Young climber falls to his death in the Adirondacks

by Kraig Becker on

A young climber by the name of Matthew Potel was leading a group of college classmates on a hike through the Adirondacks last week when he slipped and fell to his death. Potel, who was the co-president of his university’s outdoors club, was assisting two other hikers past a waterfall when he lost his footing on slick rocks.

The seven-person group, all from Binghamton University in New York, were climbing up Trap Dike, a popular route on Mount Colden, when the accident occurred. That approach is a steep and challenging, non-technical, climb to the top of the 4715-foot peak that can present some challenges to inexperienced hikers. Potel reportedly helped one of his classmates negotiate a particularly tricky section, then turned to assist another when he lost his footing and fell 25-feet. The 22-year old, who was not wearing a helmet, died from an injury to his head.

Potel was an experienced outdoorsman who loved the Adirondack Mountains. In fact, he had recently become a member of the “46ers,” a term given to anyone who has climbed all 46 of the mountains in that range that are at least 4000 feet in height. He had also served as a camp counselor and was majoring in environmental studies.

This is a sad story that underscores the importance of safety in all of our outdoor endeavors. Matthew wasn’t climbing an especially tall or dangerous mountain, and yet he still lost his life while on the trail. According to his father however, this is exactly how the young man would have wanted to go – doing something he loved.

Our condolences to his friends and family.

Yosemite climber rescued after losing his thumb

by Kraig Becker on

Earlier this week, search and rescue teams in Yosemite National Park were called into action, when a rock climber on El Capitan became stranded on the mountain after severing his thumb. Following the freak accident, the unnamed climber from Austria was unable to finish his ascent, and had to be removed from the rock face in a difficult helicopter rescue.

The man, and his partner, were climbing “The Nose” route on El Capitan, one of the most iconic and challenging climbs in the world. At one point, the Austrian was the lead climber when he slipped and fell about a thousand feet from the top, narrowly avoiding death thanks to his safety lines and climbing harness.

Unfortunately, during the fall, his thumb became tangled in the rope, and when it pulled tight, it completely removing the digit in the process. The severed thumb tumbled 80 feet to land on a small ledge below, and the injured man’s climbing partner had to descend to retrieve it. After plucking it from the ledge, they called for help, and the SAR team arrived on the scene shortly there after.

The drama wasn’t done there however, as they still had to get both climbers down from the mountain. Rescuers knew that they had a limited window to complete that operation and still get the man to a hospital soon enough to reattach his thumb. Fortunately, Richard Shatto, the pilot of the rescue helicopter, was able to maneuver close enough to the rock wall so that the two climbers could be saved. Immediately following that dramatic rescue, they were whisked off to a nearby hospital, where surgery was successfully performed to repair the hand.

This story is yet another that demonstrates how professional and organized these search and rescue squads really are. Not only were they able to get both men safely off of El Cap, they were able to do it quickly enough to save the thumb as well. Amazing work out of these courageous men.

[Photo credit: Mike Murphy via WikiMedia]

First woman to climb world’s 14 major peaks without backup oxygen

by Jessica Festa on

Another record has been set in the world of extreme sports as Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, a 40-year-old Austrian woman from Germany, summited 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks without carrying backup oxygen.

Supported by grants from the National Geographic Society, Kaltenbrunner was one of four climbers who reached the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain at 8,611 meters high. The conditions had been rough, and the threat of avalanches had been too high for many of the climbers, including Kaltenbrunner’s husband, to continue. Despite having to trudge through waist-deep snow and battle aggressive windstorms, Kaltenbrunner continued on to success.

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner began climbing mountains as a child. When she was 23, she realized she wanted nothing more than to climb an 8,000-meter peak. The then nurse saved her earnings for climbing expeditions and in 2003 became a full-time mountaineer.

In her blog, she writes, “…The burden of the last days were lifted off my shoulders – we had made it. My life’s dream has come true…”

Was this strange stone a prehistoric calendar?

by Sean McLachlan on


This odd stone may look like an unusual product of nature, but it’s actually a monument from about 4,000 years ago called a menhir. Archaeologists have long debated what menhirs were for, perhaps boundary markers or gravestones or something else. Now experts are saying this one, at Gardom’s Edge in the Derbyshire Peak District, England, may be a prehistoric calendar.

Archaeoastronomers, who study astronomical alignments in ancient monuments, studied the stone and found that where the sun hit the slanted side may have acted as a marker for seasons. Other prehistoric remains are nearby, including the mysterious carvings shown below.

Local Bronze Age people are believed to have kept their herds in the higher hills during summer and moved to the warmer valleys when winter set in. This handy calendar would have told them when to move their herds. While the researchers say this sundial may be unique, some other megalithic monuments have astronomical alignments, the most famous being Stonehenge. Megalithic monuments such as stone circles and menhirs can be found all over the British Isles and make for some interesting stops while hiking. Trails such as the Ridgeway Trail pass by several.

The Peak District is one of England’s most beautiful natural spots and Gardom’s Edge is a favorite spot for rock climbing.

[Images courtesy artq55 via flickr]

Ukranian teens capture illegal bridge climbing on video

by Kraig Becker on

I’ve seen some crazy urban climbing videos in my time, but this one takes the cake. It was captured on a helmet cam and follows four teenagers as they scramble up the Moskovskyi (Moscow) Bridge in Kiev, while traffic rushes by below. After a brief conversation in Russian at the beginning of the video, the teens simply begin scaling the steel cables that hold the bridge in place, without the use of any kind of climbing gear or safety equipment. Eventually they reach the top, and even climb inside the main tower, which stands some 377-feet in height.

Judging from the final shots of the video, I don’t know what would be scarier. Climbing the bridge, or making your way back down.