Combining two activities can yield some rather interesting and exciting results, particularly where the great outdoors is concerned. Think bikepacking, the adventurous, freewheeling spawn of backpacking and bike touring. Then there’s packrafting – that’s hiking with a portable raft in your pack that you can whip out when you come to the shore of a lake. How about ski mountaineering? Climb a mountain with skis – on your back if it’s really steep – and then launch into a thrilling descent.
The focus of this feature, paralpinism, isn’t too dissimilar to ski mountaineering, as it involves climbing mountains in a technical pair of hiking boots before finding a somewhat more exhilarating way back down. You’ve probably heard of both paragliding and alpinism. Merge the two, and you’ve got paralpinism. Our mountaineering expert is here to reveal more about this liberating pursuit.
