https://altavianature.com/en/ Great mountains, mountaineering, altitude and safety in the world’s ranges. en © Altavia Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:40:00 GMT https://altavianature.com/brand/logo-512.pnghttps://altavianature.com/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/did-you-know-marmots-hibernate/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/did-you-know-marmots-hibernate/ When the cold arrives, the Alpine marmot shuts itself in a burrow with its family and spends almost half the year in deep torpor. Its heart almost stops and it lives off the fat it built up in summer. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:40:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/did-you-know-water-boils-lower-at-altitude/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/did-you-know-water-boils-lower-at-altitude/ At sea level water boils at 100 °C, but not in the mountains. With less pressure, molecules escape sooner and water boils at a lower temperature. That is why pasta takes longer in a mountain hut. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:20:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/did-you-know-himalaya-still-growing/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/did-you-know-himalaya-still-growing/ Mountains seem eternal, but they move. India keeps pushing against Asia and the Himalaya gains a few millimetres every year, while ice, water and earthquakes shape it in the opposite direction. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:10:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/news/banff-mountain-book-competition-2026-winners/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/banff-mountain-book-competition-2026-winners/ A journey on foot following a wolf, the life of a black bear, Alaska offline and the most spectacular bivouac huts in the Alps. Banff's book competition, one of the most prestigious in mountain literature, has its category winners. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/gangapurna-west-japanese-climbers-found/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/gangapurna-west-japanese-climbers-found/ Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto were attempting the first ascent of Gangapurna West (7,140 m), next to the Annapurna massif. Their last contact was on 15 October. A helicopter and a drone made it possible to find them on the south face. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:20:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/everest-west-ridge-russian-team/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/everest-west-ridge-russian-team/ Three Russian climbers are attempting one of Everest's hardest and least repeated routes this autumn. After two days of struggle above the Lho La, coughing, fatigue and harder terrain than expected have forced them back down to Base Camp. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 10:40:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/jost-kobusch-winter-everest-solo/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/jost-kobusch-winter-everest-solo/ His best so far is 7,537 metres. This autumn he is acclimatising in the Annapurna region, wants to reach 8,000 m before winter and plans to start on Everest on 22 December. He puts his own chances at 20%. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:15:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/nepal-glacier-flood-un-defining-moment/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/nepal-glacier-flood-un-defining-moment/ A wall of water more than 100 metres high swept through 60 kilometres of valley in seconds. Two months on, the UN's project services agency calls it one of the most destructive and deadliest climate-related disasters and urges rich countries to keep their promises. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 07:30:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/gear/mountain-outfits/ https://altavianature.com/en/gear/mountain-outfits/ Dressing for the mountains is not about fashion, but you do not need to look like you are in costume either. Six practical combinations by type of route and time of year, item by item, with ideas on where to buy them. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT Gear https://altavianature.com/en/news/swiss-glaciers-2026-loss/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/swiss-glaciers-2026-loss/ Little winter snow, heatwaves from May to September and the 0 °C isotherm above 4,000 metres for 76 days: the result is the second-worst year for Swiss glaciers since measurements began. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 06:45:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/international-snow-leopard-day-2026/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/international-snow-leopard-day-2026/ Today is International Snow Leopard Day, created to protect the great cat of Asia's mountains. We look at how many are left, what threatens them and what works to protect them. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/swiss-glaciers-record-loss/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/swiss-glaciers-record-loss/ Measurement campaigns by the Swiss glacier monitoring network document the biggest losses since records began. We explain what the numbers mean and why they matter beyond Switzerland. Wed, 21 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/blatten-birch-glacier-collapse/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/blatten-birch-glacier-collapse/ In May 2025 a huge flow of ice, rock and mud almost completely destroyed the village of Blatten, in the Lötschental. A preventive evacuation avoided a far greater tragedy. We look at what happened and why it is a warning for the whole of the Alps. Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:15:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/everest-new-rules-nepal/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/everest-new-rules-nepal/ The permit for the south side rose from 11,000 to 15,000 dollars, climbers must carry down their own waste and experience requirements are being discussed. We review the measures trying to bring order to the world's most famous mountain. Mon, 19 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/adventure/most-dangerous-mountains-in-the-world/ https://altavianature.com/en/adventure/most-dangerous-mountains-in-the-world/ Not all dangerous mountains are dangerous for the same reason. Some kill with avalanches, others with altitude, unpredictable weather or because they look easier than they are. Fifteen summits and their reasons. Wed, 14 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT Adventure https://altavianature.com/en/news/venezuela-loses-its-last-glacier/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/venezuela-loses-its-last-glacier/ The Sierra Nevada de Mérida once had at least six glaciers. By 2024 the last one —Humboldt— had shrunk into a small ice field. Venezuela thus became the first country in modern times to lose all its glaciers. Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/news/matterhorn-border-glacier-melt/ https://altavianature.com/en/news/matterhorn-border-glacier-melt/ When a border follows the watershed across a glacier, melting can move it. That is what has happened around the Matterhorn, where Switzerland and Italy have had to adjust their shared boundary. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:20:00 GMT News https://altavianature.com/en/routes/spectacular-hikes-no-experience-needed/ https://altavianature.com/en/routes/spectacular-hikes-no-experience-needed/ You do not need to be a mountaineer to walk beside glaciers, peer into a fjord or circle the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Ten routes any hiker with reasonable fitness and common sense can do. Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT Routes https://altavianature.com/en/wildlife/highest-living-animals/ https://altavianature.com/en/wildlife/highest-living-animals/ Where a human struggles to breathe, some animals live, hunt and breed. A mouse on the summit of an Andean volcano, a spider above 6,000 metres and a goose that can fly over the Himalaya. Sun, 04 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT Wildlife https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/what-happens-to-your-body-above-3000-metres/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/what-happens-to-your-body-above-3000-metres/ At 3,000 metres every breath carries around 30% less oxygen than at sea level. Your body reacts within minutes, adapts within days… and sometimes fails. This is what happens and what to do. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/chimborazo-farthest-point-from-earth-center/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/chimborazo-farthest-point-from-earth-center/ Everest is the highest mountain above sea level, but if you measure from the centre of the Earth, an Ecuadorian volcano wins. The reason: our planet is not a perfect sphere. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/adventure/trail-running-for-beginners/ https://altavianature.com/en/adventure/trail-running-for-beginners/ Running on trails is not road running with a different view: technique, pace and training all change. This is how to get into trail running without getting injured and enjoy it from day one. Sun, 27 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Adventure https://altavianature.com/en/environment/why-glaciers-are-melting/ https://altavianature.com/en/environment/why-glaciers-are-melting/ A glacier is a balance between the snow it gains and the ice it loses. When the books come out in the red year after year, it retreats. We explain why this is happening almost everywhere and what it means for us. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Environment https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/most-impressive-natural-phenomena/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/most-impressive-natural-phenomena/ Some of nature's shows look like special effects, but they really happen and you can see them without scientific equipment. Ten phenomena, explained, with the best times and places to watch them. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/wildlife/bearded-vulture/ https://altavianature.com/en/wildlife/bearded-vulture/ With a wingspan of almost three metres and a diet made up mostly of bones, the bearded vulture is one of the most astonishing birds on the planet. After disappearing from much of Europe, it is soaring over its mountains again. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Wildlife https://altavianature.com/en/guides/navigate-without-gps/ https://altavianature.com/en/guides/navigate-without-gps/ Your phone runs out of battery, the signal disappears or the GPS goes haywire in a deep valley. These are the navigation techniques that really work when technology fails. Fri, 18 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Guides https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/best-dark-sky-places-stargazing/ https://altavianature.com/en/curiosities/best-dark-sky-places-stargazing/ More than a third of humanity cannot see the Milky Way from home. These are the places where the sky is still as it was centuries ago, and how to make the most of them even without a telescope. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Curiosities https://altavianature.com/en/environment/what-if-snow-disappeared-from-mountains/ https://altavianature.com/en/environment/what-if-snow-disappeared-from-mountains/ Snow is not just scenery: it is a natural reservoir that releases water when it is needed most. When it snows less or melts earlier, rivers, forests, wildlife and the economy of entire valleys change. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Environment https://altavianature.com/en/guides/how-to-layer-clothing-for-hiking/ https://altavianature.com/en/guides/how-to-layer-clothing-for-hiking/ It is not about wearing lots of clothes, but the right clothes, and knowing when to take them off or put them on. This is how the layering system used by mountaineers all over the world works. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Guides https://altavianature.com/en/wildlife/snow-leopard/ https://altavianature.com/en/wildlife/snow-leopard/ It lives in twelve countries, roams huge territories above 3,000 metres and is so elusive that many researchers study it for years without seeing it. This is how the snow leopard survives. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:00:00 GMT Wildlife