Adventure Articles and Press
A Queen among Kings
By Grayson Schaffer - Published on Wedensday 20 May 2012 at Outside
The list of alpinists who've climbed all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen is exceedingly small—Reinhold Messner, Jerzy Kukuczka, and Ed Viesturs among nine others—and includes exactly one woman: Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner.
If, like me, you expected the greatest female alpinist of all time to be a stern matron of the summits, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner will be a pleasant surprise. The 41-year-old Austrian has to be among the kindest and soft-spoken climbers around; she was an oncology nurse, after all. Nine months after she finished her last 8,000-meter peak—K2, via the tremendously difficult North Pillar route—Kaltenbrunner came to Everest Base Camp to attempt a new line along the ridge from Lhotse (27,939 feet) to the summit of its neighbor Nuptse (25,790 feet). With her at Base Camp is her husband and constant climbing companion, Ralf Dujmovits, 50, one of Germany's top alpinists during the '90s.
I caught up with the pair at their camp, and, over espresso and German chocolate, we discussed their K2 climb, the accident that led Kaltenbrunner to attempt that mountain's more difficult north side, and the hype surrounding the supposed race to become the first woman to summit all of the world's 8,000-meter peaks. Here's what mountaineering's royal couple had to say about a life spent climbing the world's tallest mountains.
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Award for Amazon adventurer
Published on Monday 14 March 2011 19:11 at BBC
A British explorer who became the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon has been given the title European Adventurer of the Year.
Former Army officer Ed Stafford, 35, reached the mouth of the river in Brazil in August last year, 859 days after setting off from its source high in the mountains of Peru. Along the way he encountered venomous snakes, electric eels and piranhas, as well as being wrongly accused of murder and chased by tribesmen armed with machetes, shotguns and bows and arrows.
Stafford, from Mowsley, Leicestershire, received the award at an event called the Wilderness Fair in Stockholm. The jury for the award said he was being presented with it "for having completed one of the world's last great adventures". It added: "His expedition ranged more than 6,700 kilometres from the Peruvian Andes across Colombia and into Brazil and gave an insight into the lives of the locals in an endangered rainforest."
Stafford said: "It means a lot that the expedition has been recognised in this way; in walking the length of the Amazon river I hoped to create an adventure so exciting it drew people into my unfolding story online, and into the Amazon itself. This award is for all those who followed my adventure online, and who sent messages of support and money for the charities."
The Adventurer of the Year was set up in 2005 in Sweden.European Adventurer of the Year was added to the awards last year and the first recipient was Italian climber Simone Moro.
It recognises a person for their outstanding performance in the concept of adventure.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2011, All Rights Reserved.
Published on Monday 14 March 2011 19:11 at BBC
A British explorer who became the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon has been given the title European Adventurer of the Year.
Former Army officer Ed Stafford, 35, reached the mouth of the river in Brazil in August last year, 859 days after setting off from its source high in the mountains of Peru. Along the way he encountered venomous snakes, electric eels and piranhas, as well as being wrongly accused of murder and chased by tribesmen armed with machetes, shotguns and bows and arrows.
Stafford, from Mowsley, Leicestershire, received the award at an event called the Wilderness Fair in Stockholm. The jury for the award said he was being presented with it "for having completed one of the world's last great adventures". It added: "His expedition ranged more than 6,700 kilometres from the Peruvian Andes across Colombia and into Brazil and gave an insight into the lives of the locals in an endangered rainforest."
Stafford said: "It means a lot that the expedition has been recognised in this way; in walking the length of the Amazon river I hoped to create an adventure so exciting it drew people into my unfolding story online, and into the Amazon itself. This award is for all those who followed my adventure online, and who sent messages of support and money for the charities."
The Adventurer of the Year was set up in 2005 in Sweden.European Adventurer of the Year was added to the awards last year and the first recipient was Italian climber Simone Moro.
It recognises a person for their outstanding performance in the concept of adventure.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2011, All Rights Reserved.
Amazon expolorer bags European Adventurer of the Year 2010
Published on Monday 14 March 2011 on Top News New Zeeland
British explorer Ed Stafford has been conferred with the title of the European Adventurer of the Year for walking the entire length of River Amazon. Thirty-five-year-old Ed Stafford, a former British Army officer, took 859 days to cover the entire distance from the source of the river in Peru to its mouth in Brazil.
