‘Creatively Adventurous’ 25 ways to travel 1,000 miles

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Adventure Travel, america, australia, expeditions, explorer, Kayaking, skateboard, South America, SUP, World record

Being adventurous is just not enough for some people. Take Dave Cornthwaite: he’s set up Expedition1000, a series of 1,000-mile challenges each using non-motorised transport. With world records falling along the way and the media knocking on the door, we thought we’d grab a word with the man (he just paddled the Mississippi on a SUP!)

Best described as ‘creatively adventurous’, Dave is bringing fresh ideas to the world of expeditions and endurance challenges – and a considerable amount to his growing charity pot. Read on and find out what it’s taken to get this far, and where this remarkeable journey is headed.

Dave on the Mississippi

SUP is fairly new to the UK but increasingly popular, as long distance transport how does it compare to kayaking or canoeing?

In 2009, I kayaked over 1500 miles along the length of Australia’s Murray River, at the time it was easily the most enjoyable journey I’d ever made. Now I can safely say that I will never travel by kayak again. Not only is SUP a much better form of all-round exercise, it’s a more rewarding experience. The vantage point is better, it’s more simple, less impact. People will be travelling long distances by SUP until the end of time, it’s glorious.

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Get Climbing!

Mark Pawlak    rockclimbingholidays     climbing, free climbing, ice climbing, mountain climbing, Rock Climbing

Just launched, we are on the lookout for climbers who are bloggers and bloggers who climb. So, pretty soon we hope to have roped together a team of writers who can advise on the best routes, the best gear, the accommodation and hostels to crash in when you go, and the most inspiring countries to visit.

Climbing: The ultimate confidence builder Image: Flickr/alexindigo

Don’t worry about it all getting really technical – while we’ll search out experts so they can share their years of experience, we are also looking for people new to the sport.

I’ve climbed maybe a dozen times, but always with someone belaying on the other end of the rope, and there’s so much to learn! Apart from getting ‘disco knee’ on just about every ascent, I used muscles that I never imagined I had: how is it possible to have muscles in your fingers?

Adventure sports build confidence, but having enjoyed all manner of pursuits, rockclimbing is the one that instantly helps you face fear. It also needs you to have an unwavering faith in both your equipment and the people climbing with you. So in one way it’s a very solo experience – almost entirely so when you look at the free climbers – but in another, it’s a team challenge.

And the rewards are instant. When you reach the top of your first climb, regardless of how high or which grade it was, the payback is immense. And you often get to abseil back down!

If you’ve got stories to share and the knowledge to bring great posts to our latest blog, drop us a line.

This year’s top 5 snowkiting destinations

Mark Pawlak    snowkitingholidays     Iceland, Skiing, snowkiting, Switzerland, winter sports

With winter on its way – in Europe at least – all eyes turn away from the beach sports to the snow sports. Kitesurfers looking for a wintery challenge and novices looking to get some snowkite experience under their belts will be looking forward to the challenges of the winter season.

So to help, we’ve compiled a top 5 snowkiting destinations. Take a look and get dreaming: empty pistes and blue skies await.

It's nearly snowkiting time! Image: Flickr/ottowaws

Skyline Drive, Utah

Great name. And the destination’s proved good enough to be the host for the 2012 US Open Snowkite Masters competition. Favoured for its reliable winds, varied terrain and road access high up into the plateau of the Wasatch Mountains.

Alaska

A real winter wilderness. Vast expanses of ice such as Portage Lake will inspire you no end. As always, take advice on ice conditions on the lake and watch out for powerful winds coming through the Portage Pass.

Simplon, Switzerland

You’ll find excellent snowkiting in Switzerland around this high mountain pass. Views here are breathtaking as the pass joins the Pennine and Lepotine Alps. As a beginner you are well advised to take a guide.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Snowkiting in Iceland is just two-and-a-half hours away – if you’re flying from the UK. Going up, you are climbing to a summit of 1350m before free riding back down – all within a drive of the capital Reykjavik.

