Traveling!

I am doing a little traveling over the next couple of days to visit friends and families, so there won't be any updates to the Adventure Blog until Monday, May12. At that time, we should be getting ready for the first summit bids on Everest, and other summits throughout the Himalaya. Until then, have a wonderful weekend. Get outside and enjoy your own adventures!

Introducing Battlefrog Obstacle Course Racing Series

A few weeks back when I put the Adventure Blog on hiatus while I moved to a new city and state, I mentioned that I was working on a new project that would be coming to fruition over the next few months. At the time, I couldn't say too much about it because it hadn't been officially announced yet. That has now changed and I can now share the news with you.

I have gone to work as the media director for a new series of obstacle course races that will be launching soon. Over the past few years, OCRs have become all the rage here in the U.S., and even in some other countries too. These are the events that mix running with a series of unique challenges, such as crossing through mud pits, climbing walls, or crawling through tunnels. The blend of fitness and challenge have provided athletes with a fun, and totally new experience. The Tough Mudder, Warrior-Dash, and the Spartan Race are probably the most popular and well known of these events, but we hope to change that with the introduction of Battlefrog in May.

What sets Battlefrog apart from the others is that is has been designed from the ground up by a team of Navy SEALs. The event will feature some of the same obstacles that those SEALs used in their training, with some complete new challenges that have not been seen in OCR before. We'll offer three courses that include the Battlefrog (15k with 25+ obstacles to overcome), the Bullfrog (5k, 15+ obstacles), and the Tadpole, which is designed with young kids in mind.


Our first race will be held in Atlanta on the weekend of May 31, with a second even already scheduled to take place in South Carolina on June 21-22. Registration for those events are already open, with more dates coming soon. We hope to ramp this project up quickly and put on as many as 12 races this year, with plans to expand further in 2015.

I'd love to invite all outdoor athletes looking for a new challenge to come join us when we're in your area. I'd also invite anyone in the media who is interested in learning more about Battlefrog, and the unique men who have created it, to drop me a note at kraig@battlefrogteam.com.

I'll no doubt be posting more about this as we move forward, but I'll try not to inundate with you Battlefrog news. I will, of course, continue with the usual Adventure Blog content as well.

The Adventure Blog On Temporary Hiatus

Just a quick note to let regular readers know that the blog will be on a temporary hiatus, most likely just for a couple of days. I'll be moving over the next few days – to a completely new city and state – and will probably be offline for most of that time. With any luck, I'll be back up and running early next week, in time for the start of the North Pole season, which will be getting underway around that time.

When I return, I'll also hopefully have an announcement about a new project that I'll be working on. Something fun and exciting that I can't wait to share. I can't give a whole lot more information about it until next week, but I'll post the news here when I can.

I'll be back as soon as possible with more news from the world of adventure. Until then, get outside and have a few adventures of your own.

The Adventure Blog Facebook Page Launched

A quick announcement that is probably long over due considering how prevalent social media has become in our lives these days. I've just launched a new fan page on Facebook for the Adventure Blog and would like to encourage anyone who wants to follow my blog through FB to "Like" it. It should provide a direct feed of all of the content that publish here, plus other stuff as well. For those who don't get my daily updates in their email or don't always have time to drop by here directly, this could be a good option for staying current on what is going on in the world of adventure at the moment.

I've added this option for a couple of reasons. First, for the past few years I've been encouraging readers to become "friends" on Facebook as I always enjoy hearing from everyone and my blog stories always fed directly into my feed there. But recently that hasn't been the case and most of posts were not showing up on Facebook any longer. I've read that FB is doing some things to curate items that are automatically sent to the feed, and while my Twitter updates continued to go to the site as expected, anything directly from my blog was lost in the ether. Creating this page has seemed to have solved that problem.  For the record, my Twitter feed still gets all the updates and more as well.

The second reason for making the change is that I'll also be whittling down  my friends list on Facebook. I have far too many people that I don't know on there and it has kept me from sharing things with my friends and family for the simple reason that I didn't want to post some things for the entire world to see. So, over the course of the next week or two, I'll shortening up that list to make it more manageable as well. If you get "unfriended" it isn't personal. I promise! But to those who I actually know, and have met, or I'm on a first name basis, never fear. You'll remain on my friends list.

