University Australia</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-gold-mountain-review-a-compelling-murder-mystery-shines-light-on-early-australian-multiculturalism-169527">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: SBS</em></p>

TV

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How a team of hungry GOATS is helping to fight fires

<p>After the devastating bushfires that ravaged Australia in 2019 and 2020, the RFS is looking to unusual method to prevent history from repeating. </p> <p>A new tactic adopted by the Rural Fire Service has been to put some furry friends to good use by doing what they do best: eating! </p> <p>Hungry goats have been given the job of protecting towns that have been identified as an extreme bushfire risk this summer by grazing on all the grass and shrubs. </p> <p>A herd of bucks and billies have been placed at <span>Clandulla village near Mudgee in NSW's Central West, after being loaned to the area by two local farmers. </span></p> <p><span>They will be grazing on the land in Clandulla for the next two months, eating their way through the foliage that poses a fire risk.</span></p> <p><span>"Goats will eat up shrubs, small tree saplings and eat woody weeds some of your other animals won't," farmer Michael Blewitt said.</span></p> <p><span>While this </span>unique method of containing fires is a first for Australia, the tactic has been used and proven to work in the US, Spain and Portugal. </p> <p><span>These goats are expected to clear more than two hectares over the next three weeks, creating a buffer zone to the village of 200 people.</span></p> <p><span>While back burning is an efficient way of clearing fire hazards, it is often dependant on weather conditions, where </span>goats are happy to clear away grass, shrubs and bushes in rain, hail or shine. </p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Heroic mum fights off mountain lion with her bare hands

<p>A mother in California is being hailed a hero after fighting off a dangerous mountain lion that attacked her son.</p> <p>The woman used her bare hands to fend off the animal after it lunged at her five-year-old son and dragged him along the front lawn of his home. </p> <p><span>The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the boy was playing near his house, west of Los Angeles, when the mountain lion attacked. </span></p> <p><span>After the mother heard the boy's screams, her protective instincts kicked in and she rushed to the rescue. </span></p> <p>"She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son," Department spokesman Patrick Foy told the Associated Press.</p> <p>"The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life."</p> <p>Once the boy was free from the jaws of the mountain lion, he was immediately taken to the hospital where law enforcement were notified of the attack. </p> <p>Mr Foy shared that the five-year-old boy had sustained traumatic injuries to his head and torso.</p> <p>Authorities also confirmed that following the attack, the mountain lion has been shot and killed by a wildlife officer. </p> <p>The officer was sent to the scene shortly after the attack, arriving to find the mountain lion crouching in the bushes with its “ears back and hissing” at him.</p> <p>“Due to its behaviour and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on site,” the wildlife department said in a statement Saturday.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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The mountain no one can climb

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For a country where mountain tourism has thrived, there is one mountain in Nepal where climbing is forbidden.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Machhapuchhre - meaning “fishtail” - stands at 6,993m in the Annapurna range in central Nepal that is home to three of the world’s 10 highest mountains.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though it doesn’t stand as tall as other mountains, it stands out as a lone peak and appears much taller than it actually is.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Machhapuchhare also has a double summit, which is joined by a sharp ridge, and towers over the Phewa Lake.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The closest curious tourists can get to the peak is the summit of Mardi Himal, a smaller mountain beneath Machhapuchhare.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The reason behind it’s prohibited climbing status: Lieutenant Colonel James Owen Merion Roberts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jimmy Roberts, as he was popularly known, was a British Army officer and the first military attach</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">é to Nepal. He made significant contributions to Nepal’s economy and local livelihoods after helping open up the country’s remote mountains for commercial mountaineering and trekking.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Roberts has since been remembered as the “father of trekking” in Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His fascination with Machhapuchhare began after he read a dispatch from another army officer, and he would eventually become the first and only person to attempt to reach the summit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, his expedition party, reduced to just two people by the end, abandoned the ascent just 45m below the summit due to bad weather.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following the failed climb, Roberts requested the Nepal government restrict the peak and ensure Machhapuchhare would never be climbed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They obliged.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Roberts’ fascination with the mountain and his kinship with Gurungs, who hold Machhapuchhare sacred, and with the people of Chomrong, the last Gurung village before the mountain, may have been the motivation behind his odd request.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the reason remains a mystery and Roberts’ association with the peak’s prohibited status has been largely forgotten, the prevailing view now is that the mountain is sacred and therefore forbidden to climb.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Machhapuchhare’s summit is not meant to be stepped upon; it is only to be adored by the eyes,” said Tirtha Shrestha, a poet and long-time resident of nearby Pokhara.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Any discourse, not just on Pokhara, but about the beauty of the entire Himalayas, would be incomplete without mentioning Machhapuchhare. Its beauty has greatly moved poets, authors and artists. In many folk songs, the mountain has been showered with praises. Machhapuchhare, for us, is the epitome of beauty,” he said.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: MountainKick / Instagram</span></em></p>

