How's this for extreme sports: run a marathon in Antarctica a few hundred miles from the South Pole. In December. Plus, you'll be at an altitude of 3,000 feet and have to brave a windchill of -4 degrees. The 26.2-mile, eight-day Antarctic Ice Marathon is the southernmost marathon on Earth.

Although the December 12 marathon seems like a long ways away, now's the time to register. And you'll need a head-start to save up for the hefty price tag that's just shy of $17,000.

Marathoners will meet at Punta Arenas in Chile, and from there, a jet will bring you to the race site. The round-trip flight as well as the meals and accommodations in Antarctica are all included. But you'll have to bring your own gear to prevent freezing your bootie off.]]> Jennifer Kester 2010-03-31T09:00:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/3/18/23025/7817

Here's your chance to hike the Great Himalaya Trail—and we're not talking like "hike the Appalachian Trail" à la South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. For the first time, a tour operator is bringing groups through the trail on an intensive 157-day hike.

Even experienced hikers will need some help on the Great Himalaya, the longest and highest alpine route in the world. The trail winds between the largest mountains and the most remote communities in the world, connecting Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan.]]> Jennifer Kester 2010-03-18T09:45:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/1/14/102717/818

In the US, rescuers have been complaining about "Yuppie 911." This happens when inexperienced urban hikers try to rough it and discover that nature is actually kind of brutal, so they use their personal locator beacons to call in helicopters because their water tastes salty (sweat) or because they heard a loud noise (thunderstorm). The underlying problem is that adventure tourists often simply don't realize what they're getting into.

In New Zealand their extreme travel tourism problems are less humorous and, at least recently, more tragic. The April 2008 death of Emily Jordan, a 21 year old who was killed in a river boarding accident, triggered a review of the entire industry. Now a new UK group, led by Emily's father, is demanding that the government take steps in the meantime to make adventure tourism safer:]]> Omri 2010-01-14T12:32:00-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/12/133849/157

Earlier this year, a Washington Post writer named Maryann Haggerty and her husband decided to take the ultimate vacation: an around-the-world journey. The problem was, they had only 29 days to spare for a trip that most travelers set aside six months for. But they did have plenty of cash for direct flights and decent hotels, and they didn't feel compelled to wander too far off the beaten track, so they were like "Screw it, let's do it." So they did it. And from the looks of things, they did absolutely everything right. Circling the globe in a month is a daunting task, but in an interesting wrap-up of her journey in the paper this weekend, she dishes on the details that helped her and her husband visit eight countries in just over four weeks and actually enjoy the experience. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-09-12T13:38:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/28/144013/899

If you're not quite ready for your summer vacation to end and you've got $60,000 burning a hole in your pocket, the professional travel planners at ekoVenture are ready to take you on a two-month adventure across Antarctica. The trip has a difficulty level of "strenuous" and the comfort level is rated as "bare bones," or, in other words: awesome.

If that last part doesn't give you an adequate sense of what you're in for, the trip overview begins with the following: "this unique expedition has the goal of arriving to the south pole unsupported, which means without any help or food caches from its beginning to its completion." On one hand, arriving at the south pole sounds mind-blowingly incredible. On the other hand, aren't "food caches" traditionally helpful things? Why would anyone want to give up on something with a name like "food caches"?]]> Omri 2009-08-28T16:04:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/31/11845/7786

What is up with celebrities and extreme activities? Yesterday, we had Cindy Crawford doing some indoor skydiving and today, we learn that Zac Efron spent the weekend bungee jumping in Whistler, during a break from the filming of his new movie, The Life and Death of Charlie St. Cloud. People magazine has the pertinent details:

With a broad smile and no hesitation, the light-footed crooner lept off a bridge over a raging river – and he did it gracefully, of course. He even managed an acrobatic back flip as he went down. "Zac really loved his jump, he seemed to be having a really good time and was excited to make his jump, but he only jumped once," an employee of Whistler Bungee said.

Perhaps he only jumped once because it's rather expensive? Whistler Bungee charges $120CAD for the first jump and $50 for any additional jumps. Any of your friends who want to come along and watch will have to pay $10. The company does offer shuttle service from Whistler Village to the bungee site at Cheakamus Canyon and first-time jumpers get a free t-shirt.

Looking for more adventure in Whistler without having to jump off a bridge high above running water? Consider snowmobiling or ziplining. PS. We kinda hate how good Zac looks even while bungee jumping. Damn, young kids!

Related Stories:
· Whistler Bungee [Official Site]
· Zac Efron Takes Death-Defying Leap [People]
· Zefron Exclusive: Zac Efron Bungee Jumping [YouTube]]]> juliana 2009-07-31T09:29:27-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/21/81151/7314

We love a nice relaxing beach vacation as much as the next person, especially when umbrella drinks are involved. However, sometimes you want a little more than poolside waiter service. Sometimes, you wanna get dangerous. Cue the Roxette song, "Dangerous" please.

But how far are you willing to go for some thrills? Would you go deep sea “heli-fishing” or surfing off the coast of a volcano? Maybe your idea of adventure would be to try some "bizzare foods" or to visit some sex museums. Heck, maybe you even got Locked Up Abroad.And if you consider getting up close to the polar bears at the Berlin Zoo as far as your thrill-seeking will go, that's ok too. Because that can actually be very dangerous.

So let us know what kind of crazy possibly (hopefully?) death-defying stunts you’ve experienced or some or rebellious acts you've committed while on holiday in the comments below. We wanna hear your stories, mostly so it will inspire us to be a little more adventurous on our next trips.

Related Stories:
·The Uncertainty of Handing Over Your Passport at Border Crossings [Jaunted]
·Open Threads coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: chego101] ]]> kjb 2009-05-21T15:34:12-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/