America’s Rivers Expedition

On Sunday April 4th 2009, Alexander Martin departed on his expedition to travel by canoe and foot 5,500 miles from Portland, OR to Portland, ME and the Atlantic Ocean in one seasonal year. The planned route lies entirely within the contiguous United States and traverses many of the country’s great and storied rivers as well as many hidden and wild places accessible only by water. All travel will be human powered, either by paddle or portage.

The 6,000 mile route will be attempted over a period of six months and will include over 2,000 miles paddled against the current, 3,500 miles with it, and over 600 miles of portaging. The route began on the incoming tide of the Pacific Ocean and follows the Columbia, Snake, Yellowstone, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers for much – and in most cases all – of their length, before joining Lake Erie, the Erie Canal, the Hudson River and a variety of smaller rivers and lakes to meet the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Presumpscot River. “I will withstand the snow and wind of the Cascades in April, battle the power of the Rocky Mountain freshet, cross the continental divide by portaging 100 miles through the Teton Range, and, depending on water levels and the most appropriate route, paddle through downtown Portland, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Albany as well as Yellowstone National Park, Teton National Park, fifty National Wildlife Refuges, four Wild and Scenic Rivers, and several National Recreational Areas, just to name a few,” says Martin.

If successful, this crossing will be the first of its kind. It will be the first west to east crossing of North America by canoe in a single year and the first crossing of the United States, at its widest point, by non-bicycle human power in a single year. “The achievement of these arbitrary distinctions is not the goal of this project,” explains Martin. “My goal is to explore my country and interact with my countrymen and women, raising awareness of river conservation and education efforts of organizations. I will invite the people I meet and those that have only heard or read about the project to pledge a penny or a dime or any amount they choose for each mile I paddle, and direct that money to the organizations whose life work is the protection of these rivers and the education of their importance to the next generation.”

Martins’ choice to travel across the United States by canoe is a deliberate one. “The connection people feel with their backyard, their local river or town is immense, and the canoe is a ubiquitous object in our country. Therefore the chance of connecting and inspiring people is much higher; they can envision themselves exploring the same places that I will be and in the same way,” said Martin. “I hope to inspire young Americans to get outside and explore their local wild places, and as a whole live a more active and healthy lifestyle.”

For updates and more information, please visit: http://www.americasriversexpedition.com/

Organizers are excited to announce that Cairns, and the surrounding area of tropical North Queensland, has been chosen to host the 5th edition of XPD. This international expedition adventure race will bring 200+ national and international athletes to Australia from 17-28 May 2010. It will be “as much an expedition as a race”.

Race Director Craig Bycroft said “Tropical North Queensland offers the ideal location to host the 5th edition of XPD. We plan to take competitors through the Great Barrier Reef and nearby islands, the rich and diverse rainforests of the wet tropics, over waterfalls and cascades that feed crystal clear rivers, across lakes of the tablelands and through eucalypt woodlands of the Eastern savannah country. We even plan to incorporate some of the iconic legs undertaken in the Eco-Challenge of 97”

XPD is open to mixed, all male or all female teams of four from around the world. The exact course is kept secret until 24hrs before the start. Then with much excitement and anticipation, teams are provided a course booklet and their race maps. The course booklet contains the location of each of the race checkpoints. Once teams start, racing is 24 hours per day; teams choose when and where they will sleep. The winning team is expected to trek, mountain bike and kayak the 700km course in 4-5 days. All other teams will be permitted up to 10 days to complete the expedition without mid-race cut offs. XPD will be challenging for first time racers and experienced teams alike.

As a member of the AR World Series, XPD is a qualifying event for the Adventure Race World Championship (ARWC). The AR World Series is an international circuit of premiere adventure races representing 10 countries creating a 12 month calendar of professional events around the world. The top two teams at each qualifying event receive automatic entry to the ARWC.

Operation Denali receives this year´s Mountain Hardwear Expedition Sponsorship, enabling four wounded soldiers to realize their dream of summitting 20,320 Mt. Mckinley (Denali) in Alaska.

