That is right.  The world we live in and beyond is vastly changing at a rate that not many of us are to fond of.

Pluto has been written off the planet charts (even though I agree with my daughter, most of us will still consider it a planet in our world of “underground” knowledge) by scientists, now it is just a large rock floating in the abyss..

Add to that, the recent unravelings of the World’s Longest River…The Nile, you think?

Think again.  The Amazon.  That is right.  Scientists have recently discovered that the Amazon River is approximately 176 miles longer than originally thought and now extends into the Southern reaches of Peru, making it the NEW world’s longest river.

The 176 miles of new Amazon, will place it at roughly 4, 225 miles long–making it 65 miles longer than the Nile.

Scientists sponsored by The Brazilian Institute of Science and Statistics, have placed the new Amazon beginning in the Southern Mountains of Peru.

This has to be disheartening to at least one individual–Martin Strehl–who laid claim earlier this year to completing the first swim that went the full distance of the Amazon…

This just goes to show that no one is ever happy being in second place..

It will be interesting to see how Egypt takes this news as well..Perhaps the Nile will grow soon, too…

I can slowly see Mr. Martin Strehl’s great accomplishments in the World of River Swimming being wiped off the charts..Perhaps he had swam one river to many..and p’d off the wrong folks…

A Kansas man has been billed $5000 for a wilderness rescue after he injured his ankle while hiking along a steep hillside.

This debate has been raging for well over a year now–whether or not people in the wilderness, when accidents happen, should be liable to pay for their rescue.

Kansas is only one of a number of states who have been looking in to billing people that have come to need a rescue involving local authorities.  Colorado also has a similar law in place and one is also currently making the rounds in Utah.

The great Blog, Two-Heel Drive ran by Tom Mangan, tipped me off to the forementioned article featured in the June 18th issue of Rocky Mountain News discussing this incident, as well as the debate raging in Kansas.  You may read the whole article HERE.

As far as Colorado is concerned, there has recently been news that another individual will be billed $7500 for his subsequent rescue as well.

This is reigniting a big debate amongst outdoor enthusiasts.  Should they be charged or shouldn’t they?  I have already expressed my own opinion on this matter as it pertains to climbers needing rescued–(please see story posted HERE, for my opinion.)  How much is to much?

Alot of us go out and try to enjoy the peace and solitude of the outdoors for 1) it is great exercise, 2) it gets you away from the hustle and bustle of cities…and PEOPLE, and 3) It is alot cheaper to walk a trail then drive a car.

If all of us ran the risk of having to pay $7500 for rescue after a badly twisted ankle PLUS our own medical bills, would we still be outdoors?

Alot of the previous debate over this issue has occured mainly over climbers getting stranded high on mountains, as in the two incidents that have occured in the past year on Mt. Hood. More and more though, we as individuals are seeing this pop up for some things that seem–dare I say mundane?

I think the political motivation behind this issue has jumped from saving lives to making money, and in a sense, infringing upon our own freedoms to explore nature and the outdoors.

Perhaps a few people have taken advantage of the system.  Perhaps a few have ended up where they never should have been in the first place without the experience or guidance they needed to be there.  Is this a reason to Pigeonhole a whole section of the American population? Instead of going out to “Get Away From It All”, that “All” is slowly trying to step in and even take away the essence of being out there.

Read the rest of this entry »

Alan Arnette, who is currently attempting to climb Denali, has ran in to a slight communication problem on his journey.

Alan first began posting live audiocasts on his site a few days ago, updating everyone on his where-abouts as well as the general atmosphere and the basics of his team.  HipCast, whom Alan has been relying on for these posts, is currently down. 

As if that wasn’t enough, Alan’s new PDA is failing to take a charge, so he is also stuck without being able to update his website either with typed dispatches as well.

On a good note though, Alan did make contact with “Cathy” by satelite phone, and said that all is well and that his team is currently moving equipment up to the 14,000 ft. level.

So at least he is doing fine, and we can only hope that his communication problems will be worked out soon.  If not, we may just have to wait till Alan gets back.

By the way, if you would be interested in helping Alan with his cause of supporting Alzheimer’s Research, you may do so by clicking the link below.

Sometimes something leaves you totally without words.  Many of you come to this site looking for news of Mt. Everest, but I have strived to also share other aspects of the Outdoor world with you.

I began talking to Alan Gregory after visiting his site last year..a great blog on Wilderness and Conservation.  Alan always came off as insightful, caring, passionate, and full of life.

