Video: New Speed Descent Record Set on Mont Blanc

Last fall, a pair of climbers attempted to set a new speed record for the fastest descent of Mont Blanc back to the church square in Chamonix, by speed flying and mountain biking. After reaching the summit, Nicolas Blanchard and David Bozon set off at a breakneck pace to return to the base of the mountain, hoping to best the 32 minute record that was currently in place. They were able to complete that quest, reaching the square in just over 15 minutes. The video below shows how they did it. Hold on to your seats. It's quite a ride.

Announcing the Outer Edge Polar Challenge

The North Pole season is only just ended, and the Antarctic season is still months away, but it is never too early to start looking ahead. Outer Edge magazine, an Australian publication that I once wrote for, has released the teaser video below announcing the Outer Edge Polar Challenge, which will be taking place this November. While not a whole lot of details are shared, it appears that participants in the challenge will be attempting to break the current world ice sailing speed and distance record in unsupported fashion.

The plan is to cross more than 4000 km (2485 miles) of frozen expanse, starting at the ALCI Airbase in East Antarctica and proceeding towards the South Pole, and back, via a fuel depot and the Pole of Inaccessibility. Along the way, they hope to also set a record for furthest distance traveled in a 24-hour period.

I'm sure we'll hear much more about this is the weeks ahead. It'll be interesting to see how things unfold, and of course I'll be following their progress closely in November.

Ultra-Runners Go For Speed Record On South Africa's Drakensberg Grand Traverse

The Drakensberg Grand Traverse is a challenging hike through a tough stretch of the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. The trail covers approximately 220 km (136 miles) and takes most hikers anywhere from 6 to 10 days to complete. But at the moment, two ultra-runners are attempting to set a new speed record on that trail, as they hope to cover it end-to-end in less than three days.

Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel set out on their speed attempt yesterday. Departing from the Sentinel car park in the north, and running south toward the Bushman's Nek Border, they  hope to beat the previous record of 60 hours, 29 minutes, 30 seconds that was set back in 2010 by Griesel and teammate Cobus van Zyl. After weeks of scouting the route and preparing for the run, Ryan and Ryno feel that that time seems not just within reach, but fairly very beatable, as the two extreme athletes have told others that they are actually aiming at a time closer to 40 hours.

The route, which is mostly unmarked, covers some very difficult terrain. The trail is wanders up and down the dramatically shaped Drakensbergs, offering rocky ravines, edging peaks and plenty of climbing and descending. In fact, the two men will climb approximately the same height as Mt. Everest over the course of their two days on the trail. They'll also have to cross alpine grasslands and wet marshlands along the way.


If the terrain wasn't enough of a challenge, the weather could prove difficult too. There has been a lot of rain in the region lately, and while snowfall is limited in March, a freak blizzard would not be unheard of. Heavy mists and fog could slow them down as well. Considering they'll be spending much of their time above 2800 meters (9186 ft), the thin air could prove difficult to run in as well.

Ryan and Ryno are running the Grand Traverse completely self supported, meaning they are carrying all of their gear and supplies with them as they go. As of this writing, they are well ahead of the record pace from 2010, although there is still a very long way to go before they are through. You can follow their progress on the DGT's officials website, which has lot more information about the run and the two men attempting it.

Good luck to Ryan and Ryno and big thanks to my friend Lisa for sharing this story with me!

Rider Sets New Speed Record For Iditarod Trail Invitational

While much of the attention on the Iditarod Trail has been focused on that rather popular dog sled race, another event has been running parallel to it along the same route. That is the annual Iditarod Trail Invitational, which pits mountain bikers and trail runners against each other on the 1000-mile long course from Anchorage to Nome. The race is known for being a grueling suffer-fest, that is incredibly demanding on the riders, who often take up to a month to complete the route. That certainly wasn't the case this year however, when a new speed record was set.

Mountain biker Jeff Oatley had planned on taking three weeks off from work to ride in the Invitational. He was even prepared to ask for additional time off if he needed it, just so he could complete the entire course. Instead, he managed to ride the entire trail in just 10 days, 2 hours, and 53 minutes, besting the old record by nearly 5 days.

