Off to 2015 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market!

If you're an avid outdoor enthusiast, and a gear nut, you probably already know that the 2015 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is set to get underway in Salt Lake City Utah tomorrow. For those who don't know, OR is is the bi-annual convention where the top gear manufacturers show off their latest and greatest gear, most of which won't be available until late this year, or sometime in early 2016. For those of us who love our backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, and hiking boots, it is what I like to refer to as "gearvana." Essentially it is four days of outdoor adventure lifestyle, with lots of really fun and interesting people.

Today, I'll be catching a flight for SLC, and I'll be spending the next few days meeting with a wide variety of gear companies at OR. It will be long, tiring days, but also incredibly fun and revealing too. If you've read my blog during past OR shows, you know that I tend to do follow-up articles when I get back sharing some of the cool things that I saw there. But, I also post a lot of photos and impressions on social media while I am there too. So, if you'd like to keep up with some of the things I'll be seeing, follow me on Twitter at @kungfujedi. Additionally, since I am also the news editor at Gear Institute, I'll be working closely with the team there as well. You can follow us on Twitter at @GearInstitute as well. 

I'll be back next Monday, and posting regular updates once again. Enjoy the rest of your week and the weekend ahead. 

Off to Colorado on Assignment

I'm hitting the road again tomorrow and will be gone through the end of the week. I'm off to Grand Junction, Colorado on assignment for a magazine article I'll be writing soon. Hopefully I'll have a chance to post a few morning updates while I'm there, but if blog posts are sparse this week, you'll know why. 

While I'm in Colorado, I'll be going off-roading with Cooper Tires to test a new set of tires that the company will be releasing soon. We'll be taking on such routes as the Grand Mesa Trail and Bangs Canyon in some jeeps especially equipped to take on the terrain there. It should be both a fun and informative couple of days, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to spend some time back in the Rockies once again. 

With any luck, I'll post at least a few updates over the next few days, particularly as we get closer to the start of summit pushes on Broad Peak and K2. It will be a busy couple of weeks in the big mountains, and as usual I'll be doing my best with staying up with the latest news. 

Back From Alaska!

After spending more than two weeks in Alaska working the Expedition Alaska adventure race, I am now back home and ready to start updating again on a semi-regular basis. I say semi-regular because this week will continue to be a very busy one on my end. On Saturday I am getting married, and with lots of friends and family coming into town, things could be a bit disrupted again later in the week. So, don't expect too much on Friday or probably next Monday. But other than that, things should be getting back to mostly normal around here. At least for a couple of weeks anyway. 

As for Expedition Alaska, it was an epic event to be sure. The 350+ mile race went through incredibly challenging and demanding wilderness areas, with the teams experiencing just about everything that the state has to offer. They crossed a massive glacier, went up mountain ridges, paddled down raging rivers, and mountain biked some of the best single track in the world. 

To say it was an adventure race for the ages would be an understatement, and the comments from the participants post-race only reinforced that notion. Some called it the race that they had been waiting years for, and others said that it more than lived up to the hype. The team that put on the event hope to do it again in the future, but for now we're all glad to be back home, catching up on some much needed rest, and getting back to our routine. Believe it or not, putting on a race such as this one is almost as demanding on the organizers as it is the racers. 

A lot has happened while I was away, so I'll be spending some time over the next few days catching up with the things I missed. Climbs are proceeding on K2 and Broad Peak, adventurers have set out on new expeditions, and of course the Tour de France – one of my favorite events – has gotten underway. I'll be covering all of this and more in the days ahead. In the meantime, I appreciate your patience while we crank the blog back up once again. 

Off to Alaska for ExpeditionAK!

Tomorrow I'll depart for Alaska, where I'll be serving as part of the team that is putting on the 2015 Expedition Alaska adventure race. As I write this, we're still more than a week away from the start of the event, but it is time to begin prepping for the arrival of the teams, wrapping up scouting of the course, and getting ready for gear and skills checks. There is a lot to do before the start of this epic event, which promises to be an amazing experience for everyone involved.

For those who aren't familiar with Expedition Alaska, it is a 7 day race that will take place in the wilds of Kenai Peninsula. We'll have 25 teams of elite adventure racers competing on a course that will stretch for more than 350 miles (560 km). They'll be competing against one another in a wide variety of stages that involve trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, and more. The action is non-stop, which means once the gun sounds at the start of the event, the clock will be constantly running, and it will be up to the teams to decide when they stop for a rest, when they press on, and just how they navigate from one checkpoint to the next.

Expedition Alaska is also a part of the Adventure Racing World Series, and a qualifying event for the AR World Championships that will be held in Brazil this November. As you can imagine, we are pretty excited to be a part of that organization, and we're hoping to put on a great race that it worthy of the ARWS.

While I'm in Alaska, I will be posting regular updates on the progress of the event, and sharing some of the things that are happening there. But, as is typical with an AR race, time may be in short supply, so blog articles may not come as regularly as I would typically like. On top of that, I won't return home until July 6, which is just five days before I get married. That means there could be further disruptions to the blog content for a few weeks. Please be patient with me until I can get back to a more typical schedule.

Thanks and stay tuned for lots of great things to come!

Back From Egypt!

I am happy to say that I am back from Egypt and ready to resume a normal posting schedule here at The Adventure Blog. My trip was a fantastic one, filled with all kinds of natural and manmade wonders. You'll be hearing a lot more about my experiences in the days ahead, as I share my thoughts on what is like to travel through a country that is steeped in history but has also faced some very large challenges in recent years as well.

