Video: Beautiful Iceland in Timelapse

We'll close out the week with this amazing three-minute short film that captures the spectacular landscapes of Iceland in timelapse. The settings look simply amazing, and should inspire some outdoor adventures for all of us as we head into the weekend. Enjoy!

Iceland 4K - shot on Nikon D800 from Macgregor on Vimeo.

Video: 2600 Miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in 4 Minutes

When backpacker Andy Davidhazy set out to hike the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail he decided it would be a good idea to snap a selfie every mile of the hike. That added up to more than 2600 photos that notably mark his progress along the iconic route, but also showed his amazing physical transformation as well. The video below is a compilation of all of those photos, taking us along with Andy on the PCT end-to-end in just four minutes. It is a pretty impressive record of his accomplishment and definitely a fun way to document the journey.

Video: Building the Barneo Ice Camp

A few weeks back I wrote a post about the construction of the Barneo Ice Camp, a temporary base that is set up each spring at 89ºN on the Russian side of the Arctic to help facilitate travel to and from the North Pole. Apparently construction of this year's camp is still underway, but the video below – which comes our way courtesy of Quark Expeditions – gives us an idea of the effort that is made to build the camp to prep it for visitors each season. Those efforts include airdropping supplies out on the ice, and the first arrivals at the camp parachuting in to help build a runway large enough for big aircraft to land on it. It is a fascinating story about a place that only exists for a few short weeks each spring.

London2London Via The World Update: Sarah Arrives in New York City, Atlantic Ocean Lies Ahead

It has once again been far too long since we checked in on Sarah Outen, the British adventurer who has been making her way around the planet completely under her own power. Since my last update on her progress, she has completed a six-month long cycling journey across Canada and the U.S. – much of it in winter – and is now preparing for the final stage of her journey, a crossing of the Atlantic by rowboat.

You may recall that Sarah launched her London2London via the World expedition four years ago by first paddling down the River Thames in London, and then across the English Channel to France. From there, she then proceeded to ride her bike across Europe and Asia, encountering many interesting people and adventures along the way. Eventually she arrived in Japan where she intended to cross the North Pacific by rowboat. That was back in the summer of 2012, and soon after she embarked on that ocean crossing she encountered a nasty storm that damaged her boat, and sent her back to shore. Undaunted, Sarah returned a year later and rowed from Japan to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Then, last year she kayaked through the islands to the Alaskan mainland, where she returned to her bike for a long ride across North America.

On March 15, Sarah rode her bike into New York City, essentially wrapping up the final cycling portion of her journey. She will eventually tack on another 400 miles (643 km) to the ride when she heads for Cape Cod in a few weeks, but for now she is enjoying some time in NYC, where she has been catching up with old friends, making new ones, and starting to prepare for the next stage of her grueling journey.


In May, Sarah will set out across the North Atlantic in her rowboat. The plan is to cross the ocean and row back up the Thames, passing under the London Bridge, which was her official starting point those many long months ago. If everything goes as planned, the Atlantic crossing should take roughly 4-5 months to complete, putting her back home in London sometime in the fall of this year.

While the journey has taken longer than Sarah had anticipated, it has been quite the experience and challenge. Circumnavigating the globe completely under her own power is an impressive accomplishment, and now just the Atlantic Ocean stands in the way of her achieving that goal. Outen is no stranger to ocean rowing however. In addition to having rowed across the North Pacific, back in 2009 she also rowed solo across the Indian Ocean as well. When she launches her Atlantic crossing in May, it'll feel like old times I'm sure, although this time she's heading home.

Over the next few weeks, Sarah will be dealing with logistical issues, resting, and getting her boat ready for launch. The weather needs to improve and stabilize before she begins rowing the Atlantic, but by mid-May or so she should be about ready to go. There are still thousands of miles of ocean ahead of her, but London is calling and the journey is nearing an end at long last.

Himalaya Spring 2015: Expeditions to Watch

This weekend many climbers from across the globe will set out for Nepal at long last. Even though there has already been action in the Himalaya this spring, the season won't truly get underway until next week when the teams begin arriving in Kathmandu in droves. It'll take them some time to get out to their various Base Camps, but things are about to get very interesting in the big mountains.

To prepare us for the season ahead, Alan Arnette shared a post yesterday detailing some of the major expeditions to watch in the weeks ahead. Most of these climbs center around Everest of course, but several will focus on other major peaks too. Alan himself will leave shortly for Nepal as well, where he'll be attempting Lhotse this spring.

Among the climbs that Alan recommends keeping an eye on this year are an expedition to the rarely visited North-Northeast Ridge, where Canadian Raphael Slawinski will be joined by Germans David Goettler and Daniel Bartsch to attempt a new route without the use of Sherpas or supplemental oxygen. This side of the mountain has only been scaled one other time, but a Russian team back in 1996. The trio will be going up the ridge along a different path however.

Kilian Jornet's speed attempt on Everest will certainly get plenty of attention as well. His original plans were to make the attempt from the North Side, but Alan's report seems to indicate that is no longer the case. Considering the challenges and uncertainty that come with climbing in Tibet, and the fact that some operators switched sides and cancelled climbs on the North, perhaps Kilian has had to change up his plans as well. That will make things difficult for him, as the larger crowds on the South Side will certainly alter his approach.

Other interesting expeditions on the schedule an attempt to ski the Lhotse Coulair on Everest by Matt Moniz and Wilie Benegas. Alan says the coulair has never been fully skied before, and these two climbers will do it after summiting Everest. British climber Kenton Cool has ambitious plans for the weeks ahead as well. He'll first attempt to summit Everest – something he has done 11 times in the past – before moving on to Kangchenjunga and eventually K2. 23-year old Brit Rupert Jones-Warner will attempt to summit Everest from both the North and South Side, using a helicopter to travel between the two Base Camps on the respective sides of the mountain. Finally, German climbing legend Ralf Dujmovits is returning to Everest once again to attempt to summit without the use of bottled oxygen. Ralf has already climbed all 8000-meter peaks, but feels he has unfinished business on Everest after using O's to summit that peak.

That's the run-down of Alan's suggestions for climbs to watch this spring. Of course, I'm sure there will be plenty of other interesting expeditions to keep an eye on as well. The season is only about to get underway, so there should be plenty of action to come.

Video: The Moonriders of Zermatt

We seem to have a theme going with our videos today - mountain biking and Zermatt, Switzerland. In this beautiful short clip a pair of riders head out on fat tire bikes to ride in the mountains above Zermatt on an evening that is lit by a bright, full moon. The images they captured were spectacular, and it looks like an amazing time to go for a ride. For those that don't know, Zermatt is one of Europe's best outdoor playgrounds, with plenty of climbing, skiing, mountain biking, and other activities. I never would have thought to go riding there at night, but this looks amazing.

Moonriders from Christian Mülhauser on Vimeo.

Video: Things I Remember About Zermatt

The things that stay with us when we travel to a new place are often surprising. That's the premise behind this video, in which the filmmakers traveled to Zermatt, Switzerland for a mountain biking trip in the shadow of the Matterhorn. They wanted to highlight the amazing things they saw there, and the elements of Zermatt that stood out the most. This beautiful video is the result.

Things I Remember from Zermatt from Filme von Draussen on Vimeo.