Called Richard Bangs Adventures, the site will feature essays by adventurers and photos and video accounts of their exploits around the world, Yahoo said. The first project will focus on American rock climber John Harlin III and his expedition to scale the Swiss Alps peak known as the Eiger.
The story of Harlin's climb, which included a 6,000-foot wall on the mountain's north side, will be told to Yahoo users through video, photographs and personal accounts, the company said.
"We want to share stories that quicken the pulse and appeal to the growing interest in adventure travel," Scott Moore, Yahoo vice president of content operations, said in a statement. "We are attempting to use the Internet's unique attributes as a rich storytelling medium to help consumers make discoveries that they wouldn't otherwise have a chance to."
In January, Yahoo formed a media unit aimed at boosting its status as a Net entertainment destination. Since then, the company has made a few other moves designed to bring more original content to the site. In September, it hired nine business columnists to contribute to its financial section. The company also recently hired former CNN and NBC journalist Kevin Sites to report on and produce multimedia coverage of global conflicts.
In November, the adventure site will feature the story of sea gypsies of the Andaman Islands who survived the tsunami last year using native knowledge. And in December, Yahoo users will be able to follow the family that wins the Casio Richard Bangs Adventures sweepstakes as the family members follow a path taken centuries ago by treasure hunters in Panama.