International Travel

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The monks walking Japan’s mountains

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the ancient forests of Dewa Sanzan in Yamagata Prefecture, Japanese mountain worshippers, called Yamabushi, have been walking the mountainous paths for 1400 years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though it is an enjoyable place to hike, the monks are walking in pursuit of spiritual rebirth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yamagato lies in the northernmost region of Japan’s Honshu island, and is an isolated, mountainous region prone to heavy snowfall.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan, and Mount Yudono of Dewa Sanzan - literally “the Three Mountains of Dewa Province” - have been deemed sacred since 593 A.D., when Prince Hachiko fled to Mount Haguro following the assassination of his father, Emperor Sushun. The prince was told the mountain would be where he would encounter Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, so he built shrines on each peak to keep the mountain gods there and ensure the region would experience peace and prosperity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The mountains were established as a centre for Shugendo, a Japanese form of worship dating back to when the mountains were considered deities. Eventually Shugendo would incorporate elements of Shinto, Buddhism, and Taoism and form the religion of the Yamabushi.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Historically, the Yamabushi lived on the higher mountains of Japan. They would years on end in the mountains,” explained Timm Bunting, a Yamabushido Project Leader and Yamabushi Master Assistant.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For example, the Yamabushi who self-mummified to become </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sokushinbutsu</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (Living Buddha) had to spend at least 1,000 days in the mountains,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This self-mummification process required the Yamabushi to fast for an extended period, and was outlawed more than 100 years ago.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, the 6000 Yamabushi still in Japan believe Shugendo’s training in the harsh environment of the mountains can bring enlightenment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To become a certified Yamabushi, a week-long Akinome Autumn Peak Ritual must be completed. Though its exact nature is secret, the ritual is known to include meditation under a waterfall, nightwalking, and visiting places where the gods live on the mountains and praying. This immersion in the mountains is thought to help the Yamabushi become one with the mountain’s spirit and allow them re-emerge enlightened.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In walking we are born again. We rejuvenate our life,” said Master Yoshino, a 13th-generation Yamabushi priest and head of the Haguro Yamabushi.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A growing number of people around Japan and the world have rediscovered Dewa Sanzan’s healing energy, and thousands have taken part in Yamabushi training offered in both Japanese and English.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During the one-day, two-day, or four-day course, participants can only say one word, “uketamou” (I accept), in response to instructions. Phones, watches, brushing teeth, shaving, reading, and writing are also prohibited to help participants partake in self-discovery and mindfulness.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maiko Ito, a Yamabushido Project Leader, said: “We want people to face themselves, to look at the feet they are standing on, and to feel a connection with nature, society, and the world.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: The Dewa Sanzan / Instagram</span></em></p>

International Travel

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‘Breathing’ mountains could help us understand earthquake risks