I'd like to thank my friends at G Adventures for sponsoring me on this trip and showing me a side to Egypt that I hadn't seen on my first visit more than a decade ago. The people and places that I experienced while there were nothing short of spectacular, and I would unequivocally encourage any traveler to visit the North African country. Not only is it safe and secure at the moment, it is also incredibly quiet as the entire tourism industry in Egypt waits (not so) patiently for visitors to return. A few years ago, the Pyramids at Giza saw more than 20,000 visitors per day. Now, it is a fraction of that number, and as a result the Egyptian economy is struggling to a degree. For those who have always wanted to go, that is a good thing, as there are definitely deals to be had. But for those who make a living in tourism there, it has been a tough struggle since the revolution in 2011.

Obviously a lot has happened while I was away, and I'll be playing catch-up with some of the bigger stories that took place. Not the least of those was the devastating earthquake in Nepal, which brought an abrupt end to another climbing season on Everest, and brought tragedy to a country that has struggled mightily in recent years. The aftermath of this tragedy will be felt for years to come, and the story moving forward will be how Nepal can manage to rebuild itself in the wake of the ongoing challenges it has already faced in terms of developing its economy, expanding its fragile infrastructure, and eliminating rampant corruption. It is going to be an uphill battle to say the least, but one that could eventually produce significant gains for the Himalayan nation.

Although the earthquake in Nepal dominated headlines over the past few weeks, there were a few other major stories that took place while I was going as well. I'll be attempting to post updates on those in the day ahead too, even as other interesting stories arise. In other words, it is time to get back to the business of adventure, and I'm looking forward to sharing that with you. Thanks for your patience in my absence, and expect more inspiring and fun stories to follow soon.

The Adventure Blog is Back on Hiatus – I'm Egypt Bound!

I have a quick note to post to end the week. I wanted to let regular readers know that The Adventure Blog is going back on hiatus for a couple of weeks while I head to Egypt for a new adventure. I depart tomorrow (April 18) and will return on May 5. During that time I hope to have the opportunity to post about the journey, but I'll have to wait to see what kind of Internet service will be available. Hopefully I can post some regular updates however, so you can get a feel for what I'm up to.

I'll be traveling with a group hosted by G Adventures, who are easily one of the best adventure travel companies that I've ever had the experience of working with. The company has invited me to join one of their regular groups who will be taking part in their Absolute Egypt tour. While there, I will of course see the wonders of this famous country, including the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Valley of the Kings and Queens. But I'll also be camping in the Sahara, sailing on the Nile, and meeting with locals too.

This will be my second time in Egypt, but the first since the Arab Spring. It will be interesting to see how things have changed since I was last there, and what life is life for the people of this amazing country. The story that I will be looking for is the return of tourism to the Middle Eastern nation. The travel industry is vital to the economy there, but it has been crippled due to unrest in recent years. I've heard reports that the major attractions and monuments have been all-but empty at times, and I want to see if that remains true. 2015 is the year that travelers are expected to return to Egypt, but it is unclear of that has started to happen just yet.

While I'm away, there will obviously be a lot going on, particularly with the spring climbing season in the Himalaya. If you're looking for regular news from Everest and the other big mountain, than I'd suggest reading Alan Arnette's regular reports, and dropping by Explorer's Web from time to time too. I'll be trying to follow the unfolding season as best I can as well. I'll be home in time for the first summit pushes on Everest and Lhotse, although some of the other mountains may see some action ahead of the major push on the Big Hill.

While I'm away, stay safe, enjoy some adventures of your own, and hopefully I'll have some good things to share from Egypt soon. If Internet connections are reliable, I will at least post some photos on my Twitter feed at @kungfujedi.

I'll be back before you know it!

The Adventure Blog on Hiatus, Heading to Kilimanjaro!

Just a quick note to round out the week to let everyone know that The Adventure Blog will be going on hiatus for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow I'll catch a flight to Tanzania, where I'll be returning to Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa at 5895 meters (19,341 ft). As you can probably imagine, I'm looking forward to being back in Africa – always one of my favorite places to visit – and taking a hike up Kili. It should be an amazing trip to an amazing part of the world.

This time out, I'll be climbing the mountain with Tusker Trail as part of their Climb for Valor. This very special climb is being conducted to raise funds and awareness of the Duskin & Stephens Foundation, an organization dedicated to support the families of fallen members of the U.S. special forces. The team that I'll be trekking with has worked hard to raise more than $100,000 for this cause,    and now they'll celebrate by going on one of the toughest, yet very rewarding, hikes in the entire world.

I am very fortunate to be a part of this group, and when I return I'll be sharing stories from the climb, as well my own personal experiences on Kili. I am familiar with the mountain from a previous visit, but I am looking forward to going back and taking on the challenge once again.

For those not familiar with Tusker, they are one of the trekking companies in the world, and have been leading groups up Kilimanjaro for nearly 40 years. I'll actually be climbing with Tusker's founder, Eddie Frank, who has more than 50 Kili summits on his resume. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb to the Roof of Africa, and I can't wait to share the experience with readers once I get back. You can be assured that I'll have plenty to say about the trip upon my return.

In the meantime, I hope everyone gets outside and has a few adventures of their own in my absence. I'll be back before you know it, and with plenty of stories to tell I'm sure.

While I'm gone, I'll be turning off comments on this blog. It never fails that while I'm away someone ends up posting hundreds of spam comments that I have a difficult time tracking down when I return. To avoid that, I'll switch off the ability to comment on posts for the time being, but will turn them back on once I'm home.

Take care, and talk to you all soon!