Serre Chavalier, France

Spending hours on the Col de Lauertet, you’ll be glad you picked Serre Chevalier in the southern French Alps. With 13 villages in the valley you won’t be short of accommodation or places to visit on rest days.

Celebrity news: stars face real survival battle

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Adventure Travel, botswana, Discovery Channel, expedition, Freddie Flitoff, I'm a celebrity, survival, travel gadgets, trekking, winter Olympics

I’m A Celebrity Get Me A Wet Wipe! Yes, any TV show that puts celeb contestants in ‘extreme’ environments is usually a farce – punctuated with weeping, flirting and general faffing around with maggots: Until now.

The don't look so good after 6 days in the wild!

That’s because The Discovery Channel is about to air Alone in the Wild a programme that is, as far as I can see, pretty much the real thing.

Eight celebs dumped off for six days and six nights to fend for themselves, with only what they could carry and a digital camera for company.

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SunnyCam Video Glasses Review: Mountain Biking

Luke    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Downhill, Mountain Bike, mountainbiking, riding a mountain bike, SunnyCam, video glasses

It is not often that I keep an eye out for the postman, however when the SunnyCam video glasses were expected I was camped out on the doorstep in anticipation. The excitement was thanks to a piece of gadgetry that puts a 3MP 30 frames per second video camera into a pair of sunglasses! Perfect if you have James Bond fantasies, but much more fun if you want to record madcap adventure sports videos!

SunnyCam glasses

Many good products fail on their looks – not something SunnyCam was going to let happen. Even from the Apple-like quality packaging, they’d clearly put the effort in, and yes I’m keeping the box!

The glasses look good, and although not the coolest sunglasses you have ever seen, the fact that they discretely contain the video camera, battery, 4GB internal memory, space for a microSD card, a USB slot, and controls all in a pair of glasses is pure genius. Most of the clever stuff is in the arms of the specs, with a 3-hour battery on one side, and the memory and controls on the other. It makes them a little bulky, but considering what they contain I feel they have done a great job.

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Top 10 Travel Gadgets 2011

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     laptops, travel gadgets, travel gear, travel kit, waterproof

Travelling can be done on a shoestring: you can rough it in Rio or doss on a bench in Buenos Aires; we’ve lost count the number of times we ended up crashed on a beach somewhere – but, given the choice, there’s at least ten gadgets we’d have packed in our travel bag.

Panasonic HX-WA10EB:Waterproof HD pics and clips

Waterproof/shockproof digicam

Camera manufacturers have woken up! We need ruggedized models, and we need ones that take both pictures and HD movies – and can do it anytime, anyplace, and anywhere. This year a raft of new models has landed on the shelves. We’ve tried the Panasonic HX-WA10 and can vouch for its ease of use and reliability.

SunnyCam Video Glasses

Always an odd choice, but for capturing the POV action without spending a small fortune, there’s no other totally hands-free solution. This model SunnyCam glasses served us well on some downhill mountain bike sections. While the quality can’t compare with the HD camcorders, it still uses a 3 MP webcam, running 30 frames per second. There are also interchangeable lenses and a decent 3-hr memory on offer.

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Freerider Chris Southwell turns Iron Man

Mark Pawlak    snowboardingholidays     Diabetes, Downhill, halfpipe, Iron Man, off piste, Skiing, snowboard, Snowboarding

If you know your powder from your halfpipe, you’ve probably heard of Chris Southwell, professional freeride snowboarder. What you probably won’t know is that Chris is turning to the Iron Man challenge to help promote the work of Diabetes charity Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

Chris, ready to ride

Diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago, he’s proof that with determination and a positive outlook you can take on the greatest of physical challenges while managing the illness.

The Iron Man event will take place in November in Cozumel, Mexico. Between now and then, Chris will trade snow for swim and downhill for uphill as he pushes his body to the limit.

Only a select few get themselves into good enough shape to last the gruelling course (3.86-kilometre swim, 180.2-kilometre cycle, followed by a full marathon of 42.2 kilometres).

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