The song is Hadouken – Levitate, and the footage is compiled from, goodness, anywhere and everywhere. Great work on putting together such a ridiculous and inspiring video!
Tag: slider
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San Francisco, Urban Racing Playground
A DC Shoes film, Gymkhana FIVE: Ultimate Urban Playground showcases Ken Block rocking the streets of San Francisco. Filmed over four days. Look out for a Travis Pastrana cameo!
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Jochen Mesle Shreds Face
In this 2012 edit, watch Jochen Melse dominate both powder and air. This guy is smooth.
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A Skate Trek Microadventure with Lauren Rains
Lauren Rains is the editor at large of Outdoor Minded Mag, one of Nerve Rush’s favorite websites. Lauren is struck by wanderlust and spends most waking hours of her life either 1) exploring the outdoors around the globe or 2) working on various passion projects, be it film, to microadventures, to cooking chili. You can read about her adventures in life, business and travel on her blog, The Mad to Live. You can also catch up with her on Twitter at @LaurRAINS.
Lauren took the time to chat with Nerve Rush about a recent microadventure that she completed. Lauren, take it away!
1. What is a microadventure? What is microadventuring?
A microadventure is basically a 12-48 hour (sometimes more) mini-expedition done through human-powered transportation (walk, bike, paddle, run, etc) that challenges you both mentally and physically, can be done in your own local backyard, and is one hell of a good time.
You see, I’m a traveler at heart. Wanderlust bit me in the butt when I was an awkward teenage girl, and while I’ve replaced awkwardness with sexiness ;-), the travel bug is still with me and going strong. I’ve lived all over from China to Argentina to France, so when I’m in the US, microadventuring is my way of traveling when I’m not technically traveling. It combines my love for travel and exploring, with my love for outdoor adventure and challenge.
While I typically look at microadventures as backyard adventure challenges to satisfy my wanderlust while I’m not traveling, this coming fall I will be embarking on my next world travel excursion and beginning my international microadventure series. After completing the Camino de Santiago (a 2 month walking pilgrimage across Spain) in August and September, I’ll be traveling to complete microadventurse around the world, including walking across Ireland by foot, kayaking the isles of Scotland, and then heading over to South East Asia to do things like SUP the western coastline of Thailand.
2. Deconstructing your most recent skating microadventure, tell us more about:
a) Logistics
The plan was to start at sunrise and get there before nightfall. It would be an entirely self-supported trip, and upon reaching my final destination in downtown Denver, I’d hop on the bus and head straight back to my apartment in Boulder where I’d pass out immediately.
Everything went according to plan except that by the time night fell, I still had 5 miles to go, and I forgot to bring a headlamp with me, making skating through the pot-holed filled streets of Denver quite an interesting challenge.
Below you’ll see a map of the route I took, which I found through a bike forum online where people were discussing the best way to bike from Boulder to Denver.
b) Clothing
While I love wearing top technology clothing, I decided to wear my “everyday” clothes on this trek:
Jeans, a loose tank top, an open button-down plaid shirt for the warmer part of the day, and my Patagonia goose down jacket I can’t live without for the morning and evening.
One of the great aspects of micro-adventuring is you don’t necessarily need all of the best, most expensive gear out there. I will say, however if I had chosen to do this over the summer, I would have sported a wicking base layer as wearing cotton will just slow you down and get heavy once you begin to sweat.
c) Gear
BOARD: I used a longboard from OZ Boards for this trek as my sponsor. I chose to seek out OZ as a sponsor because:
- They are a Colorado-based company, and being that this is where I now reside, I felt proud to be supporting a local business doing great things in my own backyard.
- They handcraft their boards with sustainable woods and use processes to make them – no bulk decks coming from China – this was made with 2 hands by a longboarder who loves what they do.
- They’re a small business run by entrepreneurs with passion. I fit right into this category with my own endeavors and love supporting those who are on a similar mission.
BOARD COMPONENTS:
Wheels – Abec 11 Flashback wheels | Bearings – ABEC 7 | Board Length – 40” | trucks – Randall R-11 180mm
BACKPACK: I take my Kelty daypack with me wherever i go. It’s been with me on all my microadventures from the “50-Mile Walk Along the Atlantic” to “2 Days of Trekking the Himalayas.”
ACCESSORIES: I rocked a Solepack, which is a backpack accessory, that clips around either side of the bag and holds another pair of shoes. While this is perfect if you’re hiking to a rock climbing destination and need both pairs of shoes, I used this to hold some flip flops I could rock after reaching my destination 12 hours later, knowing my feet would be a bit tired of my shoes.
