Polar Explorers Wanted!!

Okay, who is ready to go on a polar adventure? According to this story over at Wide World Mag, arctic explorer and environmentalist Jim McNeill is putting together a team of novice adventurers to make an expedition to the North Pole of Inaccessibility in January 2010, and he's hoping that he'll find 28 people willing to go on a leg of the journey.

The Pole of Inaccessibility is defined as the furthest point from land on the Arctic Ocean, and as of now, it has never been reached by man. It is one of the most desolate and inhospitable places on the planet, and as such, it holds an allure for an adventurer.

The plan is to recruit 28 people to join McNeill as he makes the 800 mile journey to the Pole. These recruits will be broken down into four teams of seven, and each of those teams will take part in a 200 mile leg across the ice. Along the way, they'll take reading of the health of the ice and determine the effects of global climate change on north polar regions.

Anyone interested in joining the team should go to this website where they'll find more information on the expedition. You can also read the initial press release from a few days back as well, which has some insights into what is expected. And when you're ready to join the team, download this .PDF document which will answer most of the questions and tell you how to get involved.

Looks like another amazing adventure. Anyone want to sign up? We can go together and laugh at all those fools that are going to the Geographic North Pole. Pfft! Wimps! ;)

Primal Quest News: Nike Out of the Race!

More big news for fans of adventure racing today as it has been announced that Team Nike has pulled out of Primal Quest Badlands. This comes on the heels of the news that Robyn Benincasa, the captain for Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure is also not racing in South Dakota in a few weeks, as she has undergone surgery on her hip and will not be ready in time. These two pieces of news change the landscape for the other teams competing in the race however, and guarantee that we'll see someone new at the top of the leaderboard.

Late last week Mike Kloser, the captain of Nike, was in a terrible accident on his mountain bike. The crash sent him to the hospital with five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a collapsed lung. Mike faces a long recovery period at this point, and will be healing up for awhile, so with superman on the shelf for Primal Quest, the rest of the team decided to not try to replace him (as if you could!) and gave up the opportunity to defend their title. It should be noted that Nike has won all five of the previous Primal Quest races, so their absence completely opens the door for other teams to make a move at the top spot.

One of those teams is of course Merrell, who have generally finished just behind Nike on the podium. That won't be the case this year, but without Robyn, how will they fare? Benincasa will be replaced by Denise McHale, who is an experienced endurance athlete, and was part of Team Peak Adventure last year in Montana, and she will no doubt be a worthy addition to the team. Can Merrell finally break through and claim victory in the Badlands, or is there a younger, hungrier, and faster team lurking in the shadows?

The news that Nike is out and Merrell is racing without Robyn is really interesting, as it means that we'll have a real shake-up at the top of the leaderboard. There are some very experienced and fast teams coming to the Badlands when the race kicks off on the 14th of August, and I can't help but think they'll be even more energized with the thought that the race is completely up for grabs this year. It's definitely going to be fun to watch, and exciting too, as we find out who will emerge as the new contender for Nike's crown.

Personally, I hope Robyn and Mike both get better soon, and I'd like to see them racing again ASAP. But their rather large shadows loomed over Primal Quest, and now the stage is set for others to step up and have a run at winning "the World's Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition". I can't wait to watch it all unfold.

The Rest of Everest Episode 109: 2 Steps Up, 5000 Steps Down!

The Rest of Everest is back on track with regular episodes coming our way. Last week we jumped back into the Annapurna IV climb, where Ben Clark and Josh Butson are continuing their attempt to summit the mountain, and then make the first ski descent on their return to Base Camp.

This week, we're up to Episode 109: 2 Steps Up, 5000 Steps Back Down, where we get to spend a fair amount of time in the tent with the climbers, as they discuss their approach to going up Annapurna IV and share their experiences getting to high camp, and within striking distance of the summit. The plan at this point was to rest up in the tent and go for Camp 3 the following day, but weather extended the stay in the tent at C2.

The episode shows an aspect of mountaineering that you don't often see. The days of waiting for a weather window, and preparing to take advantage of any opportunity you can get. Fortunately, the next day dawns clear and bright, and it looks like next episode will have the boys on the move again.

Get the latest episode from the website here, or from iTunes here.

Mad Way South - Kiting Across the Sahara!

Here's a cool story that I found over at the Adventure World Magazine website. It's about four guys, two from New Zealand, two from Australia, who are planning on racing across the Sahara Desert using sand buggies pulled along by kites.

The expedition is called Mad Way South, and it is scheduled to get underway on August 3rd from Northern Morocco and continue through Western Sahara, Mauritania, and finally ending in Dakar, Senegal.. The four kiters, Geoff Wilson, Steve Gurney and Craig Hansen, will be crossing more than 1550 miles of open desert, in their attempt to become the first people to make the journey completely by wind power.

Once they get underway next week, you'll be able to follow along online as they update their blog throughout the journey. You'll also learn more about the team, their sponsors, and more.

As of the last update, the entire team had gathered in London, and were preparing to depart for Morocco. They were finalizing the packing of their gear and anticipating being on the sand next Monday, when the journey officially begins.

Karakorum 2009: K2 Teams Join Forces, Summit Push Begins Tomorrow!

More news from the Karakorum today, where persistent teams are still hoping to reach the summit of K2, but the mountain isn't going to give up her prize easily. Meanwhile, another summit push is underway on Gasherbrum I as well.

ExWeb has the latest news from K2, where we learn that the remaining teams all came together for a meeting where they decided it was best if they all joined forces to try to tackle the mountain together. There are still a number of strong climbers who are hoping to summit on the mountain, including Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, who is seeking her 13th 8000m peak, as well as Maxut Zhumayev and Vassiliy Pivtsov, the two amazing Kazakh climbers who have made some of the more daring climbs over the past few years. According to the story, the combined teams will begin their summit push tomorrow, climbing one camp per day until they make their summit bid. That would put them on top around Monday or Tuesday of next week.

The Field Touring Alpine Team returned from their summit bid a few days back, and posted some thoughts on the climb, which didn't result in any successful summits. The noted that there were high winds up top, and that there are no fixed ropes above Camp 3 as of yet, which made it very dangerous and challenging for everyone. Their current plan is to rest up for a few days and reevaluate their chances, before deciding if and when they'll make their next bid. Chances are, they may be heading up tomorrow with the rest of the teams.

The weather looks good into early next week, and it seems like it is now or never, but the mood is a bit somber on K2 as we approach the one year anniversary of the tragedy that claimed 13 lives. You know that more than one of the climbers will be thinking about that as they head up this weekend.

Jumping over to the Gasherbrums, another round of summit attempts are underway as well. There are currently teams at various points on both GI and GII, with an eye on reaching the top in the next few days as well. One of the teams still on the mountain is the Altitude Junkies, but their latest dispatch indicates that they won't be there much longer. Team leader Phil Crampton says that it has snowed for three days straight on GII and that conditions are just too dangerous higher up for them to take any chances. They've elected to pack it in and come home rather than take any more risks. They also say that the weather forecast doesn't look good in the days ahead, so hopefully the other climbers on both GI and GII are keeping an eye on the weather as well.

That's about it for these two mountains. Activity is underway on both, with the hopes of summits soon, but weather is always dicey in the Karakorum. It's possible that we won't see any more summits this year, as the time is beginning to run short. Good luck to everyone in the next few days!

The Gear Junkie Gives Us the Best of OR

The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market was held last week, with the top gear manufacturers gathering in Salt Lake City to unveil their new products with all the latest advancements on display. Of course, the Gear Junkie was on hand to check out everything new and report back to us on all the cool stuff we'll need to make room for in our gear closets later this year.

A few of the items that caught is eye were new packs from Osprey and Jansport, a new Half-Dome tent from REI, a pocket survival kit from Adventure Medical Kits, and of course the second generation SPOT Messenger.

