mountains

cut mountains in half

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Tunnels have saved us from hours of detours into mountains and rocky surfaces for decades. However, it is not the only technique to shorten time and develop new roads that connect cities with each other. In this regard, it is worth telling how China once again demonstrates its ability to transform the landscape with a technique that seems straight out of a science fiction movie: literally cut mountains in half to build roads. Explosives, giant excavators and millimeter planning are what is needed to divide rock formations hundreds of meters high. How the technique works. After a geological study Thoroughly determining the composition of the mountain and planning cuts so that they do not compromise the stability of the terrain, engineers use controlled explosives to create the first fractures, followed by specialized heavy machinery that can dig tens of meters deep per day. The remaining walls are stabilized with metal mesh, shotcrete and drainage systems to prevent slipping. Although it is also true that there is not a single clean pit, since the usual thing is to excavate in phases, in terraces or stepped benches that open from top to bottom. The final result is a clean passage through the mountainwith vertical walls up to 200 meters high that look like someone with a giant knife has gone through them. A technique in multiple regions of China. These ‘cut walls’ can be seen mainly in the mountainous provinces of GuizhouYunnan and Sichuan, where karst terrain and complicated rock formations made traditional tunnel construction impractical. High-profile projects such as the Guiyang-Qianxi Highway or the Taihang Mountain Pass have turned hours-long journeys into minutes-long journeys. It has also been used in the construction of the high speed railway that connects Beijing with Guangzhou, where several sections cross mountains literally split in half. The last great example: Huajiang. The most recent and spectacular case is once again in Guizhou, within the S57 Liuzhi-Anlong highway, where these cutting techniques coexist with one of the most ambitious bridges ever built. The Huajiang Canyon Bridge opened on September 28, 2025 and was presented by China Railway (CREC) as the highest bridge in the world by distance between the roadway and the river, with a height of 625 meters, a length of 2,890 meters and a main span of 1,420 meters. According to China Dailyreduces the canyon crossing from about an hour to just two minutes. Click on the image to see the video Why are tunnels not used?. The decision to cut rather than drill often comes due to technical criteria and specific economics. In terrain with a high concentration of groundwater or unstable rock formations, building tunnels can be more expensive and risky than direct cutting. Additionally, maintenance of an open passage is considerably easier than that of a tunnel, which requires constant ventilation, lighting and drainage systems. In low-lying mountains, cutting also allows for the greater proliferation of heavy vehicles, especially in an economy so dependent on road freight transportation. Beyond China. Although China has perfected and popularized this technique, it is not the only country that uses it. Norway uses similar methods in its fjords, where the characteristics of the terrain make cutting more viable than drilling (although in this country we also have spectacular tunnel projects under construction such as Rogfast). In the United States, the Cumberland Gap Pass in the Appalachians was created using cutting techniques, although on a smaller scale. However, no country matches the ambition and scale of Chinese projects, which have turned mountain cutting into an art. Environmental impact. Although the benefits of using this technique are evident, especially in the aspect of economic development and its effectiveness in connecting remote regions, this technique also generates some debate. around the environmental impact. And this type of construction can end up destroying local ecosystems, altering natural drainage patterns or fragmenting wildlife habitats, not to mention the amount of dust and noise during its construction that can generate millions of tons of waste. It should also be said that it is not the most used technique, since tunnels continue to be the preference except in exceptional cases. Cover image | Zhang Meifang and r/Damnthatsinteresting In Xataka | China has just inaugurated its longest underwater tunnel: 11 kilometers, LEDs everywhere and 1.5 billion investment

As towns dry out and the desert advances, women in Morocco climb the mountains to capture the fog and turn it into drinking water

