The Stage is Set on Everest

by Kraig Becker on

The Himalayan spring climbing season is rapidly approaching its busiest time, with teams on Everest preparing to finally make a run at the summit. The stage was set for that to occur yesterday when the first climbers of 2009 reached the top, as an extremely skilled group of five Sherpas completed fixing the lines to the peak.

First to top out was Mingma Tenzing, closely followed by Panuru Sherpa, both climbing with the International Mountain Guides team. Next was Kami Rita, climbing with Alpine Ascents, and finally Dorje and Nima Tsering, who are part of the Himalyan Experience team. On the south side of Everest, teams work together to set the ropes up the mountain, and these three teams are the biggest, and most well funded on the mountain. They pooled their resources to help ensure that everyone has a safe road to the top.

British climber David Tait was not far behind the Sherpas, and he became the first non-Sherpa to summit this season. For Tait, this is his third time on top of Everest, making the journey without the use of supplemental oxygen. This is an unusually early summit, as generally weather slows down the progress, but until this past weekend, it has been very calm in the region.

No more summits are expected to take place until next week. The other teams are just now finishing their acclimatization process, and more bad weather is expected in the next few days. The First Ascent team, consisting of climbing legends like Ed Viesturs and Dave Hahn, have projected that they will begin their summit bids on May 8th with the hope of reaching the top on the 12th. Looks like next week will be very busy on the highest mountain on Earth.

Massive Cave Discovered in Vietnam

by Kraig Becker on

A massive cave discovered in a remote region of Vietnam has been explored for the first time, and is now believed to be amongst the largest in the world. With its main chamber stretching nearly 500 feet in length, and soaring to an unbelievable 650 feet in height.

The cavern is called Hang Son Doong, which means “mountain river cave” in Vietnamese, and was first discovered back in 1991, but was not explored until recently, when a 13-man spelunking team from the U.K. went inside for the first time. The team used a high tech laser to plumb the length and depth of the cavern, and based on preliminary results, they now believe that the cave reaches a height that is at least twice as tall as the largest previously known cave.

The expedition trekked six hours through the jungle to reach the cavern, then spent five days exploring it. In order to reach the massive main chamber. they had to rappel down into a side chamber, cross two underground rivers, and then negotiate several passages. Their cursory survey revealed that the cave system is more than 4 miles in length, but the team believes that there is much more yet to be discovered, and they’ll return later in the year to more thoroughly investigate its depths.

While this cave is genuinely an amazing find, and the height of its main chamber may be the largest yet discovered, it pales in comparison to a cave called Gua Nasib Bagus in Malayasia, whose main chamber streches 2300 feet in length. The king of caves remains Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky however, as it streches at least 365 miles in length, with more passages being discovered all the time.

[via the Outside Blog]

Saving Endangered Species Through Tourism

by Kraig Becker on

One of the real successes in ecotourism over the past decade or so has been the use of tourist dollars to aid in wildlife conservation. Many countries have discovered that travelers are willing to pay a good deal of money for the opportunity to observe wildlife in its natural habitat, and those funds can go a long way to not only protecting that wildlife, but building an economy as well.

With that in mind, the Times Online has put together a list of ten top wildlife conservation holidays. Each of the trips on this list will not only give us amazing, once in a lifetime, wildlife encounters, but also piece of mind that we are having a positive impact on the animals as well.

On the high end of the scale, travelers can go to Noah’s Ark on the North Island in the Seychelles. For a mere £1200 per night (roughly $1800), you’ll be pampered with your own private villa, complete with plunge pool and butler, a spa, and pristine beaches. And while you lounge in luxury, the resort is using all that money to return the island to its original state, which includes removing invasive species such as rats, brought there by the coconut plantations. Their efforts have already yielded results, with the Seychelles white-eye, an indigenous bird, seeing its population increase by 36% in the last two years.Birds not your thing? Then how about heading to Uganda, where roughly 700 mountain gorillas still exist. Uganda has practically become the model for the use of tourist dollar to protect wildlife with their highly successful gorilla treks. The permits are on the expensive side, but that money goes to protect these noble creatures from poachers, deforestation, and guerillas of a completely different kind. Despite all that, the gorilla population continues to grow, and visitors continue to pay top dollar for a chance to spend just a few hours with them.

There are plenty of other good suggestions for wildlife vacations that help save endangered animals, ranging from black rhinos in Namibia to spectacled bears in Ecuador. Take any one of the trips and go with a clean conscience, knowing that you are having a positive impact on the places you are visiting.

The Top 10 American Adventures (According to National Geographic)

by Kraig Becker on

National Geographic Adventure has posted a great list of their choices for the Top 10 American Adventures, offering up plenty of great ideas for adventurous vacations that are close to home. Each of these ten adventures includes a video as well, giving us the opportunity to see first hand just why they deserve to be on the list.

From top to bottom, there are some excellent suggestions for summer vacations for anyone who isn’t looking to add a stamp to their passport in the near future. For instance, the number 10 adventure on the list is SCUBA diving in the waters near Grand Portage, MN. This portions of Lake Superior is littered with shipwrecks, making it an ideal dive spot for those wanting to stay close to home. National Geographic also points out that these are freshwater wrecks, meaning they are far better preserved than their saltwater counterparts in places like Fiji or Mexico.

Looking for an adventure that stays above the surface? Willing to peddle for a few days? Then perhaps RAGBRAI is more what you’re looking for. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register, RAGBRAI stands for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The seven day cycling tour is as challenging or leisurely as you want to make it. The event has taken place for years, and more than 10,000 riders are expected to take part this July. RAGBRAI is an interesting mix of physical challenge, midwest hospitailty, and summer fun, all rolled into one great event, and the nightly parties are legendary as well. The classic bike ride comes in at number 7 on the list.

Of course, there are eight other great adventures as well, ranging from hiking in the High Sierra to canoeing in the Adirondacks. There is something for everyone, no matter where you live. So don’t let the summer pass you by without taking part in one of these amazing trips.

Roadmonkey Combines Adventure with Volunteer Opportunities

by Kraig Becker on

Travel company Roadmonkey has created unique travel experiences that combine the thrill of adventure travel with the satisfaction that comes with making a difference in the places we visit. The goal is to offer phsycially demanding outdoor adventures with deeply gratifyng volunteer opportunities to create what they term as “Adventure Philanthropy”.

Currently the compnay has two expeditions in the works for 2009. The first is a climb of Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, scheduled to take place this June. Travelers will spend the first seven days of the trip climbing to the summit of Kili before venturing overland to a small village near Dar Es Salaam. Once there, they’ll spend an additional four days building a clean water system and painting classrooms in a school for children orphaned by AIDS.

If climbing a mountain doesn’t sound like much of a vacation, then perhaps Roadmonkey’s other planned expedition is more your speed. This November they’ll take their second cycling trip through Vietnam, leading a team of 11 adventurous travelers as they mountain bike through the rugged hill country to the northwest of Hanoi. In 2008, the team stopped in a village along the way to build a playground at an orphanage, and a similar volunteer opportunity is planned for the 2009 expedition as well.

Volunteer travel is a growing trend in the industry, and when combined with adventure travel, it provides the opportunity for very unique and satifiying experiences on a cultural, physical, and intellectual level. Roadmonkey is offering just those kinds of journeys.