I stopped by his site, following a link off my own yesterday.  Here is what I found:

For those of you interested who read this blog, Alan was seriously injured in a bicycling accident on 4/29/07 and suffered traumatic brain injury. He was hit by an elderly driver turning left in front of his oncoming bicycle. She never looked to see him coming; she was 85 yrs old. He is currently undergoing care at a long term care hospital.

Monica Gregory

Speachless.  Alan, I hope you have a speedy recovery.  Your words and insight will be truly missed.  To your friends, family, and associates, you are in my family’s prayers.  I am sorry.

In the past two weeks, numerous reports of Conrad Anker and Leo Haulding’s, successful summit of Everest have been reported.

Many of you will know that Conrad Anker and Leo Haulding set out a couple weeks ago to try to prove that George Mallory could have successfully summited Mt. Everest, by doing it themselves in equipment that would have been used in Mallory’s day–although made more recent.

Their findings are being reported two different ways.  The first, is that they were successful…the second is that they had to put aside the look-alike 1920’s equipment and make their final push in high tech gear of today.  To be honest, this would lead you to believe that Mallory and Irvine couldn’t have summited in the gear that they had.

Another controversy has seemed to have erupted recently over Conrad Anker and Leo Haulding’s subsequent free-climb up the Second Step.  The two, in order to do it as Mallory and Irvine, removed the ladder ascending the Second Step and decided to free climb it.  Many people, including Elizabeth Hawley, the Mt. Everest Expeditions local historian and news source, seem to be confused on the merits of free climbing the second step…

The Adventure Blog has posted a nice piece on whether this was the first free climb ever, the first one since the 1960’s as Elizabeth Hawley claims, or just another one that has fallen into the cracks of misreporting.  ExplorersWeb contends that there are actually a few people who have done this on the Second Step and that Anker and Haulding are just the most recent.

We all know it isn’t done often.  More people go for the much easier and safer, by using the ladder, but the controversy arises in part, by a message left by The Altitude Everest Team claiming that this was a true first.  No matter how it plays out–it is very unlikely this is a true first as way more than one source agrees that it has been done at least once before and possibly numerous times.

I credit Kraig over at The Adventure Blog for this fine piece of investigative reporting–I will be watching to see if he can come up with some truth and what the facts are surrounding this situation–well done Kraig.  Now go read his fine piece HERE.

Mt. Everest is set to be getting a new road.  The road, scheduled to begin construction on Monday, is being put in to place by the Chinese in an effort to help with their 2008 plans of summiting Mt. Everest with the famed Olympic Torch. 

This year has already seen the Chinese make a successful practice run of the torch to the summit.

The new road in will allow for a speedier trek to Basecamp for the Chinese as well as many other Expeditions that use this same path to Mt. Everest annually.  The Chinese are predicting a big outpouring of spectators for this event and are trying to rush along the process to ensure it’s success before next years Olympic Games.

The new road, which will run from Tangri County of Xigaze Prefecture at the base of Mt. Everest to Mt. Everest Basecamp–some 108 km, will be placed directly on top of a rough path used by Expedition Companies and climbers to reach Everest Basecamp.  The new road project is expected to take 4 months to build and will come in at a rough cost of $19.7 million.

The new road building project is set to kick off Monday with groundbreaking at Everest Basecamp, some 5, 200 meters above sea level.

The Road will be built complete with blacktop and metal guardrails and should allow much easier access to a place that usually took three days or more to get to, in the past.

Earlier this year rumors started circulating that the Chinese plan to shut down the North Side of Everest next year to Expeditions hoping to try for a summit next spring.  At this time no further word has been given about this situation.

Of interest though would be the expected crowds that this new road might let in to one of the most dangerous mountains in the world.  In 2007, well over 500 people made a successful summit, while 5 died in the process.  It is hard to imagine possibly more crowds in the basecamp area as alot of teams were concerned about them this season…

Also, Tibet, who has been fighting for this territory that China also claims ownership to since the 1950’s, has been highly outspoken in their dissapproval of anything in their country being tied to the Chinese Olympics.  Tibet has been voicing their opinions in highly public protests–one of which led to 5 people being arrested on Mt. Everest this season, against China.

With all of this building up to the 2008 Olympics and the 2008 Everest climbing season in the spring, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out, and if, indeed, the Chinese can pull this off successfully without an International Incident, as Tibet will once again become a huge focus in International circles.

