Alan Gregory’s Conservation News is Back–Welcome Back, My Friend

When I first began The Adventurist almost two years ago, I was pretty new to this whole blogging thing. I had heard something about it, decided to check it out–and then began my own. During my early learning period, there were three blogs that I would visit daily–Two of the three, Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News and Monarch’s Nature Blog have ran the course with me. They are both still up and going and both are still great reads.

The third blog Alan Gregory’s Conservation News came to an abrupt and painful halt on 4/29/07, when this post was made:

“For those of you interested who read this blog, Alan was seriously injured in a bicycling accident on 4/29/07 and suffered traumatic brain injury. He was hit by an elderly driver turning left in front of his oncoming bicycle. She never looked to see him coming; she was 85 yrs old. He is currently undergoing care at a long term care hospital.

When you visit a site daily–conversing on the posts, you really get a sense of a person and what they are trying to do. They become friends through comments and email and a general shared interest.

Today, much to my surprise and delight another post was made–

“It has been a weird winter – for me, not the weather. A 2007 accident (e a bicyclist, me, vs. a moving vehicle set ne up for a traumatic brain injury, lots of pills, plenty of doctors’ offices and hospital visits and a daily regimen of pills. Geez. In any case, I am walking lots (usually with Kestrel, our sheltie, at my side) and getting back on one of my three bicycles. Walking is great exercise, yet few neighbors walk beyond heir driveway and the morning newspaper. Walk a quarter-mile to the Catholic Church up the street? Are you kidding? An don’t even mention the post office (another Quarter-mile from were I sit. Gasoline could cost $5 a gallon and few folks around these sticks would hesitate a second before motoring again.–

A New beginning–Alan Gregory is Back! Almost a year to the day, Alan Gregory has spent a year recovering from an injury that nearly took his life. Sometimes things happen that can completely change your life–luckily Alan decided to push through it and had a loving wife for support. Welcome Back Alan, looking to reading some more great conservation news–

Using The New Adventurist Forums

You have probably already noticed the two banners found at the top of this page.  Should be one directly to your right, and one to your left.  The first button is for the newest addition here to The Adventurist-The Adventurist Forums.  Upon clicking this box, you will be taken to a page featuring all of the topics being discussed by readers of this site, such as yourself.  In order to make full use of the forums you will need to register.  The “Register” button is found at the top of the Forums screen.

This is actually a pretty simple process.  Name, Email, and then your password of choice will unlock the benefits of what this forum is all about.  This is a new forum, and at this time there are only a couple of registered users.  There are quite a few people visiting and checking it out, but perhaps they didn’t know where the “Register” button was.  That is the reasoning for this post.

On your left hand side you will notice a banner that says “The Adventurist Polls”.  This will take you to an area on The Adventurist Forum and ask you a simple question.  In order to take part in the polls, you will have to ”Register” as well.

We all know that Adventure seekers aren’t one-sided thinkers.  Once you Sign Up for the Forums, you will be able to express all of your thoughts from climbing and mountain biking to Sports and Headlines of the day.

A couple of good discussions have already been started, including one on the current search for Steven Fossett.   Just to show you how general this all is, we also have a nice discussion going on about the NFL as well.

I am hoping that this will become another part of the much used “Adventurist” Community and am excited to be able to offer this to all of my faithful readers.

I will be using this forum, myself, on a regular basis.  I will be bouncing ideas and discussing topics of the day, as well as generally just getting to know my readers on a more personal level.  I will also be using some of the discussions and comments placed on the Adventurist Forum in future articles on The Adventurist.  Pour that coffee, grab that cup of tea, and let’s discuss what’s on your mind.

Cheers-

Jason A. Hendricks, Editor

An Adventurist Editorial: The Stephen Fossett Debates

We should have all seen this one coming from a mile away–

Going into days 5 and 6 for the ongoing search of legendary adventurer Steven Fossett, people are starting to take their focus off of the search and more onto the debates surrounding these types of events when they occur–

First it began with how great of an adventurer Steven Fossett is.  Over the past few days this focus has slowly moved to the motives of a “Risk-Taker” and if Stephen Fossett’s family should be charged for the search currently taking place.

Both of these items are highly debatable and both of them generally always surround a high profile search, especially if the person involved was also a part of anything that has a certain risk-factor to it or has been the focus of media attention in the past.

