Extreme Cold: Wim Hof and Tummo

This week, I learned about a guy who can withstand extreme cold.  Here's a picture of him during what I can only believe must be normal bathtime for him:

(from the Guinness World Records)

This man is Wim Hof, and he gets cold professionally.  He holds the world record for being immersed in ice, 1 hour and 44 minutes.  He is known as the "Iceman."  He likes to go running and hiking wearing only a pair of shorts.  He ran a marathon north of the Arctic Circle wearing only shorts.

(from urbanslot's blog)

He also holds the world record for distance swimming beneath ice: 55.5 meters.  You can watch the video of him setting the record here:

He tried to climb Mount Everest wearing only shorts, but he failed due to a foot injury of some sort.  My favorite quote from Wim Hof is this: "Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mount Everest was a testament to human achievement; my climb of Mount Everest in my shorts will be a monument to the frivolous, decadent nature of modern society."

That's a pretty funny reason to do something.

Wim Hof practices the Tibetan meditation practice of Tummo, which somehow creates body heat.  There have apparently been some studies that show people's fingertips getting warmer during this meditation.  Something about chakras.  But who am I to question it, when the practitioners can do things like this:

(from http://www.yogallimite.com/ via Wikimedia Commons)

(from care2.com)

Wim Hof uses Tummo to adjust his "mental thermostat" and keep himself warm while he climbs mountains barefoot, wearing only shorts.  He wins the Talus Slopes hardcore award of the week.  Here's to you, Wim Hof.

(from thewondrous.com)

Free Soloing Videos

Yes, I have already posted about free soloing, the (crazy) extreme sport in which you rock climb without a rope.  You can read my past blog post here.  For all the people out there who worry about me, please know that I am in no way tempted to pursue this sport.  (Well, sometimes people go free soloing on short walls over a body of water.  I'd consider that, but that isn't really the same because of the distinct lack of DEATH involved.)

This week, I once again became fascinated about free soloing because of this video.  The guy in the video, Alex Honnold, has climbed some world-class routes like half dome and The Nose of El Capitán without ropes.  Seriously, watch this video:

Here are some still shots of Alex Honnold free soloing various routes, with some nice music by Emancipator:

I am in awe of this guy's abilities.  Seeing him climb is inspirational.  I am not tempted to try free soloing in the slightest, but I can sort of appreciate the beauty of the sport.  He must have such a sense of freedom when he's up on the rock (at least, when he's not in fear of falling).

Here's a video in which Steph Davis talks about her reasons for free soloing.  She talks about the freedom she feels up on the rock, and the sense of being in control.  She uses it as a way to work out other things in her life.

Watching that video, I'm just thinking that I can't really imagine climbing a ladder as tall as that cliff without a rope.  But Steph Davis is more hardcore than me.  She says that free soloing the diamond is "an expression of mastery."  Yup.

There are also people who free solo barefoot.

I don't even know, man.

To end our day of extreme vertigo, here is a video from Dad about the world record high dive from a few years ago:

Now there are butterflies in my stomach and I'm done blogging for the day.  Bye bye.