When we're not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Here are some of the best adventure links we discovered this week.
The hardest night: On October 3, 1984, Tim Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer became the first Australians to climb Everest. The rest of the group had turned back due to frostbite and brain swelling. As they stood at the summit, the descent loomed. They were about to experience the hardest night of their lives.
The little climbing assistant: Dexamethasone may help with altitude sickness and high altitude cerebral edema. It can also speed up ascents. It is not the only medication taken by climbers, but it is the most popular.
In 2009, “Dex” hit the headlines because of Jesse Easterling. Easterling arrived at Everest's emergency clinic by chance, incoherent, covered in rashes and with a large deposit of fat on his neck. He had taken 86 doses, more than doctors had on hand for every Everest climber that season.
Oriental in a hospital in Kathmandu. Photo: Jesse Easterling
The Stockholm Archipelago Trail
A new Swedish hiking trail: This month, a new trail opens in Sweden. The Stockholm Archipelago Trail stretches 270 km across 21 islands. Currently, only 26% of visitors to Stockholm take a boat to one of the islands. Trail creator Michael Lemmel hopes the new trail will attract more tourists.
I didn't know you could make sailing a career: Meg Niblett is the youngest double-handed skipper in this year's Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Aged 17, she spent the summer teaching sailing in Greece. There, she realized she could turn her hobby into a career.
Photo: Meg Niblett
Hurricane Helene eats away at the AT
Hurricane damage closes on a third of the Appalachian Trail: Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States, including the Appalachian Trail. More than a third of the trail is now inaccessible to hikers. The hurricane has washed away bridges, and fallen trees and mudslides obstruct the passage.
All national forests in Georgia and North Carolina are closed and local communities have been devastated.
The antics of the Great Wall of Greenland: Simon Smith, Tim Miller, Callum Johnson and Miska Izakovicova have just climbed several routes in southern Greenland. Their main objective was the east face of what may be the largest sea cliff in the world. In four days, they completed a new route of 1350 m, E6 6b (7b).
This year, Greenland has become a mecca for kayaking and new climbing routes.
The downhill route is green. Photo: Miska Izakovicova
Mysterious Wyoming Climbs Death
Death on Devil's Tower: Stewart Phillip Porter died after falling from Devil's Tower in Wyoming. He was rappelling down the second pitch of El Cracko Diablo when he fell. Porter had successfully recalled the field earlier in the day and there was no indication of equipment malfunction. The incident remains under investigation.
Man kills 'aggressive' mountain lion: A man killed a mountain lion with a shovel at a Colorado campground. Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a report that a man had killed an “aggressive” mountain lion. When they got to the campsite, the lion was lying on the hood of the man's jeep. They believe he acted in self-defense when the lion approached him and his dogs.
