New 24-hour Distance Record Set By Kite-Skiers

Eric McNair-Landry and Sebastian Copeland recently completed a kite-skiing expedition across Greenland, taking 43-days to complete the journey, which ended on June 22. Along the way, they managed to harness some amazingly strong winds, and set a new record for most distance covered on skis in a single day. 

Back on June 6, following a day of already high powered winds, the pair decided to go after the distance record, which had been held by Norwegian Hugo Rolf Hansen, who once covered 505km (313 miles) in one day. Eric and Sebastian broke out their kites, and decided to see just how far the wind could take them, and by the end of their day, which was extended thanks to the midnight sun, they had covered an astounding 595km (370 miles). 

When they had finished, the two men were exhausted. Copeland reportedly slept for 13 hours, while his tent mate went for another two beyond that. In the end, it was just one small element of their long journey, but still very impressive none-the-less.


Thanks to The Adventure Life for the news on this very cool story. 

Greenland Trailer

Sebastian Copeland | MySpace Video

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Crossing Antarctica By Kite Buggy

ExWeb has news of a new expedition planned for the 2011-2012 Antarctic Season, during which time Dutch adventurers Hans Wijnand and Jacob Slooff will attempt to traverse Antarctica through the use of kite buggies.

According to the story, the expedition will be made to celebrate the 100 anniversary of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott's epic race to the South Pole, which ended with Amundsen victorious, and Scott dying in a tent, 11 miles from his next supply depot. The duo will set out in October of 2011 from Novo Base, and over the course of the next three months, they'll proceed on to the South Pole, and then over to Mt. Vinson, which they'll climb as well. When finished, they'll have covered more than 2000 miles, and scaled a 16,000 foot peak.

The team is still finalizing their buggy design, but hope to have it done soon, and they're working to attract sponsors for the trip as well. They will be working with National Geographic Junior magazine in some capacity, and they'll also be taking biometric readings throughout the journey to test stress levels, caloric consumption, and a host of other items to see how a trip of this kind can effect the body.

Should be another interesting expedition to follow, and I can't wait to see how their buddies work. With good winds, they should make excellent time, but when the wind falters, they'll have tough going. I'm sure by 2011 they'll have all the kinks worked out however.

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Kite Boarders Jump Pier Amidst 40 MPH Winds!

I first saw this story yesterday over at The Outpost, the official blog for Outdoorzy, but it took the Wend Blog to track down the video to really sell the story.

In the video below you'll find some amazing, and amazingly insane, footage of two kite boarders catching BIG air, as they jump a pier in the U.K. Wend identifies the two crazy boarders as "three time British Champion Lewis Crathern and Big Air Master Jake Scrace". The duo had been planning the jump for three years, but had to wait for the perfect weather conditions to do so. When they got their chance, they took it.

All I can say is Wow!

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The Perils of Kite-Boarding

Earlier this week I posted a photo that made me say "Whoa!". The video below may illicit a similar response, as you watch someone leisurely being pulled around by a kite while on his snowboard. Then, about halfway into the video, the wind grabs that kite, and pulls the snowboard, rider and all, way up into the air. It's hard to judge exactly how high he gets, but it is definitely a scary sight. This does look like crazy fun though! :)

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Mad Way South - Kiting Across the Sahara Expedition Finished!

Way back at the end of July I posted about the Mad Way South expedition, which consisted of four men, two New Zealanders and two Aussies, who were setting out to kite across the Sahara Desert. They were departing from Morocco and had their eyes on finishing in Senegal.

Turns out the boys made it. They finished up their journey earlier in the month, although judging from their blog posts, it wasn't an easy go, especially near the end. Their original intention was to go all the way to Dakar, but they elected to finish up at the Senegal River, which marks the border between that country and Mauritania. By the time they reached that point, the winds had shifted to the south, and the were not going to be able to kite to their intended finish line.

Still, the team managed to complete a number of major goals along the way, and set two world's records. Not only did they become the first to cross the Sahara by kite buggy, they also completed the longest kite buggy journey ever, covering 1342 miles in just 26 days. They also happened to raise more than AUD $40,000 for charity while on their adventure as well.

Congrats to the entire crew for a job well done. This wasn't accomplished just by the four men on the buggies, but a great support team that helped out along the way as well. Everyone involved helped to demonstrate that wind power is a viable way to travel and that sustainable adventures can help raise awareness about environmental issues.

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Mad Way South - Kiting Across the Sahara!

Here's a cool story that I found over at the Adventure World Magazine website. It's about four guys, two from New Zealand, two from Australia, who are planning on racing across the Sahara Desert using sand buggies pulled along by kites.

The expedition is called Mad Way South, and it is scheduled to get underway on August 3rd from Northern Morocco and continue through Western Sahara, Mauritania, and finally ending in Dakar, Senegal.. The four kiters, Geoff Wilson, Steve Gurney and Craig Hansen, will be crossing more than 1550 miles of open desert, in their attempt to become the first people to make the journey completely by wind power.

Once they get underway next week, you'll be able to follow along online as they update their blog throughout the journey. You'll also learn more about the team, their sponsors, and more.

As of the last update, the entire team had gathered in London, and were preparing to depart for Morocco. They were finalizing the packing of their gear and anticipating being on the sand next Monday, when the journey officially begins.

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Kiting Across Mongolia's Gobi Desert

Brother and sister team Eric and Sarah McNair Landry are 30 days into an epic expedition that has them kiting across the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Dubbed the Pittarak Expedition, the plan is to go from Altay in Western Mongolia, and head east to Saynshand.

I'm a bit late in joining this expedition, but they have been posting updates to their blog for the past month, and now roughly three days from reaching their goal. Eric and Sarah have been using three wheeled buggies and large kites to catch the wind and pull them across the open expanses of the Gobi. Of course, the siblings have honed those skills with a lot of time spent in the Arctic, where they have extensive experience, even at the ages of 22 and 20.

In their most recent blog update, they note that they have covered roughly 40km each of the past few days, and with just three days to go until they wrap up the journey, they still have to cover 130km to reach Saynshand. In that same entry, they report that spirits are low, and they are in desperate need of good winds to help them along, but so far they are being buffeted with headwinds instead. Without wind, they are dragging their buggies, and gear behind them, and making slow progress to say the least.

Lets hope they get the wind they need. Sounds like they are a bit low on supplies and are desperately in need of getting to the finish line. Seems like a cool expedition, and I'm bummed that I haven't been following it more closely. Better late than never though, right? :)

Thanks to ExWeb for the story on this.

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