Spider-Man Scales Petronas Towers in Malaysia: French daredevil Alain Roberts has succeeded on his third attempt to scale the 1,483-foot Petronas Towers in Malaysia. On previous attempts in 1998 and 2007, security guards grabbed him on the sixtieth floor. Using just his hands and feet, Robert ascended the building in around two hours, standing atop the pinnacle in triumph.

posted by rcade to extreme at 02:05 PM - 3 comments

Skydiver Survives 10,000-Foot Fall with Failed Parachute: Paul Lewis, a 40-year-old freelance cameraman from Britain, survived a 10,000-foot skydive Friday after his main chute didn't open and his reserve failed to work properly during a jump in Whitchurch, England. "The roof of the hangar broke his fall and flexed sufficiently to reduce the impact," said Colin Fitzmorris of the Parachute Centre. "He has no fractures but some neck injury, and we are sure that he will make a full recovery. He is very lucky."

posted by rcade to extreme at 03:14 PM - 11 comments

Champ Mountain Biker Caught with 400 Pounds of Marijuana: The life of Missy Giove, the holder of 14 national titles and one world championship as a mountain biker, is going downhill fast. She was busted last month with 400 pounds of marijuana and $1 million in cash. Longtime friend and fellow biker Craig Glaspell said the arrest is "not surprising" given her problems with authority, but added, "The fact she might be involved in some pretty heavy drug trafficking is the crazy thing." Giove was a unique figure in her sport with her dyed hair, known for wearing a dead piranha around her neck and putting her dead pet's ashes in her sports bra. She made the cover of Girlfriends Magazine in 2003, which named her to its "lesbian athlete hall of fame."

posted by rcade to extreme at 11:54 PM - 15 comments

Legendary Rock Climber John Bachar Dies in Fall: Rock climber John Bachar, 51, fell to his death Sunday from a rock formation near his home in California, the New York Times reports. Bachar climbed for years without protection, sustaining his only serious injuries in a car wreck. "To critics, Bachar cut a stubborn, self-righteous figure, uncompromising on matters of daring style and minimal gear," writes Michael Brick. "To admirers, he represented the vanishing purity of a simpler age, a time when rocks and mountains were to be ascended only from the ground up, without advance rigging." Here's an interview with Bachar and a photo of him ascending Crack-a-go-go.

posted by rcade to extreme at 04:44 PM - 10 comments

Joey Chestnut Sets New Hot Dog Eating World Record: Joey Chestnut ate 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes, breaking his own world record by nine dogs, to retain the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Championship today at Coney Island, N.Y. Rival Takeru Kobayashi ate 64 1/2 dogs for second place. On this holiday, the Mustard Belt, the most coveted prize in world gluttony, remains in American hands.

posted by rcade to extreme at 01:09 PM - 8 comments

The Perils of Climbing Yosemite's Half Dome: Although it looks in pictures like something any hiker could do, climbing Half Dome at Yosemite National Park is a lot different when you're halfway up the 425-foot sheer granite dome. "On June 13, 2009, a hiker climbing up the Half Dome cables in Yosemite National Park fell to his death," writes R.L. Miller in a diary on Daily Kos. "I climbed Half Dome for my 40th birthday. I've hiked all over the West in all sorts of conditions, and I believed that I had no fear of heights. ... if you fall to your right, you die, and if you fall to your left, you die. About a third of the way up, I realized -- I can't do this!"

posted by rcade to extreme at 11:33 AM - 6 comments

When is enough, enough?: Big-mountain skier Shane McConkey - the father of extreme skiing - was killed during a failed ski-BASE that prevented him from utilizing his wingsuit and pulling his parachute. For these athletes, high risk is everything and they leave themselves no room for malfunction and no plan B. Shane is survived by his wife, Sherry, and their 3 1/2 year old daughter Ayla. It was reported that at the funeral, "the kids all had a look on their face like Superman had just died."

posted by BoKnows to extreme at 11:27 AM - 41 comments

Top 30 New Extreme Sports: Bored with those age-old extreme sports? Maybe you can try your luck with Human Powered Hydrofoil Water Scooting or Batman Rope Ascending. But before you do, maybe you should get an additional life insurance policy. (Includes photos and/or videos)

posted by BoKnows to extreme at 10:30 PM - 2 comments

Skijoring anyone?: It sounds like the ultimate extreme sport, but for Ryan Lakovitch, a rider from Jackson, Wyo., (pop 8,647) who won the sport's national championship in 2000 with his partner, skier Cody Smith, there's more to skijoring than sheer adrenaline. It's also about teamwork, cooperation, and skill of the horse, rider, and skier.

posted by BoKnows to extreme at 01:27 PM - 3 comments

Do You Believe in Miracles!?: With Chanukkah starting at sundown on Sunday, perhaps its time to flex those spinning muscles and get ready for year-round competitive dreidel!

