Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #11 - Power While Traveling

In the past, one of the more troubling issues we had while traveling was keeping our gadgets and gear charged with power while in remote places. That isn't nearly as difficult as it once was, thanks to some great technological innovations over the past few years. This week, our friend Richard Bangs is back to share some tips on how to stay powered up while traveling, something he learned a bit about while spending time in Annapurna Base Camp with Ed Viesturs.

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Book Review: The Mountain By Ed Viesturs

For those looking to expand their library of books on adventure and mountaineering, a new book written by Ed Viesturs (and David Roberts) hit the shelves today that may be of interest. That book is entitled The Mountain: My Time on Everest and as the name implies, it is focused almost entirely on Ed's 11 expeditions to the tallest mountain on the planet.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of the book and have written a full review of it for the Wenger Blog. You can read that review here but if you want the shortened version, I'll simply say this: If your'e a fan of Ed's previous books or are an Everest junkie, you'll certainly enjoy reading The Mountain. It does a good job of both presenting both the history of Everest and Ed's own personal experiences there. Those experiences include seven successful summits from both the North and South side of the mountain, many weeks spent in Base Camp and at altitude, while interacting with a host of characters that befit the larger than life status of this peak. Ed was also on Everest in 1996 when the events of that tragic season went down.

The book is an extremely easy and quick read. Ed and his co-author are good storytellers that move their narrative along at a brisk pace and leave you turning pages long after you've said "just a few more." His wealth of experience on big mountains is undeniable and much of that is shared here. The book is also approachable for readers who are new to the genre, although there are times where references are made that may be a bit confusing for those who don't have much of a background in mountaineering lore. For the most part though, The Mountain ranks right up there with Ed's previous three books, which I happened to enjoy quite a bit.

For more detailed thoughts, be sure to read my full review.

Dream Trips Of Extreme Athletes

The National Geographic Adventure Blog posted an interesting piece today in which they ask some of the world's top outdoor and extreme athletes what their dream travel destination would be. Some of the answers are actually quite good and it is always interesting to hear where these people would go considering that many of them earn a living by visiting remote places on the planet.

There are numerous well known names on the list including the likes of Ed Viesturs, Gretchen Bleiler, Steph Davis, Ueli Steck and many more. Their top destinations includes such far flung places as Nepal, Tibet, Australia and the Swiss Alps. It is actually quite a diverse set of trips albeit ones that are most definitely adventure focused.

Some of the more interesting "dream trips" include Sarah McNair-Landry revealing she'd like to circumnavigate the globe using kites, skis and a sailboat. Polar explorer Will Steger admits he's ready for some warmth and would love to visit the Australian desert, and clearly Ueli Steck and Andrew Skurka have similar thoughts. Ueli says he'd love to go into space while ultra-hiker Skurka wants to trek across the moon.

If you've ever wondered where the adventure crowd goes to get their travel fix, this will definitely be of interest to you. It might even give you some ideas for your next escape as well.