Video: This Is My Planet, You Really Should Come See It Sometime

The video below was used as part of a promotional campaign put on by G Adventures, a fantastic adventure travel company that can take you to just about anywhere on the planet. While on the most basic level it may simply be a commercial, I personally love the message that it shares and the images that are on display. I also happen to think that it also aligns very nicely with my personal approach to travel and love its core message about finding your own adventures.

Everest 2012: Climbers Arriving In Kathmandu

This is a very busy week for the teams planning on climbing Everest or one of the other Himalayan peaks this spring. Most of them have now packed their gear and shipped it to Kathmandu and are either en route themselves or will be departing shortly. Just getting to Nepal can be quite an experience as I discovered a couple of years back. My journey from Austin, Texas to KTM required 36 hours of travel spread out over  four flights. Needless to say, after all of that time you arrive in a less than optimal state.

This morning Alan Arnette, who has made that journey a fair number of times himself, has written a blog post about the experience and shared a few updates from climbers who are now arriving in Kathmandu. One of those climbers is Ian Ridley, who has already passed in and out of Nepal's capitol. Ian is now on the trail to Base Camp and should be amongst the first arrivals sometime next week.

Alan also linked out to a good radio interview, which you'll find below, with Conrad Anker who shares insights into his upcoming Everest expedition sponsored by National Geographic. Anker and his team will be taking on both the West and Southwest Ridges, while being shadowed by scientists who will be conducting a variety of research studies while there.

From my own experience in Kathmandu that the city is currently a hive of activity. Climbers and trekkers are arriving en masse right now and some will spend a few days there while others will turn around and head straight out to the mountains. Weather will start to become a concern, even at this early stage, as flights out to the legendary Lukla airport will be regularly delayed or canceled. The days spent in KTM can be spent picking up last minute gear items in the Thamel District (beware counterfeit gear!), touring the city and the surrounding area and generally resting up for the challenges ahead. While I was there it was warm and muggy and rolling blackouts made it much more comfortable to be outside than staying in a stuffy hotel room. Kathmandu is as amazing and crazy as you would imagine, and some place that every traveler should experience at least once.

We should start to hear about arrivals in BC on the South Side by next week and the real work will start to get underway. The Sherpas are already there, staking out the camps for the various teams and preparing to build the route through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall. On the North Side things will lag behind a bit, as climbers won't even gain access to Tibet until April 1st. Expect to hear more from that side of the mountain shortly.

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The Global Triathlon: Swimming, Cycling, and Running Around The Globe

Remember last year when we were all in awe of Charlie Wittmack and his World Tri? For those that don't recall, Charlie's "triathlon" consisted of him swimming across the English Channel, then riding his bike to India, before proceeding on foot to Tibet where he scaled Everest for the second time. He faced a lot of hardships along the way, but eventually he managed to cover all 16,000km (10,000 miles) to accomplish his goal.

This year, endurance athlete Dan Martin will take the concept one step further. Dan will embark on his Global Triathlon in May and will swim, cycle, and run his way around the globe. The adventure will begin in New York City where Martin will dive into the Hudson River and begin a 5700km (3541 mile) swim across the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, Dan is beginning the triathlon in the traditional way, but like everything else on this event, his swim just happens to be much longer.

He expect that swim to take upwards of four to six months to complete and plans on ending in France, where he'll climb onto his bike and start riding east. He'll then follow the Trans Siberian Express, in winter no less, across Europe and Asia before arriving in Anadyr in the far eastern portion of Russia. From there, he'll hop across the Bearing Sea to Uelen, Alaska and start a 5200km (3000 mile) trek across North America, ending back in New York where he started.

It is a very ambitious project to say the least and it should be interesting to follow along with Dan's progress. The fact that he is swimming an ocean is intriguing as well, especially in light of Ben Lecomte's efforts to swim across the Pacific, which will get underway in April.

Good luck to Dan on this excursion and thanks to Tim for sharing the Global Tri with me in the comments yesterday.

Nat Geo Adventure Interviews Simone Moro

Italian alpinist Simone Moro is amongst the best high altitude mountaineers in the world today. His list of accomplishments include multiple summits of Everest and Lhotse, as well as the first winter ascents on Shisha Pangma, Makalu and Gasherbrum II, amongst others. Recently National Geographic Adventure caught up with Simone for a brief interview, which you can read by here.

In the interview, which is conducted by Freddie Wilkinson who is no slouch of a climber either, Moro discusses his recent efforts to launch a climbing school in the Karakoram, his thoughts on the use of supplemental oxygen on the world's tallest mountains and his epic traverse of Everest. On that expedition Simone climbed up the South Side of the mountain in Nepal but descended on the North Side into Tibet, where he received a fine from the Chinese for making an illegal climb. He completed that adventure without the assistance of guides or Sherpas no less.

The interview itself isn't particularly long, but there are a lot insights to be gained from it. Simone is an interesting guy and he obviously knows a lot about mountaineering. He has made some of the most difficult climbs ever and seems to thrive on suffering. He also seems to favor winter climbs on the big peaks as the crowds are far smaller and the challenges are bigger.

Definitely worth a read if you're interested in high altitude climbing.

North Pole 2012: Mark Wood Shares Details on His North Pole Ski

I mentioned yesterday that explorer Mark Wood was expected to announce the specifics of his plan to ski to the North Pole today and true to form, Mark has posted a video with details on the next stage of his expedition. The original plan was for him to follow-up his successful journey to the South Pole by skiing to the North Pole as well, making him the first person to do both journeys back-to-back. But unstable ice conditions and shifting logistics caused Mark to change his plans to actually start at 90ºN and travel southward instead. Those plans were then put in jeopardy because of funding and the need for cash to cover a possible emergency evacuation from the ice. Now, the final plans are in place and Mark knows what he'll be doing over the coming weeks.

Instead of starting on the Canadian side of the Pole, as originally planned, or even starting at the Pole itself, Mark will now launch the next phase of his expedition from the Barneo Ice Station which is set to open next week. Barneo is a temporary base that is set-up each year by the Russians to allow access to the North Pole from their side of the planet. It is usually open for a month or so and serves as a logistical command center for Arctic expeditions. The actual location of the base changes slightly each season based on the movement of the ice caps and where a large, flat surface can be found to land the supply planes. Generally it is built at or around 88ºN however, which means that Mark will now be making a 2º journey to the Pole.

While the expedition was of utmost concern for Wood, he also wanted to ensure that his educational outreach program to classrooms stayed intact and his message of protecting the environment continued as well. When he begins the journey north next week he will continue to focus on those objectives as well. The video below shares his thoughts on the project.

With Mark dramatically shortening his expedition the Norwegian skiers of Mads Agerup and Rune Midtgaard are now the only team attempting a full North Pole ski expedition this season. We'll keep our fingers crossed for their success.