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Victory, Tragedy, and an Antarctic First: Adventure News of the Week

Hitomi Niiya crosses finish line at half marathonHitomi Niiya crosses half-marathon finish line; photo credit: EKIDEN News
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From the inspiring to the tragic, ‘Adventure News of the Week’ presents a wrap-up of top news in the world of exploration and adventure.

SOLO: Mollie Hughes Skis From Antarctic Coast to South Pole. Mollie Hughes, a 29-year-old adventurer from Scotland, just broke a record as the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole. Hughes’ journey took 58 days, with temperatures hitting lows of -49 degrees F.

“I only learnt to cross-country ski 12 months ago,” Hughes wrote in a post after completing the journey. “Then on Friday I became the youngest woman in the world to ski solo from the coast of Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole!”

SKI: American Skier Wins at Eldora’s World Pro Ski Tour. World Pro Ski Tour racer Michael Ankeny won the Colorado Pro Open this weekend, beating out competitors Robert Cone and Nolan Kasper.

Another surprise was Olympic medalist Ted Ligety failing to make it to the final competition. Despite heavy winds on Friday, the World Pro Ski Tour continued as planned on Saturday.

BANFF: Woman Dies in Avalanche in Banff National Park.  Laura Kosakoski, 32, died after she was buried in an avalanche off of Mount Hector on Friday.

Kosakoski is the wife of ultramarathoner and ski mountaineer Adam Campbell, who was also present for the avalanche in Banff but managed to escape.

HALF: Runners Break National Records at Houston Marathons. Hitomi Niiya of Japan won the women’s half-marathon race in a time of 1:06:38, setting a new Japanese national record and finishing a whopping 90 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

Meanwhile, Malindi Elmore of Canada ran the marathon distance in 2:24:50, setting a new Canadian national record and placing her in third overall.

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