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A chance experiment took place in the 1980s. Some researchers working in the Atacama Desert accidentally left a simple metal mesh exposed to wind at night. The next morning they discovered that it was covered in water droplets in one of the driest places on the planet. That seemingly trivial scene ended up inspiring an idea that decades later would change the lives of entire towns. Capture the fog before it disappears. As the desert slowly advances over southwestern Morocco and traditional wells begin to dry up, several villages in the Aït Baâmrane region have found a solution which seems closer to a science fiction image than to conventional hydraulic infrastructure: capture the fog from the mountains and convert it into drinking water. For generations, the women of these communities spent up to four hours a day walking to remote wells and returning carrying barrels weighing almost 25 kilos on their heads. That routine organized the entire life of the villages, kept many girls out of school and reflected the extent to which the lack of water conditioned any daily activity on the edge of the Sahara. Giant nets convert air into water. The change began when huge polymer networks They appeared on the slopes of Mount Boutmezguida, at more than 1,200 meters above sea level. The idea is surprisingly simple: take advantage of the moisture from the Atlantic fog that regularly passes through the Anti-Atlas mountain range. The tiny droplets become trapped in the mesh, condense and end up descending towards deposits connected to kilometers of pipelines by gravity. Without complex pumps or large industrial infrastructure, the system manages to carry water directly to homes using only wind, altitude and ambient humidity. Thanks to the advances in materials engineeringthese modern networks are much more efficient than the experiments carried out decades ago in countries like Chile, Yemen or Eritrea. And the fog reached the tap. When the system went live, neighbors gathered to see something they had never seen before: water coming directly from a faucet inside a home. That “fog water”as they began to call it, quickly transformed the daily life of the villages. Women stopped spending part-time carrying water and many girls were able to attend school regularly again. The project, promoted by the NGO Dar Si Hmadnot only modified water management, but also the social balance of communities where transporting water had been an exclusively female responsibility for centuries. The cultural challenge of drinking water that did not touch the ground. The technology worked from the beginning, but convincing everyone was much more difficult. Some inhabitants they distrusted of a water that had never passed through the earth and that, as they believed, lacked minerals and “life”. The fog represented something ambiguous, almost unreal, too far from traditional sources. Over time, the rejection disappeared as the families verified that the water was safe and constant. The transition also forced us to work unexpected social issues: Some women felt that they were losing part of their central role in the home by no longer being in charge of fetching water. That is why the project ended up incorporating literacy, technical training and community management along with hydraulic infrastructure. Finding water is impossible. The UN has recognized this May 2026 that the Moroccan system is one of the more interesting examples of climate adaptation against desertification. The project shows that some extremely dry regions can still take advantage of invisible resources which until now were hardly used. However, it also makes clear that does not exist a universal solution: capturing fog only works where mountains, ocean humidity and very specific atmospheric conditions coincide. Still, the image is powerful for a planet increasingly affected by water scarcity: as wells empty and temperatures rise, there are entire communities in Morocco that have literally begun to harvest clouds to survive. Image | Aqualonis In Xataka | Satellite images leave no room for doubt: it has rained so much that Morocco has not looked so green for a decade In Xataka | France and Morocco have teamed up to flood Europe with green ammonia. And they compete directly with Spain

60 years ago a student wanted to study the mountains of the United States. Unknowingly felled the oldest known tree

