Looking for a Killer Surf Hotel?

by Erik Olsen on

So was Bill Lee. He had very exacting requirements, too. He wanted the perfect surf spot with ample opportunities for hard-core adventure junkies, but also the perfect mix of laid-backedness and good food and friendly people. So when he had trouble finding this hotel, he said fu%$ it, I’ll start my own. Which is what he did.

So after cruising the surf beaches of the Caribbean and the northern Pacific for a year or so he decided to found eXtreme Hotels. EXtreme Cabarete, Lee’s property on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, matches his ideal. It caters to adrenalin sport enthusiasts, from kite boarders, to paragliders and rock climbers.

Paddling Bolivia

by Erik Olsen on

Outside also runs an article on paddling
the highlands of
Bolivia.  It’s an older piece (2000), but it’s a good one, covering some killer paddle spots from the altiplano to
the jungle. Paddling the altiplano is something I’d never heard of until reading the article by
Jon Bowermaster (a gadling favorite) who did it for his
Ocean’s 8 project, an immensely cool project
launched by Bowermaster to paddle 8 major areas around the world.

Rafting the Salmon and Learning

by Erik Olsen on


When I lived in Colorado way back when (and worked one summer as a junior rafting guide) the Salmon River in Idaho
was considered one of those great rafting trips you simply HAD to do. There are lots of outfitters out there that offer
trips, but

this one by Road Scholar has a particular allure for me because the company does a nice job focussing on the
natural history of an area. Rather than getting some clueless, pot-smoking guide, their guides tend to be pretty
knowledgable. This trip down the Salmon offers the opportunity to discuss wolf and grizzly re-introduction, fisheries
management, and conservation ethics with naturalists.

A nice to way mix adventure with learning.

Welcome Cinematical

by Erik Olsen on

Film afficionados rejoice. We have a new blog for you. BUt this is not just ANY blog, this is
Cinematical (it even SOUNDS epic) a blog dedicated to ALL things film. It is
written by folks who really KNOW what they’re talking about, so pick up some popcorn and give it a go.

First Whitewater Solo

by Erik Olsen on

Paddler has got a small feature by Mary
Kahn about her first whitewater solo in a kayak. Her boyfriend maker her do it, and she finds the going ain’t that
easy, but in the end, she pulls it off, and now everyone’s happy. Isn’t that nice? (Oh, and no, the picture at
right is not her).