You'll never get lost again: upload online directions directly to your Garmin GPS

Looks like the "let's stop and ask directions" versus "I know where I'm going!" debate is becoming even more obsolete. Starting tomorrow you can send Google Maps and MapQuest directions directly to your Garmin GPS device. All you need to do is locate your destination and click the "Send-to-GPS" function.

“GPS-enabled navigation devices are becoming increasingly prevalent," said MapQuest Senior Vice President Christian Dwyer. "Offering users the option to plan online from the convenience of their computer and send information to these devices is a natural progression and an important, time-saving resource.”

Of course all you need is a Garmin GPS device, which will set you back anywhere from about $213 to well over $1,000.

Imagine, future generations of Americans may never have to contend with the indignity of refolding a road map again!

Iraqi Woman Sprints to Olympics

With the Olympics set to start in less than five months, Iraq's lone female competitor has been training twice a day, six days a week on a track inside a Baghdad stadium that predates Saddam Hussein's regime. And as a result of all she's done to make it into the Olympics, once the opening ceremonies are over, her fellow competitors will surely seem small in comparison. Dana Abdul-Razzaq is the 21-year-old Iraqi record holder in the 200 meters, and in addition to that event, she will compete in the 100 meters as one of the five "wild card" entries given to Iraq by the International Olympic Committee, Reuters reported today. Her Olympic path has been anything but easy, as Abdul-Razzaq has not received any of the typical Olympic-athlete perks. She has no masseuse loosening her sore muscles, no dietitian making sure her energy levels never dip at the wrong time, and she pays her own money for access into a public Baghdad gym. But worse than all of the things she hasn't been given are the few things she has received. Like the bullets one sniper fired at her during a workout in central Baghdad. Initially, the young sprinter fainted after being shot at, but as a testament to her determination, just a half hour later she began running again. Certainly, a few fast women won't scare her.

--Jason Kerkmans

Runner's High is Real

German researchers have found scientific evidence for what humans have known since the first caveman sprinted away from a saber-toothed tiger: running can make you feel pretty darn good.

The so-called "runner's high" can range from a general feeling of peacefulness to all-out euphoria and is associated with many types of high-octane exercise, reports the New York Times. But not all runners seem to reap the benefits - more research may show why some people are prone to post-run pink cloud bliss, while others merely want to throw up.

The biochemical mechanism behind runner's high was long an unproven hypothesis. We knew it probably had something to do with endorphins, but we weren't sure what. Now, scientists using PET scans to examine the brains of long distance runners before and after a two-hour run have found that endorphins produced during running can indeed attach themselves to the brain centers associated with emotion. The limbic and prefrontal areas, the parts of the brain activated by romantic love, appear to be especially affected. So get off match.com and go for a 5K!

What about you? Do you run for the high? Or just to justify your double cheeseburger habit?

--Emily Matchar

 

Solar-Powered Lighter

The Sunlighter, a solar-powered cigarette lighter, was born when 52-year-old Paul Martino sat on a windy New Jersey beach a few years back and watched some guys hopelessly trying to light a cigarette. "Inventors see a problem and try to form a solution," he says. "At the end of the day we're just trying to make life easier."

The mechanics of the Sunlighter are pretty simple: It's curved aluminum surface, when positioned precisely right in the sun, creates up to 270-degree heat. The Sunlighter comes with interchangeable cigarette and cigar holders, but Martino, who recently celebrated his 13th year as a non-smoker, says it can light just about anything. Tested and approved, oddly, by the Boy Scouts, the lighter can make flames from your headlights and start a killer bonfire with just a cotton ball and Vaseline.

Martino and his business partner, Leonard Ucci, have already sold 6,000 and are gladly hopping on the eco-friendly bandwagon, marketing themselves as the "greenest" lighter around and citing the 3 billion Bics each year that make their way to landfills. And the best part is that it looks like your own little personal satellite dish. The folks around the ashtray might think you're a bit strange, and it doesn't exactly fit in your pocket, but for $15 you can have one of your own“ at sunlighter.com. And stay tuned: Next up for this enterprising duo is the Sunlighter in camo-print, and a two-and-a-half-foot Dennis the Menace-style periscope.

