xtremesport4u

What to do when there’s no wind….

Well, there’s always someone somewhere who will make a plan, and this time we have to thank tomasleeman for the entertaining video.

However, a cautionary tale here. My husband did something very similar in his mad and misspent youth, although in his case they were doing it off the back of a pick-up truck on a farm runway in the middle of the bush. He got up nice and high – 100 ft probably – when the driver of the truck, under the influence of a few too many beers, put his foot on the accelerator thinking this would send him higher. Of course all it did was snap the rope. All 100′ or so of it hit him in the face like a coiled spring and knocked him out. Luckily he came to just before he hit the ground, and having done some parachuting, went into the classic roll on impact.

But it didn’t stop him looking like the Elephant Man for several weeks!

During the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics many eyes will be focused on the snowboarding events that will be taking place. Although snowboarding only became an Olympic event at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, the sport has grown into one of the most popular Winter Olympic events over the past 10 years. The thrill of watching the competitors fly through the air in the half-pipe discipline and the array of insane tricks that come with that event has made snowboarding ever so popular all over the world.

Snowboarding was first developed during the1960’sand 1970’s in the United States. The first ever actual snow board was invented and manufactured in Utah during the 1970’s. It has now developed into a main stream extreme sport and snowboarding will be one of the most watched spectator events during the Vancouver Olympics.

Snowboarding has many different disciplines some of which are not contested during the Winter Olympics. The competition events for the Vancouver Winter Olympics will be half-pipe, snowboard cross as well as the parallel giant slalom, all of which include a men’s and women’s event.

Half Pipe Snowboard – the half-pipe event consists of one snowboarder entering the pipe for his/her run. During the run the competitor must include a number of different acrobatic jumps, twists and tricks on the inside of the half-cylinder shaped snow tube. The judging is based on the riders overall height and style of tricks.

Here is a video from alexpennywise which shows how exciting this discipline is – the action is from the last winter Olympics in Torino in 2006.

Parallel Giant Slalom – the parallel giant slalom has two riders who race down the course at the same time having to navigate through a series gates with the fastest rider advancing to the next round. In all, the top racers will run the course a total of nine times, the ninth run being the Gold medal opportunity.

The video below from canmanski shows parallel giant slalom action from World Snowboard Championships 2007 in Arosa. Action packed for sure.

Snowboard Cross - the snowboard cross event consists of four racers starting in a pack down the course, racing against each other over terrain, off jumps and off ramps. At the conclusion of the heat the top two racers move on to the next round.

It is a crazy event and in the video below from Bazajt you can watch the incredible final from the 2006 Torino final when poor Lindsey Jacobellis crashed out with only 100 metres to the finishing line when she had a commanding lead for the gold medal.

As they say – it ain’t over until the fat lady sings – but whatever the outcome in Vancouver you can be sure there will be plenty of action in the snowboarding event.

The snowboarding venue is located on Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver – there is good access to the venue and plenty of space for the huge crowds that are expected.

The schedule for each event is as follows:

• Men’s snowboard cross – Monday 15th February
• Women’s snowboard cross – Tuesday 16th February
• Men’s halfpipe – Wednesday 17th February
• Women’s halfpipe – Thursday 18th February
• Women’s parallel giant slalom – Friday 26th February
• Men’s parallel giant slalom – Saturday 27th February

Some months ago we talked about deep water soloing (extreme sport – Deep Water Soloing) and included it in a more recent article where we profiled Chris Sharma (chris sharma) and now our attention has been drawn to Natalija Gros from Slovenia, ranked 4th in the world with IFSC – the International Federation of Sport Climbing. We were sent the following film by Film IT newpartisancinema:

Film IT’s aim is to “merge the poetry of Film with the excellence of Information Technology.”

Kranj, the fourth largest city in Slovenia and known for its sporting facilities, hosted the final competition of the Climbing World Cup last weekend. Four Slovenians were in the finals. The usual flagships amongst the women were there: Maja Vidmar, Natalija Gros and Mina Markovič. And for the first time, Klemen Bečan made it in the men’s division. He won the first ever gold medal for the Slovenian men’s climbing team.

Slovenia’s womens’ climbing team  is probably the strongest in the world at the moment.

