Self portrait and Mr. Bond yesterday – flower macro today.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Music for Friday
I’m stealing this clip from Chris and his Hinterlands Blog – it’s an amazing track that has been on steady repeat since I heard it again today. Cheers for the heads up Chris - check it out!
Monthly round-up
This is a first for me, doing a monthly re-cap, but it’s been a super-busy month. It would seem that heaps of the projects that I’ve been working on over the past little bit have all seen the light of day in the last thirty days or so. So here are the highlights:
It’s been a month filled with adventure with an ultra-marathon in early May – with my good mate Christian I ran the Routeburn track twice in one day. You’ll notice that I’ve been pretty quiet about that trip on the blog after it was all said and done – the reason for that is that a film project is in the works – watch this space! Click HERE for more about this adventure.
My Dirtbag Diaries podcast went live this month. I got some great feedback on it and was really stoked with how it turned out. Click HERE to listen to it.
My website http://www.adventureskope.com/ was re-launched this month – with a fresh coat of paint and some new updates it’s ready to take on the world – if you haven’t seen the fresh look yet, head on over – click HERE to get there fast.
A story I wrote was published in SPOKE magazine and went to print. It’s an interesting yarn about friends in the outdoors and how the bond of friendship is often forged under the harshest of circumstances. Read more about it HERE.
One of the videos that I made while I was in Egypt has been completed and is now live on the Lonely Planet TV website – click HERE to check it out.
Of course the photo of the day project is going ahead full steam – it’s over a month now with at last count somewhere in the neighborhood of 37 individual photographs posted. It’s amazing how this project has opened my eyes to the possibility of art – everywhere.
As always, my heartfelt gratitude to you my loyal readers that continue to check out this blog – I really do appreciate it!
So what’s on tap for next month? Well, more photos, more stories about cool adventures, more videos and more published work – keep checking back and I’ll keep the fresh content coming!
Cheers!
Scott
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Luxor Video Redux
Sorry for the non working player on the Luxor video – I’ll re-post it here so you can more easily have a look at it!
Cheers
S
If you are looking at this in a reader or via email, click HERE to go straight to the source.
Cheers
S
If you are looking at this in a reader or via email, click HERE to go straight to the source.
Photo of the day
I woke this morning to frost covering everything. Shivering with my camera in hand in the morning light I snapped a few images before the call of a warm cup of tea brought me back inside. vive hiver!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Luxor, Egypt – the movie
While I was in Egypt riding on the Tour d’Afrique one of the very cool spots that I checked out was Luxor, Egypt and the Valley of the Kings. Have a look at this movie that I made with the folks at Lonely Planet TV – it’s just gone live and I’m really stoked with how it turned out.
Enjoy!
if you are having trouble seeing the clip click HERE to go straight to the source.
Enjoy!
if you are having trouble seeing the clip click HERE to go straight to the source.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Are you hurt or are you injured?
In the film G.I. Jane (not Ridley Scott’s best, but still an interesting flick) there is a tough as nails drill sergeant (played by Aragorn himself, Vigo Mortinson) who is employed to whip the would-be Navy SEALS into shape. At one point there is a recruit who badly hurts his knee, Vigo grabs the knee and squeezes it for all he’s worth. As the soldier yelps in pain Vigo asks, “Are you hurt or are you injured?” Hurt means you walk it off and keep going, injured means that you give up and quit.
Are you hurt or are you injured? The phrase ran through my head the moment that I hit the ground.
It was all supposed to be a bit of fun. I have a passion for adventure racing; there is something about the challenge, hardship and scenery that really gets me going. Perhaps it’s the same ambition that propelled me to dangerous positions as a young alpine climber. Ten tears ago in my mid twenties I was headed in a dangerous direction. I was climbing harder then ever and the routes that were appearing on the horizon were getting harder and harder which in the climbing world means more and more dangerous. It took a few friends to not come home from the hills for me to re-evaluate what I was doing and have a think about the future. This is where endurance sport and adventure racing came in. it was the same mentality as mountaineering, the same fitness, the same commitment – but the consequences of pushing it to the absolute limit rarely meant death. I never dreamed that I could ever get injured in a race.
