Kevin Pearce snowboarded on Tuesday in Breckenridge, Colorado for the first time since a massive head injury nearly took his life late 2009. Pearce was joined by a large group that included friends, fans, and the media Tuesday afternoon after a private test run earlier in the day. Pearce was preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when he crashed and hit his head in halfpipe training in Park City, Utah. He eventually re-learned to speak and walk with intensive physical therapy, but his retur... Read More
A pair of explorers on Wednesday completed a six-week journey to the South Pole by ski, one hundred years to the day after Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the pole on December 14, 1911. Vegard Ulvang and Harald Dag Jollie, both of Norway, were too late on Wednesday to attend a ceremony that included Norway’s prime minister and about 300 people, all of whom had flown in. Celebrants were treated to an ice sculpture of Amundsen. Though Ulvang and Jollie missed the party, two of... Read More
An American researcher in New Guinea has announced the discovery of the world's smallest frogs. At eight to nine milimeters long, the two species found by Fred Kraus, Paedophryne dekot and P. verrucosa, are the smallest non-fish vertabrates on earth. In a paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, Kraus, of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, said that the species aren't able to climb well, and, instead, live in leaf litter and moss on the forest floor. The four known miniature frog specie... Read More
A 14-year-old American is free five months after he was kidnapped and held hostage in a remote Philippine jungle. Kevin Lunsmann was on vacation with his mother and cousin when Islamic terrorists captured them in July. Acoording to Philippine government officials, Lunsmann asked to bathe in a stream but dashed into the jungle instead, trekking barefoot for two days before villagers found him Saturday on the south side of Basilan Island. Lunsmann’s mother was released in October, and his ... Read More
This winter in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, skiers will notice devices at 12 backcountry access gates that check for functioning avalanche beacons. Part of a pilot program called "Are you beeping?" and sponsored by Backcountry Access and Outdoor Research, the devices will beep and display a round "O" if they detect a beacon signal. If a signal is not detected, a red "X" appears. The program will not prevent skiers without beacons from crossing into the backcountry from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, ... Read More