During the adventure, Stafford encountered electric eels, dangerous piranhas, snakes and other poisonous creatures. Tribesmen armed with shotguns and bows & arrows chased him. He also faced wrong accusations of murder. Overcoming all these hurdles, he reached mouth of River Amazon in Brazil in August 2010.
Stafford, from Mowsley, was given the award at an event, called the Wilderness Fair, in Stockholm.
While giving the award, the jury said, “His expedition ranged more than 6,700 kilometres from the Peruvian Andes across Colombia and into Brazil and gave an insight into the lives of the locals in an endangered rainforest."
The Adventurer of the Year was initiated in 2005 in Sweden. The European Adventurer of the Year award was added to the awards previous year and was first given to Italian climber Simone Moro.
British explorer Ed Stafford has been conferred with the title of the European Adventurer of the Year for walking the entire length of River Amazon. Thirty-five-year-old Ed Stafford, a former British Army officer, took 859 days to cover the entire distance from the source of the river in Peru to its mouth in Brazil.
During the adventure, Stafford encountered electric eels, dangerous piranhas, snakes and other poisonous creatures. Tribesmen armed with shotguns and bows & arrows chased him. He also faced wrong accusations of murder. Overcoming all these hurdles, he reached mouth of River Amazon in Brazil in August 2010.
Stafford, from Mowsley, was given the award at an event, called the Wilderness Fair, in Stockholm.
While giving the award, the jury said, “His expedition ranged more than 6,700 kilometres from the Peruvian Andes across Colombia and into Brazil and gave an insight into the lives of the locals in an endangered rainforest."
The Adventurer of the Year was initiated in 2005 in Sweden. The European Adventurer of the Year award was added to the awards previous year and was first given to Italian climber Simone Moro.
Simone Moro, Adventurer of The Year 2009
Homage to our Hero!
February 8, 2010 by Manfrotto
Simone Moro, will be crowned 2009 European Adventurer of the Year at Sweden’s renowned Vildmarksmässan (Wilderness Fair). The award ceremony will take place in Stockholm on 13 March, 2010.
The Italian Moro is one of most respected and renowned alpinists in the world. An impassioned and prodigious climber, Moro has made over 40 major mountaineering expeditions, seven of which were during the wintertime. His climbing resume boasts three Mt. Everest summits, and ascents of four other 8,000-meter peaks, including the first winter ascent of Shishapangma (8027 m) and Makalu (8463 m).
The feat that earned him the deserved title of Adventurer of the Year was his 2009 winter summit of Makalu (8463 m) on the Tibet-Nepal border. The fifth-highest mountain in the world, Makalu is known as the winter crown of the Himalaya, for its formidable and unattainable wintertime nature that has repudiated the world’s best climbers since the first winter attempt in 1980. On February 9, 2009, Moro and climbing partner Denis Urubko, reached the summit and thus achieved the first winter ascent of Makalu.
Moro will accept his award in Stockholm, Sweden on 13 March, during the annual Vildmarksmässan, part of the Stockholm International Fair. While the award has been given since 2005, Moro will be the first person outside of Sweden to receive it
Simone Moro, will be crowned 2009 European Adventurer of the Year at Sweden’s renowned Vildmarksmässan (Wilderness Fair). The award ceremony will take place in Stockholm on 13 March, 2010.
The Italian Moro is one of most respected and renowned alpinists in the world. An impassioned and prodigious climber, Moro has made over 40 major mountaineering expeditions, seven of which were during the wintertime. His climbing resume boasts three Mt. Everest summits, and ascents of four other 8,000-meter peaks, including the first winter ascent of Shishapangma (8027 m) and Makalu (8463 m).
The feat that earned him the deserved title of Adventurer of the Year was his 2009 winter summit of Makalu (8463 m) on the Tibet-Nepal border. The fifth-highest mountain in the world, Makalu is known as the winter crown of the Himalaya, for its formidable and unattainable wintertime nature that has repudiated the world’s best climbers since the first winter attempt in 1980. On February 9, 2009, Moro and climbing partner Denis Urubko, reached the summit and thus achieved the first winter ascent of Makalu.
Moro will accept his award in Stockholm, Sweden on 13 March, during the annual Vildmarksmässan, part of the Stockholm International Fair. While the award has been given since 2005, Moro will be the first person outside of Sweden to receive it