Video: Flying a Drone Through a Crevasse

There is no question that personal drones have been one of the real game changers for filmmakers over the past few years, but now these small flying machines are starting to see use elsewhere. Aside from the idea of using drones to deliver packages, they are now being employed in a number of other interesting ways, including mountain rescue operations. In this video, we see an experimentation flight, during which a drone was flown into a crevasse to explore the ways it could be used to search for missing climbers or skiers. The test footage was shot by a company called Flyability, who was working in conjunction with the mountain rescue team in Zermatt, Switzerland. As you'll see, there are still some fine control aspects that need to be worked out, but the drone does indeed give us an inside view of the crevasse itself.

Belgian Explorer wins European Adventurer of the Year

Last week, the award for European Adventurer of the Year was announced and I'm happy to say it went to someone whose expeditions we have covered many times here at The Adventure Blog. The award, which was handed out at the ISPO sports show in Munich, was given to our friend Louis-Philippe Loncke for his solo treks across some of the most challenging deserts in the world.

The award has been given out every year since 2009, and past winners have included the likes of mountaineer Simone Moro, Amazon walker Ed Stafford, high-altitude skydiver Felix Baumgartner, and mountain runner Kilian Jornet, amongst others. The awards is given to "a person for outstanding performance in the concept of adventure. The purpose of this award is to clarify the adventure as a phenomenon and highlight the human desire and motivation to implement and achieve their dreams."

Loncke embodied this concept by taking on his Three Deserts Challenge, which involved trekking solo and unassisted across the Simpson Desert in Australia, Death Valley in the U.S., and the Salt Flats of Bolivia. To do this, he carries an extremely heavy pack filled with all of the water and supplies that he needs to trek for days in environments that are hostile to life. After years of perfecting his strategies for surviving in these desert places, he has now been able to accomplish multiple long distance treks that have never been done before.

According to a press release announcing the awards, Lou-Phi has plenty of plans on where to go next. He is reportedly contemplating solo crossings of the Namib and Atacama Deserts, as well as trekking across Iceland and Antarctica too.

Congrats to Louis-Philippe on receiving this honor. It is well deserved my friend.

Karl Meltzer Sets New Speed Record on Appalachian Trail

Last week while I was away, the news broke that ultra-runner Karl Meltzer had broken the record for the fastest time on the Appalachian Trail, besting the time set by Scott Jurek just last year. The two top endurance athletes are both friends and rivals, so naturally they would compete against each other on the AT too. This was Meltzer's third attempt at a record, and this time he finished at 45 days, 22 hours, 38 minutes, which put him roughly at 13 hours ahead of Jurek.

According to Outside, Meltzer began his assault on the record book back on August 3, starting on top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine. That's the northernmost terminus of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches for 2190 miles across 14 states before ending on Springer Mountain in Georgia on September 20. That means that Karl had to average roughly 47.6 miles each and every day just to get into the conversation with Jurek, something he was able to do on his way to setting the new mark.

Amongst ultra-runners, Meltzer is considered one of the most successful endurance athletes of all time. Over the course of his career he has racked up more than 38 wins in races of 100 mile (160 km) distances or longer – including 5 in the legendary Hardrock 100 ultra-marathon. That's more than anyone else in history. Still, he did want to take on the AT and nab that record too, something he was finally able to do last week.

Considering that it takes most of us a good six months of hiking to complete the AT, doing it in just 45 days is quite an impressive feat. Congratulations to Karl on pulling off this accomplishment. I am in awe of the strength, stamina, and speed necessary to set this kind of record.

Himalaya Spring 2016: Summit Bid Launched on Manaslu, Fixed Ropes Update on Everest

The news from the Himalaya just keeps coming this spring as more teams continue to acclimatize on Everest and two climbers prepare for a difficult summit bid on Manaslu. Others are now waiting and watching the weather, hoping for a chance to launch attempts of their own.

We'll start with an update from Manaslu, where Peter Hamor and Horia Colibasanu have reportedly announced that they are leaving Base Camp today to start their summit bid on the 8163 meter (26,781 ft) mountain. The two men will now attempt to reach the top using the standard route, but will help complete their acclimatization prior to attempting a new route without the use of supplemental oxygen. The weather is said to be calm at the moment, and if everything goes according to plan, they should top out this weekend. After that, they'll drop back to BC for a rest before starting their second attempt later in the month.

