LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Bungy Jumping is an activity linked to many an outdoor person for the adrenaline, backpacking in NZ, thrill rush, and links to climbing in terms of safety equipment. For this reason, we thought we’d bring you the top 5 bungy accidents as caught on video. I can’t stress enough though, if you use a professional provider, not a holiday resort pool-side offer, then any chances of injury are really nil. I was so impressed with the professionalism when I did a jump.

In fifth place… best to get some height first!

In forth Place… if they give you a seatbelt, tighten it! (tandem reverse bungy)

In Third Place… best to bungy from a fixed object, not from a paraglider! (stunt).

In Second Place… best to tie the elastic on at the other end!

In First Place… best not to tie the bungy around your neck! (hope this guy survived).

I hope those didn’t scare you to jump… it really is a great experience! TGU recommened A.J. Hackett for all your bungy needs!

-Robin-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - The U.S. Coast Guard announced during a ceremony today in Grand Haven, Mich., for its 217th birthday that 1,109,310 lives have been saved since its establishment in 1790. Thanks to Irish Coast Guard member for news-tip.

Top ten rescue videos is available here

-Robin-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Thanks to MountainTraining.ie for sending in this breaking news story.

Claude Rey, President of the International Federation of Mountain GuidesAssociations, has died after falling into a crevasse in the Swiss Alps.

Press reports indicate that the 63-year old Frenchman was at the rear of a group of five climbers on the terminal moraine of the Aletsch glacier early on Saturday morning when a snow bridge gave way. He was evacuated by helicopter and rushed to hospital in Sion, but died of his injuries.

Claude became a high mountain guide in 1972 and took a leading role in improving safety amongst guides, particularly with his work for the SNGM, the French Mountain Guides Association.

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - The London Evening Standard is reporting the death, as pictured above) of a City Entrepreneur who was attempting to snowboard Mustagata, a remote 24,600ft mountain in China. He was on a full expedition team with guides and while suffering from bad altitude illness he was feeling ok.

The next morning Jon was found dead in his tent. Writing on the expedition team’s website, leader Arnold Coster, said:

“It all seems very unreal what happened. Everything was going fine and then tragedy happened. Normally you see a problem coming, but this time it struck the camp like lightning.”

Listen to the MP3 recorded by the Team Leader.

MP3 Transcript:

Today there was a big tragedy for our team. This morning Jon Peacock, from the UK, died in his tent in Base camp.

Jon went up to Camp 1 on the 8th of July. He had a hard time, but he recovered and went on to climb a little bit higher. The next day on July 9th he came down to Base camp again for a few days of rest. He was doing fine until suddenly he became chronically fatigued. Our first thoughts were that he had acquired altitude sickness, but his lungs and oxygen situation were fine. Somehow he was very weak. At this time we made the decision to send him back to Kashgar. On the 12th we carried his gear down from Camp 1, so he could leave to Kashgar the next day.

We sat and had dinner with Jon on Thursday, July 12th in the Base camp dining tent. Jon drank and ate more than he had been able to during the past few days. Jon talked about his wife, two children, and about the past two years of being able to see his kids in the morning and evening. He talked about his home and his plans for his future. He said he hoped to work for 2-3 days a week, so he could still spend a lot of time with his family. He looked relieved to be going home and he didn’t want to call his wife until he got to Kashgar, so he wouldn’t worry her.

In the morning, our team members checked in on him at 6:30 and found him unconscious in his tent. Immediately they tried rescue breathing and proceeded to CPR. Jon did not respond to any attempts of reviving him. At this time, the team leaders came down from the high camps. By the time the leaders arrived, 4 people had been performing CPR for a couple of hours already. I made an emotional and difficult decision to stop the CPR.

On the last night of his life, Jon spoke fondly of his wife and two children and how much he was looking forward to returning to the UK. It’s a terrible day in Mustagata Base camp and John and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.

-Robin-

(Image Credit: Inner page of London’s Evening Standard 24th July 2007)

Just to let you know, a beautiful ceremony in Michael’s memory was held on Valentia Island yesterday evening. A crowd of about 200 gathered to celebrate his life with music, song and many, many stories. It is testament to Michael’s popularity that he touched so many peoples lives within his short visits to Kerry.

