A weekly wrap-up of adventure news — from the inspiring to the tragic, here’s some of what you missed and a few things to look forward to.
Award-winning alpinist and ski-mountaineer Kazuya Hiraide had to be airlifted off of Pakistan’s Karun Koh peak (22,890 feet) in Pakistan’s Karakorum region. The three-time Piolet d’Or winner and his partner, Takuya Mitoro, were attempting the first ascent of Karun Koh’s North Face when Hiraide developed severe frostbite. The pair were just 2,500 feet short of the summit.
Hiraide is well-respected in mountaineering circles for his fast, light ascents up many of the world’s highest peaks without supplemental oxygen. Most recently, he and Kenro Nakajima received the 2019 Piolet d’Or for their first ascent of a route on Rakaposhi peak (25,550 feet), also within the Pakistani Karakorum.
According to ExplorersWeb, Hiraide and Mitoro were climbing Karun Koh to prepare for an even harder line — the K2’s grueling west ridge.
Introducing the new leggiest animal on the planet, Eumillipes persephone, a millipede with a record-breaking 1,306 legs @brunobuzatto @juanita_rodr @nannaria2 @wamuseum @scireports @vt_entomology https://t.co/kB2ZXtU2pe pic.twitter.com/qvRvDDyYfZ
— Millipede Lab (@apheloria) December 16, 2021
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The scene in Lamar, Colorado captured by @donsteerman ????#cowx pic.twitter.com/ITvhJf6M5A
— Rocky Mountain PBS (@rmpbs) December 15, 2021
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