Video: Climbing in the Alps with the Alpine Mentors

Wonder what its like to spend two weeks climbing in the Alps? Then check out this excellent short film that chronicles just such an expedition under the tutelage of the Alpine Mentors. The trip was led by climber Steve House, who took a team of climbers into the European mountains to work on their skills and bag some peaks. The results look quite spectacular. The video contains lots amazing shots of those amazing mountains.

Alpine Mentors in the Alps from Buster Jesik on Vimeo.

Video: Teenagers Skip School To Make First Ski Descent In The Alps

Here's an awesome story of two kids who already have a thirst for adventure. 15-year old alpine skiers Nicolas Jean and Leo Delafuente dream about making first descents on some of the big mountains in the Alps. In fact, they'll sometimes sit in class, and make sketches of their plans. Recently, they actually skipped school to become the first to ski down an impressive looking mountain that is in their neighborhood. The video below captures that first descent. Reportedly, they were back in school in time for 5th period, and kept their accomplishment a secret until they could release the film. Kids these days!

Video: Highlining In The Alps

I still haven't made up my mind whether or not highliners are incredibly brave or incredibly crazy. Case in point, the subjects of this video, who strung up a tightrope between two peaks in the Alps, and proceed to walk across it. It looks very scary to me, but the scenery sure is nice.

Video: An Impressive Display Of Wingsuit Flying In The Alps

If you haven't been getting your recommended daily allowance of wingsuit videos lately, you'll definitely want to give this one a look. It is two minutes of impressive flight time over the snowy alps that will likely leave you breathless. It features pilots Dan Vicary and Vincent Descols showing off their skills for the camera in amazing fashion. You don't want to miss this one.

Thanks to Epic TV for sharing.

Video: The Mountains Of Valais

This video is the result of 15 days of filming, stretched out between August and November of last year, in and around Valais, Switzerland. As you can see, the finished product speaks for itself. It is simply a beautiful look at some breathtaking mountains.

Tip of the hat to the Adventure Journal for this one.

Mountains of Valais from Christian Mülhauser on Vimeo.

Kilian Jornet Named National Geographic 2014 People's Choice Adventurer Of The Year!

Ultrarunner Kilian Jornet has been named the 2014 National Geographic People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. Jornet, who edged out 12 other Adventurer of the Year candidates, won this honor following a voting period that saw more than 75,000 people cast online ballots.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you've read my regular reports on Kilian's exploits. For my money, he is amongst the top endurance athletes in the world today. His ability to scramble up and down a mountain at unbelievable speeds is remarkable, something he demonstrated on two of Europe's most iconic peaks last year. It took him just five hours to conquer Mont Blanc, and he set a record on the Matterhorn, going up and down that mountain in 2 hours and 52 minutes.

In announcing the winner of this year's People's Choice award, National Geographic Adventure's online editor Mary Anne Potts is quoted as saying: “We believe that Kilian exemplifies the spirit of adventure in the truest sense of the word. He has demonstrated over and over that limits are meant to be pushed, and his growing list of remarkable accomplishments is truly inspiring.” She went on to add “We received a record number of online votes from our fans across the adventure community, and we’re thrilled to call Kilian the National Geographic 2014 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year.”

I am happy to say that Kilian would have been my choice for Adventurer of the Year as well. His incredible feats in the mountain have been simply amazing. Other than Ueli Steck's solo summit of Annapurna, I'm hard pressed to think of anyone who has come close to what the Spaniard has accomplished. I'm happy to see him earn this much deserved recognition.

Congratulations to Kilian on this honor.

Video: Mega From Behind - Finishing Last In An Intense Downhill Mountain Bike Race

The Megavalanche is an incredible mountain bike race down Alpe d'Huez in France during the middle of winter. The cyclists have to deal with snow, ice and slick conditions on their way to the bottom, which causes all kinds of issues, as I'm sure you can imagine. In the video below, filmmaker Ralf Schupp sets out to finish the Mega last. As you'll see, he is in no hurry to join the furious start and he makes his way down the mountain in cautious fashion. Along the way, he stops to talk to other racers to learn about their experiences and what has caused them to drop from the race. Its a fun video for a crazy event for sure.