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At a glance ‘Prometheus’ It was a twisted, rugged, whimsically shaped pine tree that stood on a Nevada mountain. Nothing to do with gigantic sequoias of Redwood National Park, also in the USA, where specimens of more than 100 meters high with bases that are around 30 m in diameter. That, of course, at first glance. Although its size was not striking and it barely stood out in the grove in which it sprouted, ‘Prometheus’ was a tree of almost 5,000 yearswhich made it one of the oldest in the world. Why do we talk about him in the past tense? Very simple: because in the 60s a student who was especially diligent with his research felled it with permission from the authorities. With you, the Pinus longaeva. Its name may not be as well known as that of the redwoods, the baobabs or the Douglas firstrees that have been fascinating humanity for centuries due to their colossal dimensions, but the bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva) are just as amazing. Not because of its size, but because of its age. Located primarily in the higher altitude mountains of California, this species has managed to survive for several millennia. As? Its growth is very slow and they usually sprout separately from each other, which allows them to adapt to harsh habitats and withstand fires better. The key to its longevity however lies in its “architecture” and adaptations. As remember from the US National Park Service (NPS), the roots of the Pinus longaeva They only nourish the part of the tree that is directly above them. If that root dies, it only affects its section of the tree. Hence, it is not unusual to see specimens with dry bark on one side and that, however, continue to grow healthily. an old acquaintance. In Wheeler PeakNevada, stood years ago a magnificent specimen of Pinus longaeva. Its height was nothing out of this world, but it was so twisted and had such an ancient appearance that mountaineers in the area They baptized him ‘Prometheus’. Seen in perspective, the nickname is still ironic. In the classical mythology Zeus imposed a horrible punishment on the titan of that name for giving humanity the gift of fire and metallurgy. At Wheeler Peak the ‘Prometheus’ that grew rooted to the mountain ended up perishing precisely because of the efforts of a university student to understand the geology of the region. To understand it you have to go back to summer of 1964when Donald R. Currey, a graduate student studying the ice age of eastern Nevada, had an idea: To better understand the formation of glaciers, he decided to extract samples from the oldest trees that grew in the region. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking. The dendrochronologythe discipline that is responsible for studying climate patterns by analyzing tree rings, dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, the idea of ​​obtaining samples from the logs sounded so reasonable that authorities raised no objections when Currey asked for permission to study them. The great unknown. In theory, what Currey proposed was to use a drill bit to remove small samples of the trunk, a kind of cylinders from the trunk. pencil size that could later be analyzed in the laboratory. It came with the different rings and their characteristics being appreciated. When it was ‘Prometheus’ turn, something went wrong. Or so it is believed, since more than six decades later it’s still not entirely clear what exactly happened at Wheeler Peak. Some accounts claim that Currey’s drill bit broke while the geologist was trying to make his way through the dense pine wood, so he requested help from the Forest Service. To solve it, the workers opted for the most radical solution: they took out the chainsaw and cut down the tree. Other versions claim that Currey did not know how to work with such a complicated specimen or that there was simply no error and from the beginning he needed a complete cross section to study the trunk. Regardless, there are two clear details. First, that was the end of ‘Prometheus’. Second, Currey did not work as foreigners. He had permission from the Forest Service. And the surprise came. It was not necessary to cut ‘Prometheus’ in two to intuit that it was a very ancient tree. If Currey looked at this pine and others in the area it was precisely because he assumed that they were old enough to give him a broad ‘snapshot’ of the climatic events that had occurred in the region. The surprise came when he took the piece of wood to his laboratory. As ancient as I suspected ‘Prometheus’ to be, one thing is clear: Currey fell short. When he started counting growth rings, he added neither more nor less than 4,862. Given the harsh conditions in which the pine grew, which could have influenced the formation of the layers, the experts ended up concluding that its age was most likely closer to 4,900 years. That is to say, the ancient tree already appeared on the Nevada mountain when the pharaohs reigned in ancient Egypt or Hammurabi ruled in Babylon. The oldest in the world? Although environmental awareness in the 1960s was not the same as it is today, the mistake was considerable. Especially since it was the Forest Service itself that made it possible. The age of ‘Prometheus’ is in fact so astonishing that the NPS itself recognize which at the time was considered “the oldest tree ever dated.” It even surpassed the famous tree ‘Methuselah’other Pinus longaeva of California that is around 4,850 years old. Today that title is in question. Especially after a theoretically even older tree was discovered in 2012, another bristlecone from more than 5,000 years. The US authorities recognize in any case that it is “very likely” that there are other, even older, undated specimens of the same species. “The bristlecone pines of the Great Basin are notable for being the oldest non-clonal species on the … Read more

While specialty cafes are filled with Salomon, more and more people are walking barefoot in the mountains

