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Base
Jumping
http://www.maxho.com/~outrager/
Forget
about living on the edge - jump off the thing!
Dozens of photos of people doing what comes unnaturally - leaping
to their deaths, only to be saved by a bit of string and fabric.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, there are no how-to's, tips and
tricks here, just a dude celebrating his and his friends outrageous addiction,
which he even had to sell his Porsche to maintain.
It looks pretty damn exciting, but I'm sure you'd void all your
insurance policies even thinking about doing it.
You can follow the links to the cliff-jumping association to make
sure you stay alive if you ever want to try this at home.
Sample: The pictures speak for themselves.
No text here.
Verdict: Contradicting the basic urge to stay alive - uh, feels good!
- SS
NetWorth: ***
Snowboarding Australia
http://www.snowboardaustralia.org.au/
Thanks to cable TV and its thirst for exciting sporting images to fill
up air-time, snowboarding is really starting to take off as a serious
professional sport. Sponsorships
aplenty offer opportunities for young dudes and dudettes in colourful
garb, to rise through the world ranks and blow the world away with their
acrobatic risk-taking displays.
Thanks to the SBA, Aussie riders are getting the support and organisational
backing to make a big splash on the world scene. Events, rankings, profiles
and sponsorship links make this site a respectable vehicle for the burgeoning
sport.
Sample: Nickname: Jack Years riding: many Favourite Resort: LAAX, Switzerland,
and Saas Fee, Switzerland Other interests: Skateboarding, movies, making
jokes, being bad ass.
Verdict: The rising stars of Aussie Sport - SS
Net Worth: ****
Hang Gliding WWW Server Home Page
http://www.sky-adventures.com/hang/HGMPSHomePage.html
Yup, it's hang glider heaven here.
Countless photos, movie clips, a chat room, mailing list digests,
simulation software, commercial suppliers, clubs, schools, cartoons and
comics - you'd have to say they have got all the bases covered.
All you have to do now is strap up and leap! Add your link if you have your own hang gliding site.
This really is HG HQ. Anything
that throws you skyward without a safety net is here.
Paragliding, powered parachutes, ultra-lights, sailplanes and home
made death traps are guaranteed to get the adrenal gland over-producing.
Sample: "Hang Glider Wanted - I began lessons years ago and quit
due to wife. She's now gone, but desire to continue lessons isn't. Need good beginner glider."
Verdict: Join the life and limb-risking brigade now. - SS
NetWorth: ****
Welcome to SkydiveNet
http://www.skydivenet.com/
What looks like a small site with a big name containing a few links turns
out to be a huge site with a big name containing all the links you'd ever
need. After checking out
the fatalities page, which is dedicated to highlighting what went wrong
and trying to prevent future airborne mishaps, you can follow a link to
dropzone.com - a parachuting portal of prodigious proportions.
Sample: "The deceased hit the ground.
The reserve container was open, but this could have been from impact.
One report indicates some heavy partying the night before, with very little
sleep before resuming jumping. He
was not using an audible altimeter. Lessons: Pull thy handles. If something
seems "strange" pull right away... Know Thyself: If you're exhausted,
or really hungover, you're in no shape to skydive."
Verdict: Plummet directly
towards this site. - SS
NetWorth: *****
Dropzone.com
http://www.dropzone.com/
"No use having such an awesome domain name and not using it"
- wise words from Mr Zone himself, Sangrio, who has moved his totally
tricked-up site to a new home, creating a world magnet for the latently
suicidal community. Not just
content to gloat about plane jumping prowess, he also offers new chute
designs, events, forums, safety issues and featured flying freaks, making
for an all round exhilarating experience.
Heaps of dramatic photos, too, in all disciplines.
This is the skydiving community in action.
Join the club!
Sample: "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you."
Verdict: Pretty fly for a
parachute. - SS
NetWorth: *****
Paul's Parachuting
http://www.paulsparachuting.com.au/
With his drop zone up in Far North Queensland, Paul's parachuting offers
the ultimate weekend adrenalin rush in an on-line ad that looks almost
as cool as Cairns would look hurtling towards you at 100 miles an hour.