-Claire Napier Galofaro

Wolves Worth Fighting Over

"If you were a man, I'd beat the crap out of you," is what one pro-wolf conservationist claims an Idaho man and anti-wolf activist yelled at her after he grabbed the woman by the throat and violently shook her. All this according to the Twin Falls Times-News. The Idaho newspaper cited police records showing that on Tuesday, Lynne Stone, director of the Boulder White Clouds Council, was walking in the town of Stanley when the head of the Idaho Anti Wolf Coalition, Ron Gillett, pulled up in his truck and an argument ensued. Apparently, after Stone took photographs of the well-known anti-wolf activist, Gillett grabbed the woman by the throat. And this isn't even the first case of wolf love/hate turned violent; in January, the executive director of the Hailey-based Western Watersheds Project, Jon Marvel, was accused of shoving Idaho Fish and Game commissioner Wayne Wright at a wolf-related meeting. With the Rocky Mountain wolf expected to officially be removed from the federal endangered species list on Friday, now might be the time for those afraid of the wolf and those afraid of the wolf haters to stock up on pepper spray.
--Jason Kerkmans

Crossman Wins the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals

Five-time teleski champion Dylan Crossman shut down reigning champs Drew Tabke and Aurelien Ducroz at the 11th annual U.S. Freeskiing Nationals with a hesitation-free super final run on North Baldy.

A record 1,200-plus people showed up last Saturday to Utah's Snowbird resort to watch the comp and check out some of the world’s best freeskiers huck it big for a piece of the $12,500 purse.

The resort’s 145-inch base opened up new lines on Snowbird’s Peruvian Gulch as well as on Mt. Baldy, allowing the 200-odd competitors to go big and move into untried terrain in the 200-acre designated course.

Freeskiing World Tour points leader Brett Crabtree placed third overall. He dropped one of the biggest cliffs of the day—more than 50 feet—and will battle it out with Crossman at the April 9-13 Subaru Freeskiing World Championship for the title.

Squaw Valley’s Jacyln Passo entered the super finals in seventh and quickly moved up, winning the women’s title with an aggressive double-stager typically only thrown by male competitors.

Check out Ski.com for special deals on the Freeskiing World Championship at Alaska. —Christina Erb

Still photos: Eben Wight/MSI, Video: Christina Erb

Olympic-sized Mess

International political leaders are mostly sticking with one of two explanations as to why they are not applying more pressure to China as human rights violations increase prior to the coming Summer Olympics. The first excuse is that, "The Games shouldn't be made political". The second excuse, favored by the International Olympic Committee, is that "Boycotting the Games only hurts the athletes". It could  carry some weight, so long as athletes are given the freedom to voice their own feelings and thoughts on the matter. So, who can possibly clean up the political mess surrounding the Olympics? The columnist Sally Jenkins wrote in today's Washington Post that, "At this point, the Beijing Games are shaping up as a disaster. The violent police action in Tibet and other events of the past two weeks make one wonder if the Chinese government is fundamentally unfit to host an Olympics." As Jenkins goes on to propose, if the political leaders, IOC, and the Games' corporate sponsors are not willing or able to force China into improving human rights around what has always been an international exhibition of unity, perhaps the site itself should change. Of course, if nothing changes, television viewers can always make a stand about what they think of the Olympics, by not watching.
--Jason Kerkmans

Global warming brings down a chunk of ice seven times the size of Manhattan

In the latest worrisome climate change-related event, a chunk of glacial ice seven times the size of Manhattan has broken away in western Antarctica, says the Washington Post.

A 160-square-mile piece of ice broke off the Wilkins Ice Shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut. The piece had been dangling precipitously since late February. Scientists worry that the rest of the ice shelf has been destabilized and is headed for collapse as well. Collapses such as this have been increasing in recent decades. In 1993, one prominent scientist predicted that the Wilkins shelf would collapse entirely within 30 years. Guess that gives us 13 years to figure out some solutions. That, or put our houses on stilts.

--Emily Matchar

 

Easier Flights Across the Atlantic

Trans-Atlantic travelers could be pleasantly surprised next week with the new ease and low cost of international travel, according to The New York Times. As of Sunday, a little-known rule requiring airlines to either begin or end their voyage in their home country, limiting the number of international airlines that could operate out of various airports, will be wiped from the books. In its place will be a long-overdue, more democratic way of running things – driven by market forces and consumer demand. Now, American and United, for instance, are the only U.S. based airlines authorized to serve Heathrow. Next week, Continental, Delta, and Northwest will be able to land at the airport – greatly simplifying connecting flights and inter-European travel.

