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.
CLIMB: Hardest Climb in the World? Alex Megos Sends a Likely 5.15d. Twenty-six-year-old German rock climber Alex Megos made a first ascent of Bibliographie, a climbing route in Ceuse, France, the climber has rated 5.15d.
“With approximately 60 climbing days over the past three years ‘Bibliographie’ has been by far my longest project to date,” Megos wrote on Instagram. If other climbers agree on the rating, the route will be only the second 5.15d (the hardest grade of climbing) in the world.
RUN: Courtney Dauwalter Ends FKT Attempt in Hospital. On August 5, ultrarunner and Salomon athlete Courtney Dauwalter set out on an attempt to break the speed record (or fastest known time) running the 500-mile Colorado Trail.
She made it over 260 miles and through the Collegiate west route before she began to have trouble breathing. “This definitely wasn’t in the plan,” Dauwalter’s husband Kevin Schmidt wrote on Instagram. According to Schmidt, doctors diagnosed the runner with acute bronchitis.
RECORD: Flagstaff Runner Breaks Into Top 10 Fastest Half-Marathoners. Sara Hall, 37, claimed a new record this past weekend running in the Row River Half Marathon in Oregon. Hall’s time of 1:08:18 at a 5:12 pace is a personal record and makes her the sixth-fastest American of all time. Due to COVID-19, Hall hadn’t run a race since the Olympic Trials in February.
FALL: Hiker Falls 70 Feet, Suffers Skull Fracture, and Survives. Jacob Velarde of Arizona was hiking on a canyon trail with his brother when his brother decided to turn around due to difficulty. Shortly after, Velarde was climbing up a rock scramble when the terrain gave out — and he fell over 70 feet. Thankfully, Velarde had a first-aid kit, tent, and water filter with him. He was rescued the next morning.
