Video: Skiing the Grand Tetons with Jimmy Chin

Last winter, climbers/skiers Jimmy Chin, Kit Deslauriers, and Mark Synnott traveled to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to climb the legendary peaks there, and make ski descents of those mountains. This video, which comes our way courtesy of National Geographic, chronicles those efforts. For those that don't know, the Grand Tetons are amongst the most rugged and difficult in all of North America, and present some interesting challenges for even the most experienced mountaineers. See just what kinds of obstacles this team had to overcome in the short film below, which is both beautifully shot and quite inspiring too. Enjoy!

Video: Trailer for Teton Gravity Research's Paradise Waits

Do the dog days of summer have you yearning for a bit of cooler weather? Are you counting the days until the first snowfall? Than Teton Gravity Research is here to help. They've just released the trailer for their latest full-length ski and snowboard film entitled Paradise Waits, which is scheduled for release this fall. It follows a team of tops winter athletes for an entire season, giving viewers a look behind the scenes as these skier and snowboarders travel the globe looking for the best powder. As usual with TGR, this looks like it will be fantastic.

Video: Lucky Rabbit Survives Avalanche in the Kamchatka Mountains

This video was shot on a mountain in Kamchatka, a remote area of Russia where a team of heliskiers were filming a snowboarding movie. During production an avalanche occurred on the mountain, sweeping down the slopes. The snowboarder featured in the video was able to easily out run it, but a white rabbit actually runs into the avalanche and manages to avoid getting crushed. As you'll see in the clip, he is one lucky bunny who manages to stay above the tumbling snow, and make it to the other side in one piece.

Avalanche! Run Rabbit Run! Original Video By Helipro. from HELIPRO on Vimeo.

Ski Mountaineers Complete Goal of Skiing Colorado's 100 Highest Peaks

How's this for completing an epic challenge? Ski mountaineering legend Chris Davenport, along with friends Ted and Christy Mahon of Aspen Colorado, have become the first people to climb and ski the 100 tallest peaks in the state of Colorado. That includes the 54 "14ers" – mountains that are more than 14,000 feet (4267 meters) in height – as well as the 46 next highest mountains, all of which are over 13,000 feet (3962 meters) themselves.

The project started nine years ago when Davenport became the first person to ski all of the 14ers in a single year, a feat that remains unmatched to this day. The Mahon's would ski each of those mountains as well, with Ted nabbing his final 14er in 2007, while Christy would follow suit in 2010. The idea for the trio to attempt "The Centennial" wouldn't come for another couple of years, when they were all climbing volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2012, they launched their bid to get Colorado's next highest 46 peaks. It wasn't easy, as some of the mountains are well off the beaten path, and Devenport and the Mahons sometimes had to work very hard just to reach their targets. To make things even more interesting, many of those mountains lacked any real intel on ski routes, so they were also scouting them for their descents too. It was an extreme adventure in a place that is remote and rugged as you'll find in the lower 48 states.

Earlier this spring, Chris, Ted, and Christy completed their quest at long last. Their final mountain wasn't an easy one, as it took three days roundtrip just to go there, climb it, ski back down, and hike back out. But in the end they had accomplished something no one else had ever done, climbed and skied Colorado's Centennial, and set an impressive new feat in the world of ski mountaineering.

You can find out more about this mission by reading this article at National Geographic Adventure. It is quite a tale to say the least.

Video: Extreme Athletes Ski and Climb Seven 4000 Meter Peaks in 24 Hours

Speed skiing is a sport that is gaining in popularity, particularly in the Alps in Europe. Recently a pair of extreme athletes – Beni Hug and Tony Sbalbi – decided to test their skills by speed climbing and skiing seven 4000 meter peaks in a single day, setting a new record in the process. Over the course of the day, they climbed an amazing 7000 meters (22,965 ft), as they chained together a route that passed over ten total mountains, including the famous Moench and Jungrau peaks in Switzerland. The video below gives us a brief look at what turned out to be a very long day. As you'll see, it was exhausting work.

Video: Skiing A Rad Couloir in Norway

The Øksehogget Couloir in Norway is the scene for this harrowing video that follows a bold skier down a wild, narrow chute. The couloir was named the raddest in all of Norway last year, and it only takes one look at it to understand why. It runs at an angle of between 45º and 50º, at an elevation of 600 meters (1968 ft), delivering a wild ride along the way. Don't try this at home kids. The results could be bad.
Beating your sluff in a tight spot from Nikolai Schirmer on Vimeo.

