Pete Thomas Outdoors

Highway 140 into Yosemite reopens a day after rockfall

Yosemite National Park announced Friday evening that Highway 140/Portal Road, which leads into the sprawling California park, has reopened a day after it had been closed because a large rock had fallen onto the roadway.

The rock was estimated to measure 10-15 feet tall, six feet wide and four feet deep. No injuries or structural damage were reported but damage to the roadway is still being assessed.

All other roads, except for the seasonal closure of the Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road, are open.  Visitors should be aware that chains might be required on park roadways.

Updated road and weather information can be obtained by calling 209-372-0200.

Yosemite photo courtesy of Kenny Karst / DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, Inc.

 

 

Sea Shepherd finds Japanese whaling fleet

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has discovered the Japanese whaling fleet and will ring in the new year trying to prevent the killing of cetaceans.

The activist group located two harpoon vessels on Friday, or New Year's Eve, in the Southern Ocean about 1,700 miles southeast of New Zealand. It's pursuing both boats while also searching for the factory processing vessel.

In a news release issued Friday, Sea Shepherd stated that for the first time in seven campaigns it had found the fleet before a single whale was killed, and described the discovery as "a momentous victory for the whales and precisely how Sea Shepherd's President and Founder Captain Paul Watson had hoped to ring in the new year."

Crew members aboard the Bob Barker and Steve Irwin spotted the harpoon vessels (one is pictured at top) in different areas in icy Antarctic waters. The factory processing ship Nisshin Maru has not yet been found.

Japan conducts whaling missions annually in the Southern Ocean despite a ban on commercial whaling, imposed in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission. It targets an annual quota of more than 900 minke whales and uses a "lethal research" loophole in the wording of the ban to justify its hunts.

Whale meat from the hunts is sold commercially throughout Japan, though demand reportedly has been shrinking and stockpiles of frozen whale meat are increasing.

The IWC long ago designated the region in which most whaling takes place as the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, but Japan does not recognize the designation.

Japan has fallen under growing pressure recently to curtail or end the hunts.

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area boasts 'most snow in the world'

As powerful winter storms continue to churn across Europe and North America, it's becoming increasingly clear that this will go down as one of the most incredible skiing and snowboarding seasons ever.

Many resorts are boasting more pre-January snow than ever and some are approaching totals that surpass their season averages -- with three months left in the season.

But only one resort can claim supremacy when it comes to how much powder blankets its slopes: Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, which boasts that it has "the most snow in the world."

The claim is backed by the Skiinfo.com, which keeps track of base depths at resorts around the world. Mammoth, which is nestled on California's eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, is No. 1 with a base depth of 559 centimeters, or 221 inches. That's 18-plus feet.

Mammoth is followed by Mt. Washington Alpine Resort (518 cm) in British Columbia, and Ghiacciaio Presena-Adamello (450 cm) in Italy. Rounding out the top five, as of Wednesday, are Alpine Meadows (450 cm) and Sugar Bowl (356 cm) in the Lake Tahoe area, in the northern Sierra Nevada range.

Actual snowfall for the season at Mammoth, which picked up three feet Tuesday into Wednesday, is 290 inches.

Snowboarder death at Mt. High adds to grim holiday toll

A snowboarder from Fullerton died late Monday afternoon after striking a tree at Mountain High in Wrightwood, Calif., becoming yet another grim statistic during one of the biggest early-snowfall years in recent history at resorts across North America.

The 24-year-old, whose name has not yet been released, had not been wearing a helmet.

He becomes at least the fourth fatality on a resort property since Christmas Eve, when a man and 5-year-old girl were killed in a crash at Wyoming's Hogadon Ski Area. That incident involved a snowboarder who struck the girl and her mother at high speed after they had stopped in the middle of a black-diamond run.

Only the girl had been wearing a helmet. The mother survived but required hospitalization.

Meanwhile, new information has emerged regarding a snowboarder who was discovered Christmas Day face-down in a creek that had apparently been covered by a natural snow bridge at Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia.

Cooper Plaxico, 20, of Windsor, Calif., and a student at Humboldt State University, was reported missing on Christmas Eve. Doug Forseth, senior vice president of operations at Whistler-Blackcomb, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that the snow bridge "probably just looked like a snow field to him" and that he probably drowned after plunging through the snow bridge.

Plaxico, who had been wearing a helmet, was found with his board still on his feet and his head submerged. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

The 2010-11 season, marked by abundant November snowfall just about everywhere, had already been marked by sporadic avalanche deaths and at least one fatal crash.

Among the latest known fatalities before Christmas Eve involved a 15-year-old snowboarder who was found dead last Wednesday at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort in Oregon. That case remains a mystery, as a preliminary autopsy revealed no known cause of death.

The average number of skiing- or snowboarding-related fatalities at U.S. resorts is about 40 per season, according to the National Ski Areas Assn. Troy Hawks, a spokesman for the organization, said it does not tabulate fatalities until the end of each season, so he could not offer a figure for this season, heading into the New Year.

But he acknowledged a disturbing start to the 2010-11 season and said via email: "Indeed, we are saddened by the incidents that occurred thus far into the season, and our thoughts go out to all of those involved. As an industry, we will continue to broadcast our Safety Education messaging to skiers and snowboarders through a variety of media channels in the hopes that we can help reduce the occurrences of these incidents."

Hawks requested that skiers and boarders utilize these links to help them avoid trouble on all types of terrain: www.lidsonkids.org; www.freestyleterrain.org; www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com; www.fsavalanche.com.

