Seven summits, two poles and two X chromosomes

Cecilie Skog of Norway has become the first woman to conquer the “seven
summits” of the seven continents and the two poles, her team has said,
after she successfully skied to the North Pole.

Defying temperatures that fell as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius, Ms
Skog, 31, and two partners reached the North Pole after a journey of 48
days and 22 hours, expedition spokesman Bjoern Sekkesaeter told AFP.

Ms Skog so became, in just seven years, the only woman in the world to
reach both the North and South poles and the highest peaks of the seven
continents: Mount Everest (Asia), Aconcagua (South America), Mount
McKinley (North America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Vinson
(Antarctica) and Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania).

“Her life will not become boring… She still has all kinds of projects
up her sleeve even though they may not all involve breaking records,”
Mr Sekkesaeter said.

Ms Skog and her partners left Canada on March 6 and reached the North
Pole unassisted, each pulling a sled weighing 120 kilograms, more than
twice Ms Skog’s own weight.

The expedition began inauspiciously with a tent fire on the first day,
though it was rapidly extinguished, and several falls into icy water,
Mr Sekkesaeter said.

Norwegian woman conquers seven summits, two poles. 26/04/2006. ABC News Online

Arse about the Southern Ocean

Aviva Challenge – Follow Dee – Dee’s diary

Dawn arrived with no impact of colour apart from the standard Southern Ocean grey, but the wind had eased and we were able to shake the reefs out of the mainsail for the first time in a number of days. I also started my jobs list. The first job was to make a 2-inch hole in the bottom of the boat, no mean feat I can tell you and yes I was very nervous. I had checked with the shore support team to make sure I could reduce my chances of sinking. The speed transducer had stopped working; it had been intermittent for a while but had now given up completely. I needed to pull it from the bottom of the boat to inspect it. After I had checked the method and confirmed which transducer I needed to pull, as it sits next to the depth transducer in the hull, I set to work. There is something quite surreal about pulling something from the hull that when absent leaves a hole. I had been assured that a valve would close the hole and water would enter the hull slowly at a trickle, if I got it wrong I would have a two-inch hole and the water would enter pretty fast and fill the watertight compartment in about four hours. A relaxing thought to keep me company. I was confident and didn’t wear my mask and snorkel however I did have some butterflies in my stomach. All was well and I found the transducer had a friend attached to it. I wasn’t sure if it was animal, vegetable or mineral and not being one for little nasties, I extracted whatever it was from the paddle wheel using a screwdriver, once clear I replaced the transducer back through the hull and heh presto the speed suddenly started working again. Another job successfully completed and I wasn’t sinking!

I would have been shitting myself.

A journey well worth watching…

Aussie Open final

I am so glad I chose to watch the Men’s final of the Australian tennis open.

Baghdatis is a champion in the making but he brought fun,courage and determination to the final.

Federer – I have never seen the man so emotional. Rod Laver is obviously one of his heroes. He may have an ice-like composure on the court but he was very human off it tonight. The man is a class act. And it is easy to forget that he is only 24.

Both men are extremely talented and gave a good showing of themselves. I hope that they both continue to play hard, fair and strongly.

So Sam, what do I have to do to earn a free bottle? ;)

Tana deserves every sip of that glorious Central Otago Pinot Noir. He is a wonderful All Black.

Tana, have a drink on Sam – OffTheField – RugbyHeaven

The one Boxing Day sport worth watching…

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2005.. Home
and you can even watch it using Google Earth.

Croatia will be the real test: Rasic [SMH]

By Tom Findlay
December 11, 2005

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-cup-2006/croatia-will-be-the-real-test-rasic/2005/12/10/1134086849389.html#

JAPAN will struggle to beat Australia in Europe, where many of the Socceroos play their club football. Brazil will be an experience, no matter what happens, and Croatia will be the match that decides whether the Socceroos advance to the second round.

These are the views of Rale Rasic – the last man to lead Australia into a World Cup finals, 31 years ago.

Rasic says football ability, rankings and reputations count for little in a World Cup, which is why the Socceroos have as good a chance as any other team in their group to make the second round … except, of course, Brazil.

“This is a phenomenal draw,” Rasic said. “It is fantastic that we get a chance to play Brazil.

“We have a dream start against Japan and we have the capacity to overcome them due to the fact so many of our players are based in Europe and will be playing in that atmosphere.

“I tend to be an analyst and I look at the psychology of a World Cup more than reputations or rankings. It is great that we get an Asian team first up as they are not used to football in Europe. Guus Hiddink is based in Europe too.”

Rasic believes it will not be the match against Brazil, but the potentially explosive final round match with Croatia that will be the most decisive, provided the Socceroos beat Japan.

“A lot of our players are of Croatian heritage and will have a big point to prove. Mark Viduka in particular will have a huge point to prove, especially as captain.”

Rasic said psychological factors would play a big role in the matches against Japan and Croatia. Against Brazil he believes the Socceroos should just try to enjoy the experience.

“Can you imagine being Mark Viduka or Harry Kewell lining up against Ronaldinho, Kaka and Ronaldo on that stage? Amazing,” he said. “If you play well against Brazil you can be happy with that. If you get a good result like a draw you can be happy. If you get a dream result, you can be happy. Whatever happens they can be happy playing Brazil.”

Rasic said despite the influence of psychological factors, the Socceroos would need something special on the field too.

“The World Cup is a stage that needs special players to perform,” he said. “It is a unique stage with the world’s media there and a lot of pressure, players will need to know how to handle all that.

“When I led Australia in 1974, we were a novelty and no one really knew anything about us. This time many of our players are established and are familiar with the big stages of club football.”

Source: The Sun-Herald