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.
Alone on the Ocean: Cole Brauer is currently second in the Global Solo Challenge. Days away from the finish line, the race’s youngest competitor is one of just eight remaining competitors from 16 who set off.
If she finishes, Brauer will likely set a speed record for her boat class and become the first American woman to complete a round-the-world sailing race. She has amassed 400,000 followers on social media and wants to change the face of professional ocean sailing.
Nepal’s Wild West: Matt Glenn writes about his 2023 Nepal expedition with Hamish Frost, Paul Ramadan, and Tim Miller. The team split into two pairs, each with a different objective.
Glenn and Frost aimed for the North Face of Bobaye. They set out to scout the line but Glenn found it hard to breathe and couldn’t keep up with Frost. They returned to base camp to rest.
Days later, they returned to the face and climbed for a day, building a ledge on a snow slope to camp overnight. A few hours later, their tent had half collapsed. Trapped in spindrift, they had to dig their way out.
Why hasn’t anyone repeated Hummingbird Ridge?
The Hummingbird Ridge leads to the summit of Mount Logan, far left background, from the Seward Glacier. Photo: Jerry Kobalenko
Is Hummingbird Ridge the Hardest Classic Climb?: Since its first ascent in 1965, no one has repeated the original line on Hummingbird Ridge. First climbed by Dick Long and Allen Steck, it was actually a consolation prize. They had wanted to open a new ridge on Denali but were beaten to it. Despite this, the Hummingbird Ridge’s reputation has only grown over the years.
Orcas Investigate Kayakers: A group of sea kayakers filmed two orcas swimming around their boats. The killer whales pop out of the water directly next to them.
I Selected the Trail from Google Maps: Last year, Ian Snyder fell 300m while hiking in Hawaii. He was on the Koolau Summit Trail when he fell and was stranded for three days at the foot of a waterfall. A year later, he still has vision problems and is not back to full strength.
Snyder has released a video talking about his fall and what he did wrong. The biggest mistake was simply following a trail from Google Maps without any further research. His second mistake was not telling his family where he was going.
No pets while climbing
Why Pets Don’t Belong at the Crag: Years ago, James Lucas would take his dog Wesley to Buttermilk Boulders. He would climb and the dog would run about, wrestle with other dogs, or snooze below. At the time, Lucas thought taking your dog to the crag was an obvious thing to do.
But over the years, he has seen more and more people bring their pets to the ever more crowded crags. Animals get in the way, can get lost, and distract their owners in moments when they can’t afford to be distracted.
Anna Tybor. Photo: Piotr Drzastwa
A Delicate Line: Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain in the world. Anna Tybor wants to become the first woman to summit and then descend on skis without oxygen.
Tybor climbs with three friends but everything is harder than expected. Tybor is plagued with doubt but has to trust her instincts. In the end, she summits without oxygen and skis down, even if it is not how she had initially planned.
What Kills People in National Parks: Every year, over 240 people die in U.S. National Parks. That works out to less than a one-in-a-million chance, but to some, it paints a picture of parks that are far more dangerous than in reality.
The National Park Service has trawled through 17 years of fatalities to see what led to these deaths. The number one cause was drowning, and many of those were boaters who did not wear life jackets.
