Iditarod 2009: Lance Mackey Captures Third Title

Lance Mackey has proven once again that he is the dominate force when it comes to the “Last Great Race.”  His third title in three years didn’t come without a fight, though.  The Adventure Blog takes a look at the 2009 Iditarod challenge and offers an inside look at some of the people who may be challenging Mackey’s superiority in the years to come.

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Audio Of Lance Mackey’s 2009 Iditarod Win

The Iditablog  The Iditarod’s ‘Official’ Blog

Eco Everest Expedition 2009: Apa Sherpa Shooting For 19th Everest Summit

Ang Tshering Sherpa, the Chairman and Founder of Asian Trekking, has released new information about his company’s upcoming Eco Everest Expedition to Mt. Everest.  This expedition has gained some critical acclaim over the past couple of seasons on Mt. Everest for the environmental awareness and impact that the company is having, not only on Everest, but on the climbers as well.

In a special letter to Alan Arnette, Ang Tshering Sherpa highlights what the expedition will be doing on Mt. Everest this upcoming season and confirms a rumor that I had heard a few weeks back.

The Eco Everest Expedition 2009 will be used as a basis to once again help bring trash down from Mt. Everest.  Climbers and staff involved in this expedition will be paid per kilo of trash brought down, and will also be spreading the word to climbers and expedition leaders about the benefits of Clean Mountain Cans and Restop bags–a few ways that climbers can help benefit the clean-up of Mt. Everest by not leaving any human waste on their own expeditions.  It is thought that over the course of almost 100 years of Mt. Everest expeditions, that there has been over 50 tons of trash left behind on the world’s highest peak.  Eco Everest plans to change that.

Ang Tshering Sherpa also confirmed that Apa Sherpa will be going for his 19th summit attempt on Mt. Everest this season.  Some of you may remember Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa’s famed SuperSherpas Expedition from 2007.  Apa captured his 18th summit in 2008, and will be trying to break his own record for the human with the most Everest summits to his name.  The Adventurist wishes Apa Sherpa and the whole Eco Everest team the best of luck in their upcoming 2009 Eco Everest Expedition.

Jon Bowermaster: Exploring The Maldives

Jon Bowermaster, famed National Geographic explorer and adventurer, has left the confines of Antarctica to explore the warmer climates of The Maldive Islands.  The Maldives comprise of roughly 1,190 islands scattered across 500 miles of pristine ocean.

Jon will be surveying the area that many claim will be the first to sink into the Oceans if the oceans’ water continues to rise.  Jon hints that a new documentary may be in the works for this project later this year.  He will be studying the effects of the rising waters on the environment, as well as the nearly 400,000 people that call these islands home.

Jon first came in touch with The Maldives while reporting on tsunamis last year for the New York Times.  The original plans included making a documentary about the devastation that a tsunami can bring to these island nations.  In recent months interest has shifted to the alarming rate that the water is rising around these islands.  The water is rising so fast, in fact, the President of The Maldives is looking into purchasing land in another country so that his people have a place to go if, indeed, the islands do sink.  That’s a pretty scary thought!

Jon Bowermaster will be giving daily reports and blog posts from The Maldives, giving us some insight into what Jon is seeing and his thoughts on this devastating situation.  You can follow along with Jon at his “Notes From Sea Level“, or at his personal blog:  http://www.jonbowermaster.com.

National Park Gun Law Shot Down

A federal judge has blocked a law allowing concealed weapons in our nation’s parks.  The law was passed last year, under President George W. Bush, in an effort to bring State and Federal laws on concealed weapons in parks on a more even keel.  Some states allowed them, some didn’t.  Under federal law, concealed weapons were restricted in all National Parks, while many state parks allowed for the practice.  Under President Bush’s law, concealed weapons were legalized on Jan. 9th, as long as they did not violate any state laws on the matter.  Confused?

From “The Daily Dirt Blog” at Backpacker Magazine:

“Kollar-Kotelly issued her ruling after the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees filed suit claiming the Bush administration violated several existing laws in their rush to allow guns in national parks. The judge agreed, calling the government’s process in passing the regulation “astoundingly flawed.”

