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Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce photographs: Alamy pp. 25 (© AF archive/Touching the Void; directed by Kevin MacDonald for New Line; 5 September 2003); Alistair Humphreys p. 9 (© Alistair Humphreys); Anne-Flore Marxer pp. 32, 34 (© Anne-Flore Marxer/Matthieu Georges); Caters News Agency p. 5 (© catersnews. com); Corbis pp. 7 (© Christophe Dupont Elise/ Icon SMI), 27 (© Charlie Munsey), 28 (© Gordon Wiltsie/National Geographic), 35 (© David Spurdens/www.ExtremeSportsPhoto.com), 38–39 (© Rick D’Elia); Dreamstime pp. 12 (© Aleksandr Stikhin), 20–21 (© Andres Rodriguez); Getty Images pp. 8 (© Pierre Verdy/ AFP), 14 (© Bobby Model/National Geographic), 19 (© Franck Fife/AFP), 21 (© Shaun Botterill), 23 (© Yves Boucau/AFP), 29 (© Jonathan Ferrey), 31 (© Getty Images), 33 (© Karl Weatherly); Photoshot p. 37 (© Imago); Rondi Davies pp. 10, 13 (© 8bridges.org/Greg Porteus); Shutterstock pp. 1 and 41 (© Christophe Michot), 4 (© Billetskly), 6 (© Dainis Derics), 15 (© Przemyslaw Skibinski), 22–23 (© Galyna Andrushko), 24 (© Steve Estvanik), 26 (© Topseller), 39 (© Beelde Photography), 40 (© Vitalii Nesterchuk); SuperStock p. 17 (© Eye Ubiquitous); Wikicommons p. 39 (© Kayvz) Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of any material reproduced in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publisher. Disclaimer All the internet addresses (URLs) given in this book were valid at the time of going to press. However, due to the dynamic nature of the internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have changed or ceased to exist since publication. While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher.
Contents Sport at the Limits – seeking adventure
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The Ahansal brothers – kings of the sahara 6 Grace van der Byl – marathon swimmer
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Kira Salak – professional adventurer
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Race2Recovery – team inspiration
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Joe Simpson – fearless mountaineer
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Steve Fisher – cool kayaker
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Anne-Flore Marxer – super snowboarder 32 Jure Robič – extreme cyclist
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Where next? – pushing the limits
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Timeline 42 Quiz 43 Glossay 44 Find out more
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Index 48
Race2Recovery Team Inspiration In 2011, a team of volunteers came together with one aim in mind. This group of determined individuals planned to take part in the gruelling Dakar Rally, one of sport’s toughest motor-racing challenges. Most of the team was made up of injured servicemen, some of whom had missing limbs or spinal injuries, as well as ex-servicemen and rally-driving experts. The team called themselves Race2Recovery.
The Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally is a 8,575-kilometre (5,328-mile) off-road car race that used to run from Paris, France, to Dakar, the capital of Senegal in West Africa. In 2009, the rally moved to South America. The challenging route now runs through Peru, Argentina, and Chile, taking the competitors across deserts and over mountains. Rally drivers encounter sand dunes, rocks, and other rough terrain. Lima
Peru
Pisco Nazca
Bolivia
Arequipa
Brazil
Arica
The Dakar Rally begins in Lima, Peru, crosses the Andes into Argentina, then crosses back to end in Santiago, Chile. The precise route changes every year.
Argentina
Salta Copiapó La Serena
Fiambalá
San Miguel de Tucumán
La Rioja Córdoba
500 km
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Paraguay
Calama P a c i fi c Ocean
500 miles
Santiago
Uruguay
British former paratrooper and amputee Tom Neathway waits in his Race2Recovery car ahead of the start of the 2013 Dakar Rally.
Making history
Race2Recovery wanted to become the first disability team to complete the rally. Several members of the team had lost limbs in explosions in Afghanistan. One bomb blast had caused American Marine Sergeant Mark Zambon to lose both his legs, while another had resulted in British paratrooper Tom Neathway having to have both his legs and his left arm amputated. Also from the British Army, Andrew Taylor had been caught in an explosion that injured his back. These men, and all the other members of the team, shared a determination and spirit that would make sure they made it to the Dakar Rally in 2013.
Cathy Derousseaux
Cathy Derousseaux was the only woman in the Race2Recovery team, and she was also among its most experienced rally drivers. One of the team’s able -bodied members, she had already won the French Women’s Rally Championship twice and had worked on a suppor t crew for the Dakar Rally in 2007.
