Adventure racing can be dangerous. And fatal. Last fall, during
the Subaru Primal Quest adventure race in Washington State,
Australian Nigel Aylott was killed by a falling rock sent down a steep hill inadvertently by one of his teammates. The
Subaru Primal Quest competitors are co-ed teams of four people racing across a nearly 400-mile course that
required trekking, paddling, mountain biking, glacier skirting, skating, ropes work and navigation. At the time,
there was some press about the
death. Here
is race team member Rebecca Rusch’s first hand account of what happened. And if you’re interested, here is a
tribute video for Aylott.
Snowshoeing at REI
I don’t know where you do your gear shopping, but more likely than not, I head to REI.
Sure, EMS is great too, and there are some other good places around, but I think it’s that climbing rock in the
Seattle flagship store that just rocks my world. There’s
something about it that just so anti-Wal-Mart, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, I bring up REI because a friend of mine was telling me about these
snowshoeing workshops that REI does. Held
exclusively at REI stores, these workshops go into the health and fitness benefits of
snowshoeing, equipment, basic first aid, hydration…all that
stuff. And since we’re in the heart of winter and it’s too damn cold outside to go running, showshoeing is one of those
things you can do to get the heart pounding. So why not learn how to do it right? Just a thought.
Pacific Northwest: Land of Many Outdoor Adventures
If you live in Oregon or Washington, you probably already know you have a wealth of outdoor adventures to get the
old blood pumping. Just in case you lack ideas however, the Oregonian has a
nice list
of outside activities in 2005 to get you going. Suggestions range from snowmobiling at Diamond Lake
Resort in February to road biking the rim of Crater Lake in September and bird watching in the Baskett Slough National
Wildlife Refuge in November. As the author of the article puts it, “There’s no such thing as “down time” in the Pacific
Northwest.”
Nat Geo: 3 Explorers/People to Watch in 2005
Who will be making the big break-throughs, the big accomplishments in the world of adventure next year? National
Geographic Adventure comes up with three
folks who they say are bound to impress. It’s an eclectic chioce, but here goes.
First is Norman Vaughan who, in December 2005, will celebrate his 100th birthday atop Antarctica’s 10,302-foot
(3,140-meter) Mount Vaughan (yes, named for him. He was with Admiral Byrd on the first American expedition to the South
Pole in 1928.) One hundred years old and dealing with crampons rather than cramps is indeed impressive.
Then there’s Allison Gannet who next fall, will climb Nepal’s 22,000-foot (6,707-meter) Gyaglen Peak, the site of the
first all-woman expedition to the Himalaya 50 years ago. OK, big time climber, that’s cool.
And finally (I suppose this counts as an adventurer…a little odd though…maybe he’s related to someone at Nat Geo)
there is Mark Oleson, a shoe designer and the brains behind the Adidas 1, a ground-breaking state-of-the-art shoe due
out next year. Shoe-designer…hmmm. OK, well let’s hope it’s a really great shoe.
The Allure of ANWR
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has been a hot-button
environmental issue for over a decade. The sprawling expanse of tundra is regarded by environmentalists as the American
Serengeti. But how many people have actually gone to ANWR? It’s not an easy place to reach, and vast herds of Caribou
notwithstanding, there’s really not a great deal there. That doesn’t make it any less important as a place to protect
from oil development, but I have been wondering what the place is actually like. And so
here’s a piece in Audubon magazine about ANWR. As
one might suppose, the Audubon piece is bullish on the allure of the plain, but I thought this was a fine article, and
one worth reading if the ANWR debate at all interests you.