Winter Olympics February 12, 2010
The countdown is definitely on – February 12 is the date for the opening ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games to be held in and around Vancouver, Canada.
As well as some of the iconic winter sports such as downhill skiing, ice hockey, skating in its many different guises, snowboarding and the like the 2010 games will host a new event – namely ski cross.
You may not have heard of ski cross but in essence it is the same as snowboard cross but on skis and according to Wikipedia it is involves a time trial or qualification round, every competitor skis down the course, which is built to encompass both naturally occurring terrain and artificial features like jumps, rollers, banks — whatever the course builder can imagine.
After the time trial, the fastest 16 (in women’s events) or 32 skiers (in men’s events) compete in a knockout (KO)-style series in rounds of four. A group of four skiers start simultaneously and attempt to reach the end of the course. The first two to cross the finish line will advance to the next round. At the end, the final and small final rounds determine 1st to 4th and 5th to 8th places, respectively.
Competitors are not allowed to pull or push each other during the KO finals. Any intentional contact to the other competitors will be penalized by disqualification or exclusion from the next race.
As is often the case pictures are better than words and this video from 20min, although somewhat dated demonstrates the action in this exciting and challenging extreme sport.
The 21st Winter Olympics are fast approaching and with the likes of ski cross our appetite for some serious action is truly whetted – bring them on!
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England is triumphant! The XPD Portugal World Champions are Brits – congratulations
The Brits streaked through to a surprising last minute victory, pipping Team Nike/Beaver Creek at the post – surprising everybody.
Helly Hanson/Prunesco are the 2009 Adventure Racing’s World Champions with a time of 128:32:58. With an average age of 37, the British Team Helly Hansen-Prunesco surprised everybody with a vigorous final sprint and conquered their first world title in adventure racing. Team leader Tom Gibbs – an Airbus designer – revealed the team’s strategy: “We came to Portugal with no major expectations and therefore put little pressure on the team. Our strategy turned out fine and it was all decided on the final hours of the race”.
Geoff Hunt, AR World Series director, and of Southern Traverse New Zealand fame, in the closing speeches, said, “If one racer in the room [Tom Gibbs of Helly Hansen Prunesco] can fail to finish in four World Championships, then be on the winning team in his fifth, then anyone who had not achieved their aims, or fallen short, should take a lesson from that – “don’t be disappointed, be determined, and maybe one day you can be on the top step of that podium too”.
Team Nike/Beaver Creek, hard fighters to the end, were close behind with 127:38:36. Team Leader, Mike Kloser, acknowledged the standard of racing this year, praising what he called “the toughest field ever assembled at a World Championships”. He also remarked that their strategy had had to change after day two, when they realised that clearing the course was not going to be realistic.
Lundhags Adventure, Sweden, came in third with 127:34:52 and Orion Health from New Zealand, who were expected to dice with Nike all the way to the end, finished fourth with 127:59:25 – the times were so close that it could still be called dicing. Wayne Oxenham, the team leader, was separated from his other three team members and was lost for over an hour: “It was a somewhat traumatic experience, as I was alone for about 1h20m, completely lost and disoriented, having no idea where the others were. I ended up following another passing team (Nike) and managed to re-join them further down the track”.
The definition of Adventure racing? It is the sport of teams of athletes crossing natural terrain using muscle and wit and all-the-while solving the problems that arise from true adventure and all competitors to the XPD Portugal Adventure Racing Championsips knew that this was going to be a seriously world championship to challenge all others.
Way back on the third day people were already predicting that the normal strategy planning would be thrown out of kilter if risks and gambles weren’t seized when the opportunities arose.
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Two thirds of the way through, out of the 900 Kms track, the 50 teams left in the race (out of the original 59) were having to make major strategic decisions and title holders were having a hard time keeping up with the the leaders.