Shockwave whiz-bangery entices you in a big way to overcome your
fears and take the plunge. What have you got to lose?
Oh yes, your life… well, go the tandem jump and leave it up to
the professionals to get you down in one uncompressed piece.
Sample: "Up to 60 seconds
of mind blowing free-fall, followed by 5 minutes under parachute - the
most spectacular view in the world."
Verdict: Shockwave fear suppression - go the jump! - SS
NetWorth: ****
Advanced Ultralight Aircraft and Aviation News
http://www.ultralightnews.com/
What is it with Ultralights? Doesn't
anyone realise how dangerous they are?
How can you expect to tinker around with a lawn mower motor, strap
it onto a few pillow cases stretched across coathangers and expect to
live if you launch yourself skyward?
Well many a folk do, and here is where the madness begins.
Personally I wouldn’t go anywhere near an aeroplane engine whose
manufacturer has a troubleshooting home page, but I guess that's half
the fun of the sport. You
never know when the "putt-putt" sound will stop and be replaced
by the "aaaaaaarrrrgghhhh" sound.
Sample: "While the human body has amazing recuperative properties
(don't I know it - 12 broken ribs, two punctured lungs, broken back, broken
leg, broken ankle, fractured pelvis) - a two stroke engine "can not
heal itself!"
Verdict: Newsflash guys - don't even think about it! - SS
NetWorth: ***
Skateworld
http://come.to/skateworld/
Even though the 16 year old who put this site together seems to have found
girls and left the upkeep behind somewhat, this rather out-of date site
does offer enough to be worth checking out.
How to do the coolest moves, blueprints to build your own ramps,
a few links, message board, chat and photos pepper this place with features,
but unfortunately the dude needs to get his marketing together to make
it really fly. Anyone wanna
email him and pick up the slack here?
Sponsors? Most of the hard work is done and it is getting use,
just needs some corporate cred.
Sample: "Hard-flip -Try this move still at first. Stand in kick-flip
position with your feet in close. Pop the tail then let the board go inbetween
your legs. If you do this correctly the board should do a half spin back-flip
and a half kick-flip. Then land."
Verdict: And if you make a mistake - you can join the sopranos - SS
NetWorth: ****
Welcome to the Wild Things.com Directory
http://www.wildthings.com/
Forget trawling through millions of search engine results for your favourite
addictive adventure pastime. If you wanna know for sure, jump into this
list and make your heart sing and make everything groovy, as they have
already categorised the sports and adventures and attracted a whole pile
of submissions of cool sites in every category.
At least you have narrowed your search down to a few dozen or so
sites to browse - BMX, bungee, kayaking, skating, paintball - all the
fun stuff.
Sample: "Click here to visit our sponsor"
Verdict: Wild things, I think
I love you - SS
NetWorth: ****
Nose Wheelie Home
http://www.nosewheelie.com/
In the early days of skateboards (when I used to ride), we used to have
to wear straps to go airborne. It
was a world of 360's, slalom, handstands, click clacks and of course the
then very cool nose wheelie. Here
we have a nostalgic yet up-to-date zone for those of us who haven't quite
caught up with the up-and-coming aerial tricksters.
Link yourself to a whole world of old-schoolers and if you skate
through some of these cyber-parks, you may even decide to pull out the
old deck and start practicing up a few new tricks, you old dog.
Sample: "You won't find much on how to do ollies here, but we do
link to some of the better "new school" pages. We mainly cover
longboarding along with some of the forgotten skateboard disciplines--flatland
freestyle, bank riding, slalom, downhill, etc."
Verdict: Dusting off the
old arm-breaker. - SS
NetWorth: ****
XTREME SPORTS
http://www.xtreme-sports.com/
It's a bit of a case of "nice domain name shame about the site"
here as you discover that it is merely a mountain bike brand name spare
parts site. Sure you can
get all the trick parts to get you through your next overland endurance
or stunt riding challenge, but this is a web site, not a mail order catalogue.
