When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
Five Epic UK Winter Climbs: Garmin and Base magazine have teamed up to create a list of their top five winter hikes in the UK. These five routes across the Lake District, North Wales, and the Highlands of Scotland are perfect for those thinking about their first foray into the snowy mountains.
Interview with Simon Messner: The son of Reinhold Messner speaks about his life as a climber. He started climbing to overcome his fear of heights, mentored by one of his father’s friends. Now he has made 60 first ascents across the Alps, North Africa, and the Karakoram. He admits that he is vastly different from his father and does not want to be compared to him.
Second Miracle Dog Rescued in Colorado Mountains: For the second time in a month, a dog that went missing in the Colorado backcountry has been found. The Bernese mountain dog, Nova Riley, disappeared seven weeks ago and managed to survive two snowstorms. She is a service dog who slipped out of her harness and wandered off. When found, she had lost a quarter of her body weight and had a broken leg.
Yannick Glatthard and Simon Wahli set the Salbit Trilogy speed record. Photo: Yannick Glatthard and Simon Wahli
New FKT in the Alps
New Salbit Trilogy Speed Record: Yannick Glatthard and Simon Whali have set a new speed record on Switzerland’s Salbit Trilogy. The Swiss duo completed the Salbitschijen West, South, and East ridges in five hours and 53 minutes. They cut over three-and-a-half hours off the previous fastest known time, set by the formidable Dani Arnold.
Solo Scrambling and Backpacking Across the Alps: In 2021, Richard Hatfield spent two months traversing the Alps from east to west. Starting in Slovenia, he covered 1,900km, climbed 65 peaks, and eventually ended on the Mediterranean coast of France. Here, he talks to UK Hillwalking about his experience, how it compared to other long solo backpacking trips, and gives advice (and a kit list) for those thinking about attempting something similar.
Five types of surfers you don’t want to meet
Five Worst Types of Surfer in a Lineup: Surfing is more popular than it has ever been. Lineups are more crowded, and the people in the waves fall into a number of categories. Alexander Haro rounds up the five worst kinds of surfers, from the “zero etiquette guy,” who doesn’t seem to enjoy surfing, to the “paddle for every wave but never get it guy,” who is never quite in the right spot but still manages to get in everyone’s way.
The Tour de France Winner Who Saved Hundreds in WW2: Gino Bartelli is a legend of road cycling. If WW2 hadn’t broken out, many think he would have won more Tour de Frances than anyone. But when the war began, like most men in Italy, he was conscripted. Stationed in the traffic police, the national hero was allowed to go on training rides.
On these rides, sometimes up to 300 kilometers in a day, he secretly smuggled forged papers, passports, and money to Jews. He hid these refugees in his basement and did everything he could to stop their deportation. He saved 800 people and kept it a secret until his death. His son revealed the truth once he had died.
Gino Bartali in the Tour de France. Photo: Adventure Journal
Warren Dayle Hates What the Appalachian Trail Has Become: Warren Dayle set a speed record on the Appalachian Trail 50 years ago. He has lived in the mountains ever since and completed the hike 18 times. Since 1989, he has run the Appalachian Trail Institute, taught people how to hike the AT, and led more successful groups through the entire trail than anyone else. But he hates what his beloved trail has become.