“The support of the incredible folks at Mountain Hardwear, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Wounded WarriorProject and countless others have made the dreamof Operation Denali possible,” Galye Hoffmeister said. “This opportunity gives us a chance to redefine who we are and experience life to an extent none of us thought possible.”

In preparation, they have worked tirelessly toward rehabilitation with sports therapists, exercise physiologists and several orthopedic doctors. They also completed a twelve-day mountaineering course with the Alaska Mountaineering School in July 2008.

On their blog, Matt Nyman writes, “I dream of climbing Denali. My whole life was the outdoors before my injury. My goal was to climb Mt. Rainier and this happened before I could do it. I wanted to follow it with Denali. … My whole life I’ve hiked, camped, skied, and just about everything else you can do. In 2005, I was on a little bird helicopter in Iraq when we crashed. I was tossed into the rotor. It cut off my right leg below the knee, cut and crushed my left foot, compound femur fracture, and collapsed lungs. All I have done is dreamed about climbing a big mountain and since I got hurt, it just made me want to do it even more to prove to myself I can overcome anything. I will do whatever it takes to do this expedition.” Continue Reading

Papua New Guinea expedition discovers among more than 50 species previously unknown to science, including jumping spiders, striped gecko, and a frog with a “ringing song.”

Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest gold mining company in put the survey together in preparation for future mining projects. The discoveries will aid miners on how to balance protecting wildlife and forests with development needs of the people in Papua New Guinea’s Kaijende uplands, the group said in a statement.

According to Barrick´s website, between 2004-2007, they have received 13 “environmental awards” from sites across the globe, yet Corpwatch paints a more grim picture of their contributions to Papua New Guinea thus far, like the 5,600 acre open-pit complex called the Porgera gold mine in Enga, the highest and most rugged province in Papua. Will be interesting to see how the gld mine is going to facilitate the development needs for the people in the Kaijende uplands.
Continue Reading

Vertical Blue, the world’s premier invitational freediving competition is entering its final stage, with new world record attempts on the agenda.

Austrian Herbert Nitsch will look to improve his record of 114m in the constant weight (CWT) category to 120m. Just days ago on April 5, Nitsch set the 114m mark, and if successful in the 120m dive, it will be the biggest single extension of a world record in freediving history.

Nitsch also claimed a free immersion (FIM) world record with 109m on April 6.

In addition to Nitsch’s records, British woman Sara Campbell successfully completed a world record-breaking 96m CWT dive, which brilliantly announced her comeback to the sport after a two year absence.

The competition, which began on April 1, 2009, featured 20 divers from 11 different nations take part. Numerous national records have been broken, in addition to the world records set by Nitsch and Campbell.

By Nick Warren
www.zooom.at

Images are ©Igor Liberti

Beginning near the border with Mexico the Arizona Trail 300 winds up to Superior Arizona, in this gnarly self supported, wilderness mountain bike route along the Arizona Trail

First started in 2006, with only 6 competitors (4 did not finish), this race is not for the weak hearted. No prizes, no cheering fans, and absolutely no support, you´re very much on your own out there.

Scott Morris of topofusion.com helps organize this event and also has the record at 2 days, 16 hours and 57 minutes. In 2008, the event brought about 10 athletes, many of which are world class endurance athletes including Mike Curiak and Pete Basinger who have competed successfully in the Great Divide Race.

This year´s event is scheduled to start on April 10th, and will offer live tracking through the topofusion.com site. Scott promises the route will have more singletrack and less pavement; also including a caveat warning about substantial hike-a-bike possibilities.
Continue Reading

Lance Mackey wins Iditarod for 3rd consecutive year. He joins an elite group of people ever to have one the event itself and becomes on the 3rd person ever to win 3 consecutive events (Susan Butcher, 1986-1988 and Doug Swingley, 1999-2001).

Mackey crossed the finish line yesterday after just less than 10 days on the trail. The Iditarod has been called one of the last great races on earth.

Mackey was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002 and came back to compete in the race in 2004 with a top 30 finish and competed again in 2005 with a top 7 finish (he won the Yukon Quest that year). He won his first Iditarod in 2007.

