Extreme Exposure: Climbers stream Mt. Everest ascent on Snapchat
In this week's edition of Extreme Exposure—a weekly column featuring news and photography from the world of action and outdoor sports—Stephanie Gilmore lights up Kelly’s Wave and Shaun White sports a new do.
Everest Live
Getting to the top of Everest is a gritty endeavor. But for the first time, live updates and video are being streamed from Everest via Snapchat. The mountain, if you can believe this, now has 4G cell service. No, this is not the same Everest Edmund Hillary first climbed in 1953. Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards, two accomplished climbers who are attempting to make the summit sans oxygen (Ballinger’s reached the summit six times), are broadcasting their expedition in near real-time on the app, a virtual first. Using their account @Everestnofilter, the two are documenting their daily triumphs and struggles, including waiting out horrendous weather, what they’re feeding themselves and overall reflections regarding particularly heady sections of the climb. China Mobile provided the 4G coverage in 2013 so climbers could broadcast their adventures live to the world.
• MORE EDGE: Slater's incredible footage from artificial wave park
More From Kelly’s Wave
As I wrote last week, Kelly Slater’s new artificial wave from Kelly Slater Wave Co., has dominated all other news coming out of the surfing world. And while Slater is certainly winning the PR war in the quest to create the perfect man-made wave—he has every pro available coming out for a test drive and Eddie Vedder providing the soundtrack to promo vids—he’s seemingly winning the battle where it actually counts, too. The wave is incredibly dynamic, providing an endless barrel section and a rippable face. And this clip of Stephanie Gilmore—one of the most stylish surfers in the world, male or female—surfing the wave has certainly gone viral (which is partly thanks to Gilmore’s beautiful approach). The entire ocean world is buzzing and the wave even has some pundits calling for the WSL to cancel its Rio de Janeiro event and add the artificial wave to the docket. After watching the clips floating across the Internet, it’s hard to blame them.
Supercross Season a Wrap
Ryan Dungey capped off his title-winning year with yes, another one, taking the checkered flag in Las Vega in the final event of the season. It was Dungey’s ninth win of the year and an exclamation point on a season in which he dominated from start to finish, ending with 16 podiums in 17 starts. The Las Vegas stop also marked the annual East/West Shootout, where Malcolm Stewart won the Eastern Division while Cooper Webb took the Western crown. Stewart’s brother James has also won the 450SX class and is a former Eastern and Western champion, so the win marked the first time siblings have both won titles in Supercross history.
#https://instagram.com/p/BFFuOZRN92m/
• MORE EDGE: One-legged teen mountain biker defies the odds
Shaun White’s Hair
The Flying Tomato’s locks are famous. White’s red mane has garnered blurbs on its own in reputable men’s fashion mags and this week, he braided his hair while traveling to Mammoth with friends. Further delving into White’s Instagram account shows the do was just a weekend thing: He returned to convention for his WHT SPACE photo shoot later in the week ahead of the release of his new clothing line with Macy’s, scheduled to hit stores in mid-June.
#https://instagram.com/p/BE2JJXhvQdi/