Of course, that's just a sample of the new gear that was shown off at OR. Personally, I'm interested in the new jacket technology from Klymit that inflates at the push of a button, injecting Argon gas into tiny cells which creates insulation for all of our cold weather activities.

So what did you see at the show that caught your eye? Anything truly revolutionary?

Primal Quest Comes To HDNet

Adventure racing fans looking to get their fix this summer will be able to tune into HDNet in a few weeks to catch Primal Quest Montana shown in it's full high-definition glory. The race is set to begin airing on Saturday, August 8 at 10:30 AM ET and again at 2:30 PM ET, and will run for four consecutive weekends.

The four, half-hour long episodes will retell the story of last year's Primal Quest, which took place in the beautiful Montana mountains. The 60 coed teams of four raced across a 500+ mile course that featured plenty of altitude, wicked white water, and crazy action from start to finish. The usual adventure racing disciplines are on display, with plenty of running, mountain biking, and kayaking of course, but these endurance athletes will also take on a river boarding course, a tough orienteering section, and a world-class rock climbing wall.

I've seen all the episodes already, and they are excellent. I haven't seen them in HD however, so I'm looking forward to rewatching them on HDNet, who have some of the best picture quality around. The amazing footage, caught by a crack team of cameramen, is going to look amazing, and I know everyone on the PQ team is excited to have the race shown in the States in high-def for the first time.

Primal Quest Montana begins airing the week before Primal Quest Badlands, which is set to take place in South Dakota beginning on the 14th of August. The course this year is going to be longer and tougher than ever, with more than 600 miles of trail to cover. And watch for a BIG announcement coming in the next few days that will change up the leaderboard heading into Primal Quest. This year's race is going to be the most competitive yet!

Around The Americas Update: The Northwest Passage!

When last we checked in on the Intrepid crew of the Ocean Watch, they had made it to Barrow, Alaska, where they were taking on supplies and a new crew member. Now, a few weeks later they've set sail once again, as they head into one of the more perilous sections of their journey.

As you probably recall, the Around The Americas team is attempting to become the first to circumnavigate North and South America. To achieve this goal, they'll need to sail through the legendary Northwest Passage, a route that only opens in the dead of summer, when the arctic ice melts away, and provides a channel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans north of Canada. As the ship slips away from Barrow, they'll now begin the challenging navigation required to see them safely through to the Atlantic side.

Thanks to global climate change, the Northwest Passage has become a reality in recent years, which gave rise to the idea of this expedition. All told, the journey should take roughly 13 months to complete, returning to Seattle, where the ship set out, next summer. Following the voyage through the Passage, they'll sail down the East Coast of North America, all the way south to the tip of South America, rounding Cape Horn, and turning north for home at last. Along the way, they'll take various scientific readings to measure the effects of climate change in the various waters they'll be passing through.

The crew's most recent blog posts include a note on leaving Barrow behind and a report from Zeta Strickland, about her first few days aboard ship. Zeta is an educator who joined the crew in Barrow and will continue with them to Boston, where she'll return home. Along the way, she'll be sharing her experiences at sea and traveling through the Northwest Passage.

Good luck to the crew as they sail those crazy waters. If you see something big and white in your way, turn!

Tour 2009: Post Race Thoughts

I had hoped to put some thoughts together on the Tour de France now that the riders have rolled into Paris and the event has wrapped up for another year, but I've had Internet access issues over the past few days that have not helped my cause.

By now, everyone knows that Alberto Contador took the Yelow Jersey and finished first on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. The Spaniard was 4'11" in front of second place rider Andy Schleck, and another 1'13" ahead of Lance Armstrong, who took third place on the podium. Schleck claimed the White Jersey for the best young rider in the Tour for the second year in a row, while Thor Hushovd when home in Green as the top sprinter. Franco Pellizotti was named the King of the Mountains, and took the Polka Dot Jersey going away.

One of the things that struck me while I watched the final stage on Sunday was that the future certainly looks very bright for the sport of cycling and the Tour de France in particular. Contador is a powerful, young rider, and it seems he has a rival in Andy Schleck that will be challenging him in the years ahead, provided Schleck can improve his time trialing. That should be rivalry to watch in the years ahead, as it seems that those two men could be going head to head for years to come.

The other interesting rivalry to come out of this years Tour is the one between Hushovd and British rider Mark Cavendish. Cavendish is clearly the fastest sprinter in the world, but he learned that that wasn't enough to take the Green Jersey this year. The two men took shots at each other in the press, although they appeared to bury the hatchet some in the final days, but you can bet that they'll be challenging each other on the sprints in the years ahead as well. Cavendish took the final stage win in Paris on Sunday, and made it look easy, blasting through the finish line for his sixth win of the year. A very impressive feat.

And of course, looming over all of this is the shadow of Lance Armstrong, who returns to the sport a living legend. Lance will be riding on a new team next year, sponsored by Radio Shack, and he'll hand pick his teammates and attempt to go after another win, this time with Contador as a direct competitor and not a teammate at all. The fact that Lance was able to finish 3rd this year is pretty remarkable considering his age and three years away. It truly conveys what a special athlete he is and what a great rider too, as his road savvy was on display more than once in this year's race.

It is not surprising that Lance and Contador have already begun sparring with one another in the press. The relationship was a contentious one from the start, and it seemed to only get more frosty as the Tour went on. In interviews, Lance tried to bite his tongue and not say too much, but his tone and other comments spoke volumes at times. I think Contador is the stronger rider at this point of their careers, but I can already tell that Lance would love to be able to best the younger man on the road next year.

And now, I'll have to deal with my Tour Withdrawal symptoms for another year as well. Over the past few weeks it is virtually the only thing I watched on television and it is an event that I always look forward to. One of these days I'm going to have to make the trip and see it in person, but for now I'll have to be content with the outstanding television coverage from Versus. I miss it all already.

Kayaking Around Australia

Men's Journal is reporting in with another interesting aquatic adventure. This time it's an update on Freya Hoffmeister, who is attempting to set a new speed record for circumnavigating Australia in a kayak.

Freya has now been on the water for 191 days and making her way down the western coast of Australia. Her goal is to cover the more than 9400 miles around the continent in just one year, and reading her blog you can tell that she is not only going after that challenge, but enjoying the journey as well. The current record for kayaking around Australia is 361 days, and if everything continues to go as expected, it seems that Freya will have a shot at setting a new record.

As part of her journey, the German paddler cut across the Gulf of Carpenteria, setting out into the turbulent waters of the Pacific. Only Andrew McAuley has accomplished the same goal in a solo fashion. You may recall that McAuley later disappeared while making a solo attempt at paddling across the Tasman Sea.

You can follow Freya's adventures on her official website, where you'll find more information about her, and this paddling expedition. If she stays on schedule, expect her to return to her point of origin, near Melbourne, sometime next January.

Karakorum 2009: Veikka Completes 8000m Quest

The weekend was suppose to be Summit Day on both the Gasherbrums and K2, and while conditions improved on one of those peaks, the other sent teams scrambling back down the hill.

The big news for the weekend is that Veikka Gustafsson has completed the 14 8000 meter peaks, topping out on Gasherbrum I on Sunday. Veikka becomes the 17th person to bag all of the world's tallest peaks, and he completed the task without supplemental oxygen as well. He and climbing partner Kazuya Hiraide set out from high camp just after midnight and arrived at the summit around 8 AM local time, where they were greeted with no winds and beautiful weather, and according to the latest dispatch from the mountain, both men are now safe and sound back in Base Camp.

Veikka and Kazuya's summits weren't the only ones on GI this weekend either, as several other teams topped out as well. ExWeb is reporting that the Bulgarian team of Nikolay Petkov, Doychin Boyanov, Boyan Petrov, and Nikolay Valkov all reached the summit on Sunday morning as well.

