On Thursday, Canadian authorities denied a request by Norwegian investors to salvage a ship once captained by explorer Roald Amundsen and currently wrecked in an Arctic harbor off Nunavut. The investors, who bought the wreck from the Hudson Bay Company in 1990 for $1, were preparing a multi-million dollar operation to tow the Maud back to Norway for display in a museum. The Canadian Heritage Minister has determined that the ship is of national significance and that "a full archeological study"... Read More
A freshman cyclist at Lees-McRae College in North Carolina died on Thursday after she was truck by a truck on an afternoon training ride. Megan Baab, 19, died when the driver of the vehicle fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line. This marks the second time this year a Lees-McRae cyclist has been killed on a training ride. In January, Lees-McRae senior Carla Swart, the most decorated cyclist in collegiate history, was killed while training in South Africa. Baab was expected to com... Read More
Japanese climber Sachi Amma has made the second ascent of Chris Sharma's route Pachamama (5.15a) in Oliana, Spain. Amma, who took third overall in this year's World Cup, spent seven days last year and seven days this year working on the route. Pachamama, which was established in 2009, climbs 160 feet up a limestone face on poor pinches and underclings.
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A Denver cross country coach who was credited with reviving a struggling cross country program is now missing after his arrest last week for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. Oscar Ponce, 34, was an academic All-American runner at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was a member of the 1998 CU cross country team that was the subject of the book Running with the Buffaloes. Police arrested and charged Ponce on Tuesday. He was released on $50,000 bond on Wednesday, after which police ... Read More
The National Park Service announced on Thursday that it will ban the sale of plastic bottles in the Grand Canyon, reversing a 2010 decision made under pressure from Coca Cola. Vending machines and hotels at the park will stop carrying bottled water next year, and other national parks could soon follow suit. In November, the New York Times reported that plans to ban the bottles were reversed at the last minute after NPS head Jon Jarvis met with executives from Coca Cola. The company which sells... Read More
