Travel Diary of Tomas Jelinek

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2026 — Tadschikistan

Tomas & Claudia Jelinek traveled along the legendary Pamir Highway (an approximately 1,000-kilometer-long, incredibly rough, dusty dirt road at an elevation of 3,000–4,000 meters) through the so-called Wakhan Corridor along the Afghan border, hiked for several days across pathless terrain over high passes in the High Pamirs, with the spectacular and utterly desolate landscape of the Hindu Kush always stretching out before them. They were deeply impressed by the magnificent scenery, the solitude, and the friendliness of the nomads.

2026 — Rolwaling Tal - Nepal

Tomas & Claudia Jelinek spent two weeks in Nepal, trekking through the Rolwaling Valley all the way to the Tibetan border. Their goal was to climb Dolma Khang, a beautiful mountain on the border with Tibet that rises to 6,332 m. Rhododendron trees were blooming in vibrant colors throughout the valley; it was very secluded, and the valley’s residents were delighted to have us visit their teahouses. The onset of the monsoon, combined with heavy snowfall, made climbing the mountain impossible—but the trek through the valley was still absolutely beautiful.

2026 — Finnmark (Norwegen)

As in previous years, Tomas & Claudia Jelinek once again crossed Finnmark on skis, with a pulka and a tent. This year, they set off from Karaksjok and made their way to Alta in five days. Crossing Finnmark in this direction was considerably more challenging than the other way round – exhausting but beautiful.

2026 — Reisatal- Norwegen

At the end of February, Tomas Jelinek travelled to Norway with his whole family to spend 10 days travelling through the winter landscape by dog sledge. Everyone had their own team of huskies, each consisting of five dogs, which they had to look after around the clock. They spent the nights in tents or simple mountain huts. It was a very intense family adventure.

2026 — Elfenbeinküste

Over the New Year period, Tomas and Claudia Jelinek traveled to Ivory Coast. The focus of their trip was attending numerous festivals of the various ethnic minorities. Ivory Coast is characterized by the coexistence of many different population groups, each preserving its own customs, which is reflected in a rich diversity of languages, music, art, and festivals.

2025 — Kongobecken

Tomas & Claudia Jelinek traveled to the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. They chose the only passenger ship currently sailing on the Congo and Sangha rivers as their means of transport. They traveled on this ship for 8 nights to just below Ouesso. Every day, they went ashore and visited small settlements of fishermen and indigenous groups. In the far north, they continued by small boat into the huge “Tri-National Del la Sangha” protected area, which was created by Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic to protect one of the largest and least accessible areas in the world. In the national parks, they spent a lot of time walking through the jungle to see several groups of lowland gorillas and the forest elephants in Dzangha Bai. The indigenous Pygmy groups still living in the Congo Basin proudly showed them their hunting and healing methods. A very impressive journey in the heart of Africa.

2025 — Alpamayo

Tomas and Claudia Jelinek traveled to Peru. They visited the ancient Inca capital of Cusco and then went on a multi-day trek in the Cordillera Blanca to climb the 5,947-meter-high Alpamayo. The mountain has been described in the past as “the most beautiful mountain in the world.”

2025 — Madagaskar

Claudia & Tomas Jelinek spent 3 weeks in Madagascar in April and traveled the east coast, the west and southwest coast as well as the highlands. The diverse landscape, the very different national parks with their unique flora and fauna, but above all the incredibly friendly and approachable people really impressed them.

2025 — Finnmark

In March, Tomas & Claudia Jelinek crossed the Finnmark plateau in the north of Norway with skis, tent and pulka. The distance was about 130km and they were on the road for 8 days. The weather conditions were very challenging with lots of fresh snow and strong winds, but on the last day they were rewarded with clear skies and the Northern Lights.

2024 — Costa Rica

Tomas and Claudia Jelinek spent New Year's Eve in Costa Rica. They traveled through the small country, went on many jungle treks, and were very lucky to see some special wildlife.

2024 — Vanuatu

Tomas & Claudia Jelinek traveled to Vanuatu. There he visited the islands of Efate, Nguna and Tanna. His particular focus was on the very active Yasur volcano. We climbed, circled and observed it for almost a week.

