climbing

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The Sport Is New to the Games—and Destroys Your Hands

Speed climbing can tear athletes' hands to shreds

(Newser) - American Sam Watson managed to set a new record on Tuesday when he scaled a 15-meter climbing wall in Paris in just 4.75 seconds. Whether he ends up with gold won't be known until Thursday, when the men's speed-climbing quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will take place. It'...

US Teen Finishes Event in Record 4.75 Seconds

Sam Watson's speed climbing record is fastest of any timed Olympic event

(Newser) - Sam Watson flew up a 15-meter climbing wall in Paris in 4.75 seconds on Tuesday, shaving 0.04 seconds off his previous best time and setting a new record. The 18-year-old American set a speed climbing world record, which was also a record for the fastest time in any...

Everest Climber, Guide Go Missing on Descent

Daniel Paul Paterson and Pas Tenji Sherpa may be victims of an ice collapse

(Newser) - Everest may have claimed two victims on Tuesday. A 40-year-old British climber and his 23-year-old Sherpa guide are missing after an ice collapse near the summit, reports the Daily Beast . Daniel Paul Paterson and Pas Tenji Sherpa were descending after reaching the summit when a "cornice broke off and...

Man Climbs Las Vegas Orb to Make Point on Abortion

Maison Des Champs, 24, scaled the 366-foot-tall Sphere, was soon arrested

(Newser) - A man who bills himself as "The Official Pro-Life Spider-Man" scaled the massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas on Wednesday to raise funds for a pregnant woman, according to video posted on his Instagram. He was subsequently arrested. Las Vegas police said they began receiving calls about a person...

Sheriff: Ice Climber's Final Act Saved Fellow Climber's Life

She pushed woman out of the way of falling ice column

(Newser) - A woman in northeast Utah died while trying to climb a frozen waterfall on Sunday, and her final act probably saved the life of a fellow climber, authorities say. The two women were part of a group of three climbers ascending Raven Falls near Indian Canyon when an ice column...

Boy Shows Why 'Adventure' Really Is His Middle Name
Story of Boy, 8, 'Climbing'
El Capitan Raises Eyebrows
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Story of Boy, 8, 'Climbing' El Capitan Raises Eyebrows

Experts say Sam Baker didn't technically 'climb' California rock formation

(Newser) - Update: Some veteran rock climbers are speaking out after Sam Adventure Baker's ascent of El Capitan made headlines last week, the Daily Beast reports. Experts tell the San Francisco Chronicle that the 8-year-old and his father used a technique known as "jugging," in which they used ascenders—...

'Elnaz the Champion' Arrives in Tehran, Her Story Unchanged

Iranian climber still insists her lack of hijab during competition in S. Korea was 'unintentional'

(Newser) - Update: Elnaz Rekabi is officially back in Iran, after a recent climbing competition in South Korea in which she didn't wear her hijab. The AP reports that the 33-year-old athlete gave a "careful, emotionless" interview to state media at the Tehran airport after landing early Wednesday, once more...

Climber Breaks Nearly Every Major Bone in Fall, Survives

New Zealand's Anna Parsons is recuperating after terrifying 80-foot plunge on Half Dome

(Newser) - Anna Parsons and her climbing partner, Jack Evans, had exciting plans before they headed from their native New Zealand to foreign exchange programs in Canada: The pair, who'd met as marine science students at the University of Otago, were going to fly to the US, then scale some rocks...

Your Kid Finished the Appalachian Trail? Be Quiet, Maybe

In 'Outside' essay, Krista Langlois explains why she doesn't like stories of young record-breakers

(Newser) - We've all seen the occasional headlines about kids who set mountain-climbing records or hike the entire Appalachian Trail , but Krista Langlois doesn't want to hear about such feats anymore. In her latest piece for Outside , she explains it's not that she's unimpressed by the youngsters' abilities,...

2 American Climbers Die in 'Psicobloc' Accident

Men were deep-water soloing on Spanish island

(Newser) - The sea cliffs of Majorca are a prime spot for deep-water soloing or "psicobloc"—climbing high-difficulty routes over a deep body of water—but something went badly wrong for two American climbers on the Spanish island Tuesday. The two men, ages 25 and 35, were found dead in...

