Charity adventure race

Charity adventure race

source:http://www.fieldskills.com/

Elegant Resorts launches Travel Guide Experiences

Leading luxury travel company Elegant Resorts has recently launched Experiences – the second in a series of Lifestyle Guides from the experts in luxury travel. Offering a tempting array of extraordinary and memorable travel adventures around the world, the brochure is divided into themes of Explore and Inspire, Body and Mind, Exhilarate and Sports.

Commenting on the launch of the guide, Nathan Philpot, Managing Director, Elegant Resorts, says, “Our clients are increasingly seeking luxury holidays rich in experience. This may be in addition to their two week ‘fly and flop’ luxury beach escape or perhaps to be taken in combination with it. It could be as adventurous as a jungle trek through Langkawi’s rainforest, or as indulgent as a five-hour private Retreat Suite spa experience for 2 in the British Virgin Islands. No matter what you choose, it will be truly memorable and special.

With the attention to detail and knowledge of the luxury world for which Elegant Resorts are renowned, clients know they can rely on us for the holiday experience of a lifetime. Moreover, whether they are looking for exploration or inspiration, exhilaration or introspection, with Elegant Resorts they know that they won’t have to compromise luxury along the way.”

Highlights from the Explore and Inspire guide include: Sea Kayaking through the estuaries of New Zealand; Catamaran Cruise to the outer reef of the Great Barrier Reef; Elephant Safaris in Botswana or “Elephant Whispering” with rehabilitated elephants in South Africa, and Hiking to Taktshang Goemba (Tigers Nest) In Bhutan, set on a sheer cliff above the Paro Valley.

The Body and Mind Guide offers: Holistic Spa experience at the Six Senses Destination Spa in Thailand; Mayan Healing ceremony at the Zoetry Parais de La Bonita in Mexico; Explore the Maldives in greater depth at Alila Villas Hadahaa – with photography, natural environment and cultural three day trips; Venture into Medici tunnels whilst staying at Villa San Michele in Florence and Stay on a working Sri Lankan Tea Estate in one of four Colonial bungalows.

The Exhilarate Guide offers Space Travel with Virgin Galactic and journeys currently planned to start in 2011. If you just can’t wait that long, try the Zero-gravity and NASTAR space experiences. You can also try to fly with the blades aerobatic squed in Scotland; Explore the waterfalls and glaciers of Argentina via boat trips, tours and treks across the ice; Heli-skiing in Blanket Bay, New Zealand, and Horse-back safaris in Tanzania’s Serengeti. Sports fans can use the guide to discover some of the top sporting events for the coming year from tennis and golf to horseracing and rugby.

Copies of the guide will also be available on www.elegantresorts.co.uk, where it is downloadable as a PDF. Forthcoming additional guides include Families and Spa.

Photos by Dirk Groeger: www.flickr.com/photos/mountainspirit/181685307 and by Frederic Salein: www.flickr.com/photos/fredericsalein/2909435526

Dark Adventure Radio Theatre

Dark Adventure Radio Theatre makes its debut this week with a chilling adaptation of HP Lovecraft's celebrated story of horrors beneath the Antarctic ice. This 75-minute radio drama brings the story to life with a cast of professional actors, original music and exciting sound effects. The result is a gripping tale told in a manner that Lovecraft himself might have heard coming across the airwaves of the early 1930s.

The HP Lovecraft Historical Society, creators of the silent film The Call of Cthulhu and many other strange things, produced the recording. Troy Sterling Nies was enlisted to compose original music. With assistance from his son, Storm, Nies also recorded the sounds of genuine North Dakota snow and ice to bring realism to the production. The HPLHS enlisted a cast of professional Los Angeles actors to join them for recording sessions. The final recording was treated with the HPLHS proprietary Mythophone technology to bring the feel of 1930s radio to modern audio equipment.

In addition to the recording itself, the CD version of Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: At the Mountains of Madness features photographs from the Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition, a newspaper clipping about the expedition, and a reproduction of a page from Danforth's sketchbook, featuring drawings of the Elder Things and their horrific city. The HPLHS has also made available an MP3 recording of the show, so those seeking immediate gratification can purchase, download, and listen to it without delay. Last, the HPLHS took Darrell Tutchton's dramatic album cover artwork and produced a handsome, yet horrific, poster suitable for framing.

Sailing Adventure in Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden - The sun has set on another Archipelago Raid, which was once again a special kind of boat race. Each team of two sails a Formula 18 catamaran day and night, and weaves through an intriguing sailing course among the Stockholm, Åland and Finnish Archipelagos. Along the way, the competitors have to find 20-25 checkpoints located on beaches, boats, pontoons, and lighthouses as described in the Archipelago Raid Book, but the teams are free to choose their own sailing route between two checkpoints, making for some interesting navigational maneuvers as the teams try to avoid hitting any of the 100,000 islands and jagged rocks along the way.

Martin Strandberg and Johan Örtendahl of Team Thule flourished in these tough conditions, and were announced winners of the Archipelago Raid today. After putting in an amazing effort at this tough sailing event, the team proved they had the right stuff, winning five out of the ten sailing legs. During much of the event, the team battled for the top spot against last year's Raid winners Eric Proust and Romain Motteau of Team Citus, but with team Thule's stellar performance over the last couple of days (winning every leg), Team Citus fell back in the scoring, and had to settle for second this year.

