Archive for July, 2009

The extreme golf course article opened  up all sorts of new vistas for me. For a start I had never heard of Furnace Creek in Death Valley – and very quickly discovered that a seriously extreme ultra-marathon, along with several other races, is held there every year. (The Death Valley Badwater Ultra-Marathon)

La Paz golf course in Bolivia (extreme golf courses in the world) has led me on to investigate Mount Illimani – the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real  (part of the Cordillera Oriental, a subrange of the Andes).  It is the second highest peak in Bolivia, after Nevado Sajama, and the eighteenth highest peak in South America. The name means golden eagle in the local Aimara language. The snow line lies at about 4,570 metres (15,000 ft) above sea level, and glaciers are found on the northern face at 4,983 m (16,350 ft). The mountain has four main peaks; the highest is the south summit, Nevado Illimani, which is a popular ascent for mountain climbers.

Illimani was first attempted in 1877 by C. Wiener, J. de Grumkow, and J. C. Ocampo. They failed to reach the main summit, but did reach a southeastern subsummit. In 1898, British climber Sir William Martin Conway and two Swiss guides, A. Maquignaz and L. Pellissier, made the first recorded ascent of the peak, again from the southeast. (They found a piece of Aimara rope at over 6,000 m (20,000 ft), so an earlier ascent cannot be completely discounted.) The ascent took 5 days, and on the 4th day the Indian porters bolted. The party suffered great weakness during their last hour on the summit, but no actual illness. Conway described the view from the top as “astounding”.

The current standard route on the mountain climbs the west ridge of the main summit. It was first climbed in 1940, by the Germans R. Boetcher, F. Fritz, and W. Kühn, and is graded French PD+/AD-. This route usually requires four days, whereas the summit is reached in the morning of the third day.

The majestic heights of the Bolivian mountains is an awe-inspiring sight for even the most world weary mountaineers. Whether you’ve scaled Everest, Kilimanjaro or Kailas, the spectacular peaks of the Andes beckon you to a climb that is unlike any other you’ll ever experience.

Most climbers would be wise to spend a few days acclimatising at La Paz before attempting any of the many climbs on offer.

Huayana Potosi is a tempting climb and a relatively easy one to begin with. A half day’s hike from La Paz, this easily accessible peak is a must for any climber that visits Bolivia. It’s other name,  Kaka-aka, means, ‘the one who came from the rocks’.

You could easily spend a week or more climbing the Mount Condoriri range, comprised of 50 peaks with a range of difficulty and elevations which welcome the climber who wants to experience some extended time and camping and trekking.

Visible from the capitol of La Paz, the forbidding peak of Illimani summons any hardy adventurer daring enough to scale its snow-covered face. 7 peaks make up this highest of all the mountains in the Cordillera Real, the southern peak being the tallest of all the Andes Mountains in Bolivia. A number of trails will take you to the top. You can try the straightforward ascent from the west, or challenge yourself by taking on one of the more difficult routes. Be sure to give yourself a few days to take in the climb and savor the lovely alpine setting. By the third day you will have reached the summit at a leisurely pace, where you can absorb some of the best views of the Cordillera Real from the top of Mount Illimani.

You may know that we live in the beautiful south of France – Provence to be precise – and so when our godson came to stay with us this weekend we thought (as he is bike nuts) that we would take him along to our very local extreme bike heaven.

Wow what a feast it is – in every sense and it comes with a big shout of recommendation should you find yourselves on these shores and wanting to go biking.

The place is Chateau de Berne – in itself a magnificent 1500 acre estate of which about 200 acres is planted with vines for the production of wine – these you can taste and buy at your leisure – or whilst enjoying a meal in the bistro, grill or gastronomique restaurants.

It is located on the right hand side of the D10 if you are travelling from Lorgues to Salernes but really it is the biking that we want to tell you about – for there is something for all the family.

If you happen to turn up without your bike there are bikes and safety equipment that can be rented. Then it is a matter of deciding what it is that you want to do.

Cross country: there are a number of trails for all levels of bikers combining links and 4 specially designed downhill single tracks with obstacles including bridges, ramps and many natural challenges.

Bike park: for experienced mountain bikers who are technically proven and looking for big thrills. Riders can explore the Jump Park, Dirt and Free Style zone, Pump Track and Dual Slalom.

North Shore: with wooden modules of variable height and width incorporating jumps, seesaws, ramps, wall ride and rollers.

Quad biking: quads can also be hired to take on the estate’s 30 kms of trails and tracks.

Watch some of the fun in the videos above and below from janko83720

A great day out for everyone – if you want to go along you can find out more informaton from www.chateauberne.com or for the biking action go to www.provencextreme.com and should you be having such fun tha you want to stay over the Chateau has 19 luxurious rooms in which to stay – booking and a healthy bank account are advised. Enjoy.

Leif Olsen’s hole-in-one at the 2009 Canadian Open has to be seen to be believed…

How lucky was that? or extreme?

Nice little extreme car to drive away in too…

This race is still months away, but the listings for the competitors for the 2010 Iditarod, the last great race in the world, are already in – though the race start is not until 6th March, 2010. The awards banquet will be on the 21st March. On 26th June, 2009 the first musher sign-ups for 2011 began…

The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and beyond to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain and Nome. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled. Heroes were made and legends were born, as they are again and again in this, the  37th Iditarod race.