2024 — Taiwan

Claudia and Tomas Jelinek visited the island of Taiwan for a week. They traveled from north to south along the west coast and were delighted by the very friendly and welcoming population. They were very impressed by the combination of modernity and tradition.

2024 — Mongolei

Tomas Jelinek traveled to Mongolia for 2 weeks to climb mountains. He climbed the highest mountains in the Altai Mountains: Mt. Khuiten at 4356m, Nairandal Peak at 4082m and Malchin Peak at 4050m.

2024 — West-Papua

Tomas & Claudia Jelinek visited the Dani tribe in the Baliem Valley and the Asmat tribe on the coast of West Papua. The journey was adventurous, very easy and incredibly spectacular.

2024 — Finnmark- Norwegen

In February, Tomas Jelinek crossed the Finnmarksvidda with skis, tent and pulka. It is located in the very north of Norway and is the largest high plateau in Norway with an area of over 22,000 km². The tour covered over 100 km and lasted 5 days. The temperatures were between -10 and -25 degrees Celcius.

2024 — Saudi Arabien

Tomas Jelinek visited Saudi Arabia, which has just opened its doors to tourists, over New Year's Eve. He spent several days in the Al-Ula oasis and visited the excavations at Hegra. He then went to Jeddah for the New Year. It is the most important port city in Saudi Arabia and is particularly important for its historic old town. Throughout the country you can feel the move towards a more open society. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

2023 — Hudson Bay Canada

For their 30th wedding anniversary, Tomas & Claudia Jelinek traveled to Churchill on Hudson Bay in Canada to see polar bears up close in the wild. A unique experience.

2023 — Süd Korea

Tomas Jelinek visited South Korea for two weeks: in addition to impressive modern architecture, there were extraordinary fish markets to marvel at. An exciting, young country.

2023 — Japan

In May, Tomas Jelinek traveled to Japan for the first time to the main island of Honshu. He visited the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Himeji as well as the city of Takayama, located in the Japanese Alps. He was deeply impressed by the people, the culture and especially the delicious food. Unfortunately, it was not the right season for climbing Mt Fuji.

2023 — Nepal - Mustang Ultra Trailrace

In April Tomas Jelinek participated in the 165km Mustang Ultra Trail Race in Nepal. The race went over 8 days through the spectacular ancient kingdom of Mustang, past ancient monasteries and with constant views of the 8000m peaks Annapurna & Dhaulagiri. High passes of 4600m had to be crossed to get to the ancient capital of Lo Manthang at 3800m before heading back down the valley to Jomsom. Tomas Jelinek was 4th in the male category.

2022 — Sao Tome & Principe

In September 2022 Tomas Jelinek traveled to Sao Tome & Principe to investigate a dengue outbreak there. He used the trip to look at the two islands and to stand on the zero meridian between the northern & southern hemispheres.

2021 — UTMR

After it unfortunately had to be cancelled last year, it could take place this year: the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa with 170 km over 3 high mountain passes in 4 days. The route had to be changed at short notice and now ran exclusively in Switzerland with fantastic views of the Matterhorn. Tomas Jelinek had a lot of fun and enjoyed the run very much.

2020 — Antarktis Mount Vinson

Tomas Jelinek stood on the summit of Mt Vinson, Antarctica's highest mountain at 4892m, on 14 January 2020. With the ascent of this mountain, Tomas Jelinek is one of currently almost 500 people to have climbed the "Seven Summits" - the highest mountain of each continent.

2019 — Mount Evererst 8848m

Tomas Jelinek stood together with Sherpa Furba Kusang on the highest mountain on earth at sunrise on 24 May. He climbed Mt Everest from the north side and descended well back to base camp without frostbite.

2018 — Papua New Guinea

Tomas Jelinek travelled to Papua New Guinea for several weeks in the summer to visit indigenous peoples there.

2018 — Expedition Ostgrönland

Tomas Jelinek undertook a ski expedition through the ice desert of East Greenland in April.