Team Thule started the last day of the Archipelago Raid three points behind Team Citus, but 34 year old Strandberg and 27 year old Örtendahl had a fire in their bellies - determined to take the trophy back for a Swedish team. After sleep deprivation from camping in tents, and physical exhaustion from the effort of sailing (and sometimes paddling) through the Archipelago, Martin and Johan, gave every final bit of their effort, and showed what pure determination can accomplish as they won both legs today, just as they had done the day before.

“It was fantastic, a really tough race. Eric [Proust, of Team Citus] was sailing so well so we had to put 200 per cent to beat him.”, said the overjoyed Swedish skipper upon winning the Raid. Martin Strandberg couldn't keep his excitement to himself, adding “you can’t finish better than this. I think is just an ultimate sailing race. You’ve got everything: nature, sailing, navigation, tactics - everything!”

Another team who truly enjoyed the sailing in Sweden this week were Brits Luke Yeats and Matthew Humphreys of Team Cobalt. The pair finished the Archipelago Raid as the best rookies, in eighth overall. “This has been probably the best organized event I’ve ever sailed at. We had all the organization boats with us all the time and getting all the tents and food arranged in the middle of nowhere and having almost thirty boats through a very complicated course… it was really worth the tough moments.”

William Sunnucks and Simon Farren, of Team Audio Network, also know a bit about tough moments at the Raid. The team put in a great performance as they weaved their F18 catamaran around the Swedish Archipelago over the last six days, but their hopes of an overall win were dashed yesterday after hitting an inconveniently placed rock, pushing them back to third place overall in the Raid. No doubt they will be studying those charts over the winter, ready to give it a go at next year's Archipelago Raid.

RawHyde Adventure Rider Challenge

“And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what

sweet rest there must be in the grave.” – Edgar Allan Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum

Surely, less eloquent versions of Poe’s words ran through terror-stricken minds at the RawHyde Adventure Rider Challenge. Participants witnessed the newest version of the Adventure Rider Challenge, the only competitive big-bike event in the United States, as it continues to evolve in only its third year. Competition is in the form of brutal obstacle courses that inflict physical and mental pounding on man and machine. Until joining the fracas atop Southern California’s Grapevine mountain pass, we’d never seen anything like it. Two days later we were convinced that for anyone who considers himself a true adventure rider, there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.

Adventure riders are the most multi-faceted breed of motorcyclists on the planet. Their idea of a good trip incorporates elements for dirt bikes, curvy sportbike highways, butt-numbing distances and navigational challenges; they need to be fit, skilled and self-reliant. These men and women are the Swiss Army knives of our sport, and their equipment has to be just as versatile. Meeting such wide-spread needs has led to a diverse spread of technology from different bike makers, but if these machines have anything in common, it’s size. None of them are small, and that’s exactly why RawHyde Adventures founder and ARC originator, Jim Hyde, started this thing in the first place.

Riding huge, heavy bikes through gnarly terrain is big time work – and big time fun if you have the right attitude. You have to embrace that it’s supposed to be hard and that you aren’t going to finish without some scratches, but not everyone wants to mercilessly beat their machinery for the sake of competition.

“People like competition, they either like to watch it or be in it,” Hyde says. “These GS bikes are like modern day cowboy stuff.”

That’s why Hyde designed the ARC to welcome all riders with open arms. Roughly 500 miles of paved and dirt roads were spread out over the two days. Each night featured a Rodeo section – The Pit and The Pendulum, respectively. Over the years, Jim has developed a five-tier categorization of terrain for his adventure rides and it’s safe to say that the competition portions are pure Cat-5. Participants are able to register as an Adventurer and simply ride the prescribed routes, or as a Challenger if they’re gluttons for punishment and want to compete in the Rodeo at day’s end.

“The Challenger is a guy who hangs it all out there and risks life and limb to show everyone how good he is,” says Hyde. Of the 197 entries, the majority of which were riding bikes from title sponsor BMW, 40 of them registered as Challengers to test their mental and physical strength against what Jim called the most difficult courses yet.

Check out the RawHyde Adventure Rider Challenge Video and see how tough the BMW F800GS is and how difficult these obstacles were.

The Pit

Most of the adventure riders on hand elected to camp at the RawHyde facility where provisions were made to comfortably accommodate the throng of motorcyclists. Of Oceans and Dirt was the theme for the weekend and the camp awakened to a 300-mile counterclockwise loop toward Santa Barbara and the cool weather of the Pacific Ocean for Day 1. Our troupe followed maps and GPS coordinates along scenic ridgelines and riding through swarms of mating ladybugs - the fornicating insects crawling maddeningly across goggle lenses, down collars and inside helmets. Once the trail dropped down out of the mountains, however, sunshine and crashing waves were the worst of it.

Adventure riders share a strong identity with one another, many travelling together or at least connecting with a fellow voyager somewhere along the way. Day 1 closed with a team challenge emphasizing cohesion necessary for the completion of the task. Scored on time, the fastest team from Point A to Point B wins – the only problem is that everything between lies down a steep, rocky ravine with nothing more than a few wooden boards to span impassible gaps. Del Christensen spends most of his time as a RawHyde rider coach and guide, but he’s the man responsible for developing the hellish ravine. Perhaps he’s a connoisseur of American literature because standing at the top, the Pit certainly invokes an idea similar to Poe’s abyss - an embankment so steep many riders bulldogged their machines to the bottom.