Meanwhile, over on K2, the weekend update isn't so cheery. A number of teams attempted summit bids along both the Cesen Route and the Abruzzi Spur, but reports indicate that the conditions were too treacherous to proceed upward. The likelihood of avalanches were extremely high, and the climbers decided that discretion was the better part of valor and turned back well before the summit on both routes. All the teams are headed back to BC, where they'll regroup and reassess their chances of making the summit this season.

Karakorum 2009: Gasherbrum Summits on Saturday, K2 on Sunday?

I mentioned a few days back that teams were in the midst of a summit push on both the Gasherbrums and K2, and according to ExWeb those bids are still in progress, although the weather is not cooperating as expected, and progress has been slowed somewhat. But, teams are still positoining themselves to top out this weekend, with Gasherbrum summits set for tomorrow and K2 on Sunday.

On Gasherbrum I, Veikka Gustafsson and climbing partner Kazuya Hiraide, spent yesterday stuck in Camp 2 due to a massive snowstorm, but they've begun climbing the mountain again, and are eyeing Sunday for their potential summit day. They report that winds have dropped some, but are still quite high.

There haven't been any updates from the Altitude Junkies in a few days, and we can only assume that they remain in BC. Their forecasts told them there would be high winds on the Gasherbrums, so they were waiting it out, and hoping for the best. At this point, that seems like a really great decision. Their next update will probably be to announce the start of their summit bid.

On K2 a similar story is being told, with worse than expected weather. Despite that, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, David Göttler and Fabrizio Zangrilli are all into Camp 3 on the Cesen Route, where the Field Touring Alpine Team has climbed up to C2 themselves, and will go up to C3 tomorrow. While Gerlinde and the boys will continue up however, the FTA team is working on finishing up their acclimatization process, and will be heading back to BC over the weekend. They hope to begin their summit bid in the next 10-14 days.

Meanwhile, over on the Abruzzi Spur, teams are into C2 with reports of high winds, cold temps, and overcast skies. The weather reports say that conditions should be improving there as well however, and they're on track for Sunday Summits as well.

Seems like it should be a very busy weekend in the Karakorum. Teams are on track provided the weather holds.

Help Wanted: Expedition Manager For Major South Pole Endeavour

Have you ever wanted to play an integral role in a major expedition? Are you an armchair adventurer who would rather stay home, where it's safe and sound, not to mention warm? How are your organizational skills?

It seems that two adventurers from the U.K., John Wilton-Davies and Justin Miles, are planning a major expedition to the South Pole in 2010, and they're in need of an Expedition Manager to take on some organizational and media relations duties. In the months leading up to the start of the expedition, the expedition manager will organize contacts with the media, assist in preparing presentations for sponsors, and take steps to raise awareness of the project.

Of course, once John and Justin set out, the duties will ramp up considerably, as this person will be responsible for daily communications with the team while they are on the ice, as well as overseeing the updating of the expedition's website with progress reports, photos and more. The expedition manager will also work closely with the media, keeping them informed on the team's progress, as well as organize live interviews from Antarctica. In other words, they'll be the team's lifeline back to the world.

While the position doesn't offer any salary, it is a great opportunity to really get involved with the behind the scenes aspects of of a polar expedition. It would also be amazing experience if you're planning a similar expedition of your own, learning the ins and outs, while making great contacts too.

So what kind of expedition would you be working with? How about the first unsupported round trip journey from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole and back again? The expedition is called the Last Great Challenge, and John and Justin expect to cover more than 1382 miles across some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. Remember, the majority of explorers that head to the South Pole go just one way, and then catch a flight out from their final destination.

For more information on the Expedition Manager's position, click here. Get your application in soon, as the closing date is Sept. 5th of this year. And with just over a year to go until the start of the expedition, there is plenty to do.

Canoe & Kayak Go On A Texas Water Safari

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and of course, living in the state, I can tell you that everyone here really likes to believe that. In fact, they don't even like to admit that Alaska is bigger than Texas. The locals like to tell me to "melt the ice" every time I remind them of this fact.

But one of the great events that takes part annually in the Lone Star State is the Texas Water Safari, a 262 mile canoe race from San Marcos, just south of Austin, to Seadrift, along the Gulf Coast. Competitors have 100 hours to complete the course, in which they'll face rapids of varying difficulties, a number of tough portages, and the hot summer sun.

The event was held a few weeks back and Canoe & Kayak Magazine was on hand to file this great report, which includes plenty of paddling of course, but a number of misadventures along the way as well. It is also a tale of a grueling endurance event that leaves competitors exhausted, battered, and vowing to never step foot in a canoe again. Of course, most then return next year, but that's a different story.

If you've never seen or heard of the Texas Water Safari before, this article is a great introduction to the race. And while the 2009 even has come and gone, it's never too early to start thinking about 2010. But keep this in mind. We're currently going through a bit of a "cool spell" here in central Texas. The temps have dropped to highs of about 98ºF (36º C), but someone told me this morning that we've had a string of 37 days out of the past 41 in the triple digits. Yay for Texas summers!

Tour 2009: Cavendish Grabs Fifth Stage Win!

Today's Stage 19 of the Tour de France was expected to be a bit of a let down following the fireworks in the Alps earlier this week and the individual time trial yesterday. But if this year's Tour has taught us anything, we should expect the unexpected.

The 178 km (110 miles) course ran from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas, and featured rolling hills with some solid climbs, but nothing like the big slopes we saw a few days back. It was the chance for the sprinters to take center stage once again, as there were a couple of points on the course where they could earn Green Jersey points.

Heading into the day, Thor Hushovd had a firm grip on the Green Jersey, but his rivalry with Mark Cavendish, the fastest sprinter in the world, had been making headlines throughout the week following a controversial decision by judges to dock points from Cavendish, following a filed complaint by Hushovd. The loss of points caused Cav to fall back in the standings, and take shots at Thor in the press, while Thor responded by putting on a show two days ago, making a solo ride through the mountains to earn more points and widen the lead. It appeared as if the "God of Thunder" was ready to ride into Paris in Green. Clearly Cavendish has other ideas however.

Throughout the entire Tour, Team Columbia has worked together flawlessly to set up their man Cavendish to be in a position to take a stage win. Their strategies have worked so well, that before today, Cav had already earned four stage wins, and their efforts paid off once again today, as he took his fifth, giving him nine stage victories in his young career, the most ever by a British rider. Today, the team set up their attack with roughly 2km to go, running down a breakaway, and allowing Cavendish to sprint to the line just ahead of Husovd to earn the maximum number of points, and setting up an epic showdown on the Champs Elysees on Sunday to determine which one of these two stars will take the sprint championship this year.

As for the rest of the stage, it was a mostly by-the-numbers affair. The leaders of the General Classification stuck close to one another all day, and no one really attempted to make any kind of attack. There was a slight break late in the stage that allowed Lance Armstrong, currently sitting in third place, to pick up four seconds on the riders chasing him, but Alberto Contador maintained his 4 minute 11 second lead over Andy Schleck, who sits in second, a minute and ten seconds in front of Armstrong.

Right now, it appears that the only podium position that is up for grabs is third place. Lets face it, despite the fact that tomorrow's stage ends on a grueling Beyond Category climb up Mont Ventoux, no one is going to crack Contador, and it seems very unlikely that Lance can do anything to catch Andy Schleck either. But, lurking just behind lance is Brad Wiggins, 14 seconds back, then comes Armstrong his teammate Andreas Kloden, another two behind, and Frank Schleck isn't out of striking distance either, just 38 seconds behind, and with impressive climbing skills. All of this adds up to some interesting opportunities for tomorrows big stage, which is really the finale in terms of the GC.