Mackey is also a four-time winner of the 1000-mile Yukon Quest (2005-2008).

For more information on Lance Mackey, visit www.mackeyscomebackkennel.com.

A truly intrepid route, spanning 2,490 miles – the length of the Americas from Roosville, MT down to Antelope Wells, NM on the border with Mexico. And an extra 215 mile stretch reaching down from Banff, in Alberta, Canada to Roosville, MT. What makes it so amazing is that something like 90% of this route is off paved-road, making it the longest “off-pavement bike route in the entire world.”

Anybody who has ever been on a bike tour, or even commuted, knows the depths of vehicle´s ability to be a nuisance. It can really take away from your experience when you are consistently contained by a white line on the side of the road and speeding automobiles. We all owe a huge debt of grattitude to the people who helped create this route.

Put on by the Adventure Cyclist Association, who first made a name for themselves with the Bikecentennial Tour in 1976, rallying over 2,000 cyclists to traverse the country on bikes. They have since created almost two dozen bike routes creating a network of over 38,158 miles of scenic routes and built up a membership of cycle tourists 44,500 strong (and growing). They also put out a great print magazine titled, “Adventure Cyclist” keeping you up to date on the latest happenings in the bike touring world.

In Uruapan, Mexico, at a bookstore, I came across an old National Geographic documenting the adventure of two couples called “Hemistour”, riding from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego on bikes. One of the riders got hepatitis in Southern Mexico and had to bail, but the other couple managed to complete the journey, arriving in Tierra del Fuego in February, 1975. During their trip, they got the idea of celebrating the nation´s bicentennial by organizing a bike tour across the country. Quite the grassroots movement, they got together flyers and sent them around to bike shops across the country and plotted out the most scenic route, and amazingly enough – made it happen. Read their FULL STORY. Continue Reading

The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge first appeared on the race calendar in 2007 and made such an impact that its second running in December 2008 had the most international entries ever for an adventure race – 36 teams and racers from 21 nations!

Certainly a tough job, but somebody is going to have to do it.    On the news a few months back, Island Reef Job, the Queensland advertisement wherein you get paid $100,000 to live on the picturesqe Whitsunday Islands for 6 months.   Job responsibilities?: get a tan, snorkel, and drink coconut milk from coconuts freshly fallen from a tree.

The competition must have been something fierce, as they had to sort through 30,000 video applications.   Applications closed a week and a bit ago, and now the videos of the 50 short list candidates are up and some are pretty entertaining. Currently, they are taking votes to help them choose the best candidate.

National Geographic writer, filmmaker and adventure, Jon Bowermaster has spent the last twenty years exploring the end´s of the earth, documenting his experiences in an effort to raise awareness for global issue. He has just returned from another exploration documenting in Hi-Def, Antarctica, as he experiences it on foot, kayak and small plane. His film will be released later this spring, “Terra Antarctica, Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent.”

His website, Notes from Sea Level, has recently been revamped and showcases his many impressive adventures over the years with dispatches, videos, and photos - while he posts current news about important environmental issues. One of my favorite adventures of his, was kayaking in the Alitplano, involving an extensive hike-a-kayak across the world´s largest salt lake, once the ocean floor and later an inland lake. Seeking water high in the Bolivian Andes, one of the driest places in South America, helped bring to light the destructive forces of the nearby copper mines, sucking the water out of the country.

In a monumental effort to protect the oceans, he and his teams kayaked in every single one and a few more, “Our OCEANS 8 project took us around the world by sea kayak one continent at a time; its name derives from the seven continents plus Oceania where we mounted expeditions. There are not, of course, eight oceans. If you dig out your National Geographic Atlas you’ll find five: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceans. But I subscribe to the One Ocean Theory. Spin a globe and notice that all of those five oceans are connected.”

His adventures won´t stop soon, he shares on his website, “We are still out there exploring that relationship between man and the sea and upcoming 2009 filming expeditions will take us to the Maldives, Seychelles, the Marquesas, Tokyo, Croatia and more. So … stay tuned!”