What’s more, the new agreement will allow low-budget, “no-frills” airlines like Ireland’s Ryanair to offer flights from secondary European markets to American cities for as little as $20. Experts expect the change to open up the skies to unprecedented competition – allowing airlines to fly directly from small U.S. cities to major European hubs and vice versa. More routes means more choices which means, eventually, cheaper tickets. A 2002 study suggested an open-skies agreement would boost traffic by 10 percent, reducing airfares by 4 to 10 percent.

But, strategists warn not to get too excited just yet. Fuel prices continue to rise. And the depreciating dollar, dropping 12 percent against the euro in the last year, could soon lead to one of the worst American economic slumps since WWII. A survey completed by AIG Travel Guard reported that 47 percent of American travelers plan to downscale their vacations to save money.

Airline Comfort Law Rejected

Last winter, JetBlue passengers were stuck for 10 hours in an airplane on the runway without sufficient food or water, and with overflowing toilets. Within six months the state of New York enacted a law with the backing of people with common sense everywhere that said airlines must provide food, water, and working toilets for delays of more than three hours.

If the airlines did not meet the set standards, they could be charged $1,000 per passenger. Bravo for the quick fix and accountability, right?

Apparently not. Today, an appeals court struck the law down. The court ruled that such changes affected price and could only be made by federal courts.

Overcrowded seats, waiting on the tarmac, and long flight delays aren't going away. Outside has composed a letter to the airlines to call a little more attention to the problems we want to see fixed.

While we're waiting, we've also assembled a list of helpful service that will help you get around the rigamorole and fly in comfort. Pick up the April issue and read "You're Grounded" to find out how to score the best seat, take full advantage of your frequent flier miles, and more. Leave the sore knees and frustrating phone calls to the uninformed.

U.S. Forest Service Under New Management?

The U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on interior, environment, and related agencies today asked the Government Accountability Office to look at the possibility of moving the U.S. Forest Service out from under the Department of Agriculture bureaucracy and into the Interior Department's realm of management, according to the Washington Post. The change would put the 193-million acres managed by the Forest Service alongside its more appropriate public-land bedfellows, the National Park Service (84-million acres), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (96-million acres), and the Bureau of Land Management (258-million acres). It would also place the Forest Service lands under the control of the Secretary of the Interior, an office once held by Stewart Udall, whose son (Tom) and nephew (Mark) are featured in the current issue of Outside ("The West Will Rise Again").
--Jason Kerkmans

Torn apart by tigers or butted to death by rams: meet Dr. Ricky Langley, expert on animal-related death

So we've established that getting killed by a leaping spotted eagle ray is approximately as likely as being flattened by blue ice from the toilet of a passing 747. But what about being eaten by rats? Crushed by a dairy cow?  Could it happen to you?

If anyone knows, it's Dr. Ricky Langley, author of the study "Deaths resulting from animal attacks in the United States."

A physician with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Langley often thought about becoming a veterinarian. But he ended up a people doctor instead, and used his interest in zoology to specialize in the interactions between humans and animals. Usually the bad ones.

When we ask Langley about the most unusual mode of animal-related death he's heard of, he pauses for a moment, pondering. 

"People fell in a pig pen and were eaten by pigs," he says finally, in his deep North Carolina drawl.

But is that really weirder than the cases of people being impaled by flying sailfish (a woman was stabbed in the chest by a blue marlin; her breast implants may have saved her life)? Or a swimmer surfacing directly into the maw of a stinging jellyfish ("It would be pretty painful," Langley says, in what seems like a contender for understatement of the year)? Or the woman Langley treated who was bitten on the breast by a horse (she lived).

But while people spend a lot of time worrying about snakes and sharks, they're far more likely to keel over from a bee sting at a church picnic.

"I think they probably don't think about the insects or the cars colliding with deer," Langley said.

Though they probably should  –  533 Americans were killed by hornets, bees, and wasps between 1991 and 2001, and around 200 people die in deer-car accidents every year.

What's the worst kind of death-by-animal, the way Langley himself would least like to go?

"I think that being eaten would be tough, unless it went directly for your neck," he says. "I don’t know if there’s a good way."

