We’ve been following her progress for months, and today it’s official. Sarah Outen has completed her solo row across the Indian Ocean, and reached Mauritius today at 8:27 PM local time. She rowed up onto the shore to greetings from friends and family and in triumphant style. You can read more about the finish on the most recent posts on Sarah’s blog.

Sarah set out from the town of Freemantle on the western coast of Australia back on March 31st, and now, more than four months later, she has completed her quest to become the first woman, and youngest person, to ever solo the Indian Ocean. Along the way she faced a number of hardships, including killer storms, high winds, weeks alone at sea, and having her boat rolled in the middle of the ocean. But through it all, she remained upbeat and her dispatches always seemed pleasant, confident, and positive.

I want to send my congratulations along to Sarah on a job well done. That was one heck of an effort, and I’m glad to see she completed the crossing safe and sound, and none the worse for wear it seems. I’m sure we’ll have more updates soon, as she is no doubt looking forward to a hot shower and a fine meal, not to mention a long sleep on a comfortable bed that doesn’t move beneath her.

Welcome to Africa Sarah!

Here’s a story that I wrote about over the weekend on Gadling, but thought some would find interesting here as well. The New York Times posted a really interesting story about Colombia opening back up for travel after years of turmoil from drug lords, high crime rates, and crazy guerilla activity. The gist of the article is that there are a lot of opportunities for adventure travelers to enjoy remote regions of the country before the mainstream crowds start to show up on the tourist buses.

The spotlight is placed squarely on El Cocuy National Park in particular and Ritacuba Blanco, a 17,749 foot peak that resides there. The park is an off-the-beaten-path wilderness some 1000-square miles in size that falls near the Venezuelan border. It is home to a number of animal species, including pumas, tapirs, condors, and more. It also happens to have its fair share of tall mountain peaks as well.

The author of the story compares Ritacuba Blanco with Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua, and while it doesn’t quite have the altitude of those two peaks, it is a similar climbing experience, minus the crowds. That seems to be the main point of the story, that for now, Colombia remains an untapped resource for anyone looking for a little outdoor adventure. There is plenty to see and do, and few visitors to take advantage of it all. But the author warns that this is changing quickly, as El Cocuy saw nearly as many tourists in January of this year than it did for the entirety of 2008.

If you’re looking for a new travel experience, and the opportunity to visit a place that remains off the tourist radar for now, you could do far worse than Colombia. There are still some areas of the country that remain dangerous, but for the most part, it has become a great place for travelers once again, and at least for now, it is a bit of a hidden gem.

Summit bids continue in the Karakorum as the new week begins, and another strong Korean climber emerges as a threat to be the first woman to nab all 14 8000 meter peaks.

Over the weekend, Korean climber Oh Eun-sun reached the summit on Gasherbrum I, claiming her 4th 8-thousander of the year, and 13th overall, as she moves into a position to become the first woman to summit all of the big peaks. She now has just Annapurna left to conquer. Gerlinde Kaletenbrunner may join her soon however, as she is in the middle of her summit bid on K2, which would put her at 13 as well. Miss Oh has also successfully topped out on Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri and Nanga Parbat this year.

Things weren’t completely rosy on GI this weekend however, as the Altitude Junkies are reporting that their team went as high as 7300 meters before turning back due to high winds. The entire team is safe and healthy and expected back in BC tomorrow, where they’ll regroup and consider another go at the summit.

On K2, the outlook is a bit better, with teams continuing to make their push today, and the Field Touring Alpine Team is checking in from Camp 4, which puts them on schedule for this attempt. The FTA climbers are planning on going to the top this evening (local time) and are probably already moving up as I write this. According to the update, there are a number of teams in C3 as well, and it appears they’ll move up tomorrow and be in place to make their summit bid tomorrow night.

Expect good news from K2 soon, and keep your fingers crossed that everyone gets up and down in one piece!

While we’re on the subject of videos this morning, check out the trailer below for a paddling film called Dream Result that is coming soon from Tyler Bradt and Russ Sturges. The three-and-a-half minute video has some amazing footage of some of the top kayakers around doing their thing on the water, including a glimpse at Bradt’s famous 186 foot drop over Palouse Falls.

Thanks to Steve Casimiro and The Adventure Life for sharing this one today.