posted by terrapin to extreme at 07:38 PM - 1 comment

Magic Hands: "He had the kind of crazed smile plastered across his face that black eyes and two-day hangovers are made of."

posted by BoKnows to extreme at 04:15 AM - 0 comments

Former UFC Champion Found Dead: Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner has passed away at age 37. He was found by an Imperial County Sheriffs Department Deputy on Monday. Tanner was found while on a trip to the California desert. Perhaps foreshadowing, Tanner reassured fans on his web blog that this trip was not going to be another version on "Into The Wild". The cause of death is not yet known. R.I.P. Evan Tanner, a free spirit and a great sportsman!

posted by JohnnyBallsack to extreme at 12:52 PM - 1 comment

Drainage luge? Wrestle ball? Freestyle snowshoe boulder jumping? : The results of the 2008 Horny Toad Invent-A-Sport contest are in, and there are some beauties.

posted by lil_brown_bat to extreme at 02:50 PM - 6 comments

Using pawns, brawn to nab chess-boxing crown: Rarely do brains and brawn come together in this way. A Russian has been crowned world champion in the sport of chess boxing that requires equal skill at moving pawns and throwing punches. The loser said he was simply too punch-drunk to fend off checkmate.

posted by tommytrump to extreme at 10:07 PM - 6 comments

Free Diving Making a Big Splash: Pearl divers and sponge fishermen have been doing it for thousands of years: swimming into the depths and holding their breath underwater for longer than many people might think possible.

posted by BoKnows to extreme at 11:43 PM - 3 comments

Maasai warriors to run London Marathon without water.: As part of a campaign to raise money to find a vital water source for their village in Tanzania, six Maasai warriors will run in traditional dress -- a red "shuka" blanket toga and car-tire sandals -- carrying spears and shields showing their running numbers, and will sing and dance along the 26.2 mile route through the British capital. "Back at home we sometimes run for 5 or 6 days, day and night," Isaya, a young warrior told Reuters in an interview. "Twenty-six miles not far."

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 04:58 PM - 4 comments

Hockey players east of Edmonton set world record for longest game: 2 teams of 20 played for 241 continuous hours, raising $300,000 for pediatric cancer research. The weather was bone chilling at the start of the 10 day marathon, with wind chills making it feel like -35 degrees Celcius.

posted by tommytrump to extreme at 01:13 AM - 6 comments

Surf's up at Mavericks this Saturday.: Many of the world's best and bravest surfers are heading toward Half Moon Bay as organizers of the legendary Maverick's Surf Contest have scheduled the big-wave event for Saturday. You can watch it for free by heading down there or tuning in to the live webcast. Or pay $20-$25 to watch it on the big stadium screen at AT&T Park in San Francisco (wtf?).

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 11:33 PM - 11 comments

322' 7 1/2"

posted by mr_crash_davis to extreme at 04:07 PM - 36 comments

Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel dead at 69: Immortalized in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump an Idaho canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

posted by tommytrump to extreme at 04:22 PM - 19 comments

"I tucked and rolled, like any other cripple who was falling from 30-something feet would do . . . all I was thinking about was how I was going to get out from under the wing": Mark Zuppan from Murderball competed in this year's Flugtag. Like so much in life, it's not how far you get, it's where you end up.

posted by yerfatma to extreme at 04:25 PM - 10 comments

A story for the ages or the aged- the oldest player in college football debuts this September.: Gives a whole new meaning to fantasy football, a baby boomer re-living the glory days wants one more chance, and gets it.

posted by irunfromclones to extreme at 07:13 PM - 5 comments

Can she beat the pacific?: In 2005 Roz Savage became the first solo woman to compete in the Atlantic Rowing Race. She started from the Canary islands to row 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. She did all of this alone and unsupported. She finally arrived in Antigua on 13th March 2006, 103 days later. Now she is set to launch on Sunday from northern California on her quest to row across the Pacific, Solo.

posted by jojomfd1 to extreme at 12:17 AM - 1 comment

Women want Cow-Runs for equality in Spain's San Fermin bull festival: Is this a legitimate beef?

posted by tommytrump to extreme at 08:11 PM - 22 comments

"The Worst Beating of Your Life": Very funny article about extreme marathoning. Competitors have 60 hours to go 100 miles (and that's the good news). Or you can compete in the 60 mile version, dubbed "The Fun Run".

posted by vito90 to extreme at 03:41 PM - 13 comments

"It's not drunken driving in New Jersey if it involves a Zamboni."

posted by lil_brown_bat to extreme at 11:53 AM - 40 comments

Space Race...: American astronaut Suni Williams, a marathoner, qualified for the Boston Marathon by completing the Houston Marathon in 3:29.57, but won't complete her current mission on the International Space Station in time for the 111th running of the Boston Marathon on April 16th. Her alternative? Run the entire distance, all 26.2 miles, in zero gravity, strapped to a treadmill on board the space station. I figure, this deserves the "Extreme" tag.