Personally, I began taking notice of these debates around December of last year when three climbers became lost on Mt. Hood.  The ensuing search, that garnered massive media coverage, soon became a debate for a cause. 

It may be the cause of the general media’s focus to always provide something new to a highly viewed (and rated) story.  Running out of new leads, they hop back on the bus and get everyone involved in raging debates that once again spark interest to previous stories of the same general nature.

Two questions always emerge:  Should the families of the person being searched for have to pay for this service?  And secondly–the risk involved.  How could they do this to their families and loved ones?  What is it about risk that triggers these people to always endanger their lives? Read more

EverestNews Inciting Controversy with Editorial and a Response by The Adventurist

I recently headed over to EverestNews to check out what was going on at their site.  Needless to say, I was quite surprised by a small editorial piece they are currently featuring titled Everest Rumors, Lies, and Ridiculous Stories.

This is based on a few reports that this editorial is claiming as false.  First off, it denies an increase in fees leveled by the Chinese Government this past season on Everest.  It then goes into detail about many sites broadcasting rumors and lies, specifically mentioning the possible closing of the North side of Everest by the Chinese for the forthcoming 2008 Olympics.

EverestNews goes on the record as saying Everest’s North side will be open to climbers in the coming 2008 season and the number of climbing permits given will not be limited in scope due to the 2008 Olympics.  They also go on record as saying that the rumors of China trying to negotiate the closure of Mt. Everest’s South side, via Nepal, is also completely false.

EverestNews Claims the Following Regarding Fees:

Stories that the fees in China were increased several times over were also spread, FALSE again. Why? Guides did raise fees which one would assume resulted in much higher profits… For most independents and operators the Chinese took a minor fee increase.. One must wonder what is the agenda here? To get traffic to web sites? To get published in rags? To help raise profits for some? What???

EverestNews is crediting CTMA and CMA as being two of the reliable sources that this information is coming from:

The CTMA and CMA appear to be getting pissed off by all these rumors, lies and ridiculous stories… Including false stories about climbers, who grow in number year by year… This will probably result in changes from the Chinese many of us might not like….

Last year’s “High-Altitude Free Tibet Protest on Mount Everest!” which was a “set up” where Americans went to China to get arrested and were successful is expected also to cause more tension for the Chinese and climbers which combined with these ridiculous stories will result in tougher standards on entering for 2008….

Now a Few Words From The Adventurist

First off, the CMA respectively refers to the Chinese Mountaineering Association and the CTMA refers to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association.  Now that we know that all of this information is respectively coming from China we may make a few comments.

EverestNews is based out of Granville, Ohio–The United States.  Why would such a site be bowing down to a communist regime in regards to it’s editorials? 

If you go back and read the article as it is printed on the site, you can plainly see that this little bit of marketing by the two forementioned climbing associations in China is nothing more than Chinese Propoganda.  Yes, they might be pissed off at the press, but you do have to remember that China is hosting the upcoming 2008 Olympics and with all of the recent bad publicity regarding China of late, it is no wonder that they would put out a piece questioning the recent rash of bad publicity.

Regarding the climbing fees–on more than one occassion this past year, climbers were told, once they got to China, that their fees would be anywhere from $1000-$3,000 more than what was quoted before they left for the climb.  This information is documented in the climber’s expedition blogs rather substantially.  This did not just happen to US climbers, but even some expeditions from the Philipines and so forth.  This is documented and this information that EverestNews has released bears no weight.  Tell us the sources and give us the figures–until the proof is out there on such matters, it will remain the same.  Too many climbers were claiming the same problem:  A rise in climbing fees after they arrived to get their liscence, which was unmerited beforehand.

As far as the Chinese trying to close the North or the South sides of Mt. Everest for next season.  This news, as I myself have also mentioned, has come not only from the United States press, but also the Press organizations from around the world, including Nepal.  It is known that the Nepali Government was approached with an offer to shut off the South side as well…even though, this offer by the Chinese could have fallen through in the last few days.

Next, we come to a couple of possible threats handed out by the CMA and the CTMA about possible changes taking place over the 2008 Everest season.  These changes are in reference to the “One World-Free Tibet Protest” that took place this year, as well as the Chinese becoming “pissed off” at the stories and rumors coming from Mt. Everest.  They claim this protest was a simple “set-up” to get the organization holding the protest arrested, and in a sense..free publicity.  That may very well be the case, but in another note, the “Free Tibet” campaign has been going on for well over 50 years now.  Each year new protests are enacted to bring the Chinese occupation of Tibet to the limelight.  It just so happens that this years protest took place while China was trying to do their initial Olympic Torch training run to the top of Mt. Everest.