I get hurt all the time. Bumps and bruises from falling off my mountain bike, muscle pain from hours on the move are a part of my life. I struggle to remember a time when I wasn’t in the process of losing at least one toenail and either training, tapering or recovering from the latest adventure. But injured is another story – that doesn’t happen very much.
On Saturday I was in a 12-hour orienteering race in the mountains near Wanaka, New Zealand. Along with two other team mates we had to find as many checkpoints as possible over the 12 hour allotted time. We were having a good race, navigating well and working as a good team. Adrian, Mark and I have spent a fair bit of time together in the mountains and are a good match as far as ambition and fitness. It was about 7hrs into the race and it had just finished raining. The ground was wet and the air was cold. We were descending into a steep sided valley through trail-less terrain. It was a jumbled mix of scree, rubble, enormous prickly rose bushes, some over 8 feet tall and Matagouri trees, a NZ native plant that sports 2 inch thorns. I was traversing the slope when my left foot slipped on a slick rock on the downhill side. In an instant I was airborne. Like a surfer going over the falls my body was prone in the air, left side down about to body slam the ground. I slammed hard – impacting my left side onto the jagged rocks, with a thorn infested rose bush sandwiched in the middle. My momentum carried me down the slope, cart-wheeling out of control I ripped through another couple of rose bushes and went through a matagouri tree. After 2 rolls I stopped in a heap on the rocks.
Are you hurt or are you injured? The phrase ran through my head the moment that I hit the ground.
It was all supposed to be a bit of fun. I have a passion for adventure racing; there is something about the challenge, hardship and scenery that really gets me going. Perhaps it’s the same ambition that propelled me to dangerous positions as a young alpine climber. Ten tears ago in my mid twenties I was headed in a dangerous direction. I was climbing harder then ever and the routes that were appearing on the horizon were getting harder and harder which in the climbing world means more and more dangerous. It took a few friends to not come home from the hills for me to re-evaluate what I was doing and have a think about the future. This is where endurance sport and adventure racing came in. it was the same mentality as mountaineering, the same fitness, the same commitment – but the consequences of pushing it to the absolute limit rarely meant death. I never dreamed that I could ever get injured in a race.
I get hurt all the time. Bumps and bruises from falling off my mountain bike, muscle pain from hours on the move are a part of my life. I struggle to remember a time when I wasn’t in the process of losing at least one toenail and either training, tapering or recovering from the latest adventure. But injured is another story – that doesn’t happen very much.
On Saturday I was in a 12-hour orienteering race in the mountains near Wanaka, New Zealand. Along with two other team mates we had to find as many checkpoints as possible over the 12 hour allotted time. We were having a good race, navigating well and working as a good team. Adrian, Mark and I have spent a fair bit of time together in the mountains and are a good match as far as ambition and fitness. It was about 7hrs into the race and it had just finished raining. The ground was wet and the air was cold. We were descending into a steep sided valley through trail-less terrain. It was a jumbled mix of scree, rubble, enormous prickly rose bushes, some over 8 feet tall and Matagouri trees, a NZ native plant that sports 2 inch thorns. I was traversing the slope when my left foot slipped on a slick rock on the downhill side. In an instant I was airborne. Like a surfer going over the falls my body was prone in the air, left side down about to body slam the ground. I slammed hard – impacting my left side onto the jagged rocks, with a thorn infested rose bush sandwiched in the middle. My momentum carried me down the slope, cart-wheeling out of control I ripped through another couple of rose bushes and went through a matagouri tree. After 2 rolls I stopped in a heap on the rocks.
Matagouri thorns
Rose thorns
Are you hurt or are you injured?
