Adventure Television Casting News - Animal Planet and Survivorman

Have you always wanted to be a reality television star? If so, than I have a couple of casting opportunities for you that just might be your big break.

First, Animal Planet is looking for expedition leaders to travel Greenland to be a part of their show Ice Cold Gold. The program follows a mining company as it travels to remote areas of globe in search of valuable metals and minerals. This year, that quest is taking them to parts of Greenland that have seldom been visited by outsiders before, where they'll race to complete their job before the harsh Arctic winter sets in, covering the landscape in snow and ice once again.

If you think you might be qualified, send an email that includes a photo and a brief description of yourself, as well as some info on your expedition experience,  to lauren@metalflowersmedia.com. You can also find a bit more of a description in this posting at ExWeb.

The second opportunity is one that I'm sure will appeal to a number of readers will be interested in. Reality television legend Les Stroud is preparing to film new episodes of his show Survivorman and he's looking to take one lucky viewer with him out into the field. For those who haven't seen this show (have you been living under a rock?), Les is dropped off in a remote region of the world – usually completely alone – and he must survive in that environment while making his way to safety.

But for an upcoming special episode Les wants to take someone along with him on his adventure, and he is accepting applications to do just that here. Applicants will need to fill out the online form and submit a 5-10 minute long video explaining why they are the right person to accompany him out into the wild. The submission deadline is April 1, which is a week from today, so you better get going. Les explains more in the video below.

Good luck to anyone who applies for either of these opportunities. They could certainly lead to some interesting adventures.

Video: South America by Drone

Adam Humphrey, the filmmaker behind this beautiful short film, spent five weeks backpacking through South America, covering more than 19,000 km (11,800 miles) in the process. Along the way, he shot some amazing video – with the help of a drone – in Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. The results speak for themselves, as viewers are treated to fantastic shots of some of the most stunning landscapes on the continent, if not the world.

South America by drone from Adam Humphrey on Vimeo.

Video: Climbing Manaslu - Part 1

High altitude mountaineer and RMI guide Alex Barber is currently in Nepal and preparing for a solo summit attempt of Annapurna this spring without the use of supplemental oxygen. But last fall, he made a similar expedition to Manaslu, the 8163 meter (26,781 ft) peak located in the Mansiri Himal district in Nepal. This video shares the first part of that expedition, giving us a glimpse of Alex's trek to Base Camp, the team's puja ceremony, and the early stages of the climb as he acclimatizes on the mountain. It is a good look at a major expedition to the Himalaya, and if feedback is good, I'll share the second part of the climb tomorrow.

Manaslu - Part 1 from Alex Barber on Vimeo.

Video: Total Solar Eclipse from Spitsbergen, Norway

Yesterday we had a fun little video of a snowboarder enjoying some time in the backcountry of Norway while the total solar eclipse occurred last week. Today, we get a wonderful timelapse video of that phenomenon that was shot above the Arctic Circle in that same country in Spitsbergen region. This short clip – less than two minutes in length – gives us a wonderful view of the eclipse in a fantastic setting. Enjoy!

Total Solar Eclipse, March 20, 2015 - Spitsbergen, Arctic from Witek Kaszkin on Vimeo.

Endurance Athlete is Running from Vancouver to Buenos Aires

As a daily runner, I pride myself in slipping on my running shoes each and every day, and heading outside to put in a few miles no matter what the weather. But my running addiction is nothing compared to that of Jaime Ramsay, a British adventurer who is currently attempting to travel from Vancouver, Canada to Buenos Aires, Argentina on foot. That's a distance of more than 18,000 km (11,185 miles), of which he has already completed 6500 km (4038 miles).

Jaime has broken this epic running journey down into three stages. The first stage began in Vancouver and consisted of him running down the Pacific Coast of the U.S. That section of the run covered a total distance of 2700 km (1677 miles) before ending in the Mexican town of Tijuana. He completed that stage last fall, and immediately moved onto the second, which is a more challenging and dangerous excursion across Mexico and Central America that will eventually end in Panama City. covering some 6400 km (3976 miles) in the process. As I write this, Jaime is in the midst of that second stage, having reached Guatemala a few days back.

The next stage of the expedition will be even more difficult and dangerous. After he reaches Panama, Jaime will face the extremely remote and wild region known as The Darien Gap. This 100 km (62 mile) stretch of his run will cross through dense rainforest populated by drug runners, guerrilla fighters, dangerous animals, and incredibly difficult terrain. How exactly he'll navigate through this part of the world remains to be seen. Even he says he'll have to determine the best route once he arrives. But needless to say, it will be one of the more trying parts of the entire expedition as he passes through a place that is amongst the most dangerous in the world.