In an effort to continue working towards becoming a filmmaker (No, not really!), I’ve put together another video of my trip earlier this year to the Amazon. This one focuses on some of the various animals that I encountered there, including monkeys, dolphins, sloths, lizards, and various birds. I had a lot of fun putting this together, mostly as an experiment, but I hope you enjoy it as well. By the way, the high-def version of the video is available by clicking here.

Cendana Hikathon is confirmed on 4-Oct-2009.
Entry form and route map available at MyRunningEscapades

Located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta is where Gunung Merapi stands at 2,968 metres (9,738 ft) tall. This stratovolcano is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548, most recently in 2006. Its name means “Mountain of Fire” and it is often confused with another volcano in Sumatra named Gunung Marapi. Merapi is the youngest in a group of volcanoes in southern Java and just one of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia which is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The typical characteristics of Merapi is small eruptions every two to three years while major eruptions occur every 10-15 years. Due to its proximity and the hazards it posed to populated area, Merapi has been designated as one of the 16 Decade Volcanoes throughout the world.

This 14th July 2009, I will attempt to scale Merapi and reach its summit of Puncak Garuda. Hiking in pitch darkness and witnessing the sun rise is a very memorable experience and highly recommended by many hikers. To do that, the journey will have to begin at 12am as it roughly takes 6 hours to reach the peak. A quick stop at the nearby Selo Village to catch some sleep and rest the body is not a bad idea at all. Selo which is the north face of Merapi would be our starting point of ascend.

Kaliurang which is the south face of Merapi is not accessible to hikers due to its constant lava flow. Hiking from there is very risky and you would be lucky if you survive not being reduced to ashes. A quick stop at Kaliurang would be recommended to catch a glimpse of the intensity of the lava flow.

This would be my 2nd volcanic climb after Sibayak in 2006. Looking forward to a memorable and adventurous trip.

Finally it's completed. The new blog dedicated to running-related events, news, reviews and updates is up and ready.

Please visit MyRunningEscapades for your running pleasure.

Date: 27-June-2009 (Saturday)
Registration: 5.00pm at Air Itam
Bus departure time: 5.30pm or 6.00pm
Hike start time: 8.30pm after dinner at Balik Pulau
Trail: Cement road to Air Itam Dam
Grade: Moderate
Duration: 2 - 3 hours (1 way)
Cost: RM1 (Member), RM3 (Public)
Contact: Mr Wong Pang Kong (012-5435612) or Mr Terence Kee (016-4179997)

For more information, pls refer to the brochure attached.

Did this hike last year but not joining this year as it clashes with the Standard Chartered KL run. It’s quite a different experience hiking at night and I would urge people to try it if they haven’t. Besides absorbing the cooling ambience and surroundings, you would get some kind of work-out and burn some calories. Don’t forget your torch.

Relive the moments from last year’s hike.
Balik Pulau to Air Itam Night Hike 2008

mymountainadventures reached a significant milestone on 10-June-2009. The stat counter clocked exactly 10,000 hits on this very day. It has been almost a year since this blog had been established and although it may sound trivial to many, it means a lot to me. I would sincerely like to thank all my readers, followers, subscribers, referrals, etc etc for your continuous support. Without you it would never be possible.

After 88 posts, 10,000 pageviews and 4,650 visitors, I have decided that it is time to branch out of MMA and create another blog especially dedicated to running. If time permits, I will get it online soonest possible. Do not fret, MMA will still be alive and running.

Some interesting stats to be shared.

Top 3 most popular posts
1. Top 10 Highest Mountains of Peninsular Malaysia (393 views)
2. MPPP-SCI Peace Run 2008 (287 views)
3. Mt Kinabalu Sabah (240 views)

Top 3 location of visitors
1. Malaysia (2,868)
2. Singapore (949)
3. United States (296)

Top 3 referrals (Known to me)
1. pbase.com/boon3887 (396)
2. alharis.blogspot.com (290)
3. pinoymountaineer.com (73)

Top 3 months with most pageviews
1. May 2009 (1,605)
2. Apr 2009 (1,456)
3. Aug 2008 (1,439)

Top 3 months with most visitors
1. May 2009 (714)
2. Apr 2009 (643)
3. Aug 2008 (597)

Top 3 months with most published post
1. Nov 2008 (18 posts)
2. Aug 2008 (17 posts)
3. Apr 2009 (14 posts)