So, if you'd like to start (or continue!) getting the Adventure Blog in your feed on Facebook, please drop by the new page and "Like" it. I'd be very appreciative and it'll be an efficient way to continue to get the content I produce here. Thanks to everyone for dropping by my little corner of the Internet. Your kind words and shared love of adventure make this blog a labor of love.

Happy Holidays From The Adventure Blog

With the holiday season upon us, I wanted to take this opportunity to with everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for reading my humble little blog and sharing your own stories of travel and adventure. As I will be spending time with friends and family over the next week or so, updates will be sporadic and less frequent than normal. But since I suspect many of you will be doing the same, I'm sure you'll hardly notice! :) We'll get back to a normal schedule on January 2 for sure, but until then, enjoy the final days of 2013 and look ahead to an adventurous and prosperous 2014.

No Updates Tomorrow!

I'm off for a long weekend, but this time I won't be doing any work. It's all about escape and relaxation for the next few days. I'll be back to the normal routine on Monday, but until then I plan to have some fun. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you'll probably figure out where I'm at pretty quickly.

In the meantime, I have several posts in place for today with some good stuff to share. I hope you enjoy and I'll be back with more updates soon.

Limited Updates The Rest Of The Week

Just a brief site update this morning to let regular readers know that this week and next I will be traveling some which will prevent me from making regular updates on Thursday and Friday of both weeks. The next few days I'll be busy with work and at the end of next week I'll be busy with a relaxing escape. I will be back with regular posts next Monday through Wednesday before returning to my regular schedule the following week.

In the meantime, get outside and enjoy some adventures of your own. Here in the northern hemisphere we are well into the fall now, and the crisp air, cooler temperatures and wonderful autumn colors should be savored. Get on your bike and go for a ride. Gather up some friends or family and take a hike. Go for a long run. Do anything that gets you off the couch and outside for a little while. It'll definitely be worth it.

I have a few updates scheduled for today. After that, I'll be back next week. See you soon!

Home From The Outback!

I just wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know that I've returned from Australia and will be ramping up postings to the blog again shortly. As you can imagine, I came home to lots of unread emails, stories to follow-up on and a heap of work to sift through. On top of that, I'm dealing with some jet lag that is sure to linger for a few days, so it may take a bit of time before my brain, and by extension, The Adventure Blog is firing on all cylinders again, but I hope to get back to a regular routine very shortly.

The trip to the Northern Territory was fantastic and I had a great time taking in all of the wonders that the Outback has to offer. If you're a fan of the outdoors and adventure travel, it is difficult to not fall in love with the place. The landscapes are rugged, demanding and utterly breathtaking, which you'll hear a lot more about in the near future. I have all kinds of stories to share and once I've had the chance to sort through my photos, I'll post a link to the gallery here as well. I think you'll enjoy seeing some of the numerous places I had the chance to visit and maybe even add them to your own list of "must see" destinations as well.

Thanks for your patience while I work on getting back into the groove. I've turned the comments back on and will resume my regular updates shortly. And for anyone who has dropped me an email over the past two weeks, I hope to be responding to those that are unanswered as soon as possible as well.

Sporadic Updates This Week

I know that I just started getting back into a groove with adventure updates following a break for the holidays, but unfortunately it will probably be another sporadic week for posts here on the Adventure Blog. I am out of town and spending time with loved ones following an unexpected death in the family.

I will have some time on my hands to post some stories from time to time, but might not have the time to get as in depth as I like. If I can, I'll share the latest news from Antarctica, updates from the winter climbing season and stories from what ever else comes up in the new year. With any luck, we'll be back to regular and full updates next week, but for now expect some delays between posts.

I hope 2013 is off to a better start for the rest of you and lets hope for another fantastic and adventurous year.

Happy Holidays From The Adventure Blog

I am hitting the road for home today to get some much needed time with friends and family, but before I go, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone Happy Holidays! This is the time of the year when we should reflect on our good fortune, treasure all the wonderful people in our lives and look forward to a promising new year ahead. Over the next week or so, I intend to do all of that and more. While I'm traveling, updates will no doubt be light, but I'll get back to a regular routine soon enough. Until then, enjoy the season and get outside and enjoy a few adventures of your own.

Off To The Running Event!

There will be few updates today as I'll be spending most of it at The Running Event, an annual convention that is a bit like Outdoor Retailer for runners. Although this is the third time that the TRE has been held her in Austin, Texas, this will be my first time attending and I'm looking forward to checking out everything that will be on display.