Controversy Brewing Over Alleged South Pole Speed Record

There seems to be some controversy brewing over an alleged speed record for skiing to the South Pole. ExWeb is reporting that adventurer Martin Szwed has made claims to various media outlets saying that he broke the speed record for skiing solo across Antarctica. Apparently, Szwed is saying that he not only beat the current record held by Christian Eide, but that he did so by nearly ten days. The problem is, there doesn't seem to be any record of this amazing feat.

According to recent claims by Szwed, he was in the Antarctic this past season to climb Mt. Vinson and ski to the South Pole. His summit of Mt. Vinson has been confirmed to ExWeb by officials at ANI/ALE, who supported him on that venture. But after he finished climbing, Szwed says that he then launched his ski expedition – presumably from the Russian Novo station – which he was then able to complete in 14 days, 18 hours, and 43 minutes. Eide's amazing record, which was set back in 2011, is an impressive 24 days, 1 hour, and 13 minutes.

To further cast doubt on his expedition, Szwed has told various media outlets that he skied 1192 km, 1280 km, and 1300 km. Those varying distances have further helped to call his story into question. He also claims to have used three supply depots along the way, which as ExWeb points out would invalidate his "solo" claim to any speed record.

To put this in perspective, in order to cover the distance that Szwed is claiming, he would have to cover more than 86 km (53 miles) each and every day in tough conditions, while pulling a heavy sled. That would be an incredibly difficult task for sure. ExWeb calls it "herculean," which seems fitting.


But that isn't all. ANI officials, who are pretty much the authority on what happens in the Antarctic, told ExWeb "Based on our contact with other operators and German officials, we have received no indication that the expedition took place. Umweltbundesamt / Federal Environment Agency Germany did not issue a ski expedition permit for him to go the South Pole and TAC [the logistics operator in Cape Town] did not provide him transportation following his Vinson ascent."

Furthermore, the staff at the U.S. South Pole Station, located at 90ºS, says that no one there has seen nor heard of Martin Szwed, nor has there been any arrivals at the Pole since ALE finished their operations three weeks back.

At this point, it seems like Szwed is trying to pull a fast one in order to bolster is reputation. Until he can provide any kind of evidence to support his claims, or someone else can step forward to act as a witness, all of his speed record claims should be viewed as false. So far, Szwed has not responded to ExWeb's inquiries.

It's a shame that these kinds of stories continue to crop up, particularly in an era when it is so easy to verify the information.

Dutch Adventurer to Ski 1200 Miles Across Canada

Over the past three years, Dutch adventurer Yuri Klaver has been working on an epic project that he calls his Arctic Venture. The idea of this expedition it to travel under his own power from Nome, Alaska to Greenland on foot, skis, and by kayak. When he finishes, he hopes to have covered more than 6000 miles (9656 km), crossing through some of the most remote areas of Alaska and Canada – not to mention the North Atlantic – in the process.

Early next week Yuri will set off on the third stage of that journey – a 1200 mile (1931 km) expedition across Northern Canada on skis. Over the coming months he hopes to travel from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Resolute Bay in Canada. He'll start by retrieving his trusty kayak from storage and filling it with supplies. It will serve as his sledge as he pulls it along behind him across the Canadian arctic, with all of his food, fuel, and other gear with him.

According to Yuri, he expects the trip to take approximately 6 months to complete. He hopes to arrive in Resolute sometime in September. In the meantime, he is preparing for the unexpected while traveling above the Arctic circle. He has been training with how to deal with polar bears, poor weather conditions, and fragmenting of the ice. He'll use a large caliber handgun to keep the bears at bay and has developed an alert system to help protect his tent at night. His kayak/sledge will also help him to continue to make progress even when the frozen surface conditions begin to break up, and paddling will be the only option.