posted by The_Black_Hand to extreme at 07:45 AM - 13 comments

A Mixed Martial Arts Super Bowl? : UFC buys Japan's Pride Fighting Championship, promises "Super Bowl" of MMA ass-kicking.

posted by The_Black_Hand to extreme at 06:14 AM - 13 comments

Death Race 2007: Unnecessary is the entire point of the Tough Guy competition, a semi-annual 8-mile race through mud, manure, water, fire, more mud, barbed wire, nets, electrical charges, still more mud, smoke grenades, sewer pipes, ice, even more mud, ropes, cables, tires, on a horse farm in England's West Midlands. Make sure to check out the vid at the top of the page.

posted by STUNNER to extreme at 03:21 PM - 20 comments

Dog's Best Friend.: In the middle of the Yukon Quest dogsled race, musher Aaron Burmeister stopped his sled to give mouth-to-snout resuscitation to a member of his sled team that had collapsed. The race is, for all intents, lost to Bermeister and his team, but sometimes, winning isn't everything.

posted by The_Black_Hand to extreme at 04:17 PM - 11 comments

Who's the Daddy?: Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars - all in the same day. [I can't seem to get the original of this from SI, but this one includes an embedded YouTube link at the end]

posted by JJ to extreme at 10:11 AM - 24 comments

Paraglider attacked by eagles.: Nicky Moss has a harrowing encounter in Australia.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia to extreme at 07:39 PM - 14 comments

The Legend of 'One-Hundred-Foot Wednesday': Six years ago, Shawn Alladio and J.C. Cahill, two Jet Ski riders working rescue duty at the Maverick's surf contest in San Francisco, were a quarter-mile out to sea when they saw a monster 100-foot wave bearing down on them and had to make a choice -- escape it or charge it. "The broad swath of aerated water that existed between them and shore could bog down their machines. A Jet Ski can't run on bubbles; it needs to pump solid water to move. Even if they turned and fled at top speed, there was no guarantee they could outrun this wave or that it would not catch them and gobble them into its hydraulic maw."

posted by rcade to extreme at 08:41 AM - 16 comments

The State of Mixed Martial Arts in 2007:
The Top 10 pound-for-pound Mixed Martial Arts Fighters...
Ali biographer Thomas Hauser on Boxing versus MMA

posted by vito90 to extreme at 05:48 PM - 15 comments

Russian cosmonaut hits golf ball into orbit.: Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin hit a golf ball into Earth's orbit from the International Space Station on Wednesday to raise money for the Russian space program at the start of a six-hour spacewalk.

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 11:58 PM - 11 comments

More muscle magic.: Following on the tail of my last muscle-bound post comes this news that Dartmouth researchers have discovered a gene that enhances muscle performance. "Like a trained athlete, this [genetically-enhanced] mouse enjoyed increased capacity to exercise, manifested by its ability to run three times longer than a normal mouse before exhaustion. One particularly striking feature of the finding was the accumulation of muscle glycogen, the stored form of carbohydrates—what many athletes seek by "carbo-loading" before an event or game."

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 12:14 AM - 12 comments

Speedflying (QuickTime video): and Speedriding (QuickTime). OMG. (called out by Ben Saunders, expeditioner and SpoFite.)

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 12:14 PM - 7 comments

Mighty Mouse, Myostatin and Muscle Madness.: NPR reported today that researchers have been able to build supermuscular mice by injecting them with drugs (there are several and more are being discovered) that block myostatin, the "anti-growth" protein that contributes to degenerative muscular diseases such as muscular dystrophy. This provides new hope for people with the disease, children with subnormal growth conditions, and so on. But you know where I'm going with this, don't you, sports fans? Here's a tidbit from what I heard today: Mice injected with the inhibitor experienced 60% muscle growth over average non-injected mice. Correct my medical errors, point to stories on mutant musclebound children and discuss the new BALCOs inside.

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 01:13 PM - 15 comments

Fatal fall at Yosemite shocks climbing world: Skinner, a 47-year-old former rodeo cowboy and world-renowned rock climber, fell more than 500 feet to his death Monday after the nylon loop used to attach the climbing rope to his harness broke. The accident has sent shock waves through the climbing community, where Skinner's outgoing nature was almost as legendary as his courage and skill on some of the world's most dangerous rock faces.

posted by justgary to extreme at 03:27 AM - 16 comments

Fight Night!: What if Boxing tried this? Yesterday, UFC president Dana White provided a big-time fight for free on Spike TV. Tito Ortiz puts the final nail in Ken Shamrock. Kendall Grove wins, Matt Hamill wins, and Ed "Short fuse, short career" Hermann gets taken down by a VERY talented unknown. (Unknown in the US at any rate, but soon to BE known if that fight was any indication!

posted by vito90 to extreme at 01:43 PM - 15 comments