The Next Big Thing: The Adventurist Teams Up With Adventure Sports Weekly

The old saying goes –when opportunity knocks, you had better answer the door.  Well, in a sense I have answered the door.  A couple of days ago Editor Wina Sturgeon from Adventure Sports Weekly contacted myself and was interested in discussing what I do here at The Adventurist.

After a lengthy discussion about our sites, our future goals, and what we are both looking to achieve, it became real evident that we have more than a little in common.

Adventure Sports Weekly is destined to not only be the first of it’s type on the Internet, but also a leader in the Adventure Sports industry.  Adventure Sports Weekly, the Brainchild of Editor Wina Sturgeon, who many of you might know through her extensive Olympic coverage for Sports Illustrated,  will be the first Online Magazine devoted solely to the Outdoor sporting world. 

I have been very open and straight-forward with all of you, my readers, about trying to put together the best site on the internet dealing with Adventure.  Keeping that in mind, we have decided in a sense to team-up.

Over the course of the next few days and weeks ahead The Adventurist and Adventure Sports Weekly will be sharing some content.  Their dedication to the sanctioned sports side of the outdoor world, IE..Mountain Bike Racing, BMX, Skateboarding, Climbing ect..will actually be bringing something to the table that I have desperately been wanting to add.  Adventure Sports Weekly offers top notch sporting news live from the field, allowing for exclusive coverage and content that just isn’t found anywhere else on the Internet.

I will also be working with Adventure Sports Weekly offering new articles, and maybe even a weekly column I have in the works in the world of Adventure.

This is a very exciting opportunity for myself personally.  I have dedicated myself to the Adventure world and writing.  With Adventure Sports Weekly I now have the opportunity to not only garner a bigger readership, but to also bring about a new direction….a bigger direction that hopefully will help build upon what I have already been able to do.

The adventure sporting field is getting ready to explode.  I have done this now for almost a year, and just about daily there are new sites emerging.  More coverage is being given in the media to these athletes that have pretty much remained under the table.  Just a couple of years ago, you would have never had the opportunity to see JEEP: King of the Mountain on a nationally televised program.  It is building.  It is growing.  More people are noticing and the money is slowly starting to come into these fantastic outdoors sports.

I am happy to say that I am very comfortable in knowing that I have aligned myself up with perhaps the leader in news coverage for these types of events.  Hopefully this relationship will flourish and all of us involved can bring even more exposure to the great athletes and sporting events throughout the years to come.

So what exactly does Adventure Sports Weekly bring to the table?

• It is ran by one of the top Sports Journalists in the world.  Editor Wina Sturgeon has written for Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, to only name two.  She has nearly 40 years of experience at being at the top of the game.  She knows how to do things, and do them right.
• Experience.  Being a leader in the sports writing industry, Wina Sturgeon brings her vast knowledge to a growing field.  She automatically brings  her credibility and dedication to an area that has been lacking in national coverage.
• National Coverage.  Simply put.
• Adventure Sports Weekly is currently the only publication of its kind on the Internet.  It is new with a very big potential in the future to not only lead the way, but to be THE way.
• Future.  Adventure Sports Weekly is currently developing a system to bring top-notch video coverage of these sporting events as they happen–this will make it not only the leader in the Adventure Sports industry, but will also raise the bar on what the internet can bring to you, the viewers.
• Credibility.  I have been straight-forward in telling all of you my eventual goals of writing in this industry full-time.  This gives me a great opportunity to work with some of the best people in the industry and hopefully build on what I have already been able to accomplish.  It is a fantastic opportunity and one that I never would have been able to do without all of the continued support and guidance from you, my readers.  So THANK-YOU very much!
• Oh yeah– and Lastly, Adventure Sports Weekly is FREE.  Can’t get much better than that.  All the great news coverage and articles are completely free to you the reader.  Eventually this will also include the great video coverage that is currently in developement.

I am hoping to recieve your continued support and that you will enjoy what the future has in store.  The Adventurist will still be covering everything it normally does…with a bonus of adding new content from time to time from some very special events.  Also, if you enjoy my writing, keep your eyes peeled to Adventure Sports Weekly, as I will be bringing some further exciting articles their way in the very near future.  Let’s all show Adventure Sports Weekly our support in what they are trying to achieve and welcome them in to The Adventurist family.

Summit Stones: Giving Back Adventure Joy

DSD over at Summit Stones & Adventure Musings has been embarked on a quest to bring a little bit of light to all of us Adventurers.  The mission is what it is..

DSD has seemingly been placing these very artistic stones where ever the adventure takes us..and part of the fun is discovering where they are found….Somehow DSD gets there first…haha

Nobody is really sure who DSD is..the website is pretty vague, only giving in to the cause:

My ‘Profile’…?

After being asked about this a few times in comments, I still am of the opinion that my profile is really not what this Blog is about…

I’m simply another average adventurer you might meet out on the trail, see wandering across the backcountry, maybe say hi to as we paddle towards each other, or share a few jokes at a common belay station…

What DSD does though, on the site, is emblazen that adventure spirit in all of us.  Those brightly colored stones, when found, become something more…a piece of an adventure….a wondering of who…it drives us to get out and find another, wondering where the story will lead.