Easy laughter and subdued excitement filled the outdoor tent as we gathered for the rider’s meeting. Del’s assurance that even BMW’s largest machine could pass seemed to be good enough for riders who were anxious to get underway. The majority had already formed three-man teams so those of us who hadn’t were put together to make a trio. I was joined with Chad Yoshitomi and Joe Egan who, like me, were first-timers at the ARC. Baseline scoring is determined using one big bike and one small bike per team. Larger bikes are obviously a disadvantage in this situation, so teams with two big bikes were given a two-minute deduction and teams with only small bikes were penalized. Anything that’s not a 1200GS, GS Adventure or comparable older model is considered small. Armed with my F800GS, the choice was between Chad’s heavily armored R1150GSA, which would give us a standard setup, and Joe’s Honda XL650. Bolstered by Joe’s disregard for mechanical damage, our makeshift squad opted to travel light - penalty be damned, we’d throw that bike across the finish line if need be.

"In other conditions of mind I might have had courage to end my misery at once by a plunge into one of these abysses; but now I was the veriest of cowards."

As the group broke and made for the staging area, we had little idea what was in store. All we knew was that the entry was so steep that a rope was run through a snatch block and around a tree limb to help lower the bike into the crevasse. Chad was to be our runner, controlling our descent as we rode the bikes down and then following on foot through the two-thirds of a mile to provide assistance. The only rules were that both bikes and all three members had to cross the finish line - working machines optional. I lined up first, my entire confidence split between a 47-year-old auto technician from Alaska and a slightly frayed climbing rope. I shouldn’t have worried as both did a fantastic job and kept me from rocketing headlong to the bottom with a simple, controlled landing. Before the rope was halfway up the hill to start with Joe, I was already forcing my way down the trail, bouncing off the sides and down dried rock waterfalls.

Worried that I hadn’t seen Joe in awhile, I stopped and headed back on foot. I only made it a short distance before the 34-year-old software engineer tottered across one of the slapdash bridges, his grin showing from beneath his helmet. A special surprise waited at the final obstacle where strategically placed ambushers pelted us from above as they launched water balloons like hand grenades. A cool splash of water was nice when facing the off-camber rock shelf with an abrupt log crossing, but for a few tired men, the loss of traction from wet tires caused more trouble than it was worth. We managed to get everyone out with relative ease. A few hang-ups, blisters for Chad from running in his boots and some simple tip-overs for Joe, who only had 10 months of dirt riding experience, and our Size Doesn’t Matter team was in far better shape than some of the others. Sitting in the shade and watching other teams come down was almost as much fun as riding it, and we witnessed skidplates and crash bars held on by a few bolt threads – some carried out by hand.

RawHyde Adventures is the official BMW Off-Road Academy so it’s no surprise that a pair of Jim’s certified instructors were fast enough for second place. As a measure of fairness, the Platonic Spooning Buddies were disqualified. Two Kabooms slipped into the vacated spot which left the final podium step for Two Jerks and a Squirt. Once the time adjustments were made, it was the Knights of the Flaccid Lance claiming the top spot with an impressive time of 5:52. By the end of the first day, all competitors had a much better idea of what they were in for, but the anticipation of the event’s headline challenge loomed overnight.

"To the right - to the left - far and wide - with the shriek of a damned spirit."

The Pendulum

The second day’s ride headed east, a shorter loop than before, but this time away from the cooling ocean breeze and into the scorching desert. Riders endured triple-digits temps as they followed one of several optional treks. A full day netted roughly 200 miles with shorter variations available. Randsburg was the refueling stop for man and machine as the party passed through for lunch in small groups. Again, in order to be back in time for the evening Rodeo, competitors had to cut out early and return to base camp. Being a team player is one thing, but motorcycling is ultimately an individual sport and so the second challenge was designed to test each competitor’s skill on their own machine. Some riders already had a reputation after successful (or not) performances in years past. Others, like me, were eager to see where we stacked up in the world of big-bike wrangling. Ultimately, this was the opportunity to demonstrate what we could do.

Aside from the name, this year’s event actually shares nothing with Poe’s classic. Inspiration can come at any moment, and while most of the two-wheeled treachery spawned from the depths of Jim’s imagination, the initial seed was actually planted by the movie First Knight where Richard Gere negotiates a deadly pendulum. From the saddle of my F800GS the course looks more like something out of an Indiana Jones flick – piled logs, sand traps, wood ramps and mud pits. About halfway through, the pendulums hung in pairs of two from large wooden scaffolding, four sets spaced just far enough apart to get the largest bikes stopped before hitting the next. They comprised one of 10 sections, each worth 200 points. Nine were scored using a version of trials rules - foot dabs were worth 10 points, getting hit by a pendulum docked 25, out of bounds snared 50 and a crash was a devastating 100 points. A perfect run would net 2000 and infractions were deducted from the point totals which were sorted for individual placing.

As with the day before, a steep descent was first out of the gate. The entire track was built on the side of a hill and onto the flat ground below, so riders dropped into the course like a massive dirt half-pipe. By the time I slipped my Beemer’s front wheel over the edge it had turned into a single dry rut. My Dunlops scraped for traction, found little and the bike slithered in barely controlled chaos down the hill. As merely a transfer from staging to the actual course, survival was the goal here, but some riders would never make it to the first segment. Those of us who did found the sole timed portion where riders raced around a motocross-style layout. One uphill, off-camber left turn was particularly bothersome, another example of how the course became increasingly difficult as powerful engines and wide tires started to break down the soil. The eventual winners were some of the first riders out, proving that although sometimes going first is a bad thing, having a fresh track turned out to be a major benefit.