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> As the Earth’s surface shifts over time, oceans have opened and closed while new mountains climb towards the sky.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But mountains can also sink back to Earth, usually due to stress caused by the same collisions of tectonic plates that triggers earthquakes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These events happen in cycles, and you could imagine it like the chest of a rocky giant breathing unevenly, explains Luca Dal Zilio, a geophysicist at the California Institute of Technology.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The best example of this phenomenon? The 2,200 kilometres of peaks that make up the Himalaya. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By understanding the complex forces driving this cycle, the local risk of earthquakes that threaten millions of people living nearby can be more well-understood.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since similar geological ‘breaths’ have been documented worldwide, the review Dal Zilio and colleagues recently </span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-021-00143-1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">published in </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature Reviews</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> could be the key to understanding the processes behind many of Earth’s mountain ranges - and the risks they might pose.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Compiling more than 200 studies of Himalayan geology, the paper looks to lay out the intricate mechanisms behind this ‘breathing’.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The lengthy expanse and geologic complexity of the Himalaya make it a terrific natural laboratory, says study co-author Judith Hubbard, a structural geologist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.</span></p> <p><strong>Inhaling and exhaling over time</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Himalaya formed from a tectonic pileup about 50 million years ago, when the Indian continental plate crashed into the Eurasian plate. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To this day, India continues moving northward by almost two inches every year. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the land doesn’t slide under Eurasia, instead causing the Eurasian plate to bulge and bunch and drive the mountains slightly higher in a long inhale.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eventually, this pressure will hit a breaking point, where the land masses will shift in an earthquake in a geologic exhale, or cough.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A deadly example of this exhalation came in 2015, when a 7.8-magniture earthquake caused a part of the Himalaya to sink by almost 600 centimetres.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Different parts of a mountain range can exhale at different intensities. While some cough violently, others might experience a series of hiccoughs. They might not exhale the exact same way each time either.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Even the same patch can have different behaviours at different times,” says Rebecca Bendick, a geophysicist at the University of Montana. “And pretty much nobody has the foggiest clue why.”</span></p> <p><strong>Putting the pieces together</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To understand how this process works, scientists have to piece together mountain-building processes that happen on varying scales of time - from slow moving tectonic plates to near-instantaneous shifts of earthquakes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since these phenomena are measured differently, looking at the shape of the fracture between the two plates can help scientists bridge the gap.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the Himalaya, the fault spanning 2200 kilometres has several kinks and bends remaining from the original collision that formed the range. These features have continued to slowly evolve and can influence how an earthquake progresses today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the recent review, Hubbard found a paper suggesting that structures surrounding the fault - such as bends beneath the surface - limited the magnitude of the 2015 quake.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dal Zilio says that other structures that might be present across the rest of the range could similarly limit how far a quake might spread.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The ultimate goal is to know what kinds of earthquakes we can expect and what kinds of damage they will produce,” Hubbard says. “If we’re trying to learn about that exhale or cough process but the earth isn’t exhaling or coughing, it’s really hard to learn about it.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To fill in the gaps, some researchers are looking at the scars left from past earthquakes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But there are many challenges that present major obstacles, especially when the terrain is too difficult to measure using current technology.</span></p> <p><strong>Shifting forward</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the cycle of inhalation and exhalation continues, the system will also change and make understanding it even more difficult. Some of the accumulated stress from every inhale will permanently deform the rock, even after the next exhale, as the release of all of the stress would mean that no mountain would still be standing, Hubbard notes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As India continues to inch closer under Eurasia, other landscape features will also change.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bendick says, “at some point, Nepal will cease to exist”, as the Indian plate’s movement over the next tens of thousands of years will cause the southern border to move ever northward and slowly squeeze Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“At that very long time scale, nothing is fixed,” she says. “‘Set in stone’ is not the right phrase.”</span></p>

International Travel

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Boy climbs UK's tallest mountain after being told he’d never walking again

<p><span>A seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy has overcome huge adversity after climbing Britain’s tallest mountain for charity, even though his parents were told he’d never walk again. </span><br /><br /><span>Caeden Thomson, from Corby, Northamptonshire, was born 12 weeks premature, and has undergone intense physiotherapy to walk again. </span><br /><br /><span>Despite doctors' claims that he would never properly take his first steps, Caeden nor his family gave up. </span><br /><br /><span>On his JustGiving page, his mother Lisa said he wanted to be able to "give something back", because "he was so lucky for all the things he has had in his life".</span><br /><br /><span>At just seven, he hiked the 1,345 metres to the top of Ben Nevis in the Highlands on Saturday, and managed to raise more than £8,000 for his local NHS trust and disability equality charity, Scope.</span><br /><br /><span>The group began to make their way up the massive mountain at 9am. </span><br /><br /><span>Together, they would reach the summit at 5.30pm, before returning to the bottom five hours later.</span><br /><br /><span>Caeden said: "My body hurts a lot but I'm OK. It was really, really hard.</span><br /><br /><span>"I felt sick and exhausted at the top, and I felt exhausted but happy at the bottom!"</span><br /><br /><span>His mum says her son is "an absolute legend". </span><br /><br /><span>To say it was a “massive challenge” was an understatement for the group, who said it was “much, much harder than any of us expected".</span><br /><br /><span>She said: "There were many hard times along the way. From three-quarters of the way up, the pathway is just massive boulders and very hard to climb, and even at the top we didn't think he would make it down.</span><br /><br /><span>"There were danger areas where carrying was very difficult, so Caeden did have to walk down a lot of it too.</span><br /><br /><span>"The temperature dropped hugely and many climbers said they were turning back. But we made it!</span><br /><br /><span>"We are all super-proud of him, he deserves a medal.</span><br /><br /><span>"Last night no-one could move or celebrate, so today we are resting up and will celebrate tonight.</span><br /><br /><span>"We all love Caeden so much and can't believe his passion for getting to the top."</span></p>

