I first saw this story the other day on the Twitter feed and was reminded of it while over viewing The Adventure Blog. We have posted stories about extreme kayaking, base jumping, snowyaking and more. However, this is the first time we have posted anything about skydiving while in a kayak. I have to agree with The Adventure Blog…it is pretty interesting to watch the free fall but the landing is what is truly amazing!

Adventurer Lei Wang departs in less than 2 weeks to make an attempt on Everest. Born in Beijing, she says that she grew up as a typical city girl. She graduated with a B.S degree in Computer Science from Tsinghua University in Beijing followed by an M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After working in the IT field for several years, she decided to pursue her M.B.A. degree at Wharton. It was there that she was first introduced to ice climbing and mountaineering and climbed her first glacier mountain in Ecuador (Cotopaxi). Upon graduation, she traveled to Africa where she reached the summit of Kilimanjaro.

Posted over at the Red Bull site on their “Holy Shit” list, and that just might be what you’ll say after checking out this latest video about a 36km freefall project sponsored by Red Bull.

A brand new trail marathon is coming to Indiana in April. The Planet Adventure Heritage Trail Marathon will start and finish in historic Battleground Indiana. The (out and back) course will follow the Heritage Trail through and beyond Lafayette. The scenic route will take you through beautiful wooded and semi-urban areas as you run on all sorts of trail surfaces.

With the start of the Iditarod today, we felt it a perfect time to post our story on Lance Mackey after his 3rd consecutive win last year. AWM contributor, Amanda Jones interviewed Lance after his ‘three-peat’ of the more than 1100 mile race from Anchorage to Nome. Lance is just off of a second place finish at the Yukon Quest and could potentially set a record that will be hard to beat if he is successful with this year’s event. Good luck to all of the racers this year.

There appears to be a new sport on the winter scene!!!! I first ran across this video on the Chaco Facebook page. Even though it was posted in late 2008, this is the first time I had seen it. Joel and Tate explain the importance of ’skootching’. Anyone that has ever been snowboarding knows what they are referring to when they mention the ’skootch’. My favorite might have to be the treadmill scene on the board.

I have spent my life playing sports. A product of the American Midwest, my youth is best remembered as an athletic menagerie of freshwater lakes, kayaks, canoes, cliffs, campsites, forests and fields of grass as green as any gracing the Irish countryside.

I grew up playing organized football – the proper ‘football’, not the American bastardization of the beautiful game – basketball, tennis, golf and whatever else I could do. I have splished and splashed in a good percentage of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, traversed the tributaries of the mighty Mississippi and camped, climbed and competed in her pine forests for most of my life.

Okay…so this video is over 3 years old. But, it is still awesome! Check out what unicycle legend Kris Holm does on one-wheel that some of us would have a hard time doing with two.

Explorer Jim McNeill has announced the postponement of his team’s quest to be the first to reach the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility. Jim has decided that the daring attempt to cross from the northern shores of Canada to the very centre of the Arctic Ocean (a distance of 800 miles) is now considered to be too risky.

Jim says “The risks of early failure, of cold injury and of needing to be rescued are too high to justify setting out. I believe to venture out in the current conditions would be foolhardy and not achieve any of the scientific and adventurous aims we have and could possibly endanger lives unnecessarily.”

Do you remember the first time you crossed a finish line? Was it a Marathon, Adventure Race, or Ironman? Maybe it was crossing a finish line for a charity run? No matter what race or how long it took, you always remember the first time you crossed that line…

As AW covers the upcoming all-women off-road rally raid, the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles we decided to catch up with a team of first-time competitors to get a glimse of their perspective on this unique évent and take a look as they prepare for the unknown.

We have interviewed Alex Hibbert in the past and thought it only fitting to announce the release of his new book: The Long Haul. Alex is currently planning for another shorter polar expedition and will be leaving this weekend for some training in Norway.

World Record Holder Captain Will De Laszlo and Adventurer Oliver Dudley are re-launching in June of this year the

Here’s one for everybody that didn’t get enough of the Black Hills during Primal Quest last year. The Dakota Rogaine Championships will be held May 8-9 in Custer State Park. There will be a 24 hour championship along with a 12 hour intermediate and 4 hour beginner events. USOF sanctions are applied for. The events will be staggered so they all will finish Sunday at noon.

The course is designed by Rick Emerson,course designer for Primal Quest Badlands.

Mountain Hardwear announces the recipients of the 2010 Expedition Sponsorship Program. Mountain Hardwear will give total of $10,000 to help fund five 2010 expeditions.

A few months back…we posted an interview with Eric Larsen prior to his departure for his expedition to the South Pole as part of his Save The Poles Expedition. While at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market last month, I got to sit down with Eric and we have another interview with him about his trip and his gear and his outlook on the next phase of his expedition to the North Pole. Check out this great video from his recent expedition to the South Pole.

After six days of climbing volcanos, traversing rivers, fighting wind swept plateaus and scorching dry heat, Javier Montero (CRC) has secured his third consecutive overall win at The Coastal Challenge. Stage racing newcomer Margaret Phillips (Canada) took first place in the women’s division.

Cesar Ortega (CRC) finished second and first-time multi-day adventure racer Ty Stevens (USA) took third place overall. The six-day expedition race through Costa Rica’s must rugged and surreal mountainous range showed why you can’t expect what’s ahead on the trail.

Seven-month training schedule paying off for daycare teacher on day five of The Coastal Challenge

While race leaders continue to push forward in their quest for race champion on day five of The Coastal Challenge, Shannon MacLeod (Canada) has already won the race in her mind.

After seven months of training with running coach and professional endurance athlete Jen Segger, MacLeod reached her goal on day two.

American Ty Stevens takes risk, second place on fourth day of The Coastal Challenge

American Ty Stevens came into his first multi-day stage adventure race looking to finish with a decent time. After taking second on day four of The Coastal Challenge, he now finds himself in competition for second place.

Skateboarding is not something that we normally follow but someone sent me this video of 11-year-old twins, Nic and Tristan Puehse. It is great to see today’s youth out pushing the limits as opposed to sitting in front a TV or computer. Remember these 2 kids….you will see more of them in the future.

$20,000 Awarded to Climbing, Cycling, Skiing and Mountaineering Expeditions

The 19th annual Polartec® Challenge Grant recipients have been announced. A total of $20,000 will be awarded to four separate expeditions in 2010: a climbing attempt in Pakistan, a 10,000-kilometer bike ride along the Silk Route, a quest for endless skiing and the continuation of 13-year-old Jordan Romero’s quest for the Seven Summits.

Some people talk about the weather when they have nothing else to talk about, whereas climbers and cyclists and runners and skiers, etc. talk about it all the time – as it plays a crucial role in their adventures. Weather patterns affect everything from the clothes they wear, the gear they bring, and when they head out. Recently, SLATE.COM posted an article about the Wind Chill Factor being somewhat deceptive and outdated. Apparently, for the past 60 years, the windchill factor has been grossly exaggerated, and a new “toned down” system has been created that is more accurately calibrated with the effects of the wind.

At 1300hrs on the 18! th January 2010, after 60 days and 1700km, professional explorer, adventurer and speaker Mark Kalch completed a solo trek across the Islamic Republic of Iran from its northern border on the Caspian Sea to its southerly border in the Persian Gulf. Beginning in the coastal city of Chalus, he crossed the Alborz Mountains heading south to the capital Tehran, before continuing south-west to Qom, Esfahan, through the Zagros Mountains, and onto the Persian Gulf at Bushehr.