North-American Team Nike/Beaver Creek were still leading the pack at this stage, but a number of other teams were also very well placed to fight for victory. Title holders, Team OrionHealth from New-Zealand, were in fourth place surprised by this Estoril Portugal XPD Race’s track. Team leader Wayne Oxenham explains: “The track is very rough and it’s impossible to collect all the checkpoints and that has somewhat disturbed our strategy”.
At times this race was brain over brawn.
After 128 hours of non-stop progression and over 900 kms run on foot, mountain-bike and kayak, the 2009 Adventure Racing World Cup -Estoril Portugal XPD Race turned out to be the supreme challenge to fortitude and strategy. Out of the 59 teams from 25 different countries that left Estoril on Sunday 8th November, 40 were able to classify, which is an impressively low withdrawal rate considering the length and the harshness of the track and terrain.
Geoff Hunt also commented on the strategy required to win the race, a new component to adventure racing and something which some teams had not figured out until the latter stages, “some haven’t even figured it out now” he added!
The strategic element, and the race format, haven’t been popular with all the racers, especially those used to a more linear ‘first over the line’ format, but it is something which teams recognise has lead to a race which had been thrilling right to the finish and adding yet another facet to this extreme sport.
Our congratulations to everyone…
An extreme Saturday classic…
My palms were sweaty just watching this video… Shame on all couch potatoes!!!
Thanks to NarrowBridgeFilms for sharing it with us all.
Looking for some great one-day climbing, extreme enough to get your adrenaline pumping?
If you don’t have much time but are looking for some fantastic one-day climbing, look no further than Oak Creek Canyon whose south western side is formed by Wilson Mountain, a huge mountain north of Sedona in red rock country.
Wilson Mountain can be climbed any time of the year, but there may be snow on top in the winter. If there is, in-step crampons are recommended but not required. It is extremely hot in the summer, so spring and fall are the best months to climb it.
Mention tourist attractions in Arizona and the answer will be ‘The Grand Canyon’. Well, you might not have heard of Oak Creek Canyon, but it is the state’s second biggest attraction and is a place of great beauty – and it has wonderful climbing. Hiking too, but it’s the climbing we are here to talk about.
The canyon has an 80 – 100 ft basalt cliff along the top which has formed into beautiful dihedrals, aretes, and cracks off all sizes. The basalt is easy on the hands, and grippy for the feet. This place is a gem, but a popular one!
Oak Creek Canyon is the 4th deepest canyon in Arizona and is famous for the massive, yet moderate Solar Slab, 5.6, as well as the monstrous Eagle Wall further in. If you love huge climbs then Oak Creek is the place for you.
4 pitches 
¾-1 hour 
Sunrise to late afternoon
Other classics are, with corresponding numbers to those on the map (1) Black Orpheus 5.9+; (2) Beulah’s Book 5.9; (3) Johnny Vegas 5.7; (4) Going Nuts 5.6; (5) Solar Slab 5.6; (6) Levitation 29 – 5.11c; (7) Eagle Dance 5.10c, A0.
Levitation 29 is a famous Red Rocks classic following a long and obvious crack system that is steep and intimidating. You’ll get killer exposure, excellent rock and fantastic views especially if you go to the top!
Then there’s Duck Soup which is a 5.6 double crack system and nearby Burnt Buns – a 5.8 dihedral and face climb.
Burnt Buns
For the most part, almost every climb of note in Oak Creek is south facing, making this canyon a cool weather destination…
One word of caution: if you are thinking of climbing Eagle Wall – the peregrine falcons have been known to roost on Eagle Dance and if they are there when you wish to climb it is worth noting that the route will be closed. Please save yourself some time, and the birds some stress, by checking with the Area Manager before setting off.
Bivy permits are available for Eagle Wall.
Here’s a quick look at Duck Soup with thanks to frantikclimber.
The Adventure Race World Championships are happening at the moment in Portugal
59 teams coming from 26 countries including New Zealand, South Africa, France, Russia, Brazil and the United States are competing in the Adventure Racing World Championships in Portugal.
The XPD Portugal race began on the 8th November and will finish on the 13th. Prize giving will be the morning of Saturday, 14th November.