What the CMA and the CTMA are essentially doing is giving themselves an excuse to deny liscences to climbers in the upcoming 2008 season.  They will base this denial on the rumors and lies of the foreign nations trying to take part in next years Everest season, as well as political turmoil of not knowing exactly what people are planning on doing.

While the supposed facts being represented on EverestNews merit no basis, it boggles my mind that an American Company such as EverestNews has seemingly given the Chinese Government an outlet for their remarks–given the Chinese’s past record.

Anyone remember Nangpa La?  Last year the Chinese military opened fire on a group of people trying to cross from Tibet to Nepal–essentially political refugees trying to leave a country they despised–some were shot in the open, in front of 60 or so climbers–including a nun who was mortally shot and killed.  After this incident, the Chinese Military seemingly invaded the ABC camp and essentially looked things over and waited.  They had captured some 30 odd children, women, and men, and taken them into custody as well.

Many people are scared of speaking out against the Chinese.  The guides could very easily lose their bid to attempt Everest and other peaks in the Chinese Himalayas if they don’t keep their mouths shut about such incidents when they do take place.  China has essentially used political power and intimidation factors to keep the “real” stories on Everest and other peaks silent.

Nangpa La was real.  Photos confirm the merciless killings.  Still climbers involved in the incident from around the world are reluctant to speak out against the Chinese.

In 2007 the Chinese Basecamp at Everest featured a security fence and armed guards.  N0 one was allowed around their encampment and secrecy was held as an asset.  At one point a couple of climbers got stranded high on Everest and the Chinese refused to take part in any kind of search and rescue efforts.  This should clue you in a bit on their priorities.  China is about China.  They protect through armed tactics and intimidation. 

So why would EverestNews take a stand and essentially side with them by posting this very Pro-China editorial?  The editorial even fails to mention who the writer was.  I feel the reason may be as simple as the 2008 Olympics.  They are positioning themselves to be “the source” of news and info coming out of China.  On the otherhand, by taking such matters and putting themselves in the public light with such a controversial move, I can not see how this will benefit them at all.  They may get the news coming from China, but at the same time they are alienating the climbers from around the world that understand the tactics China uses in an effort to “control”.

EverestNews makes the following question regarding the rumors, lies, and deceptions and the press that has put them out.

One must wonder what is the agenda here? To get traffic to web sites? To get published in rags? To help raise profits for some? What???

I am only speaking for myself at this time.  I have no advertisers.  I have no site sponsors.  Trying to draw traffic to a site such as this one has no meaning.  It does not benefit me in the slightest.  On the contrary, by putting up an editorial that questions the basis of information regarding Everest and other mountains–by saying they are lies, rumors, and so forth–we do need to question these intentions–EverestNews is essentially questioning the same people that they get all of their information from–The climbing expedition blogs.  They post no news that isn’t spoken first-hand from the Expeditions themselves on their own sites–and they do so 90% of the time word for word.  So who is to blame for the lies, rumors, and so forth?  Rather than calling out people that you yourselves rely on for information–perhaps you should look at yourselves.  This is a weak and futile attempt at bringing in viewers that already question your standards in the field.  China or no China, by printing the threats and “control” tactics, you are becoming nothing more than one of the many puppets you are trying to speak out against.  Just something to think about.

A Black Diamond in Red China? Equipment Maker Moves Production Overseas

For years, Black Diamond has been a leader in the manufacturing of climbing equipment, and good equipment at that.  Black Diamond has recently announced that some of it’s product line will now be made in China. 

Among American climbers, this has started an uproar.  First, there is the quality issue of the equipment–being made in China, will quality issues be forthcoming?  Secondly, this has opened up a whole can of worms for the US vs. China made products.  China has been in the headlines recently for a few “noteworthy” quality issues..ie..lead paint on toys..  Thirdly, is it right for a company that has prided itself on it’s environmental focus to pick the most unenvironmental friendly atmosphere in the world to produce it’s products, and last but not least, who is exactly producing these items–slave labor..ect..