From there the course entered Pucker Hill, and then onto other sections like Thunder, Gopher Track, Headwall, and, of course, Pendulums. From a distance, the long pipes wrapped in foam looked fairly simple, and my confidence was high. However, as I stared lengthwise down the heart of it I was informed that it too was a no-dab zone, and stopping was impossible, as the futility began to sink in. From behind tinted goggles, the late-afternoon heat pounding my shoulders, my eyes struggled to focus, preferring to take it all in as a criss-crossed latticework of rope, wood and swinging metal.

"The agony of suspense grew at length intolerable, and I cautiously moved forward, with my arms extended, and my eyes straining from their sockets…"

I revved the Parallel Twin, wagged my clutch fingers and lurched into the mayhem. The first clipped my rear end as I tried to halt in the now seemingly tiny space between. No good. The next banged into the Beemer’s front end and I was 0-for-2. This ineffectual cadence continued for the remainder of the section, and what I thought would be an interesting chore wound up just pissing me off. Unfortunately, there are no second chances, and though I wanted to turn around and try again, I was waved forward by the RawHyde staff and sent through the remaining tests, irritated that the Pendulum had won.

In Poe’s version, the subject narrowly escapes the pendulum and is forced again to face the abyss. Fortunately for us, after the second challenge was finished the only thing left to conquer were some ice-cold kegs of beer.

Be it masochism or simple RawHyde loyalty, the men and women around camp seem unanimous in their intent to return. From a participant’s standpoint, the whole thing works very well as a long weekend event, but as Jim explains it, fine tuning the Adventure Riders Challenge has followed the arc of his infamous pendulum. Riders complained the first year because there wasn’t quite enough regular riding. Then, with three days of seat time in 2008, for many it was simply too much time away from work. But this year the public reaction has leveled out, a testament to RawHyde’s ongoing efforts at perfecting the blend.

“I think this is the best we’ve done so far,” Jim says, reflecting on the solid turnout and his developing network of repeat customers. “I’m strongly inclined to do exactly the same thing except change the layout a little. It’s very real world, these are the types of things these riders will face.”

Pausing, he adds, “It’s also a lot like childbirth, you forget the pain.”

source: www.adventureriderchallenge.com

Surfing Wamberal, New South Wales, Australia

Surfing Wamberal, New South Wales, Australia

Perfecting Your Off Road Driving Skills - Practice Makes Perfect

Honing The Building Blocks Of Rock Wheeling

From the September, 2008 issue of 4Wheel & Off-Road
By Kevin McNulty
Photography by Kevin McNulty

If You Think Back To The First Time You Sat Behind The steering wheel of a four-wheel-drive, maybe you can recall the excitement of your first adventure, how you became hooked, and how you thought about perfecting your off-highway driving skills. Perhaps your four-wheel aspirations weren't about conquering the toughest rockcrawling trails or wheeling up the tallest peaks; maybe they were just about being able to explore the backcountry with confidence and skill, knowing that if you found yourself in a tough situation you would have the ability to skillfully and successfully negotiate your way out of it.

Whatever hobby or sport we consider our passion, there was a point in time when we knew very little about it, and for some of us, four-wheeling was that sport.

Anyone can get in a truck and drive, but do they know how to read the terrain ahead of them, and will they know how to react and handle the vehicle and its suspension when it's placed in precarious or dangerous positions? Do they know how to safely spot another driver over an obstacle? Reading a vehicle and terrain at the same time is a skill that's learned from hands-on experience. Basic driving skills are used on the trail, but many factors of automotive physics need to be addressed and there are literally hundreds of other things to consider when driving off highway, such as knowing when it's appropriate to clutch, brake, and accelerate.

Wheeling doesn't always have to be extreme and hard-core, and the staff here at 4-Wheel & Off-Road is always looking for trail time of any form, so when the opportunity to ride along on a rock training clinic for novice four-wheelers popped up, we jumped at the chance. Tom Severin, president of Badlands Off-Road Adventures, holds training clinics and overl and adventure outings around California and the Western U.S. Severin is certified by the International 4-Wheel Drive Trainers Association and is a professional 4WD off-road training instructor with more than 40 years of experience. To top off his credentials, he's an easygoing, nice guy and a fun person to hang out with on the trail.

Hike the Zion Narrows, Utah

By Kate Siber

If any place has the power to inspire awe, it’s the Zion Narrows, southern Utah’s premier hike in Zion National Park. For 16 miles (26 kilometers), the canyon winds voluptuously through the crimson sandstone, in some spots stretching 2,000 feet (610 meters) high and narrowing to 20 feet (6 meters). Lush hanging gardens spring from the walls, stately ponderosa pines grow in nooks, and the water can turn a shade of turquoise that perfectly contrasts with the cliffs’ deep terra-cotta hues. The hike isn’t necessarily a cakewalk, however: For more than half the time, hikers walk in the Virgin River, which can be waist-high, and negotiate cobbles as large and slippery as bowling balls.

Still, the appeal of the area is certainly no secret, and the Zion Narrows attract plenty of keen hikers. Though it’s possible to hike top-to-bottom in one long day or do a shorter out-and-back from the bottom of the canyon, the ideal approach is to take two days, camping overnight at one of 12 designated campsites deep in the canyon. The stillness of evening and the otherworldly glow of moonlight make the perfect atmosphere in which to absorb the beauty of those towering canyon walls, sculpted by elements unfathomably more powerful than ourselves.