WATER: The Camel Pak is likely the greatest thing since sliced bread. When the sun is beating down and you don’t have the time or energy to stop and go, stop and go just to take a swig from your water bottle, the Camel Pak solves all of those problems.
d) Food & Energy
Water and Cliff Bars (white chocolate macadamia nut to be exact) throughout the day. I took a break around 3PM just outside of Denver to snack on an Italian sub. Upon reaching Denver, I went and got myself a hot chocolate and took it all in.
e) Physical Training
The most important part of training for this trip is to learn how to push with both feet. This is absolutely essential. Could you imagine skateboarding for 12 hours straight pushing on the same leg over and over and over again? Your leg would fall off after first turning to jelly.
Other than that, just be in decent shape. I rock climb a few days a week after work, so I’m constantly keeping my body in check. As long as you aren’t a couch potato, it doesn’t take a lot of training to be able to accomplish t his type of trek.
3. You told me you had a mentor. Tell us about him/her.
When it comes to adventuring, the mentor I who has inspired me the most is Alastair Humphreys. He’s the one who turned me onto the idea of microadventures, being that he was nominated as a 2012 Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic for a project he did called “A Year of Microadventures”. My goal is to become the twenty-something, American female version of him – same amount of badass, just I don’t have a beard to freeze to grow icicles on!
Al Humphreys is a jack-of-all-trades adventurer: telling his stories with beautiful writing and videos with amazing cinamaphotography and photography. He speaks about his experiences to live audiences, self publishes books, has a popular blog – I admire his success, his commitment, and his dedication to quality on all fronts.
4.) One of your upcoming spring microadventures is TAHOE CROSSING: A SUP Across Lake Tahoe at its Widest Point of 22 Miles. Tell us a bit about this.
This idea was inspired by another one of my mentors, Jenny Kalmbach, a professional SUP who is not just an amazing athlete, but an amazing woman. She’s been nominated and has won the Female Paddlers of the year in the SUP awards, and once did a SUP journey called Destination: 3 Degrees in which she and fellow pro SUP Morgan Hoesterey, crossed the channels in Hawaii to bring awareness to plastic contamination in the ocean. In fact, she did a piece on the online magazine I run, Outdoor Minded Mag, for our Outdoor Hours series about the part of the trip they paddled over 80 miles through the night to cross one of the channels.
The Logistics: I’ll be SUPing across Lake Tahoe in an expected 12 hours. This trip will be supported in that I’ll have a kayak with me there to film and photograph the adventure, as well as to help me navigate the boats as well as keep a cooler full of a few cold brews and a burrito.
I look forward to seeing if this will kick my ass more than skateboarding 30 miles in 12 hours from Boulder to Denver!
Where did you go on that first trek?
I titled the first trek “From Sea to Marsh”. I started at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and didn’t stop until I hit the Saint John’s River 30 miles due west from the coastline. It was an extremely tough skate trek being that Florida is the flattest state in the US. There were no hills to glide down – it was one push after the next – through the morning, afternoon, and night. It kicked my ass, and I loved every moment of that day!
How big a challenge was it?
A big one!!! It was actually more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Sure, my legs felt like jelly by the end of it, but what was tough was going 12 hours on a solo mission skate trek. I remember at around 3 PM the sun was beating down, I was tired, I was hungry, and I knew I still had 15 miles to go. I wanted to turn back, and the only one there to tell me to keep going was myself.
I think moments like those are very important though – when you face a challenge and you and you alone must get yourself through it. It builds our life muscle.
What impact has skating had on your life muscle?
Skating has taught me how to enjoy the process of getting from A to B. And I don’t just mean this in terms of 2 cities, but in terms of going after the things that I want most in my life. Sometimes, we get so focused on our final destination and outcome, that we forget to enjoy the ride, and to focus on the steps we need to take to get there.
For the Boulder to Denver skate trek, I was so focused on getting to Denver before the sun set. Around 5 PM, the sun was fading and I still had a ways to go – and so I realized at that moment to stop rushing, to take it in, to let this be MY day, and to enjoy the process.
What do you do when you’re not skating?
I work a lot, but I love my work! I run Outdoor Minded Mag, which is an online digital magazine for world travelers that love outdoor adventures. I also run my own web design / media consulting company called Wild World Creative that caters to the travel industry. And when I’m not working, I like to just have a cold beer with friends. And when I’m not in the US doing that, then I’m traveling around the world and exploring. I also love rock climbing.
