The Nordwand, German for "north wall" or "north face," is the spectacular north (or, more precisely, northwest by north) face of the Eiger (also known as the Eigernordwand: "Eiger north wall" or Eigerwand). It is one of the three great north faces of the Alps, along with the north faces of the Matterhorn and the Grandes Jorasses (known as 'the Trilogy'). It is about 1,800 m (5,900 ft) tall and overlooks Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald. At 2,866 metres inside the mountain lies the Eigerwand railway station. The station is connected to the north face by a tunnel opening at the face, which has sometimes been used to rescue climbers. The Eiger Trail, at the base of the north face, runs from Eigergletscher to Alpiglen railway stations.
It was first climbed on July 24, 1938 by Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek, a German–Austrian group. The group had originally consisted of two independent teams; Harrer and Kasparek were joined on the face by Heckmair and Vörg, who had started their ascent a day later and had been helped by the fixed rope that the lead group had left across the Hinterstoisser Traverse. The two groups, led by the experienced Heckmair, cooperated on the more difficult later pitches, and finished the climb roped together as a single group of four.
Close view of the north face from the west ridge
A portion of the upper face is called "The White Spider", as snow-filled cracks radiating from an ice-field resemble the legs of a spider. Harrer used this name for the title of his book about his successful climb, Die Weisse Spinne (translated into English as The White Spider: The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger). During the first successful ascent, the four men were caught in an avalanche as they climbed the Spider, but all had enough strength to resist being swept off the face.
Since then, the north face has been climbed many times. Today it is regarded as a formidable challenge more because of the increased rockfall and diminishing ice-fields than because of its technical difficulties, exceeded by the 8,000 m peaks in the Himalaya and Karakoram. Climbers are increasingly electing to challenge the Eiger in winter, when the crumbling face is strengthened by ice.
Since 1935, at least sixty-four climbers have died attempting the north face, earning it the German nickname, Mordwand, or "murderous wall", a play on the face's German name Nordwand.
While the summit was reached without much difficulty in 1858 by a complex route on the west flank, the battle to climb the north face has captivated the interest of climbers and non-climbers alike. Before it was successfully climbed, most of the attempts on the face ended tragically and the Bernese authorities even banned climbing it and threatened to fine any party that should attempt it again. But the enthusiasm which animated the young talented climbers from Austria and Germany finally vanquished its reputation of unclimbability when a party of four climbers successfully reached the summit in 1938 by what is known as the "1938" or "Heckmair" route.
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If you wish for fantastic and unforgettable travel experience throughout your lifetime, then you are now on the right web page. Raja Ampat is a tour destination for all reasons to visit. From the highest point in the sky down to the ocean floor, Raja Ampat has the fascinating beauty for everyone. If there is a tour destination you must visit at least once in a lifetime, Raja Ampat is one of them
Raja Ampat archipelago is located in the heart of the world's Coral Triangle and is the center of the richest tropical marine biodiversity in the world today. Raja Ampat regency is part of the West Irian Jaya province consisting of four major islands namely Pulau Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool and more than 600 small islands. Central government was situated in Waisai, District of South Waigeo.
The islands are located in the westernmost of main island of Papua, Indonesia stretching over an area of approximately 4.6 million hectares. A team of experts from Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy discovered the existence of more than 540 coral species (75% of total species in the world), more than 1,000 species of reef fish, 700 species of mollusks and the highest record of gonodactyloid stomatopod crustaceans that is 75% of the world's coral species in Raja Ampat. Nowhere in the world has a number of coral species as much as this.
South Waigeo around the Dampier Strait (Saonek-Gam-Mansuar)
Waigeo is the largest island in Raja Ampat. The central part is covered by forest across the lower foot hills and mountains below 1,000 m. The island is consis to flime stone, magma and volcanic. There are three endemic species living in Raja Ampat, they are: Maleo Waigeo (Aepypodius Bruijnii), Cendrawasih Merah (Paradisea Rubra) and cendrawasih Botak (Cicinnurus Respublica).