The total estimated distance for this extreme race is 910 kms and each team have approximately 127 hours to complete the race which consists of 5 stages and 21 sections.
Another year (2007), but the same race, this video from ScorpionArt will give you an understanding of the ultimate challenge that these athletes have given themselves.
It is compulsory that each team has at least one female member in their total of 4 or all-women teams are allowed too. Entrants have their own support teams, but those who don’t (and there are 12 teams that don’t) will have support provided by the organisers. The winning team will be ‘the Adventure Race World Champions 2009′.
There are 5 mountain bike shortcuts in this race which will allow any team in difficulty to easily reach the finish line. These shortcuts can cut off a total of 136 km and will, on many occasions, allow the slower teams to recover the pace and come forward.
Organized by APCA – the Portuguese Association of Adventure Racing – and supervised by the Portuguese Orienteering Federation, this competition will visit some of the most beautiful and little known ecological reserves in Portugal including the magnificent Schist Villages giving the competitors a vision of a bygone era. Many of these schist villages are uninhabited and in ruins, but some have been renovated and repopulated.
The first stage, which started in showery weather, sett off from the Escoril and finished in Cascais. It was a total of 60.3 kms with a total elevation of 1,689 m and included trekking, roller (or the use of trikke’s if you preferred) and mountain biking through a region known as the western tip of Europe wit its stunning views – if you had the time to appreciate them!
By the end of the first day the teams had realised that they were in for a gruelling race. Already teams were making strategic decisions to cut out the first stage in the hopes of leapfrogging time.
Stage 2 was a total length of 171.8 kms, total ascent of 10,821 m, total descent of 9,604 m beginning at Castelo da Lousa and finishing at Hotel Serra da Estrela. This section had the competitors trekking, mountain biking, canyoning and abseiling through lost villages, forests and up and over big hills.
There had been a few misunderstandings at the end of the first stage, with people beginning the second stage a bit unsure of how the point system worked. It was also becoming apparent that the trick now would be to work out how much of the route not to do. Both the canyoning and abseiling were avoidable, for example, although bonus CP’s were available on the abseiling section. It is a risky tactic to miss a CP as it is the number of CP’s which decide the winners, with the bonuses and time only coming into play if teams are tied on CP’s.
After the canyoning it was a short trek to the next transition to prepare for the long mountain bike section through the night. Some teams were worried about the weather conditions for this as there had been a strong wind blowing all day and the biking route was along ridge tops for much of the way, but as it turned out fog and low cloud were as much of a problem as the wind. By the time teams were up on the ridge-line the visibility was only a few metres.
The teams were headed for Assistance Point two at Penhas da Saude where the leaders arrived around dawn yesterday, and from there on they resumed trekking across Portugal’s highest peaks, which already have a thin covering of fresh snow!
Nike/Beaver Creek and Orion Health, are leading the pack at the moment and have so far attempted the whole course.
The weather conditions in the early part of Monday night were harsh, with the dense fog lingering over the hills and the wind increasing in strength to gale force. The wind chill temperatures were around freezing and there was little shelter.
This is turning out to be one helluva race…
At 45km the full trekking stage across the mountains was longer than originally stated, and it was taking even the fastest teams more time to complete than they anticipated.
In any normal adventure race Nike/Beaver Creek and Team Orionhealth.com would be favourites and their battle so far in this race is no different. But it’s this race which is a bit different…
While they decided on their route Mike Kloser of Nike was heard to say, “I’m worried about the cut offs.” A strange thing to say, you might think, by an experienced adventure racer. However, it’s not strange at all and he’s right to be concerned as this race requires the fastest teams to make choices they are not used to or comfortable with, i.e. to miss checkpoints. Last year all the fastest teams at the start of the race tried to get all the CP’s … and they all missed a cut-off and were out of the running.
There is still a long time to the first cut off late tomorrow night, but for now all that can be said is that Nike and OrionHealth are the teams with most CP’s and moving the fastest … but nobody will know for some time yet if they are winning!
