In 2003, I was offered the chance to be a part of the first, live televised summit of Mount Everest. The catch– it was as a contestant on a reality television show.
The series was called “Global Extremes – 4 Runners of Adventure” and in short, it took a whole bunch of contestants to exotic locales where competitions and eliminations trimmed the field to a group of five that ultimately went to Everest. It was a weekly series for about six months (20+ episodes) on the now-defunct Outdoor Life Network, and a condensed version aired on ABC as well. I recently found the five ABC episodes on a DVD, and decided to upload them here. The final episode from Mount Everest is embedded below.
I have to confess that I still haven’t watched the shows in their entirety myself, but for those that are curious and can temper reality TV, I’ve uploaded the five-part series to a drop-down menu (ted mahon) at the top of the blog, and the 1st episode, from Moab and Aspen, does a pretty good job at explaining what it’s all about.
Apologies in advance for shoddy quality of the VHS-era video, the audio won’t line up correctly giving it a Kung-Fu like dubbed effect. If it’s loading slow, you can see them on YouTube here.
Is the "tough" part of the slogan meant to describe the lottery?
The lottery for the 2012 Hardrock 100 was on Sunday, and I’m thrilled to report that I got in again.
Some say the lottery process is the hardest part of the race. While that’s definitely an exaggeration, if you’re not given a chance to run because you can’t get a number, well then it’s sort of true. This year, there were 658 people vying for 140 slots, so some 79% of applicants didn’t get in. That’s pretty tough odds.
I can’t help but feel kind of lucky, not just for Sunday’s good draw, but for my luck and timing over the past few years.
When the race was first held in 1992, and for the first ten years that followed, it never even filled up. When I arrived to the scene in 2007, there was a waitlist, but if you qualified and applied for entry, your chances of running were pretty reasonable. In the years since then, its popularity surged, but with a bit of lottery luck, I managed to get in and finish every year, with the exception of 2008 when I was waitlisted. (My 2008 number was actually called on race day, and had I been there and ready, I could have run, so I’ve actually made it in every year.) read more>>>
Viktoria Rebensburg took the win here for Germany. Interesting to me was the fact that she was on Nordica skis, a brand rarely seen, on the World Cup podium. Click any photo to enlarge.
The fastest women skiers in the world descended on Aspen this past weekend for the 2011 Women’s World Cup Winternational and the two days of racing were awesome to see. Actually, the whole weekend was a blast, starting with top-to-bottom skiing for Aspen’s opening day on Thanksgiving and going all the way through Sunday afternoon’s final slalom run. Here are a some shots I got from Saturday’s Giant Slalom race, where American Julia Mancuso finished 3rd: read more>>>
“Remember: Hiking to the river and back in one day is dangerous and never recommended due to limited shade, extreme heat and a near 5,000 foot elevation change!” – from The Guide- Maps and Information for Grand Canyon National Park, issued to visitors upon arrival.
Christy on the snowy descent from the North Rim.
Well they got the elevation part right, at least for the South Rim section of the day. But when we started down the Bright Angel Trail, it wasn’t the extreme heat or a lack of shade that had us concerned. At 5am, in the dark, it was the blowing snow and sub-zero temps that had us questioning if it was a good idea to try for the 47-mile double traverse of the Grand Canyon. read more>>>
If you’re in Vail next week for opening day, come by The Sebastian afterwards for Christy’s slideshow. It’s going to be fun. Tickets benefit the Youth Foundation of Vail.
What better way to kick off the season than to debut a new outfit. Looking good, Fry.
Our season has begun.
Not wanting to wait another month for the lifts start running here, Christy, Kathy, Joey, and I headed up to Montezuma Basin yesterday. It’s a haul to get up there, but when the snow is good, it’s definitely worth the effort. For anyone considering heading up that way, the road isn’t too slick or snowy for driving, yet. There’s weather in the forecast next week though, and it won’t take much before the road is impassable to cars, so get up there while you can. read more>>>
Recent Comments