My whole left side throbbed in pain. The initial slam was the hardest, with the million of prickle points only adding a sour topping on the whole experience. I could move my leg – it wasn’t broken. I got to my feet as Adrian and Mark looked on from the bottom of the hill. Tentatively I worked my way down the slope to meet my companions. Adrenalin was still surging through my veins masking much of the discomfort and allowing me to walk. Assessing the situation there were few decisions to make – we were at least 10km from the road through trackless bush and numerous hills and gullies. I could walk and wasn’t seriously injured. The decision was made to keep going in the race and see how I felt. The adrenaline kept me good company for a while – after some time my left leg began to throb with every step. A bite of chocolate and an ibuprophen took the edge off the discomfort and we kept going. Day turned to night and the race continued. We found more checkpoints and I kept the pace, trying to ignore the pain. For five hours after my fall I kept going even managing to run flat out for the final half hour to get back to the finish before the 12hr cut off.
So am I hurt or am I injured? Well I have a bruise on my ass the size of an apple, one on my thigh the size of a rugby ball; it looks like I have a grapefruit attached to the outside of my knee and a tennis ball attached to my ankle. I’m limping around like a retiree late for an osteopath appointment. I guess I’m just hurt. Will I do these sorts of races again? Without question. I’m not indestructible, no one is. Though I gave myself a good scare and I’ll limp around for the rest of the week, it’s only a few bumps and bruises. And a good story too.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Where are you go?
Strange title, I know. It’s not mine, you can’t blame me. This rather odd moniker is referring to a new film I’ve just seen the preview for. Regulars to this blog will know all about my adventure on the Tour d’Afrique earlier this year. This film was made by some folks who did the ride last year – I’m really looking forward to seeing the final product – based on the preview, it looks great.
So what of the TDA? Where are they now? The team rolled into Cape Town last week and after some 12,000km they have reached their mighty goal. Though my part of the expedition ended quite some time ago, my thoughts were rarely far from my comrades toiling in the heat, sand and jungle of Africa. By all accounts it was a true life altering experience for all involved (including me). Friendships were forged, new definitions of endurance were discovered and life outlooks were changed forever.
Here are a few words from my good friend Paul Porter’s blog, “If you are like me, you will struggle to find meaning to what you experienced as you traveled across Africa. A colleague here at the University recently asked me “what significant incite (or is it insight – or both?) did you gain from your trip, especially as it pertains to your work?” I stammered a bit and realized I had real trouble articulating what I had gained that is of value to me and to the University I work for. It is there, but not easy to articulate. It is easy to say it was a great experience, that I met a lot of nice people and saw a huge diversity of agriculture. But that seems less than the full story. Perhaps I just need more time to digest the experience. Perhaps, if I don’t make the effort, I won’t take the time to fully digest the experience. I should take the time to make the effort, and so should you."
So what of the TDA? Where are they now? The team rolled into Cape Town last week and after some 12,000km they have reached their mighty goal. Though my part of the expedition ended quite some time ago, my thoughts were rarely far from my comrades toiling in the heat, sand and jungle of Africa. By all accounts it was a true life altering experience for all involved (including me). Friendships were forged, new definitions of endurance were discovered and life outlooks were changed forever.
Here are a few words from my good friend Paul Porter’s blog, “If you are like me, you will struggle to find meaning to what you experienced as you traveled across Africa. A colleague here at the University recently asked me “what significant incite (or is it insight – or both?) did you gain from your trip, especially as it pertains to your work?” I stammered a bit and realized I had real trouble articulating what I had gained that is of value to me and to the University I work for. It is there, but not easy to articulate. It is easy to say it was a great experience, that I met a lot of nice people and saw a huge diversity of agriculture. But that seems less than the full story. Perhaps I just need more time to digest the experience. Perhaps, if I don’t make the effort, I won’t take the time to fully digest the experience. I should take the time to make the effort, and so should you."
Click HERE to read the rest of Paul’s poignant, touching and eloquently articulate post about his TDA experience.
So now my friends of the TDA will rediscover their lives at home. They’ll learn to shower every day and sit still for the first time in months. Some will hang their hat on this experience as a high water mark in their lives. Others will use it as a vaulting platform to inspire themselves for the next adventure and the one after that. I hope that many will fall into the latter category and I think they will.