Caring

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Switzerland offers message of hope to Aussies by projecting flag on mountain

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Australia’s national flag has been projected onto the Swiss Alps in a message of hope from Switzerland during the global coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>It was projected early in the morning onto Mount Matterhorn on Thursday, local Swiss time.</p> <p>The mountain is 4,478 metres high and overlooks Zermatt, a town in southern Switzerland.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Australia is having a hard time with the bush fires and now the Coronavirus. Today we think of the Australian people and send hope and courage to get through the crisis well. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Australia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Australia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Zermatt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Zermatt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Matterhorn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Matterhorn</a><a href="https://t.co/qFjiKuZNsE">https://t.co/qFjiKuZNsE</a> <a href="https://t.co/qFKgakRlbp">pic.twitter.com/qFKgakRlbp</a></p> — Zermatt - Matterhorn (@zermatt_tourism) <a href="https://twitter.com/zermatt_tourism/status/1253312079852900355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Daniel Luggen, spa director of Zermatt-Matterhorn, said the projections are a message to the rest of the world.</p> <p>"Since almost a month, we're illuminating every night the Matterhorn with different symbols, to give the people hope and show our solidarity to the world," Mr Luggen said in a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday evening, Australian time.</p> <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fzermatt.matterhorn%2Fposts%2F10157945339765605&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=552&amp;height=503&amp;appId" width="552" height="503" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe> <p>The projections are a project by light artist Gerry Hostetter and are meant to say “thank you to all the people working hard during this crisis”.</p> <p>"It's empty and quiet in Zermatt and that makes us sad, but soon we look forward to (having) you back here," Mr Luggen said.</p> </div> </div> </div>

International Travel

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In the company of mountain gods