As for the other jersey competitions, Franco Pellizotti still has a lock on the Polka Dot Jersey, and it's unlikely he'll let anyone earn too many points tomorrow, so he looks like this year's King of the Mountains, and Andy Schleck seems to be in the driver's seat as far as the White Jersey as the Tour's best young rider.

Tomorrow promises to be yet another interesting stage. It is a 167 km (103 miles) ride from Montélimar to the summit of Mont Ventoux. The Peloton will warm up with a few rolling hills, with a couple of Category 3 and 4 climbs before setting up the big duel on the final climb of the day, a mount top finish up a 21.5 km (13.3 miles) Beyond Category climb. I expect the Schlecks to work in tandem once again, but not to challenge Contador so much as Armstrong. If the two brothers can stand on the podium together in Paris, they'll have accomplished their goal.

The Rest of Everest Episode 108: Returning to Annapurna IV

After a bit of a hiatus, and following a couple of teaser episodes, the Rest of Everest has returned to our regularly scheduled programming by rejoining the Annapurna IV team as they continue up the mountain. Climbers Ben Clark and Josh Butson once again join podcast creator Jon Miller to discuss their attempt on the summit of Annapurna IV, as well as their plans to make the first ski descent of that mountain.

When last we heard from the boys, they were in the middle of a summit bid, climbing up to Camp 2 on the mountain, and that's exactly where we begin Episode 108, entitled "Not Good, Not Bad". Ben and Josh are in camp and discussing the challenges of the climb, which obviously include high altitude and challenging approaches, but in this case, there was a great deal of snow as well, which is seen quite clearly as the episode goes along.

As usual with the Rest of Everest, we get some amazing views of the Himalaya from a perspective that only high altitude mountaineers ever get to see. Armchair mountaineers will also enjoy watching Ben melt snow for water and other scenes of the climbers going about the business of living at altitude on the mountain. We all can appreciate the shots of them climbing with ice axes through a section that would normally have a fixed line, but in this case, none exists. You'll have to tune in for yourself to discover what the "screaming barfies" actually are.

As always, you can find the podcast on the website by clicking here or subscribe to it directly in iTunes. Great to have the show back!

Ocean Rowing: Catching up with Roz and Sarah

It has been some time since I checked in on Roz Savage and Sarah Outen, each of whom are still out on an ocean, in pursuit of their dreams of a solo crossing.

We'll start with Roz this time out. She's continues to make great progress towards her goal of reaching Tuvalu on this, the second stage, of her trans-Pacific row, which began last year when she completed the first part of her journey by going from San Francisco to Hawaii under her own power. If everything stays on schedule, next summer she'll finish the journey, going from Tuvalu to Australia.

Reading Roz's dispatches from out on the water over the past few days have been brutal. Strong winds from the southwest have been blowing in her face and have prevented her from making much progress, and at times she's dropped anchor just to hold her position or to limit her losses. In fact, earlier in the week, when she hit the dreaded "doldrums" she faced 15 miles of negative drift in one evening alone. Pretty disheartening to work all day to make progress, drop anchor at night, only to discover you're further way from your destination when you get up the next morning. But to her credit, Roz always seems to keep a positive attitude, and the appearance of a beautiful sea turtle and a whale shark along side her boat this week have helped to bolster her spirits some.

According to the RozTracker, she is now 60 days out from Hawaii and has covered more than 1900 miles of her 2600 mile journey. She's also taken approximately 805,000 storkes of the oars along the way.

Jumping over to the Indian Ocean, Sarah is plugging away, and inching ever closer to her destination of Mauritius off the coast of Africa. Over the past couple of weeks, Sarah has increased her hours at the oars each day, and as a result, her forward progress has been great. She now has less than 500 nautical miles to go before she hits the beach, and becomes the first woman and youngest person to solo row across the Indian Ocean. The weather report says that she should expect great weather for the next week or so, which means that her progress should be good.

You can follow Sarah's progress on her own tracker, which currently has her closing in on the final destination. It seems that if everything stays on track, she should be coming home in the early part of August, which is good, because according to her blog, she's running desperately low on chocolate bars.

Watch for more updates on these two very soon. It won't be long before I'll be announcing their return to land.

Tour 2009: Paris In Sight For Contador!

Today's stage of the Tour de France was the final individual time trial for 2009, and it promised to once again shake up the standings, as the climbers who took center stage the past few days were pushed aside in favor of the riders who specialize in putting their head down and attacking the course in as fast of a time as possible.

Heading into the day, Alberto Contador stayed in the Yellow Jersey, but climbing brothers Andy and Frank Schleck had pulled themselves up into second and third place following a brilliant ride in the Alps yesterday. Their performance in the time trial was going to go a long way towards determining their ultimate finishing position on the Champs Elysees on Sunday.

The gauntlet was thrown down early Fabian Cancellara and Mikhail Igantiev, both of which went out fast and had their times stand up throughout the day as other riders set out from the starting house. The riders faced a rather straight forward course that was mostly flat, although there was one 3km climb, and non-technical, which was a far cry from the twisty and demanding course that they started the Tour on back in Monaco.

As is traditional in the final time trial, the riders start in the reverse order of their standings in the General Classification. That meant that the top contenders wouldn't hit the road until later in the morning, when guys like Lance Armstrong, Brad Wiggins, and Andreas Kloden would ride out just in front of Contador and the Schlecks. Armstrong was looking to gain time on Andy and hopefully knock Frank out of the top three, and he had a good right that eventually achieved both of those goals.

The star of the day was Contador though, as he once again showed that he is the strongest rider in the field, dominating the time trial and even riding the course faster than Cancellara. At the end of the day, Contador pulled away from his closest rivals, and tightened his grip on the Yellow Jersey. He now stands 4'11" in front of Andy Schleck and 5'2" ahead of Armstrong. Those are impossible gaps to close for any rider, barring any kind of unforeseen incident, and it now appears that Contador will coast into Paris in Yellow this Sunday.

The real battle now is for second and third place. Andy Schleck looks like he is in a good position to remain in the second spot, but third is wide open, with Lance Armstrong currently holding down that spot on the leaderboard, but Wiggins, Kloden, and Frank Schleck are all looming very close. With a final day of climbing on the horizon for Saturday, Armstrong is going to have a tough fight to stay on the podium.

Tomorrow, the Peloton returns to the road with a 178 km (110 mile) ride from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas. While the course has a few climbs, the largest being a Cat 2 late in the stage, it isn't anything that should cause a shake-up on the leaderboard. There are even a couple of sprint sections for the points towards the Green Jersey, which looks to be heading to Paris with Thor Hushovd. Things will get really interesting on Saturday though, when the stage ends on a Beyond Category climb that will definitely have the contenders jousting once again.

So, the Tour really is beginning to wind down now. It ends Sunday of course, with the mostly ceremonial ride into Paris, where the Yellow Jersey winner looks to stay safe and sips champaign on the road. As mentioned, Hushovd now has a stranglehold on the Green Jersey and isn't likely to give it up since he has a 30 point lead on Mark Cavendish. Italian rider Franco Pellizotti is way out in front in terms of the Polka Dot Jersey, and is in no danger of surrendering it either. And finally, the White Jersey seems to belong to Andy Schleck, who certainly isn't going to be losing much time at all over the next few days in all likelihood.

Travel Quickies!

I wanted to share a couple of quick travel related notes that I wrote for Gadling.com today that may also be of interest here.

First, Keen Footwear is sponsoring a contest to give away a volunteer trip to South Africa. The winner will spend a week in Cape Town, volunteering at an animal shelter, while still having access to hike, surf, and explore your way around one of the world's livliest cities. To enter the contest, simply go to this page and fill out the form Easy as that, and you could be on your way to Africa, where you'll not only have a wonderful trip, you'll be able to give a little back in the process.