OK, so why are the Slovenians soooooo good at climbing? Could it be that their country offers some of the best climbing in Europe?

Well, I’m not sure if they claim that title yet as Slovenia is fairly new on the rock climbing ‘favourite place’ atlas, but they certainly have a great playground on their doorstep… In fact, there is no other country in Europe that packs such a variety of landscape, outdoor activities and culture into such a small area.

There are over 80 different crags in Slovenia offering more than 3,600 different routes all of which are sensibly bolted and solid. Climbing can be split into three main areas. The total offer of routes is tremendous, both for beginners as well as top climbers.

*  Around Bled and Bohinj
*  Around Osp, including Trieste in Italy and Istria in Croatia
*  Around Celje

Please note that Slovenia uses the French grading system.

Bled is in the Julian Alps in the north west of the country and is a spectacularly beautiful area.There are 7 main crags with 350 routes to choose from on limestone rock. All the routes are well bolted and are mainly single pitch with a good cross section of grades with the majority in the 6a – 7b range. The nearby region of Bohinj is highly recommended. There are various grades on offer and everyone will find sport climbing routes on the limestone rock that will fit their climbing level.

The ideal time to visit Bled for rock climbing is from Spring through to the Autumn.

Due to the country’s excellent road structure (and relatively small size) these crags are generally easily reached within an hour, offering a wide scope of routes to choose from, including some multi-pitch routes up to 440m high.

Osp is the most popular climbing region in the country with over 600 across-the-board routes. There are 3 main crags all within 4kms of each other – Osp, Misja Pec and Crni Kal. Osp is a veritable wall rising above the rooftops of the village…

Whilst Misja Pec, with its vertical walls and steep overhangs, is one of the finest crags not only in Slovenia but in the whole of Europe. The horseshoe-shaped overhanging crag shot to fame in recent years for the sheer number and variety of routes on offer. Stamina tends to be the name of the game, but short bouldery routes can be found on the overhangs to the left and right. There are about 175 routes here of which about 60 are above 8a, and only a handful of the 175 are easy. It is one of the best crags for rock climbers that are looking for steep quality limestone.

Crni Kal is about 5 kilometres from Osp and offers nice climbing on good quality limestone. There are a mixture of single and multi-pitch climbs – all well bolted. Although rock climbing is possible throughout the year here, the ideal time is Spring through to Autumn.

Being placed right in the bottom south western corner of Slovenia, Osp is sandwiched between Italy and Croatia. There is some great climbing to be found on either side of the border.

The third main region is Celje which is situated in the north east of Slovenia. Here there are 2 major crags, Kotecnik and Kamnik, and between them there are 350 sports routes on well bolted, limestone rock. The largest crag, Kotecnik, offers a good range of grades, while the rock climbing at Kamnik offers a wide selection of routes in the lower grades from 4 to 5c+. Both are situated within forests making them ideal rock climbing areas from spring to autumn, and are very popular in the summer.

A quick warning – out of season climbing, November to February, although possible, can be cold and wet and Summer can be very hot.

Natalija Gros climbing Misja Pic near Osp.

There are eight teams entered and they include an international mix with the United States, Great Britain, France, Sweden, New Zealand, France, Germany,  Russia and Italy all represented.

The competition started on September 7th in the Bay of Angels on the Cote d’Azur in the south of France. Due to the deep waters of the Bay des Angels, racing for the Louis Vuitton Trophy at Nice Côte d’Azur takes place a few hundred meters from the shore and against the backdrop of the Alps, which plunge at different points straight into the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. A compelling setting.

Winds from the north in the morning of between 6 and 10 knots are the norm and these generally shift to the southeast or southwest in the afternoon and can build up to 15 knots.

Stage 1 is a round robin for all eight teams. Up to four races per day are scheduled through the conclusion of the round robin and will last no longer than one hour in duration.

Here is some action from the first round kindly provided by louisvuittontrophytv

After the first round robin it was the Emirates Team New Zealand who shared joint first place with Azzurra (Italy) both on 6 points.

Stage 2 is a knockout series designed to allow participants to keep sailing as long as possible.

Stage 3 is the knockout semifinals and final. The racing is now drawing to a conclusion with the semi finals having just started. In the first semi final the Italian team Azzurra defeated the British team: the Italian crew played the right side of the course on the first upwind leg and led by 9 seconds at the windward mark.