Stage 3, today, is 214.6 km long with a 3,441 m ascent and a 4,633 m descent through a deserted but beautiful and challenging landscape on mountain bikes, kayaks and rollers….
Good luck to all…
NEWS ALERT (7.30 p.m. Wednesday, 11th November):
The harshness of the mountains at the end of the 3rd day of the competition have caused the first casualties in the Estoril Portugal XPD Race: 7 teams have reluctantly withdrawn – out of the 59 that started.
The title holders – New Zealand’s “Orion Health” – are still well placed in front, closely followed by the North-American “Nike/Beaver Creek”.
Red Bull and Shaun White’s collusion creates Project X
If you are a keen snowboarder and extreme winter sports enthusiast and have been wondering what happened to Shaun White between the end of the 2009 winter season and his re-appearance in New Zealand late August, wonder no further…
This is what a powerful sponsor (redbull) can do to on behalf of a top athlete.
Shaun White is an incomparable snowboarder who has constantly taken the sport to extreme levels. He is the first athlete ever to land back to back double corks and remains the only skater to land the body varial frontside 540 (The Armadillo).
He is also the first snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals in the Winter X-Games Superpipe. He is the first (and only) person to win both a Summer and Winter Dew Cup. He won the Revolver Golden God Award for “Most Metal Athlete” and he has won TransWorld SNOWboarding Rider Of The Year twice, once in 2003 and again in 2006.
Red Bull, a keen extreme sports promoter, has reason to put their faith in Shaun White.
In February 2009 he teamed up with Red Bull to create a custom-made half pipe in the rugged depths of the San Juan mountains outside Silverton, Colorado. This would allow him to work on a series of new tricks that will change the sport forever
This was Project X.
“I’ve had all these tricks I wanted to try. I just needed a place to figure them out,” said White. Not only the place, but the privacy… not only then privacy but perfect conditions… imagine a half-pipe never touched before by another soul…
It took 2 months and 30 heli-bomb dropped avalanches to get enough loose snow to form the perfect pipe.
Not only 30 heli-bombs to move 250,000 cubic yards of snow, but 300 man hours, 7,200 foam blocks and 8,000 lbs of welded steel were used to create the world’s first on-mountain snowboarding foam pit to allow White to practice his death defying tricks.
“You have to keep pushing yourself as an athlete” he says, and in his vocabulary this means pushing himself beyond what has been, to date, considered possible.
He aerial assaulted the foam pit trying out trick after trick allowing the conditions to give him the freedom of seeing whether the tricks in his mind could actually be carried out. And when he had perfected them in the pit, he took them to his very own pipe.
And so, with help from Red Bull, he has taken the sport from today into tomorrow…
A front double cork 10, a switchback 900, double back rodeo and cab double cork 10 are all things to look out for when White performs this year.
That formidable training has already born fruit. He won the NZ Open World Cup late August by pulling off a frontside lein air, backside 900, frontside 720, cab double cork 1080, to a front 1080 in his first run, and a straight air, backside 500, frontside 720, cab double cork 1080, front double cork 1080 on his second run.
With Project X, Red Bull demonstrates how the company is ‘changing the game’ when it comes to investing its marketing dollars. While some brands are investing millions of dollars in signage and presenting sponsorships, Red Bull is radically changing, owning, and creating sports properties and unique concepts of its own.
With Project X, Red Bull takes athlete/partnerships/endorsements to a new level. Both brands (Red Bull and Shaun White) will clearly benefit from this campaign – and this will also help Red Bull’s exposure leading into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The might and power of Red Bull allowed this dream to become a reality for White and perhaps one day Silverton too will benefit from Project X. The half pipe is completely visible from the ski area so perhaps one day it can be used by everyone…
You can see more about Project X here: www.redbullprojectx.com
We couldn’t have said it better…
You know how every now and then, here at our extreme sports site, we have an article on extreme weather, extreme environmental concerns, global warming, state of the seas… I could go on forever. However, I don’t think we could ever say it as well as this extroadinary young girl (leeks5229). Watch and take note…
And I hope it gives pause for thought…
Record speeds and record distances for kitebuggies
Some awesome speeds and distances have been clocked up by kitebuggiers (is there such a word?) this year, 2009.
