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It has been called the Holy Grail of Mountaineering, and for some it is an item worth searching for with the same fervor as Arthur's knights. I'm speaking of the camera that accompanied George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on their ill fated expedition to Everest back in 1924. The pair never returned of course, and the mountain would remain unclimbed until Hillary and Norgay topped out in 1953. But questions have always remained. Did Mallory reach the summit? Many believe he possibly did, and that the missing camera may contain some images that would prove that he had.

There have been a number of expeditions to the mountain over the years searching for the bodies of both Mallory and Irvine. A talented group of climbers did discovery Mallory's body back in 1999, but a decade later, Irvine and the camera remain missing. Now, two new climbers who bonded in the midst of the K2 tragedy last year, aim to go searching for Irvine, and one of them says he thinks he knows where he is.

The mountaineers are Dr. Eric Meyer and Sherpa Chhiring Dorje, both of which were on K2 last year and played pivitol roles in how things played out on that deadly mountain. Now, the two men who have both summitted Everest before (Chhiring 10 times!) are making plans to go back once again to look for the missing body, and more importantly the camera. Chhiring says that he believes that he has seen Irvine's remains on the mountain before at 27,900 feet, but at the time he didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until later, upon reflection, and learning more about the Mallory expedition, that he began to put the pieces together.

You can read more about both of these men and their plans in this article over at the Denver Post. It is interesting stuff, and it is remarkable to think that Chhiring may know exactly where Irvine and the "Holy Grail" are sitting. But will it change anything if he does?

Lets say, for arguments sake, they find the body. And lets go so far as to say that the camera is still with it and at least intact enough to not have ruined the film. And what if that film is successfully developed after all these years, and it does indeed show Mallory on the summit. Does that change anything? I suppose it does give him the distinction of being the first man up there, but as many mountaineers say, the summit is only the half-way point. The fact remains that they didn't get down alive, which is part of the criteria for a successful climb in my mind. There are a lot of "ifs" in this paragraph though, and I'd be astounded if the camera was still in one piece and hadn't exposed the film by now. Of course, they still have to find it regardless.

U.K. based online magazine Wide World has a cool "How To" article posted on their site giving some great tips on How To Trek the Jungle. The informative article offers up 11 things to keep in mind when undertaking an expedition in the jungle, courtesy of expert Dominic Hall who has more than ten years of experience planning such expeditions.

Some of the tips are fairly common sense, but as usual, they deserve to be mentioned none the less. For instance, Dominic reminds us to "Drink, drink, drink..." which holds true for any outdoor adventure, but hydration is even more important when the temps are in the 30's C (80's/90's F) and the humidity is off the charts. He also reminds us to not neglect the rest of our diet as well, as keeping your intake well balanced will be key as well.

Other suggestions are not so apparent to those making a jungle trek for the first time. Hall warns us, for instance, to not worry about the big animals we'll encounter, but instead take heed of the small ones. He says we should be mindful of insects in particular, and especially mosquitos, which typically carry diseases like malaria and yellow fever. He also recommends that we ditch the tent and just bring a hammock. They're light weight, can be strung up anywhere, and comfortably keep you off the ground.

There are plenty of other good things to be gleaned from the list, but perhaps the most important one comes in at #11 where Dominic reminds us to simply "Enjoy". Sometimes we forget that tip on our adventures, being too focused on reaching a goal, and forgetting to take time to enjoy the journey. Wise words!

The latest issue of JPFreek magazine is now available at JPFreek.com. This is the summer edition of the online magazine geared not only for jeep enthusiasts but also outdoor adventurers in general, with a range of articles that stretch from an ongoing, round the world road trip to a report from Chile on the Patagonia Expedition Adventure Race.

This is an important issue for JPFreek in general and for myself personally. For the magazine, it is the first issue to fall under their new paid subscription policy. Until now, the magazine was free, with revenues being ad driven, so this is a bit of a change in direction, but one that will allow the staff to continue to bring the same great content to readers, but also look ahead to some great things in the future as well. I can assure you, the team at JPFreek have some great plans for the future.

On a personal note, I'm happy to play a role in this issue. If you turn to page 40 of the virtual magazine, you'll find an article entitled "Amazon Adventures", which I wrote about my April trip to the Amazon River and Jungle. All the photos used in the article are ones that I shot myself, and the layout that the editorial staff put together is amazing. I'm very proud of how it turned out and glad that I was able to contribute and share a little of my own adventure.

Finally, if you look closely at the masthead for the magazine, you'll see the list for the "Crew & Contributors". Looking down that list under "Editorial" you'll now notice that my name has been added. I have joined the crew at JPFreek as the Adventure Editor and I hope to be making larger contributions in the future. Thanks for having me aboard guys! :)

I posted about this over at Gadling this morning, but thought it would be of interest here as well. The World Heritage Committee, which is part of UNESCO, has closed it's 33rd annual convention, adding 13 new places to it's famous list, and taking the unusual step to drop one of the sites completely.

Amongst the 13 new sites added to the list are the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy, Mount Wutai in China, and the Tower of Hercules in Spain. Each of the locations are cited for offering universal value of a natural or cultural nature. With these additions, the complete list of World Heritage Sites come to 890 and you can read about each of the new ones in the official press release.

The one location that was dropped was the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany. The Committee expressed concern about changes to the natural habitat there due to the building of a new four-lane bridge through the area. When the plan was first announced a few years back, UNESCO put the site on it's Danger List, but when construction went ahead anyway, they were forced to drop the Valley altogether.

Three sites were added to that same Danger List this year. They include the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System in Belize, the Los Katios National Park in Columbia, and the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta. In the case of the Barrier Reef, the fear is of over development so close to the water, while the other two locations were added to bring awareness to their preservation processes.

With the list growing to 890, we all have some new places to add to our "must visit" lists. Any traveler would do well to start their plans with these World Heritage Sites, and I've been fortunate enough to visit several of them, and they have all been worth the trip.

Check out this video of a couple of crazy German dudes hitting the slopes in their kayaks! Yes, you read that right. Kayaks! They're blazing down the mountain, paddle and all, and catching some serious air in the process. I also happen to love the shot of them on the chairlift! It's refreshing to see these guys enjoying themselves while the rest of the kayak world is looking for a bigger waterfall to drop over.

Thanks to the always awesome Wend Blog for this one.