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It’s Saturday morning in the center of any big city. In specialty coffee shops, among flat whites and sourdough bread, an urban army parades equipped to survive a blizzard in the Alps. We talk about fever Gorpcore: waterproof technical jackets and sneakers trail running ultra-reinforced, designed to devour kilometers of rocks, but today they will only step on tiles and asphalt. However, hundreds of miles from that cafe, on the actual trails where those sneakers should be getting dirty, the exact opposite is happening. We have reached the technological peak of footwear outdoorbut a growing wave of purists, adventurers and elders have decided to take an evolutionary step back: take off their boots and feel the raw earth. Yes, there are people walking barefoot in the mountains. The image of a barefoot mountaineer ceased to be a rarity for hermits and became a global movement. According to GuardianGen Blades, an Australian researcher, says she was hiking the 147-kilometer Namsan Dulle-gil route in South Korea when the terrain changed to a stretch of wet clay (“hwangto”). Neither quick nor lazy, she took off her shoes. He described the feel of the mud oozing between his fingers as “revitalizing, like a massage.” You don’t have to go to Asia to find these devotees of the bare foot. In Australia, Dale Noppers, 37, organizes routes of up to seven hours through the Serpentine National Park stepping on mud, gravel and rocks. He confesses that the experience makes him feel “quite primitive” and assures that, despite the risk of stepping on insects or glass, the soles of his feet are so soft that “it looks like they have had a pedicure.” For Uralla Luscombe-Pedro, 32, who has walked hundreds of kilometers along Australia’s wild coast, feet are “sensory organs.” After weeks of walking like this, he claims to feel like a leaner animal and concludes that our modern concrete human habitat is “strangely boring” in comparison. This is not new, but it has gotten out of control. Europe has been flirting with this idea for decades through the Barfusspark or Barefoot Parks. The German environmental organization NABU documents about 50 of these venues in Germany, with Bad Sobernheim (opened in 1992) being one of the pioneers. An example An example of its magnitude It is the Egestorf parkwhich has almost 3 kilometers and more than 60 stations where visitors step on pine cones, fine sand, spring water and deep mud. But if in Europe it is a recreational activity, in South Korea It’s real institutional madness.. 68.7% of the country’s 243 local governments have ordinances to encourage barefoot hiking. Seongnam City invested 3.45 billion won (about $2.7 million) to build six red clay courts and budgeted another 3.5 billion won by 2024. The private sector not left behind: The Sun Yang Soju liquor company built a 14.5-kilometer runway and donates $800,000 annually for its maintenance. The obsession is such that roads are being built in greenhouses for use in winter. Unfortunately, overcrowding is already causing ecological havoc, such as the degradation of the ecosystem in wetland marshes such as Sorae in Incheon. The key question: why? Defenders of this practice divide their arguments into two large blocks: the mechanics of the body and the “magic” of the earth. On the one hand, mechanical advocates point to physical health. Without shoes, the body constantly adjusts, improving coordination and balance. Small forgotten muscles are activated and the 28 bones, 20 muscles and more than 100 tendons of the foot benefit. Furthermore, when going barefoot on uneven ground, we usually abandon landing with the heel and start stepping with the ball of the foot (metatarsus). This reduces the impact, although it requires 53% more energy, turning the walk into an intense workout. On the other hand, there is the phenomenon of “Earthing”. There are studies that suggest that this direct contact neutralizes free radicals that cause aging, reduces blood viscosity and improves heart rate variability. Attracted by these supposed benefits, patients in Korea claim that the practice has reduced their blood sugar levels, alleviated insomnia and even cured cancer. Science hits the brakes. Podiatrists applaud the freedom of the foot, but with nuances. Dr. George Murley warns in Guardian that you have to treat this transition “almost like a gym session for your feet” and do it progressively. Alejandro Martínez, expert podiatrist, explains in Men’s Health Magazine that “a healthy foot works best when barefoot.” However, when faced with miraculous cures, the medical community pulls out its claws. Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale School of Medicine, calls “earthing” pseudoscience that lacks physical sense, denouncing that many of the studies are poorly designed and financed by companies in the sector. Oncologist Ahn Hee-kyung is blunt about the risks: Walking barefoot exposes vulnerable or immunocompromised patients to potentially lethal bacterial infections, such as staphylococcus or tetanus, through small cracks in the skin. As a result, hospitals report an increase in plantar fasciitis and cellulitis from these reckless walks, and many doctors attribute much of the supposed “cures” to a strong placebo effect enhanced by the environment. The alternative that unites worlds: “Barefoot” footwear. For those seeking tetanus-free biomechanics, the industry has perfected footwear barefoot (or respectful). These are shoes with “zero drop” (no heel), a wide last that does not compress the fingers and an extra-thin sole. Brands like Xero Shoes, leguano, Groundies or Freet dominate the niche, and even Zara has launched its own line. Its effectiveness in hostile terrain is proven: Traveler Matouš Vinš managed to climb the 5,000 meters of Mount Kenya in Africa with minimalist footwear, overcoming the challenge without problems while his heavy-booted companions suffered from blisters. Likewise, adventurer Viktorka Hlaváčková claims to be faster on demanding terrain thanks to these shoes, and emphasizes that her feet maintain great blood circulation even below zero. The cushioning paradox. It is revealing that, at a time of greatest hyper-technization in the footwear industry outdoorthe most striking phenomenon is leaving shoes at home. While … Read more