The British crew tacked to starboard to leeward of Azzurra but the Italians did a wonderful job and increased their lead to 27 seconds at the leeward gate, and then protected the right side of the second upwind leg to increase its lead to 1:16 beginning the run to the finish. The wind lessened throughout this match, from a high of 9 knots to less than 5 at the finish.

BMW Oracle will be the next match up against the inexperienced French team TFS-Pages Jaunes, then the Russian team Synergy sail against Emirates Team NZ – who on the form to date are the team to beat – and finally we will see the Swedish team Artemis take on the host team, All4one, which is a combined French/German entry.

Here’s some action from the same source from round 2.

With only three days left of competition the semi finals will come thick and fast – we will keep you posted and should you wish to visit the Louis Vuitton website click the link here  http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/

All of this is of course the precursor of the America’s Cup – have you bought your tickets yet for Ras Al Khaimah – we hope not – more about that another day.

Have you ever heard of the Taklamakan Desert in China? AKA: The Sea of Death?

Beautiful, I admit, stunning even and I’m sure photo opportunities for wanna-be photographers will be more than a digital camera can handle. But an ultramarathon? Here? Only if you’re a camel you might think…

And hold on a second… why aka ‘The Sea of Death’? This is the name the desert has earned thanks to its notorious shifting sands and extreme weather.  As if that’s not bad enough, the fear factor isn’t lessened when you read various translations of its name from the local Uyghur language. Some say it means “place of no return”, others “unreturnable” and there’s also “you can get into it, but can never get out”. Enough said. Do you really want to do this race?

Yes of course! What is life if not a challenge.

After all, it’s probably no worse than the Atacama Desert, or the Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert or the Namib for that matter. It should be warmer than the Antartic Desert though. And with that little list of names, whom else could I possibly be talking about but extreme event organisers RacingThePlanet?

Yes, they have a new venue. Taklamakan. And this, the inaugural race, is to be  held in August 2010.

“We wanted to return to China where it all began,” says Mary Gadams, explaining RacingThePlanet’s decision to launch its new series of 100k races in the Taklamakan Desert. “Our vision, which became a reality with the first Gobi March back in 2003, is to bring people from all walks of life to remote and spectacular areas and the Sea of Death is the perfect location for this latest stage in our evolution.”

Why am I talking about it already?

Because registration has just opened and places will be very limited for this inaugural event.

The 100 km non-stop race gives competitors 48 hours to complete it. It’s self supported as usual, but with it technically being non-stop, the load they’ll carry will be much lighter than in the 4 Deserts series. The generous time allowance also means it can be tackled at whatever pace suits, from flat out blast to something gentler. The usual professional medical backup and support is all going to be there too.

The Taklamakan area is something else. Surrounded on three sides by snow covered mountains, it lies within the Tarim Basin in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, north west China. Covering an area of over 300,000 square km, it extends some 900km west to east and varies in altitude from around 500m to just under 2000m.

But a RacingThePlanet event wouldn’t be proper RacingThePlanet event if it didn’t make your heart beat a little faster, long before the running starts, and I think they have achieved that again with this venue.

The race is to be held on 21st August, 2010 and the cost will be US$1,600. Obviously you will have to get yourself there. Remember that entries are going to be limited so if you are interested you had best jump around and complete this online application.

I’d just like to remind you that RacingThePlanet organisers do not do all this merely for the enjoyment of organising a race in some spectacularly beautiful and out-of-the way spot. They also raise money for charities in the area that they are eventing in. I think you should look at the following video as you will then realise how much happiness they are bringing to people who had no chance of surgery without the help of organisations like RacingThePlanet…

The countdown is definitely on – February 12 is the date for the opening ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games to be held in and around Vancouver, Canada.

As well as some of the iconic winter sports such as downhill skiing, ice hockey, skating in its many different guises, snowboarding and the like the 2010 games will host a new event – namely ski cross.

You may not have heard of ski cross but in essence it is the same as snowboard cross but on skis and according to Wikipedia it is involves a time trial or qualification round, every competitor skis down the course, which is built to encompass both naturally occurring terrain and artificial features like jumps, rollers, banks — whatever the course builder can imagine.