Over on Everest, more teams, including the Adventure Consultants, have now reached Camp 3 as they continue to acclimatize ahead of eventual summit bids in just a couple of weeks time. Most of the climbers are now descending back to BC for a rest as they wait for Camp 4 to be full established and the fixed ropes to be installed. That process is proceeding, and reports indicate that the lines now reach above the Yellow Band, but bad weather higher on the mountain have stalled due to strong winds at higher altitudes.

Ueli Steck and David Göttler continue to wait for a proper weather window on Shishapangma. The two men have announced that their acclimatization process is done and they are simply waiting for the right time to start the climb. That could happen this weekend as well, although the two talented climbers are prepared to wait as long as necessary before starting their alpine style ascent along a new route.

Finally, there is news from Annapurna as well, were all of the 30 summiteers from this past weekend are now safely back in Base Camp, with most preparing to go home. While they were wrapping up their expeditions over the past few days, a group of 75 local villagers paid a visit to BC. They had just completed construction of a new trail that will cut down the time it takes to trek to the mountain, allowing climbers to get there in as little as three days. That should open up the region to more visitors and bring down the costs for trekking and climbing on Annapurna as well.

Colin Haley Completes First Solo Ascent of Torre Egger in Patagonia

American climber Colin Haley continues to add impressive accomplishments to his resume. As both a skilled rock climber and mountaineer, he has completed some of the toughest routes in the world in Patagonia and the Himalaya. But on January 19 he only added to his growing list of accomplishments when he managed to complete the first solo ascent of Torre Egger, one of the most iconic and difficult towers in the world.

Located in Argentina's Patagonia region, Torre Egger is a sheer rock face that stands 2685 meters (8809 ft) in height. It is considered one of the crown jewels of rock climbing, often mentioned in the same breath as El Capitan, Trango Towers, or Torres del Paine which is also located in Patagonia. On January 19, after months of planning and preparation, Haley set out to solo that massive tower in what would become an very long day in the mountains.

Alpinist has all the details of the ascent, including the exact route Haley took to the summit, and some of the challenges he to overcome along the way. As you can imagine, it was not an easy climb, requiring 16.5 hours to complete the route. But even after reaching the summit, Colin faced more difficult on the descent. At one point his rope became hung up, and he had to spend several hours bouncing on it to get it to release a few inches at a time. Eventually it gave way, and he was able to finally finish his descent.

The solo of Torre Egger wasn't the only impressive climb Haley finished in Patagonia this month. Alpinist says that he and fellow American Andy Wyatt also completed a speed ascent of Monte Fitz Roy (3405 m/11,171 ft) on January 6, completing that challenge car-to-car in 21 hours and 8 minutes. According to the report, that would be the fastest known time for a round-trip ascent on that peak as well.

These are some impressive accomplishments over a span of just a couple of weeks. Congrats to Colin (and Andy Wyatt!) on a job well done.

Trio of Adventurers Set to Travel From the Arctic to the Atacama

A trio of adventurers is heading north to start an epic journey that will span more 1500 km (932 miles) under their own power, and take them to environments that range more than 100 degrees celsius in temperatures.

The team consists of ultrarunners Ray Zahab, Jen Segger, and Stefano Gregoretti, who are currently en route to Qikiqtarjuaq, a Canadian island located in the Arctic Ocean, where they will begin the first stage of the expedition. Once there, they'll start heading south over the frozen landscape by fat bike and foot. Their route will take them to Baffin Island, which they'll traverse on their way to the community of Pangnirtung. Along he way, they'll cross 300 km (186 miles) through harsh arctic conditions where temperatures are expected to plummet as low as -50ºC (-58ºF).

Immediately after finishing the first leg of their journey, the three endurance athletes will next travel to South America to begin the second phase of the adventure. They'll be heading to northern Chile, where they'll make a traverse of the Atacama Desert, the driest place on the planet. They'll follow the same route that Zahab used when he ran across the Atacama on foot back in 2011. This time out though, they'll cover the 1200 km (745 miles) on mountain bike. While in the desert, the thermometer will reach 50ºC (120ºF), a stark contrast to the northern stage of the expedition.

The expedition has been dubbed Arctic 2 Atacama, and it should be officially underway in just a few days. The website is still filling in with information, but once things go live, expect daily updates on the team's progress, including status updates and videos from the trail. This promises to be quite the grueling journey, but a fun one to follow.

Good luck to Ray, Jen, and Stefano.

Video: Yosemite's Annual Firefall Caught on Film

Each year in February, the sun hits the upper portion of Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park, illuminating it with a golden glow that makes it look like it is on fire. It is quite the site to see, and this year that "firefall" as it is known was caught on video, which you'll find below. This was shot just a few days ago, and as you'l see, it makes an incredibly beautiful place, even more so.