See the Serengeti on foot with Mountain Madness

by Kraig Becker on

Adventure travel company Mountain Madness is well known for their incredible range of mountaineering and trekking options. Their well trained guides have the skill and knowledge to take clients to some of the most amazing destinations on the planet, including the tops of each of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. But if climbing Everest or Denali is a bit outside your comfort zone, perhaps their newest trek will satisfy your need for adventure.

Mountain Madness has recently begun offering a trek across the Serengeti that is sure to give travelers a unique perspective on that magical place. Located in Tanzania, the Serengeti Plain has one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife found anywhere on the planet, and while most visitors see it from the inside of a vehicle, on this trip you’ll get the opportunity to witness it on foot.

Over the course of the eight day walking tour, highly trained safari guides will lead travelers through the pristine African wilderness where they’ll witness vast herds of wildebeest, zebras, and antelope. They’ll also track buffalo, walk in the footsteps of giraffes, and follow massive elephants across the open grasslands, where lions and leopards rule the day.

Until recently, trekking the Serengeti has not been allowed at all, which means that the Mountain Madness groups will be amongst the first to visit the place on foot in more than 50 years. And at the end of the day the travelers will return to camp, where they’ll spend night on the African plains, listening to the sounds of wildlife in all directions.

The Serengeti Walking Safari is a fantastic adventure in and of itself, but when paired with a Kilimanjaro Climb and a visit to Zanzibar, you get a complete African experience unlike any other. Mountain Madness’ can not only deliver that full experience, they’ll also give you the adventure of a lifetime.


National Geographic reveals spring/summer gear of the year

by Kraig Becker on

In what has become an annual rite of spring, National Geographic Adventure has released their list of picks for their Gear of the Year for the 2011 spring/summer seasons. The list arrives just ahead of the warmer months, when outdoor enthusiasts are looking for durable, dependable, yet lightweight, gear to accompany them on their summertime adventures.

The Gear of the Year list is a diverse one, offering up all kinds of suggestions on how to spend your hard-earned cash. Whether you’re in the market for a new backpack, tent or sleeping bag, you’ll find excellent options here. You’ll also find cameras, watches, and other high tech travel gear as well, not to mention footwear for just about any outdoor activity you can think of.

Some of the gear that earned a spot on the list include the Hornet 46 backpack from Osprey, which is lightweight, comfortable, and versatile. Basically everything you could want in weekend pack. If you’re in the market for a tent, Nat Geo recommends the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3, which is the perfect summer shelter for two people plus their gear. Want to hit the trail on a mountain bike? The Yeti 575 Enduro gets the nod, while the Giant Defy Advanced 3 takes home the honors for those who prefer to stay on the road.

This is just a sample of some of the gear that made Nat Geo’s list, but there are plenty more suggestions where these came from. If you’re in the market for some new gear for your outdoor adventures this summer, then you’ll definitely want to give this article a look. You may even find an item or two you didn’t even know you needed!

Space tourism celebrates tenth anniversary

by Sean McLachlan on


Space tourism is ten years old this week. On 28 April 2001 millionaire Dennis Tito became the first person to go into space as a tourist and not an astronaut or scientist.

In an interview with BBC today he talked about how thrilled he was and called his eight days being in orbit “paradise.”

While space tourism is the ultimate in high-cost adventure travel–only seven people have done it so far and Tito is said to have paid $20 million for the privilege–private companies are hoping to make it more widely available. They also want to make it more comfortable. Tito was crammed “elbow to elbow” in a Russian capsule after NASA refused to put him on one of the Space Shuttles. Not that he cared at the time. Check out this video of Dennis Tito’s arrival at the International Space Station. The guy’s euphoric!

A number of private companies are looking into commercial space travel. The most serious contender is Virgin Galactic, which has already built a spaceport and put their spaceship Enterprise through a test flight. The company hopes to push an orbital trip down to $200,000, just one percent of what Tito paid. Who knows? Maybe good old free-market competition will push the price even lower than that.