The stones have been found in various places of adventure…mountain tops, trails, ect., and now these findings are also making their way across the web.

A recent topic in a forum on Outdoorsy.com brings this search and findings to light.  It is entitled “A Summit Stone.”

It is nice to know someone like DSD exists.  Someone who has embarked on the challenge of giving back something they consider small, yet has such a big place in our hearts.

As if the Summit Stones are not enough, DSD has also put together a very well written Website discussing this journey of Adventure that we all share.  Here is just a small piece…

Adventure is not just about the choice of activity, nor only about wilderness talent, or just one’s outdoor skills, and is not really at all about age… I used to think that to be an adventurer it was necessary to bag summits, count climbs, record stats, accumulate kayak exploits, even tally up many epics… but that kind of collecting, while serving a purpose, doesn’t always sustain us…

Adventure can be about being the person you want to be in a geographic place… as in what we may find in Geomancy… and that gets us closer to the essence of being an adventurer… as in what is reflected in our attitudes, desire, enthusiasms, and motivations… These things are more about energy, feelings, and emotions…

The next time you are wanting a heightening of spirits–something to really make you think—something to give you that new, refreshing bit of drive….head on over to Summit Stones and Adventure Musings, you won’t be disappointed.

The next time you are heading up that trail or looking over that mountain, remember that all great things won’t be seen above…take a momment to look down…perhaps you will even find a Summit Stone at your feet…

The Adventurist: A Call to All Outdoor Writers and Photographers!

I have just put the finishing touches on a new “Submit & Contact” Page here at The Adventurist.  I am hoping that this new feature will be accepted and used by all of my great readers.

This page goes into detail about a few things I am looking for here at The Adventurist–and ways you might be able to get involved.

Do you love Adventure Writing or perhaps Great Outdoors Photography?–Help me share your incredible talents with a much bigger audience!

Head on Over to the “Submit & Contact” Page, found on a tab right up above this article, and Share your Adventures with the World!

Also, if you are looking to put me to work, there is info there as well….

Cheers-

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

Massive Summit Push For Broad Peak is a Success!!

 

Trying to outrun an approaching storm system on Broad Peak, many climbers combined their efforts yesterday for one final push–landing them on the summit!

The Broad Peak summit was reached at 12:30 pm local time by the “Al Filo” Team and members are now trying to race down the mountain in a speed descent to try to reach Camp 3 before nightfall.

The successful summiters on Broad Peak include:

• Silvio “Gnaro” Mondinelli
• Marco Confortola
• Ivan Vallejo
• Gerlinde Kaltenbruner
• Ralf Dujmovits
• Fabio Iacchini
• Edurne Pasaban
• as well as others that are awaiting verification.

Over 70 people took off yesterday for this massive summit push, making there way through very cold tempertures and rising winds.

Silvio Mondinelli Bags 14th 8,000 Meter Peak

With Silvio’s successful summit of Broad Peak, he now becomes the 13th person in the world to land on top of the 14 tallest peaks. He also becomes the sixth person to do so without the use of supplemental O2 along his journey.  Two other Italians, Reinhold Messner and Sergio Martini have also mastered the 14 8,000 meter peaks.

Two More Closing In

Ivan Vallejos and Ralf Dumojvits have both been to Broad Peak before, but each of them stand a pretty good chance of accomplishing their respective goals of reaching the tops of all 14 8,000 meter peaks as well.  Ivan Vallejos now only needs Dhauligiri to complete his quest and Dumojvits is currently standing at 10 peaks.

Women Closing in as Well

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the leading lady on the quest for 14 8,000 meter peaks has made Broad Peak her tenth.  Edurne Pasaban is sitting one below with 9 at this momment.

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the crafty Austrian, has accomplished her 10 successful summits without any supplementary O2.  She is married to the previously mentioned Ralf Dujmovits and between them now own 22 8,000 meter summits.

A Little Broad Peak History

Broad Peak stands at 26, 400 feet and measures up as the 12th highest peak in the world and the fourth highest in Pakistan.  It was originally labeled K3, and sits along the Pakistan-China Border.  It’s first ascent came on June 9, 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemburger, and Hermann Buhl, all members of an Austrian Expedition put together by Marcus Schmuck.

Hermann Buhl and Kurt Diemburger were subsequently killed 18 days later while trying to ascend a nearby peak, Chogolisa on June 27, 1957.

BREAKING NEWS: DHAULAGIRI AVALANCHE CLAIMS RICARDO VALENCIA AND SANTIAGO SAGASTE, TWO OTHERS SURVIVE

ExplorersWeb has posted that Ricardo Valencia and Santiago Sagaste were killed today in an avalanche on Dhaulagiri.

The avalanche occured at Camp 2 as the spanish expedition, the only expedition still at Dhaulagiri, were waiting out a storm at Camp 2 to proceed to the summit–

The Avalanche swept down as Valencia and Sagaste were in their tents waiting out the storm. 