S.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
On the radio
Being a writer is a strange existence. There really isn’t a better way to put it – I work in isolation, conjuring up things to say and commit them to paper. After hours, days, weeks of fretting you send it away and it’s gone. Like a child running away from home there is nothing you can do for the piece then – it’s on its own, forever. You sit at home and wait for the lag-time of submission to print to evaporate and then one day it comes to your door in a shiny, glossy version that once was only an idea floating around your head. If you’re lucky it looks cool and the editors have been kind to your precious words. The magazine or the book sits on the coffee table for a while and you do your best to subtly show it to your friends when they drop by for a coffee. Soon enough, the new issue hits the stands and the magazine slips into the shelf, to live in obscurity and in my memory.
Every now and again I get to experience the unbelievable feeling of hearing my song on the radio. This turn of phrase refers to the idea of seeing somebody actually reading my words and hopefully enjoying them. I’ll never forget some years ago walking into a bookstore to see a fella at the magazine rack reading a feature that I wrote in a climbing magazine. I peeked over his shoulder and a shiver went up my spine as I could sense that he was captivated by the words – my words. He was singing along.
It happened again today. I was in the bookstore and spied the new issue of SPOKE Magazine. The new issue of this New Zealand based mountain bike magazine happened to have a story of mine within it. My pulse quickened as I thumbed through the glossy pages to come upon page 24 and see my story; A Hard Day’s Night: How to make friends and punish people - by: Scott Kennedy. Cool layout, nice photo, spelled my name right, kept all my words – I was stoked.
Walking to the till I slipped the issue onto the counter and the young girl behind the register decided to say something a bit cheeky. “So, are you in this mag or something?” she had no idea who I was, I’d never seen her before and my reputation definitely doesn’t precede me.
“Yes I am actually.” She went very red and nervously pushed her hair behind her ear.
“Really? Wow, are you a pro biker or something?”
“No, I’m a writer, I have a story in this issue, and a picture too.” she stood up a little taller and smiled broadly as she handed me the magazine, my change and the receipt. I slipped it into my bag and started the trip home. That smile, the guy who was right into my story in the shop, some random dude who took the time to write a nice comment on my recent podcast – these are all nice little perks in an otherwise solitary world. Am I asking for an influx of gratification? No – but when it does happen, usually at the most unsuspecting moments it’s all the sweeter...
Check out my story in the latest issue of SPOKE – if you’re in En-Zed it’s in the shops now – elsewhere check out their site HERE.
The family that body-checks together stays together
I was in a true no-win situation yesterday. Though it's the depth of spring in the birthplace and natural home of ice hockey, here in the southern hemisphere we are just kicking the season off. It’s early days; we are still sorting out the lines, getting our game fitness back and remembering how to zing those slap-shots. I grew up in western Canada where there really was never an option as to whether you play, or at least try to play hockey. I spent the better part of my youth kicking around chilly ice rinks playing more games then I could care to count. Hell, my first job at the age of 13 was teaching younger kids how to play hockey at a summer hockey-school. So 3 or 4 years back I became re-aquatinted with the beautiful game. I hadn’t laced up the skates in a decade but after 10minutes on the ice it all came back. I’ve been playing weekly ever since and loving every minute of it. The year before last my wife Sophie decided to give the game a go. Good on her too, in Australia they don’t play a hell of a lot of hockey – she’d only known the game since hanging around with me. She caught on fast.
Yesterday, I was in a tournament playing on the Queenstown team and I came face to face with every hockey player’s worst nightmare. What do you do when you are playing against your wife and she’s standing between you and the goal? Sophie is playing on the Queenstown ladies team and they wanted to have some stiff competition to get them ready for the nationals at the end of the season so they entered the men’s tournament that my team was in. Yesterday at 2.30pm I faced off against my Mrs. As I was saying it was a no-win situation. If we lose, we lose. If we win by heaps of goals, we were running up the score. If we win by only a goal or two, we were holding back. Don’t get me wrong I’m no misogynist, these girls are some of the best female players in the country, but our team is filled with some great players who’ve been playing hockey for all their lives.