If you are a regular follower of our extreme sports blog you will have followed, avidly I hope, the MadWaySouth team’s epic voyage across the Sahara on kitebuggies. They achieved a remarkable 2,160 kms in 26 days. They actually broke 2 world records – that of the longest distance for a kitebuggy and the second for the first wind-only form of transportation to cross the Sahara.
Speed records are of course something else and Arjen van der Tol of Holland holds the record for dry lake bed buggying with a maximum speed of 124kmh or 77.05mph.
The beach sand record is held by Windjammer of England who reached a documented speed of 109.59kmh / 68.10mph.
The fastest lady on a buggy at the moment is Karen Cutbush with a beach sand speed of 77.57kmh / 48.20mph. She was delighted to hear that she held the record adding, “By the end of the day I had covered close to 50 miles, but more importantly I reached a new personal best speed of 48.2mph….I am told that I am now the fastest recorded female pilot in a kite buggy in the world – Wow!”
And then there are the distance records.
We already know that the team MadWaySouth hold that one, but the solo record is held by Jose Maria Coca Rodriguez who managed a total of 441kms in 12 hours and 15 minutes moving at a maximum speed of 74.2km/h.
There is even a Backward Buggying Speed – what next! This record is proudly held by Paul Westlake, aka Pablow of Wales who achieved the remarkable speed of 58.42 kmh – 36.3 mph – backwards!!!
Of course, to be able to break records you need space, preferably with no sauntering sunset admirers and Romo Beach in Denmark is one place that definitely has that, as witnessed here with The Poland Buggykiting Team making the most of it (buggykitingpl):
The ideal space for buggying is hard-packed sand as it provides great traction and better control in a slide. Next best would be grassy lawns. Pavement and roads can be very fast, but a tight turn could flip the unwary buggier out.
Sand and grass require more power than hard-pack or pavement, but they are favoured because of the balance between grip and drag.
Buggies prefer large open spaces and smooth winds, but their small size and easy manoeuverability allows experienced buggy pilots access to areas that might have been deemed completely unsuitable – soccer grounds are frequently used in urban areas. Obviously, the more space you have the easier and safer it will be.
And if you are new to this sport, here’s an interesting video that dots the i’s and crosses a few t’s for you…with thanks to expertvillage for sharing it with us.
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World Cup Half Pipe winners in Saas Fee
After the big air event last week in London the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup moved to Saas Fee in Switzerland where the usual suspects were evident on the podium.
Torah Bright from Australia demonstrated impressively why she definitely belongs to the world’s best freestyle ladies. She amazed the spectators and judges likewise with technical and spectacular jumps like the cap 720 which meant she won the half pipe competition in the ladies division.
“I was so glad that we had a good weather today, it’s much more fun then. I had to get used to the pipe first, but then I could demonstrate some good runs” said Torah.
In second place was China’s Xuetong Cai who said “I felt really good today. Unfortunately some of my hits were too short, but I’ll keep on practicing and hope to perform a great run at the Olympics in a couple of months”.
The third placed Sophie Rodriguez of France also didn’t have a reason to complain: “It was the first time I landed my planned run. So I’m for sure really happy and hope to keep that level and can even improve some tricks this season”.
Torah Bright – Australia’s half pipe winner in Saas Fee
Photos courtesy of FIS-Florian Ruth
When it came to the blokes it was Kazuhiro Kokubo from Japan who carried off the top spot.
Kokubo was on fire in the perfect shaped super pipe of Saas-Fee’s freestyle park. With a clean first run and spectacular jumps he claimed the victory ahead of Mathieu Crepel from France and Peetu Piiroinen of Finland.
