Mountaineer Wang Jing is the first to summit Everest following this year’s tragic climbing season. The 41-year old reached the summit on May 23rd, however her climb has been mired in some controversy. She used a helicopter to bypass the section that killed the sixteen mountaineers in April this year, but a group of Sherpas had wished the season to end as a sign of respect to those who were lost. This expedition was a cog in Wang Jing’s plan to climb all seven summits in six months.
In other news, Dave Cornthwaite has officially completed his tenth challenge under his Expedition1000 umbrella. The latest challenge saw the British Adventurer ride a Sprint 26x Trike 1106 miles from Germany back home to England. Fifteen expeditions remain. The next is set to kick off in July.
A quick update from Sarah Outen as she continues her global expedition London2London:Via the World – a human powered circumnavigation of the world. Outen and her teammate Justine Curgenven are currently in Alaska kayaking the Aleutian Island chain. When completed, she will cycle to the Canadian East Coast and row home across the North Atlantic in 2015.
Meanwhile, West Hansen and Jeff Wueste are kayaking Europe’s longest River, the Volga. The two Americans began at the source and will travel the entire 2300 mile length to the sea. They started back in early April and have so far travelled 1684 miles.
An upcoming UK challenge this summer is Steve Birkinshaw’s Wainwrights record attempt. The British adventure racer hopes to break the 27-year-old record held by Joss Naylor. The route consists of the 214 climbs that are listed in Alfred Wainwright’s seven volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. The current record stands at seven days, one hour and 25 minutes. Birkinshaw will take off on Saturday 14 June to take on the 512km route.
Another expedition this summer is Ed Farrelly’s Khan Tengri Solo Expedition. The 21 year old is in pursuit of a record to become the youngest documented Briton to climb a 7000m+ peak solo.
A team of four are planning a Row2Rio expedition. It will see them depart London and head to Gran Canaria, from there to Cape Verde, onwards to North Brazil and finally arriving in Rio De Janerio in time for the opening ceremony of the Olympics in 2016.
And finally, trials cyclist Danny MacAskill’s latest video Epecuen is out and it’s well worth a watch.
Written by Orla O’Muiri | Photo by Ed Farrelly