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.
Scuba Diving in a Feeding Frenzy: Three days before the full moon, Suzie Dundas sat with a group of divers waiting for the signal to go. They were looking for something specific: at least 1,000 red snappers.
Suddenly, the guide’s hand shot into the air and they descended 31m into a “frenzied fish orgy.” As the tide turned, females started releasing eggs into the water and the males darted through releasing sperm. The mating event is also the perfect feeding spot for predators.
Fatal BASE Jump into the Grand Canyon: Justin Guthrie died during an illegal BASE jump in Grand Canyon National Park earlier this month. Tom Aiello, a leading BASE instructor, has taken issue with calling it a BASE jump.
Guthrie did not jump from an exit point. There was no safe landing area, the cliff was underhung, and the hot air was turbulent. This is not a jump that an experienced BASE jumper would make.
Usually, BASE equipment retailers and instructors require proof of significant skydiving experience before offering their services, but there has been a recent rise in DIY-style BASE jumping. The result is usually serious injury or death.
Ittoqqortoormiit. Photo: Kevin Hall
A remote photo opportunity
Photographing One of The Most Remote Places on Earth: Ittoqqortoormiit village is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth. Over 800km from the next Greenland town and frozen for nine months of the year, the residents lead unique lives.
Ittoqqortoormiit is home to 370 people, with no roads in or out. Earlier this year, Kevin Hall photographed the secluded village.
The Elite Climber Who Lost His Vision: Jesse Dufton is an elite trad climber, a sport where good eyesight is considered vital. But Dufton is completely blind. He began losing his eyesight during childhood and had lost it completely by his early 20s.
You might consider his story as that of a man versus his disability. But Dufton thinks of it as a love story. He met his wife at university when they were both on the rock climbing team. Soon after they met, two things happened: Dufton lost the rest of his vision, and he fell in love with Mollie.
Cyril Derreumaux arrives in Hawaii. Photo: Cyril Derreumaux
First Pacific, Now Atlantic
Cyril Derreumaux Prepares For Atlantic Kayak Crossing: Cyril Derremaux only started kayaking in his 30s. Within a few years, he was rowing in the Great Pacific Race. After he read Ed Gillet’s story about kayaking from California to Hawaii, he reenacted the route. Now he is preparing for a second solo kayak crossing. This December, he will attempt to kayak across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Barbados.
Cycling the Western Balkans: The Trans Dinarica cycling route opened in July. The 4,000km route winds through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. Sophie Stuber and a friend took on the section through the Dinaric Alps.
Montenegro’s Black Lake. Photo: Matevz Hribar/Trans Dinarica
Collateral damage
Man Shoots Himself in Leg During Bear Attack: Tyler Johnson and his father were hunting in Alaska when they startled a bear. Johnson managed to unsheathe his gun and shoot the bear as it charged. But as he fell backward, he also shot himself in the leg. Moments later, he made a video documenting the incident.
Gilbertson is at It Again: Eric Gilbertson is a professor at Seattle University who climbs during his three-month summer break. He recently summited Alpomish, the highest peak in Uzbekistan, as part of a project with his brother. The pair plan to reach the highest point of all seven nations ending in ‘stan’.