Personally, I think the growing trend of "Voluntourism" is good one, and this is the first time that I've actually seen someone giving away such a trip. The vacation is valued at over $4000 and includes airfare and accommodations, although said accommodations are in a volunteer hostel at the animal shelter.

The other story of note that I posted over at Gadling is this one about some changes that were ratified by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) in an attempt to make travel in the Antarctic safer. You may recall that there have been several high profile incidences in the waters off the coast of the Antarctic Penninsula, including the sinking of the MS Explorer back in 2007, and two ships running aground more recently.

Fortunately, no one has been hurt or killed yet, and the IAATO wants to keep it that way. To that end, they've made it mandatory that all their members take part in a satellite tracking program, refit any open lifeboats so that they are partially or fully closed, and have put some requirements on the Captain and or pilot of the ships and their experience levels.

All of these are good steps, but as I said in my previous story, none of them would have helped prevent the recent accidents involving tourist ships. They would, however, go a long way towards making sure that travelers there are safer, and that's a very good thing.

The IAATO also formed an exploratory committee to examine the effects of global climate change on the Antarctic, and help get the word out about it. The same group will be examining ways to reduce the carbon footprint of tourism to the region. This one is pretty self explanatory, but it's great to see that they are taking these strides to make sure that they are protecting the fragile ecosystem that they are visiting. Thumbs up all around!

Karakorum 2009: Summit Push Begins on K2 and Gasherbrums

It has been a rough season, as usual, in the Karakorum with weather woes, tragedy on several mountains, and avalanches, and conditions that are amongst the most harsh on Earth. But it can all be forgotten if the teams can just finish what they've started, and stand on top of those big peaks. A number of teams have begun to take the first steps to do just that today, with summit pushes currently underway on both K2 and the Gasherbrums.

On K2, the most dangerous mountain on the planet, we get word from Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner that today is the day that she and her climbing partners will begin their ascent, and Martin Ramos is projecting the same schedule. If the weather holds, and everything goes as expected, they should be standing on the summit on Saturday. The Field Touring Alpine Team is still in BC according to their latest update yesterday, but everyone is acclimatized, feeling good, and ready to go as well, so they will likely be following along this weekend too.

This comes on the heals of a report earlier in the week from ExWeb that Jorge Egocheaga claimed the first summit of the mountain last Sunday, following a solo climb in deep snow. Well done Jorge and congrats on the summit!

Similar stores are coming in from the Gasherbrums too, where ExWeb is also reporting that five climbers topped out on Gasherbrum II on Monday, just before a storm moved in an blanketed the area. But the weather window is expected to open again in time for the weekend, as apparently teams are spread out across the mountain, from C2 to C3 on both G1 and G2, including Veika Gustafsson and Kazuya Hiraide who hope to top out on G1 this weekend. They set off for C1 this morning with their eyes on the Gasherbrum 1 summit.

The teams on both of these mountains have been very patient and it looks like it is finally going to pay off. The weather seems to be improving and conditions high on the mountains are stabilizing, although there were reports a few days back about avalanches on K2. Hopefully the worst of those conditions are over, and the teams can climb high and safe. Especially on K2, where we are approaching the anniversary of the tragedy from last year.

The 2009 Mongol Rally is Underway!

The 2009 Mongol Rally got underway on Tuesday, when 400 teams of drivers set out simultaneously from England, Spain, and Italy on a road race that will span more than 10,000 miles as they drive toward the finish line in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

This is the sixth edition of the Mongol Rally, and each year it grows a bit in size and stature. The race is run for a variety of charities and the vehicles driven to Mongolia are donated to a charity there as well.

The rules of the race are simple:

1) Teams are on their own, there is no support of any kind.
2) The race is run for charity, and all teams need to raise a minimum of £1000 or roughly $1650.
3) Teams can only drive cars with an engine that is 1.2 liters or less.
4) The car must also be ten years old or less

In addition, teams are allowed to choose any route they want, and in the past they have ranged as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as Afghanistan. You can see some of the previous routes that have been taken on this map, which illustrates how free form the trip can be. You can also read updates on the teams as they travel on the Live Updates Page as well.

I've written about the Mongol Rally a few times in the past, and I remain intrigued by the "race". It sounds like so much fun to me to hit the open road with good friends on an epic roadtrip across two continents. Talk about an adventure! Most teams will cross through a dozen countries along the way, and see some amazing things. Maybe next year I need to put together a team! :)

Tour 2009: Attack of the Schlecks!

Stage 17 of the 2009 Tour de France hit the French Alps with full force today, with a punishing stage that left the dreams of a few more contenders in tatters, while giving rise to the hopes of others.

The riders faced a tough 169.5 km (105 miles) stage that ran from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand and featured four Category 1 climbs with a Category 2 thrown in for good measure. That meant a long day in the saddle for most, with the majority of the Peloton giving away time to the top riders who have been waiting for the mountain stages to make their attacks.

Yesterday we saw a few attackers testing the water, only to be reeled back in by Team Astana, who have worked well together to ensure that race leader Alberto Contador hangs on to his Yellow Jersey. Today the attacks were expected to come from Saxo Bank, whose young rider Andy Scleck was amongst the pre-race contenders this year, but had been lurking back in the standings of the General Classification. With just two mountain stages to go, Schleck, who is a consummate climber, needed to make a move soon. That move came today.

But the early portions of the stage belonged to Thor Hushovd, who holds the Green Jersey as the top sprinter. Outspoken rival Mark Cavendish took shots at big Thor in the press by saying that Hushovd didn't win the Jersey on the course, in reference to a controversial complaint filed against Cavendish that ended up costing him points in the competition and effectively ended his bid to ride into Paris in Green. Hushovd responded today with a solo attack that put him over the early mountains and collecting the sprint points for himself. It was the Norwegian rider's way of telling Cav to shut the hell up, as Cavendish is not a climber and wouldn't have been able to hang with Thor on those rides. In fact, Thor was so impressive today that he rode down the King of the Mountains Polka Dot Jersey, on the back of Franco Pellizotti, as well, finishing more than a minute ahead of him on the Col des Saisies.

The real action got underway later on the Col de Romme, with 37km (22 miles) left to race. Carlos Sastre, last year's Tour winner, went out on an attack, and had to be reeled in by Contador, who was flanked by Andreas Kloden and Lance Armstrong. Sastre attempted to make another move, but was once again brought back into the fold, and while all of this was going on, Saxo Bank set up their two riders, Andy and his brother Frank Schleck, to make their move.

Andy was off like a shot, with Contador shadowing him all the way, while Frank, Brad Wiggins, Rigoberto Uran, and Armstrong gave pursuit further back. Christian Vande Velde, once considered an outside shot for the Tour win, faded away quickly, but teammate Dave Zabriskie helped him rejoin the group eventually. Frank picked up the pace, and the rest of the group were soon with Andy and Contador out in front and from there on, the Schlecks would drive the pace.

On the final climb of the day there were four riders out in front, the Schlecks, Contador and Kloden, with several riders, including Armstrong, in the first chase. With 2km to go to the finish, Contador put in an attack, which succeeded in dropping his own teammate in Kloden, but not the Schleck brothers, who hung with him every step of the way. The three raced to the finish line, with Frank getting the well earned stage win for his efforts in helping his brother move up in the GC standings. Not far behind, a group that included Armstrong, Kloden, and WIggens clawed there way to the finish.

The attacks today did scramble the top of the GC. While Contador still holds on to the Yellow Jersey, Andy Schleck is now in second, 2 minutes and 26 seconds back, and Frank is in third, nearly another minute behind. Armstrong dropped into fourth place overall, three minutes and fifty-five seconds behind. Andy also put a tighter grip on the White Jersey as the best young rider, and obviously Hushovd has the Green Jersey all but locked up. Pellizotti still looks good in the Polka Dots.