Hike the Zion Narrows, Utah

Colorado Hiking

With 53 14,000 foot peaks, as well as a few thousand lower peaks, Colorado is one of the best hiking destinations in the United States. On a Colorado hiking trip, you can experience trails with elevations that range from as low as 3,337 feet, to as high as 14, 433 feet. Even in the urban environments of Denver and Boulder, you are always in close proximity to some exciting Colorado hiking trails. In fact, many people who visit Colorado from sea level locations spend a few days hiking these trails in order to acclimate to the high altitude. Hiking Colorado can be a great experience, as long as you adhere to a few safety precautions.

Keep in mind that for every thousand feet of elevation that is gained along the Colorado hiking trails, the temperature will drop 5.5 degrees. Additionally, ultraviolet radiation increases about 26 percent at elevations between 5,000 feet and 14,000 feet. With this in mind, when you plan your Colorado hiking trip, be sure to pack for all types of weather conditions, and make sure that you bring plenty of sunscreen. Hydration is also crucial at the high altitude Colorado hiking trails. When you head out on your hike, be sure to bring plenty of water. A compass or a GPS will also come in handy.

Anyone planning to go Colorado hiking in the backcountry should consider purchasing the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue (CORSAR) card. CORSAR Cards can be purchased for $3.00 at many local vendors, or by calling the Department of Local Affairs at (970) 248-7310. Purchasing the card provides funding for the volunteers who conduct search and rescue missions throughout all of Colorado's backcountry.

Now that you are aware of the safety precautions for hiking Colorado, you probably would like to know where to find the best hiking trails in Colorado. The possibilities are endless, depending on your interests. For example, bird watchers looking for easy but long Colorado hiking trails will enjoy the nine mile loop around Barr Lake, which is a popular stopover for migratory birds. Barr Lake is situated on the plains northeast of Denver. If your interests lie in Colorado's Native American heritage, you will find that Picture Canyon is one of the most interesting hiking trails in Colorado. The four-mile round trip loop features an interesting variety of Native American petroglyphs and pictographs.

Once you have acclimated to the altitude, you will definitely want to visit the Colorado hiking trails in Summit County. Luckily for the modern day hiker, the gold seekers of the 1800s formed mountain trails as they hiked across the high passes of Summit County. The ghost towns, gold camps and mining relics of days past can still be seen along the trails. As you hike through nature, you are also hiking through history. Your senses will be treated to alpine lakes, waterfalls and wildflower meadows as you climb towards the jagged peaks that pierce the Colorado sky.

source: http://www.destination360.com/

Basic Knowledge of Mountain Hiking

Basic Knowledge of Mountain Hiking

Mountain climbing like other adventure activities are a heavy sports activity. Activities that require excellent climber fitness condition. The difference with other sports, mountain climbing done in the middle of the wild outdoors, an environment that is actually not a human habitation, let alone a child of the city.

Good climbers are aware of the dangers that will confront in their activities which is termed the dangers of objective and subjective danger. Objective danger is the danger that comes from the properties of nature itself. For example, the mountains have a cooler air temperature plus the freezing wind, the rain without shelter, steepness of the surface which can cause people to slip at once at risk of falling rocks, and the pitch-dark night. The nature of the hazard can not be altered humans.

However, novice climbers often climb the mountain as a recreation consider ordinary. Moreover, to the mountains popular and "easy" climb, such as Gede, Pangrango or Salak. As a result, they neglect the physical preparation and climbing equipment. Not infrequently in between their bodies coated with only a T-shirt with the stock or water biscuits perfunctory.

Although can not be changed, in fact climber to reduce its negative impacts. For example, by bringing warm clothes and a thick jacket to protect themselves from cold air. Bring tents to protect themselves from the rain when camping, bring a flashlight, and so forth.

While the dangers of subjective self comes from the man himself, that is how ready he is to climb the mountain. Is he healthy enough, strong enough, adequate knowledge of the compass on the map (because there are no traffic signs on the mountain), and so forth.

As an illustration, the National SAR Agency records that from January 1998 up to April 2001, there were 47 victims of mountain climbing in Indonesia, which consists of 10 deaths, 8 people missing, 29 people survived, two people were seriously injured and one person lightly wounded, of all recorded ascent (National SAR Agency, 2001)

Other data, from 1969 to 2001, Mount Gede and Pangrango in West Java have been eating as many as 34 people dead. Furthermore, from 4000 that tried to climb Mount Everest as the tallest mountain peaks in the world, only 400 people who managed to reach the summit and about 100 people died. The average accident that occurred on the climb below 8000 m have been recorded as much as 25% in each period of ascent.

Both dangers can be greatly reduced with the preparation. General preparation that must be held before a climber begins to climb the mountain, among others:

1. Bring a map navigation tool climbing location, map, altimeter [somewhere gauge height above sea level], or compass. For that, a climber should know how to read maps and do the orientation. Never climb when the group does not have an experienced and knowledgeable climb the depth of the navigation.

2. Make sure the condition of the body healthy and strong. Exercise such as running or swimming on a regular basis before the climb.

3. Bring the appropriate climbing equipment. For example, waterproof jacket or poncho, separate clothes for the camp that always must be dry with travel clothes, sneakers or boots (do not bersendal), flashlights and batteries to taste, tents, sleeping bags, mattresses.

4. Calculate the long journey to suit the needs of logistics. How many have to carry rice, fuel, side dishes, and plates and glasses. Bring a water container which must always be filled during the trip.

5. Bring medical equipment, such as iodine, bandages, and medications specifically for people with certain diseases.

6. Do not be ashamed to learn and discuss with a group of nature lovers who are now scattered in secondary schools or universities.

