When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Sometimes we’re a little too plugged in and browsing adventure reads can turn from minutes to hours. To nourish your own adventure fix, here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
Alpinist and WWII Saboteur Freddie Chapman Was All Kinds of Badass: English traveler Freddie Chapman explored Greenland in the early 1930s and made the first ascent of Jomolhari (7,326m) in Tibet. He then spent the majority of the Second World War behind enemy lines in the jungles of Japanese-occupied Malaya. Despite his exploits, Chapman is little known in his native England, or elsewhere for that matter.
Hannes Lindemann: German doctor Hannes Lindemann is not well known outside of the sea kayaking community. However, Lindemann made two solo transatlantic crossings, one in a dugout canoe, that are classics. These unassisted crossings were inspired by an interest in learning about how the human body and mind survived at sea.
The Rise of Climbing as Therapy: Sports scientists and clinicians now recognize the mental and physical health benefits of rock climbing. Doctors in some European countries prescribe climbing therapy instead of more conventional treatments for mental health issues.
So This Is How I Will Die: Willie Benegas is an IFMGA climbing guide with 13 Everest summits and a new route on Nuptse. The well-known Argentinian was guiding a group of skiers in Utah last month when an avalanche engulfed him. This is the story of his survival.
Mystery on Everest
Photo: Anja Blacha
The Mount Everest Mystery Deepens: In spring 2019, an American climber led a team to the Chinese side of Mount Everest to try and solve one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries. Who really was the first to the summit? In re-examining the old Mallory and Irvine debate, the team uncovered a different but equally fascinating Everest mystery.
Kenyan Climber On First All-Black Team Attempting Mount Everest: A Kenyan mountaineer is one of 10 climbers aiming to make history in a sport not known for its diversity. The group hopes to be the first all-black team to climb Mount Everest. The other nine members of the team are American.
Photo: Lure of the North
Winter Snowshoe Epic Across Ontario: A pair of experienced wilderness guides led a traveling tribe of five women and eight men across Ontario. The group’s journey covered more than 700km and took 70 days. They hauled massive four-metre toboggans and slept in large canvas hot tents. The route finished at James Bay on the edge of the Arctic Ocean.
Is this Canada’s ‘Stonehenge’? There is an old medicine wheel in Alberta which is one of the oldest religious monuments in the world. Apparently, the Iniskim Umaapi is 5,000 years old. Ancient indigenous people came here to pray and make offerings.