Mega From Behind - Alpe d´Huez from Ralf Schupp - thesureshot.tv on Vimeo.

Video: Climbing The Monte Rosa Chain

Last summer, mountaineer (and Adventure Blog reader) Marc Lambert traveled to the Italian Alps to do some climbing along the Monte Rosa Chain, a series of mountains that top out at 4634 meters (15,203 ft). Marc was kind enough to share some video footage from his adventure, which featured some scary looking knife-edge ridges along the way up to a series of summits. There are definitely some beautiful views to be seen here, but if you get queasy just at the thought of steep drop offs, you may want to pass.

Congratulations to Marc on a job well done and thanks for sharing the video mate!

Video: The Red Bull X Alps Adventure Race

The Red Bull X Alps is a unique race to say the least. Competitors begin the event in Salzburg, Austria and must race through the Alps to Monaco, covering a distance of about 1000 km (621 miles) along the way. They can choose their own route but they can only travel on foot or paraglider, which means the athletes are typically climbing up snow-capped peaks, launching their paragliders and flying as far as they can go, before repeating the process on another mountain. The video below follows two-time defending champ Christian Maurer as he goes for his third straight victory in the race earlier this year. It is an amazing look at a very cool competition that few people know anything about. Great stuff and these racers are definitely in a class all their own.

Video: Extreme Unicycling in the Alps

This video is further proof that anything someone can do on a two wheels, someone else will try it on just one. Extreme unicyclists Lutz Eichholz and Stephanie Dietze head into the Alps to take on the 3400 meter (11,154 ft) Mettlehorn on their single-wheeled bikes. They're both braver than I am, that much is certain.

Tip of the hat to Outside Online for sharing this.

Video: Eagle-Cam Gives Us A Birds-Eye View Of The Alps

Ever wonder what it is like to soar through the Alps like an eagle? Wonder no more as the video below gives you exactly that perspective. Not much is known about the clip other than that a small camera was placed on an eagle who then flew above the Mer De Glace region near Chamonix in France. The footage that this avian cameraman captured is nothing short of spectacular.

Ultrarunner Kilian Jornet Rescued From Mountain In France

The big news from the world of ultrarunning this week was the rescue of Kilian Jornet, and his training partner Emelie Forsberg, from the Aiguille de Midi in France. The duo were running up the mountain's North Face along the Frendo Spur when they were caught off guard by a change in weather and the lack of necessary gear. As a result, Jornet had to call in some help from the high mountain rescue team which helped him and his companion get off the mountain.

Kilian doesn't share a tone of details but he did post word of the rescue on his blog. He does say that they were carrying the necessary climbing gear with them as they went up the mountain but they were traveling in a minimal amount of gear. As a result, when the weather took a turn for the worse, they didn't have warm enough clothes with them. Fortunately that didn't prove to be a fatal mistake but it easily could have gone that way if a few variables had gone badly.

There are certainly a few lessons to be learned from this story, not the least of which is that the mountains should always be respected. Over the past couple of years we've watched in awe as Kilian has done some very impressive things on numerous mountains across Europe and elsewhere. He has always looked confident and in control no matter where he has gone and his incredible athletic ability has made given him an aura of invincibility. This incident proves that no matter who you are the mountains can provide a humbling experience.

The other thing to take away from this is that while we all want to be able to travel light and fast it is important to remember that you don't go so light that you're leaving important gear behind at home. Kilian and Emelie would have faced less difficult had they carried an extra jacket with them when they hit the trail. Something that they probably should have had in their packs specifically for these "just in case" moments.

Thankfully no one was seriously injured in this situation and Kilian did the right thing by calling for assistance when he did. Hopefully he'll use a little better judgement the next time he heads out into the mountains and hopefully we all can learn a little something from the incident as well.

Ueli Steck Returns To Action In The Alps

What do you do when you're a world-class climber coming off a disappointing season in the Himalaya where you were caught up in one of the biggest Everest stories in recent memory? If you're Ueli Steck, you look for new challenges in your own backyard. In this case, that means speed-climbing the longest and toughest ridge in the Alps in impressive fashion.