Where is the news, tech tips, message board, cool rider of the
week, competition roster, readers' sites?
This is the Internet, dudes. Now get on your bike and follow a
link outta here.
Sample: "The Ultimate Site for Dedicated Mountain Bikers" (?)
I think not.
Verdict: Xtremely disappointing. - SS
NetWorth: **
A-Z of Paragliding
http://www.paragliding.net/
Keep it simple, tacky and clunky, but make it work.
That seems to be paragliding.net's philosophy. Easy to maintain pages allow for plenty of info to be posted
and udpdated without forking out mega-bucks for a redesign.
A straight forward approach of "link to us, we'll link to
you, we got the domain so we'll dish out the info", gives the enthusiast
a trouble free flight through the site.
They have even linked to the AltaVista translator to make it easy
for everyone.
Sample: "Reserve parachute. If you end up throwing it, make sure
that it will open (have it repacked at least every 6 months). In fact
make sure that it is still there (unlike the story of the guy who threw
out some lunch box instead of
the reserve that should have been there!)."
Verdict: The perfect paragliding
portal. - SS
NetWorth: *****
New Zealand Snowboarding - Boarder Zone
http://www.boarderzone.co.nz/
I don't know who is paying for this, but it surely is a beauty and worth
every penny. Clean, colourful
and packed with content, boarderzone not only instils in the viewer a
sense of excitement about snowboarding and the NZ scene, it takes you
there and everywhere with a travel department dedicated to shoving your
face in the snow at every available opportunity.
It's gotta be good for tourism, and it's definitely great for the
sport. Reports, chat, events, features, weather reports and multimedia
grabs make this one happening stop-over on your global chase for thrills
and spills in the winter chill.
Sample: "Dash for cash - Third place went to Queenstown's Miles Holden
who tried to gain extra speed from flares attached to his skis, but incurred
some wind resistance from a huge pair of artificial breasts.."
Verdict: It's downhill all the way! - SS
NetWorth: *****
Yo Beat Magazine
http://www.yobeat.com/
Yo, dude, uh, like, awesome, uh… yo.
If these guys were any cooler they'd freeze.
The hippest cats this side of an MTV game show, give you the vibes
from the slopes, dishing out the humour, the attitude and the full coverage
of the hard-core boarding events.
Join the in-crowd, invest in a plane ticket, some woolly underwear
and a case of beer, and you'll, be, like, yo…totally sick and insane.
Sample: "While last year was all about biting, this year you wore
your hunter orange Four Square/Special Blend clothing and dissed. It didn't
matter what you dissed on, as long as you were above it, and you were,
of course, better than just about everything.
Since you finally wised up to the fact that snowboard rock is but commercial
pop, and Rap is only cool when you're wearing your Tommy Gear, this year
you worshiped the number of the beast. Slayer, Sabbath, Metallica- it
doesn't matter as long as it went along with the skull and flames of your
Yohan sticker. Death, Destruction, Mutilation; Metal Lives!"
Verdict: Nothin' better than
slammin' your head into a nearby tree. - SS
NetWorth: ****
Extreme Explorations
http://www.itv.net/extreme/
The real adventure on the ski slopes is turning the spectacular visuals
and thrilling rides into a consumable product for film and video and seeing
if you can't make a buck out of it.
EE does just that. They
travel the globe with the world's best and film those action shots you
can't help fixing your gaze on if they happen to grace a screen within
view. With tales of the filming,
samples, a net show and press releases, you are taken into the "adrenaline
zone" - never to be the same again.
Switch on to the power of multi-media action.
If you are an adventurer yourself, perhaps you should send them
your resume. Who knows what
they'll be looking to film next?
Sample: "We will highlight the people living extreme lives, who,
while exploring the frontiers of human potential, actively seek a harmonious
balance between the world's ecosystem and human adventure."
Verdict: Scaling the lofty heights with a camera. - SS
NetWorth ****
Tasmanian Wild River Adventures
http://www.wildrivers.com.au/
Can I click on anything here? The
email link? Why? I haven't seen the site yet.
