From a US scheme offering historic lighthouses for sale to a world-first expedition in South America, here’s your wrap of the adventure news that has people talking this week.
A pair of police in India have been left red-faced (and without jobs) after it was discovered that their claim to have climbed Mt. Everest—and to be the first Indian couple to do so—was fake. An inquiry was launched after experienced climbers were left unconvinced by the pair’s claims, which were made last year, and it was confirmed last week that photographs depicting the ‘successful ascent’ had been tampered with. Nepalese authorities have banned Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod from climbing in the country for 10 years as a result of their tall tale.
British twins Hugo and Ross Turner will set off next week on a world-first expedition to navigate their way to South America’s Green Pole of inaccessibility, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. The Turner twins, who last year paramotored to Australia’s Red Pole of inaccessibility on another world-first expedition, will aim to reach the pole by cycle and packraft over an eight-week period. “This expedition will be our longest to date and the most varied—including an ocean start point, desert, volcanoes, salt flats, the world’s largest swamplands and jungle,” Ross Turner told Adventure.com. “All going well, we will travel around 1800 miles”. The twins use their expeditions to help raise money for spinal cord injury research.
The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened in the Swiss Alps, clocking in at a record-breaking 1620 feet-long. The Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge is over 280 feet above the ground and links Grächen and Zermatt on the Europaweg foot trail. It provides views of the Matterhorn, Weisshorn and the Bernese Alps and took just 10 weeks to complete. It’s also only 25 inches wide. Gulp.
With the first solar eclipse in 40 years set to hit the US later this month, eclipse fever is well and truly sweeping the nation. With the once-in-a-lifetime eclipse expected to pull in some 1.4 million visitors, Airbnb have offered up camping rentals in the path of totality, Krispy Kreme have announced an eclipse-themed doughnut, and a quiet town in Kentucky is getting ready to receive some 200,000 eclipse-chasers. Psychologist Dr. Kate Russo—who’s traveled the world chasing eclipses—spoke to Adventure.com this week about her ‘total addiction’ and where she’ll be watching this year’s event. Don’t stay in the dark.
The US government is auctioning off six historic lighthouses and some bids are starting as low as $10,000. From Michigan to Maryland, the decommissioned structures are accessible only by boat. While all of the lighthouses will require a fair amount of fixing up, it’s a rare opportunity to own a unique place by the sea. Just make sure you can get hold of a boat before you go putting any money down—else getting your shopping home could prove tricky.
Elsewhere, a teenager has had his legs gnawed by some rare sea lice in Australia, Outside Online think conservation’s best hope may be women hunters and anglers, Huck Magazine penned a dispatch about Botswana’s heavy metal scene, these photos of whales sleeping will give you the warm and fuzzies, and Instagram has revealed its most popular cities for Instagram stories.
