Over the next few days a bunch of ski resorts will be opening in time to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States next week. One of the biggest resorts around is Snowbird in Utah. Yesterday, my friend Matthew Karsten of Expert Vagabond fame was on hand to enjoy the day. He shot this great little video and shared it earlier. It definitely makes me want to go play in the snow!
Fun Fact: Snowbird owner Dick Bass was the first man to climb the Seven Summits.
Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.
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Bring on the ski season!
I'm sure Reinhold Messner would disagree with your fun fact!
Actually Tom, he wouldn't. Bass was most certainly the first to climb the Seven Summits. Reinhold was buy with those 14 8000 meter peaks.
Messner was the first to complete the Messner list – he climbed Cartensz Pyramid – taking Australasia/Oceania as the continent rather than just mainland Australia.
This, arguably, was the first time the highest mountain on each CONTINENT had been climbed. Geographically Messner's definition of continent is more accurate than Bass's.
It's a contentious issue, admittedly! I'm with Messner on his definition of the 7 personally!
But ye I understand that many take Bass's list, while others take Messner's – it's personal preference (and I'm sure many do Cartensz and Kosciuszko just to be safe.
True, most now see Carstenz Pyramid as they highest peak in Oceania, back when Bass came up with the concept it wasn't really viewed that way. He was the first to really go after the Seven Summits as the highest peaks on the seven continents. But over time, the perception of what a "continent" is has shifted some.
And you're right, most do both Carstensz and Kosciuszko just to have all their bases covered.