Mountain Climbing Course Brings Skills From Experts

by Chris Owen on

Just after completing the second ascent of Kilimanjaro‘s Breach Icicle 25 years ago, Scott Fischer and Wes Krause realized that they were hooked on adventure. Since then they have faced grizzly bears, walked among lions, rode avalanches and made first ascents, founding Mountain Madness to provide the highest quality experience for beginner and advanced mountaineers and trekkers alike.

Coming up in October, Mountain Madness guides head to Red Rocks, one of the best desert rock-climbing areas, offering something for every climber from challenging sport routes to long and classic multi-pitch traditional climbs.

“Few climbing locations have as much sun and varied climbing as the beautiful canyons found in the Red Rocks National Conservation Area” says Mountain Madness on its website – and they should know. Mountain Madness was selected by Outside, America’s leading multimedia active-lifestyle brand, as a recipient of its first-ever Active Travel Awards earlier this year.In addition to the diverse Red Rocks terrain, unique to the Mountain Madness program is the freedom to adjust your itinerary as the weather, climbing conditions and the objective allow.

The scheduled five-day course starts with an orientation and equipment check, with a review of essential knot tying skills and proper use of equipment. Top rope set-up, anchors, belaying a lead climber, cleaning protection, rappelling and rope management take up the rest of the day that ends at a nearby campground.

The next day is devoted to practicing skills including a warm-up multi-pitch climb with the evening saved to enjoy the Las Vegas nightlife. After that, guides cover anchoring systems, and equalization techniques with time to apply the skills learned throughout the course in the multi-pitch climbing arena.

The course gets an early start each day to beat the crowds and the heat, giving flexibility regarding which routes to climb in Red Rocks, depending on skills and interests.

The October course starts at $795 per person with one guide for every four students and includes group-climbing equipment. Check the Mountain Madness website for more information.

Want to get an idea of what its like to climb Red Rocks? Check this video:


[Flickr photo by justonlysteve]

A Gallery Of Roller Coaster Camera Trolls

by Chris Owen on

Roller coasters race up and down tracks at county fairs and theme parks around the world, bringing hair-raising thrills to children of all ages. Sometimes called “scream machines,” roller coasters have been the main attraction wherever they are for more than a century.

The coasters of today are taller, faster and wilder than ever before, causing operators to offer photos that capture the experience at the pinnacle of its excitement. Just making it to the end of the thrilling ride is cause for celebration for most riders. Others need more and sometimes stage that moment when the camera flashes, bringing us the wacky photos in this gallery.

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Looking for more roller coaster photos?
CoasterGallery has over 4,000 original roller coaster pictures from hundreds of amusement parks.

Can’t get enough roller coaster madness?
Check out this video of the top 10 roller coasters in the world.

[Flickr photo by joellybaby]

Travel Warning Issued: For Canada?

by Chris Owen on

Previously voted the world’s most recommended country to visit just days ago, Canada’s popularity took a turn for the worse this week as Iran’s foreign ministry said Iranians should avoid travel to Canada.

The move was in response to Canadian diplomats walking out of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday before Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke about his vision for a “new world order,” reports CBC news.

Beating out Australia, Sweden and Switzerland for the second year in a row, the annual RepTrak study rated Canada number one after polling a panel of 36,000 people representing the G8 countries.

But earlier this month, the Canadian government announced the closing of its embassy in Tehran and expulsion of Iranian diplomats. After the boycott this week, Iran responded, saying criminals and “anti-Iranian groups” bent on revenge could now target Iranians visiting Canada, knowing they no longer have an embassy.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Canada Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said when asked about the travel advisory, speaking to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons as reported by CBC. “And I think 99 percent of Canadians would share that view.”

Probably a lot of Americans too.


Flickr photo by SeattleRay

Photo Of The Day: NYC Skyline

by Elizabeth Seward on

I don’t usually take Photos Of The Day as an opportunity to display my own work, but today’s photo of the NYC skyline is different. While riding to Brooklyn over the weekend, I looked out the passenger side window of my car and saw the evening sun casting shining beams of light between Manhattan’s buildings, silhouetting the skyline. I managed to capture what I saw and feel compelled to share the photo with you today. And so here it is, New York City at sunset.

Have a photo you’d like to submit for Photo Of The Day? Drop it into the Gadling Flickr Pool and we’ll take a look!

Aircraft Boarding Challenges Bring Innovative Designs

by Chris Owen on

Boarding commercial aircraft, from a traveler’s point of view, is all about getting to our seats, stowing gear and getting underway. We hope to have overhead bin space available, a reasonably comfortable seat and an on-time departure. Airlines are right there with us on the getting to our seats part and getting underway; they could not agree more. It’s a major issue so aircraft designers devote a lot of time and resources to making the whole process efficient.

Airlines want the boarding process to go as fast as it can for a couple big reasons. They want to stay on time, sure. But the less time they spend boarding passengers, the more flights they can fit in a day. As airlines cut back on the number of flights, choosing to insure full, profitable planes, they are constantly looking for ways to increase that efficiency.

One way might be slider seats that promise quicker boarding.Using the new Molon Labe Designs approach during boarding, the aisle seat slides on top of the middle seat, creating a 43-inch wide aisle. That gives boarding passengers much more room to navigate, stow gear and be seated. When boarding on each row is completed, the aisle seat then slides back into position.

The manufacturer promises they can cut loading time in half, adding up to 120 minutes flying time every day. Good news for airlines that could fly the same number of passengers with up to 15 percent fewer aircraft. But what about passengers?

“I’m not going to tell you it’s a comfortable seat,” Hank Scott, founder of the company said in a LA Times article. “It’s a quick, turn-around seat.” A prototype is due in November and the company has presented the idea to Boeing and Airbus.

Like it or not, aircraft seating is a huge topic to designers. The amount of time it takes to board passengers is on the table for discussion. To those with mobility issues, its also about the indignity and discrimination they face boarding aircraft.

Air Access is a concept designed by Priestmangoode that speeds up the boarding process for passengers with reduced mobility by enabling an easier transition from gate to aircraft. Air Access is a detachable wheelchair the passenger gets in at the departure gate or on the jet way. After seating, the passenger is wheeled onto the plane where the chair slides sideways and locks into the fixed-frame aisle seat without the passenger needing to get up.

On arrival, ground staff unlocks the seat, slide it out into the aisle and wheel the passenger to the jet way or arrival gate as we see in this video:




[Flickr photo by Slices of Life]