7. Measure the ability of self. If not able to go on, do not hesitate to return home.

Indeed, mountain climbing has elements of adventure. Adventure is as a form of thought which began with a feeling of uncertainty about the trip and always end up feeling dissatisfied because of the success of the trip. Feelings that arise when an adventure is the fear of physical or psychological danger. Without fear, there is no adventures because there is no challenge too.

Risk of high mountain climbing, do not hinder the climber to keep continuing the ascent, because Zuckerma stated that the mountaineers have a tendency to sensation seeking [manhunt sensation] high. The sensation seekers consider and accept the risk as the value or price of something that is obtained from the sensation or experience itself. Experiences that are enjoyable or less enjoyable form of self-esteem [pride / confidence].

These experiences resulted in feelings of individuals about themselves, both positive feelings and negative feelings. Travel ascent made by the climber producing experience, that experience of success and successful mountain climbing, or failed to climb the mountain. The success of which is a factor supporting high and low self-esteem, is part of the experience of the climbers in the mountaineering.

The phenomenon that occurs is whether to climb the mountain to the climber is a sensation seeking to enhance their self-esteem? Furthermore, sensation seeking for mountain climbers may have a relationship with self-esteem these climbers. Because of the experience suffered by the climbers in the climbing can be a success or failure.

Rafting

Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this activity as a leisure sport has become popular since the mid-1970s.

Rafting

Sport Climbing in Patagonia

“Sports Climbing Introduction” is called the presentation to summon that addresses municipal Tourism and Sport, under the secretariat of the Government of Puerto Deseado.

Sport Climbing in Patagonia

The talk, by the instructor Oscar Biott and members of the “escalation”, is addressed to all those who wish to develop this sport activity and be conducted on days three and four of May, from 17 to 18:30, at the Rodriguez Moro Chamber of the Municipal Library Florentino Ameghino, in that location.

Interested parties must register with the agency’s local offices of Tourism, St. Maarten 1525, in working days, from eight to 20.

Source: prensa.epatagonia.gov.ar

Caving

We got the email from CJ and it said, “You COULD drive all the way up here to PA, or we could meet halfway in WV, where there are some caves we could check out; though we’d likely have to invest in some headlamps/knee pads.” Which means, in all likelihood, that we will have to crawl on our bellies through tight gaps with pointy underground rocks dripping with mud or poking us in the kidneys and underground sludge oozing off every turn and we will only have one powerbar to split between the three of us for many, many hours. This is generally what CJ means when he suggests anything outdoorsy; “Let’s go climb Mt. Owen!” means you are sure to be covered in shit and hoarding power bars come turn-back time. “Let’s go rock climbing!” means we’ll be covered in shit and out of power bars by noon. “Let’s go caving!” Well, I guess you can’t say we didn’t know what to expect. We’ll appoint ourselves responsible for snacks, at least.

Joshua called to confirm: “So… Should we meet up in WV? What’s up with this caving thing anyway?”

I can’t hear CJ’s response but Joshua is very excited; he translates for me: “Some cave! … In the ground!… !!!”

Me: (from the kitchen with Jeff finishing up some dishes) “Will we have to crawl through mud on our bellies?”

Joshua: “Cheyenne wants to know if we’ll have to crawl on our bellies.”

Joshua: “He says there might be some tight spots.”
Jeff in kitchen: Snorts audibly.
Me: “I just don’t think I can crawl underground on my belly between giant boulders. Underground.”
Joshua: “Cheyenne doesn’t want any belly crawls.”
Me: “Ask him about the mud.”
Joshua: “He says, ‘what about crawling on your side?’”
Jeff: Rolls eyes back into head.
Me: “Foot, Down.”
Joshua: “So, uh, any other caves where you don’t have to belly-crawl?”

There are; one is in Pennsylvania not an hour’s drive from CJ’s house.

THE CAVE.

I had imagined something more, well, cave-entrance-like. Maybe with ferns, and a trickle of water coming down one side. A triangular, lean-to like opening made of some slabby rock covered with moss and strewn with wild thyme and honeysuckles. Something like you might see on the cover of a Hardy Boys novel. An artist’s rendition. This was not one of those caves. After picking our way down a poison ivy-infested hillside strewn with broken beer bottles the local color liked to chuck off the highway above, we arrived at large metal pipe sticking out of the ground at a 40-degree angle; it has a heavy metal door with a tiny window and it is padlocked from the inside. CJ has a key and he is intending for us to go in the pipe and to lock the door after us.

(CJ has to repeat three or four times to me in plain monosyllabic English that we are to go down. “It opens up once you get down, really.”)

My outstanding caving outfit consists of sturdy hiking boots, knee pads, work gloves, light rain jacket/windbreaker, helmet, and head-lamp. I was really happy to have the pads about four feet into the chute when I nearly shear off my kneecaps on something the Above World might call a “hand-rung.” Unfortunately, installed on the bottom of the pipe, it functioned more as an impediment or perhaps tailbone cruncher depending upon whether you felt a face-first or ass-first descent was appropriate. Also the pipe is about two feet in diameter, at an awkward angle, in a decidedly downward direction, and covered in wet clay. Once you get to the bottom of the chute, there is a drop down to the cave floor of around three feet, but on my stomach with my hands locked around the former kneecap killer, I couldn’t see that and so I dangled picturesquely flailing my boots around until I smacked my foot into a rocky outcropping (yipe! bad caving etiquette!). Once out of the pipe, I look around to find that “opens up” is something of an overstatement because not only is there not sufficient space to stand, there is space for only one person at a time, and the floor is a sludge of muddy gravel continuing a steep slide down and around the corner out of sight. The not-floor parts of the cave are pointy limestone covered completely with wet clay. Also, there is a stinky dead ferret lying at my feet, which: awesome. I escape the ferret and slide down a bit to find a larger area and wait for Joshua and CJ.