--Emily Matchar

Everest's South Side May Open

While China closed Everest's northern routes in Tibet to climbers this spring, it appears as though south-side expeditions, in Nepal, may get a shot at the Big E after all. Questions have been swirling around whether Nepali officials, under pressure from China to keep the mountain closed while Chinese climbers schlep the Olympic torch up and over the 29,035-foot summit, will shut down access to the mountain altogether or issue partial restriction—thus allowing expeditions to take their shot at the top. It seems the latter is the case this year: "The conditions that the Nepalese government are reported to be applying to the expeditions will keep everybody off the upper mountain between May 1-10 and this will disrupt our climbing plans to a degree and potentially lead to our summit climb being achieved right at the end of May rather than around May 20 as we normally do,” Kiwi expedition leader Guy Cotter said in a statement earlier today.
         South-side expeditions typically try to clear off the mountain by June 1, when warm temperatures and the approaching monsoons make for dangerous and unstable conditions, particularly in the Khumbu Icefall, a frozen labyrinth that tends to crumble unpredictably as temps rise. The restrictions could promote even more crowding on the south-side route this year (most climbers ascend via the South Col and Southeast Ridge), leading to traffic jams on Everest’s upper flanks. No word yet from officials as to whether they’ll limit permitting to control those numbers.
         The Everest climbing season has been troubled since earlier this month, when rioting in Lhasa (and lesser flare-ups in Nepal) prompted Chinese officials to shut down access to the peak altogether, fearing disruption to their own climbing plans and the torch relay. China has censored reports from Western media, shutting down web access to sites like YouTube and launching a propaganda campaign criticizing news reports from foreigners. China has also deemed the Dalai Lama a “terrorist,” blaming him for inciting rioting among Tibetans. Meanwhile, Tibet’s spiritual leader, who denies advocating any violence, has said that some 140 people have been killed in the recent clash. Tibetans have also protested in Kathmandu, though violence has been minimal and no deaths have been reported in association with those protesters.

—Nick Heil

Outside correspondent Nick Heil has a new book about Everest, titled Dark Summit (Henry Holt), coming out in May of 2008. He is a veteran reporter in the region and has written stories on the Himalayan Cataract Project and the use of Viagra as a possible climbing aid. During the Spring 2007 climbing season he blogged live from the mountain.

As events unfold on Everest, he will keep a running blog for Outside.

Speedy Shark Heads South

A young great white shark, released from California's Monterey Bay Aquarium in February, has already made it past the Southern tip of Baja at Cabo San Lucas, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. That’s somewhere around 1,200 miles in six weeks—an average of at least 27 miles each day. His is the fastest southern shark migration ever documented from Monterey to Baja. Last August, commercial fishermen accidentally captured the six-foot shark off the coast of Malibu. He was sent to Monterey where he lived for 162 days, entertaining some 650,000 visitors. Before setting him free, aquarium staff, now amazed by his speedy run for the border, outfitted him with an electronic tracking device allowing the public to track his movements. Check it out here.

After years of violence, tourists return to a more peaceful Nepal

As a decade of bloody political turmoil dies down, tourists are returning to Nepal. Visitors who canceled or delayed trips because of the violence are now coming back to marvel at the country's intricate Hindu shrines, soaring mountains, thangka paintings, and colorful royal palaces, says an article in the New York Times.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board, some 360,000 foreign air travelers entered the country in 2007, making it the most successful year for tourism since 2000. Several airlines resumed service or began new routes to Katmandu last year and hotels have seen jumps in occupancy rates.

Around 13,000 people died in the Maoist insurrection and pro-democracy riots of the past years. But now that the Maoist rebels have signed a peace treaty and elections are planned for later this year, the streets of Katmandu are largely safe.

Thanking of going? Qatar Airways has flights from Newark to Katmandu for around $1,600. 

Tibet: A Two Week Timeline

It has been two weeks since rioting and violence broke out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. In that time reports from traditional news sources and the Chinese government have been vague, contradictory, and potentially misleading as all foreign travel within Tibet and now the surrounding areas has been blocked. Below is a timeline of reports that have made it out.

Monday, March 10 – On the 49th anniversary of the “Tibetan National Uprising,” 500 Tibetan Buddhist monks still living in China march into the now provincial capital of Lhasa in protest of the Chinese rule.

Tuesday, March 11 – Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns who fled to India after the unsuccessful 1959 uprising against the Chinese are, according to the International Herald Tribune, told on the second day of their own six month protest march back to Lhasa that the Indian government has issued a restraining order preventing them from leaving the Kangra District.