Two other members of the Spanish Expedition, Javi Serrano and Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbruner survived the ordeal in their tents only a couple of meters away but did lose all of their climbing gear and supplies in the process.

Serrano and Kaltenbruner were helped down Dhaulagiri by two more spanish expedition team members that were stationed at Camp 1.

The team had launched a bid for the summit on Friday but got caught in a storm and were in the process of waiting it out before they proceeded.

The Adventurist would like to offer it’s condolences to the family, friends, and associates of these two lost climbers.  Our Prayers are with you tonight and in the coming days.

More Details of Sergio Della Longa’s Death on Dhaulagiri

EverestNews has recieved a letter from a teammate of Sergio Della Longa’s about his tragic death on Dhaulagiri April 30.

This letter is very heartbreaking.  In part, Sergio was within 100 meters of the famed Dhaulagiri summit, climbing alongside his wife, when he slipped and fell, hitting his head upon a rock that killed him instantly.

The rest of the letter goes in to detail about Sergio’s wife and her fight to stay on the mountain with him–even with hands that were frostbitten black. 

Sergio’s team was finally able to coax her down, giving up their summit attempts in the process.

It is a very hard account of what happens when things go wrong so fast.  I suggest all of you read this today and keep his family and teammates in your prayers.

David Sharp HAD to Die on Everest

People die on Mt. Everest.  That is a fact.  In fact until the last few years the statistic was that for every four people to make the summit, one would die.  In recent times (the 2007 Everest climbing season involves close to 1,000 individuals) that number has grown to one in twenty.

Last season brought the tragic death of David Sharp and the controversy of climbers not helping a fellow climber in need to the forefront of media institutions around the world.  Perhaps this is because people never  really knew what went on at 28,000 ft. or they never really thought about it until the media picked up the story.

I am not going to go in to detail on what happened to David Sharp.  By now the world over knows this story and  a year later it still lingers in the minds and bemoans an outpouring of controversy.  Everyone has an opinion.  I will leave it at that.

What I would like to mention is that David Sharp has not been the only climber to be left behind.  It has happened before and more than likely it will happen again.  Read more

Dhaulagiri Claims Life of Italian Climber Sergio Dalla Longa

ExplorersWeb is reporting the tragic news today that Italian Climber Sergio Dalla Longa has perished on Dhaulagiri.

The accident occured Sunday, April 29, 2007, after Sergio had climbed within meters of the famed Dhaulagiri summit.  He slipped on the icy surface and subsequently hit his head in the fall resulting in his death.

Sergio Dalla Longa was climbing with a team led by Mario Merelli.

Details of the accident are finally beginning to trickle through the Italian Press.

Merelli’s Italian team had split in to two groups and was opting for a summit bid Sunday.  Dalla Longa was a member of the first group along with Stephano Magri.

A few meters from the Dhaulagiri Summit, Sergio Dalla Longa’s crampon had slipped and in the ensuing fall, he hit his head and neck killing him instantly.

Sergio Dalla Longa’s brother, Marco, also perished while climbing Nanda Devi in 2005. 

Sergio’s tragic death, brings the number to 4 of climber’s whose deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.  You may read about the other three, in the two previous posts found under this one.

As always with a death in the climbing community, The Adventurist website has switched from it’s normal blue color, to black in a sign of mourning and respect to our fallen brothers and sisters, for the next three days.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Sergio Dalla Longa’s family, friends and associates on this tragic event, as well as to the other three climbers lost in the past 24 hours.

Dhauligiri Summiter, Jorge Egocheaga, Evacuated from Basecamp

The Second Dhauligiri Summiter this season, Jorge Egocheaga, has been medically evacuated from Dhauligiri Basecamp.  His evacuation came about after he was hit by an avalanche and subsequently fell into a crevasse while descending.

The Avalanche and the fall into the crevasse wasn’t the reason for the Medic Evac though.  It seems that during his journey down Dhauligiri, Egocheaga recieved a pretty bad case of frostbite.

His partner and the First summiter of Dhauligiri this season, Inaki Ochoa, is also suffering from a much lesser case of frostbite as well.

For more on this story, head on over to ExplorersWeb.  Ochoa talks about their conditions and the subsequent medical Evacuation of his partner Jorge Egocheaga.

Spanish Climber Inaki Ochoa claims Dhaulagiri Summit, Himilayan Summit Push is On!

Spanish climber Inaki Ochoa claimed the first summit of Dhaulagiri this season with his partner climber Jorge Egocheaga claiming the second, thirty minutes later.  Romanian climber Horio Colibasanu was traveling with the pair but had to descend due to health reasons.

The two set off yesterday from BC and had made their summit by 3 pm local time today.  Dhaulagiri marks Ochoa’s 12th  8,000 meter peak with Annapurna next on his list in the foreseeable future.

Other teams on Dhaulagiri are also lining up to make a summit bid, but they are waiting till the snow and high winds die down before making their attempt.

The team had actually retreated down Dhaulagiri a couple of days ago due to bad weather setting in, but a slight break yesterday made them reevaluate the situation and perform a speed summit attempt.