Press Articles

Here you can find an overview of publications featuring articles by Bruno Baumann.

 

The Great Silence

February 2003

Besides explorers like Sven Hedin and merchants like Marco Polo, there were others who were drawn to the desert - for very different reasons. They came for the sake of the desert itself, in search of a spiritual experience. For them, the desert was a medium, a place where both abstract truths and universal laws were written in the sand. And as varied as their motives may have been, they all had one thing in common - a fascination with the desert. National Geographic

 

Stairway to the Gods

February 2003

The tendency of man to idealize mountains goes back a long way. "In the oldest religions, everything was alive, not supernaturally, but naturally alive", wrote D. H. Lawrence. In his view, religion was originally nothing more than man's attempt to bring his life into contact with the universe. Neue Kronen Zeitung

 

When Adventure Calls

January 2003

The most remote and inaccessible corners of this Earth are the dream destinations of these extreme adventurers. They subject themselves to untold risk and hardship in order to experience the great deserts, polar regions, mountains and rainforests of our planet. But like any other traveller, there's always the question - what to pack for the trip? National Geographic (Adventure)

 

GEO SPECIAL - The Himalayas

August 2002

The Tibetans view the Kailash region as being a gigantic natural m&ala, created in the image of the cosmos, which includes not just Mount Kailash itself, but the nearby Manasarovar & Rakshas Tal lakes, & most importantly the headwaters of Asia's four greatest rivers. In the religious language of India, the word "m&ala" st&s for a holy district in the form of a circle. The entire Kailash region is considered to be a holy district to which there are four entrances - these are the four river sources that fan out in the cardinal directions like the petals of a lotus blossom with Mount Kailash forming its center. It is subdivided into four precincts, each representing one of the four transcendent Buddhas. GEO Special (The Himalayas)

 

To the Sources of Life

April 2002

Tsering is stocky and made of the stuff a man has to be if he wants not just to survive, but to live in a rough land like this. He scampers up the mountain like a shot. The thinning air doesn't seem to affect him at all. Every now and again, he stops and waits for us to catch up. Long arms swinging beneath the crude sheepskin, he seems to be waving us on in encouragement. But he won't let us have any rest. Trekkers World

 

Through Asia

March 2001

"He who goes in, never returns." In 1895, Sven Hedin's expedition into Taklamakan ended in tragedy. Bruno Baumann set out to retrace the footsteps of the Swede and nearly paid for it with his life. Caravan of No Return - Drama in the Taklamakan Desert. Neue Kronen Zeitung

 

Through the Heart of the Taklamakan

November 2000

In 1895, the legendary Swedish explorer Sven Hedin crossed the heart of the most life-threatening desert of Asia in the northwest of the present China. He later claimed in several books that two of his five companions had died of thirst during the expedition. However, Austrian-born Bruno Baumann, an acknowledged authority on the desert, had his doubts about Hedin's version of events. In April 2000, he followed Hedin's trail in hopes of locating the ab&oned photographic plates and other remains of Hedin's "camp of death" & discovering the truth behind Hedin's ill-fated caravan. But the march through the "sea of sand" did not unfold according to plan... GEO

 

Pearls on the Silk Road

July 2000

Samarkand and Buchara were once the hub of trade, religions & cultures. Now their legend takes a new lease on life. Lufthansa Magazin

 

To Thine Own Self Be True

April 2000

The whole world knows Lhamo Dhondup, the XIV Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leader, politician, monk, Nobel Peace Prize winner – and a man with unusual views. TV Hören und Sehen

 

Across the Trans Himalayas on the Footsteps of Sven Hedin

May/June 1999

Just a few more steps, one last incline, then the terrain flattens out to reveal an expansive hillcrest that fades into white nothingness. A wet, cold wind sweeps across the plateau... Trekkers World

 

Searching for Yeti (5-part series)

September/October 1998

Austrian-born Bruno Baumann, now living in Munich, is a foremost authority on the Himalayan region. Together with "Focus" Magazine reporter Michael Odenwald, he set out in search of the mythical Abominable Snowman. Neue Kronen Zeitung

 

My March Through the Desert of Death

September 1998

This is one of the last great adventures our world still has to offer. As far as we know, no one has ever entered this region before. There are no written accounts in existence about the interior of the Alashan desert in western China. There are no maps with designated routes that we could follow either. Even the Mongols, who live on the fringes of this desert, consider the place to be a dangerous adversary & avoid the place like the plague. Best of Reader's Digest

 

A Plea for Trekking

July 1996

Trekking was so much simpler way back when. On one end, there was the rich, highly civilized Sahib, & on the other, the poor uneducated Sherpa. Everyone knew their roles & travelling was uncomplicated - until trekking tourism started to boom, changing l&scapes & cultures forever. Bergsteiger & Bergwanderer

 

Box Seats on the World

July 1993

Those who climb to the Roof of the World to visit the five ancient Himalayan kingdoms have the chance to discover not just the limits of the body, but those of the spirit as well, as they come face to face with infinity... Abenteuer & Reisen