2018 — Yukon Arctic Ultra

YAU is billed as the "coldest & toughest" ultra race in the world - and indeed, when Tomas Jelinek took part this year, temperatures plummeted to -50°C. Tomas Jelinek started on the 160 km long course, which follows the famous sled dog race "Yukon Quest" from Whitehorse to Barburn. The extreme cold made very high demands on the material and the mental strength of the runners. Tomas Jelinek finished as the third runner and was one of the few who finished the race without frostbite.

2017 — Besteigung Manaslu 8156m

Tomas Jelinek has successfully climbed his first 8000m peak. On 26 September, Tomas Jelinek stood on the eighth highest mountain on earth, the 8156m Manaslu.

2017 — Eiger-Ultra-Trail

On 15 July Tomas Jelinek started at the Eiger Ultra Trail. The running distance was 101km with an altitude difference of 6700m. In a time of 23:28h Tomas Jelinek reached the finish at 4am in good spirits.

2017 — Bolivien

In May and June 2017, Tomas Jelinek travelled to Bolivia. First he spent a week in the Salar de Uyuni- the largest salt desert in the world. He then climbed four high mountains, including the Sajama - at 6542m the highest mountain in Bolivia. A trip to Lake Titicaca rounded off the trip.

2016 — Denali- höchster Berg Nordamerikas

Tomas Jelinek has successfully climbed the fifth peak of the "Seven Summits". Denali, located in Alaska and the highest mountain in North America at 6190m, is considered one of the coldest mountains in the world. The ascent rate is less than 50 %, as the rapid change in weather is a major challenge.

2016 — Antarktis- Expedition auf einer Segelyacht

3 weeks on a 20m sailing yacht across the stormy Drake Passage to the Antarctic. Tomas Jelinek accompanied the trip as a doctor. It was a great experience to experience the unique animal world up close in the middle of icebergs.

2016 — Der südlichste Trail der Welt

"Dientes Circuit" is the name of the southernmost trail in the world, which runs over 50 km from Puerto Williams, the southernmost settlement in the world, through the mountains of Tierra del Fuego. Before Tomas Jelinek set off on his sailing yacht towards Antarctica, he ran the route in 14 hours.

2015 — Nepal: Kangchenjunga Massiv

Tomas Jelinek spent 21 days walking in the Kangchenjunga massif in eastern Nepal. During his expedition, he climbed Pangpema Peak, which is over 6000m high.

2015 — Alpengipfel

On a few weekends in July and August, Tomas Jelinek set off for mountaineering in the Alps. He climbed the summits of Großvenediger (3666m), Johannisspitze (3453m) & Hohe Riffl (3338m), Dom (4545m) and Breithorn (4164m) all in partly bad weather conditions.

2015 — Expeditionstraining in Norwegen

For expedition training with snowshoes, pulka & tent, Tomas Jelinek went to the Hardangervidda in Norway in April. Low minus temperatures with bright sunshine made the days a very special experience.

2015 — Silvester auf Spitzbergen

Complete darkness - 24 hours a day for 7 days! A very special experience. Snowshoe tours with a headlamp were still possible and had their own special charm. Tomas Jelinek was rewarded with a beautiful northern light.

2015 — Tempelfest in Ladakh

Ladakh in winter! Bright sun, blue skies, snow-covered mountains and lonely monasteries defined the days Tomas Jelinek spent in the valley of Leh. The highlight was the participation in a Buddhist temple festival.

2014 — Papua- Carstenz Pyramide

In October/November Tomas Jelinek did a 3 week trekking tour through the jungle of West Papua and climbed the Carstenz Pyramid - successfully reaching his 4th Seven Summit.

2014 — Besteigung Elbrus 5642m

....and also 3 weeks later on Mount Elbrus: instead of masses of snow like last year, the sun was shining and the conditions for climbing Europe's highest peak were perfect!

2014 — Besteigung Mt Blanc 4810m

This year the weather gods were merciful! Early in the morning of 19 July, Tomas Jelinek reached the highest peak in the Alps via the Goutier Route in fantastic weather.

2014 — Besteigung des Mt. Aconcagua 6962m

Tomas Jelinek reached the summit of Aconcagua, 6962m, on 7 January 2014. Aconcagua is located in the Argentinian Andes and is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. This makes it the second highest mountain of the "Seven Summits". Tomas Jelinek took part in an international expedition as an accompanying doctor and climbed the peak via the so-called 360 degree route.