Klaver is no stranger to remote expeditions. Back in 2012 he attempted to cross the Bering Sea from Russia to the United States. That journey ended prematurely when he was rescued by Russian border guards a week into the trip. His 2013 phase of Arctic Venture was more successful however, as he paddled for two months along the Bering Sea before going upriver at the Noatak River in the wild and remote Brooks Range of Alaska. Last year he returned to that spot, as he traversed the Brooks Range on skis, and paddled down the Colville River. In 2015, he'll now continue this massive undertaking by pressing on towards Resolute Bay.

On Monday, Yuri will depart from the Netherlands for Alaska where he will organize his gear and travel back to his ending point from last year before hitting the trail in early March. You'll be able to follow his progress on his website where he posts regular updates from his adventures.

Antarctica 2014: Final Team Safely Back at Union Glacier

Yesterday I noted that the final Antarctic ski team had reached the finish line at Hercules Inlet after skiing for 74 days straight. Stéphanie and Jérémie Gicquel, along with guide Are Johnson, had set out from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf back in November and had managed to traverse the Antarctic continent via the South Pole. By the time they wrapped up their journey yesterday they had covered 2045 km (1270 miles), pushing through the last 45 km (28 miles) in a grueling 18 hour dash to the end. The trio had been racing against the clock to catch the last plane out, and fortunately they had made it just in time.

When they reached Hercules yesterday the trio of skiers were exhausted, weak, and hungry. Low on supplies, all they could do was crawl into their tent, rest, and wait for a plane to come pick them up. That happened earlier today when they were plucked from the ice and flown safely back to the camp and Union Glacier. According to their final dispatch they arrived just in time to enjoy a fine pancake breakfast. Something I'm sure was greatly appreciated.

Stéphanie, Jérémie, and Are now await a flight back to Punta Arenas, Chile, which will bring an end to their Antarctic adventure. That flight could come as early as today depending on weather conditions. Their departure from the frozen continent will bring an end to the current season there, as the weather will now take a turn for the worse, making travel impossible. But as I write this, other explorers and adventurers are already planning for the next Antarctic expedition season, which will get underway in November of this year.

The 2014 season was a relatively quiet one compared to recent years. But still, there were some terrific milestones achieved. In addition to the impressive traverse from this trio, we also saw Frédérick Dion kite-ski to the Pole of Inaccessibility before continuing on to the South Pole as well. Frédérick would eventually traverse the continent too, using the wind to pull him along. Equally impressive was Newall Hunter's efforts in the Antarctic. He managed to complete a solo-ski to the South Pole before heading over to Mt. Vinson to summit that peak while he was in the neighborhood. Not a bad effort on his part either.

Now, the curtain falls on the 2014 season and we'll turn our attention elsewhere. It is a bit of a quiet time in the world of outdoor adventure, but the spring Himalaya climbing season looms, and it should be a good one.

Antarctica 2014: Final Team Reaches the Coast

The 2014 Antarctic season is nearly over, and the last plane is scheduled to fly out of Union Glacier tomorrow, weather permitting. The final few weeks have not been easy for the last team out on the ice, as they have raced against the clock to get back to Hercules Inlet in time for departure. Their struggle was compounded by poor weather, deep snow, and harsh winds, but today they have completed their journey, and are now ready to head home at last.

The trio of Stéphanie and Jérémie Gicquel, and guide Are Johnson, have completed a 2045 km (1270 mile) round trip journey from the coast to the South Pole, and back again. Their expedition took them 74 days to complete, and has left them exhausted, but extremely proud and satisfied with their efforts.  The final dispatch announcing their arrival at Hercules was posted earlier today and it reads as follows:

WE MADE IT !!!
74 days, 2045km. A lot of new records set. 45km in 18hrs the last day... 

A lot more on the blog in the days to come. (Text-pics) just have to sleep a little first.. 

Thanks to all of you who have followed the blog. 

Cheers from Are

As you can see, they had an extremely tough final day skiing 45 km (28 miles) over an 18 hour stretch just to get to the finish line. They are reportedly very low on food and extremely weary, and are now in their tent resting while they wait for a plane to come pick them up. That aircraft will shuttle the team, and their gear, back to Union Glacier where they'll catch another flight out to Punta Arenas, Chile before they head home.

Congratulations to Stéphanie, Jérémie, and Are for an amazing adventure. Their efforts in harsh conditions on the frozen continent are an inspiration to all. Hopefully they'll soon get plenty of good food and have a warm bed to sleep in before returning home.