A plaque made from Valentia slate was unveiled by Marci which reads ‘Mícheál ” Ríordáin - An Solas Geal Lonrach. Son, Husband, Father, Friend. Inspirational Free Spirit. 1965-2007′.

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Thanks to Bren at MountainTraining.ie for sharing this with TGU by email. He’s posted it himself and passed on permission.

Our sympathy goes out to all family & friends.

Matt Samet, Editor of Climbing magazine, UKClimbing.com’s USA news associate sent us the following report, with a photograph of Michael by Damon Corso taken shortly before a rogue wave swept Michael out to sea.

Michael Reardon, 36, the accomplished free soloist based out of Oak Park, California, went missing off the southwestern coast of Ireland around 5 p.m. Friday. He had just completed a climb near the Valentia Marine Radio Station, on the small island of Valentia, when a rogue wave took him into the sea. He did not fall 70 feet from the cliff top, or while climbing, as earlier reports had indicated. This is a report from his friend, the photographer Damon Corso, who was there at the time:

“It was just another day of climbing on Atlantic sea cliffs in Ireland with Mike (Reardon). We had arrived on Valentia Island in a slight fog and drizzle. Mike took me around the bottom of Wireless Point to an inlet merely 15 feet above the roaring Atlantic, a situation we were now used to. We arrived at a spot he had climbed at alone two weeks prior. Mike up and downed two different climbs while I shot photos trying to combine him and the raw force of the waves crashing all around us. He finished the two climbs and was waiting, on an-algae covered platform, for the big swells to pass by so that he could walk back over to me on the opposite side of the inlet. A rogue wave came into the inlet and curved rightwards as it crashed into Mike. He tried to stabilize himself on the platform but the water was too powerful and sucked him in. The current pulled Mike out 150-plus meters in mere
seconds. I ran up the hill to the Valentia Coast Guard station a mile away. Mike was still conscious in the water when I left him. The Coast Guard arrived on the scene no more than 15 minutes after the incident. Mike was nowhere to be seen at this point. Twelve volunteer rescue boats, the Coast Guard Lifeboat and Chopper were on the scene that evening.”

Rescue services worked until dark on Friday. And on Saturday, more Coast Guard boats and divers from the Naval Service combed the area, with searchers on foot looking along the shore. A helicopter with an infrared scanner searched on Friday and Saturday as well. Reardon had not been found as of Sunday, when it was reported that the search was scaling back.

Matt Samet, a friend of Michael’s has just flown to Ireland to attend a memorial gathering of his family and friends that will take place this Tuesday 17/07 at 4pm. This gathering will take place at the Fogher Cliffs, adjacent to the Coast Guard Station, where Michael was taken from us. All are welcome to attend.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - RTE News are reporting one of the worlds top free solo climbers has fallen off a cliff face 21m into the sea off Valencia Island in Kerry. Hopes look very unlikely he’ll be alive as he fell yesterday.

All we know:

• From United States
• He is understood to be one of the leading free solo climbers in the world.
• Gerry O’Brien of Valentia Coastguard said it was very unusual for people to be rock-climbing in that particular area.

We’ll bring you more as we hear it. His identity is unknown, but the Irish climbing community must know whoever it was was in the country.

UPDATE: More details coming in…

• believed to be in his thirties
• finished a climb with another man when he slipped
• Name confirmed as Michael Reardon by climbing.ie

Now it clicks. Michael had been to Ireland a few years ago and I remember him climbing or at least asking for solo advice around Dalkey Quarry.

Here’s a video including the dalkey shots from January:

Michael has been featured a number of times on Team Geared Up, as most recently putting up a new potential E7 route in the Burren a few weeks ago. It’s desperately sad it’s ended this way. Our thoughts are with Michael’s family & friends, a large number of which are in the Irish climbing community.

Update: Latest report in. Michael was washed off the base of a sea-cliff after potentially slipping on some seaweed after a successful climb.

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Spotted in the London Metro as my cameraphone shows below. A 19yr old Irish student trying to get the best photo he could on a swing bridge in New Zealand (Abel Tasman) fell 20m into the water and ended up being airlifted out.

Photo Credit: Author Sea Kayaking with mounted camcorder in the Abel Tasman, New Zealand. By Author.