This cool 3D map of light pollution turns cities into mountains of light

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This 2026 is the year that opens a fantastic period to enjoy astronomical milestones, since the first of the three eclipses planned between 2026 and 2028: it will be next August 12, it will be a historic event in these latitudes (it has been more than a century since the Iberian Peninsula has witnessed a total solar eclipse) and not everyone will be able to see it: It will only be total in a strip. Being in the right place at the right time is only the first step: the next thing to be able to enjoy both the solar eclipse and any astronomical event, or simply to be able to see the stars well and distinguish constellations is total darkness. Or at least, try to be in a place free of light pollution. Getting away from the big cities is the first step as they tend to be the main sources of light, but not the only one: there are many infrastructures that can spoil the experience. Our recommendation if you plan to see the solar eclipse is that you do not leave it to improvisation and be clear about where to go to enjoy it better and here in addition to the map of the National Geological Institute To follow it, it is worth having on hand a good light pollution map. Where the solar eclipse will be seen: areas where it will be total and areas where it will be partial. IGN But does a light bulb next to you bother you so much to see the sky?? Yes, essentially because it is never usually just a light bulb. In fact, it’s not even just too much light. An example: when you approach a city with your car and it is getting dark or it is night, you can see a glow of the sky (skyglow) fruit of the rebound of light against dust particles, humidity and aerosols in the atmosphere, returning as a luminous veil that destroys astronomical observation. The underlying problem is the increase in the brightness of the sky: a star or a nebula does not compete against darkness, but against that background. If the background is brighter, the contrast drops (excepting the distances, it is like cheap TVs with bad backlighting scheme). The heavens are measured by the Bortle scalewhich goes from 1 to 9 where a class 1 sky is the darkest possible, practically a miracle in continental Europe (most medium-sized cities are around 7 – 9). With a class 9 sky you can barely see the brightest stars and the moon. Where not to see the solar eclipse of August 2026 And it does not only affect large cities (in Madrid it can be seen from quite a few kilometers away), but also industrial areas and ports. In these cases, it is also usually permanent lighting without any control. Also the road networks. A picture is worth a thousand words: the map by cartographer and geospatial developer Jacob Wasilkowski and Petrichor Studio called Earth at Night. Earth at night. JWasilGeo & Petrichor Studio This map combines several sources: night light data comes from NASA (Suomi-NPP satellite, VIIRS sensor) and background satellite mapping is provided by Earthstar Geographics along with other commercial providers integrated into Esri’s World Imagery service. The technological infrastructure to render it in 3D is also from Esri, a Californian company specialized in GIS software. Wasilkowski is the one who has put it all together to convert luminosity into topography. Simply put: It has converted the luminosity of NASA’s nighttime images into elevation, so that cities are mountains. The bigger the city, generally the bigger and higher the mountain will be. Note that there are areas, such as northern Italy or the German border with Belgium, that are real garlands. In the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean coast, the Portuguese coast and a point in the middle of everything stand out: Madrid. These are the areas to escape from if we want to see the sky well. Earth at night. JWasilGeo & Petrichor Studio And just the opposite, the valleys are the most interesting areas to observe the eclipse or any other astronomical milestone: they are the dark areas. Although its controls are intuitive, you have options to switch to the satellite layer, you can zoom, pan and rotate. The map is a few years old now, but for those of us who like to observe the sky it is a good idea to always have it at hand. Furthermore, when this map was launched a decade ago it had a great impact on the cartographic community, winning the award GOLD from the KANTAR Information is Beautiful Awards 2019 in the category “Maps, Places and Spaces”, under the name “Earth at Night, Mountains of Light”. And why not say it: it is evocative. After all, it uses real light captured from space to re-sculpt the Earth, letting it be human activity that defines its topography. In Xataka | Solar eclipses visible in Spain: these are the three astronomical events of 2026, 2027 and 2028 In Xataka | Half of Spain waits expectantly for the historic eclipse of August 2026. The authorities are already thinking about the problems Cover | JWasilGeo & Petrichor Studio

The entire ocean floor of the Earth, in a spectacular 3D interactive map that reveals 50,000 unknown underwater mountains

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Although we are already looking other planets in the universe (especially interesting are the potentially habitable ones), the reality is that the old Earth still has a few hidden secrets left. Without going any further, the seabed continues to delight us with new species at this point in the film. NASA knows this and that is why in December 2022 it launched a satellite into space with a mission: to achieve topography of surface waters and oceans. Hence its name, SWOT. Already the first year managed to map the ocean floor in more detail than in the last 30 years and is now available in full. It is, in short, the most detailed marine gravity map in history. What he has “seen” is not just the ground, but subtle variations in the height of the sea surface. These variations reveal the existence of thousands of underwater mountains, trenches and faults, invisible to conventional satellites. To prepare this map, NASA has used state-of-the-art phase coherence interferometry, which has made it possible to measure the two-dimensional height of sea level with high precision. Historically, sonar has been used to measure the seabed, but we have only managed to map less than 30% (with the Seabed 2030 project) with this technique. On the other hand, standard satellites offered a resolution well below the achieved spatial resolution, close to 8 kilometers. This exhaustive map of the ocean floor goes beyond satisfying geographical curiosity, the impact of this cartography It is evident in: Biodiversity. Underwater mountains are oases of life and knowing where they are is essential. Safety in navigation, allowing the identification of underwater peaks that may constitute a risk for vessels. Climate change. These types of structures are directly related to ocean currents, responsible for transporting heat. If we do not know the relief, we cannot predict how the sea will warm. The map of the seabed with a level of detail never seen before With this vertical gravitational gradient map, NASA has developed a 3D model through which you can move and zoom through all the depths of the seas and oceans of the Earth. Individual abyssal hills measuring 200 – 300 kilometers in length can be seen along with other small seamounts and tectonic structures, previously hidden. In fact, abyssal hills are the most common landform underwater (in the southern Indian Ocean they can be seen, for example). NASA explains that they are formed by normal faults along the axes of the oceanic ridges. From them, plate reconstruction studies are being carried out. Also in the visualization you can see seamounts located west of Central America, which are actually underwater volcanoes formed by magmatic intrusions through the oceanic crust. Their importance is crucial as they modify ocean circulation, influence the distribution of nutrients and constitute key points of biodiversity. The high-resolution mapping reveals some 50,000 previously unknown seamounts approximately one kilometer high. Tap to go to NASA’s 3D model of the seafloor. Via: NASA/JPL The topography of surface waters and oceans from SWOT also shows great clarity in the continental margins, highlighting the high latitude areas, with tectonic structures buried under sediments and ice. Thus, it allows observing submarine canyons that transport sediment from the mainland to the deep sea along the South American continental shelf, as well as ancient mid-ocean ridges hidden under the ice in the Weddell Sea. In Xataka | Astronomers have stitched together 10,000 images from the Webb telescope to make the largest map of the universe. Something doesn’t fit In Xataka | This is the impressive interactive map to see the Earth in 4K live from space and monitor satellites Cover | POT