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling may upset the more than 41 million gun owners and NRA advocates, while also offending the U.S. Justice Department.  The U.S. Justice Department was hoping to be able to block any ruling against the concealed weapons law.  So far, that hasn’t happened.  Anyone else feel like this might be setting the stage for a big Supreme Court showdown?  Nobody appreciates a good duel more than a gun owner…

Lance Armstrong Injured In Cycling Crash

7-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong has been hospitalized following a cycling accident in Spain.  Armstrong was taking part in the Castillo and Leon cycling event as a warm-up to the Giro d’Italia and a return attempt at the Tour de France.  Lance Armstrong’s crash came about 20 kilometers from the finish of the first stage and involved close to 20 cyclists.  Unconfirmed reports are suggesting that Lance Armstrong may have suffered a broken collarbone in the accident.  If that unfortunate news is true, this incident could hamper Lance’s bid for the 2009 Tour de France.  Team Astana, whom Lance is riding for this year, has not publicly stated what Lance’s injuries are.

Lance Armstrong was forced to retire from cycling in 1998 following a bout with testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs.  Two years later, Lance would come out of retirement and go on an unprecented winning streak at the Tour de France, cycling’s most prestigious event.  He would win seven Tour de France’s before abruptly retiring for a second time in 2007.

In 2009, after spending the past two years spreading the word about his Livestrong Foundation, Lance would find himself coming out of retirement once more to join the ranks of where he originally found his greatness.  Lance has been riding some ‘warm-up’ races–including the Tour Down Under, but what people are truly waiting for is his return to the Tour de France.  People want to know if a 37 year-old Lance Armstrong can still ride with the younger generation of cycling athletes.  Let’s hope that this injury doesn’t hamper Lance’s comeback and eventual return to the Tour.

The Smell of Fear

A new study (we love new studies, don’t we?) suggests that ‘fear’ can actually be smelled and carries it’s own scent.  From Yahoo News:

“Moviegoers might want to scoff a bit less when characters talk about the scent of fear. Women exposed to fear chemicals in male sweat tended to see ambiguous faces as being more fearful, according to a new study.

Such research shows for the first time how even the smell of fear can affect how people interpret what they see right in front of them. That fits with previous studies showing that visual and facial cues can affect human emotion and interpretation - but mainly when the situation seems uncertain.”

How did this conclusion come about?  48 women were given the task of sniffing gauze dripping in man sweat.  I know.  That was a delightful use of words.  The guys wiped their sweat on the gauze as they watched horror flicks and comedy movies.  The ones that were used during the horror movies had a distinctly different smell than those that didn’t.

This study leaves the door open for plenty of comments and trickery.  My first question was “Who the heck sweats during movies?”  Followed by..”Did these guys actually keep the gauze where they were suppose to?”  Go ahead, laugh.  Being a 35 year-old male with an appreciation for adolescent humor, I would only get myself in trouble in this situation.  By the way, who would sign up to sniff man sweat??  My wife almost disowns me if I don’t shower by noon…

The next time you run that 2 miles before dark, ask yourself–”Was it really a good workout?  Or were you just scared?”  The answer may surprise you..

By the way, if this study is true, that there really is a scent of fear, it could explain why bears, sharks, tigers, snakes, etc. will attack without being totally provoked.  Just something to think about next time you run across that vicious bear in the woods…

How Much Does It Cost To Climb The 7 Summits?

Stewart Green, over at the About.com Climbing blog, has written an interesting article explaining the costs associated with climbing the 7 summits, and how much you might have to spend to have the opportunity to accomplish this grand feat.

His article looks at the costs associated with going on guided climbs to each of the seven summits-the highest peak on each of the seven continents. The prices may surprise you. Stewart’s total? $170,250.

That price may seem scary, but you have to remember that the Seven Summits is a few years in the making–also, Mt. Everest–with Stewart’s figuring–costs $65,000 alone. His total also includes all equipment, travel fair, and training courses needed for such a large endeavor.

Stewart doesn’t list what guiding companies his prices come from. Everest, in particular, has a vast pricing range depending on the company, and can be had for less than $30,000 if you are willing to give up some of the ‘extras’.

All-in-all it is a pretty interesting breakdown of what the total costs of climbing the 7 summits can be. You can read Stewart’s About.com article to learn more..

Alpinist Magazine: New Editor-in-Chief Brings New Change? Some thoughts..

Alpinist Magazine is slated to relaunch in April. Speculation on what the classic climbing magazine will be doing differently the second time out has been circulating since it was purchased by Height of Land Publications in January. The company that took the risk to rescue Alpinist from the bankruptcy bin–and made a very reasonable purchase at auction of all of Alpinist’s assets–had previously stated that the magazine would be very close to it’s first incarnation.