Here's hoping people take heed and that common sense prevails for the remainder of what promises to be a long and fantastic season, in terms of snowfall. Wearing helmets, though they clearly do not guarantee safety, would be a simple way to start.

-- Pete Thomas

Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore talks about assault

Four-time world surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore, who was assaulted Monday evening outside her apartment in Tweed Heads, Australia, has issued a brief statement about the incident:

"There was an incident in which I was attacked at my property. "It was a completely random act in which I was a victim in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is now a matter for the court. I have sought medical attention and am on my road to recovery in high spirits.

"I look forward to getting back in the water in six weeks. In the mean time, I’m staying mentally and physically fit every way I can. I have fantastic support from my family and friends and look forward to resting up for a fresh start in the New Year."

Gilmore did not mention her injuries, but according to reports a man struck her on the head with an iron bar and she suffered a broken wrist during a brief struggle. The suspect, who later returned to the area and was arrested, is believed to be homeless.

Gilmore, 22, has won the ASP Women's World Tour championship four years in a row. She recently won her third consecutive Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of Stesphanie Gilmore courtesy of the ASP

Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore violently assaulted

Four-time world surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore was the victim of a violent assault Monday night outside of her apartment in Tweed Heads, Australia.

Gilmore, 22, winner of four consecutive ASP Women's World Tour titles, was struck on the head with an iron bar by a man who approached her as she was walking up the stairs of her apartment complex. The alleged assailant, who has been arrested, is a homeless man.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that Gilmore was struck twice in the head and also suffered a broken wrist. She was hospitalized for treatment and released.

Earlier this month, Gilmore won her third consecutive Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship. She has won the world title every year since qualifying for the World Tour.

-- Pete Thomas

 

Freediver's record 100-meter plunge caught on video

It'll be overlooked by many, given that freediving is an obscure sport with a niche following, but William Trubridge's recent plunge to 328 feet, on a single breath and without fins or any type of assistance, ought to be regarded as one of the more remarkable feats of human achievement in 2010.

I spoke with the New Zealander on Dec. 13, the day of his record dive at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas, and posted a story on the GrindTv.com outdoors blog. It briefly made the Yahoo homepage and received more than 1 million views, so Trubridge at least gained some mainstream notoriety.

I'm mentioning this because Trubridge today released a video of his dive, and it's worth a look. Consider that he set the new unassisted freediving record -- breaking his own record -- and cracked the historic 100-meter mark using no weighted sleds or balloons. Then try to imagine yourself swimming to 300-plus feet, and back up again, using only your arms and legs for propulsion.

The dive lasted 4 minutes, 10 seconds, but I'm guessing it felt like an eternity. Enjoy the video:

The HECTOMETER freedive from william trubridge on Vimeo.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of William Trubridge after his dive is courtesy of Igor Liberti

Girl killed in crash at Wyoming ski area was wearing helmet

Contrary to earlier reports, the 5-year-old girl killed after being struck by a snowboarder Friday at a Wyoming ski area had been wearing a helmet.

Elise Johnson and her mother were skiing and had stopped in the middle of a black-diamond run at Hogadon Ski Area when they were struck at high speed, according to witnesses. The snowboarder, 22-year-old Craig Shirley, also was killed.

Both died of internal injuries caused by blunt-force trauma, according to Natrona County Coroner Connie Jacobson. The mother, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized after the incident. All three individuals are from Casper.

-- Pete Thomas

 

Pro surfer Kai Barger paddles to aid of shark-bite victim

Pro surfer Kai Barger (pictured at right) was one of two people who paddled to the rescue of a shark-bite victim Sunday afternoon at a popular Maui surf spot.

A shark estimated to measure six feet had bitten a 16-year-old bodyboarder on the lower leg at "Ledges" outside Kahului Harbor.

Barger and a few others were 20 yards away when they  heard the boy's screams. The victim and his friend, also a bodyboarder, were slightly farther offshore.

Barger and Tanner Hendrickson helped both of them ashore after inspecting the boy's wounds. "He lifted his leg and his fin was gone and all of the skin on his shin was off. It was really gnarly," Barger told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "We just told him that he was O.K., that he still had a foot, and that he was going to survive this."

When they reached the shore Barger, 21, a past junior world champion, and Hendrickson used their board leashes as tourniquets to stem bleeding until an emergency medical crew arrived. "It's just the code of the water that you help when someone is in trouble," Barger said.

The Kihei boy sustained lacerations to his lower left foot, ankle, and leg -- injuries consistent with those caused by a shark bite. A mile-long stretch of beach was temporarily closed following the incident.

-- Pete Thomas

 

Two people die after collision at Wyoming ski area

Sad news out of Wyoming, where a 5-year-old girl and 22-year-old man were killed as a result of  a Christmas Eve collision at Hogadon Ski Area near Casper.

The Associated Press reports that the man was a snowboarder who crashed into the girl and her mother after they had stopped on one of the runs.

The mother remained hospitalized Saturday afternoon but the extent of her injuries had not been reported by the AP or the Casper Star-Tribune. The girl and man were pronounced dead at  Wyoming Medical Center. Authorities had not released names but the girl and her mother reportedly were from the Casper area.

The Star-Tribune is reporting that none of individuals was wearing a helmet and that the incident is under investigation by the Natrona County Sheriff's Office.

Hogadon Ski Area was closed Saturday for the Christmas holiday.