The departure dates? But
I haven't decided if I want to go… OK I'll click it. Ah, so that's where the site is hiding! The backyard web design job I guess goes hand in hand with
the rugged wilderness settings you'll be seeing blurs of as you pelt down
the rivers of death gripping the sides with white knuckles and grinding
teeth. I don't think even
a chopper could pluck you out if you blew it on the water.
Check the maps, the river itinerary. It's actually a fantastic
way to see our wilderness with a bit of hair-raising thrown in. Well-priced, too.
Sample: "The 11-day trip gives rafters the opportunity to experience
the river in all its forms. As a young, narrow river high in the mountains,
it winds through untouched, narrow gorges before building in size as tributaries
enter through the majestic and challenging "Great Ravine". In
the lower sections, the landforms change as the Franklin widens, and rafters
are struck by the contrast of long tranquil sections interposed with both
large and gentle rapids."
Verdict: Take some time out
and live. - SS
NetWorth: ****
Latitude Zero
http://www.mikehorn.com/
In these days of the shrinking world of communications and cheap air fares,
Mike Horn grabs our world in huge bear hug of adventure and finds out
just how much the fat lady has shrunk, and whether she'll sing when he's
done. These are also the
days of positive thinking - whatever you can dream, you can be - that
kind of thing. Mike is out
to not only take on the planet's last big test, but also to cash in on
it big time on the corporate speaking circuit when he's done.
Check out the amazing route - around the equator - no turns, no
diversions. Follow the whole
trip right here. The highs,
the lows, the absolute stupidity of even trying.
Sample: "He will sail across the oceans, walk across land through
dense jungle, over volcanoes, mountains, deserts, lakes and swampland.
After 16 months of physical and mental endurance, pushing himself to his
absolute limit, he will reach his destination – his exact starting point!"
Verdict: Making the Solo
man look like a snivelling little mummy's boy. - SS
NetWorth: *****
The Mountaineers' Home Page
http://www.mountaineers.org/
Man's long time adversary, the mountain, has been beckoning the adventure-seeker
since time began. Since 1906,
the Mountaineers as an organisation has seen it all, in the way of major
achievements and technological advances, that have brought the mountain
much closer to all of us. With
all that history behind it, the web site can offer plenty in the way of
reading material, pictorials, courses, networks, activities and a club
magazine to bond all the crazy people together in their desire to do what
spiders, ants and cockroaches do every day - climb up walls.
Sample: "The Mountaineers is a non-profit outdoor recreation and
conservation club with over 15,000 members in the Puget Sound region and
beyond. Our members share a love of the outdoors and an appreciation for
good fellowship."
Verdict: Throwing the rock
climber a line. - SS
NetWorth: ***
The Himalayan Explorers Club
http://www.hec.org/
With all the media focus, legend and romanticism over the years attributed
to the most awesome bumpy bits the world has got, the HEC has established
itself to balance the hype with an environmental perspective, promoting
an appreciation of the great lumps, and encouraging safe exploration.
That way you won't have to end up a failed and frozen nameless corpse,
but rather a successful also-ran, sitting by the fire back home with a
renewed sense of wonder at the large white sticking out bits we think
we know so well.
Sample: "Every year, over 300,000 tourists visit the Himalayan Kingdom
of Nepal. Some 85,000 of these tourists go trekking in the hills and mountain
regions, while the others stay in the Kathmandu valley or go on jungle
safaris. Many tourists are not well informed about Nepalese cultural values
or the sensitivity of the natural environment to tourism".
Verdict: A cyber-crag worth scaling. - SS
NetWorth: ***
Chill Factor
http://www.cyberski.com.au/
Internet Awards finalists last year, Chill Factor keep the dream alive
by bringing you a content-rich Aussie ski domain that covers everything
from independent weather reports, racing news, photo gallery, maps, travel
agents and accommodation, even the odd desktop pattern.