So what happened? Well the fella’s won – by many, many goals. I thought for certain I was on the couch until next season but I was quite surprised and a little inspired by what Soph said to me after the game. I asked her how she thought it went and she said, “Great! We had a great team game and improved every shift out there. We all had heaps of fun and didn’t really care what the final score was.”
I was pretty put in my place by that one. Though my team had a great time at the tournament, when we lost our other match our attitude certainly wasn’t as enlightened as the ladies’ was. Them girls are smart, us fella’s could learn a lot from ‘em.
S.
Yesterday, I was in a tournament playing on the Queenstown team and I came face to face with every hockey player’s worst nightmare. What do you do when you are playing against your wife and she’s standing between you and the goal? Sophie is playing on the Queenstown ladies team and they wanted to have some stiff competition to get them ready for the nationals at the end of the season so they entered the men’s tournament that my team was in. Yesterday at 2.30pm I faced off against my Mrs. As I was saying it was a no-win situation. If we lose, we lose. If we win by heaps of goals, we were running up the score. If we win by only a goal or two, we were holding back. Don’t get me wrong I’m no misogynist, these girls are some of the best female players in the country, but our team is filled with some great players who’ve been playing hockey for all their lives.
So what happened? Well the fella’s won – by many, many goals. I thought for certain I was on the couch until next season but I was quite surprised and a little inspired by what Soph said to me after the game. I asked her how she thought it went and she said, “Great! We had a great team game and improved every shift out there. We all had heaps of fun and didn’t really care what the final score was.”
I was pretty put in my place by that one. Though my team had a great time at the tournament, when we lost our other match our attitude certainly wasn’t as enlightened as the ladies’ was. Them girls are smart, us fella’s could learn a lot from ‘em.
S.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Adventureskope.com re-launch!
I’m pleased to announce that my website – http://www.adventureskope.com/ – has just been given a good spruce-up and is now live in its updated form. The look and feel has changed quite significantly and is well worth going for an explore through. It’s still a work in progress, as always (and always will be) but I wanted to give the official heads up here on my blog that it’s up and running. Have a look and let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Scott
Let's do this
I’ve been having great fun with my photo of the day project so far. It’s been a great exercise in creativity. There are no excuses, no; “I’ll do it later” it’s now or never. What’s got me really excited about it today is that a good mate of mine from Canada has decided to also start his own version of the project. Chris Marchand and I go way back – circa 2001 I was living in Fernie, BC generally avoiding work and getting some unreal ski days in. Chris was a scribe and shooter for the local weekly rag where he waxed lyrical about town council meetings and playoff hockey. We both had a passion for shooting photos, stringing good words together and skiing deep powder. Since that time Chris has moved back to his ancestral home of Northern Ontario – where in fact I have family roots too. He’s still writing and shooting (none too many ski hills though) for the local paper. He’s also a keen blogger on all things cultural and cool. His blog Hinterlands is part of my daily read and is well worth checking out even if you don’t know where the hell Dryden is (don’t worry nobody knows…)
Be sure to check out his blog and his photo of the day project – he knows his way around a camera… I thought you might be interested in this exchange the two of us had regarding lifestyle, X-Box, photo of the day and pork products….
Chris: I'm stealing this Photo of The Day idea from my dear compadre Scott, who is running a double marathon up and down some big mountains on the south island of New Zealand. I'm worried about him and his increasingly masochistic behavior. Remember, this is a guy who raced his mountain bike across the better part of Africa in 45 degree heat a few months back. Blah, blah crave the mental challenge, blah blah, push myself to the limits, blah blah I do yoga in the sauna, blah meat is for savages... Scott, do you even know what Call of Duty 4 is? Battlestar Galatica? Hmmm? What about pork rinds and cool whip together at last? Life is passing you by, my friend.
