Your Mileage May Vary

Adventure

Category: North America (Page 4 of 13)

The Newcomers’ Guide to The Seven Summits and the continental conundrum

2021.06.03 /
Seven Summits (Source » Wikipedia)

Seven Summits (Source » Wikipedia)

Martin Walsh, Explorersweb »

The Seven Summits has become part of the adventure lexicon, shorthand for the highest mountain on each continent.

The most commonly accepted list is:

  • Mount Everest, Asia, 8,849m
  • Aconcagua, South America, 6,961m
  • Denali, North America, 6,194m
  • Kilimanjaro, Africa, 5,895m
  • Mount Elbrus, Europe, 5,642m
  • Mount Vinson, Antarctica, 4,892m
  • Puncak Jaya/Carstensz Pyramid, Oceania, 4,884m

Mountaineers have sought to climb the highest peak on each continent since at least 1956 when American William Hackett completed five of the seven. However, he climbed Mont Blanc rather than Mount Elbrus and Mount Kosciuszko rather than Puncak Jaya, as these were considered the highest peaks in Europe and Oceania respectively at the time.

Read more at Explorersweb »

Also »

The top 15 National Parks in Canada (according to U.S. News & World Report)

2021.05.25 /
  1. Jasper National Park
  2. Gros Morne National Park
  3. Banff National Park
  4. Yoho National Park
  5. Waterton Lakes National Park
  6. Kootenay National Park
  7. Auyuittuq National Park
  8. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
  9. Kluane National Park and Reserve
  10. Cape Breton Highlands National Park
  11. Riding Mountain National Park
  12. Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve
  13. Fundy National Park
  14. Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
  15. Wapusk National Park

Read more at U.S. News »

Primitive in Tofino

2021.05.21 /

From Benoit Lalande via Vimeo »

Gisele Bruhwiler moved to Tofino when the now renowned Canadian surf town was nothing more than a small fishing village. Since then, she has raised an entire family of pro-surfers, but did so the old way, showing them how to sail and live off the land. Despite speaking a different language and being generations apart, Gisele and her grandson Kalum share an unconditional love for the ocean and this primitive lifestyle that’s been lost with changing times.

Alastair Humphreys tells us how he chooses his adventures

2021.05.06 /

Alastair Humphreys »

How do you choose your next adventure when there are so many options available?

Wizarding up ideas for adventures is one of my favourite things to do. I find it enjoyable, exciting, but also easy. If I was a specialist I would need to search for something higher, harder and faster within my niche every time I wanted a new challenge. But because I am a generalist, I make the next adventure more challenging by making it differently challenging to previous projects. It is an important part of keeping adventure fresh for me.

I am surprised how often people tell me that they really want to do an adventure but don’t know what to do. Hopefully this walk-through of the way I come up with ideas might get your own adventure cogs whirring…

  • Cycling round the world
  • The Marathon des Sables
  • The South Pole
  • The Arctic Ocean
  • Iceland
  • Rowing the Atlantic
  • …

The best countries for long distance cycling

2021.03.29 /

150 travellers who completed epic cross-continental cycling journeys were surveyed.

Alee Denham at CyclingAbout.com writes » 

Each of the 150 cyclists got three votes to cast, and I simply tallied up the results. In the end, 80 different countries were favourited, which is pretty cool because that means most corners of the world have something, for somebody.

These are their top picks for the best countries for long-distance cycling »

10. 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
9. 🇨🇱 Chile
8. 🇲🇽 Mexico
7. 🇦🇺 Australian
6. 🇮🇷 Iran
5. 🇮🇳 India
4. 🇨🇳 China
3. 🇹🇯 Tajikistan
2. 🇺🇸 USA
1. 🇹🇷 Turkey

Song of Zion » There is lots to explore outside Zion National Park

2021.03.29 /

(Source » Travel + Leisure)

The canyons outside Zion National Park offer incredible hiking, horseback riding, and rock climbing opportunities.

Hermione Hoby, writing for Travel + Leisure »

The air smelled like hot dust and cool pine trees. For a time, the canyon was soundless, except for the click-clacking of our carabiners. Unthinkably far below lay the silvery ribbon of Kolob Creek, a tributary of the Virgin River, which carved the mighty main canyon of Zion.

We paused, halfway or so along our route, to take in one of the hanging gardens, where an overhang of “weeping rock” creates a microclimate—a bright green, mossy efflorescence tucked into the side of the canyon. The occasional tree gave me pause, too: some little specimen asserting itself from the side of the rock face, flourishing against all odds.

Our route ended in a 100-foot vertical ascent that, in a mild fit of masochism, I resolved to climb without stopping. Breathless and triumphant at the top, I then followed Wright out to a terrifying overhang of rock where he encouraged me to lean back and let go.

More »

Video » Is it safe to cycle across Mexico?

2021.03.24 /

In this video Alee lets us in on the precautions he takes when he cycles though dangerous areas.

32-year old Australian Alee Denham has cycled over 120,000km across 100 countries spanning five continents. He has been cycling the Americas since 2017.

Find out more about Alee at his website CyclingAbout.

John Rae, the man who first mapped out a navigable shipping route through the Arctic

2021.03.22 /

Nan Spowart writing in The National »

While John Franklin was lauded and falsely credited with the discovery of the legendary Northwest Passage, Orcadian John Rae was actually the man who first mapped out a navigable shipping route through the Arctic.

However, his reputation was trashed because he was brave enough to reveal that some of Franklin’s men had been driven to cannibalism in a doomed attempt to survive.

As a result, Rae, the greatest Arctic explorer of the era, was denied the status and glory he deserved, with author Charles Dickens a chief instigator of his vilification.

Read more » 

The People’s Congress in Beijing formally announced it will construct the “Polar Silk Road” through the Arctic, despite not being an Arctic nation

2021.03.09 /

Heiner Kubny writing for the Polar Journal »

China has been steadily increasing its presence in the Arctic since it defined the far north as a “new strategic frontier” in 2015 and began promoting a “Polar Silk Road” three years later. Moreover, in 2018, Beijing declared itself a “Near Arctic State,” a move that primarily served to underscore the interests of its Arctic claim.

The government in Beijing has its eye on lucrative minerals and other raw materials in addition to the Arctic transport link. There is particular interest in interests in the Canadian Arctic and in mining rights in Greenland. This is because the Arctic is rich in natural resources such as fish, precious metals and fossil fuels.

Read the whole article at Polar Journal »

Related » China pushing it’s vision for ‘Polar Silk Road’ across the Arctic

China is pushing it’s vision for ‘Polar Silk Road’ across the Arctic

2021.01.27 /

Reuters is reporting that China has unveiled its ambitions to extend President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming. The Chinese are calling it the Polar Silk Road.

“China hopes to work with all parties to build a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through developing the Arctic shipping routes,” the paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, said.

China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013.

Among its increasing interests in the region is its major stake in Russia’s Yamal liquefied natural gas project which is expected to supply China with four million tonnes of LNG a year, according to the state-run China Daily.

Shipping through the Northern Sea Route would shave almost 20 days off the regular time using the traditional route through the Suez Canal, the newspaper reported last month. COSCO Shipping has also previously sailed vessels through the Arctic’s northeast passage.

Read More »

Updated 2021.03.09

Related » The People’s Congress in Beijing formally announced it will construct the “Polar Silk Road” through the Arctic, despite not being an Arctic nation

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