A couple of times a year, we at National Geographic Adventure review watches and included in those watches are luxury models, and while I can appreciate their beauty and engineering, my personal style is more Nixon than Rolex, so I can admire, even celebrate them, even if they don’t pluck at my heart strings. Then a watch showed up from Bell & Ross, and I was smitten.
From the monthly archives:
June 2009
I was just riding along, you know, just riding along, and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air. Okay, so I came into a blind corner hot, almost hit an oncoming rider, and locked up brain and brakes before endoing.
The elements of skiing’s appeal are quite simple. Crisp, cold, clean air. Mountains. Gravity. Speed. And above all, the magic of snow. It is a romantic pursuit, this skiing thing, a beautiful one, and if you love it as I do, with everything you have, you will find something, many things probably, in this video to make you feel like you’ve come home.
What’s adventurous about this picture? Well, I’m guessing that walking through a field of tall grass in a wispy little summer dress might scratch the legs. And you could lose Toto in the weeds. Otherwise, not so much. But hey, who cares? It’s summer! And this picture, which I shot on a lazy afternoon last August in Star Valley, Wyoming, speaks to the warm, languid days after the solstice as much as anything…CONTINUE>
Maybe the only difference between standing on the podium and leading the losers is the music you’re listening to. Maybe the right playlist will make you stronger, fitter, and less susceptible to bonk. Not bloody likely, but, hey–dare to dream. And in the meantime, check out what’s in heavy rotation from a couple of athletes who know a thing or two about podiums–cyclist Liz Hatch and world champ surfer Steph Gilmore.
In the short year since the opening of the Apple App Store, iPhone applications have already begun to transform travel. But with more than 2,000 applications already, where to start? With the 20 best, of course.
Ski Jump is a ridiculously addictive little application for the iPhone—so darn addictive that the Adventure Life is super stoked to announce a new contest based on it. All you have to do is download the free version and log the longest jump before the contest ends on July 13. Your incentive is loot from Cloudveil—the top three finishers win apparel from this sweet Jackson Hole brand.
Sunglasses with interchangeable lenses are often better in concept than practice. Lenses get smudged, dropped, and lost—and wrestling with the frame to switch them can feel like trying to tie your shoes while wearing mittens. As for the frames, well, who knows what priorities the designers are given, but Ugly and Uncomfortable usually battle it out at the top. So, now comes Oakley with a new swappable model called the Jawbone and you gotta wonder, what, you think you can do better?.
If you’re a fan of surfing or action sports, you’ve probably seen more than your share of underwater, behind-the-wave video, but for me it never gets old. The BBC recently launched a series on the South Pacific on its website and it includes some very sweet tube-riding and molten glass barrels.
It’s been a busy week in the analog world, leading to a paucity of online activity, but at least I’ve gotten it together for Wallpaper Wednesday. This first one, shot a few years ago at the Wedge in Newport Beach, California, is kind of how the week has felt.
Foolish mortals, we. Like Icarus, we ascend toward the sun, not so much on wings of wax and feather as on hope and spirit, and we never get there, not even close, though from time to time we stumble into luck and clutch at the soft cotton hem of clouds. Is it our arrogance that makes us climb these hills? Curiosity? Our hunger for strength, dominion, and a ripping downhill?
Too much work, not enough time…it’s a good day for daydreaming about far-off places, changes in latitude, light that slants at a new angle. Here are three escape hatches, free wallpapers from the Erg Chebbis dunes in Morocco’s slice of the Sahara Desert, the Italian Dolomites near Cortina (in honor of this week’s story on mountain biking there), and a beautiful panel of petroglyphs somewhere in Utah. Enjoy!
This would seem to be the ideal shot for a caption contest, but you know, some things just don’t need words. Shot Saturday morning, 8 a.m., March 14, 2009, Hoi An, Vietnam. Same same but better, indeed.
By the time the steaming bowl of ravioli arrived, smugness had settled over me like the pasta’s thick blanket of marinara. Despite worries that I’d flail on our mountain bike traverse of northern Italy’s stunningly beautiful Dolomite Mountains, the early miles had rolled easily beneath my tires. My legs felt strong and the pack with all my possessions had settled nicely on my back, even with the steep terrain and big days. Plus, after years of coughing up a lung in pursuit of my ultra-fit riding companion Joe Sagona, I was actually in front setting the pace. Comeuppance was just around the corner.
60-Second Expert: How to Manage Your Climbing Skins
‘Pillow Line’ Is A Charming Stop-Motion Winter Delight
Telluride Contest Has a Winner: Home-Made Video Grabs the Loot
8 Days of Climbing + 10 Pounds of Tequila = New 1,100-Foot Tepui Route
The Gallery of the OIdest Living Things in the World
60-Second Expert: How to Make a Skiing Kick Turn
And the Oscar For Best Use of Sheep Goes To…
Clothes Make the Man…And They Make A Difference for Nepal’s Women
Surviving A Massive Earthquake and Tsunami: What It Feels Like
Waves That Will Make You Say ‘Hurry Up, Summer’
The New Snow Test That Could Save Your Life
Earth’s Day Shortened, Axis Tilted By Chile Earthquake
The Greenest Job? Might Be Professional Tree Climber
60-Second Expert: The Right Way to Clean Your Goggles
Before There Was The Hurricane, There Was the Double Daffy
