Articles tagged “adventure travel”

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Lonely llama wanders Pikes Peak

by Kraig Becker on

Recent visitors to Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, have been surprised to find an unexpected creature wandering the slopes of the 14,000 foot mountain. According to this story from The Gazette, an escaped llama has been prowling the area for the past three weeks, avoiding capture, while posing for photos, and trying unsuccessfully to join the local herd of bighorn sheep.

Llamas are found in the wild in South America’s Andes Mountains, but have become popular domesticated animals all over the world. This lone llama has obviously escaped from someone’s farm, and its natural instincts have led it into the mountains, where it is reportedly eating well, and thriving. Llamas also happen to travel in herds, and this one is no exception. He has tried, without success, to join the herd of sheep that lives atop Pikes Peak, but so far his high altitude neighbors have shown little interest in letting him join their community.

Local authorities say that for now, the llama is safe and doing well. But they fear that as winter moves in, and food becomes scarce, he will become an easy target for predators. They have alerted local ranchers about the out of place wanderer, but so far, no one has claimed him.

For now, the Lone Llama of Pikes Peak continues to enjoy a life of freedom while frolicking in the high mountain meadows. But those care-free days may well be ending soon, and for his own good.

Furnace 508 endurance cycling race starts tomorrow

by Kraig Becker on

Tomorrow morning one of the most challenging cycling events anywhere on the planet will get underway from Santa Clarita, California. Two hundred riders will set out to compete in the Furnace 508, a race that is billed as “the toughest 48 hours in sports”, and is known for pushing its competitors to the limits of their physical and mental endurance.

The 508 mile course runs from Santa Clarita to Twentynine Palms, crossing through the Mojave Desert and Death Valley in the process. The riders will be tested by ten mountain passes, offering up more than 35,000 feet of elevation gain over the length of the course. And when they’re not dealing with the cool mountain temperatures, they’ll be getting baked by the desert heat.

Competitors can ride the race in three categories, solo, and two- or four-person relays. Solo riders obviously ride the entire 508 miles by themselves, while the relay teams break down the course into two and four segments of equal length, with each rider taking a segment. Last year, the first solo rider to cross the finish line was Michael Emde, who completed the course in just 27 hours and 28 minutes.

The organizers of the race are also committed to being eco-friendly, and have advised the athletes on how to be on a “green team“. The list of suggestions for the racers to limit their impact on the environment includes using hybrid team cars, eating fruits and vegetables that are purchased locally, and using five gallon jugs of water to refill their bottles. The hope is to have a challenging and amazing race while leaving no trace of their passing.

For more on the race, check out the official website, where you’ll find info on the course, the official rules, and more, including the always amusing tall tales from previous races.

Paraplegic climber summits Kilimanjaro!

by Kraig Becker on

A few days back we posted a story about paraplegic athlete Chris Waddell attempting to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, under his own power. When that story was written Chris was still in the midst of his climb, and was camped on the mountain at 18,000 feet. Yesterday, he completed his epic journey, and became the first paraplegic to reach Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa.

The details of Chris’ final push to the top of the mountain remain a bit thin at the moment, but the most recent update to his blog shared the news, saying: “This just in… It’s official ! … Chris is the 1st paraplegic to summit Kili, unassisted! This is wonderful news and we are so very excited. Today is a very, good day! Congratulations to Chris Waddell & the One-Revolution team on a successful summit of Mount Kilimanjaro!!!!” A second update later in the day said that the team had returned to Kili’s crater, where they were spending the night, and that there would be further updates today once they had descended the mountain and returned to their hotel.
In order for Chris to go up Kilimanjaro, he and his team, had to put together a special cart that he could propel using his hands. He essentially peddled the cart, using just the strength of his arms, all the way to the top of the 19,340 foot mountain, dealing with widely varying terrain, plenty of loose rock scree, and the effects of altitude along the way.

