Winter Climb Update: Summit Bid Off For Now

It isn’t often that I publish two updates on the same expedition in the same day, but I feel that it it warranted in this case. Earlier I posted a story about the on going efforts of climbers to make the first successful winter climb on Gasherbrum I and how both the Polish team and Alex Txikon and Carlos Suarez were in the midst of a summit bid. Now, according to this story from ExWeb, both teams have retreated and are safely back in Base Camp, where they will decide on what to do next.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, a weather window was expected to arrive on GI starting tomorrow, and the climbers hoped to take advantage of it and move up to the summit. But apparently the winds didn’t die down as expected, and the teams were caught out in a maelstrom. The Poles were on their way up to Camp 3 when they decided it was too dangerous, while the other climbers were headed towards C2 at the time.

The question now is, what happens next. According to ExWeb, the teams will decide their respective fates tomorrow, and I suspect the weather forecast will be a major contributing factor. If another window is on the horizon, they may give it one more go. But if the weather is expected to remain bad, I’m guessing you’ll see them coming home. After two months on the mountain, they are surely exhausted and out of patience.

I’ll post an update on their decision when we get one, but for now it seems they’re huddling up in BC and attempting to figure out if they have any strength, or desire, for another round with the mountain.

Video: VIMFF Photo Contest Winners

Way back in December I posted a story about the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival photo competition that was being sponsored by Climb For Change. At the time, organizers for the contest were looking for submissions, but now the competition has wrapped up, and they’ve released a great video showing off the best entries. The video, which can be seen below, features some great photos and is a salute to not only the photographers who took them, but also adventurers across the planet as well. Enjoy!

Outside Investigates Explorers Club Flap

For several months now I’ve posted regular articles about the ongoing internal struggles at the Explorers Club – a venerable institution that seems to be facing a leadership crisis at the moment. I won’t rehash the entire story again here, but essentially there are several factions vying for control of the Club, with President Lorie Karnath, and her supporters in one corner and a host of detractors who claim she is running the organization for her own ends, in the other.

Earlier today, Outside magazine published a detailed account of the whole affair on their website. The article does a great job of looking at the issues and grievances from multiple perspectives, and offers what I feel is a balanced, objective look at the feud. Damon Tabor, the writer of the piece, spoke to multiple members of the Club, on both sides of the row, and has put together an article that covers the story thus far, about as well as you could expect.


Outside had access to Karnath herself, who gives her account of the current situation while repeatedly denying any wrong doing. She, and her supporters, say that she is acting in the best interest of the EC, while detractors say that she is alienating members and sponsors, while rewarding those who are loyal to her cause.

I can tell you that much of what is reported in the story is the same as I’ve heard before, and the author has even spoken to some of the same people that I have. Outside puts the entire power-struggle into perspective however, and gets “on the record” comments from more members. The result is an overall clearer image of what is happening inside the Club right now.

The next election for Explorers Club leadership is scheduled to take place in just a few weeks. On March 18th, members will have the opportunity to decide which direction the Club goes, and it should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Winter Climb Update: Gasherbrum Summit Bids Have Begun!

After weeks of preparation and hard work in the Himalaya, the teams on Gasherbrum I may finally be ready for the big payoff. The weather remains a bit difficult, and high winds are currently buffeting the higher camps on the mountain, but a window to the summit is expected to open starting tomorrow, and the climbers have now moved into position to take advantage of it.

The Polish squad started their ascent on Saturday and made it to Camp 1 by early afternoon. Presumably they climbed higher yesterday and today, and although there are no updated since they set out, we have to assume that they are positioned in Camp 3, where they are hoping for the winds to die down long enough to make their summit bid tomorrow. If all goes as planned, we could see history made with the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I.

Meanwhile, Alex Txikon and Carlos Suarez also moved up to Camp 1 yesterday and have plans to climb to C2 today. They are also getting themselves into position to make a summit bid, although it does seem like they are a bit behind the Poles on the ascent. Depending on how the weather patterns play out, they could be making their ascent at the same time however.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the proceeds over the next 24 hours and looking for updates. It seems that it is now or never on GI, as the winter season has been a long one and the days starting to run short. The climbers still have a few weeks until the official end of winter, but they may not have the strength to continue battling the elements at altitude. For now, we’ll just have to sit, wait, and watch how it all plays out.