Last week, Ueli set his sights on the Intégrale de Peuterey, a very long and difficult ridge that culminates at the summit of Mont Blanc du Courmayuer. This route features a vertical gain of 4500 meters (14,764 ft) and typically takes about 2-3 days for most climbers to complete. But most climbers aren't Ueli Steck, a man who has made a career out of going light and ver fast in the Alps. This time out he managed to knock of the entire climb – both up and down – in a little over 16 hours.

The ascent began well before dawn on August 12. With his camp located an additional 1000 meters (3280 ft) below the Intégrale de Peuterey, Ueli set off in running shoes traveling as quickly as he could. He covered that first 1000 meters in about an hour and then moved out onto the ridge itself. His pack was filled with only the bare essentials including a light down jacket, 60 meters or rope and assorted other climbing gear. He chewed through the early stages of the ascent in typical fashion – which is to say very fast – and switched over to his climbing shoes as he transitioned off the trail and onto the mixed rock, snow and ice that would be the crux of the challenge.

Traveling solo, Ueli was able to go at his own pace and made great progress, even when he encountered a pair of other climbers making the same ascent. He gave them a wide berth so as to not kick rocks back down upon them as he went by, leaving those climbers to wonder who was the speed demon that just left them in the dust.

The Swiss climber reached the summit of the Mont Blanc du Courmayuer just before 3:00 PM local time. That meant he had gone from his tent to the summit in under 11 hours. He took a few moments o enjoy the accomplishment before starting back down, crossing over to Mont Blanc proper and heading to the Dome de Gouter before descending into the Chamonix valley. By the time he passed the church in the village of Les Houches he had been on the move for just over 16 hours. He arrived back at his tent a short time later and immediately climbed into his sleeping bag for a much deserved nap. It had been a good day to climb in the Alps.

For more details on the climb, read Ueli's account on his website or a translated version here.

Video: Training For The Swiss Irontrail

The Swiss Irontrail ultramarathon, now in its second year, is the longest and highest single-stage running event in Europe. The race, which takes place this weekend, covers 201.4 km (125.2 miles) through the Alps in the Graubünden region of Switzerland. It promises to be a tough and demanding event that will test both the mental and physical endurance of the athletes.

One of those athletes is ultrarunner Rebecca Byerly who has been prepping for the Irontrail and creating a series of training videos for Mammut in the process. In the video below, you'll see Rebecca and friends running a 222 km (137 mile) race known as La Ultra - The High, which takes place in the foothills of the Himalaya. The race climbs through the Khardung-La pass, which falls at an altitude of 5395 meters (17,700 ft), making this a truly difficult high altitude challenge. Just another day in the life of an ultra-runner who is preparing for even more challenging races to come.

Reminder: Win A BluRay Disc Of North Face

Just a quick reminder that there is still time to enter the contest I'm currently running to win one of two copies of the film North Face on BluRay disc. The 2010 film was just released in high-def on Tuesday but if you're lucky, you can score a cope courtesy of the Adventure Blog.

In my opinion, the movie is one of the finest climbing films to come out in some time. It tells the true story of German climbers Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser, who attempted to make the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland. Along the way they find themselves in a competition with a pair of Austrian climber, only to find themselves joining forces as they struggle to survive just to get off the mountain alive. It is a great film with fantastic landscapes, excellent cinematography and solid acting. Chances are if you're reading this blog, you're going to really like it.

To enter the contest all you have to do is drop me an email at kungfujedi@gmail.com with a subject of "North Face." Then, in the body of the email, tell me what mountain the men in the film are climbing. That's it! Do that, and you'll be entered to win. On Friday afternoon I'll pick two winner and get these DVD's shipped out as soon as possible.

Good luck! Oh! And here's the movie's official trailer to give you a better idea of what it's about.

Climbing The Mönch With Ueli Steck

So what's a world class climber to do after having his Everest dreams crushed? Return home, rest up and then go play in the alps apparently.

After Ueli Steck left the Himalaya following his much publicized showdown with the Sherpas this spring, he went on radio silence. He, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffin were threatened, beaten and generally harassed on Everest, forcing them to abandon their attempt at a new route. Once the situation calmed down, he and Griffin left Nepal and returned home to Europe, where Ueli has been careful with his comments on the delicate situation.

