After two years of delay, a court in rural Nepal has found 19 men guilty of murdering six men in a feud over a rare and valuable fungus called yarchagumba. Thirteen of the men convicted will be released for time served. The remaining six, who are believed to be directly responsible for the murders, were given 20-year sentences. A large, quasi-legal trade in yarchagumba, which some consider an aphrodisiac, has sprung up in Nepal in response to growing demand for the fungus in China. T... Read More
Czech climber Adam Ondra opened one of the world's hardest boulders on Friday with the first ascent of a new V16-graded problem near his home in the Czech Republic. Ondra, 18, spent a total of 12 days working the climb, a 12-move traverse that crosses the bottom of a limestone sport crag in Holstejn. In posts online, Ondra said that Terranova was "undoubtedly harder" than any V15 he had climbed in the past, but admitted that the low traverse might "not be motivating at all" for most climbers. ... Read More
State officials in Alaska are debating whether to shoot wolves from airplanes in an effort to give hunters more opportunities to kill moose. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game believes that the Kenai Peninsula's wolves, which number between 90 and 135, have pushed the moose population of 5,000 well under the department's target. Killing wolves by plane, which is illegal under federal law except for population management, is a highly contentious issue in Alaska. The peninsula is immediately... Read More
A man who ran the New York City Marathon lost his car for two days when he couldn't remember where he had parked his car before the race. Charles Petraske, 34, had driven from his home near Albany and parked in a parking garage in midtown Manhattan. He ran the race in 3 hours and 16 minutes, but, disoriented after finishing and carrying only his keys and $40, couldn't remember where he had parked and was forced to call his wife for a ride. Two days later, Petraske tracked down his car by calli... Read More
On Friday, National Geographic named climber and filmmaker Cory Richards their 2012 Adventurer of the Year in the climbing category. Richards became the first American to complete a winter ascent of an 8,000-meter peak when he climbed Gasherbrum II last February. The accolade capped a banner week for Richards, whose film Cold swept the Banff Mountain Film Festival on November 6th, winning awards for excellence in Audio Post Production, Best Climbing Film, and the festival's Grand Prize.
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