Scott:
I guess you just called me out on this one. I’m happy to throw the gauntlet as far as the photo of the day project – it’s an interesting process that is a serious money-where-your-mouth-is creative process reality check. Though I chuckle every time I use the money where your mouth as turn of phrase because I assume that it is a reference to prostitution, but I digress… I see that you’ve posted a photo from last year as your first photo of the day – I’ve gone with the idea that the photo must come from that day – are you up to the challenge?… l look forward to following along with what you come up with.Ok Sega, Dungeons & Dragons, food Homer Simpson fantasizes about. Yes I could wax lyrical about the joys of hardship and the need to realign ourselves with a more primordial archetypal existence where there is more of an emphasis on self awareness rather then the dominate post modern need for self gratification. True I don’t know the joys of adding cool whip to any part of a porker but I think there is room for a balance of both philosopher and pseudo-adolescent. No I don’t have an x-box, but I do have enough DVD’s to open a shop, I have a twitter account and I count Project Runway as my guilty pleasure (I would so turn gay for Tim). Nor am I some 21st century new age metro sexual – I like loud rock, shooting guns and the feeling of splitting a log when you get it in one chop. So what am I on about? Fuck, I’ve got no idea – perhaps I’m just knackered from running two marathons on Saturday. I think I need to lie down in front of the TV watch my Criterion Collection edition of Point Break, drink enough red to forget my legs fucking hurt and meld into the couch like some dehydrated Jabba The Hut. Perhaps you’re onto something…
Chris:
Intially, I was pretty sure that in my case, photo of the day would always have to be archival, though I guess I see the point of your creative endeavor now.Okay, motherlover, I accept your terms. Let's do this.
Scott:
Bring. It. On.
Be sure to check out his blog and his photo of the day project – he knows his way around a camera… I thought you might be interested in this exchange the two of us had regarding lifestyle, X-Box, photo of the day and pork products….
Chris: I'm stealing this Photo of The Day idea from my dear compadre Scott, who is running a double marathon up and down some big mountains on the south island of New Zealand. I'm worried about him and his increasingly masochistic behavior. Remember, this is a guy who raced his mountain bike across the better part of Africa in 45 degree heat a few months back. Blah, blah crave the mental challenge, blah blah, push myself to the limits, blah blah I do yoga in the sauna, blah meat is for savages... Scott, do you even know what Call of Duty 4 is? Battlestar Galatica? Hmmm? What about pork rinds and cool whip together at last? Life is passing you by, my friend.
Scott:
I guess you just called me out on this one. I’m happy to throw the gauntlet as far as the photo of the day project – it’s an interesting process that is a serious money-where-your-mouth-is creative process reality check. Though I chuckle every time I use the money where your mouth as turn of phrase because I assume that it is a reference to prostitution, but I digress… I see that you’ve posted a photo from last year as your first photo of the day – I’ve gone with the idea that the photo must come from that day – are you up to the challenge?… l look forward to following along with what you come up with.Ok Sega, Dungeons & Dragons, food Homer Simpson fantasizes about. Yes I could wax lyrical about the joys of hardship and the need to realign ourselves with a more primordial archetypal existence where there is more of an emphasis on self awareness rather then the dominate post modern need for self gratification. True I don’t know the joys of adding cool whip to any part of a porker but I think there is room for a balance of both philosopher and pseudo-adolescent. No I don’t have an x-box, but I do have enough DVD’s to open a shop, I have a twitter account and I count Project Runway as my guilty pleasure (I would so turn gay for Tim). Nor am I some 21st century new age metro sexual – I like loud rock, shooting guns and the feeling of splitting a log when you get it in one chop. So what am I on about? Fuck, I’ve got no idea – perhaps I’m just knackered from running two marathons on Saturday. I think I need to lie down in front of the TV watch my Criterion Collection edition of Point Break, drink enough red to forget my legs fucking hurt and meld into the couch like some dehydrated Jabba The Hut. Perhaps you’re onto something…
Chris:
Intially, I was pretty sure that in my case, photo of the day would always have to be archival, though I guess I see the point of your creative endeavor now.Okay, motherlover, I accept your terms. Let's do this.
