Adventure Links of the Week

 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.

New Zealand’s ‘Vanished World’: New Zealand’s Alps to Ocean (A2O) bike trail takes cyclists 315km across Zealandia. It starts in the foothills of Aoraki/Mount Cook and runs through the valleys of the Southern Alps. It finishes in Oamaru, a town built from the ancient seabed. Over five days, Tracey Croke cycled the A2O with her husband and two friends. 

Kayaking Tassie’s Freycinet Peninsula: Dan Slater kayaked the coast of Tasmania’s Freycinet Peninsula for six days. They set off from Coles Bay, heading toward Cape Tourville lighthouse. Over the trip, they passed the shoreline of Tasmania’s oldest national park, explored sea caves, and came across a mass stranding of pilot whales. 

Kayaking past Shouten Island’s rugged granite cliffs.

Kayaking past Shouten Island’s granite cliffs. Photo: Dan Slater

 

Chasing extreme weather

Storm Chasing with Jaclyn Whittal: Reporting on extreme weather across North America, storm chaser Jaclyn Whittal regularly broadcasts from Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley, from the edge of hurricanes, and from next to forest fires raging across British Columbia. In this podcast, she explains how she transitioned from musical theater to storm chasing, what it takes to do her job, and the science behind extreme weather. 

Sailing an American Classic: The Newport Bermuda Race is the oldest ocean race in the world. This year, Will Sofrin took part in the 1,020km open ocean race. Sailing Final Final, an IRC41 racer, his team had four frantic days at sea.

On day one, the navigation lights and electronics cut out. On day two, conditions deteriorated. With 48km to go, they are chasing second place. 

 

One down, one to go

Jorge Diaz-Rullo on Move, Change, and Cafe Colombia: Jorge Diaz-Rullo declared that there were two routes he wanted to climb above any other in the world: Bibliographie and Cafe Colombia. Six months later, he made the fifth-ever ascent of Bibliographie. Cafe Colombia still eludes him.  

Third Hawaii Tourist Dies in a Week: In the last week, three tourists in Hawaii have lost their lives on the ocean. The most recent occurred on October 22. A 62-year-old man was swept out to sea at Kauapea Beach and became unresponsive in the water. Both the police and fire department tried to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful.

A week earlier, a huge wave at Keiki Beach pulled three other tourists into the water. Two died, and one was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Langdon Ernest-Beck in Canada.

Langdon Ernest-Beck near Mount Waddington. Photo: Langdon Ernest-Beck

 

Cycling to Mount Waddington

A Human-Powered Adventure to Canada’s High Peaks: Mount Waddington is one of the hardest-to-reach big peaks in North America. Most climbers helicopter in, but Langdon Ernest-Beck and Ben Spiers wanted to complete an environmentally friendly trip. So in June, they began cycling. They biked from Central Washington to Waddington and then hiked for a week to the mountain. After five days of bushwhacking, Waddington seemed the most straightforward part of the 2,300km round trip. 

The Secret to This Everyman’s 5.13 Big Wall First Ascent: Max Barlerin has a wife, a two-month-old daughter, and three jobs. Somehow, he still has time to open new climbing routes. Most recently, a 14-pitch 5.13 in Wyoming’s Wind River Range.

Named Children of the Sun, the route has been a years-long project. Over six years, he took three trips to the wall with different climbing partners, endured a six-month recovery from West Nile virus, launched a new business, and had a baby.

Rebecca McPhee

Rebecca McPhee is a freelance writer for ExplorersWeb.

Rebecca has been writing about open water sports, adventure travel, and marine science for three years. Prior to that, Rebecca worked as an Editorial Assistant at Taylor and Francis, and a Wildlife Officer for ORCA.

Based in the UK Rebecca is a science teacher and volunteers for a number of marine charities. She enjoys open water swimming, hiking, diving, and traveling.