Man in Wheelchair Pulls Himself 800 Feet Up Skyscraper

Hong Kong man raised $700K for spinal cord patients

(Newser) - Lai Chi-wai is disappointed that he didn't finish his climb Saturday—but since he managed to climb most of the way up a 1,050-foot skyscraper in a wheelchair, raising more than $700,000 for charity in the process, most people consider it an incredible success. Lai was considered...

One of America's Most Renowned Climbers Dies in Fall

Brad Gobright came off rope at El Potrero Chico

(Newser) - One of America's most accomplished rock climbers fell to his death on a mountain in Mexico Wednesday. Brad Gobright, a 31-year-old Californian, was abseiling down a cliff face on El Potrero Chico when he fell around 1,000 feet, the BBC reports. Climbing partner Aidan Jacobson says they were...

Tourists Rush to Climb Sacred Rock While They Still Can

Ban on climbing Uluru, Australia takes effect Saturday

(Newser) - The sandstone monolith in the heart of the Australian Outback is called Uluru, not "Ayers Rock," Aboriginal leaders say—and as of Saturday, tourists will no longer be allowed to climb it. The Anangu people consider the 1,140-foot tall rock formation sacred and have long urged people...

2024 Olympics May Boast 'More Artistic' New Sport

IOC appears to be on board for break-dancing

(Newser) - Break-dancing might just become an Olympic sport. Organizers of the 2024 Games in Paris have put forth their suggestions for four sports to be added to the current roster of 28, with breakdancing listed alongside surfing, climbing, and skateboarding. The latter three sports are already confirmed for Tokyo 2020, but...

'French Spiderman' Arrested in Philippines
'French Spiderman' 
Strikes Again

'French Spiderman' Strikes Again

Alain Robert arrested at GT International Tower in Philippines

(Newser) - "French Spiderman" Alain Robert was rather nonchalant about his arrest Tuesday for scaling a 710-foot-tall skyscraper in the Philippines. "There isn't any scandal ... Hopefully everything should be OK by tomorrow," the 56-year-old told CNN , noting he was "entertaining people for free" for 1.5 hours....

9 Die in Nepal Climbing Disaster
9 Die in Nepal
Climbing Disaster

9 Die in Nepal Climbing Disaster

Storm swept through their base camp

(Newser) - Nine people, including South Korean climbers, were killed on Gurja Himal mountain after a strong storm swept through their base camp, Nepalese police say. The nine climbers who died included Kim Chang-ho, the first South Korean to summit all 14 Himalayan peaks over 8,000 meters without using supplemental oxygen....

Want to Climb Uluru? Better Do It Soon

Climbing at sacred Anangu site will be banned in 2019

(Newser) - If your bucket list includes a trek up Australia's sacred monolith Uluru, you'd better get moving. The management board of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park—made up of eight indigenous members and four government officials, per the BBC —voted unanimously Wednesday to ban people from climbing the huge...

Think You're Tough? This Guy Climbed Everest in Shorts

Wim Hof has done the seemingly impossible

(Newser) - In 1999, Dutch daredevil Wim Hof earned the nickname Iceman when he swam under a frozen lake on TV—then jumped right back in to rescue an onlooker who had tumbled into the frigid waters. He was just getting started, reports the Times of London. In 2007, he nearly summitted...

Here's What Happens If You Lie About Climbing Everest

Indian couple banned from climbing any mountains in Nepal for 10 years

(Newser) - A total of 456 people reached the peak of Mount Everest during this past spring climbing season. PTI reports Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod were not among them. The Indian police officers, who claimed to have been the first Indian couple to climb Everest, were banned from climbing any mountain in...

Backpacker Found Dead After Texting Girlfriend
 Backpacker 
 Found Dead 
 After Texting 
 Girlfriend 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Backpacker Found Dead After Texting Girlfriend

It took searchers nearly a week to find Aiden Webb's body

(Newser) - An experienced English climber who was halfway through a four-month trip through Vietnam with his girlfriend has been found dead after attempting to summit the country's highest peak. Expecting to scale the 10,312-foot Fansipan in a day, 22-year-old Aiden Webb set out at 6am last Friday with only...

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