Scott:
Bring. It. On.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
The double Routeburn?
There is much to tell, but today is not yet the day. We made it, we survived, hell we even had fun. 65km of running, something like 2000m of elevation gain and loss. 11.5 hrs on the move, cold all day, never took the beanie off, light snow all morning, heavy snow all afternoon, near blizzard on the high point. Sunshine at the halfway point – test of will to turn around and run the track again. Absolutely epic. Expect a more detailed report soon – until then have a listen to the podcast and check out the photo of the day! still finding the right words to describe this one….
The Dirtbag Diaries
About a week ago I dropped a big hint about a very cool podcast series called The Dirtbag Diaries. Those good guessers out there won’t be too surprised to hear that I have penned an episode of the popular series! It’s just gone ‘live’ and is available for free download at either the Dirtbag Diaries site or from iTunes.It was a really interesting process helping to create this podcast. It all started with an idea I had for a story – a rather important part of my growth as a climber that not many of you know about. Actually I can with good confidence say that this is a story that none of you know – this was one that I held pretty close to my chest. The story starts nearly ten years ago and in many ways isn’t finished even today. It’s about climbing, relationships, the feeling of security and commitment. I’m really happy with how it turned out and I’d love for you to check it out.
As a bit of a bonus here is a photo to go along with the episode. The title of the story is The Great White Book named after a climbing route in Yosemite Valley of the same name - here is a photo of the climb. I can’t take credit for this shot – Mr. Ansel Adams took this one. The climb is the prominent corner crack on the lefthand dome.
Have a listen and have a think – as always I’d love to hear what you have to say about it.
Cheers,
Scott
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
41 hours to go
On Saturday morning it’s go-time for the Double-Routeburn. 65km of mountain running to start the day off and likely finish the day too. I’ve just been reading the weather and it’s going to be around 3c and snowing. Not exactly ideal conditions! There is part of me that’s bummed that the weather is likely going to be diabolically bad for much of the day. But then there is another part, hidden deep inside that is somehow perversely pleased that the great leveler of weather is going to hit us like an icy water balloon. Though we are in a race for the first half of this adventure it really isn’t a race for us – this is an adventure best savored over a long period of time. From that point of view, we’re really going to get our money’s worth!
Ironic that the most recent experience that I’m drawing strength from is riding my bike in Sudan. In the desert it was pushing 45c - the heat was ferocious, unrelenting jackhammer of thermal doom. On Saturday it is going to be wet and cold and windy and really long. Why is it that I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve – barely able to sleep for the excitement flowing through my veins? Really must find new hobbies….
S.
Ironic that the most recent experience that I’m drawing strength from is riding my bike in Sudan. In the desert it was pushing 45c - the heat was ferocious, unrelenting jackhammer of thermal doom. On Saturday it is going to be wet and cold and windy and really long. Why is it that I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve – barely able to sleep for the excitement flowing through my veins? Really must find new hobbies….
S.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Onwards
check out this very cool little cartoon. sit, watch, enjoy... Now get out there and run!
if you can't see the video click HERE to go right to the source.
thanks to The Adventure Life for the heads up!
if you can't see the video click HERE to go right to the source.
thanks to The Adventure Life for the heads up!
Oprah, KFC and me...
Ok it’s no secret I have a soft spot for KFC. Yes I know the wonderful irony that I am a vegetarian, but on occasion I eat KFC. Long ago I decided to eat the chicken of doom in every country that I visit, or at least every country that has a franchise. Perhaps it all stems from a very funny question a friend asked me years ago, “What do you call a vegetarian that eats chicken?” I thought it was the start of a joke, but it turns out she was honestly curious. I was dumbstruck and had nothing to offer.