If you’ve ever thought about “leaving everything and going to the mountains,” these thinkers have a lot to tell you

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In recent days it has gone viralMrinank Sharma’s departurehead of AI Safeguards at Anthropic (that is, the company’s team focused on security, misuse and model safeguards). In the letter that Sharma made publicafter explaining that “the world was in danger”confessed that he was going to the United Kingdom to study and write poetry. The idea of ​​”taking back control of your life” has been in the air for years and has an incredible capacity to mutate and adapt. Yes in 2021 lthose who left work spoke of low pay, lack of progress and feeling disrespected, now we talk about ethical issues and existential anxiety. What persists is that “leave everything and go to the mountains.” AND There are good philosophical arguments for this.. The philosophy of sending everything to hell Cristian Bortes – British Museum Or at least that is what many philosophers throughout history believed. Among the great practical philosophical traditions of Hellenic culture, Epicurism and its proposal to retire to live in peace is perhaps the best-known example. Although it has often been the product of stereotypes and misunderstandings, the school of Epicurus and company understood philosophy as a kind of philosophy of the soul: a kind of, following the ideas of Christopher Gill, a preventive psychological medicine. In this sense, withdrawing, stopping depending on the external, was not a way of being right, but rather of living without anxiety: of dedicating oneself to pleasure. At the end of the day, the epicurean garden that has been painted as an ode to hedonism is, in reality, a search for a friendly place that reduces stimuli, comparisons and needs. In the end, and translating it to our days without all the ontological scaffolding behind it, it is realizing that we are leaving our lives in a race whose goal we have not chosen. Is build a good place to live. However, it is not the only way to see it. independent people Rafael Sanzio Other Hellenic schools, such as the Stoics or the Cynics, were much more radical. Or, rather, hard. With their doctrinal differences, they sought internal independence, autarky. Imported to our days consists of going beyond building a shelter and going on the offensive. Modern life chains us in a thousand different ways (mortgage, career, reputation, schedules, etc…) and, for this reason, retiring goes far beyond a healing practice: it is a practical theory of freedom (liberation). This connects directly with another tradition: that of the hermits and ascetics that goes from Valerio del Bierzo to the eastern saints. There are many ways to justify it, but the idea is always the same: if to sustain your life you need to be liked, be productive and be available, you are not free; You are functional. And being functional to the material world, being functional to the system prevents you from aspiring to higher goals. think better With the birth of the modern world, we began to think about retirement in a different way: as a way of thinking well, of thinking better. The Montaigne tower or Rousseau’s walks have often been seen as a form of misanthropy. But, in reality, they were a way to get away to gain perspective, calm the soul and practice some mental hygiene. It has a lot to do with the idea of ​​disconnection retreats, although since the time of the French solitaries, society has spread its tentacles so much that it has become much more difficult: our minds are always foxes. Withdraw in protest The arrival of modernity also brought us political retreat. That is, leaving as a protest. When you can’t reform the world, sometimes the only lever is the way out. Or, what is the same: if in classical antiquity ostracism was the punishment par excellence, now it emerged as a tool. Refusing to cooperate with an unjust, corrupting or downright absurd order. It is true that much literature considers this type of flight as a sign of cowardice, but it is also true that (lucid or not), it is never neutral. Many reasons, the same gesture Be that as it may, we must not ignore that, in the background, there are always structural reasons: historically, the impulse to withdraw usually intensifies when certain collective sensations invade society: the feeling of the end of the era, acceleration, saturation, existential anxiety, problems of legitimacy. Just what we suffer today. And in the face of this, tranquility emerges as a rare commodity to seek and pursuea way to recover in the current mare magnun. For this reason, many people have begun to understand that ‘going to the mountains’ does not have to be a gesture of evasion, nor a way of disengaging from reality: it can perfectly be a “moral relocation”: a way to become better, to start again, to gain momentum. In Xataka | Seneca, philosopher: “It is not that we have little time to live, but that we do not stop wasting it”