After the time trial, the fastest 16 (in women’s events) or 32 skiers (in men’s events) compete in a knockout (KO)-style series in rounds of four. A group of four skiers start simultaneously and attempt to reach the end of the course. The first two to cross the finish line will advance to the next round. At the end, the final and small final rounds determine 1st to 4th and 5th to 8th places, respectively.

Competitors are not allowed to pull or push each other during the KO finals. Any intentional contact to the other competitors will be penalized by disqualification or exclusion from the next race.

As is often the case pictures are better than words and this video from 20min, although somewhat dated demonstrates the action in this exciting and challenging extreme sport.

The 21st Winter Olympics are fast approaching and with the likes of ski cross our appetite for some serious action is truly whetted – bring them on!

The Brits streaked through to a surprising last minute victory, pipping Team Nike/Beaver Creek at the post – surprising everybody.

Helly Hanson/Prunesco are the 2009 Adventure Racing’s World Champions with a time of 128:32:58. With an average age of 37, the British Team Helly Hansen-Prunesco surprised everybody with a vigorous final sprint and conquered their first world title in adventure racing. Team leader Tom Gibbs – an Airbus designer – revealed the team’s strategy:  “We came to Portugal with no major expectations and therefore put little pressure on the team. Our strategy turned out fine and it was all decided on the final hours of the race”.

Geoff Hunt, AR World Series director, and of Southern Traverse New Zealand fame, in the closing speeches, said,  “If one racer in the room [Tom Gibbs of Helly Hansen Prunesco] can fail to finish in four World Championships, then be on the winning team in his fifth, then anyone who had not achieved their aims, or fallen short, should take a lesson from that – “don’t be disappointed, be determined, and maybe one day you can be on the top step of that podium too”.

Team Nike/Beaver Creek, hard fighters to the end, were close behind with 127:38:36. Team Leader, Mike Kloser, acknowledged the standard of racing this year, praising what he called “the toughest field ever assembled at a World Championships”. He also remarked that their strategy had had to change after day two, when they realised that clearing the course was not going to be realistic.   

Lundhags Adventure, Sweden, came in third with 127:34:52 and Orion Health from New Zealand, who were expected to dice with Nike all the way to the end, finished fourth with 127:59:25 – the times were so close that it could still be called dicing. Wayne Oxenham, the team leader, was separated from his other three team members and was lost for over an hour: “It was a somewhat traumatic experience, as I was alone for about 1h20m, completely lost and disoriented, having no idea where the others were. I ended up following another passing team (Nike) and managed to re-join them further down the track”.

The definition of Adventure racing? It is the sport of teams of athletes crossing natural terrain using muscle and wit and all-the-while solving the problems that arise from true adventure and all competitors to the XPD Portugal Adventure Racing Championsips knew that this was going to be a seriously world championship to challenge all others.

Way back on the third day people were already predicting that the normal strategy planning would be thrown out of kilter if risks and gambles weren’t seized when the opportunities arose.

Two thirds of the way through, out of the 900 Kms track, the 50 teams left in the race (out of the original 59) were having to make major strategic decisions and title holders were having a hard time keeping up with the the leaders.

North-American Team Nike/Beaver Creek were still leading the pack at this stage, but a number of other teams were also very well placed to fight for victory. Title holders, Team OrionHealth from New-Zealand, were in fourth place surprised by this Estoril Portugal XPD Race’s track. Team leader Wayne Oxenham explains: “The track is very rough and it’s impossible to collect all the checkpoints and that has somewhat disturbed our strategy”.

At times this race was brain over brawn.

After 128 hours of non-stop progression and over 900 kms run on foot, mountain-bike and kayak, the 2009 Adventure Racing World Cup -Estoril Portugal XPD Race turned out to be the supreme challenge to fortitude and strategy. Out of the 59 teams from 25 different countries that left Estoril on Sunday 8th November, 40 were able to classify, which is an impressively low withdrawal rate considering the length and the harshness of the track and terrain.

Geoff Hunt also commented on the strategy required to win the race, a new component to adventure racing and something which some teams had not figured out until the latter stages, “some haven’t even figured it out now” he added!