2013 — Äthiopien- Danakil Wüste

Tomas Jelinek visits one of the most remote and hostile places on earth: the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia, which is located directly on the border to Eritrea. Due to the shifting of the continental plates, the climate here is geothermally very active. Large areas with active sulphate volcanoes characterise the landscape. Local salt caravans transport salt plates over many kilometres. The volcano Erte Ale with its active lava lake is another highlight of this desert.

2013 — Besteigung des Mt.Elbrus 5642m

" Snowed in" - The ascent of Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, unfortunately did not work out. In the Russian base camp, the so-called "Barrels", Tomas Jelinek was caught in a heavy snowstorm that brought more than 1m of fresh snow within 24 hours. After that, an ascent was out of the question due to the amount of snow and the risk of avalanches - the time until the descent could only be bridged by shovelling snow.....

2013 — Indischer Himalaya/ Ladakh

T.Jelinek went trekking through the Indian Himalayas after a research stay in Delhi. The Chang-Tang plateau is located on the Tibetan border and has an average altitude of about 4500m. On his tour, T. Jelinek took part in a colourful Buddhist monastery festival in Korzok. This small, dusty village is situated on the Tso Moriri, a beautiful, high-altitude lake. T. Jelinek also climbed Nyang Pang (6028m) and Chamser Kangri (6630m) during his trip.

2013 — Bangladesch

At the end of March, Tomas Jelinek travelled to Bangladesh to establish contacts for a malaria control programme. He travelled a lot by land and sea and got a good impression of this adventurous destination in the Bay of Bengal. Rarely has he seen such friendly people who are able to manage their lives under the most difficult conditions.

2013 — Island im Winter

Tomas Jelinek knows Iceland well - but so far only in summer. Now he has been dreaming of frozen waterfalls, lots of snow and aurora borealis for a long time. This winter was the time. He landed in a snowstorm and went straight to Geysier and Gulfoss. He spent New Year's Eve at "his" ice lake, Jökulsalum. An unforgettable atmosphere - although unfortunately without aurora borealis. In the north, many roads were impassable due to the huge masses of snow. It was dark but incredibly beautiful. He will have to come back for the aurora borealis!

2012 — zurück zum Mt Blanc

Mt Blanc wouldn't let him go and so Tomas Jelinek went back to Chamnonix during the autumn holidays. There was already too much snow to climb the summit, so he decided to walk the route of the UTMB - not in one piece, however, but in 6 daily stages. Since all the overnight huts were already closed in October, he took a small tent with him. In mostly beautiful autumn weather, he walked around Mt Blanc and got a very good impression of how beautiful - and also challenging - the route is.

2012 — UTMB- Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

The UTMB is an ultra race that goes around the entire Mt Blanc massif in > 160km. The race starts in Chamonix in the evening, then goes back to France via Italy and Switzerland. In total, almost 10,000 metres of altitude have to be "run over". The UTMB is "the" race for trail runners and you have to qualify to take part. After the week "on" the mountain, the next step was to go "around" it. Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated so much on the day before the start, the snow line dropped considerably, that the organisers shortened the route to 101km and, for safety reasons, did not run over the high passes, but only along the Chamonix valley. Nevertheless, the route was very demanding with about 7000m - also because of the heavy rain that wouldn't stop. Tomas Jelinek reached the finish after 19 hours in good spirits.

2012 — Mont Blanc

Part of the altitude study for acclimatisation in connection with the LMU in Munich was the ascent of Mt Blanc. So we went to Chamonix at the end of August. The plan was to climb the 4810m high Mt Blanc - the highest mountain in western Europe. The first 2 training days in the ice could still take place on the Mt Blanc massif itself, then unfortunately due to very bad weather conditions they had to move to the Monte Rosa massif. There, seven 4000m peaks could be "climbed" in fantastic conditions. Another summit attempt on Mt Blanc was unfortunately thwarted by too strong winds. The evaluation of the study is expected for the end of 2013.