I’ve been a veggie for years for a variety of reasons – heath and land-use ethics are the main ones – but another reason is discipline. I like the idea of facing a craving every day and saying no, not because of an ideological subscription, but by a conscious choice I make every day. To me this is a very powerful decision to make - a much harder one than simply saying that, 'I’m not allowed' and turning away. I say no to KFC (most of the time) because I choose not to and for no other reason.
So why am I babbling about KFC today? Well Oprah, yes that Oprah (she’s so entrenched into the cultural zeitgeist that ‘Oprah’ is pre-loaded into the Word spell-check – with Obama, iPod, and Facebook all getting the underline treatment) has decided to give everyone in America a meal at KFC. Go to her website and print out a coupon for a free meal at the grease pit. Apparently it is to promote some sort of healthy meal they are introducing.
What the fuck?
You don’t have to be a nutritionist to know that smelling KFC let alone eating it will take tangible amounts of time off your life expectancy. And not only is the most influential woman in America, no, the World saying it’s ok to eat it, she’s giving the shit away? I say again, what the fuck is up with that? I could go on for hours on the inevitable corporate kickbacks and dietary ramifications of such a credible celebrity (sorry does that sound like an oxy-moron to anyone else?) endorsing what is likely the most unhealthy meal on the planet but I’ll save you from that. I guess it’s just another strange turn of events in an already strange world…
I am still waiting for my free Dr. Pepper because Chinese Democracy hit the shelves before China became a democratic nation…
For more on my history with KFC click HERE. For more on celebrities selling out to fast food click HERE.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Double-Routeburn
Those of you following long on my Twitter feed (hit that big logo on the right to get into it, or click HERE) will have been catching hints this week about my next adventure. This Saturday, so in 5 days, I’m going to be running a rather ambitious ultra-marathon. Here’s the story – there is an annual race just outside of Queenstown called the Routeburn Classic. The run takes place on the Routeburn walking track, a 38km hike that most people do over the course of 3 days. The path crosses a full mountain range and gains somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000m before losing it all again before the finish. The classic does this track all in one, very fast day. The top runners will complete it in around 3hrs. Now 38km of mountain running isn’t anything to make light of – but it isn’t exactly an ultra-marathon. To be an ultra it has to be at least longer then a standard marathon, or 42km. Where the ultra part comes in when my good friend Christian and I get to the finish. Instead of grabbing a beer and putting our feet up, we’re going to turn around and run back to the start. That’s right, 76km of mountain running all in one day.
So is this a wise plan? Probably not. Why are we doing it? Well the easy answer is that it sounds like fun. Now that sounds insane. I guess the reality is that we really want to challenge ourselves – not just physically but mentally. By the end of the day we are going to be totally and utterly worked and in many ways that’s the point. It’s in those moments of frailty that you really get a glimpse at what we’re made of. We’re going to be filming it too – so even if it all goes pear shaped and we turn into babbling, whimpering fools – it’ll all be on tape for your entertainment!
From the seed of ambition, both greatness and folly grow.
Have a look HERE for more info about the event and check out this video for a bit of a preview of what it’s all about.
So is this a wise plan? Probably not. Why are we doing it? Well the easy answer is that it sounds like fun. Now that sounds insane. I guess the reality is that we really want to challenge ourselves – not just physically but mentally. By the end of the day we are going to be totally and utterly worked and in many ways that’s the point. It’s in those moments of frailty that you really get a glimpse at what we’re made of. We’re going to be filming it too – so even if it all goes pear shaped and we turn into babbling, whimpering fools – it’ll all be on tape for your entertainment!
From the seed of ambition, both greatness and folly grow.
Have a look HERE for more info about the event and check out this video for a bit of a preview of what it’s all about.
Ripples
I’m especially excited to post this video clip today for a couple of reasons. First off, it’s a beautiful piece of imagery that makes for truly hypnotic viewing. The second reason is that this clip was filmed and edited by none other then my rather talented and always amazing wife, Sophie. I love this video and not just because I’ve got a soft spot for the artist… Enjoy!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
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