Capital region of Raja Ampat is Waisai, as a center of various tourism supporting infrastructure such asaccommodation, meals, transportation, banks and others. Tourism is growing rapidly, especially for diving tourism In the southern part of Waigeo at around Dampier Strait, including on the island of Gamand Mansuar. However, this regional so presents a variety of tourist attractions for non-diving activities.
To be continue to the Raja Ampat Island part 2
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Sand Castle in Boracay is one of the main attractions of the island. Usually visible during early mornings and evenings, these simple attractions normally has the current date carved to it so tourists in the island would love to take pictures and remember the date they enjoyed in this beautiful island.
A Sand Castle is a three-dimensional work of art using the loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral. Sand castle makers use basic materials such as wood, slippers, pale, and cones among others to make their designs. Folks living in the island, who are asking for donations for their art, usually make the sand castle in the afternoon or at night and add some nice lighting to it.
The picturesque view of the sand castle, together with the warm colors of the lights makes it more appealing. Tourists who want to add their name to the design pays a small amount to the artist for the latter to carve it in the sculpture. Another option to enjoy the sand castle is to demolish it together with your friends but the artist would ask for a P100 to P200 fee for the demolition of their design.
During early mornings, when the sun rises in the east, the Sand Castle will look great because the details are very clear. The carvings will be very visible and it is during this time of the day when tourists are still very fresh.
If you go to the island of Boracay, you will surely see one of these Sand Castles. Do not forget to take a picture
The builders of the sandcastles in Bora must genius and very creative. The sandcastles have long been a popular landmark at the White Beach, attracting visitors who are taking a stroll alongg the beach. Visitors can't help but stop for awhile to take a souvenir shot with that landmark as backdrop. The sandcastles make for a spectacular background, day and night.
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Lake Hillier is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia. It is particularly notable for its pink colour. The lake is thought to have been first visited by the Flinders expedition in January 1802. Flinders observed the pink lake after ascending the island's peak. John Thistle, the ship's master, collected some of the lake's water, which he found to be saturated with salt.
The length of the lake is about 600 metres (2,000 ft). The lake is surrounded by a rim of sand and a dense woodland of paperbark and eucalyptus trees with a narrow strip of sand dunes covered by vegetation separating it to the north from the Southern Ocean. From a distance, Lake Hillier of Australia's Recherche Archipelago looks like a swath of solid bubble-gum pink. Draw closer, and the color takes on a more watery, translucent quality, but remains unmistakably pink.
The most notable feature of the lake is its pink colour. It is such a significant distinguishing feature of the archipelago that air passengers often take note of it. The colour is permanent, and does not alter when the water is taken in a container. Although the source of the pink colour has not been definitively proven in the case of Lake Hillier, the pink colour of other salt lakes (e.g., Pink Lake) in the region arises from a dye created by the organisms Dunaliella salina and Halobacteria.
Another hypothesis is that the pink colour is due to red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts. Despite the unusual hue, the lake exhibits no known adverse effects upon humans. From above, the lake appears a solid bubble gum pink, but from the shoreline it appears more of a clear pink hue. The shoreline is also covered in salt crust deposits.
Whereas the causes behind the unusual coloring of other pink lakes, such as the nearby Pink Lake and Senegal's Lake Retba, have been definitively confirmed, the reason for Lake Hillier's color remains a mystery. Theories abound, of course. Some speculate that Lake Hillier's color, like that of the other lakes, is the result of high salinity combined with the presence of a salt-loving algae species known as Dunaliella salina and pink bacteria known as halobacteria. Unlike other pink lakes, however, which regularly change colors in accordance with temperature fluctuations, Lake Hillier maintains its pink shade year-round. The water retains its pink hue when bottled.
Whatever the cause, the water does not appear to pose any danger to humans. Though high salt levels might not make for the most comfortable swim, visitors hoping to immerse themselves in Lake Hillier's brilliant pink waters are perfectly safe to do so.
Source : Wikipedia, atlasobscura.com
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