Going to the mountains to go hiking is increasingly popular in Spain. And those who are suffering are the golden eagles

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Go on the weekend to take a route through the countryside It is a plan that can be very playful and, above all, healthy for us humans. But… What happens to the native fauna of the area? This is a question that It’s starting to resonate a lot on the internet.by focusing on the impact that our presence in the mountains can have on the most emblematic species of Spain such as the golden eagle or the partridge that have begun to have a lesser presence. A technological solution. The main idea that was in mind was that the animals were crashing into the hikers and causing great damage to their presence on the mountain. But to solve this mystery, biologists chose to put a GPS device on the eagles to monitor what they were doing. And the reality is that they are not crashing into us, but rather they are fleeing. The result. In this way, when it is confirmed that we do not have any type of collision with the eagles that could respond to their change in behavior, we have to go where they go when we humans are in the mountains. The University of Valencia in 2019 led this investigationdetecting that without a doubt there is a “weekend effect.” This effect can be seen in telemetry data which shows that during Saturdays and Sundays, the eagles are forced to modify their hunting routes. All this to avoid humans who, among other things, may be scaring away their targets on the ground. A greater expense. When these birds have to go to other areas to look for food because of hikers, they have to cover a longer distance than they are normally used to. This only means greater physiological stress and energy expenditure that can compromise their reproduction or survival, even if they never touch a human. But in addition, this translates into a situation known as ‘Landscape of Fear’, where the animal perceives the human not as a physical obstacle, but as a potential predator, which triggers its stress and cortisol levels, affecting its ability to breed. The real threats. To understand the real danger that these birds are in, we must look at the different mortality statistics in Spain. In this case, although a sedentary lifestyle causes great discomfort to the animals, the causes of death are much more industrial and violent. According to the studies collected, such as those of the GER-EA projectthe main cause of death is collision with power lines and electrocution. This is followed by poisoning and shooting, with 13 and 8% respectively. But what is clear is that humans are not a direct cause of death due to collisions with us when we are sedentary in the countryside. Distinction matters. Stating that eagles collide with hikers may sound spectacular, but it diverts attention from the real problem that we can solve as mountain users. The study in Ecology and Evolution (2025) and data from Ecologists in Action They point out that the problem is Yontrusion into breeding areas. Climbing, off-road vehicles and off-road hiking near the nests cause the adults to abandon the nest or the chicks, leaving them exposed to the cold or predators. Images | Mathew Schwartz In Xataka | Japan has been looking at its bears in fear for months due to a record wave of attacks. Now he looks at them with something else: gluttony

cut mountains

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The tunnels have saved us from surroundings to mountains and rock surfaces for decades. However, it is not the only technique to shorten time and develop new roads that connect cities with each other. In this aspect, it is worth telling how China once again demonstrates its ability to transform the landscape with a technique that seems taken from a science fiction film: literally cut mountains To build roads. Explosives, giant excavators and a millimeter planning is necessary to divide rock formations of hundreds of meters high. How the technique works. After A geological study Exhaustive to determine the composition of the mountain and plan the cuts so that they do not compromise the stability of the land, engineers use controlled explosives to create the first fractures, followed by specialized heavy machinery that can excavate tens of meters deep per day. The remaining walls are stabilized with metal meshes, projected concrete and drainage systems to avoid landslides. The final result is A clean step through the mountainwith vertical walls up to 200 meters high that seems that someone with a giant knife has crossed them. A technique in multiple regions of China. These ‘cut walls’ can be seen mainly in The mountainous provinces of GuizhouYunnan and Sichuan, where the karst terrain and the complicated rock formations made the construction of traditional tunnels impracticable. Projects as prominent as the Guiyang-Qianxi highway or the Taihang mountain pass have turned hours of hours into minutes. It has also been used in the construction of the High Speed Railroad that connects Beijing with Guangzhou, where several sections go through literally games in half. Click the image to watch the video Why not tunnels are used. The decision to cut instead of drilling usually comes Due to technical criteria and specific economics. In land with high concentration of groundwater or unstable rock formations, building tunnels can be more expensive and risky than direct cut. In addition, the maintenance of an open step is considerably simpler than that of a tunnel, which requires constant ventilation, lighting and drainage systems. In low -rise mountains, the cut also allows the greater proliferation of heavy vehicles, especially in an economy that depends so much on the transport of road goods. Beyond China. Although China has perfected and popularized this technique, it is not the only country that uses it. Norway uses similar methods in its fjords, where the characteristics of the land make the cut more viable than drilling (although in this country we also have spectacular projects of tunnels under construction such as Rogfast). In the United States, Cumberland Gap’s pass in the Apalaches was created by cutting techniques, although on a smaller scale. However, no country matches the ambition and scale of Chinese projects, which have become an art the mountain cut. Environmental impact. Although the benefits of using this technique are evident, especially in the aspect of econic development and its effectiveness to connect remote regions, this technique also generates a certain debate around environmental impact. And it is that this type of constructions can end up destroying local ecosystems, altering natural drainage patterns or fragmenting wildlife habitats, not to mention the amount of dust and noise during its construction that can generate millions of tons in waste. It can also be said that it is not the most used technique, since the tunnels remain the preference except exceptional cases. Cover image | Zhang Meifang and R/Damnthatsintending In Xataka | China has a prey capable of changing the rotation of the earth. Now they are building an even bigger