After much echo-ey shuffling and swearing, Joshua meets up with me and then CJ arrives. We descend rapidly for a bit and then find ourselves in a large cavern. From here are three or four routes; CJ chooses the easiest and shortest first to get us warmed up. We creep along a bit (Hey! Caving!) and then promptly come to a belly crawl. “Just a little one!” CJ chirps and worms his way through while I look on in horror. Once on the other side he peeks back at us and gives us some cheerful pointers on how to maneuver in sticky sucking clay when you have a gigantic boulder over yourself. I go next to get it over with.

I got about half way before Joshua had the bright idea to record the action with our camera. “Hold it right there for a minute while I get the camera ready.” Like hell: “I’m not stopping now!” This is about where I started to think about earthquakes and quarry blasting and torrential rainfall and all those things that one should maybe keep far from one’s mind while inching through tight crevasses. The clay sticks to you and so inching along is strangely tiring; this crevasse is maybe a little over a body length long—not bad, I’m sure—but I’m feeling a little panicky by the time I make it to the other side because now there is a belly crawl between me and the entrance.

A minute later, Joshua is inching through and CJ is scouting ahead a little; he calls back, “So uhm, I sort of forgot about this one—Cheyenne, there is another, uh, tight spot, but I think I seem to remember it’s a little shorter.”

(Oh Christ.)

It actually is a little shorter and I’m trying to not freak out now as we head on. The majority of the route consists of butt-slides and clambering because there just is not a normal “floor” anywhere in here.

Caving photos are weird in that there is no sense of reference; in this section, you emerge head first into a decline, which is mildly awkward. After a bit we come to the “Art Gallery,” a squat tunnel where dozens of people had made weird little clay snowmen and signed their names with clay-worm letters. CJ says the cave is frequented by boyscout troops, among others. Yeesh—the thought of ten kids in this cave is enough to make me hyperventilate. Also, I’m such a wuss.

We get to a section where the only way further is a hole in the floor, which would be a belly crawl in any other orientation but in this case is a rapid downward descent with only the gummy clay to keep you under control. CJ goes right down and calls up that there is a small room and it is the end of the passage. He says there might be space down there for three people and there are some cool crystals down there. Joshua picks his way down but I decline in favor of resting in a lovely stand up-able space and because someone has to guard our packs from marauding boy scouts or cave-trolls.

Self portrait of Intrepid Caver. My spirits were up exponentially at the thought of turning back.

Joshua and CJ ascending back out of the “room” at the bottom of the Hole.

Returning went much more smoothly; in fact, we were back in the main room near the entrance in no time. The belly crawls didn’t bug me so much when I could put them behind me.

CJ was happy to pose for Joshua on the return Belly Crawl.

We hung out a bit catching our breath and drinking some water (caving is really tiring even though we were primarily on our feet the majority of the time—you are constantly balancing and stooping and trying not to brain yourself on all the sticky-downies). I was actually feeling a bit like, “that’s it?” when it turned out it wasn’t because CJ was up and disappearing down a different branch of the cavern.

This tunnel was similar to the first but with fewer belly crawls. It also didn’t take very long to get to the bottom and back to the main cavern. The third tunnel had us hunting around for the entrance; this is because it is a 10-inch high, two foot-wide hole off the floor of the cavern. I kept repeating, “We’re going in THAT?” and “Holy crap!” but CJ was already though it and hell if I was going to get left behind with the rabid boy scouts. This was definitely the tightest squeeze and it the pointy rocks were indeed out to get the vital organs but it lasted only a few feet whereupon it opened up and went down rapidly. This section of the cave was the most interesting but also the most difficult mostly because it involved stemming across a crevasse that went down out of sight. The idea of slipping and getting wedged down there was enough to keep me in a persistent state of neurosis. I swore like a sailor with much frequency during this stretch.

If you look carefully, you might notice an abundance of clay over our very beings.

At the bottom of the crevasse-defying stemming descent was a huge room—not so much in girth but in height because it went farther up than our flashlights could reach. Ginormous boulders dangled out of the gloom above our heads and their offspring littered the floor of the cavern. There were cool curtain-like (calcite?) formations and seams running through the rock walls. Here we had interesting discussions about such topics as how frequently those looming boulders fell and how feasible would it be to find one’s way back if all our flashlights went out. We turned off the flashlights for about two and a half seconds to marvel, albeit briefly, at the complete lack of light. Yep, dark. Time to head back now.

This looks like a belly crawl but it is not; CJ and I are heading vertically up a slimy chute, and apparently pretty goddamned happy about it too. (Note pack sitting on horizontal ledge over our heads.)

Eventually we returned to the evil little belly squeeze over pointy rocks, which on the uphill is a real gut-punching menace. Once back to the main cavern, we scrambled back upwards through the sludgy gravel to the tiny room with the dead ferret. Climbing out of the metal pipe was even more difficult than sliding down, not surprisingly, and right as we got to the top, we could look up at the sky over the rim of the pipe where there was one ginormous and ugly spider crouched about six inches over your face. Ungh god.

