June 28, 2008 - You never know how one of these can come in handy. A 24-year-old Colorado Springs woman, vacationing in Europe, went for a hike in the Bavarian Alps. During the trek, Jessica Bruinsma lost her footing and fell 16 feet to a narrow overhang, spending the next 70 hours waiting to be found. After nearly three days, she spotted a group of lumberjacks but they were too far away to hear her, so she improvised.

Apparently, there was a cable that brought wood up and down the mountain. Initially, the timber transport system was out of service. But when a repairman restored the line on Thursday, Jessica hooked her sports bra on the cable and it reached a worker at the base. He had heard of the missing hiker and immediately alerted police who airlifted her to safety.

Bruisnma realized she needed her shirt and jacket for warmth but the bra might serve as an appropriate signal to those on the ground. And her resourcefulness paid off! She has scrapped plans to stay in Berchtesgaden to learn German and plans to return home to Colorado where she hopes she’ll recover quick enough to participate in an upcoming marathon. Her goal is to complete the course in three hours and ten minutes. We’re guessing she’ll be properly outfitted for the run.

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Filed under: Mountaineering, News Bytes, Outdoors by jane
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May 24, 2008 - Two Australian women are feeling “on top of the world” after becoming the first mother and daughter team to climb the world’s tallest mountain. This also means that they are the first mother/daughter team to complete the Seven Summits - climbing the tallest peak in each of the seven continents.

Attorney Cheryl Bart and her 23-year-old daughter, Nikki, a medical student, reached the peak of Mount Everest at 9:05 a.m. yesterday Melbourne time after setting out on April 1.

Climbing Everest is incredibly risky and there is only a small window of opportunity to reach the Everest summit each year.  The pair have endured bitter cold and several delays on their 8850-metre Himalayan ascent.

But Cheryl says it has all been worth it. “I’m on top of the world,” she radioed back to base camp as she reached the summit.

The pair have had to contend with delays such as the ascent of the Beijing Olympic torch and having their communications gear temporarily confiscated amid the tight security.

The pair have already climbed to the top of South America’s Aconcagua (6962 metres), North America’s McKinley-Denali (6195 metres), Africa’s Kilimanjaro (5895 metres), Europe’s Elbrus (5642 metres), Antarctica’s Vinson Massif (4892 metres) and Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko (2228 metres).

Follow their climbing adventures at bigpondeverest.com - a fascinating behind-the-scenes look with video diaries, profiles, training tips and more.

Good luck on the descent ladies!

Filed under: Mountaineering, Outdoors by jane
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