If you followed the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race, you probably know that the mushers were lamenting the conditions out on the route. There hasn't been much snow in Alaska this year, and it has been warmer than normal there this winter, which did not make for good conditions for pulling a sled. But those same factors sure made for great mountain biking, as they presented Oatley with the best conditions that the race has seen in its 14-year history. It also cleared the way for the new record, although shattering it by that much time is still a shock.

No matter how you slice it, covering nearly 1000 miles in 10 days on a mountain bike in the winter, is impressive stuff. Congratulations to Jeff for winning the event and setting the new record. It is going to be tough to beat that one.

Antarctica 2013: Richard Parks Attempting Speed Record To The Pole

Just like clockwork, the 2013 Antarctic season appears to be ramping up right on schedule. We already know that the Scott Expedition is off and running, but soon they'll have company out on the ice. Veteran adventurer Richard Parks will soon embark on a solo expedition to the South Pole and he hopes to do so in record time.

Parks left the U.K. on Monday of this week and should be in Punta Arenas now. He is no doubt resting, sorting his gear and preparing for the flight to Union Glacier for the start of his speed attempt. He will be taking on the daunting task of trying to beat Christian Eide's speed record for traveling 1150 ki from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, a distance of 1,150 km (715 mile), that was set in 2011. At the time, Eide managed to make that journey in an astounding 24 days, 1 hour and 13 minutes. To do that, he had to average 47 km (29 miles) per day, which anyone who knows anything about Antarctic travel will tell you is an insane pace. Parks hopes to go faster.

Richard has set a goal of completing his journey to the South Pole in 23 days. That means he'll have to average 50 km (31 miles) per day, which doesn't sound like a lot more but those extra kilometers it can really wear on someone day in and day out, particularly when they are dragging a heavy sled behind them the entire way.

If all goes as expected and the weather cooperates, he hopes to begin the expedition in mid-November. That means he has a couple of weeks to rest and prepare before heading out on the ice. I'll certainly be following his progress once he gets going.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Scott Expedition continues to make progress, albeit at a slow pace. They boys have been on the trail for just five days but pulling the heavy sleds have made it tough so far. Their pace has dropped to as little as 1 km (.6 miles) per hour as they slog through powdery snow when they would prefer to be on hard pack. On top of that, the weather has taken a turn and gotten colder (-40ºC/F this morning!) and windier. They're now getting a real taste of what it is like to travel in Antarctica.

This was all to be expected of course and that's the reason Ben and Tarka set off early in the first place. It is also not uncommon for polar travelers to struggle early on, then find their groove once they've had a chance to acclimatize to the conditions. I suspect that will be the case here as well.

That's all for today. I'll update the progress of both of these expeditions as we get word and I'll post more starts as they come.

Female Climbers Set New Speed Record On The Nose

The Adventure Journal is reporting that Mayan Smith-Gobat and Libby Sauter set a new women's speed record on the iconic The Nose route on El Capitan in Yosemite earlier this week. The ladies managed to slice nearly two hours off the previous record, completing the difficult 31 pitch, 5.13+ rated route in just 5 hours, 39 minutes.

Both of the ladies have held the record in the past, but with different climbing partners. In 2011, Sauter and her partner scaled The Nose in 10 hours, 40 minutes, which established a record at the time. A year later, Smith-Gobat and her partner dropped that time down 7 hours, 26 minutes. This team-up of two of the world's top female climbers was able to lower the time dramatically, although they both say there is still room for improvement.

For comparison sake, the Adventure Journal points out that the route was first climbed back in 1958 over a period of 47 days. The current men's record is held by Hans Florine and Alex Honnold and stands at 2 hours, 36 minutes, 45 seconds. Smith-Gobat also teamed with Sean Leary to set the mixed-gender record of 4 hours, 22 minutes.

Obviously this climb took place prior to the closing of the park for the government shutdown this past Tuesday. Anyone who want to challenge the record will have to wait for the park to reopen again before they can give it a go.

Congrats to Mayan and Libby on an impressive outing. Well done!

Kilian Jornet Sets New Speed Record On The Matterhorn

Ultrarunner Kilian Jornet continues to demonstrate that he is amongst the best endurance athletes on the planet by once again setting an impressive new speed record. This time he made short work of the Matterhorn, crushing a record that has stood for 18 years in the process.