A statement has been released on the Alpinist website that may suggest otherwise:

“Height of Land Publications, the independent publisher of Alpinist, Backcountry and Telemark Skier Magazines, announced today the well-known climber and editor Michael Kennedy will join Senior Editor Katie Ives to relaunch Alpinist Magazine. Issue 26 ships to subscribers, shops and newsstands April 15

Founded by Christian Beckwith and Marc Ewing and operated in Jackson, Wyoming, until the autumn of last year, the quarterly Alpinist features a timeless, clean design with minimal ads. Publishing only the highest quality and most authentic climbing art and writing, Alpinist portrays the essence of the climbing life, inspired by an ethos of beauty, purity and style, and a dedication to help preserve the natural world that makes all adventures possible. “

New Alpinist Editor-And-Chief Michael Kennedy’s previous experience in the climbing publications realm includes more than two decades as editor and publisher of Climbing magazine. He sold that publication in 1997. During his tenure at Climbing magazine, Michael overseen the transformation of that publication into a world leader of climbing news and information, making it the largest circulated climbing publication in the United States and possibly the world. Not bad.

People involved in climbing and adventure publications are already starting to speculate what Michael will bring to the table and what changes might be made to the classic Alpinist publication. Dougald MacDonald, on his The Mountain World blog, is speculating that Alpinist magazine will take the shape of the old Climbing magazine, as well as feature something that had become synonymous with Alpinist. The magazine relaunch may include ads for the first time.

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Everest 2009: The Alan Arnette Interviews, Everest: Beyond the Limit III, Russell Brice, and More…

Momentum for the 2009 Spring Everest climbing season continues to build.  Information about the upcoming season began filtering out back in February and more news and information is being released on an almost daily basis.   I am going to try to put together a quick run-down of what we can expect for the upcoming Everest climbing season.   Continue reading for the latest news and information.

Everest: Beyond the Limit Returns For Season III (With a twist.)

I have already mentioned the return of Everest: Beyond the Limit in a previous post, but new information has come to light that the successful Discovery Channel series will be changing things up a bit for 2009.

Two big changes could have a profound effect on the overall series and give everyone a glimpse into a different aspect of climbing Mt. Everest.  For the first time in the series history, all the action will be taking place from the South Side of Everest.  Everest’s South Side is famous for the Khumbu Icefall…perhaps the single deadliest feature on Everest.  Besides that, you also have the Hillary Step that climbers will be trying to scramble over and around during their bids for the summit.

Discovery Channel has opted to go the South Col route after China has once again made allegations that the North side of Everest could be closed off to climbers till at least April 1st.  When China closed the North side last season (for the famed Olympic Torch summit bid), Discovery Channel and HiMex were forced to suspend the Everest: Beyond the Limit series due to logistical issues for the South that the team did not have time to address.  Rather than go through the same problems this time around, a decision was made to opt for the South and climb from Nepal.

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Mission Impossible: Camping with Tom Cruise

This is bound to get a few laughs.

The Daily Dirt, one of the fantastic blogs at Backpacker Magazine, has recently reported that Tom Cruise will be taking his family on an extended vacation after he is finished promoting his latest flick: Valkryie.  Generally this isn’t news of the outdoors type–but good ‘ol Tom has promised to show his daughter Suri what a real vacation is about by taking her and wife Katie Holmes camping across America–Yes, I said CAMPING.

Tom has promised not to resort to the everyday luxuries of being a movie star–the plush hotels.  He is planing on doing the real deal.  Sort of.

Tom’s idea of camping involves taking his family, a team of security guards, and the always needed Scientology advisor on a family vacation that they will never forget.  One has to wonder if Tom will be ‘camping’ in the same sense that I do–a backpack, tent, sleeping bag, and various dried foods..or if he might be rolling up to the nearest Jellystone Park campground in his ultra-decked out, customized tour bus.

The bodyguards might battle the bears, an occasional cougar, or even a happy throng of autograph seeking seniors for Tom, the Scientology advisor will probably be battling all the demons (and aliens) of a Hollywood life…and Tom, well…he may just decide that pitching a tent with Katie could be quite the “Risky Business” away from the confines of his celebrity life.  With this outfit, Suri is sure to experience the outdoors at it’s best.  Way to represent your peeps, Tom.  Goose would be proud if he were still alive.

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