After The Darien Gap he'll pass into South America proper, where he'll begin the final stage of his run. That will be a 7750 km (4815 mile) leg that begins in Cartagena, Colombia and ends at the finish line in Buenos Aires. Along the way he'll have to cross the Andes Mountains, a challenge unlike any that he has faced so far.

When he's all said and done, Jaime hopes to have completed the entire journey in about 600 days, running a total of 428 marathons as he passes through 14 countries. But as he says on his website, he isn't doing this to set a record or become the "first" to accomplish something. Instead, he is making this run to prove that determined people can do anything that they set their mind to, and accomplish some impressive things while doing so. That's the kind of spirit that we love here at The Adventure Blog, which is why I wanted to share Jaime's story.

The intrepid runner is also using his journey to raise funds for several charities. Among them are WaterAid, an organization dedicated to helping developing nations get clean drinking water; We Are MacMillan, which provides support for cancer patients; and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), which strives to prevent male suicide in the U.K.

You can follow along with Jaime's progress on his website at JaimeisRunning.com, where you'll also find links to how you can donate to his causes. You can also follow him on Twitter at @jamieisrunning too. https://twitter.com/jamieisrunning

Himalaya Spring 2015: Early Season Summits on Annapurna

With spring just a few days old, and most climbers still preparing to set out for the Himalaya, one team has already completes the first expedition of the season on one of the most difficult mountains in the entire world. According to Explorers Web, the Dreamers Destination team has reached the summit on Annapurna, and in the process introduced a new strategy for success on that mountain.

As I wrote yesterday, the team first arrived on Annapurna in early March and have spent the past few weeks acclimatizing to the altitude while fixing ropes and establishing their camps. That early season work paid off as the entire squad reached Camp 4 yesterday, putting them in position to continue to the summit today.

Earlier, the Dreamers Destination website was updated with the following post announcing the success of the team:

"Congratulations to the team of Dreamers Destination Annapurna Expedition team 2015 for conquering Mt. Annapurna which is most difficult mountain of all. Seven Clients and 6 Sherpa have made to summit recently."

Knowing that, we can assume that amongst the summiteers were Sherpa leaders Mingma G. Sherpa, Anggeli Sherpa, and four other members of the Sherpa team. Additionally, the seven clients include Finnish climber Samuli Mansikka, Iranian Reza Shahlaee, Turkish-American Muharrek Aydin Imrak and Macedonian Zdravko Dejanovic. The other three members of the squad are from China.


ExWeb alos quotes a dispatch from Mingma G. Sherpa in which he says: “All members and Sherpa are on top of Annapurna,” which serves to reinforce the announcement from the Dreamers Destination website.

The team used a bit of a unique strategy to summit Annapurna as early as possible in the spring. They arrived in winter, quickly acclimatized, and made their final push to the top well before the heavy snows of spring arrive. Those weather conditions often result in very difficult conditions high on the mountain during the traditional spring climbing season. Annapurna, which is widely considered the deadliest mountain in the world, is well known for having avalanches and unstable terrain as the season develops. The plan for this team was to get there early, summit prior to the arrival of the snow, and get off the mountain quickly.

The Dreamers Destination squad isn't alone in this idea. Other mountaineers have arrived on Annapurna early this year as well, including Spaniard Carlos Soria and Aussie Chris Jensen Burke. Both have already been as high as Camp 2, and are proceeding with their acclimatization efforts too. They are still a couple of weeks off from making summit bids of their own, but they do hope to reach the top of Annapurna early this spring as well.

Meanwhile, most Himalayan climbers are still preparing to depart for Kathmandu. Many will arrive there next week, and begin the journey to their various mountains – chief amongst them being Everest. Typically there is a short break between the winter and spring climbing seasons, but this year there really hasn't been much of a slow down as the seasons are now beginning to overlap to a degree.

This is just the start of what promises to be a busy and interesting spring in the Himalaya. Stay turned for much more to come in the days ahead.

Video: Wondrous Timelapse From South America

Shot in Chile and Bolivia, this beautiful video captures timelapse footage from the amazing landscapes that can be found in those two countries. You'll see everything from sun-soaked deserts to rocky canyons to snowcapped peaks, with a lot in between. It is a wonderful short journey through a part of the world that I personally enjoy immensely. After watching this clip I think you'll understand why.

Wondrous Timelapse from VDOLAB on Vimeo.