Married…With Altitude

by Erik Olsen on

There are adventuresome places to get married (skydiving, scuba diving, in a
church inside a volcano), and then there is the king of all adventuresome places to get married: the
top of Mount Everest. No word
on whether the best man’s tux was made of Gortex, but the two newlyweds, both Nepalese: Moni Mulepati, 24, and groom
Pem Dorjee, 23, appear very excited, sort of, in the photo. She looks excited, anyway, he looks like he’s either having
doubts or suffering a bit from altitude sickness.

(thanks Carl!)

Colorado Sahara

by Erik Olsen on

Who says you have to go all the way to he Middle East to pretend you’re Laurence of Arabia? In fact, to find some of
the biggest dunes around, you only have to go as far as Colorado. Here’s

an article in the Chicago Trib about the Great Sand Dunes National Park,
giving it the props it deserves as one of the countries coolest places. I’ve been here a couple of times. The dunes
are, well, dunes. They look very cool, especially as the sun does down during the golden hour, so if you’re a photo fan
you’re in for a treat. But they are also fun to run around and tumble down. You will inevitably end up with sand in
your ears and other orifices, but it’s worth it. As the article suggests, its a great place to climb, take photos or
just hang out.

Lunchtime Climbing Video

by Erik Olsen on

Sitting at your desk trying to find some decent outdoors video to watch? Increasingly we’re
seeing some good stuff go oneline, although it can still be hard to find, especially stuff for free. Well, thiis isn’t
free, but Beyond Gravity is a video out that explores the
climbing lifestyle, with video shot around the world featuring climbers doing all the styles: rock, ice, mixed,
aid, sport, and alpine climbing as well as bouldering, expedition and free-soloeing. You can watch a clip
here.

Sherpa Climbs Everest 15th Time

by Erik Olsen on

Imagine summitting Everest fifteen times. I mean, for most of us, getting to basecamp would be a struggle, let alone
ever setting foot ONCE on the summit.

Well, it’s been done. And of course, it was done by a sherpa.
Sherpa Appa (or is that Appa Sherpa?), was leading a team of Western mountaineers and other Sherpa guides to the
29,035-foot peak.

According to numerous reports we’ve followed,
the weather on Everest has been pretty gnarly this year, but this week things got better and almost 50 climbers made it
to the top this last Monday.

(Thanks, Carl)

Digital Outdoor Life

by Erik Olsen on

The new, fully sponsored by Best Buy Digital Life section is up
and running on MSNBC. An odd mix of content and advertorial, but not bad, I suppose if you’re in the market for the
stuff they are selling. I suppose I’ll not quibble with the idea that most of the gadgets, etc. being discusses can
likely be bought at Best Buy. That’s the brave new world of sponsored “news” content, I guess. But take a look, because
some of the stuff is interesting, like the best outdoor radios
piece, and this one on running technology, which features a pretty
cool running monitor that works with Bluetooth.