Movies on the weekend

We watched three good ones...

1. sherrybaby - great performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal
2. Superman Returns - good flick for a rainy Sunday afternoon
3. The Prestige - was a bit slow in parts and the timeline was a tad confusing but otherwise a good flick.

Dutch Iceman to climb Everest in shorts

(MountEverest.net) In January this year, Wim Hof ran a half Marathon (21 km) above the polar circle in Finland. He wore only a pair of shorts and no shoes. The ground (snow) temperature was 35 below. In a few months time, he'll try something similar on Everest's north side. The expedition, led by Dutch Werner de Jong, will try to set a new world record as Wim attempts to climb parts of Everest wearing only shorts.

Everest altitude training: Hanging by middle finger between hot air balloons

This is not your regular stunt. Wim already has 9 world records, and has trained hard for many years to withstand cold, much like some monks do in Tibet. Wim can actually regulate his core heat to control the temperature of his skin. Something of a medical enigma, Wim is able to withstand cold that could kill or seriously injure other people. On Everest, Wim will also put to use his free style climbing skills - which he once demonstrated hanging between 2 hot air balloons by his middle finger at an altitude of 1500 meters. Once back inside the basket, Wim finished by climbing to the top of the balloon. One of Wim's world record attempts took him to the North Pole, where he held his breath for about 6 minutes and 20 seconds below the ice.

Mont Blanc preps

In preparation for Everest, Wim has already climbed Mont Blanc - in shorts. Obviously, his expedition leader is a bit jittery about the whole thing. "We hired extra Sherpa's for his safety," Werner, who will climb alongside the Iceman, told ExWeb Sunday.

"Wim will wear Everest boots, shorts, gloves and a cap. He is carrying his own backpack which will give him some extra protection. But other than that - his body will be naked."

A highly planned operation

Werner is well aware of the stunt last year when a Sherpa stripped for a brief moment on the summit and later got beat up for it by his home media. Out of respect for the locals, Werner has asked the authorities for permission, "I don't want to upset religious beliefs or something,” he explained. But the locals and TMA support this attempt for a new world record.

It will be interesting to see how far Wim's temperature control will take him on altitude, where thickening blood seriously increases the risk of frostbite, among other things. Wim will use oxygen support and won't do the entire climb in shorts. The world record will depend on the combined altitude Wim manages to reach undressed, and his team will film each section. "Maybe he will just get to 7900 m," says Werner. "That would be excellent. But if he managed to summit this way - that'd be crazy." There are no guarantees and safety will be the main issue. "This is not a reckless stunt, but a highly planned operation," says Werner.

Back to Mont Blanc

Aside the obvious difficulty, the expedition will have to deal with all the other aspects of Everest climbing, such as the weather. The expedition will set regular camp 1 on North Col (7000 m) and camp 2 on 7900 meters. But Werner plans an extra camp on 7500 meters for this attempt. "During breaks I'll give him clothes and hot drinks to keep him warm. When we start climbing again, he'll undress."

The immediate plan is more specialized training on Mont Blanc in the next few weeks, where Wim Hof will be sitting on ice for extended periods.

Great game last night!

We were very fortunate to have tickets for last night's Canucks-Lightening game (thanks Mary!!). The first 10 minutes were rather dull but then things picked up and the Canucks ended up winning 5-1...rather shocking considering most of their wins have been one-goal margins. Jeff Cowan got another couple of goals - the fans were chanting "Cowan" at the end of the game.

(Sports Network) - Jeff Cowan has never been known as a scorer. In fact, he's only recorded double-digit goal totals only one time during his seven-year NHL career. At least for the time being, however, the journeyman forward has become the most dangerous sniper on a Vancouver Canucks squad loaded with talented offensive players.

Cowan hadn't scored once during his first 44 games played this season, but he's lit the lamp five times during Vancouver's current three-game win streak. The 30-year-old, whom the Canucks claimed off waivers from Los Angeles in late December, tallied twice in Sunday's key 4-3 victory over division-rival Minnesota, then backed that performance up with another two-goal effort to fuel Tuesday's 5-1 rout of Tampa Bay.

Prior to Sunday's win, Cowan never had scored twice during a game in 349 previous NHL contests.

"He's scoring timely goals, he's working hard, he's doing all the things you expect and more," said captain Markus Naslund of Cowan. "I'm happy for him."

Goaltender Roberto Luongo matched a Canucks' franchise record when he earned his 38th victory of the season in the Tampa Bay game. The All-Star netminder, who now shares the mark set by Kirk McLean in 1991-92, didn't have to work too hard on Tuesday. Luongo faced just 17 shots on the evening.

With Tuesday's big win, Vancouver maintained its two-point advantage on Calgary for first place in the Northwest Division as well as the coveted No. 3 spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Canucks also improved to a gaudy 8-1-1 against Eastern Conference clubs by defeating the Lightning. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Tuesday's tilt was the team's final interconference encounter this season.

Vancouver will play its next three games on the road, beginning with Friday's visit to Phoenix. The Canucks will then take on the Pacific Division's top two teams, San Jose and Anaheim, before returning home for a key showdown with Minnesota next Tuesday.