From the inspiring to the tragic, this is GearJunkie’s wrap on exploration and adventure news of the week. Here’s what you missed and a few things to look forward to.
On March 24, a 35-year-old barrister from London broke the world record for the fastest female solo row across the Atlantic. Victoria Evans is one of 11 women to accomplish the feat, according to ExplorersWeb. Evans set sail from the Canary Islands on February 11 and arrived in Barbados after 40 days and 19 hours of rowing. Her time to cross the 2,559 nautical-mile distance outpaced the standing record by 9 days.
The young lawyer began training for the challenge 3 years ago and raised 24,000 GBP for Women in Sport through her self-started nonprofit, Sea Change Sport.
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The American Alpine Club (AAC) hosted its Annual Gathering and Benefit Gala in Denver on March 25-26. The summit welcomed mountain athletes and climbing activists from across the States to discuss current policies and culture, build initiatives, and celebrate the most significant accomplishments within the sport.
The gala, emceed by Cody Kaemmerlen and Meagan Martin, recognized outstanding achievements in conservation, climbing, and service to the climbing community. Big wall buddies/legends Mark Hudon and Jordan Cannon acted as keynote speakers. A full replay of the benefit is available at americanalpineclub.org.
2022 AAC Climbing Award Recipients
- Joe Terravecchia: Robert and Miriam Underhill Award for outstanding climbing achievement
- Sean Bailey and Natalia Grossman: Robert Hicks Bates Award for outstanding accomplishment by a young climber
- John Heilprin and John Kascenska: Angelo Heilprin Citation for exemplary service to the AAC
- Rick Reese: David R. Brower Conservation Award for commitment to preserving mountain regions worldwide (posthumous)
- Arlene Blum and Steve Roper: Honorary Membership for advancing climbing in lasting and significant ways
- Pat Ament: H. Adams Carter Literary Award for excellence in climbing literature
- David Nyman: David A. Sowles Memorial Award for going to the assistance of fellow climbers imperiled in the mountains
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The City of Boulder lifted all evacuation notices for the NCAR Fire at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 27. All evacuees may now return to their properties. Boulder lifts all NCAR Fire Evacuations at 5 p.m. https://t.co/SetzAKAHN7 pic.twitter.com/ohoUYA5ZPC
— City of Boulder (@bouldercolorado) March 27, 2022
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- The Great Aussie Hike (AUS) – 2-day, 100km team relay event
- Northern Traverse (GBR) – 190-mile coast-to-coast ultramarathon
- Lakes Traverse (GBR) – 60-mile ultramarathon
- Raid in France Spirit (FRA) – 93-mile team adventure race, part of the European Adventure Racing Series and a World Series qualifier
- X-Adventure Dunsborough (AUS) – largest off-road triathlon Downunder, segmented into a 1,500m ocean swim, 12k trail run, and 20km MTB
- Touquet Raid Pas de Calais (FRA) – 2-day, team-oriented run/MTB/rollerblade/canoe race