This latest test of Kilian's athletic abilities also marked the final phase of his Summits of My Life project. The speed attempt started and ended at the Church Square in Cervinia, Italy with the turn around point being the summit of Mount Cervino, which sits at a height of 4476 meters (14,685 ft). The round trip journey covered 17.48 km (10.86 miles) with a total ascent of 2469 meters (8100 ft). Kilian was able to cover that distance in a time of 2 hours, 52 minutes and 02 seconds. That easily beats the previous record set in 1995 by Bruno Brunod, who finished he same route in 3 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds.

As always, Kilian never fails to impress. The guy is simply an incredible athlete. This latest record comes on the heels of him setting a speed record on Mont Blanc in July when he ran up and down that 4810 meter (15,781 ft) peak in 4 hours, 57 minutes and 40 seconds. That was 13 minutes faster than the previous best time set by Pierre-André Gobet in 1990. I guess it would be an understatement to say that he's had a busy and productive summer, huh?

Congratulations to Kilian for another amazing run. Thanks for reminding the rest of us that we are just mere mortals.

Two Pacific Crest Trail Records Set On Successive Days

Yesterday I posted a story about Josh Garrett closing in on the end of the Pacific Crest Trail and a new speed record for the hike. As expected, Josh did finish his journey yesterday, clocking in with a time of 59 days, 8 hours and 59 mintutes. That shaves more than five days off the previous record and is certainly an impressive feat.

Little did I know that when I posted that story I was actually wading into a bit of a controversy that has been going on in the thru-hiking community. You see, while Josh was busy chasing his record on the 2655-mile (4272 km) PCT another hiker was just a day ahead of him and in pursuit of a record of her own. The way these two hikers went about their journey is now a source of debate amongst other long-distance trekkers, creating a controversy of sorts around these speed records.

On Wednesday of this week, Heather "Anish" Anderson wrapped up her own end-to-end hike of the PCT. Her official time was 60 days, 17 hours and 12 minutes, which would have been good enough for a new record as well, although it was beaten by Josh the following day. So here is where the controversy comes in. Heather was making her trek unsupported in that she had to do everything on her own, while Josh had a single-person support crew who brought him food and other supplies to the trail. He was also sponsored by John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, who helped fund the adventure.

The lines between what is "supported" and "unsupported" start to get blurred a bit however as there are reports that Heather also had a few people with good intentions delivering her supplies to her on the trail as well. She often posted about her hike on the Internet as well, sharing the details of where she would be on certain dates, which prompted some people to gather at access points along the trail to offer words of encouragement while also offering food and drinks to keep her going. Whether or not that still qualifies as "unsupported" is entirely up to you to decide.

Thru-hikers are a resourceful, independent bunch and I personally feel that some of them didn't appreciate the fact that Josh had a sponsor that assisted on his trek. This resulted in a bit of a backlash within that group for how he went about the attempt on the speed record. Either way, I'm not going to wade into the middle of this debate because quite frankly I think that both Josh and Heather accomplished something very cool. They may have taken slightly different approaches to their PCT speed hikes, but they both covered all of those miles at impressive rates.

I want to congratulate both Josh and Heather and leave it at that. They are both inspirations.

Hiker To Set New Record On PCT

Back in early June I posted a story about vegan hiker Josh Garrett who was about to attempt to set a new record for thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. At the time, Josh was just starting out on his adventure and still had most of the 2655-mile (4272 km) route still ahead of him. Now, nearly two months later, he is nearing the end and a new record for this epic hike is now in sight.

According to Josh's support team he should be approaching the finish line at the border between the U.S. and Canada later today. He is expected to wrap up his journey in the early afternoon local time. While we'll have to wait to see what his official time will be, he will complete the hike in under 60 days. The previous record was 64 days, 11 hours and 19 minutes. That means that for the past two months, Josh has been averaging more than 44 miles (70 km) per day, on foot, through some rather rugged terrain. That is an impressive stat to say the least.

The 30-year old Garrett is a college track coach who has hiked the PCT before. Back in 2009 he did it a more leisurely pace (at least for him!) completing the route in 88 days. This time out he not only wanted to set a new record but he was also raising funds for Mercy For Animals, a nonprofit dedicated to stamping out the cruel treatment of animals.

For updates on Josh's progress, watch his Facebook page. It should be updated shortly after he completes the trek and hopefully provides us with an official time.

Not a bad way to spend your summer. Take a little hike on one of the world's best long distance trails, maybe set a new speed record in the process. Congrats to Josh on a job well done!