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Month: March 2014

Canale Staunies Nord, Cristallo, Italy

The Dolomites have some famous ski resorts. Most of them are fancy ski towns, Alta Badia and Cortina d’Ampezzo to name a few. Besides offering a famous ski tour on the slopes, the Sella Ronda, the Dolomites offer many possibilities for backcountry skiing, especially couloirs. The tiny resort of Cristallo, part of Cortina d’Ampezzo, has great access to a number of couloirs. March 28, 2014 I skied canale Staunies Nord, a steep descent with 1500 meters vertical!

Canale Holzer, Passo Pordoi, Italy

After skiing in the backcountry more and more, I created a bucketlist of ski descents. Most of those runs are located in France, where the mountains surrounding la Grave and Chamonix have a lot to offer. However, a few runs are located in different parts of the world. One of the runs ranked very high on my bucketlist was canale Holzer in the Dolomites in Italy. It’s a true couloir with a serious gradient and therefore a great challenge!

Iran; ancient cities and Persian powder

After all my travels there is one obvious region I haven’t visited; the Middle East. One country in this region stands out in terms of variety it has to offer. The Silk Road and Islamic buildings offer some impressive architecture. Multiple deserts and mountains identify its landscape and make for interesting excursions. And, finally, the Trans Asia Express train ride offers a great alternative for the much more touristy Trans Siberia Express. This country of course is Iran.