2012 — Nepal

Western Nepal : Dolpo Tomas Jelinek spent 30 days on foot in the land of the "Dolpopa" on the border to Tibet, where mainly Tibetan nomads live and transport food with their yaks over the mountains. In between, he supplied nomads with needed medicines from his first-aid kit. In total, there were 15 passes, many over 5000m, on his route.

2012 — Namib Desert Challenge

The Namib Desert Challenge is a run over 5 days and a total of 230km through the Namib Desert in Namibia. This year 40 participants from all over the world took part. Tomas Jelinek finished 15th overall.

2012 — Schweden

Tomas Jelinek spent the days between the years together with his family high in the north of Sweden. Between excursions with the snowshoes or cross-country skiing units in strong minus temperatures, he worked on the last chapters of his textbook, which is to be published in spring.

2012 — England Yorkshire Ultratrail

The Yorkshire Ultratrail, also called the "Frozen 50", is a 50-mile (= approx. 80km) trail run along the coast of northern England. As the race takes place at the end of January, the weather was cold as expected and the trail very very muddy! Tomas Jelinek was the only German participant to finish in 11h. He had a lot of fun in the mud!

2011 — Äthiopien

A journey all the way to the south of Ethiopia to the tribes of the Omo Valley

2011 — Indien

Study visit to Delhi followed by trekking in Zanskar & Ladakh with ascent of Stok Kangri 6150m

2011 — Zugspitzultra

101km of trail running around the Zugspitze massif with almost 6000 metres of altitude, which had to be mastered on narrow paths.

2011 — Stromboli

impressive volcanic eruptions on Stromboli

2011 — Schweden

Winter trekking in Jämtland

2011 — Jordanien

Desert Tour through Jordan: Petra & Wadi Rum

2010 — Transalpin Run

Trailrun: 8 days, 350km and 4 countries were run across the Alps in teams of 2.

2010 — Nepal

During the monsoon trekking in the Khumbu Valley to Everest Basecamp, via Kalar- Patar & Gokyo Ri

2010 — Island

Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.

2009 — Südtirol

Mountaineering in the Dolomites

2009 — Kambodscha & Vietnam

Research stay in Bangkok followed by trip through Kamboscha & Vietnam

2009 — Tansania

Climb Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa

2008 — Südtirol

Climbing in the Dolomites

2008 — Grönland

Trekking through West Greenland

2008 — Äthiopien

Journey to the North of Ethiopia

2008 — Griechenland

in the footsteps of antiquity

2007 — Island

Trekking in Iceland: Laugarvegur and others

2007 — Marokko

Royal Site of Morocco & High Atlas Mountains

2006 — Ägypten

Excursions in the Nile Valley

2002 — Laos

Malaria research on behalf of the WHO

2000 — Bali

Research project on the incidence of disease among travellers

1997 — Marokko

Trekking in the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas

1995 — Mexiko

Yucatan and Central Highlands

1994 — Burma

Backpacking through Burma

1992 — Südafrika

3-month work assignment at the hospital in Tigerberg/ Stellenbosch

1991 — Kenia

Climb Mt Kenya (5199m) and safari in Masai Mara and Amboselli NP

1991 — Tansania

by dhow to Pemba and Sanisbar, by train across the country

1991 — Malawi

3 months in the hospital in Zomba, travelling all over the country

1991 — Zimbabwe

Explorations throughout the country

1991 — Indien

mit dem Kamel durch Radjasthan

1990 — Indien

Working in the hospital in South India

1990 — Malaysia

Work at the hospital in Kuala Terenganu, trip to Borneo, climb Mt Kinabalu (4095m)

1990 — Thailand

Round trip through Thailand by public transport

1989 — China

Work in Wuhan at the hospital, return journey by Trans-Siberian Railway through Mongolia & Russia

1989 — Bangkok

Research stay in Bangkok, further trip to South-West China

1989 — Sri Lanka

Round trip by public transport through Sri Lanka

1989 — Sudan

With the Nile-Valley Express through the Nile Valley, onward journey to the Nuba Mountains

1988 — China

Across the Silk Road through China to Hong Kong

1988 — Pakistan

North Pakistan & Karakoram Highway