As you can see, this is a very touchy subject.  Many people that have been fans of Black Diamond for years are spouting their dissapproval for this move.  I actually ran across this conversation taking place at the forums on MountainProject.

The very cool thing about this discussion is that Black Diamond and a couple of other personnel that work for various other equipment makers have chimed into the discussion.  People want answers to these questions, and Black Diamond has taken a note to do something about it.  I think this is great!  Finally someone that will listen and at least address these very concerning issues.

I have never seen a company step forward and publicly address these kinds of questions, on such an open medium.  Even if I don’t believe in the practice of shipping our jobs overseas, at least they are answering..Got to give Kudos to Black Diamond for these efforts. 

I am going to be keeping an eye on this one for awhile and see how it comes out…The Good:  Black Diamond is talking about the issues. The Bad:  Part of production has moved overseas.  The Ugly?  China has the worst Environmental laws in the world.  Will be interesting to watch.

What are your thoughts?  How do companies moving overseas effect your views of the product?  Do you actually look into the issues when thinking about new gear..ie..where it is made, who is making it, and the future effects of where it is made on the environment..Chime in and tell me your views by posting a comment…

2006 Mt. Hood Tragedy Update: Equipment Stash Found, July 2007 Search Results and More…

It has now been eight months since three climbers went missing on Mt. Hood.  At this time we all know that the body of Kelly James had been discovered inside a snowcave back in December.  What happened to the other two climbers?  Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke were never found.

Many people have been stopping by here still wondering about the other two climbers.  I get comments posted on a weekly basis asking me if the other two had been found as yet.

With the national media attention that this particular incident generated, I can kind of see why this is still a very big item in people’s minds.  Anytime there is a story without a conclusion, it leads to more questions than answers.  Rather than email each individual person that asks me what happened, I have decided to make this update. Read more

The Adventurist: Another Step Forward, Another New Role

I recently ran across a site called Topix that caught my eye.  Here is a bit about the company:

Topix is the leading news community on the Web, connecting people to the information and discussions that matter to them in every U.S. town and city.

A Top 25 online news destination (Hitwise, February 2007), the site links news from 50,000 sources to 360,000 lively user-generated forums. Topix also works with the nation’s major media companies to grow and engage their online audiences through forums, classifieds, publishing platforms and RSS feeds.

Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Topix LLC is a privately held company with investment from Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB).

Topix LLC is not affiliated in any manner with Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.

To put it simply, this is a news site that THE News Sites go to for information.

To make a long story short, I have applied and been accepted as the new Mountain Climbing Editor at Topix.  They trust that I will now be able to bring the latest and greatest news from the Mountain Climbing world to them and the world at large.

What this means for The Adventurist

I now have access to 50,000 different sources for climbing news.  On top of that, I now have artificial intelligence scouring the web 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all the latest info.

What this seemingly does, in one fell swoop, is it will allow me to bring the latest news and views from around the world involving Mountain Climbing…it also allows me to post, edit, link to, and decide what is actually relevent in the climbing community for the world to see.

To put it quite simply, a lot of us who run our own climbing sites have been frustrated about the lack of media attention to some areas.  If it is controversial..the media generally passes….Well, not anymore.  I can now post items to the Mountain Climbing front page…this includes stories, photos, forum threads, Editorials and well…basically anything I find of interest. 

What This Means to You

As a reader of The Adventurist, I will now be able to bring you even more great Mountain Climbing news from around the world.

If you are a writer or blogger in the world of Mountain Climbing and can bring something to me of interest–you may just see your viewership jump.  What I do is put up links to stories of interest–which could very well be from your site.  That link will take the person to the story on your page.

I also now have the means to write and edit my own stories for the site as well, which will help spread the word around the world.  We will see how it goes.

Submitting a Story or Idea

If you would be interested in having a story or article put up—OR–have found an item of particular interest, send me a brief note through my Submit & Contact page and include the link to the story.  If I think it will fit in, I will be more than happy to include it.

I will also be scouring all my usual sources for interesting articles to include in my updates.  This could be an interesting step for all of us and garner what we do a bit more attention in the world around us.  Just keep an eye out and perhaps you will see something you have done posted on a World-Wide News Outlet in the very near future.

If you would like to take a look at this page, you may do so by clicking Mountain Climbing now.  I have not added a link yet from The Adventurist, but will be doing so very shortly–actually, probably right after this article is posted.  I will also be putting up the RSS feed from this page on The Adventurist as well–if you send me your stories or ideas, you could actually get some much needed Double-Exposure–

This looks to be a great new project.  I need to thank the team at Topix for having the confidence in me for this spot–and will try my best to make it the best source for climbing information on the net.