If you’ve ever wondered what it is like during these high winds and winter storms, check out the video below. It was shot by the Polish team and gives you a good sense of what they’ve been dealing with. Yikes!

Brits Win 2012 Patagonian Expedition Race

While I was away playing in the snows of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula last week, a lot of things went down in the world of outdoor adventure. One of those was the completion of the 2012 Patagonian Expedition Race, which once again proved to be an amazingly challenging start to the adventure racing season.

As expected, the team of Adidas TERREX – Prunesco took first place for the fourth year in a row, completing the 375-mile course in 147 hours, 39 minutes. That gave them a comfortable win over second place winners Team EastWind, who finished nearly 12 hours behind at 159 hours, 25 minutes. Third place went to Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers, who crossed the finish line 162 hours and 31 minutes after starting.

At the closing ceremonies, race organizers announced that they had come up with a new way for endurance athletes to suffer in the beautiful Patagonian landscapes. On September 30th of this year, the first ever Patagonian International Marathon will take place in Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most spectacularly beautiful settings on the planet. More details are sure to follow, but this sounds like a marathon that a lot of outdoor-adventure athletes are going to want to take part in. Stay tuned for more.

Congratulations to all the teams that raced in this year’s Patagonian Expedition Race. But especially to the winners, who have now thoroughly dominated this race for the past four years. Considering how challenging the event is, that is one impressive feat.

Explorer Announces Great African Expedition

Explorer and adventurer Julian Monroe Fisher has announced his next expedition, and it is an ambitious one to say the least. Last year we followed Julian as he walked across Africa, and now he has plans to return to that continent, where he’ll undertake a multi-year, multi-expedition adventure that will take him to the deepest heart of the African wilderness.

Julian has dubbed his new project the Great African Expedition, and the plan is for him to spend the next five years following in the footsteps of some of the greatest explorers in history, while studying how the Ethnographic make-up of the continent has changed since the 19th century. During the Victorian Age, much of Africa was mapped and explored for the first time. Since then, the ethnic landscape has undergone dramatic transformations, and it should be fascinating to find out what has changed, and what has remained the same.

The first phase of the journey is set to get underway next month, when Fisher will travel overland from Cairo, Egypt to Khartoum, Sudan, along the Nile River. On that expedition, he will be tracing the path taken by British explorer Samuel White Baker back in 1861. When Baker took that route, there were a number of unique and distinct tribes living throughout that region, and Julian will be exploring what has happened to those tribes and the state of the ethnic make-up along the Nile in the 21st century.

The second phase of the expedition will take place later this year, and will begin in Khartoum, and will continue to follow the Nile southward into the new nation of South Sudan. From there, he’ll attempt to circumnavigate Lake Albert, before following the Lamia River into the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda. Along the way, he’ll continue his study of the changing, and evolving, Ethnographic landscape of Africa.

Fisher outlines the rest of the expedition on his website, where you’ll find information on each of the seven phases that he has planned. This will be a difficult and demanding project, as he intends to travel on foot, in dugout canoes, by camel, horse, and other non-motorized modes of transportation. But the Great African Expedition won’t just be a grand adventure, it should also be an important study of the current status of the ethnic make-up of that continent.

Upper Peninsula Bound!

I’m off on a short adventure of my own over the next few days. I’m headed to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a little fun in the snow. While there, I’m going to be snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and attending the World Ice and Snow Sailing Association’s Championship. The WISSA competition involves wind powered sleds flying across the ice at breakneck speeds, which of course, sounds like great fun.

For those unfamiliar with the Upper Peninsula, it is a fantastic wilderness destination that offers a lot to the outdoor enthusiast all year round. In the summer, it is great place to hike and camp, and since it falls on Lake Superior, paddlers will find plenty to do as well. The UP is one of those remote places that few people visit and many don’t even know exists, but it is truly one of the great outdoor locations in the entire U.S.

Of course, I’ll share more about the trip when I get back, and updates will likely be sporadic the rest of the week. Hope everyone is having their own adventures while I’m away.

Ultrarunners Set To Run The Planet

Two ultrarunners, one a legend in the sport, the other a neophyte, are set to launch an ambitious new television show entitled Run the Planet, which will send them to a variety of locations across the globe, where they will take part in a series of long distance running challenges.