Wednesday, March 12 – For the first time, Chinese officials publicly acknowledge the monks' protest, but the BBC reports official claims that authorities have "stabilized" the situation. Chinese security personnel fire tear gas on 600 monks taking part in the protest.   

Friday, March 14 – Tibetan protests continue, and reports of violence begin surfacing. National Public Radio reports on the burning of shops and cars in Lhasa. Time reports on accounts of gunfire and bodies in the streets of Lhasa. And the U.S. Embassy in China warns visiting Americans to stay inside. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's leader-in-exile, responds "Tibetans in the whole of Tibet have had to live in a state of constant fear, intimidation, and suspicion under Chinese repression." China officially blames the Dalai Lama and his "clique" as the masterminds behind the protests.

Sunday, March 16 – Weekend protests continue as China closes off news in and out of Tibet. Foreign travel into Tibet is suspended, and according to the New York Times, CNN, the BBC, YouTube, Google News, and Yahoo websites are blocked within all of China after videos of the violent protest and the violent Chinese response are posted. Pro-Tibet protests have spread to Paris, Sydney, New York.

Monday, March 17 – China reconfirms their claim that the Dalai "clique" orchestrated the protests and claims that 13 "innocent" civilians have been killed. The Tibetan government in exile maintains that at least 80 people have been killed during the week of protests in Lhasa. Meanwhile, Britain's Guardian newspaper further reports that the first anti-China protests in Beijing have taken place.

Tuesday, March 18 – As China dismisses international public calls for an Olympic boycott, a New York Times editorial highlights the United States removal of China from its list of the top 10 human rights violators as violence broke out in Lhasa. And though the Chinese maintain that the Dalai Lama has masterminded the riots, evidence of the fraction within the Tibetan resistance is shown as the spiritual leader says he will step down from his governmental seat if his non-violent approach to protest is not maintained.

Thursday, March 20 – As China arrests 24 citizens for committing what it calls are "grave crimes" the Dalai Lama tells Newsweek he's willing to fly to Beijing to meet with China's president, Hu Jintao, and prime minister, Wen Jiabao. Despite China expressing "serious concern" British Prime Minister Gordon Brown states he will meet with the Dalai Lama during his upcoming visit to London.

Friday, March 21 – Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. speaker of the House of Representatives, meets with the Dalai Lama while traveling with nine other members of Congress through India. According to the New York Times, Pelosi calls the violence in Tibet as "a challenge to the conscience of the world." Within hours, China responds to what it perceived as an attempt by Pelosi to meddle in its internal affairs. The Chinese ambassador to India is quoted, "Any attempt to cause trouble to China is doomed to fail.”

Monday, March 24 - The Associated Press reports that as the Olympic torch is lit in Greece, pro-Tibet protesters temporarily block its 85,000-mile journey to Beijing. The Chinese hold to their plans to carry the torch through Tibet and to the top of Mount Everest as calls for boycotting the games seem to lose what little backing they initially received in the past two weeks. And though it is unfortunately obvious that the boycotting of these games would do little to remedy any human rights violations that have occurred in Tibet during the 57 years of Chinese rule, it is equally as apparent that no amount of televised sporting events could cover up those crimes either.

--Jason Kerkmans

See Mo' Evil

In her April 2008 article, "See Mo' Evil," Outside senior editor Stephanie Pearson rebuts Nobel Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s call for tourists to stop visiting Myanmar. What does Pearson think is the best way to respond to a travel boycott in a human-rights-violating country ruled by an oppressive regime? Go there and check it out.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Is it wrong to travel to a country run by an oppressive regime?

The Appalachian Trail Without Re-Supply

At sunset tonight, Demetri Coupounas, the president and co-founder of GoLite, with the weight  of a small person strapped to his back, will set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. For 40 days and 40 nights, Coup will take the classic American pilgrimage—with no re-supply—as an elaborate field test of GoLite’s products. While 127 pounds (eight of them are chocolate!) is, to most, not a particularly light cargo, his journey is meant to affirm the company’s core values—that the outdoors is a lot more fun once you take a load off. He’s commemorating the 10th anniversary of GoLite, which he founded with his wife and late father, while hoping that by the end of his trip, on April 30, he will have broken the current 620-mile World Alpine Style Backpacking Distance record by at least a couple hundred miles.

How far are you going to walk?