In Italy, farmers are so fed up with tourists who are installing lathes in the mountains. Literally

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There are many places where one would expect to find a lathe. In museums, airports, subway stations, libraries, gyms, bathrooms, stadiums … the list is long and wide. But where nobody would probably expect to see an access tourniquet is in The dolomitesthe steep mountains of the Italian Eastern Alps. After all, what does a metallic closure paint in the field? If that question is asked the farmers of Seda The answer is to remove tourists. That is why they have installed a lathe on a busy route in the area An unexpected landscape. Alps have accustomed us to postal landscapes, but not to what can be seen for weeks on one of its most popular paths, the SECEDA ODLE PANORAMIC ROUTEa mountain of the dolomitas located in Val Gardena. In addition to green slopes, steep summits and film sunset, from early July In the area there is a new element that alters the landscape: a metallic lathe, with its bars, its coin slot and A poster in which you can read “Input for the famous Ruta de las Rocas € 5”. And who put it there? A group of local farmers tired of seeing the continuous transfer of tourists in search of photos for Instagram or the best Selfie. The Telegraph Precise that the initiative started from four land owners that crosses the path. It is not just that the area receives thousands of visitors in high season (recently There was talk of 8,000 in a single day), which already exerts remarkable pressure in the environment, is that this influx, They denounce The owners of the plots, arrives accompanied by “damage” to their lands and garbage. “The authorities must understand that while the cable car operators receive large amounts of money due complaint Georg Rabanser, owner of one of the land that crosses the path. Hence the decision to install a lathe with a toll of five euros (children and locals are exempt) and a person who is responsible for controlling access and demanding the payment of the rate. A QUITA AND PUT TORN. The initiative of Italian farmers could stay there if it were not because the lathe unleashed a considerable controversy in the country. A few days after jumping the news, the device I was already canceledwith which the hikers rose again without problem (or tolls) to the Mirador de Odle. Was that the end of the story? No. Yesterday the newspaper Il post He informed that the lathe is again operation with its controversial rate. OBJECTIVE: launch a SOS. Its promoters decided to recover it to achieve what, They assureThey have always sought: to agit consciences between public administrations to seek solutions to the intense flow of tourists, “the abandoned paths and the meadows full of garbage.” “Ours has been a call for help. We expected a call from the provinces authorities. But nothing. We only read communicated in the press, rumors, nothing concrete.” “We have not even received warning letters, so we move on. The province must understand that, while the facilities (tourist) earn a lot concludes Rabanser. The debate, served. The debate of course is served. The owners of the plots through which the path passes allege that their lands suffer the avalanche of tourists, but the situation is much more complex. Italian law allows free access to environments such as Dolomitas, although in the country there are certain placeslike the popular Via dell´amorein Cinque Terre, which charge access rate. In the background there is an even broader debate and with implications that go beyond Seeda: if farmers are allowed to install lathes, the same will be allowed to the owners of other plots crossed by tourist paths? A lathe field? “I do not want the southern tyrol to become a territory of tourniquetes,” insists Carlo Alberto Zanella, from the Italian Alpine Club. “It is unthinkable that every owner of land crossed by routes begin to collect tolls for access.” Torns are not the only way to prevent tourists from damaging the environment. Moreover, the authorities have already hired more forestry to prevent visitors from leaving the trails or using drones. Images | Robert J. Heath (Flickr), Karen (Flickr) and The Zmora (Flickr) In Xataka | Everest has become a feces. Solution: That all mountaineers carry their own in bags

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