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Alastair “Ali C” Clarkson Mountain Bike Tricks
Filmed over 3 weekends at a variety of locations around the northwest of England, this video documents Alastair “Ali C” Clarkson’s early experiments with brakeless trials riding on-board his Inspired street bike. Go Ali C go.
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![Norseman Xtreme Triathlon [Race Profile]](https://www.nerverush.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mark-vermeersch-norseman-triathlon.jpg)
Norseman Xtreme Triathlon [Race Profile]
This race profile comes from Mark Vermeersch, a triathlete for Team Timex and independent consultant who traveled to Norway to race the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, deemed the hardest Ironman-distance triathlon in the world.
In the fall of 2011, I watched the Norseman video for the second time, having heard about the race through the triathlon grapevine. The Norseman video drove me to sign up for the Norseman Triathlon in 2012, which also happened to be the race’s 10th anniversary. For those unfamiliar, Norseman is billed as the world’s hardest Ironman-distance triathlon, containing thousands of feet of vertical climb, not to mention the jump off the ferry into freezing water (at race start) and weather conditions that change quickly (and are often quite cold).
Though this sounds miserable at first glance, the scenery is beyond gorgeous. The Norwegian people are extremely supportive and the enthusiasm of the race organizers and participants is contagious.
It is a unique race experience, but not for the faint of heart. Going into the race, my training had been sporadic, which, in retrospect, was suboptimal (to say the least!) given the challenge presented by Norseman.
On race morning, I rolled out of bed at 1:15am for the 3:00am check-in. Per usual, I was quickly awake, myself, and for once, nervous for the race. Once 3:45 rolled around, it was time to hop on the ferry.
[youtube id=”vLKTxesPAHM” width=”600″ height=”350″]
For a point of reference, I’m the bald guy who looks like he wants to cry at 0:59! Though I was quite nervous on the ferry, once I plummeted into the cold waters 2.4 miles from Eidfjord, I realized it was just another race (a statement I made to my brother Matt in the first transition) and that I should focus on enjoying it (especially given that my training had been sub-par; my goal was just to get a black t-shirt, awarded to the top 160 finishers at the summit of Gaustatoppen mountain). Swimming went off without a hitch, as I put minimal effort in to conserve as much energy as possible for the bike and run portions. With a time in the high-58s, I was one of the first competitors to hit shore.
Exiting T1, the (roughly) 4,000 foot climb was quite enjoyable, as I passed about the same number of people who had passed me, again, focusing on conserving energy. The scenery was ridiculous, as we basically traveled along a river that had carved out a beautiful valley. Near the top of the climb, my support crew caught me for the first time.
Shortly thereafter, I threw on a coat, as the temperature had dropped from about 60 in Eidfjord to about 45. Let me tell you, descending a couple thousand feet in 45-degree weather is less-than-stellar. It was on the descent that the wheels fell off (figuratively). Looking at my watch, I was “only” 3:45 into racing with a 12-hour “ish” expected finishing time. It was after a 10-minute stop with my support crew on the road where I decided to mail it in; I didn’t have 8 more hours of racing left in the tank. Ultimately, a huge disappointment, especially given the time I had put into training and the trip.
Watching the Norseman video again today left me close to tears, as I want to finish Norseman SO BADLY. One thing is for sure, I WILL return in pursuit of the elusive black t-shirt.
Target date: 2014. Keep your eyes peeled for an update—and a picture of me in a black t-shirt.
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Climbing and BASE Jumping with The Skyliners
Just an average day with Sébastien Brugall and The Skyliners. A little climb, then a little flying. No big deal.
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Chase Norton’s 228-Mile Solo Trek Across Death Valley
It’s ironic that, as a child, Chase Norton used to spend more time indoors, tinkering with his computer, than outside. These days, he prepares for adventures like a 228-mile solo trek across Death Valley.
Born in Georgia, Norton moved to Honolulu to study at the University of Hawaii. It was the Napali Coast that changed him. At one point during his studies, Norton was out drinking with friends. Empowered from a recent hike, he naively boasted that one day he would hike the entire Ko’olau Mountain Range on Oahu.
Unknown to Norton at the time — the spine of the Ko’olau had never even been attempted.
On his first trip into the Ko’olau, Norton shouldered a sixty pound pack. Over time, as he gained experience in the mountains, learning to navigate the trails of volcanic terrain, Norton reduced his pack down to twenty pounds.