Skier profiles are added monthly, so there is a chance for you
to get on up there yourself, if you happen to be a legend on the slopes. If not, get in and use the site anyway - that's what it's there
for.
Sampler: "I am a beginner snowboarder and so is my cousin. We could
really use some tips and tricks sent to us every now and then. PLEASE
HELP ME!!!!!!!!!
Doctor Dick - the trick to snowboarding is ... GO HARD ... GET PLENTY
OF AIR ... ASK QUESTIONS LATER!!
Seriously though, no pain = no gain. Play around and experiment
yourself. There are some great videos about, check them out and then go
copy the latest tricks."
Verdict: Independent advice for adrenaline-dependent freaks. - SS
NetWorth:
****
Luge Australia
http://atomtv.com/luge/
Plugins: yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, good quality
Internal links: 100
Of all the extreme sports, street luge looks like one of the most insane.
Well might you ask: what kind of death-wish freak would lie down on a
long skinny board so they can hurtle at high speed down a steep and winding
road with nought for protection but a leather suit and helmet? This site
aims to dispel common misconceptions about the sport by providing safety
advice from some of Australia's street luge experts, including tips on
reading and riding your favourite hills. If you want to hook up with other
gravity addicts you'll find several excellent links and forums right here,
plus of course, loads of action photos to enjoy during quieter moments
at work… or something.
Rating: ***
Lifelounge
http://www.lifelounge.com.au
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, good quality
Internal links: 30
Lifelounge serves up all kinds of entertainment flavours for bright young
consumers of trends armed with fast net connections and cranked hardware.
Picking up where so many other 'youth' destinations left off so tragically/dramatically
last year (RIP K*Grind, Scape et al), the site mixes excellent photo galleries,
movies and short/punchy interactions with some fairly clued-up reporting
on the latest happenings for skaters, snowboarders and surfers. While
you'll probably end up spending too much time cacking yourself in the
Carnage photo gallery loaded with images of other extremists enjoying
all kinds of physical punishment, if you have the urge for a different
kind of stylin' check out the quality fashion, music and travel sections
too.
Rating: ****
Vital Gear
http://www.vitalgear.com
Plugins: No
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Medium, average quality.
Internal links: 20
Vital Gear is something like the Yahoo! for extreme and action sports
including BMX, freestyle motocross, skyboarding, street luge and wakeboarding.
Bookmark this site because it contains hundreds of links in all categories
to fling you off to shopping, community and gallery sites in your chosen
sport - but visit regularly for the chance to win some fairly tasty prizes
(free stuff is mostly good stuff, right?). The photo gallery is a funny
feature which seems to have been modeled on the AmIHotOrNot concept (http://www.amihotornot.com)
- you get to vote on each action pic to decide if the stunt is tight or
weak… I guess that some people prefer to mouth-off this way, because
the forums on the site were empty last time I visited.
Rating: **
Reel Fresh TV
http://www.pov-tv.com
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Heavy, excellent quality
Internal links: 100
Reel Fresh is one of the more stylish action video streaming sites I've
dived into for a long time. Armed with Apple's QuickTime 4 and a reasonably
fast net link you can spend hours here catching up on the latest events
in your favourite sports including BMX, kiteboarding and skating. The
best feature on offer is the POV (Point Of View) archive which is loaded
with multiple camera-angle footage of each action sequence. For example,
the windsurfing footage selection covers views from the rider's head,
down on the board, along the boom and up on the mast - and you can quickly
switch between each perspective for that full on-board experience. Coupled
with neat design, Reel Fresh TV is (hopefully) a taste of things to come
in interactive TV.
Rating: *****
Extreme Sports
http://www.extremesports.com
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, good quality
Internal links: 50
What is an extreme sport anyway? A competitive activity pushed as far
as possible until it becomes prohibitively dangerous or difficult? This
attractive looking site is pumped with news and images from around the
world of sports people trying their hardest to outdo each other…
but that's not what makes it special. No, the content itself, which takes
in just about any limit-breaking sport, is worth repeat visits. Sure,
you'll see some mind blowing visuals of bikers, boarders and jumpers which
justify the 'extreme' tag, but if you dig just beneath the surface you'll
find stories on some, frankly, ridiculous 'extreme' sports.. such as,
erm, golf. Check the piece on the Ice Golf World Championship held on
the fjord ice in Uummannaq, Greenland for a good laugh.