As For The Adventurist

Of course it will continue on as normal–but now have alot more info coming your way–as well as even more exposure for all of us that take part in some of the great discussions taking place here.  I am looking forward to what this could bring to the table for all of us involved..Thank-you everyone for your support and continued readership.  I am hoping as this site continues to grow that we can all grow together..Thanks

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor,  The Adventurist

This Week in Adventure Sports Weekly–08/22/07

The new issue of Adventure Sports Weekly has been released.  One thing I truly do like about this new magazine is that it is so varied…there is something there for everyone.

This week, Adventure Sports Weekly takes us to the XTERRA Mountain Championships Off-road Triathalon–one of the biggest events of it’s kind in the world.  There were roughly 600 participants at this years event, which is also a qualifier for the World Championships held in Hawaii–this is a pretty good read and involves a first-person account of the event from one of it’s participants..Jeff Harrison.

Next we get an inside look at the youngest PRO Skater in the world, Nyjah Houston.  At 11 years old, he already is riding on the Pro Circuit and has all the usual sponsors to foot the bill.  Many of you will probably recognize Nyjah from the recent X Games–his waist-length dreads are hard to miss.  Greg Baerg from Lat34 fame is credited with the article–and actually had a chance to speak with the young Nyjah about his future and his present..quite entertaining and I am sure we will be hearing much, much more out of this youngster in the years to come.

Next up comes Adventure Sports Weekly’s Climbing Editor Patrick Welsh.  His weekly column dealing with his personal climbing experience–He is a climbing expert working with Black Diamond, has become an Adventure Sports Weekly staple and highly entertaining at that.

This week’s column, “Hanging by a Thread“, takes a look at the unpredictable nature of climbing…His title says it all.  Scary, but many of us know where he is coming from.

Probably the most entertaining piece in this weeks issue happens to cover a sport that gets little coverage in the press…haha…The Roller Derby!

Some of us who grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s may remember the Roller Derby being on TV weekly.  That was the hayday..but this sport has started a new growth spurt in recent times.

This article comes to us from Jen Phillon, a member of the Death Dealers Roller Derby team and gives an account of a recent night at the Derby and the amazing comeback that ensued.  Great Piece that brought back alot of fun memmories.

Overall, I think this may be the strongest issue I have read to date.  Covers a lot of different things.  As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the process of writing some material myself for Adventure Sports Weekly..so we can all look forward to that in the future…Go check it out and tell me what you think.

Nine More Land on K2’s Summit Via West Face Route

The rush to the summit was all of that and more.  Yesterday I wrote of the first Ascent of K2’s West Face to the summit. Vadim Popovich and Andrew Mariev claimed this historical first ascent, but nine others remained in higher camps waiting for a possible weather window. 

That weather window opened up this morning.  All nine climbers successfully summited K2 via the West Face.  The climbers are as follows:

• Nickolay Totmjanin
• Alexey Bolotov
• Gleb Sokolov
• Eugeny Vinogradsky
• Victor Volodin
• Gennady Kirievsky
• Vitaly Gorelik
• Pavel Shabalin
• Iljas Tukhvatullin

Popovich and Mariev are reportedly sitting at Camp 1 at this time and recuperating.  The remaining nine that summited today are now resting at Camps 5 and 6 before going to lower ground a bit later.

The Russians have been laying an assault on K2’s West Face for more than two weeks–many of the climbers had lay low at Camps 5, 6, and 7 for roughly 4-5 days awaiting a chance at the summit and for the bad weather to break just enough to scramble to the top.  The 4 to 5 day wait had the members bunkered down in the K2 Death Zone–which could possibly be a survival record as well, but this has not been confirmed.

It looks like all are safely headed to lower ground.  Let’s hope they all get back without incident and they can all relish in this historic First Ascent.

For more on this breaking news, head on over to ExplorersWeb.

The Adventurist: What Exactly Defines ‘Adventure’?

That is one tough question.  We all know the word.  Many of us say life is an adventure–but what does it mean?  Is it the risk involved?  Going someplace few others have gone, or is it in doing something you fear?