The strategic element, and the race format, haven’t been popular with all the racers, especially those used to a more linear ‘first over the line’ format, but it is something which teams recognise has lead to a race which had been thrilling right to the finish and adding yet another facet to this extreme sport.

Our congratulations to everyone…

My palms were sweaty just watching this video… Shame on all couch potatoes!!!

Thanks to NarrowBridgeFilms for sharing it with us all.

If you don’t have much time but are looking for some fantastic one-day climbing, look no further than Oak Creek Canyon whose south western side is formed by Wilson Mountain, a huge mountain north of Sedona in red rock country.

Wilson Mountain can be climbed any time of the year, but there may be snow on top in the winter. If there is, in-step crampons are recommended but not required. It is extremely hot in the summer, so spring and fall are the best months to climb it.

Mention tourist attractions in Arizona and the answer will be ‘The Grand Canyon’. Well, you might not have heard of Oak Creek Canyon, but it is the state’s second biggest attraction and is a place of great beauty – and it has wonderful climbing. Hiking too, but it’s the climbing we are here to talk about.

The canyon has an 80 – 100 ft basalt cliff along the top which has formed into beautiful dihedrals, aretes, and cracks off all sizes.  The basalt is easy on the hands, and grippy for the feet. This place is a gem, but a popular one!

Oak Creek Canyon is the 4th deepest canyon in Arizona and is famous for the massive, yet moderate Solar Slab, 5.6, as well as the monstrous Eagle Wall further in. If you love huge climbs then  Oak Creek is the place for you.

Solar Slab Wall, Oak Creek CanyonJohnny Vegas 5.7

Get a nice feeling of exposure on this short classic, which is surprisingly steep for the grade. From the top of the route, you can continue on Solar Slab (5.6) for an amazing day with more than 10 pitches of moderate climbing.

4 pitches    ¾-1 hour    Sunrise to late afternoon

Eagle Wall, Oak Creek CanyonLevitation 29 5.11c

A famous and definite Red Rocks classic, following a long and obvious crack system that is steep and intimidating. You’ll get killer exposure, excellent rock and fantastic views especially if you go to the top.

10 pitches    2-3 hours    Most of the day

Solar Slab Wall, Oak Creek CanyonSolar Slab 5.6

The longest and most popular route of its grade. This classic route provides great climbing and awesome position. Given its length, the approach and the long but scenic descent, it should not be taken lightly.

8 pitches    ¾-1 hour to gully    Sunrise until end afternoon

Other classics are, with corresponding numbers to those on the map (1) Black Orpheus 5.9+; (2) Beulah’s Book 5.9; (3) Johnny Vegas 5.7; (4) Going Nuts 5.6; (5) Solar Slab 5.6; (6) Levitation 29 – 5.11c; (7) Eagle Dance 5.10c, A0.

Levitation 29 is a famous Red Rocks classic following a long and obvious crack system that is steep and intimidating. You’ll get killer exposure, excellent rock and fantastic views especially if you go to the top!

Then there’s Duck Soup which is a 5.6 double crack system and nearby Burnt Buns – a 5.8 dihedral and face climb.

Burnt Buns

For the most part, almost every climb of note in Oak Creek is south facing, making this canyon a cool weather destination…

One word of caution: if you are thinking of climbing Eagle Wall – the peregrine falcons have been known to roost on Eagle Dance and if they are there when you wish to climb it is worth noting that the route will be closed.  Please save yourself some time, and the birds some stress, by checking with the Area Manager before setting off.

Bivy permits are available for Eagle Wall.

Here’s a quick look at Duck Soup with thanks to frantikclimber.

59 teams coming from 26 countries including New Zealand, South Africa, France, Russia, Brazil and the United States are competing in the Adventure Racing World Championships in Portugal.

The XPD Portugal race began on the 8th November and will finish on the 13th. Prize giving will be the morning of Saturday, 14th November.

The total estimated distance for this extreme race is 910 kms and each team have approximately 127 hours to complete the race which consists of 5 stages and 21 sections.

Another year (2007), but the same race, this video from ScorpionArt will give you an understanding of the ultimate challenge that these athletes have given themselves.

