Video: 2012 Adventurers of the Year

Last week we celebrated the announcement of Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa as National Geographic's 2012 Adventurers of the Year. Today we have a video of the daring duo, who climbed Everest, rode a paraglider off the summit, then cycled to the river and paddled to the Indian Ocean.

The shots from their GoPro cameras while in flight are fantastic and you have to love Babu and Lakpa's sense of adventure. Their bonds of friendship are also very evident in the video as well.

Ocean Rowing: Roz Is Done!

As predicted last week, Roz Savage has completed her solo row across the Indian Ocean, arriving in Mauritius earlier today. By completing her 5000+ mile, 5 month long journey, she has become the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Reaching this finish line will be particularly bittersweet for Roz, as she announced that she is hanging up her oars after this trip. She had very tentatively planned on rowing the Atlantic again, this time from New York to London, in 2012, but those plans have now been shelved in favor of other pursuits.

While Roz may have rowed her last ocean, something tells me we haven't heard the last of her. She is a tireless advocate of protecting the Earth's environments, especially the oceans, and I'm sure she'll continue to spread that message where ever she goes.

For now, I just want to extend a hearty congratulations to Roz on another amazing accomplishment. You have been an inspiration to us all and  I hope you are enjoying some relaxation back on land, good times with friends and family, and plenty of fresh food as well!

Ocean Rowing: Roz Nears The Finish Line

Today marks the 150th day on the Indian Ocean for Roz Savage, who set out from Australia in April and at long last is closing in on Mauritius, her finish line for yet another epic ocean row. She is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, October 4th, and when she does, she'll become the first woman to have rowed solo across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.


While each of the three ocean rows has had its share of challenges, the Indian Ocean presented one that Roz hadn't dealt with before, namely pirates. Pirate activity in the region has increased greatly in the past few years, and for that reason alone she kept her course and location a well guarded secret. Those of us who have been following Roz's adventures over the past few years have been use to following her progress on the "Roz Tracker," but on this expedition that was disabled on her website, leaving us wondering where exactly she was out on all those miles of open water. That question was answered today with a press release posted to her website.

As of this morning, she has just 104 nautical miles to go until she's done. If conditions stay favorable, she should have no problems completing the row early next week as scheduled, and my guess is that its no coincidence that she's arriving in Mauritius, a place that is greatly threatened by climate change.

After spending all of those days out on the world's oceans, Roz has become a dedicated environmentalist, and has even launched an Eco-Heroes program to create grassroots efforts to take care of the planet. One of the places that could feel the effects of climate change the most is Mauritius, where rising sea levels will have an impact on the island nation.

Watch for an official announcement on Roz's arrival on land early next week and wish her well on the final leg of our journey.