Even more ambitious is Excalibur Almaz, a company based in the Isle of Man that has bought some Russian space capsules that they’re refurbishing. They boast that they’ll offer trips around the Moon by 2015.

Best of luck folks, but I won’t be looking for a Lonely Planet Outer Space in the bookstores anytime soon.

[Photo courtesy NASA]

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Motorist survives 200-foot plunge into the Grand Canyon

by Kraig Becker on

Earlier this week a 21-year old man drove his car off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, surviving a 200-foot fall with only minor injuries. He then freed himself from his vehicle and climbed back up the canyon wall looking for help. He was discovered alongside the road by another traveler, who immediately called the Park Service.

Park Rangers are still investigating exactly what happened, and until that investigation is complete, they aren’t releasing the name of the young man, who was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries. The man claims that he drove off the rim purely on accident, and it doesn’t appear that alcohol played a role in the incident either.

As of now, his car remains stuck in a tree, 200 feet below the South Rim, while the Park Service determines how best to retrieve it from its resting spot. The vehicle came to a stop when it hit a pine tree, ten feet shy of another major precipice.

To say that his man is lucky to be alive is an understatement. The South Rim is, at points, more than 5000 feet above the canyon floor, so to only have fallen 200 feet, and to walk away without any real injuries, is a bit of a miracle. The Grand Canyon is truly one of the most spectacular natural wonders that you could ever hope to see. Perhaps he was a bit distracted by all that splendor.

This is also another reason why you should leave your car behind when visiting national parks!

[Photo credit: The National Park Service]

Nat Geo explores Yosemite’s climbing culture

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we posted a story on five ways to explore national parks without using a vehicle, and one of the items that made the list was a suggestion to go climbing in Yosemite National Park. As noted, Yosemite is one of the greatest climbing destinations in the world, with towering granite walls that attract the best climbers from across the globe, something that National Geographic discovered recently when they visited the place.

Writer Mark Jenkins went on assignment in Yosemite Valley for a cover story in the May issue of Nat Geo. While there, he discovered some amazing athletes pushing their skills to the limit on Half Dome and El Capitan, two of the most well known and iconic big walls in the rock climbing universe.

Chief amongst these athletes (NG calls them “superclimbers”) is Alex Honnold, a 23-year old who has made Yosemite his personal playground over the past few years. Back in 2008, he stunned the climbing community by free soloing the 2140-foot tall Half Dome. For the uninitiated, when someone free solos they are climbing with just their chalk bag and shoes, and no ropes of any kind. For an encore in 2010, Honnold tackled both Half Dome and the 3000-foot El Cap, back-to-back, in just 8 hours.Honnold isn’t the only great climber that frequents Yosemite however, and Jenkins found a number of them on his visit. He reports that one morning while walking through the park’s notorious Camp 4, a popular site for climbers, he heard over a dozen languages being spoken, which is a testament to how popular the region is with the rock climbing crowd.

Jenkins, who first climbed in the valley back in the 70’s, discovered that things have changed dramatically since he climbed there. He found that amongst today’s climbers, it is all about speed, and they’ll eschew certain gear, such as backpacks, helmets, and other items, just so they can move more quickly up the rock face. This is quite a departure from the old days, when climbing legend Royal Robbins first climbed Half Dome. Back in 1957, it took him, and his partner, five days to complete the route. Today, Honnold can do it solo in just a little over 2 hours.

The full National Geographic article is available online by clicking here. It offers some great insights into the climbing world, which can be a bit mystifying for those who don’t “get” it. The story is actually a good read for climbers and non-climbers alike, holding up well to Nat Geo’s usual high standards. The article is also accompanied by a gallery of great photos that were shot for the story by by Jimmy Chin, one of the best adventure photographers working today. They capture the spirit of climbing in Yosemite very well and can be found here.

[Photo credit: Mike Murphy via WikiMedia]