Tomorrow brings the final individual time trial which is a 40.5 km (25 miles) run through the streets of Annecy that should be interesting to watch. Contador is clearly the best time trialist at the top of the GC at the moment, and at this point it looks unlikely that he'll be unseated. The question now is whether or not someone can crawl up and knock of the Schleck brothers. I think Armstrong can pass Frank with a good ride and get himself into a position to possibly get back on the Podium in Paris. Should be fun to watch, and the next few days are going to be great. It's not quite over yet.

Unfortunately, it is over for Cadel Evans, who admitted that he is out of the race, at least as far as getting a podium finish. After finishing second the past two years, he was considered one of the top contenders again this year, but instead he has had the worst Tour of his five year career.

It is also over for Dutch rider Kenny van Hummel, a name that not many have heard of. van Hummel is consistently the last rider to cross the finish line, especially in the mountains, but his never-give-up attitude has endeared him to the rest of the Peloton, even as he struggled on to beat the time cut-offs each day. Yesterday for instance, he finished nearly 35 minutes behind the stage winner. He was also one of the fan favorites along the road as well, but he took a nasty fall today and was taken from the course by ambulance. Hopefully he's okay and we'll see him back riding again soon, as he is considered to be a promising young sprinter.

Nat Geo Puts Ed Wardle Alone in the Wild

National Geographic is preparing for a new television show, set to begin airing on Saturday, called Alone in the Wild. The premise of the show is not unlike Survivorman, but in this case, show host Ed Wardle is dropped into the Yukon Territory of Canada, and spends the show crossing the remote region on foot, trying to make it out alive.

The unique element of the show is that it is ongoing right now, and you can follow Ed's adventure on the show's website. He is currently 18 days into the journey, which is projected to take him three months to complete. Wardle has a background in shooting adventure films and has extensive experience in mountaineering and wilderness survival, and just like his Survivorman counterpart, Les Stroud, he's shooting all the video himself. You can learn more about that process here.

The website not only keeps a running counter of how long Ed's been out in the wild, but also has him using Twitter to send updates from the field. There is also more information about Ed's background, as well as the dangers he is facing in the Yukon.

Lets hope this show is better than Expedition Africa, which turned out to be a big disappointment to me. While the scenery was great and the premise was sound, what we got was a reality show with Type-A personalities being argumentative while the hiked from Point A to Point B, while occasionally taking a ride in a Subaru Outback. (Was there worse product placement in a show ever?)

Set your DVR's for Alone in the Wild. It gets started Saturday, July 25th at 9 PM EDT.

Summer OR Show Kicks Off in SLC

The 2009 Summer Outdoor Retailer show is underway in Salt Lake City, Utah today. If you're not familiar with OR, it is the twice yearly convention where all of the outdoor gear manufacturers gather to show off all the great new stuff they're going to use to drain our wallets. Over the course of the next few days, you can expect to see a host of online reports that show off the latest trends in the gear industry and some hot new products that will be making it on to store shelves later this year.

You'll find a number of reports coming from the floor of the show, but a few that I recommend you keep an eye on include TrailSpace.com, which always has a nice dedicated OR feed with first looks at the product lines. The Outside Blog is also on the scene, and already have some initial thoughts posted on a few products, such as the Vapor 15, the world's lightest 15-degree sleeping bag, which comes from Sierra Designs and weighs just 30oz! And of course, the Gear Junkie is at OR and already sending back dispatches as part of his Daily Dose column. First up for the GJ is a look at the second generation SPOT Messengers due out later this year.

Expect lots more announcements over the next few days. Press releases will be flying and there will be plenty of good reports of new gadgets, gizmos, and gear. I'll try to spotlight some of the bigger announcements, but I suspect we'll mostly be seeing a continuation of the trend toward "green" gear that is environmentally sound.

Tour 2009: Big Climbs Yield No Changes

Coming off a rest day on Monday, the riders of the 2009 Tour de France were prepared for a long and challenging day in the mountains. Today's stage 16 was a 159km (98 miles) jaunt from Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Maurice that featured two huge climbs, the first a beyond category beast and the second, a category 1 climb that provided fireworks at the top of the General Classification, but in the end resulted in no significant changes in the chase for the Yellow Jersey.

The stage got off to a busy start with a large breakaway on the slopes of the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, the first climb of the day that led the riders out of Switzerland and into Italy. While there were a number of riders in the break, none of them posed a real threat to the Yellow Jersey, currently on the back of Alberto Contator, so his Astana team didn't have to chase down the pack.

Where things started to get a bit more interesting was on the second climb of the day, the Cat. 1 Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard. At that point in the race, there were a couple of riders still away on the break, but the real battle for standings in the GC began when Andy Schleck made a move to gain some time on Contador, with Schleck's brother Frank close at hand to monitor the chase. The group that went after Schleck included Brad Wiggins, Vincenzo Nibali, Contador and teammate Andres Klöden. Conspiculously missing from the group was Lance Armstrong, who was sitting in second place coming into the day. Other big names that fell behind included Fabian Cancellara, Thor Hushovd, Denis Menchov and Tony Martin, who had surrendered his White Jersey to Andy Schleck on Sunday.

Schleck put in a major effort, setting a fast pace up the mountain in an effort to drop Contador and gain precious time over the top. But Alberto would have none of it, and hung on Schleck's wheel like he was out for a ride in the park. At no time did it appear that Contador was in any danger or dropping, and much like Sunday's big stage win, he looked like the strongest rider on road.

One of the more impressive displays came when Lance Armstrong decided he had had enough of pacing the chase group and wanted to get back to the Yellow Jersey group. Lance shot off, leaving riders in his wake and covering the distance in no time. The burst showed that the 37-year old Armstrong still has strong legs and is in great condition, and put to rest any doubts that he's lost much of anything in his three year absence from the Tour. It was an impressive display of riding.

Once the riders reached the summit of the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, they faced a dizzying 18km descent at high speeds that saw a number of nasty crashes including one that put Jens Voight onto the tarmac. By that point, Spanish rider Mikel Astarloza had made a daring dash to the front and was holding on for dear life as he rocketed down the slopes with the other riders in pursuit. In the end, he would hold on for the stage win, with a chase group not far behind, and the pack of contenders about a minute back. That group was led in by Dave Zabriskie, who did most of the work on the descent, setting a blistering pace.

So, at the end of the day, not much has changed really, despite a few bold attacks. Contador is still in Yellow, Lance is in second place, and Brad Wiggins is looking great in third. Thor Hushovd is in Green, and looks to have completely shut down Mark Cavendish's dreams of winning the sprint points. Andy Schleck has a solid grip on the White Jersey now, and doesn't look like he'll be relinquishing it before Paris, and Franco Pellizotti is wearing the Polka Dot Jersey of the King of the Mountains. The biggest loser of the day was Cadel Evans, who lost time to Contador and has now fallen to 17th place over all. A bit disappointing considering his expectations coming in.

Tomorrow the Peloton faces a 169.5km (105 mile) ride from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand that will once again test the climbers and most likely see attacks on the Yellow Jersey. The stage features no less than four Category 1 climbs, with a Cat 2 thrown in for good measure, so the presence of the mountains is likely to shed the field once again. I expect Andy Schleck to make another attack, and if Carlos Sastre is going to have his presence known, he needs to make a move soon too, although the way that Contador is riding, I'm not sure that it really matters. Fans of the Tour are going to love these next few days though, as they are all tough with big mountain climbs, before the final individual time trial on Saturday.

Want To Go To Antarctica With Neil Armstrong?

This story seems very fitting today, on the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, which sent astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on a stroll along the lunar surface. Later this year, Armstrong will continue his explorations when he heads to Antarctica as part of a special National Geographic Expedition, in conjunction with Lindblad Expeditions, this November.

