It's been another tragic weekend in the mountaineering world, as ten climbers have gone missing in France's Mont Blanc range following a major avalanche. A large block of ice triggered Sunday's 3:00 a.m. slide on Mont Blanc du Tacul, one of the peaks along the route to the 4,810-meter summit of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps. Eight injured climbers were taken to a nearby hospital. Efforts to rescue the missing climbers were launched early Sunday morning, but had to be temporarily suspended in the afternoon due to warm weather, which increases the likelihood of further slides.

The Mont Blanc tragedy comes just three weeks after a similar incident on Pakistan's K-2, in which eleven climbers perished in an ice avalanche. In both cases, it looks like bad luck rather than climber error was the main factor, but either way we'd only attempt it with a world-class guide, the best equipment available, and about ten more years of climbing experience.

[Photo: AP]

Related Stories:
· 10 Climbers Missing After Mont Blanc Avalanche [AP/USA Today]
· Mountain Climbing Coverage [Jaunted]
]]> Victor Ozols 2008-08-24T13:41:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/3/121117/9055

When it comes to mountaineering safety, famed climber Ed Viesturs has a saying: "Getting to the summit is optional, getting down is mandatory." This weekend, at least nine climbers on Pakistan's K-2 will, sadly, not be coming down alive. Details are still sketchy, but officials are reporting that an expedition of 22 climbers was hit by an ice avalanche shortly after summiting the world's second highest peak, killing seven and leaving three unaccounted for. In addition, there are reports of three other climber fatalities on the mountain in unrelated incidents.

The gist of Viesturs's advice is to turn back if conditions get too dangerous - even if the summit is just minutes away - but I'm not sure these climbers had any prior indication of the impending slide. It sounds more like simple bad luck, an unfortunate reminder that no matter how controlled a modern climbing expedition might seem, a significant risk always remains for those who take the challenge.

In the seat-belted, air-bagged, sanitized-for-your-protectioned, guard-railed, helmeted, over-insured world many of us live in, it's no surprise that people are drawn to pursuits that take them to the edge. Something inside us all needs to feel the energy that can only be found at the edge, if only to help us appreciate our cozy lives even more. The trick is finding a way to get close enough to the edge to take a good look at the vast beyond, and then safely take a step back with your new perspective now a permanent part of your life.

Related Stories:
· Officials: At Least Nine Die Scaling K-2 [USA Today]
· Factbox: World's Deadliest Mountaineering Disasters [Reuters]
· Mountain Climbing Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pakistan Tourism Office via Reuters]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-08-03T12:15:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/8/1353/98869

Mountaineering types and adventure travel advocates are always hyping their accomplishments--until too many people follow in their footsteps. We can officially call Mt. Everest done-ski now that the Olympic Torch has made it to the summit.

When a team of torch runners can just say, "Let's take this thing up there," you know it's gotten too easy to just cruise up the mountain. Well, maybe easy is a bit of a stretch:

The summit attempt had been repeatedly delayed because of bad weather, and the team had been forced to sit for days at various high camps.

The group of ethnic Tibetan climbers and Chinese journalists must've been a lonely on the climb: China barred access to the summit earlier this year to keep any pro-Tibetan protests from marring the mountain-top torch run.

Related Stories:
· Olympic Torch Reaches Everest Peak [NYT]
· Beijing Olympics coverage [Jaunted]
· Olympic Torch coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Xinhua]]]> pbb 2008-05-08T13:06:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/8/29/23524/2576

We love Top Ten lists, so when we found a forum on BootsnAll that asked backpackers for their top tips for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro we had to take a peek. What did we find? Words of wisdom that every camper knows--about sleeping with the next day's clothes to keep them warm or reusing baby wipes--as well as a few choice bits of wisdom specifically about reaching the summit of the Kill:

Instead of a backpack for the porters to carry all your stuff that is not in the day pack...use a DUFFLE bag. Easier for one to pack and unpack. The porters consolidate bags and carry them in their packs on their head...so even if you have a great pack its not very useful for them.

Forum-goers also have ideas on what to pack:

Don't forget knee braces and elastic bandages. You will need them while coming down. Your knees will thank you.

And even a special tip just for the ladies:

For the girls...dig a hole in front of your tent between the tent door and the outer fly, make a 'dam' on the downward slope...This is great if you need to pee in the middle of the night and you don't want to walk to the long drop (bleh), find a bush, or it's freezing cold outside. Cover your pee with dirt when your done...Get as low as you can, knees literally on the ground and lower legs splayed out to prevent splashing and waking up your neighbors.

Related Stories:
· Forum Ferreting coverage [Jaunted]
· Tanzania Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Millbrook Inn]]]> jnaw 2007-08-30T14:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/20/225532/111

There is still a big mystery surrounding the first climbers to reach the summit of Mt Everest. Of course, we routinely credit Sir Edmund Hillary as the king of the Himalayas, but many suspect that British climber George Mallory got to the top 29 years earlier.

The reason we can't ask ol' George if he made it or not is that he died in the process. This week US climber Conrad Anker and British pal Leo Houlding climbed Everest Mallory-style, proving that it was technically possible with their 1920s equipment. But it ain't the same as having proof that they got there. If only China Telecom had installed their cell phone mast nearly a century earlier.

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Nepal [HotelChatter]
· Where Cell Phones Now Dare To Tread [Jaunted]
· Everest Mystery Remains [Reuters]

[View of Mt Everest from toilet: apurdam]
]]> amandak 2007-06-21T09:10:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/5/23/6157/56250

Adventure travel has just got a bit less exciting, after a British guy made the first phone call and sent the first text message from the peak of Mt Everest. In a nice piece of advertising for Motorola, who sponsored the attempt, Rod Baber texted:

One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind - thanks Motorola.

And no, he didn't write that himself. He also made a phone call giving pearls of wisdom like "The Himalayas are everywhere", "It's cold" and "I cannot wait to get back".

China Telecom recently installed a mast at the Rongbuk base station, close to the summit, and the ability to use cell phones will obviously aid rescue efforts when climbers get in trouble. But it'll also aid the increase of the kind of unnecessary, obvious text messages people often send when they've got nothing to do. Don't try it yourself unless you're well prepared, though. Taking your gloves off to write the text message would probably get your fingers snap frozen and useless.

Related Stories:
· "I Can't Feel My Toes": Everest Mobile Call [UK Times]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Himalayas [Jaunted]
]]> amandak 2007-05-23T10:47:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/2/20/95252/7272
Mt. Hood is such a great hiking destination this time of year! Whether you're headed to Oregon or some other hiking destination, you may be interested in the gadgets that are being credited with the safe return of the most recent group of adventurers to run into trouble on Mt. Hood.

Black Labs are some of the most overlooked dogs in animal shelters, and thus are both easy to find and quite worthy of a loving home. You can always start your search on Petfinder.

As for those "mountain locator units," they're actually a smaller investment in the long run but also cost a pretty penny ($450 for the starter model). Also known as personal locator beacons, you can shop for 'em online at REI. The beacons provide a more accurate signal than cell phones.

Related Stories:
· Climbers flock to online forum to debate need for mountain locator units [The Oregonian]
· Mt. Hood rescue aided by beacon, dog [Time]]]> djk 2007-02-20T10:04:24-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/