It only took him two tries – in March of 2012 Norton hiked the entire Ko’olau Mountain Range via the KST, or Ko’olau Summit Trail. His life as an endurance athlete was only beginning.
via Olivier Renck
Death Valley: Chase’s Way
On February 14th, Chase Norton seeks to hike the entirety of Death Valley National Park, a north-to-south path over 228 miles long. He will attempt the expedition solo, fully self-contained. He will cross canyons, dunes, summit ridges and valley floors.
Norton has teamed up with Olivier Renck, adventure photographer and videographer, to create a short film, Death Valley: Chase’s Way, that highlights the experience.
I asked Chase to write up some notes regarding his upcoming journey. Read below for his thoughts.
Solo: One Man’s Will to Adventure, Inspire, and Endure
The Mountains Are Calling: After five years spending every spare moment exploring Oahu’s terrain, untold hours pouring over topographic maps, and one failed bloody attempt, I became the first person to successfully complete an eight day trek along the entire summit of the Ko’olau Mountain range. I planned it solo and entirely self sufficient as to try and reduce any failures but of my own. Over time, these requirements would force a deep understanding and knowledge of my gear, the land, weather and my mind/body or else force me to become another statistic being airlifted out. As I prepare to leave Hawaii this month, I take with me the many lessons learned and am able to put them towards future adventures worldwide. The next challenge is possibly the antithesis to Hawaii’s mountains (a reason I love it) but stays true to me, a full 228-mile solo traverse of Death Valley National Park through its canyons, sand dunes, snow capped peaks and salt flats all while being captured in a short film, Death Valley: Chase’s Way.
Trekking: To feel at home. I enjoy the struggle and focus that I feel alone in the wilderness. To stand tall in the face of a challenge is not bred into us but learned through experiences of misery and hardship. I do not laugh while the darkness closes in nor rejoice at the calluses formed from my machete. Determination:grit:survive until the clouds part and I crawl out of my cave able to reflect:learn:grow. Mountains continue to teach me how to be a better man allowing me an attempt at being a true contribution to humankind. Personal growth does not come without injury and fear but I find they are unique lessons rarely taught and worth learning. This is why I trek: to make a better me.
Freedom: The Death Valley project is truly one of a kind, being a fully self-contained and solo backpacking trek from north to south across the largest park in the continental U.S. Many of the days are marathon plus mileage with the last day totaling nearly 50 miles. I will leave the roads behind and instead opt to run across sand dunes, canyons, ghost towns, summit ridges and valley floors. Beauty alongside misery while one discovers their limits and then breaks through them. This trek embodies an idea I love: To put everything you need to survive in a pack and just run for days and weeks alone.
A Message Within the Artwork: The journey is encapsulated within a short film we are going to create, Death Valley: Chase’s Way, which will be used as a message of inspiration in talks to schools and businesses through my recently founded business, Chase LIFE. I wish to inspire others to live more active adventurous lives while pursuing their passions. So many of us go through the motion of life, but are not really alive with drive and aware of our absolute potential. I hope to ignite this spark inside everyone to remind people to live life to the fullest and without limits. For the filming, I have teamed up with an experienced and National Geographic published photographer/videographer, Olivier Renck. I believe that Death Valley captured through Renck’s lens will embody not only the awe inspiring journey, but the incredible place itself. Nature has been the subject of novels, poems and films because of its ability to inspire. It is my hope that this film will be thought of as a work of art, capturing man alone enduring within the vastness of a beautiful landscape.
Join Me: We are seeking support in order to make the Death Valley project a reality. Kickstarter has allowed us to share this project with the masses and through a multitude of pledges/rewards that we created you can get involved and follow my journey through the desert. Be there with me through the adventure on whatever level interests you; emails from on the trail, a bound book of my trail notes, images of Death Valley by Olivier, or by receiving a copy of the short film.
Please visit the project to learn more about it and how you can get involved: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaseway/death-valley-chases-way
You can reach Chase Norton on the web at thechasenorton.com
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2012 Parkour and Freerunning Montage
I don’t know much about this clip, only that whoever spliced it togeter has good taste. Great montage of some of the best Parkour and freerunning athletes from around the world.
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Alexander Polli, Wingsuit King
We’ve posted many BASE jumping and wingsuit flying clips here at Nerve Rush HQ, so it’s not often we’re taken aback like this. Alexander Polli, in this beautifully edited montage, brings wingsuit flying (or proximity flying) to a new level. Sit back and be wowed.