The trip is 25-days in length, and departs from Miami, with flights to Chile, where travelers will board the National Geographic Explorer for a cruise across the Drake Passage and along the Antarctic Peninsula. Other stops include South Georgia, the Falklands, and South Orkney Islands.

In addition to Neil Armstrong, travelers will be exploring Antarctica with a compliment of naturalists that will give insight into the region like no one else can. That insight will come in handy while walking the shores of the Southern Ocean with hundreds of thousands of penguins at your feet or while spotting whales on the open seas. More adventurous travelers can take a Zodiac or kayak out to explore the beautiful and remote coastline, with towering ice bergs drift in the icy waters.

For more information on this very cool travel opportunity click here, and you'll find some more details here.

Seems like a great trip to me, and having the opportunity to meet a living legend doesn't hurt either. Of course, the price tag is a bit steep, but it is one of those once in a life time opportunities. The 25-day length seems perfect to really see the Antarctic region as well. Anyone want to share a cabin with me? I'll bet we can tell some tall tales about throwing down beers with Neil Armstrong while a storm raged on the Drake Passage. Who else could tell a story like that?

Karakorum 2009: Tragedy on Broad Peak

Sad news once again today from the Karkorum, as we begin another week with a tragedy in the mountains. ExWeb is reporting that Italian climber Cristina Castagna has perished on Broad Peak, after falling on her descent from Camp 4 following a summit bid. It is unclear if she had successfully topped out before her fall, and as of right now, there is no word on any successful summits on the mountain.

The news of Christina's death comes just one week after the news that Kroean climber Go Mi-Sun was lost on Nanga Parbat. Christina's climbing partner, Giampaolo Casarotto, says that she was walking about ten meters in front of him when she slipped and fell into a crevasse. By the time he could scramble to her assistance, she was already gone, and there was nothing more he could for her. The 31-year old Italian woman, nicknamed "El Grio" or the Cricket, already had Shisha Pangma, GII, Dhaulagiri, and Makalu on her resume, with plans to knock off Broad Peak and then make a run at Gasherbrum I this year.

While there have been no confirmed summits as of yet on BP, and the rumors are most teams turned back due to high winds, the Field Touring Alpine Team released an audio dispatch on Saturday that confirms they had no summits and were returning to BC. One of their climbers, Paul Rowntree, did reach the point known as Rocky Summit however, which sits at 8013m (26,289 feet).

On Gasherbrum I, the Altitude Junkies are sitting in BC, looking up at a cloudless sky and what appears to be great weather, but all the reports indicate that there are high winds on the summit, and will be for the next few days. After that a weather window is expected to open that should allow access to the top of the mountain, something that Veikka and Kazuya are counting on as well.

Finally, Don Bowie has posted the second and third parts of his report on the team's summit bid on G3. Not only did the climb get a bit hairy, and then stall out due to extremely poor weather, the descent back to base camp became quite an ordeal as well. Very good read with a glimpse of what it's like on the mountain at the moment.

Primal Quest Media Registration Is Now Open

As many of you know, one of the projects that I'm involved in is a little adventure race called Primal Quest. Last year I had the opportunity to be a part of this event for the first time when traveled to Montana to work as the Media Director for the race, and I can tell you that it was quite an experience. The athletes that are involved in PQ are amazing from top to bottom, and watching them tear up the course over the ten days that the race runs was an impressive thing to see.

Now, we're less than a month away from Primal Quest Badlands, and it's going to be even more epic this year. The race gets underway on August 14th when co-ed teams of four set out to run, mountain bike, paddle, climb, swim and spelunk their way, non-stop, across 600 miles of some of the most impressive backcountry you'll find anywhere on the planet. South Dakota's Badlands and Black Hills will play host to the race, which has been called "the World's Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition", which I can tell you is a pretty fair moniker.

Late last week we posted the registration form for any media who are interested in covering Primal Quest. The race makes for quite a story, as these athletes are amongst the toughest in the world, and most take part in the race just for the challenge and fun of it. The fact that the race runs day and night, without stopping, only adds to the challenge and makes what they do all the more impressive.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in joining us in South Dakota as a member of the press looking to cover the race, be sure to fill out the form. And if you have any further questions, feel free to drop me a note at: kraig.becker@ecoprimalquest.com.

Tour 2009: The Alps Put Contador in Yellow!

I've been writing about them for the past week, since the Tour de France left the Pyrenees behind, and they are finally here. The Alps arrived in dramatic fashion for the Tour de France over the weekend, and as a result, we have a new leader. The weekend also brought an end to some of the drama around Team Astana, while controversy swirled around the competition for the Green Jersey.

Since leaving the Pyrenees behind, the race has mostly belonged to the sprinters, who chased points in the Green Jersey competition all week long. At one point, Mark Cavendish appeared to have that jersey all locked up after claiming his fourth stage win this year. His closest rival, Thor Hushovd, even seemed to concede that Cavendish would be in Green when the race reached Paris. But Cavendish made a bit of a miscalculation on Friday, a day with some challenging climbs, and Thor reclaimed the jersey heading into the Alps where sprint points are non-existent. The competition between the two heated up even more on Saturday, when Hushovd accused Cavendish of trying to press him into the barriers on a sprint finish. The judges agreed and docked Cav points, dropping him 18 points behind the "God of Thunder", and all but assuring that it'll be Thor in Green on the Champs-Elysees.

But the real competition is in the General Classification, where heading into Sunday, Rinaldo Nocentini had held on to the Yellow Jersey for more than a week. But he was expected to crack on the slopes of the Alps, and as predicted, he fell off the pace on the climb up Verbier, a Category 1 climb that hid the finish line at its summit. While on that mountain, the top riders all moved into position to attempt to make a move. Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador were escorted by teammate Andres Kloden, who is having a great tour himself. The Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, were in the leading group, as was Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggins, who seems to be the most improved rider of the Tour this year. All of the contenders hung tough and appeared to be suffering to some degree, and as if sensing that, Contador went on the attack, easily leaving the other riders in his wake, including teammate Armstrong. At the end of the day, he blasted across the finish line, taking the stage win, and donning the Yellow Jersey for the first time since he won the Tour back in 2007.

Contador's strong ride showed that he is the man to beat in the tough week ahead. He was clearly the strongest climber and overall rider, but the race is far from over, and with several tough mountain stages in the next few days, it'll be interesting to see how the other contenders react following tomorrow's rest day. Tomorrow, in particular, is going to be a rough day for the riders, with two HUGE climbs, the first beyond category and the second a Cat 1 that will have the legs screaming. Look for Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans, and last year's champion Carlos Sastre to make an attack on Contador. Sastre in particular had a great ride on Sunday and seems to be getting stronger as the Tour goes on.

As for Team Astana, who seemed to be having internal issues since the Tour began thanks to the presence of both Contador and Armstrong, who is currently in second place in the GC, 1 minute, 37 seconds behind the leader and 9 seconds ahead of the third place Wiggins. Following yesterday's stage, Armstrong seemed to concede that Contador was the top rider on the team, and in the Tour itself, and that he wouldn't be able to beat him going into Paris. So that should put an end to that controversy, and Alberto now has a focused, united team to take him home. They'll have to work hard to hold off the challengers however, as no one else is conceding just yet.

Tour 2009: More Rain in the Mountains

Friday's stage of the Tour de France marked the return of the serious climbs as a prelude to the Alps that loom early next week, but the day got off to a gloomy start with the announcement that American rider Levi Leipheimer of Team Astana is out of the race following an accident yesterday that left him with a broken wrist. Levi was riding in fourth place in the General Classification before the accident, and his loss will play a major role in Astana's strategy going forward. What this will do for the Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong in the days ahead will be interesting, and Levi was clearly the strongest rider on the team after those two.