Rating: *****
Shred Now
http://www.shrednow.com
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, good quality
Internal links: 120
Expecting a huge site about boarding I was very surprised to encounter
an encyclopedia of sports and adventure activities sorted into a huge
list of confusing (though seemingly self-explanatory) categories. For
example, the 'Air' category takes in everything you do in the air: such
as cluster ballooning, skydiving, ski jumping and paragliding. But it
also includes a whole range of sports where an object - not an athlete
- is airborne, including disc throwing, kite flying and skittles. Some
of these sports are a little tame, but for a few happy hours of wild tangents,
you won't find a kookier site dedicated to bringing you interesting sporting
facts and images. Sadly, the sections on some of the more interesting
centuries-old sports involving animals, including birding, dog sledding,
and camel racing were empty…
Skateboard
http://www.skateboard.com
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Medium, good quality
Internal links: 50
I like the cheeky and unapologetic attitude of this site: "Extreme
ping pong? Polo? Parcheesi? Sorry, only skateboarding". Any skate-head
who has spent more than five seconds scratching around online will probably
be a member of this site already, because the community services and expert
advice here are top quality. The Skatelife zine delivers thought-itching
features and interviews with the pros about skate techniques, issues (legalities
are high on the agenda), equipment and events, while Skate 101 should
sort out beginners with some easy-to-follow tips on basic moves, safety,
tricks and looking after the gear. Now, if you're stuck indoors for a
long time - maybe it’s raining, or your broke something - the Hang
Out is your place: it has games, streaming video, contests and some very
busy graphical chat rooms which you enter by picking a cheesy cartoon
image before cruising around a bunch of skate parks in the USA. Skateboard.com
is an impressive site aimed at a very difficult-to-please market.
Planet X
http://www.planetx.net.au
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, good quality
Internal links: 80
Taking multimedia to the extreme, Planet X is the Web arm (or foot) of
an empire that includes Summer and Winter games, Street competitions,
a TV show and print mag. The site itself is more than a teaser, it offers
a community space where members can access archives, seek advice and enter
regular competitions linked to some of the biggest extreme sports events
in Australia. If you've seen the show, or grabbed a copy of the free mag
then you'll know what you're in for: crazy shit with killer visuals.
Rating: ****
Extremists
http://www.extremists.com.au
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, good quality
Internal links: 20
Extremists is another quality Australian site focused on reporting on
the latest hardcore sports events around the world which began life as
a personal homepage on a local ISP back in 96. Since then the site has
grown to serve as an easy-to-access jump station for Extremists all over
the planet thanks to the popular Extreme Top 50 and huge Sports Directory
links sections. If you're gagging for high colour pictures of hardcore
action head straight for the On Camera experience and enjoy categorised
images of your favourite activities. Most extreme content? Well…
the Advice Chick section comes way out of left field with an Agony Aunt-style
column about sex - but none of the sexual issues discussed are particularly
extreme. Go figure…
Rating: ***
Extreme Road Trip
http://www.theextremeroadtrip.com/Roadtrip
Plugins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, good quality.
Internal links: 15
Is this the ultimate scam/tax deduction or what? The Extreme Road Trip
is the online journal of a bunch of friends who wanted to belt around
America together in a motorhome searching for the best places to enjoy
their favourite sports. So why do they deserve props? Well, I think this
statement says it all: "We want to encourage members of our generation,
and those that came before and will follow, to get off the couch and get
out there and try the world out for themselves!" Sure, you might
not get to spend nearly nine months on the road (and in the air, on the
grass, snow etc) but without much effort, you can recreate this experience
in weekend-bender versions, Grab a digicam, a couple of mates and get
out there!
Rating: ****
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