The ChinaView was the source for part of this information after following a link from The Drudge Report.

Something has finally happened that I have been requesting for a long time..my good friend Tom has finally decided to put up an RSS feed to his outstanding site. 

Mon@rch’s Nature Blog has got to be the best personal Naturalist site that I have ran across.  His articles are personal.  His photos beautiful, and each and every time you stop by his site, you are guaranteed to learn something you didn’t know before.

Tom is a Naturalist at the Alleghany State Park in New York.  He is also a Biologist and Nature Photographer.  He is always in the field and always doing something to bring a better understanding of this natural world to our attention.  He spends countless hours leading birdwatches, discussing nature and his surroundings with adults as well as many schoolchildren throughout the year.  Tom can make the smallest wonder huge in our eyes, and as every good naturalist and nature wonderer knows, this is the key to understanding and building a  lifelong relationship in the outdoors.

His RSS feed will now be featured on The Adventurist.  His information and understanding of the Outdoor world is just to good for me to keep to myself, and at the same time–I know his ultimate goal is to get more people out and about…and keep them wondering and asking the questions that only someone with his knowledge can answer..yet still amaze you in wonderment and keep you coming back.

Tom is a great guy.  He has probably been my longest running active reader here at the Adventurist, and I finally have an opportunity to add his site to the list of great sites that my RSS feeds now cover.  Please stop on over at his place and tell him I sent you–I guarantee you that you are in for a treat! 

As far as his RSS feed goes, you will be able to find it on the right hand side..third from the top from now on.  Now go check out his site!

David Tait, who I covered extensively throughout this past Mt. Everest season has finally posted a photo of himself on the summit of Mt. Everest on his Everest Expedition Blog.

I had the priviledge of conducting not one, but two exclusive interviews with David–one before his attempt to make the first ever Double-Traverse of Mt. Everest and one after his aborted effort after successfully summiting from the famed North Ridge Route then crossing ver and heading down the South Col.

David’s original plan was to go from the north to the south…rest at South Basecamp for a few days then head back from South to North…a feat many considered suicide in one season and an attempt that has never even been done before.  But as fate would have it, David ended up having to break trail and fix ropes upon reaching the South side to finish his descent on his first attempt.  This process inevitably left David more tired than he had planned, and also allowed him time to rethink why it was that he was trying to do this.

David’s story, is a true revelation into a man’s soul as he fought with himself and ego and eventually decided that his climbing partner deserved all the credit…not himself.

Head on over to his site and check out the cool summit picture–just goes to show that David inevitably kept his one goal in mind.  While your there, feel free to check out his posts as he successfully became the first person from the UK and Europe to make a successful Traverse from Everest North to South.

Let’s not also forget that through David’s efforts this season, The climbers on the south were able to launch their bids for the summit–without him, they may not have had a chance till very late in May.  This was definately an incredible adventure!

Most of you that visit this site regularly will recognize Alan Arnette’s name.  I mention him frequently for his great coverage of the Mt. Everest Climbing seasons.  Alan is one of the few people that can actually continuously report from experience, as he has climbed Everest twice himself, which undoubtedly adds a new demention to his coverage.

Alan has also become a pretty close friend over the past year, always offering insight and perspective on concerns I might be having with my own reporting and Mt. Everest.  He has always opened up and even given me a few pointers from time to time.

Well Alan has decided to once again take up the challenge of embarking on a mission that will hopefully land him back on Everest in 2008.  Through the beginning of this mission, Alan will be setting higher and higher goals until he gets back to Everest…all in a test of mind, body, and spirit.

His first step to reaching his goal has officially kicked off…climbing Denali.

Alan has landed at basecamp with his team and is now heading on up to Camp 1.  In a special Audio dispatch from Denali, Alan goes into detail about the great weather and the views from where he is sitting, as well as him and his comrades partaking in a favorite “After-Climb” activity…drinking beer.  It is a great sounding dispatch.  Alan really makes you feel like you are right there with him on this journey.

Stop on by Alan’s site and keep posted on his latest updates.  This climb as well as alot of others coming up in the near future, including Everest will be dispatched live on his site.

Also keep in mind that Alan is climbing for a cause.  He is trying to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s research in hopes that a cure will soon be found.  If you would like to help support Alan and his cause, you may do so by clicking this banner.  Let’s all wish him a safe climb and return.  Climb On, Alan!