The departure of Leipheimer seemed to cast a cloud over the entire race, as the Peloton had to deal with rain and cool weather the entire day. The stage was a 200km (124 mile) affair that ran from Vittel to Colmar, with plenty of climbs, including the Category 1 Col du Platzerwasel, stretched out across the ride. The conditions made it tough for the top riders to make a move on any of those hills, and as a result, the top of the leaderboard remains unchanged with Italian Rinaldo Nocentini still in Yellow, with Alberto and Lance Chasing.

That doesn't mean that there wasn't anything exciting to see in today's race. There was an early break attempt that the Peloton took care to contorl, not letting them get out to more than a one minute lead, but at the 60km (37 mile) point, three riders put in an attack with Heinrich Haussler of Team Cervélo, Sylvain Chavanel of Quick Step and Ruben Perez Moreno from Team Euskaltel-Euskadi making a move for the win.

The three went out as far as nine minutes ahead of the Peloton, which quickly ate up the other members of the break, and dueled it out over several climbs before hitting the downhill sprint to the finish. Perez was the first to crack and fell of the pace of Haussler and Chavanel, who topped out and raced toward the line along a tricky, technical descent. Haussler managed to drop Chavanel at that point and raced ahead to a very emotional stage win, tears in his eyes as he crossed the finish line.

For the most part, the Peloton was once again controlled by Astana with some help from Saxo Bank. The leaders rode strong, and Lance was in command at the front, with Alberto on his wheel on that final climb. The pace of the top riders was enough to drop Denis Menchov and Bradley Wiggins, who now sits in fourth place over all with the departure of Leipheimer.

While the General Classification remains the same, there were changes to the status of the other jerseys today. While Mark Cavendish is practically unbeatable in a sprint, he doesn't do well in the climbs, and as a result, God of Thunder Thor Hushovd recaptured the Green Jersey. In the next few days he'll be looking to accumulate as many points as he can in the mountains in an attempt to hold off "the Manx Missile" down the stretch run to Paris. Egoi Martinez dropped the Polka Dot Jersey today as well, as Franco Pellizotti earned plenty of climbing points. Who will go home with the title "King of the Mountains" will be decided in the Alps next week. Tony Martin held on to his White Jersey for another day, and will be pressed to defend it in the days ahead.

Tomorrow's stage is much like today, running 199km (123 miles) in length from Colmar to Besançon. The climbs won't be nearly as challenging, but the weather is expected to be very similar, which always makes for surprises and challenging rides.

Rumors have begun to circulate about dissension in the ranks of Astana, as the two co-leaders of the team, Contador and Armstrong, vie for the position to be the one the team throws it's weight behind. It is clear that the two men don't see eye to eye, and Contador's surprise attack last week in the Pyrenees has created a rift between him and Armstrong. In my opinion this will play out in one of two ways. Team manager Johan Bruyneel will have to either step in and proclaim who the team will push to Paris or they're going to have to let the two men sort it out between the two of them in the Alps. As a fan of the sport, I'd love to see the latter. Guess we'll find out next week.

Zac Sunderland Completes His Circumnavigation!

17-year old Zac Sunderland has completed his solo circumnavigation of the globe, becoming the youngest person to do so when he returned to his home port in Los Angeles yesterday. His journey took 13 months to complete. His journey took him across three oceans, five seas, and across the equator on two occasions. I first wrote about Zac when he set out last year.

The young sailor was greeted by a flotilla of well wishers upon his approach to Marina del Rey yesterday. Hundreds more lined the piers as he maneuvered his 36-foot sailing vessel, the Intrepid, back into it's slip. The modest little vessel was purchased by Zac who saved up his own money to afford the ship that would take him into sailing history.

You can read more about Zac and his adventure on his official website, where he has kept a blog about his experiences, including his return home just yesterday. Congrats to Zac for an amazing job. He has accomplished more before the age of 18 than most will in a lifetime, and of course he'll be keeping eye on Jessica Watson, the 16-year old Aussie girl who hopes to go after his record soon.

Around The Americas Update: Into Barrow!

A few weeks back I posted about an adventure that had just gotten underway called the Around The Americas Expeidtion. The plan is for the four-person crew to pilot the 64-foot sailing vessel the Ocean Watch, on a journey that has never been attempted before. If all goes as planned, the ship will become the first ever to circumnavigate North and South America. The entire journey is expected to take 13-months to complete, beginning and ending in Seattle.

The Ocean Watch and her crew have completed the first major leg of their journey, having reached Barrow, Alaska, one of the most remote and northerly towns in the world. The ship set sail from Seattle back on May 31st and has slowly made it's way up the coast of Canada and around Alaska, reaching Barrow on July 13th. The current plan is to take on supplies, as well as a new crew member in the form of educator Zeta Strickland, while exploring the navigability of the North West Passage, which is just now opening up for ship traffic.

This entire journey wouldn't be possible if it weren't for global climate change causing the ice above Canada to melt, and open the fabled North West Passage. Although explorers searched for it for years, the Passage didn't become fully accessible until last year. Now, there are a number of cruises and exploratory ships making their way through the area, but it remains quite dangerous, especially this early in the summer. Once the crew hears that the passage is fully navigable, they will resume their journey heading east.

As for Strickland, she joins the crew to observe and learn about life aboard the boat and the incredible geography they will be passing through. The plan is for her to stay with the crew until they reach Boston. I have to admit, I wish I were an educator so I could have had the opportunity to join the team. I would love to have the chance to sail the North West Passage. What an incredible experience that must be.

Hopefully they'll be back underway soon, as it should be great to read their dispatches while crossing the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. Good luck team!

Karakorum 2009: Gasherbrums Turn Back Teams, More On Go Mi-Sun

The Karakorum climbing season is evolving quickly in no small part because of the weather conditions there. While many of the teams are remaining patient and hoping for the best, others are electing to call it a day and head home for the year. Take for example the Jagged Globe team, who were hoping to summit Gasherbrum II, but have now decided it is time to go home. They blame the shifting jet stream that has brought a ton of snow to the mountain and are now preparing to leave base camp on the weekend. Apparently they won't be the only ones fleeing the Gasherbrums, as ExWeb is reporting that other teams are planning on packing it in for the season too.

Don Bowie and the rest of his crew having been struggling away on G3 for the past few weeks, and he posted the first of his summit bid dispatches today.

Over on Broad Peak, the summit bids are underway for the Field Touring Alpine team, who are on their way to Camp 2 today and hope to top out on Saturday. From the sounds of things, there is a mass summit push underway, with nearly every climber on BP giving it ago. Winds are expected to die down tomorrow, opening a weather window through the weekend.

Snow continues to fly on K2, but the weather is also said to be quite warm in base camp. The climbers are still finishing up their acclimatization process for the most part, while Kazakh climbers Maxut Zhumayev and Vassiliy Pivtsov have just arrived in camp and well be climbing under the same permit with Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, who is going for her 13th 8000m peak.

Finally, ExWeb posted a story a few days back that shed more light on the death of Korean climber Go Mi-Sun. In a dispatch sent out from Joao Garcia, we learn a lot more about the conditions on Nanga Parbat and what led to the tragic fall that took the life of Miss Go. Joao doesn't pull any punches when he explains how the process for fixing the lines worked this year, and how a certain Austrian team didn't really pull their weight. It was because of them that the lines were removed between Camp 2 and Camp 3, which led to Miss Go not being roped in when she slipped and fell. Joao stops short of accusing the other team of being responsible for her death, but he makes it clear how he feels about the whole incident.

There is another report today on the state of climbing in Korea, where a culture of competitiveness has built up. ExWeb received word from someone in Korea that talked about the rivalries between the mountaineers, in this case Miss Go and another female climber named Miss Oh. It's a rather revealing look at the drive to be "first" in some capacity in the mountains.