The TRE exhibit hall will be filled with a host of companies showing off the latest running shoes, apparel and other gear. Companies like Nike, Salomon, Saucony and more. Part of my day is filled with appointments with some of those companies and part of it free for me to stroll the hall to checkout the latest trends. Much like when I'm at OR, I'll be sharing images and impressions on Twitter throughout the the day. If you're interested in reports from the show floor, you can follow my Twitter feed by clicking here.  Also, if there is a piece of gear or shoes that you would like me to checkout, send me a note and I'll try to take to drop by the booth to take a peek.

Video: Sh*t People Say To Climbers

I caught this video yesterday and got a couple of good chuckles. I suspect a lot of you will enjoy it too. It seems like a perfect way to wrap up the week, as I'm off to enjoy a nice long holiday weekend here in the States. Tomorrow I'll enjoy a full Thanksgiving dinner and then spend much of the rest of the time off outside somewhere enjoying the fall weather here in Texas.

For all my friends here in the U.S., enjoy Thanksgiving! And for everyone else, I look forward to getting back to sharing all the news from the world of adventure next week.

Sporadic Updates The Rest Of This Week

For the rest of the week there will be sporadic or no updates to the Adventure Blog. I have other commitments that will afford me very little time to post over the next few days, but I should be back to a normal schedule next week. In the meantime, enjoy these awesome little video that features some amazing imagery captured from the International Space Station.


The ISS "Stacks" from Christoph Malin on Vimeo.

Heading To ATMEX In Veracruz, Mexico

It's a short week for updates on the Adventure Blog as I'm headed to Veracruze, Mexico today to attend the ATMEX Conference. Over the next few days the focus will be completely on adventure travel in Mexico, which has a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts. The country has fantastic mountain biking, sea kayaking, climbing, whitewater rafting and more and the conference is designed to help tour operators connect with travelers and market their options more fully.

I'm honored to be taking part in a couple of panel discussions at the conference mostly focused on blogging and how tour operators can work with the online community to get the word out on what they have to offer. I, and my fellow panelists, will be speaking about how we work with various brands in the travel industry and how online travel writers and those brands can work together to promote their destinations. It should prove to be a fun and interesting experience and I'm so happy that the Adventure Travel Trade Association asked me to be a part of the event. If you happen to be attending as well, be sure to track me down and say hello.

I'm not sure what kind of Internet access I'll have while I'm away. If I have a reliable connection I'll try to post some updates. Otherwise we'll be back to the usual routine next Monday. While I'm away, everyone have a great few days and be sure to get outside and enjoy some adventures of your own.

Outdoor Retailer Bound!

As I mentioned a few days back, I'm heading out to Salt Lake City for the next few days to take in the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. Over the next few days I'll be meeting with numerous gear companies, PR folks and outdoor enthusiasts as we get a glimpse of the great (and not so great!) products that will be hitting the market in the months ahead. While I'm away I likely won't be posting any updates to the Adventure Blog although I will share thoughts and photos from the show on my Twitter account and Facebook page. Last year I made several posts per day with photos of new gear and plan to do something similar this year.

I'll be back at the helm next Monday, probably with more information and insights on what I saw at the show, and posting regular adventure news once again.

Site News: I'm A Traveling Man...

Some quick site news for regular readers. I'm off on another adventure, this time heading to Jordan for a week or so. I leave the country later today and won't be back until April 28th. That means no updates during that time, with regular postings resuming on Monday, April 30th.

While I'm away there is likely to be quite a bit of news out of the Himalaya as the climbing teams continue to make progress on their various expeditions. For excellent news and updates be sure to drop by Alan Arnette's Everest Blog and Explorers Web. Both sites will keep you well informed as to what is happening on the Big Hill and across the region, and I'll be back in time to catch the first summit pushes that will begin in early May. 

While in Jordan I'll be busy exploring the extraordinary culture and history of that country, visiting places like Petra and the amazing desert wilderness that is Wadi Rum. Of course, when I get back I'll share all kinds of details on what I saw while I was there and I'm sure I'll have plenty of photos (and possibly some video!) to pass along as well. 

I hope while I'm away you all have some great adventures of your own. I'll expect full reports upon my return!