I recently had the opportunity to discuss this topic with a fellow reader.  His idea of Adventure was something that usually involved apparent risk and took place out of doors.  I know this is a very basic definition, but we will get back to that in just a few minutes.

Adventure Sports, Adventure Travel, Adventure Books, Adventure of a Lifetime, I think all of these describe a unique opportunity to take a look at what exactly Adventure means.

In the media, Adventure is the thrilling..something exciting that perhaps you just don’t do everyday.  Is it about the risk involved?  Not neccessarily.  My grandmother use to say that Hurricane Andrew was an Adventure.  I am not sure about that, she obviously didn’t plan on being caught in the middle of a hurricane during her Florida vacation–yet, you can’t deny that there isn’t a fear factor there.

As defined, the noun Adventure is something that is an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature, and the verb: to risk or hazard, to venture.

I would go on to include:  Adventure is something that is an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature that involves apparent risks that may or may not be known at the time of the undertaking.

Quite essentially, in this very broad definition, Adventure can quite easily be anything we take part in.  There is no “Outdoors’ mentioned.  What could be one person’s adventure may very well be someone else’s everyday existence.  Changing a diaper, for me, would be a definate adventure..

Adventure Sports have become a popular term used to describe sports that offer up plenty of risk.   Mountain Climbing, Surfing, Mountain Biking, Sking, Skateboarding, ect.  In essence though, the risk can not be the only factor involved.  Pro Football and Basketball offer up risks as well, yet aren’t listed as an Adventure Sport.  One thing they do have in common though, they are pretty much all solo sports.  One person competing against another rather than a team on team sport.  There is also, if it might be slightly more so, bigger risk for injury.  There is that word “risk” again that ties back into the Adventure definition.

Risk.  Pro Football has risk as well though.  How many times have we seen a talented player carried off the field due to a spinal injury from making direct contact with his head into the gut of another player?  As such though, Pro Football is a team sport.

The Tour de France is considered an Adventure Sports event–yet, there are definately some team dynamics going on even if it is with a bicycle.  The Discovery Channel Team has won 8 of the last 9 tours, respectively.

Now you can begin to see where I am coming from.  I think every individual has an idea of what Adventure is–to them, personally–but I don’t really think it can be defined as a whole.  Everyone’s idea of adventure is different.

I recently drew some criticism for running a piece on BMX racing.  People familiar with this site have grown use to what I am doing.  They expect it—in a sense this site has become something less of an adventure and more of an expectation day to day.  They come because they know what they can expect.  You throw a new curveball in there and suddenly, they don’t know what to do or think, “Where’s the stuff I like?  Where is the climbing?”  It is funny sometimes, how just a small change can get people in an uproar.

“Promoting Education and Exploration Through Adventure”

This thought was developed as a basis in which to keep myself on track with a definate plan.  If you take each item individually, it leaves for a very broad world.  Educate, Explore, Adventure–all three of these items can basically mean anything.

With the BMX story that I mentioned earlier, it was a chance for me to break a cycle of sorts and offer something that I usually don’t offer.  BMX is a risk sport.  BMX is an individual sport.  Those of you that questioned my intentions saying it’s not “Adventure”, and don’t  hold true to my values, think again. 

My overall readers tend to be roughly my age and older.  I am 33.  They have moved on to bigger and better adventures from their childhood.  How many of us got our first beginnings in outdoor “Adventure” sports by riding around our BMX..climbing the trees and the hills around our houses, grabbing that skateboard and trying to bust out our first grind.  Many, many of us came from these simple beginnings–ones that now might not seem like much of an adventure as we grow older, but one that influenced the risks and adventures we take today. 

These events, these sports have been on a continous incline for the past 10-20 years.  This is where our future is and will be the influences for the coming adventures in the days ahead.  Those skateboarding rebels that blow by us on the sidewalks–could very well be that older rebel trying to make his first 8,000 meter peak in the days ahead.

BMX is an adventure.  Perhaps you don’t like it.  Perhaps you don’t like the big press that comes along with the new wave of adventure sports, but my intentions are that perhaps if you don’t know a whole lot about it, perhaps you will at least read it and learn a thing or two.  I am sure many of them don’t know that much about crampons, either.  They will read about your adventures here, and now I am giving you the chance to read about theirs as well.  There is plenty of room and plenty of excitement to go around.  Promoting Education and Exploration through Adventure still holds true.  Now we can all learn something.

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