One of my favorite maxims is that “in real adventure, the outcome is unknown.” I have maps for about 1100 miles. And it’d be a shame to carry a bunch of maps many hundreds of miles and then not use them. Still, I’d settle for 621 miles without much regret. I want to find out just how far I can go in 40 days. Since the AT is 2176 miles long, I won’t have to worry about running out of trail!

Why not just re-supply?

I like keeping the hike as untamed as possible. Every single one of my workdays has a schedule; every single one of my hikedays doesn’t. Alpine style thru-hiking also rededicates me to the core mission of GoLite. I will experience a maximum load of 127 pounds and a minimum load of 15 pounds. Guess which end of the spectrum is more fun?

What’s in the pack?

I have less than a 15-pound base load—equipment and clothing that will be with me the entire time. The other 112+ pounds is food and other “consumables.”

Anything unusual?

A GoLite Shangri-La 2-person shelter because my food will take up as much space as a 2nd person the first few nights. Also, I want to be able to accommodate any visitors I might get.

2 pairs of shoes because you shouldn’t count on more than 400-500 miles per pair.

A GoLite Ultra 20* Bag Top, basically a 2nd sleeping bag to keep my food from freezing at night.

A Blackberry and recharger because while, technically, electrons can be thought of as a re-supply, this isn’t to aid my hike but just to allow me to communicate with my mother, my wife, and my office.

3 different kinds of lubrication with different mechanics of delivery because different parts of the body respond better to each and it takes a stick to reach the most important place.

What pack are you using?

An off-the-shelf GoLite Odyssey, Men’s, Medium, Crimson. GoLite because we make the best backpacks to carry such a monster load—I am biased because I designed them all. Odyssey because it is our biggest and plushest with the suspension, volume, and features I need, and nothing more. Men’s because I suffer from testosterone poisoning. Medium because I am bigger side-to-side and front-to-back then I am up-and-down. Crimson because our Sales Manager Kevin Volz told me it looks better on me than “Tempest.”

What will be the first thing you do when you get home?

First I'll give my wife a big kiss. Then I’ll shower. Twice.

-Claire Napier Galofaro

Taos Freed! Video

It seems that hell did freeze over, at least up at Taos Ski Valley. On March 19, Taos--one of the last North American resorts to forbid snowboarding--finally opened its legendary trails to single-plankers. And it was a fine day for a little slope-side detente, with blazing azure-blue skies, balmy temperatures, and spring snow conditions. Of course, not everyone agreed with the decision. "Too bad that Taos caved to the knuckledraggers, one reader commented on Outside's blog following the big day. "I had enjoyed that there was an area that was boarder-free and I wouldn't have to look over my shoulders for boarders ready to broadside me from their blind side."
But an equal number of people seemed to support Taos's move. "It's not what's on your feet, it's what's in your head," a commenter wrote on the mountain's new snowboarding blog, ridetaos.org. "Taos will never be the same, it will be better."
Did peace prevail? Outside's Damon Tabor headed to the mountain on the historic day to find out. Check out the video below.

Another ray-related death. But no, it's not common.

The world was reminded of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's spooky death yesterday, when a sunbathing tourist was killed by a leaping spotted eagle ray. Judy Kay Zagorski, 55, died after the 6-foot ray jumped from the water and collided with her on a boat off the Florida Keys.

Of course there are some key differences between Zagorski's death and that of the Crocodile Hunter. Irwin was stabbed in the chest by a stingray's barbed tail, which punctured his heart. Zagorski, a vacationer from Pigeon, Michigan, died of blunt force trauma to the skull, either from the ray itself or from hitting her head on the boat deck. 

A month after Irwin's death, an 81-year-old Florida man, James Bertakis, lived through a similar stingray stab to the heart. The possible key to his survival: he didn't try to pull out the barb. 

Scared to go in the water? Don't worry. Being killed by a ray is like winning a sinister version of the Powerball Grand Prize — possible in theory but it ain't gonna happen to you. If it makes you feel any better, a study of animal-related fatalities shows you're much more likely to be eaten by a gator.

