Jaunted

Surfing / Adventure Sports / Active Travel / Technology / → All Tags

Cold Water Surfing, Now Even For Wimps

We've seen a lot of stories about cold-water surfing destinations lately--London, Maine, Cleveland--and while we're pretty impressed with surfers who are that hardcore, it still sounds kind of, well, insane. But that was before we heard about the H-Bomb, which could actually bring anywhere-surfing to the masses in the not-so-distant future.

When we first heard there was a heated wetsuit, we assumed it was some futuristic Japanese invention that would come our way in about 50 years, but the H-Bomb was actually developed by long-established surfing company Ripcurl. It's not some space-age outfit but a lightweight neoprene suit with a rechargeable lithium battery that uses carbon fiber technology to keep you warm for three hours. Neat.

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Healthy Travel / Winter Travel / Skiing / Adventure Sports / Winter Festivals / → All Tags

Penguin Plunges Keep Burlington Fit

Don't know about you all, but we've spent the past week in heavy denial that the holidays are over. It's just so depressing--not only the whole back-to-work thing, but transitioning from two weeks of festive eating and drinking into a time when we're all supposed to be dieting and getting fit. Ugh.

So while we're certainly not about to stop writing about chili half smokes and 22,000-pound cakes, we'll at least make an effort to cover some healthy places too.

So where are these healthy destinations? According to the CDC, Burlington, Vermont is the healthiest city in America. Despite its proximity to the Ben and Jerry's factory, a full 92 percent of Burlingtonians are supposedly in good health. So what are all these hippies doing to stay so healthy, and how can we get in on it?

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Kayaking / Boats / Active Travel / Fall Travel / Adventure Sports / → All Tags

Extending the Trend: Is Kayaking Fun Enough to Watch?

We've already confirmed that kayaking is the sporting trend of the year--but is it fun enough to make it as a spectator sport?

The folks behind the new Canoe & Kayak World Series are betting that it is. The series of slalom races has been making (little) waves through Europe and Australia this summer and sails into the US this fall with the American Open, taking place October 3 and 4 at the Adventure Sports Center International in McHenry, Maryland.

Even if kayaking turns out to be a less-than-thrilling spectator sport, you can always hop in the water yourself. The new-ish Adventure Sports Center is a great place to try out everything from inflatable group kayaks to a controlled whitewater course.

Related Stories:
· American Open [Official Site]
· Adventure Sports Center International [Official Site]
· Kayaking Travel coverage [Official Site]

[Photo: ASCI]

Fall Travel / Car Racing / Adventure Sports / → All Tags

Fall Travel: Hit the Open Road in Canada--Fast

When it comes to car racing, Americans have their fast cars, Germany has its fast highways but it's unheralded Canada that offers something no other country can: A whole freaking lot of room to drive fast.

Nowhere is this on better display than at the Targa Newfoundland Rally, a 22,200-kilometer race that speeds through eastern Canada each fall. Contestants will be manning the latest top-of-the-line race cars--and some vintage beaters too--with more than 25,000 fans turning out to witness the race up-close. Most of the rally takes place on open roads, and despite the presence of top racers, anyone is welcome to enter.

The rally takes place September 13 to 20. For a preview, check out the teaser video after the jump.

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Active Travel / Film Festivals / Climbing / Adventure Sports / → All Tags

Adventuring Vicariously: Reel Rock Film Tour

As you know, there's not much we like more than movies and adventure travel, so when we heard about the Reel Rock Film Tour, we were naturally pretty excited.

A traveling film festival devoted to flicks about rock climbing and other adventure sports, Reel Rock is screening movies about bouldering in South Africa, rafting through the Grand Canyon and a bio on legendary aerialist Dean Potter.

The tour sticks to its roots, kicking off Wednesday night in the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado, with a grand opening September 10 in Boulder and then continues over the next two months across the country, hitting up mostly smaller and mid-size cities, like Santa Cruz, Boise and Asheville.

Related Stories:
· Real Rock Film Tour [Official Site]
· Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Film Festival Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Reel Rock Film Tour]

Mancations / Himalayas / Mt. Everest / Biking / Active Travel / Adventure Sports / → All Tags

Crazy Mancations: Himalayan Sports

There are two types of mancations: there's the lazy slob mancation, usually involving some combination of beer, meat and sports. Then there's the active mancation, which usually involves attempting something you can brag about for the rest of your life--if you live!

Falling in the latter category, the Himalayan Race and Trek is for those who've always wanted to "do" Everest but aren't quite up for the life-threatening climb to the top.

The Himalayan is made up of three distinct bike-and-road races. The Himalayan Stage Race is an 8-day, 100-mile trek through Nepal's forests, mountains and rivers; the Mt. Everest Challenge Marathon winds through isolated forests and small villages around Everest; and the Mt. Everest Bike Rally is an 8-day mountain climb.

All three event take off on November 1, and each one starts and ends at Bagdora Airport in Darjeeling, India.

Related Stories:
· Himalayan Run and Trek [Official Site]
· Himalayas Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Mancations Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mckaysavage]

Kayaking / Summer Travel / Active Travel / Adventure Sports / Boats / → All Tags

Summer Vacations with an Edge: Kayaking the Sea of Cortez

So you're done with kayaking Manhattan and ready for an edgier boat trip? If you've got your basic boat skills down, one of the world's most picturesque kayak trails is just a few miles from the states, in Mexico's Baja California.

The sparsely populated coastline along the Sea of Cortez is one of North America's most remote waterways. Paddling through aquamarine seas surrounded by desert, rocky caves and the towering volcanic Sierra Giganta mountains, you'll catch sight of humpback whales, California grey whales, dolphins and, if you're extremely lucky, leatherback sea turtles.

GORP has an excellent guide for how to get going on the Sea of Cortez, or for less loner types, Sea Kayak Adventures offers six- to eight-day guided kayak tours through the sea.

Related Stories:
· Kayaking the Sea of Cortez [Gorp]
· Sea Kayak Adventures [Official Site]
· Kayaking Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Vox Efx]

Adventure Sports / → All Tags

Mt. Everest to Get Less Garbagy

What's been called the world's biggest garbage dump will be getting some spring cleaning via a self-funded team of Asians and Europeans. The group hopes to bring down as much as five tons of cast-offs from previous climbs, some of them dating from all the way back in the 1950s.  The materials up there include plastic, tents, canned food, and, yes, some of the corpses of the 180 of so people who have died during the climb.

Related Stories:
·   Clean-up mission on Everest [Guardian]
·   From conquering to cleaning up [CS Monitor]
·    Spring cleaning [CNN]