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Preparing for the race
The team spent months in training, as well as testing and adjusting their vehicles, before they were ready for the challenges of the Dakar Rally. This preparation included going to Morocco, where drivers could get used to driving over sand dunes and rocky tracks in the Atlas Mountains. Amputee drivers also had to adjust to the problem of sand, dust, and high temperatures interfering with the smooth working of their artificial arms and legs.
The 2013 Dakar Rally
The Race2Recovery team sent four cars to the rally in January 2013, each with a driver and co-driver, as well as a number of support vehicles. Only one of the rally cars made it through to the end of the race, but this car represented the whole team to claim success for Race2Recovery – the first team with disabled drivers to finish the Dakar Rally. The drivers who finished, Major Matt O’Hare and Corporal Phillip Gillespie, had to drive over mountains and across desert, as well as through floods, to reach the finish line. Afterwards, Major O’Hare said, “To complete the Dakar Rally is an incredible achievement in itself, but to become the first ever disability team to cross that finish line lifts the achievement to a whole other level.”
One car makes a dramatic skid as it races across the sand in the Peruvian leg of the 2013 Dakar Rally.
Team inspiration
team’s The Race2Recovery ury – inj d on ey “B motto is inary”. ord tra ex the g vin achie the es, rac By taking part in a for y ne mo team raises injured recovery centre where omen ew ser vicemen and ser vic g. tin era up rec can spend time es pir ins o als ry Race2Recove injury, everyone who faces culty. disability, or other diffi
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On Day 10 of the race, Major Mat t O’Hare and Corporal Phillip Gillespie, the duo that completed the rally for the Race2R ecovery team, make a splash in Córdoba, Argentina.
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Joe Simpson Fearless mountaineer Imagine what it would be like to climb to the top of the world’s highest mountains. You could be far from anyone other than your climbing companions. Freezing wind or rain, or even snowstorms, could whip around you. You would have to carry enough oxygen to be able to breathe – so what would happen if you ran out? You could be buried in an avalanche or fall to your death. Does it sound like a hobby you’d like to take up?
Born to climb
Joe Simpson is a British mountaineer who is renowned for his near-death experiences on mountains. As a teenager, he read a book that described some of the dangers involved in climbing, but for some reason he was not put off and instead he took up climbing as his hobby. During his early 20s, Joe climbed mountains around the world, managing in the course of his adventures to survive an avalanche, a fall, and hanging off a ledge for 12 hours waiting for help. But this was just the beginning.
Physical risk
climbing Over the years, Joe’s : ed lud injuries have inc s kle • broken an • a neck injury • a shattered knee • a broken spine • arthritis d many Sadly, he has also ha d while die friends who have . ing they were climb
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An avalanche happens when snow tumbles do wn a mountainside, gathering speed as it travels, swallo wing everything in its path.
David Lama
vid Lama From a young age, Da mbing. In 2006, cli for showed a talent he was allowed at only 15 years old, ing World to enter the Free Climb on sheer rock e Cup. Free climbers tak feet, and s, nd ha faces, using their nt) to make me uip eq n tha r body (rathe is Cup made the climb. The World tions. David up of several competi t competition firs the came second in finishing second and won the second, has gained overall. Since then, he of the most e fame for climbing som world. the in ns difficult mountai
ring climbing wall du David Lama on a ing er ne ai nt ou M l iona the 2006 Internat bing im Cl deration’s Free ly and Climbing Fe on s wa he lgium, when World Cup in Be 15 years old.
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Andes ordeal
In 1985, Joe travelled to Peru with his friend Simon Yates to climb the Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes. The west face of the mountain had never been climbed before and the two climbers successfully reached the summit. However, as they were coming back down, bad weather caused Joe to slip and break his leg.
Siula Grande is 6,344 metres (20,814Â feet) high, making it the second highest peak in the Cordillera Huayhuash region of the Andes.
Venezuela Colombia
French Guyana Guiana Suriname
Ecuador Peru Siula Grande T
Bolivia
E
Chile
A N D E S
The Andes mountain range covers around 8,900 kilometres (5,500 miles) down the length of South America. Siula Grande lies in Peru, in the northern Andes.