But as with all climbers, the mountains make everything better and it looks like he had the opportunity to stretch his legs a bit in the Alps this week. Jonathan joined him for a little speed-run up the Mönch, a 4107 meter (13,747 ft) peak that sits between the famous Jungfrau and the Eiger.

Jonathan writes in a blog post on Ueli's website that the Mönch isn't a particularly tough climb, but it is a long route. During their busy day in the Alps, the covered 3460 meters (11,351 ft) of vertical ascent and 18 km (11 miles) total distance. Best of all, they captured some great photos along the way, showing the Swiss Machine completely in his element. You can take a peek at them here.

It is good to see these two men get back to climbing. Lets hope we see them back in the Himalaya in the future as well.

Video: Poco Loco - Climbing In The Peruvian Andes (Pt. 1)

Back in August I shared the trailer for an upcoming climbing film that followed a team of Dutch climbers who traveled to Peru to take on the 5440 meter (17,847 ft) Puscanturpa Este. The team managed to climb a new route, which they named Poco Loco,  along the mountain's North Face, shooting plenty of video footage along the way. Now, they've edited that footage together into a four-part film that gives us a nice glimpse of the three-week long expedition.

Part 1 of that video can be found below and it shows the team training in various locations across Europe in preparation for the Andes. The climbers took on all kind of rock faces across the Alps to help get ready for the challenges ahead, including basic routes on a rock face and some very challenging high alpine ice routes that tested their skills to the max. All of this is to set-up for what is to come when they head to South America.


Peru Expedition episode 1 of 4 - Training from vincent van beek on Vimeo.

Video: Ueli Steck Learns To Paraglide

We've known for some time that Ueli Steck has been using a paraglider in some interesting ways to bag multiple peaks in the Alps but learning to fly his glider wasn't as easy as he now makes it look. In the video below, Ueli shares his early training with us while talking about his new-found love for the sport and ways that he can use it to his advantage in the mountains.

A guy like Ueli seems to make everything look so easy, so it's kind of funny to see him struggle at first. But of course he learns to use his paraglider quite nicely in the end and we now know what he is capable of. Still, it is always interesting to find out what the Swiss Machine is up to.

Trekstock Takes You To The Great Gig In The Sky!

Looking for a fun, challenging and fulfilling adventure later this year? Then checkout Trekstock's intriguing Another Great Gig in the Sky hike. The event is a 6-day trek through the Alps that crosses three countries (Italy, France and Switzerland) that culminates at the Paléo Music Festival. But the trip isn't just about hiking through some of the most beautiful regions in Europe, it is also a charity fundraiser that will earn much needed cash to help young people dealing with cancer.

Trekstock is an organization that officially launched back in 2010 with the expressed mission of helping to raise funds to battle cancer and to help educate youth about leading a healthy lifestyle. Since then, one of their major fundraisers has been their Great Gig in the Sky adventures. Last year the trek took them to Mt. Kenya in Africa and this year the route will wind through the Alps.

The route for the 2013 "Gig" was designed by 360 Expeditions exclusively for this event. The challenge trek will follow the Tour Du Mount Blanc circuit starting in Courmayeur, Italy and ending in Chamonix, France, with a stop at the Swiss music festival along the way.  Registration for the Gig is £350 ($550) and includes flights from the U.K. to the start of the hike and a 2-day weekend festival pass to the Paléo. Each of the trekkers will be expected to raise a minimum of an additional £2800 ($4425) for the cause.

For anyone interested in joining the trek the dates that it will be underway are Friday July 19 - Sunday 28. Find out a lot more by clicking here.

Hmm...definitely intriguing. Maybe I should add this to my list of things to do this year!

Video: The World's Most Beautiful Mountains

Looking for a clam and relaxing way to wrap up your day? Then this video just might do the trick. It simply consists of striking images from some of the most beautiful mountains on the planet, with some wildlife mixed in for good measure too. The music is tranquil and the settings serene, so turn up the volume, kick up your feet and enjoy 13 minutes of bliss.