There are names which are automatically associated with the race — Joe Redington, Sr., co-founder of the classic and affectionately know as “Father of the Iditarod.” Rick Swenson from Two River, Alaska, the only five time winner, the only musher to have entered 20 Iditarod races and never finished out of the top ten. Dick Mackey from Nenana who beat Swenson by one second in 1978 to achieve the impossible photo finish after two weeks on the trail. Norman Vaughan who at the age of 88 has finished the race four times and led an expedition to Antarctica in the winter of 93–94. Four time winner, Susan Butcher, was the first woman to ever place in the top 10. And of course, Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985.

The 2010 Iditarod sign-ups for 2010 drew a field of 60 on the first day.

Four time Iditarod Champions Jeff King and Martin Buser joined three time Iditarod Champion (2007,2008,2009) Lance Mackey along with a number of top ten Iditarod finishers at the sign ups.  19 rookies have signed up for the 2010 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, so far.

Being an ‘even’ year means that it will be the northerly route:

2010 Race Route

You can’t compare it to any other competitive event in the world! A race over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A race extraordinaire, a race only possible in Alaska.

From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days.

The Mongol Derby, which sets off on the 22nd August, is a race following in the tradition of the Iditarod in that it will be recreating Gengis Khan’s old mail route. Follow this link to see more about that race… Extreme Dreams, extreme people, extreme challenge – what else could we be talking about but Ben Fogle and the Mongol Derby

If you’ve been watching the news, or if you are one of the guys who keep a close eye one where the next best wave is going to be – you are probably already hanging out in California. Waves there are their highest in years.

A storm in Tahiti, 4,000 miles away from the west coast of America, has created a swell that has reached the coast of southern California in 4 days. That storm, coupled with a high tide, has created monster waves that have been pounding the coastline. 20 ft waves + are the norm – fabulous for extreme surfers, but very dangerous conditions for people not used to the brutality of these big waves. There has already been one death and the life guards are pulling out hundreds of bruised, battered and exhausted surfers daily.

The Wedge, which we have profiled before (I’ve found some more extreme waves…), has been benefiting from this swell with huge waves of over 20 ft. With its exposure to south swells and its unique wave shape, the wave comes in, ricochets off the jetty that guards the harbour mouth, rejoins and reinforces the waves coming straight in and forms towering peaks.

This is NOT a wave to take lightly. It can also be especially dangerous because the waves break close to shore, with little water to cushion the falls of body surfers and board riders before they hit the sand.

Laird Hamilton is there – of course he would be – but with a word of sage advice for all surfers: “if you, for one second, lose your train of thought, you’re going to panic… If you’re somebody who don’t know what they’re doing out there, and they weren’t wearing flotation devices, I mean, you’d be hauling them in. There’d be an ambulance there every day…”

So be careful everyone…

You can see for yourself the sort of action they’ve been getting at Newport Beach with thanks to rwongphotodotcom and dirtpro21
.

People rushed to the coastline to see the waves as they have been so incredible…

We were interested to learn from the Earth’s most extreme summit , that Mount Everest, (29,035 feet or 8,850 metres) had in June been conquered for a record 19 times.

On Wednesday, June 10, Apa Sherpa reached the summit of Everest,  for his 19th time—more than anyone else in the world. The 49-year-old Sherpa, originally from the village of Thame in Nepal and a resident of Salt Lake City since 2006, has climbed Everest for eight straight years and 19 of the last 20 years.

Apa also carried a sacred two-pound vase, called a Bhumpa, to the summit. The high monk Ngawang Tenzin Zangpo, Rinpoche of the monastery of Tengboche below the mountain, asked Apa to take the Bhumpa, which was filled with 400 different ingredients, relics, plants, and elements, to the summit as an offering to Chomolangma, Mother Goddess of the World, to protect humanity and help deal with climate change.

A wonderful achievement and we send Apa laudable messages of  respect – and so we started thinking about these extraordinary people – the Sherpas. We googled them and found this fascinating article – thanks to www.mounteverest.net – from which we have made a precis.

‘Sherpas are the inhabitants of the Khumbu-valley, the national park surrounding Everest. Living at altitude for generations, they have developed a genetic natural allowance for it. If you are well trained yourself, you might find in Kathmandu that the Sherpas do substantially fewer push-ups than you do. Don’t get too excited. Once you go above 3,000 metres/10,000 ft most of them will easily outrun you. Their natural advantage is strongest up to 8,000-metres/23,000 ft, there after they too will face problems. Most sherpas will consequently require oxygen above camp 4 in order to perform at their best…………….

Since Sherpas are stronger than us at altitude, they are very well suited for alpine style expeditions in the Himalayas. You will need them to carry the oxygen, the gear and as a safety on the summit push. Many “solo” climbers actually bring sherpas with them all the way up.’

The summitting of Everest is without doubt an extrem feat, but to do that 19 times – well – is there a word beyond extreme?

Apa Sherpa photographed in May 2009 shortly before he achieved his record 19th summit of Mount Everest.

UPDATE – July 2010

Now, a year later,  Apa Sherpa has been up Everest once more – an achievement that will be hard for anyone to match let alone beat – a record 20 times! Our heartfelt congratulations.