For Chris, this is just another amazing accomplishment for a guy who hasn’t let his disability stand in his way. He wanted to make the climb to inspire others, and I think it safe to say that he did just that. Congrats to him and his entire team.

Should a medical exam be required before a major trek?

by Kraig Becker on

Physicians and politicians in Australia are calling for mandatory physicals for any trekkers preparing to hike the Kokoda Track according to Aussie newspaper The Age. The Kokoda is a difficult and remote trail in Papua New Guinea, which has claimed the lives of three hikers this year alone. The track runs 60 miles in length through a region where the Australian military fought a pitched battle with the Japanese during WWII, and it has become a popular tourist attraction in recent years.

The latest person to die on the Kokoda was a 38 year old man named Paul Bradfield who was hiking the trail as part of a fund raising effort for a children’s charity. Before the hike he was believed to have been in good health and spent weeks training for trip. The exact cause of his death is still unknown, but it is believed that he suffered a heart attack while hiking. The other two people to die on the trail this year were also quite young as well. One was a 26 year old man, and the other a 36 year old woman.

This story brings up an interesting debate. Should a physical be required before embarking on any major trek? At what point does a government begin enforcing such requirements and how exactly do they do so? At the moment, Australia has no requirements of the trekking companies that operate on the Kokoda, but they are developing a “code of conduct” for those hiking the trail, and are now strongly considering the requirement of a medical check as well.
While three deaths is certainly something to be concerned about, it is also a very small number when you consider that 6000 people take on the Kokoda each year. Similarly, on Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, roughly ten people die in a given year as well, usually due to altitude sickness. But that too is a small number when you consider the thousands that climb the mountain each year. Should these relatively minuscule numbers of deaths cause a change in policy that will effect all the trekkers that go to these places? And would a mandatory health check have saved these three hikers to begin with?

On the other hand, there is a certain inherent danger to these kinds of trips, and obviously anyone can be at risk, no matter what condition they’re in. Wouldn’t a responsible traveler want to ensure their safety by having a physical anyway? Don’t they owe it to themselves and their families?

If Australia does institute a change, it’ll probably require the tour operators to be the ones that have to enforce it by requiring all hikers to show proof of a medical examination before they join the trek. The question is should they make this change, and if so, should other major treks around the world follow suit?

Paraplegic Athlete Climbing Kilimanjaro

by Kraig Becker on

Paraplegic athlete Chris Waddell is in the process of doing something spectacular. He is attempting to become the first person to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro without the use of his legs, and as of this writing he is camped at 18,000 feet, and preparing for the final push up to the summit.

Back in 1988, Waddell suffered a terrible skiing accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. But he was determined to get back on the slopes, and less than a year later he did, using a monoski to return to his passion. Two years later he was named to the U.S. Disabled Ski team, and he has since gone on to win 12 medals over four Paralympic games, making him the most decorated male skier in the event’s history.

Not content to just ski down the mountains however, Chris wants to climb them as well. To do so, he has devised a specially designed hand cart lovingly called the Bomba, which can maneuver over large obstacles while Waddell uses his arms to “pedal” it up hill. The Bomba is a unique, one of a kind, vehicle built to put Chris on top of Kilimanjaro, which at 19,340 feet, is the tallest mountain in Africa.

Chris is hoping that, through his climb, he can remind the world of all the amazing things that the disabled are capable of. He hopes to, once again, demonstrate that just because someone is “para” that it doesn’t mean that they have to lead a disabled life, and he is sending that message not only to those of us who can walk, but to the 21 million paraplegics in the world as well.

If everything goes as planned, Waddell and his team should reach the summit of Kilimanjaro sometime today. Keep an eye on his blog for updates from the summit. That last 1300 feet will be incredibly challenging for him, with a difficult route to the top, mixed with some snow, and the effects of altitude, but Chris has proven time and again that he can defy the odds when his goal is in sight.

Good luck today Chris!