Brazil
H
Paraguay
Uruguay P a c i fi c Ocean
Argentina Atlantic Ocean
1000 km
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1000 miles
Lost and found
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
The climb had taken longer than Simon and Joe had planned, so The most impo rtant tool for a their supplies were already low. mountaineer is rope. Even thou They had run out of fuel for gh Joe fell because Simon cut the their stove, so they were unable rope that was ho lding him, that to melt snow for drinking water. same rope help ed save his life. They needed to get down fast. He was able to get to safety on ly Simon began to lower Joe on a by tying the rem ains of the rope rope, but the rope got caught around his body and lowering and the weather and darkness himself down to a ledge that meant that Simon could not ultimately led ou t of the crevasse. free it. The two friends were now at different heights but attached to the same rope. Joe could not climb back up and Simon could not pull him back up. Both their lives were at risk. In the end Simon had to cut the rope so that he could get down safely. As Simon did so, Joe fell into a crevasse. Somehow Joe survived the fall, landing on a ledge and digging out a hole for shelter. Then, he managed to lower himself further into the crevasse, before climbing onto a glacier. Despite having no food and very little water, Joe survived for another three days, managing with his broken leg to crawl back to safety. Simon, having assumed his friend must have died, could not believe his eyes when Joe arrived back at base camp. es in Joe Simpson climbing in the And g chin Tou of 2003 during the filming the unts reco that ie the Void, the mov story of his and Simon’s ordeal.
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Anne-Flore Marxer Super Snowboarder Snowboarding is a sport full of fun and skill. Over time, snowboarders have developed different moves and tricks, practising jumps, half-pipes, and rails, a bit like skateboarders. But the most extreme form of snowboarding has to be freeriding. Also known as backcountry and all-mountain snowboarding, freeriding uses all the toughest snowboarding moves, but over wild terrain. The queen of this unpredictable sport is Anne-Flore Marxer.
Starting out
Anne-Flore grew up in Switzerland in a family of racing skiers. She took to the slopes when she was just one year old. Eventually, she decided to go her own way and chose snowboarding over skiing. When she was a teenager, she would often sneak off with her snowboarding equipment after school to train and take part in snowboarding competitions. Once she had mastered freestyle techniques, Anne-Flore was ready for the tougher and more exhilarating challenge of freeriding. She entered her first competition out of curiosity – and won!
ys Anne-Flore alwa en wh et lm he a s wear to g she is freeridin if she protect her head block s le gg go r falls. He e Sun out the glare of th the on n and its reflectio n ca e sh snow so that going. see where she is
32
lf r launches himse An extreme skie to in n ai a mount from the face of below. ow sn y er wd the po
Davorin Karničar
Davorin Karničar, fro m Slovenia, has beco me famous for extreme skiing. This involves climbing very high mountains and then skiing down them. Davorin’s extreme-sk iing conquests includ e: • Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world • Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa • Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America • Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica.
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Dangerous sport
Freeriding snowboarders face many dangers. The offpiste terrain is unpredictable, meaning that boarders often encounter rocks and uneven ground that can make them lose control. Freeriders risk getting caught in avalanches, when snow slides down a mountainside, burying everything in its path. When she freerides, Anne-Flore takes a shovel and a backpack with an airbag in case she is buried in an avalanche. She wears a helmet and carries a transceiver, a device she can use to communicate with her back-up team if she gets into trouble.
Freeride filming
Anne-Flore Mar xer makes a near-ver tical descent down a snowy mountainside in Haines, Alaska.
Like many other freeriders, Anne-Flore films her snowboarding. She pushes herself to the limit to demonstrate the best moves in the most spectacular terrain for the movies that promote her sport. Although observers film some of the footage, AnneFlore records some of it herself, using a “I love the mount camera attached ains, the freedom, and to her helmet or the snow on the tre the peace. I love es, the silence, an even holding a the Sun glittering d on fresh powder, camera in front of snowmen, the land the sc herself. In Alaska, world, and the sn ape from above the owball fights, the Anne-Flore was chocolates, and th hot e long runs of po filmed in difficult wder, even the short on es weather conditions the après ski, and through the forest, the cold jumping over large face … I just love snow in your it all crevasses. Luckily she Anne-Flore Mar …” xer enjoyed the challenge!
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World champion
In 2011, Anne-Flore competed in four tough competition stages to become World Freeride Champion. She is now acknowledged to be one of the most adventurous snowboarders in the world and has been named Best International Rider of the Year.
Freeriding takes place ests. through mountain for lop ve de to ve Riders ha skill to be able to leap across levels in the unpredictable terrain.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE As she ca n snowbo ard only during th e winter, Anne-Flo surfs, cyc re les, practi ses yoga, and train s in the g ym sure she stays fit th to make roughout the summ er she can fr months, and unti l eeride ag ain.
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