It is compulsory that each team has at least one female member in their total of 4 or all-women teams are allowed too. Entrants have their own support teams, but those who don’t (and there are 12 teams that don’t) will have support provided by the organisers. The winning team will be ‘the Adventure Race World Champions 2009′.

There are 5 mountain bike shortcuts in this race which will allow any team in difficulty to easily reach the finish line. These shortcuts can cut off a total of 136 km and will, on many occasions, allow the slower teams to recover the pace and come forward.

Organized by APCA – the Portuguese Association of Adventure Racing – and supervised by the Portuguese Orienteering Federation, this competition will visit some of the most beautiful and little known ecological reserves in Portugal including the magnificent Schist Villages giving the competitors a vision of a bygone era. Many of these schist villages are uninhabited and in ruins, but some have been renovated and repopulated.

The first stage, which started in showery weather, sett off from the Escoril and finished in Cascais. It was a total of 60.3 kms  with a total elevation of 1,689 m and included trekking, roller (or the use of trikke’s if you preferred) and mountain biking through a region known as the western tip of Europe wit its stunning views – if you had the time to appreciate them!

By the end of the first day the teams had realised that they were in for a gruelling race. Already teams were making strategic decisions to cut out the first stage in the hopes of leapfrogging time.

Stage 2 was a total length of 171.8 kms, total ascent of 10,821 m, total descent of 9,604 m beginning at Castelo da Lousa and finishing at Hotel Serra da Estrela. This section had the competitors trekking, mountain biking, canyoning and abseiling through lost villages, forests and up and over big hills.

There had been a few misunderstandings at the end of the first stage, with people beginning the second stage a bit unsure of how the point system worked. It was also becoming apparent that the trick now would be to work out how much of the route not to do. Both the canyoning and abseiling were avoidable, for example, although bonus CP’s were available on the abseiling section. It is a risky tactic to miss a CP as it is the number of CP’s which decide the winners, with the bonuses and time only coming into play if teams are tied on CP’s.

After the canyoning it was a short trek to the next transition to prepare for the long mountain bike section through the night. Some teams were worried about the weather conditions for this as there had been a strong wind blowing all day and the biking route was along ridge tops for much of the way, but as it turned out fog and low cloud were as much of a problem as the wind. By the time teams were up on the ridge-line the visibility was only a few metres.

The teams were headed for Assistance Point two at Penhas da Saude where the leaders arrived around dawn yesterday, and from there on they resumed trekking across Portugal’s highest peaks, which already have a thin covering of fresh snow!

Nike/Beaver Creek and Orion Health, are leading the pack at the moment and have so far attempted the whole course.

The weather conditions in the early part of Monday night were harsh, with the dense fog lingering over the hills and the wind increasing in strength to gale force. The wind chill temperatures were around freezing and there was little shelter.

This is turning out to be one helluva race…

At 45km the full trekking stage across the mountains was longer than originally stated, and it was taking even the fastest teams more time to complete than they anticipated.

In any normal adventure race Nike/Beaver Creek and Team Orionhealth.com would be favourites and their battle so far in this race is no different. But it’s this race which is a bit different…

While they decided on their route Mike Kloser of Nike was heard to say, “I’m worried about the cut offs.” A strange thing to say, you might think, by an experienced adventure racer. However, it’s not strange at all and he’s right to be concerned as this race requires the fastest teams to make choices they are not used to or comfortable with, i.e. to miss checkpoints. Last year all the fastest teams at the start of the race tried to get all the CP’s … and they all missed a cut-off and were out of the running.

There is still a long time to the first cut off late tomorrow night, but for now all that can be said is that Nike and OrionHealth are the teams with most CP’s and moving the fastest … but nobody will know for some time yet if they are winning!

Stage 3, today, is 214.6 km long with a 3,441 m ascent and a 4,633 m descent through a deserted but beautiful and challenging landscape on mountain bikes, kayaks and rollers….

Good luck to all…

NEWS ALERT (7.30 p.m. Wednesday, 11th November):

The harshness of the mountains at the end of the 3rd day of the competition   have caused the first casualties in the Estoril Portugal XPD Race: 7 teams have reluctantly withdrawn – out of the 59 that started.

The title holders – New Zealand’s “Orion Health” – are still well placed in front, closely followed by the North-American “Nike/Beaver Creek”.