Here at ExWeb, when we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the wider interweb. Sometimes we’re a little too plugged in, and browsing interesting stories turn from minutes into hours. To nourish your own adventure fix, here are some of the best links we’ve discovered this week.
Peter Hillary Challenges Everest Climbers: As Everest climbers eventually find their way home from Nepal, Sir Edmund Hillary’s son, Peter Hillary, is inviting them both to celebrate their ascent and to give back to the Nepali people, by assisting during the COVID pandemic.
Climber John Bachar Blew the Doors Clean Off the ’70s Yosemite Climbing Scene: In the early 1970s, the major Yosemite climbers’ proving ground was the Nabisco Wall, a series of vertical cracks that would have been impossible to climb before the invention of hexes. Into this scene –- and it was a scene, dominated by already legends like John Long and Jim Bridwell –- on a warm spring day in 1973 strolled an utterly unknown kid of 17.
Climbing legend John Bachar.
Rowing the world again
Erden Eruç On Why He’s Rowing Around The World Again (And Climbing Everest): Erden Eruç has more time at sea in a rowboat than anyone alive, nearly three years all told, including 312-days alone on the Pacific. The 59-year-old Seattleite was the first person to circumnavigate the globe alone and under his own power. In so doing, he crossed the world’s three great oceans — Pacific, Indian and Atlantic. The expedition took five years and consumed his life savings. Now he’s off again.
Staying Alive! Climbing and Risk: These days, climbing is often lazily described as a sport, and sponsored climbers glibly branded as athletes. While competition climbing certainly is a sport, there’s a lot more to climbing than competitions. Many climbing disciplines involve significant risk. Getting it wrong may result in serious injury or death. So how do you avoid getting it wrong?
The Man In The Mirror: “If modern British adventure has a face, it looks a lot like Leo Houlding.” Sandy blonde hair, sun-bronzed skin, and bags of youthful exuberance. This is how a young Leo Houlding burst onto the British climbing scene in the late 1990s. Growing up in the tranquil yet rugged surroundings of Cumbria, the Lakeland setting provided Houlding with an adventure playground of his own. Inspired by the wild men of British climbing — notably Al Rouse, Paul Pritchard, Alex McIntyre, Johnny Dawes, and the godfathers Doug Scott and Chris Bonington — Houlding was captivated by the counterculture aspect of the sport.
Lord of The Growth Rings
Lorna Beecroft took this shot on the Nanaimo Parkway on Vancouver Island. Photo: Lorna Beecroft
The Mystery Behind a Photo of a Logged Old-Growth Tree: In May, a photo of a massive tree trunk in the back of a logging truck on Vancouver Island went viral. It sparked outrage and disbelief from as far away as Japan. Canadian news outlets raced to confirm whether the photo was real and to report the tree’s back story — which remains a mystery.
The Crystal Hunters of Chamonix: Climate change is melting the glaciers and permafrost of the Mont Blanc massif, revealing crystals hidden in pockets once covered in snow. Simon Akam tagged along on an expedition with one of the area’s most legendary hunters, a daring French alpinist who completes dangerous climbs to discover specimens worth tens of thousands of dollars.
It’s Not Cheap, But Is This One Of The Most Accessible Polar Adventures Around? In March 2020, novice skier Brooke Nolan embarked on a 250km, all-female, cross-country ski expedition in Norway’s Arctic Circle. They emerged from -25˚C temperatures and 50kph winds to discover that COVID-19 had taken full hold. A year on, she reflects on this relatively do-able, polar-style adventure.