<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Justine Tyerman practises her “one foot after the other” mantra on day two of the Bear Trek in the Swiss Alps. </span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kleine Scheidegg Pass looked formidable in the early morning light, shaded by the massive granite North Face of the Eiger. I was tempted to bury my head under my cosy down duvet, feign a pulled ligament or something and allow Guide Birgit and Team Super-Fit to hike on without me.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had made the mistake of studying the profile of Day Two of the Bear Trek the night before and discovered that before we even started the climb, the track plunged all the way to the valley floor, appropriately called Grund, adding hours and vertical metres to an already challenging ascent.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The warning bells I had earlier ignored before I left New Zealand were clanging away again inside my head, but so too were my Kiwi tramping friend’s words that had kept me going the previous day: “One foot after the other and you’ll get there... eventually.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Besides, I was the only Kiwi in the group and I couldn’t let the Aussies get the better of me. I floundered my way out of duvets and pillows so deep, they must have placed the entire Swiss goose population in serious jeopardy, showered, pulled on my hiking gear and presented myself in the dining room with a brave smile on my face.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over a hearty breakfast at our lovely Hotel Kirchbühl high above the village of Grindelwald, Birgit studied the itinerary for Day Two.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The detailed route map proposed by Eurotrek, the company that organised our hike, went from Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen via Kleine Scheidegg Pass, covering 19.5km, ascending 1230m and descending 1465m, a hiking time of seven hours, 25 minutes.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Birgit frowned... and then beamed.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think we’ll take the train to Alpiglen,” she said. “No point in walking all the way down just to climb back up again. And we’re staying in Wengen for the night which is much closer than Lauterbrunnen.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tall, lean Ms Super-Duper Fit was crestfallen but I was so relieved I hugged Birgit.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">What a wonderful, wise woman</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, I thought.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> How I love the Swiss Transport System. There’s always a train, bus, cablecar, gondola or funicular right where you need it. Catching the train to Alpiglen and staying at Wengen would lop off about three hours and hundreds of vertical metres. This would enable us to have a more relaxed, enjoyable experience with ample time to revel in the landscape, take photos and stop for a leisurely lunch on this most pristine of sunny autumn days.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first rays of sun kissed the tip of the snow-capped peaks as we set off, well-fuelled, after a substantial hikers’ breakfast. The train deposited us at Alpiglen where we began the climb to Kleine Scheidegg Pass, 2061m. The ascent was steep and steady but the unfolding of the landscape as the mighty Bernese triumvirate - the Eiger, Mönsch and Jungfrau - came into view, made every step rewarding. Bright sunshine, clear skies and mild temperatures added to the magic of the day.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">We crossed gurgling, gin-clear, ice-cold streams trickling down lush, green mountain pastures, and stopped to pat friendly cows with tinkling bells. They were so tame, they licked us with their long purple-black, sandpaper tongues.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Encounters with other hikers and bikers of different nationalities were more frequent than on the previous day but we had the well-formed trail largely to ourselves.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was last to “summit” the pass but the heady exhilaration of having made it to the top obliterated the pain in my calf muscles and thumping of my heart. The Aussies were good sports. They didn’t seem to mind waiting for me. With breath-taking alpine panoramas, there was no down-time for them – cameras and iPhones were working overtime.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Above Kleine Scheidegg, in the shadow of the 3970m Eiger, there’s a tiny museum that documents the triumphs and tragedies of past climbing expeditions on the treacherous Nordwand (North Face). The stories are chilling especially the horrific tale of the climber in 1936 who, despite valiant rescue attempts, froze to death on the end of his rope after his three companions perished. He was just metres from safety.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sphinx Terrace and observatory at the “Top of Europe” was visible high above us - building such a structure on a narrow ridge 3571m above sea level is a marvel of engineering. So too the cogwheel Jungfrau Railway train from Kleine Scheidegg to Europe’s highest railway station (3454m). Opened in 1912, the top 7km of the 9.4km of railway climbs through a tunnel hewn in the rock of the Eiger and Mönch, an audacious project that took 16 years to complete.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we sat in the sun gazing at the mountain gods, I felt a deep sense of reverence to be in their company.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a quintessentially Swiss day – a sprinkling of fresh snow dusted the peaks, the edelweiss was in flower, and the alpine chalets were competing for the brightest window boxes and neatest firewood pile.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Swiss stack their firewood under the eaves against the chalet walls or in purpose-built sheds. The pieces are always perfectly cut to exactly the same size and arranged with the utmost symmetry – like an artwork.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a Swiss thing,” Birgit said, “a point of national pride. A messy wood pile would be shameful in Switzerland.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Descending from Kleine Scheidegg Pass, the rumble of an avalanche echoed around the mountains as a slab of ice broke free from a blue-white glacier and thundered down the valley, an awesome sight and sound from a safe distance.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Late in the season, a few of the mountain restaurants were already closed but the Bergrestaurant Allmend was open and served an excellent lunch platter. With only a short downward hike to Wengen ahead of us, a little schnapps was in order, “a Swiss tradition,” Birgit said.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">An easy downhill hike from the Allmend took us straight to the Silberhorn, our hotel in the centre of the delightful, car-free resort of Wengen.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exquisite picture-postcard village, with its traditional wooden chalets and belle époque hotels, is perched on a sunny terrace 400 metres above the Lauterbrunnen Valley with stunning vistas of the Jungfrau and Schilthorn.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Famous for its World Cup Lauberhorn ski piste, Wengen also has excellent year-round, family-friendly activities for everyone including skiing, toboggan runs and winter and summer hiking trails. Mountain trains and cableways provide access to spectacular vantage points throughout the Jungfrau region.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">After a relaxing soak in the Silberhorn’s outside Jacuzzi, I managed to do justice to a delectable five-course feast at the hotel’s excellent restaurant - melon and prosciutto, lentil soup, salads, beef ragout and apricot tart... among many other choices.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">High altitude can sometimes disrupt sleep patterns but the exertion of the day and the larger- than-usual-dinner... and a glass or two of wine...  acted as a powerful sedative for me.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I fell asleep looking at the map of the next day’s hike with the words “22km, 2000m ascent, 1400m descent, 9 hours” swirling around in my mind  – but by now, I was confident I would manage whatever trimmed-down version Birgit had in store up for us.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I knew I’d reach my destination, eventually, simply by placing “one foot after the other...”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Read more about </span><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/international-travel/the-slow-coach"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Day One of the trek</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><strong>Factbox</strong>:</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">* The Bear Trek is part of the Via Alpina, a classic among long-distance hikes in Switzerland. The Via Alpina is a challenging mountain hike through the picture-perfect landscapes of Switzerland’s northern alps. A series of 20 daily stages takes hikers over 14 alpine passes and through a great variety of alpine terrain, villages, flora and fauna - a hiking enthusiast’s dream. Mountain restaurants and hotels provide meals and accommodation along the way. Eurotrek organised our accommodation and luggage transfers so we just carried a light day pack. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Justine Tyerman was a guest of </span><a href="http://www.myswitzerland.com/hiking"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Switzerland Tourism</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, travelled courtesy of </span><a href="https://www.swiss.com/au/en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Swiss Travel Pass</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and hiked in the </span><a href="https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/winter/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jungfrau Region</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with </span><a href="https://www.eurotrek.ch/en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eurotrek.</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></em></p>

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