Category: health & safety

Posted on

South Pole return on foot

Scott 2012 Expedition:

No one has ever walked from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again.

In 2012 … Ben (Saunders) and his team mates Alastair Humphreys and Martin Hartley take on arguably the most ambitious polar expedition in the last century: the four-month Scott 2012 – the first return journey to the South Pole on foot, and at 1,800 miles, the longest unsupported polar journey in history …

about

Last November they spent a week training, and getting to know one another, on the Isle of Skye.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

Good luck team.

(via Alastair Humphreys)

_____

Alastair just finished rowing across the Atlantic. How did that go?

“If you ever see me anywhere near a boat again, you have my permission to shoot me!” – Sir Steve Redgrave after winning his fourth Olympic gold medal for rowing. Four years later, he won a fifth…

“This is bloody stupid!” – John Fairfax after becoming the first person to row the Atlantic solo. Two years later, he rowed the Pacific…

Posted on

Attempt on Mt Anne, Tasmania

Frank (Our Hiking Blog) recommended a fascinating Sydney-based site called Sons of the Desert – a bushwalking blog

They post gorgeous BIG photos.

click to see full size originals

They got “lucky” with the notorious weather. Except for the wind. Tasmanian wind can destroy tents. And Maytag them.

Here’s how they tried to hold down one.

This is a great read – An Attempt on the Mt Anne Circuit, posted Jan. 2012.

If you like that, check their South Coast Track trip report.

Gawd. I still remember that mud.

… Yet I’m still planning a trip to Australia for Sept / October. Can hardly wait.

Posted on

“A Life Ascending” – the movie

Megan Michelson:

On January 20, 2003, seven people were killed in a class 3 avalanche on a peak called La Traviata near Selkirk Mountain Experience, a backcountry hut and guiding operation outside Revelstoke, BC. The guide that day was SME owner and lead guide, Ruedi Beglinger, a Switzerland native with the highest level of mountain guiding certification and decades of experience. Until that day in 2003, SME had never had a serious injury or death during its then 18 years in business. …

… a new feature-length documentary called ”A Life Ascending” about the life and family of guide Ruedi Beglinger has been released on the film festival circuit. It recently won the audience choice award at Colorado’s Docuwest Film Festival …

ESPN

The DVD goes on sale Feb. 28th.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

A Life Ascending

social media – Facebook | @alifeascending

I’ve subscribed to the blog, too.

RIP Rob and Mark Glaser, friends of mine killed by avalanche in 2011.

Posted on

Barefooting the Ozette, Washington

Barefoot Jake doesn’t always go barefoot. On this weekend adventure out of Ozette Lake he wore his Luna ATS Huaraches and Vibram Five Finger KSO.

This terrain and climate is ideal for minimal footwear.

… over 90% Board Walk made up of new, old and really old planks that have been in place for probably longer than I have been born. Figured this would be a perfect opportunity to to break in my Luna ATS Huaraches further. Felt great to let the feet air out …

Evocative photos. Check them out here – Weekend of Barefooting the Ozette

That post caught my eye linked from Hiking in Finland as I’d been to Ozette myself last week.

Posted on

6 barefoot hikers summit Kili

Ross proved the doubters — including me — WRONG:

On Saturday, 29 January, at 12.45 South Africa time, our entire team of six barefoot climbers, … and four support crew (in shoes) reached Uhuru Peak, at 5,895m, the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro and the highest point in Africa. …

Barefoot Kilimanjaro: Mission Accomplished – The Video Diary

Respect.

Posted on

Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, Glacier Park

Colleen Contrisciane-Lewis, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania won an all-expenses-paid grand prize from Backpacker magazine: an assignment to hike—and report on—her dream trip.

Read about her 85-mile, weeklong transect of Glacier National Park on the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail:

Naturally, Rowan and I want quality time alone–we eloped just weeks before our hike, and this Continental Divide-crossing route will not only be my Reader Leader dream trip, but also our honeymoon. …

… When I backpack solo, I can do breakfast and pack in 30 minutes. With Rowan, it takes two hours, and my frustration is building to a boil. …

… “Would you mind silencing your bear bell?” Rowan asks. “The incessant jingle is grating. And I’d love to see a bear.”

Who am I to argue with a man who’s lived with lions? So, against my better judgment, I silence my bell, and zip my lips. We hike 30 minutes before seeing a grizzly 20 yards off the trail …

read her trip report – GLACIER MAGIC

Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park (Jeremie Hollman)

That’s one unforgettable honeymoon!

Backpacker posted 7 more reader submitted trip reports:

Shoal Creek Loop, Gros Ventre Wilderness, WY

International Appalachian Trail, Parc National de la Gaspesie, Quebec

Creekside Loop, Pisgah NF, NC

Evolution Loop, Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP, CA

Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, Castle Rock SP, CA

Grasshopper Glacier, Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, MT

Appalachian Trail, 100-Mile Wilderness, ME

details

Posted on

barefoot to Kilimanjaro

The barefoot movement is going too far with this project.

Ross on Science of Sport:

Only 3 days to go before I jet off to Kilimanjaro to tackle Africa’s highest summit, and the world’s highest free-standing mountain…barefoot…

My mission is to help get ONE person to the top barefoot, and to do it safely. …

The Barefoot Kilimanjaro Challenge

It’s an attention getter, that’s for sure. Funds raised go to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in South Africa.

related – Killian Jornet record for summitting Kilimanjaro in light shoes – 7 hours 14 minutes return. (VIDEO)

Posted on

1700mi 90lbs lost in 3min

I’ve been following Kolby Kirk — the Hike Guy — for some years. This is his best work yet.

Recorded on the Pacific Crest Trail during the 2011 thu-hiking season. 159 days, 1,700 miles hiked, and ninety pounds lost. Make sure you watch it all the way to the end.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

I’m thinking to do a week or two on the PCT in 2012. I’ll need Kolby’s top 5 PCT NECESSITIES.

(via BuzzFeed)

Posted on

shooting a Grizzly only makes it angry

At a New Years Eve party I happened to meet the man first on scene at this tragedy.

It turns out that the hunter in Idaho who the authorities thought was killed by a wounded grizzly bear was actually shot by his young hunting companion, who was trying to kill the bear, an autopsy has revealed.

Steve Stevenson, 39, died on Sept. 16 when he was shot in the chest once by his 20-year-old hunting companion, Ty Bell, officials said. The two men, both from Winnemucca, Nev., were tracking a grizzly bear they had wounded in rugged country on the Idaho-Montana border, thinking it was a black bear, the surviving hunter said. …

details on NY Times – In Bear Attack, Hunter Killed Hunter, Autopsy Shows