American Dean Potter walked 130 feet across a slackline placed roughly 6,000 feet above the floor of Enshi Grand Canyon without a safety net, harness, or BASE rig for back up this past Sunday. The video above shows the walk best, with Potter's focused breathing and gusts of wind audible in between Chinese commentary.
Meet Mark Coleman, Prana's mindfulness ambassador. The Indian-sitting, mono-talking, easy-smiling, poetry-writing, meditating, Englishman-moved-to-the-United States-who-then-discovered-he's-a-nature-lover is the clothing company's zen adviser to athletes and employees. He sits down with everyone at Prana, from the rock climbers to the sales team, to unlock their potential by opening them up to mindful living, or, being in the present. Coleman is a Buddhist teacher at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, the founder of The Mindfulness Institute, and the owner of the website Awake in the Wild. His core belief goes something like this:
My passion is leading meditation workshops and retreats deep in the heart of nature. My aim is to help others discover the depth of what is possible when we go into the natural world with a contemplative spirit –- in silence, receptivity and a curious spirit. For the past 20 years I have been exploring what it means to be awake, to meditate with presence in nature. It has been the richest journey of my life and continues to nourish me as well as bring renewal, purpose and a deep love of the earth and all its sublime teachings. I look forward to meeting you on this journey.
Right about now you may be questioning why an American clothing company would hire a mindful living instructor. Prana's core message will give you the answer you seek: "prAna, an ancient Sanskrit word for breath, life and vitality of the spirit, has helped guide our actions and lift our aspirations since day one."
Will Unsoeld and Barry Bishop on the West Ridge
The spring 2012 Everest season is in full swing, with teams arriving at Base Camp in preparation for their summit attempts. There are no shortage of planned ascents, and no shortage of places to follow those ascents. Outside has sent senior editor Grayson Schaffer to the mountain, and he's sending back daily dispatches—articles, photos, and videos—on a new Everest page. Eddie Bauer has sent a team led by 13-time summiter Dave Hahn to climb the South Col, and a team led by Jake Norton to climb the West Ridge. The North Face has sent a team led by Conrad Anker and recent Rowell Award winner Cory Richards to climb the West Ridge. Mountain Hardwear has sent athletes Ueli Steck and Freddie Wilkinson to the mountain for ascents they have not completely disclosed. (Alan Arnette has posted a solid summary of the West Ridge on his blog, Grayson Schaffer has posted a nice summary of the three teams mentioned above for Outside, and Explorer's Web has a nice history of the different routes up Everest.) In short, there's a lot going on, and you should follow Schaffer's updates. Here's a quick Expedition Watch on the team he'll embed with at Base Camp.
Photographer Cory Richards
Climber-slash-photographer-slash-filmmaker-slash-humanitarian Cory Richards won this year's Rowell Award from the American Alpine Club. The organization honors a great adventure photographer in memory of Galen and Barbara Rowell, who died in a plane crash in 2002, every year. There's a summary attached below from the American Alpine Club on why Richards took home the $15,000 prize. For more on Richards, read our Galleries We Like interview with him, the story on his ascent of Gasherbrum II, and view his Facial Landscapes gallery. For more on Rowell, read this obituary from The Guardian.
Before you guffaw at the $178.50 price tag, consider that the pink number above was signed by World Champion climber Sasha DiGiulian and that 90 percent of profits from the boulderer's brassiere went to a good cause and that Brandi Chastain's autographed bras go for almost double that amount when sold for profit by a sports memorabilia company.
Went missing last Tuesday
0Fatal rockfall to blame
0Software tycoon suspects foul play
0Longest period of snowfall in over ...
0