— Emily Matchar

Fall Out Boy to Play Antarctica for World Record

Capping off a multi-continent tour, emo rockers Fall Out Boy just announced they will play a live concert at an Antarctic research station on March 25. After a 90-minute flight to the frozen continent from southern Chile, the band will set up in a gymnasium located in a research facility and play such hits as "Dance, Dance" and "Sugar We're Goin' Down"' before an assembled team of scientists and presumably startled snow petrels. If all goes well, FOB will gain entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as the only band to play a concert on all seven continents in less than nine months. 
The impetus behind the record-setting concert?  "Well, I was just sitting around and wrote [FOB's manager] Bob [McLynn] an e-mail saying, 'Let's be the first band to go to all five continents,' singer Pete Wentz told MTV News. "Only he wrote wrote me back, 'There are seven.'" (And who says Americans' geography skills are slipping?)
No word yet if the band will team up with Nunatek, the "indie-rock house band" at the nearby British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station, for an impromptu jam session. The question also remains if sending a tight-pantsed, mascara-wearing emo band from Illinois is the best way to reward scientists who've spent thousands of solitary hours in one of the harshest, most unforgiving environments in the world.
--Damon Tabor

Taos Freed!

In an historic moment for knuckledraggers everywhere, Taos Ski Valley opened its steeps to snowboarders for the first time Wednesday. That leaves Alta as the only major ski resort in the West that still bars the mighty descendents of Jake Burton. Former Outsider Dave Cox was on the scene and sent us this report and photos:

    had a great day wednesday. the ridge was great, the riders 
    supermellow. my favorite part of the day was skiing down to the deck 
    as the speed metal band from rez opened up with "%$#@ you and you and 
    you, %&$# all of you" to the shock of a spring break crowd from the 
    state east of here. it was beautiful.

--Chris Keyes

 

Old Brits Gone Wild

Demonstrating that absolutely everything can and will be surveyed by the government, the British Foreign Office released a report detailing the rising popularity of being OAP— “overseas and plastered” —among the British over-50 crowd. The misbehaving Britons confessed to heavy drinking and risky recreation—like parasailing, bungee-jumping, and water-skiing—often without having acquired travel insurance before going on holiday. The report noted that people in this age group are traveling abroad more than ever before, and much more likely to let loose while doing so. A fifth of the 1,020 globetrotters polled said either they or their partner had been injured abroad, while 14 percent confessed to being more laissez-fair about their safety while traveling. Reuters noted that the excessive alcohol consumption can, from time to time, lead the old fogies to get as rowdy Panama City spring breakers. Outside’s latest sure-fire good time adventure tip: Travel with Old Brits. 

Two American Teams in Tour de France

For the first time ever, two teams from the United States will compete against each other in the Tour de France. As reported by ESPN this morning, both the Slipstream and High Road teams have been invited to participate in the 2008 Tour, which begins on July 5th. The two groups of U.S. riders will also compete against 18 other teams this year. Absent however, will be 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador and his Astana teamates. The Amaury Sports Organization - which owns the Tour de France - has banned Astana from participating in this year's Tour as a result of the plague of doping scandals that have surrounded the team over the past two years. The Spaniard, Contador, who could switch teams and become eligible for this year's race, has said he will instead set his goals on winning in 2009.
-- Jason Kerkmans

Cheap summer airfare? Not likely.

Looking to fly this summer? You might need to pawn your watch.

Air travel costs for the coming months are at new highs, largely in response to fuel prices, says an article in the LA Times, and there’s no relief in sight.

Airlines are jacking up ticket prices, cutting services, and 86-ing frequent-flier benefits. United, Northwest, and Delta are cutting domestic flights — Delta by 10 percent. International tickets for peak summer months are already up an average of 10 percent. That, combined with the dollar’s historic lows, will make that Tuscan getaway molto costoso indeed.

There are still ways of cutting costs — try flying on Tuesdays and Wednesday, traveling at the very tail end of summer, or waiting with fingers crossed for last-minute July deals.

Marathoner's Cause of Death Determined

United States marathoner Ryan Shay passed away after collapsing during the Olympic marathon trials in New York City more than four months ago. Earlier today, a medical examiner released the report on Shay's cause of death.

According to the New York Times, the examiner determined that the 28-year-old died as a result of an irregular heartbeat, which was caused by an enlarged and scarred heart. Shay's father told the Times that they found out his son had an enlarged heart when Shay was 14, but that separate X-rays in subsequent years showed his condition improving.

Doctors don't know what caused the fibrosis scars on Shay's heart, which indicated past cardiac injuries. They do know that scar tissue wasn't good. As cardiologist Dr. Paul Thompson told the Times, the fibrotic tissue found in Shay's heart could have caused abnormal electric currents in the heart, which can lead to death. Fibrosis likely rules out the possibility of athlete's