Outside it was about twelve billion degrees and we were covered with gunk and had on all this protective gear and we were sweating from the squeeze uphill. But wait, hold everything! We need the Intrepid Cavers Mission Completed photo.

Yeah, didn’t turn out so well. That’s because our camera was approximately 54 degrees and, like I mentioned, Pennsylvania was 12,0000,0000000,00,000 degrees or some insane bullshit, and the lens was all fogged.

Here, I photoshopped it. Bad Ass.

We backtracked up the beer-bottle strewn hillside, stripped down and chucked our muddy duds all over the street once more. Then we went out for microbrew and bar food, arguably the best part about caving.

you can source in: http://sv-timemachine.net/

Climbing

Climbing

Mountaineering

Philippines is rich in natural bounties. Its sprawling mountains, green valley trails and breathtaking peaks are its most valued treasures. With that, local and foreign tourists are lucky enough to enjoy the bountiful natural sceneries of the country. One way of taking advantage of the Philippines’ hidden natural beauty is through mountaineering. The uncorrupted outdoor beauties seen nowhere else could leave every mountaineer stunned by the wonders of it.

Mountaineering

Just like in different great outdoor locations in other countries, the mountain peaks in the Philippines differ in altitude. Famous mountain peaks are identified according to height and features. High peaks become famous as more mountaineers would explore and gain fulfilment for conquering such heights. While other peaks belonging to average altitudes become famous because of their great historical background or the legends that bind with it, still others are popular because of their unique appearance, location and especially the level of difficulty a mountaineer has to overcome before reaching the peak of success.

Now speaking of difficulties, many popular mountain peaks in the country pose more danger and require extra-ordinary efforts. Some are even life-threatening and too risky. In the Philippines, mountaineers follow a scaling system to classify the country’s mountain peaks and trails according to its respective features and level of difficulty. Such are universal and also understandable by mountaineers worldwide.

Philippine Mountain Classifications

The old system to assess a climb ranges from identifying three (3) aspects only:

1. Level
2. Elevation
3. Days required in completing the adventure (ascent and descent)

However, this system is not as effective as it does not precisely identify which peaks are difficult or easy. This sometimes can cause unexpected hazards due to unpreparedness.

Recently, experienced mountaineers are adopting a new system to gauge climbing difficulty for a particular mountain peak:

Difficulty Scale (9 Grade System) – mountaineers grade the mountain peaks, and estimated results are obtained by comparing one peak to another. This scale also includes lengths of hike, travel time from jump-off point, ascent, and arriving at the peak itself as well as the extremes of its environmental condition.

Major/ Minor Assessment – this is the oldest classification used by local mountaineers and is still part of the new system. This is done by considering the trekking hours and the amount of efforts to exert. If a certain mountain peak can be hiked for 4-5 hours day trip with less effort, it falls under Minor classification; Major Climbs usually take more than that duration.

Trail Classification – research source states, this is a universally-recognized, absolute scale.

1 – Walking (easy stroll)
2 – Hiking along a path/rugged terrain
3 – Scrambling (using hands for balance)
4 – Climbing easy cliffs but with enough drop off- beginners should be roped.
5 – Using free hands as climbing method
6 – Very difficult and need to use artificial method

These classifications comprise the “specs” of the climb. Such classifications will increase awareness in the part of the mountaineers before delving into the Philippine wilderness. Even foreign mountaineers can have at least a head start on what to expect in a particular climb. Although international scales include other aspects like the number of calories and energy needed for each climber, other local mountaineers in some areas do not necessarily follow this requirement.

Undoubtedly, a real adventurer is more interested and eager to conquer the country’s most challenging and most famous mountain peak. The more challenging, the more adrenaline rush and that is for a total of a once in a lifetime experience!

Caving

Caving—also known as spelunking by some in the United States and occasionally potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild (generally non-commercial) cave systems. In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.

The challenges of the activity depend on the cave being visited, but often include the negotiation of pitches, squeezes, and water (though actual cave diving is a separate sub-specialty undertaken only by very few cavers). Climbing or crawling is often necessary, and ropes are used extensively for safety of the negotiation of particularly steep or slippery passages.

Caving is often undertaken for the enjoyment of the outdoor activity or for physical exercise, as well as original exploration, similar to mountaineering or diving. Physical or biological science is also an important goal for some cavers. Virgin cave systems comprise some of the last unexplored regions on Earth and much effort is put into trying to locate and enter them. In well-explored regions (such as most first-world countries), the most accessible caves have already been explored, and gaining access to new caves often requires digging or diving.

Caves have been explored out of necessity (for shelter from the elements or from enemies), out of curiosity or for mystical reasons for thousands of years. However, only in the last century or two has the activity developed into a sophisticated, athletic pastime. In recent decades caving has changed considerably due to the availability of modern protective wear and equipment. It has recently come to be known as an "extreme sport" by some (though not commonly considered as such by its practitioners, who may dislike the term for its perceived connotation of disregard for safety).

Many of the skills of caving can also be used in the nature activities of mine exploration and urban exploratio

Caving

Expedition Amazonas

Expedition Amazonas spent 153 days to trek and paddle, along the entire length of the mighty 7000km Amazon River. Starting at it’s source high in the Andes.

Expedition Amazonas

Caving

CAVING

Mountain Bike Magazine

Mountain Bike Magazine

Mountain Bike Magazine

Mountain Bike Magazine

Mountain Bike Magazine

Mountain Bike Magazine