News and Updates about Outdoor Recreation

Air New Zealand is looking for a spokesperson for the Antarctica: No Ordinary Place, No Ordinary Assignment project, a two-week adventure in Antarctica, where the chosen candidate will join National Geographic photographer Jason Edwards to document environmental issues and important research being conducted by research teams sponsored by Air New Zealand and Antarctica New Zealand.

Anybody who surfs knows there's often plenty of downtime waiting for the perfect swell to come along. So what do you do while you're waiting around? Option 1: Nothing (boo). Option 2: Fabricate your own ready-made waves, via a makeshift current pool hooked up to the Waimea River, one of the longest rivers in the Hawaiian Islands. Kudos to Stephan Figueiredo, Dennis Tihara, Gabriel Pastori, Diego Silva and Felipe Cesarano for their up-and-go-get-'em.

Chuck Patterson has spent much of his life riding majestic mountains in boots and bindings, ski poles in hand. In recent years, the extreme athelete decided the massive Hawaiian swells needed conquering as well. Below, Patterson ditches the traditional surfboard for his trusty skiis, and towsurfs into some of the biggest waves of the year at Jaws, Maui's legendary surf break.

Ok, so it's an advert for a hyper-aggressively marketed energy drink, popular with teens and possibly accountable for the occasional detrimental cardiovascular side effect (yes, we're talking Red Bull). But it would still be totally awesome to wakeboard in a cranberry bog.

Watch surfer Mark Visser take on a 30-40 foot massive wave off the famous Jaws reef break on Maui in nearly total darkness. Guided only by the LED lights built into his life vest and board, helicopters hovered overhead, filming the event.

What's with Russians jumping to icy depths (re: near death)?

Okay, so it's a gigantic ad. It still looks amazing. Below, a Tron Legacy skate ramp in Melbourne, Australia, created by interactive agency ENESS:

Australian racing organization V8 Supercars have built an oversized skateboard equipped with a V8 engine for Tony Hawk. Hawk was scheduled to ride the beast last week, but it appears no video footage has been posted yet.

When I first saw Red Bull's Photo of the Month by photographer Serge Illin, I thought I was looking at some sort of skate ramp with an amazing back drop of skyscrapers.

The Lying Down Game doesn't require the skill parkour does. In fact, it doesn't require any skill at all, which means anyone and their grandma can do it. Founded in the UK, The Lying Down Game is described as "Parkour...for those who cant be arsed". The rules are simple:

Wingsuits are an invention of the Gods. Why? Because they give human beings incredible superhuman powers. First in the gallery below, a compilation of world renown daredevil Jeb Corliss' most amazing jumps. Second, Jeb's epic flight under the arms of Rio's gigantic Jesus Christ.

No, seriously. Just look at her. The Australian born pro surfer would put most dudes to shame (and conjure up some serious inadequacy issues).

New Zealand energy drink V creates a new imaginary sport coined Pomparkour to promote their product.

Tony Hawk may very well be the greatest skateboarder of all time. At age 42, the legendary Hawk can still pull off a 900. For those who don't know, a "900" refers to a 900 degree aerial spin off of a skateboard ramp. This is one of the most insaneskateboarding tricks, and Hawk is one of only four (in the world) who have ever pulled it off.

PhotographerNoah Abrams traveled to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009 to document the emerging skateboarding scene there. The results are (frankly) incredible:

We've seen lots of amazing parkour stunts on WonderHowTo. And you'll see in the video below that gymnastics/parkour/freerunning stuntman Damien Walters is probably one of the best in his field.

Motocross world record holder Robbie Maddison recently jumped a 278 foot wide ravine, 330 feet above the water. More than a little risky, to say the least.

Uh...I'll say it again. One word. Awesome.