Video: Ueli Steck's 2015 Year in Review

As usual, Swiss climber Ueli Steck had another busy year in 2015, climbing 82 peaks in the Alps and heading to the Himalaya looking for challenges as well. In this video, we get a visual recap of his accomplishments from last year, including some great footage of Ueli in the mountains doing what he does best. Watching Steck go to work is always amazing, as he makes it look so easy and effortless.

Video: Mountain Biking the Albula Haute Route in Switzerland

If you're in need of three-and-a-half minutes of pure mountain biking porn, this video will be just what you're looking for. It takes us to the Albula Valley of Switzerland to ride the Haute Route there, with some stunning scenery serving as a dramatic backdrop. This is the kind of ride that mountain bikers live for, with beautiful single track, snowcapped peaks overhead, and lush forest all around.

Trail Tales - Episode 02: Albula Haute Route from Filme von Draussen on Vimeo.

Video: Epic Speedriding Through the Alps

We've seen some good speedriding videos in the past, but it has been awhile since we've come across anything like this one. What's speedriding? It's another name for speedflying, which is a combination of skiing and paragliding that allows people to literally fly down the side of mountains that they typically wouldn't be able to ski. It looks like a lot of fun, and really opens up the possibilities for backcountry exploration.

In this video, we join a couple of speedriders as they blaze down some beautiful mountains in the alps, skiing past small villages, through deep canyons, and across some very steep mountainsides. Don't try this at home folks. It isn't for everyone.

Video: The Mountains Of Valais

This video is the result of 15 days of filming, stretched out between August and November of last year, in and around Valais, Switzerland. As you can see, the finished product speaks for itself. It is simply a beautiful look at some breathtaking mountains.

Tip of the hat to the Adventure Journal for this one.

Mountains of Valais from Christian Mülhauser on Vimeo.

Climb to the Summit of Mont Blanc with Google Street View

Over the years Google Street View has continued to expand, taking us from the familiar avenues of our hometowns to such iconic locations as Machu Picchu in Peru, Petra in Jordan, and even the Khumbu in Nepal. Now, you can add one more location to that list, as earlier this week the tech giant brought one of Europe's most famous mountains online when they added Mont Blanc to their library of virtual destinations.

To capture these amazing places in full 360º images, Google uses a special backpack called the Street View Trekker. This special pack comes equipped with a device that includes 15 different cameras, each snapping images at the same time. Once the data is collected, software is used to stitch the data back together, creating a seamless experience of the various locations that the Trekker records.

In order to capture Mont Blanc in all of its glory, Google decided to enlist some specialists to help them out. They brought in mountain athletes Kilian Jornet, Ueli Steck, and Candide Thovex – amongst others – to get a streamlined version of the Trekker to the summit. The results are nothing short of spectacular.

The video below gives you a bit of insight into the project that brought Mont Blanc online. To explore it for yourself in Street View, simply click here.

Video: Xavier De Le Rue Rides the 55º Mallory Couloir in Chamonix

Over the years, we've seen big mountain snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue ride some impressive lines in some incredibly remote locations. But for his latest video he stayed close to home in Chamonix, France where he took on the impossibly steep Mallory Couloir, on the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi, which features a 55º slope. As you can imagine, this run wasn't for the faint of heart, or those lacking in skills. Check it out in the video below, which first begins with some fun shredding in the Alps before making way to the main event.

Video: Mega From Behind - Finishing Last In An Intense Downhill Mountain Bike Race

The Megavalanche is an incredible mountain bike race down Alpe d'Huez in France during the middle of winter. The cyclists have to deal with snow, ice and slick conditions on their way to the bottom, which causes all kinds of issues, as I'm sure you can imagine. In the video below, filmmaker Ralf Schupp sets out to finish the Mega last. As you'll see, he is in no hurry to join the furious start and he makes his way down the mountain in cautious fashion. Along the way, he stops to talk to other racers to learn about their experiences and what has caused them to drop from the race. Its a fun video for a crazy event for sure.

Mega From Behind - Alpe d´Huez from Ralf Schupp - thesureshot.tv on Vimeo.

Video: Climbing The Monte Rosa Chain

Last summer, mountaineer (and Adventure Blog reader) Marc Lambert traveled to the Italian Alps to do some climbing along the Monte Rosa Chain, a series of mountains that top out at 4634 meters (15,203 ft). Marc was kind enough to share some video footage from his adventure, which featured some scary looking knife-edge ridges along the way up to a series of summits. There are definitely some beautiful views to be seen here, but if you get queasy just at the thought of steep drop offs, you may want to pass.

Congratulations to Marc on a job well done and thanks for sharing the video mate!

Video: Welcome to the Birthplace of Extreme

This video takes us to the French town of Chamonix, which is widely regarded as one of the best outdoor playgrounds in the entire world. Renowned for its exceptional skiing and mountain biking, Chamonix is also the launching pad for trekking and climbing expeditions in the Alps, as well as the most popular BASE jumping and wingsuit flying destination on the planet. Here, we'll see a group of wingsuit pilots taking flight over the iconic village, while some work to overcome their fears. Chamonix is quite an impressive place to do just that.

Kilian Jornet Named National Geographic 2014 People's Choice Adventurer Of The Year!

Ultrarunner Kilian Jornet has been named the 2014 National Geographic People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. Jornet, who edged out 12 other Adventurer of the Year candidates, won this honor following a voting period that saw more than 75,000 people cast online ballots.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you've read my regular reports on Kilian's exploits. For my money, he is amongst the top endurance athletes in the world today. His ability to scramble up and down a mountain at unbelievable speeds is remarkable, something he demonstrated on two of Europe's most iconic peaks last year. It took him just five hours to conquer Mont Blanc, and he set a record on the Matterhorn, going up and down that mountain in 2 hours and 52 minutes.

In announcing the winner of this year's People's Choice award, National Geographic Adventure's online editor Mary Anne Potts is quoted as saying: “We believe that Kilian exemplifies the spirit of adventure in the truest sense of the word. He has demonstrated over and over that limits are meant to be pushed, and his growing list of remarkable accomplishments is truly inspiring.” She went on to add “We received a record number of online votes from our fans across the adventure community, and we’re thrilled to call Kilian the National Geographic 2014 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year.”

I am happy to say that Kilian would have been my choice for Adventurer of the Year as well. His incredible feats in the mountain have been simply amazing. Other than Ueli Steck's solo summit of Annapurna, I'm hard pressed to think of anyone who has come close to what the Spaniard has accomplished. I'm happy to see him earn this much deserved recognition.

Congratulations to Kilian on this honor.

Video: One of Those Days 3 - Skiing with Candide Thovex

I don't post a lot of skiing videos here on The Adventure Blog, so when I do, it has to be special. This one is special. It marks the return of Candide Thovex, who is making quite a name for himself with his "One of Those Days" series of video. In this third installment, Candide continues to push the envelope, skiing some improbable lines and pulling off some very impressive stunts. This is pure fun on the hill by a guy who continues to set the bar higher and higher. Enjoy.

Video: Hiking Europe's E5 Trail

The E5 trail in Europe runs for more than 3200 km (1988 miles), starting from the Atlantic Coast in Britany and stretching across parts of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany before finally ending in Verona, Italy. It is, by all accounts, a stunning hike through the Alps that can takes months to hike end to end. In this video, we get a brief taste of what that trek is like, as two intrepid travelers spend 10 days walking 120 miles along the E5. As you'll see, the route takes them deep into the mountains, past pristine alpine meadows, and into lovely mountain villages.

If this doesn't get your feet itching for a little walk in the mountains, I'm a afraid we'll have to check you for a pulse.