Can we get too close to nature?

Mark Pawlak    ash     California, canoeing, Kayaking, sea kayaking, swimming with whales, united states, Whales, whalewatching

Some sports take you closer to nature – and the closer you get, the greater your responsibility. Nature as scenery is passive; it’s usually  the weather conditions that will pose the real danger. Until you come face to face with some of the biggest animals on the planet…

The video clip here is a controversial one. There’s no denying that it’s one of the most amazing handy cam clips ever – nature documentaries take years to get this close. But when is close too close?

Image: Flickr Chris Walker Innerwealth

The International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee (IWC SC) has previously noted that “whale swims have the potential to negatively impact whales through harassment and disturbance”.

Which really is not the plan. Further reading shows that divers have their own concerns. A piece in Scuba Diving.com suggests that the best place to view whales is from the boat. But watching the video below, we can see why this guy kayaking in the US (off California) took the opportunity.

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Skiing in France: are smaller resorts better value?

Lucy Grewcock    ash     France, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing in France, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

When skiing in France I had always stuck to the Alp’s biggest resorts to get my winter kicks; hotspots like Tignes, Val d’Isere, Chamonix and Alp d’Huez not only offer hundreds of kilometres of ski terrain and a network of speedy lift connections, but also boast all-action après scenes, non-stop nightlife and a smorgasbord of restaurants and accommodation options – so, why settle for anything less?

Can you go small and get more?

Cost was the main reason that I dared to consider a ski a resort with anything less than 200km of piste and 50-odd après bars.

But, a few winters ago, after a costly MOT had left my bank account at an all-time low, I begrudgingly booked a cheap apartment in the compact resort of Les Contamines Monjoie, where 40 piste-runs and handful of bars stood in very poor comparison to the 200 plus pistes and countless bars I’d enjoyed in Val d’Isere the year before. But with ski-pass and accommodation in Les Contamines costing around half the price of last year’s splurge, it was small-resort or none at all.

Since then, I’ve tried other smaller resorts and realised there’s much more to skiing holidays in France than offered by the biggest and most famous destinations, and here’s why:

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New movies help book snowboarding holidays

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     aspen, Skiing, Snow, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, US

Skiing in Aspen is big business. The resort is one of the best-known locations for snow sports and has continued its tradition of screening the year’s best snow sports movies. At this year’s ‘The Meeting’ 12 movies were shown to audiences already stoked about the coming snowfalls and the potential for powder.

Mad moves, mad movies

So if you are getting ready for your season, or just hankering after some inspiration to get you booking a winter holiday in France, Austria or even Aspen, check out this clip.

It’s not a shiny pr vid showing you perfect slopes and shimmering snow crystals – this is definitely more up our street. We picked it as our favourite for its homegrown, homemade and half-jackass madness. It’s the latest offering from the damn juicy Meathead Films.

Now, is it going to be lazy beach Xmas or a full-on snowboarding holiday? If you’re still undecided, watch this:

“Prime Cut” Official 2011 Movie Trailer – Meathead Films from Meathead Films on Vimeo.

‘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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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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