Snow traverse using crampons. Source: Flickr by ribekak.
For over 25 years Lonnie Dupre has been exploring the colder parts of our planet. Travelling by ski, kayak and dog sled, Lonnie has travelled over 14,000 miles across various regions of the Arctic. These expeditions include travelling across the North West passage, circumnavigating Greenland and two journeys to the North Pole.
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:With Australia’s John Hoelscher, Dupre dog sledded and kayaked the perimeter of [Greenland] covering 6517 miles all non-motorized in three visits. In being the first to round the island, the men dog sledded 3442 miles and kayaked 3075 miles.
When ‘PoleKitty’ left a comment on a post we wrote in February about the Gear needed to climb Ben Nevis, the name made us wonder if it was spam at first. We soon realised it wasn’t as we watched in awe at the sight of Kat pole dancing at the top of Ben Nevis, as part of the 3-Peaks Challenge. The video is below.
Once we’d watched the video we decided to contact Kat to find out more about this rather odd celebration at the top of Ben Nevis. We wanted to know what had driven her to do it, and if there was any other mad outdoor stunts she had done. Here is our interview with Kat ‘PoleKitty’ Humphrey, outdoor enthusiast & extreme pole dancer!
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:
A while back the UK coalition government announced the creation of the Big Society. It has been hailed as a way to give power to local communities and criticised as a way of introducing spending cuts. One potential drawback is that it could give more power to people who are intent on pushing their own financial agendas. But, what about us outdoor enthusiasts? Are there likely to be any positive or negative outcomes for hikers, climbers and mountaineers? There are certainly people out there who are not sympathetic towards walkers and climbers, and who may try to use it to hinder our activities. All is not bleak however, enter the BMC. The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) has recently published an article about how it intends to embrace the Big Society for the benefit of its members and the natural environment.
This weekend news headlines read “man falls 1000ft from mountain”, the mountain in question was Sgurr Choinnich Mor, around 5 miles east of Ben Nevis. The climber in question was Adam Potter, an experienced climber from Glasgow.
Sgurr Choinnich Mor, The Aonachs and Bealach Coire Easain - Source Flickr by pamilne
At 2.30pm on Saturday, just moments after reaching the summit Adam began to fall. As his friends looked on in horror Adam tumbled down the mountain 1000ft, approx 300m and 1/3 of the mountain’s height, glancing off 3 craggy outcrops. As he tumbled off each outcrop Adam must have felt almost like he was flying as he plummeted.
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:29
Oct
Earlier today it was announced that Ncell, the Nepalese Telecom firm, is currently installing eight 3G telephone masts along the route to base camp Mt. Everest. The highest mast will be located 17,000ft (5,200m) above sea level, meaning that the signal will be able to reach the summit of Everest.
mobile mapping may have to improve a little first.
This means that phone calls, texts, picture messaging and of course the internet will all be able to be accessed at the summit. That is of course if you want to risk taking your gloves off … though I dare say with this announcement there will be a company rubbing it’s hands in glee, for maybe they have a device that means the gloves can stay on and the hands stay toasty.
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:25
Oct
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation UIAA have produced an instructional video about ice climbing which they have posted on YouTube and is embedded below. It is called Basic Ice Climbing and is presented by four-time world champion ice climber Ines Papert. Considered the best female ice climber in the world, Ines Papert specialises in climbing frozen waterfalls, so she certainly has the necessary credentials for the ice climbing instruction.
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:Swiss Alpinist and speed climber Ueli Steck is famous for his fast and lightweight approach to the world’s hardest and highest mountains. Sponsored by Petzl, Scarpa, Leki and Mountain Hardware, Ueli Steck has set the speed record for the Matterhorn (1 hour 56 minutes), Grandes Jorasses (2 hours 21 minutes) and the North Face of the Eiger (2 hours 47 minutes). Has has also summitted Gasherbrum II (8035m) and soloed Makalu west pillar (8463m).
Speed climber Ueli Steck climbed the Matterhorn in 1 hour 56 minutes. Source: Flickr by Jeff Pang.
There are many mountainous regions in Afghanistan and prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979 it was a popular destination for climbers and mountaineers. In May 2009 the new democratic government created the Band-e-Amir National Park which it hopes will boost national tourism to the area. It should also help to encourage the international community to take adventure travel and hiking holidays in the spectacular and remote countryside of central Afghanistan.
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:The UIAA have announced the appointment of a new executive director. He is Ingo Nicolay, who is also the president of the Heilbronn Section of the DAV, the German alpine club.
Ingo Nicolay will be replacing former executive director, Judith Safford. UIAA stands for International Union of Alpine Associations, but the organisation is also known as the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation.
Related camping and outdoor news, reviews and advice:At this time we must express our gratitude to Ingo’s predecessor, Judith Safford, for all of her hard work in the past and we wish her all the best in the future.
