First-ever Mount Everest Skydive

Love skydiving? Well, I'm sure that most of you have done it at least once in your life. And even some of you may be a good skydiver. But, can you dare to jump from the height of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the World? It sounds weird and impossible, but on Saturday, three skydivers from three different countries plunged from above the Mount Everest and became the first in the World to do so!


The daredevil skydivers - Wendy Smith (New Zealand), Neil Jones (Canada) and Holly Budge (Britain) dived from 29,500 ft, which is 2,500 ft higher than the 27,000ft-tall Mount Everest and successfully landed at 12,350 ft in Shyangoche, the highest Drop Zone in the world. During the challenging skydiving, the skydivers faced sub zero temperatures and fast changing weather.


The skydiving event, Everest Skydive 2008, was organized by British adventure travel company High and Wild. It has cost 32 clients around 24,000 dollars each. According to the organizer, the oldest client slated to make the jump in the coming days is Alan Walton, a 72-year-old British partner in a bio science company.

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Jungfrau Marathon in Pictures

The Jungfrau Marathon is one of the best known mountain marathons in the world. This 26.2 miles long marathon not only tests the strength of the runners but also offers them some of the most beautiful views in the Bernese Oberland area of the Swiss Alps. It was first held in 1993 and every year about 3,500 runners from 35 different nations participate in the Jungfrau Marathon.


The 26.2 mile course of this marathon starts in Interlaken, a holiday resort located in the heart of the Swiss alps and climbs 5,960 feet (1,823 m) in elevation to the finish at the Kleine Scheidegg. The first 10 km of the course are flat. However, from there the course heads upward, reaching the highest point of 7,234 feet (2,205 m) around the 40 km point. The last kilometre of the course is a steep downhill. So, it is definitely one of the toughest marathons in the world.

The present Men's Record of Jungfrau Marathon is in Jonathan Wyatt's name who completed the course in 2:49:01 in during 2003 run. The Women's record is in the name of Marie-Luce Romanens, who completed the course in 3:21:03 during 2001 run.

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Crossing on a single Wire 850ft above ground

Two high wire walkers in China have set a record after crossing on a single wire more than 850ft above ground. Adili, vice-chairman of the China Acrobatic Artists Association, and his apprentice, Ya Gebu, 19, completed the stunt without help of any safety wires or nets. Take a look at the picture above. Can you do this?

The wire used inn this performance was more than 1.1 kilometres long, and it was stretched over a valley in Muhe Big Valley, Gansu province, China. To complete this deadly task, the two men started at the opposite ends of the wire and then climbed over each other in the middle of the wire to finish the journey.

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North Pole Marathon

The North Pole Marathon is one of the world’s most extreme marathons! It is run at the top of the World, that means at the exact Geographic North Pole. The length of the race route is 26.2 miles (42 km) and is run on the frozen Arctic ice floor with only about 6-12 feet of ice separating the runners from 12,000 feet deep Arctic Ocean. This is the only marathon in the world that is not run on any land.


The first North Pole Marathon occurred in 2002 when the race director covered the distance alone. In 2003, the first exploratory competitive race was advertised and attracted ten competitors. There were further races in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 making five competitive events to date. The race is now an annual fixture on the international marathon calendar and 127 people in all have successfully completed the event.


Well, running in the North Pole Marathon is not so easy. You will need to run at wind chill temperature of –30C or even below. The whole course will move with the direction of the Ocean current during the race. So, you will feel like running on land at the exact same longitude and latitude coordinates where you began. So, you will need good training, proper gears and a good health to complete the 26.2 miles distance. Well, the race organizer wants everybody to finish this amazing race. So, there is generally no cut-off time of major significance.


The next North Pole marathon is provisionally scheduled to take place on 8th April 2009. Competitors will leave Spitsbergen on 7th April and return to Spitsbergen on 9th March, therefore spending about 36-48 hours in the polar region. Want to join them? Visit www.NorthPoleMarathon.com or www.NPMarathon.com for more information.

Watch a short video on the North Pole Marathon:

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Ironman World Triathlon Championship

The Ironman World Triathlon Championship or simply Ironman Triathlon is an annual triathlon race, known for its grueling length, race conditions, and television coverage. This sports event is held every fall in the US city of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.


The Ironman World Triathlon race encompasses three endurance events; a 3.8 km ocean swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 180 km bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hawi and back, and a 42 km long marathon along the coast of the Big Island (from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona). The race finishes on Ali'i Drive. The current course record is 8 hours 4 minutes and 8 seconds, that was set by Luc Van Lierde of Belgium in 1996.


The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay. The first Ironman Triathlon was held on February 18, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1981 the competition was moved to the less urbanized Big Island by Valerie Silk and in 1982 Silk moved the race date from February to October.


For the 25th anniversary on October 18, 2003, nearly 1500 athletes were enlisted, most of which had to go through qualification competitions. Qualifying events take place annually around the world, in places such as Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Canary Islands, South Africa and Europe. Another way of qualifying is the Ironman lottery. 200 spots are reserved for athletes that enter the lottery, 50 of them being international spots, the other 150 being US spots.

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Engadin Ski Marathon Pictures

The Engadin Ski Marathon is an annual event in Switzerland, where more than 10,000 skiers take part in a ski marathon over the weekend. It is organized on the second Sunday of March. The 42.2 km race starts in Maloja and rips through some o Switzerland's most stunning landscapes until it finishes in S-Chanf near the Swiss mountain resort of St Moritz. This is one of the extreme marathons in the World. Give a look at these pictures.

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