Starting February 25th, New Zealander Lisa Tamati and Australian Chris Ord, will start the first of those challenges by attempting to run 126km (78.2 miles) between Hermannsburg and Alice Springs, in Australia. Along the way, they’ll cross that country’s famous Red Centre, where temperatures will routinely approach 40ºC/104ºF.

Lisa and Chris’ run will follow a famous route that was taken back in 1922, when an indigenous stockman named Hezekiel Malbunka covered the same distance in order to save the life of a missionary by the name of Carl Strehlow. At the time, Strehlow was in desperate need of medical attention, and someone needed to go to the telegraph station to request assistance. It was agreed that Malbunka could get there faster on foot than by horse, and he did so – in just a day and a half. Once he had completed his mission, the runner then turned around, and ran back to where he started, besting his old time by completing it in just a day. Fortunately, Tamati and Ord won’t have to make the return trip.

Their new show, Run the Planet, will put Tamati at center stage. As an ultrarunner, she has already completed some impressive runs, including traverses of most of the major deserts of the world. It is estimated that Lisa’s runs have covered enough distance to send her around the globe four times. Her partner, Ord, on the other hand, is new to the sport of ultrarunning, and over the episodes of the series, you’ll see him learn from Tamati, while building his own skills and level of endurance. In any given episode, the duo will be attempting runs of anywhere from 80km (49.7 miles) to 350km (217.4 miles), across a wide variety of terrain and under a host of conditions.

Exactly when the new show will begin airing is still up in the air, but my friends in Australia and New Zealand should definitely keep their eyes peeled. No word on whether or not it’ll cross the ocean to North America yet, but I’d certainly tune in.

Expreso De Los Andes 2012: They’re Off

Last week I mentioned that Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely, and the impossible2Possible crew were getting ready to launch their Expreso De Los Andes expedition, during which they’ll be spending the next few weeks running west to east across South America. The run did get underway as expected, and the athletes began by dipping their hand in the Pacific Ocean and then starting to head east. They’ll finish when they reach the Atlantic Ocean near Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The video below gives us glimpse of what their first day was like. They managed to cover 45km (28 miles), but after the find their rhythm, they hope to amp that up to closer to 70km (43.4 miles) per day. That isn’t going to be easy however, as the terrain will be very demanding, including a traverse over the Andes Mountains, and it is also incredibly warm where they are at right now. Still, Ray and Kevin are two very experienced endurance athletes, and if anyone can complete this run, it will be these two. It should be fun to follow their progress.

Afghanistan’s Secret Peaks 2012 Expedition Announced

A small team of climbers has announced an interesting expedition that is set to take place this summer in the Wakhan region of Afghanistan. Dubbed the Afghanistan’s Secret Peaks Expedition, the team hopes to trek the length of the remote Wakhan Corridor, visiting two unexplored valleys and attempting several first ascents along the way. Once summited, they also plan to paraglide from the top, giving them unique views of the unexplored territory below. Finally, they hope to document the entire journey on film as well.

The expedition, which is expected to begin in June of this year, is taking a “leave no trace” approach to exploring the rugged and beautiful Wakhan region. The team plans to travel in a carbon neutral fashion and hopes to minimize their impact on the environments that they are passing through. The use of the paragliders is part of that approach, as they’ll be used to take arial photographs and video footage along the way.

The Wakhan Corridor is located in the north-east corner of Afghanistan, and stretches between that country and China. It serves as boundary between Tajikistan to the north, and Pakistan to the south, and was once a popular trade route for merchant caravans traveling from the Far East to Europe. The area has a reputation for having unpredictable weather, matched with very rugged terrain, and there are parts of the area that have remained mostly inaccessible for centuries. With plenty of snowcapped mountain peaks, it is also a huge draw for climbers looking to bag virgin peaks.

For me personally, the Wakhan region remains on my list of “must visit” places. I’ve heard that it is breathtakingly beautiful and that the people that live there are friendly and accommodating. It has started to become a popular trekking destination, although visitors to the area still remain low. Obviously Afghanistan still has security issues in parts of the country, but adventure travelers with the means will have a fantastic time there. I really need to go!

Find out more about the Afghanistan’s Secret Peaks Expedition, and follow the team’s progress in a few months, on their official website.