Kokubo said, “I didn’t expect to win here against the strong international riders. But it’s a great feeling and an honor definitely”.
Mathieu Crepel was also well pleased with his second place having had such a difficult time through injury in recent months: “It was a great day in a great pipe. It’s really good to be back after dealing with two injuries within the past six months”.
Piioinen could not catch the Japanese even with big tricks like the Alley-oop backside rodeo and a cap 1080. “I can do better, but I’m pleased with my riding and the third rank here in Saas-Fee”, said Piioinen.
Kazuhiro Kokubo of Japan who won in Saas Fee
This leaves Kokubo the overall leader in the men’s division of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup with 1600 points – chased by a pack of four men on 1000 points which includes Stefan Gimpl and Benjamin Karl from Austria, Pierre Vaultier from France and Shaun White from the USA.
There is no outright leader in the women’s division at the moment. The top spot is shared by four girls all with 1000 points – they are Jiayu Liu of China, Amelie Kober of Germany, Torah Bright of Australia and Maelle Ricker of Canada.
It is going to be a fantastic season of competition and we will keep you posted – the next event is scheduled for November 21st when the men are in Stockholm for a Big Air Event.
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The Asgard Project – film to be released Nov 20th
Wall climbing is one of the more extreme sports that we blog about but when that wall is a mile high and you only have a narrow window of opportunity in which to make that climb you can understand why we believe this to be one of the most extreme challenges that we have come across this year.
The Asgard project is top climber Leo Houlding’s ambitious expedition to make the first free ascent of Mt Asgard’s daunting north face – regarded as one of the most difficult big walls in the world.
Mt Asgard
Mt Asgard is part of the Baffin Mountains in Canada’s Nanavut Province and is one of the most spectacular peaks on Baffin Island. It contains two peaks, both flat-topped cylindrical rock towers, separated by a saddle. The northeast peak is slightly higher than the southwest peak. The northeast peak is a 1200-m vertical rock climb, and is one of the most difficult climbs on Baffin Island.
With great support from main sponsors Berghaus and Nokia, Houlding set about putting a team together which would film their attempt on the summit. To reach Mount Asgard, Houlding, with fellow top climbers Sean ‘Stanley’ Leary and Carlos Suarez, learn how to fly in a wing suit. The plan was to leave the scene of their conquest via a wing suit - a trick that had already been enacted when 007 BASEjumps off a cliff in the opening sequence of the 1976 Bond classic The Spy Who Loved Me, the scene was filmed from Asgard. Perhaps it did not quite work out like that; what is sure is that the film and rigging crew had to take on a gruelling 5 day trek carrying 30kg packs.
The You Tube video from HospitalRecords shows Houlding and Suarez learning how to fly in a wing suit.
Let’s see how events did turn out in this next video from posingpodcasts as the guys went sky diving to make their arrival rather more extreme and altogether less burdensome - all right for some!
It is an exciting and extreme adventure the outcome of which can be seen when the film première’s on November 20th at the Kendal Mountain Festival which runs from Nov 19th to 22nd at Kendal, the gateway to the Lake District in north west England.
This comes from their own website www.mountainfest.co.uk
Kendal is by far the largest and most varied event of its type in Europe and it’s the main social event for outdoor enthusiasts in the UK. At the heart of Kendal’s programme is the mountain film competition, attracting film premières from around the world. Over 50 films are screened (from 200+ entries) with ten coveted prizes up for grabs.
Together with the Art and Book Festivals, speciality Bike, Snowsports, Wild Water and Free-Flight nights, the Boardman Tasker literary award plus the Adventure Film Academy for aspiring filmmakers, make it one of the best mountain festivals in the world.
THE MANAGEMENT ARE SORRY TO INFORM YOU THAT ALL TICKETS FOR THE PREMIERE ARE SOLD!
Not surprising – this is one we will have to get hold of…..watch this space. If you want to visit the project’s website it is
http://www.theasgardproject.com
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