Outdoor Educator, Adventure Sports Coach and Instructor Trainer
I participated in an Aquatic Rescue course last week and it had me wondering what the various forces involved are. After a bit of internet research here is a collection of bits of information that I found interesting. I can now apply some of this to optimising the equipment I carry and how I use it on the river.
Warning this is a pretty nerdy and long post. Grab a brew and settle in for while. Continue reading “Forces in White Water Rescue”
In this months Outdoor UAE is my article on white water kayaking here in the UAE. Yes you read that right, white water kayaking in the desert.
Get hold of a copy of the mag to find out more. A list of where the mag is available from can be found here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=251340694902364&set=a.157112507658517.25782.152349084801526&type=3&theater
First published in 1991 the Third Edition of the White Water Nepal Guide is now available. This iconic rafting and kayaking guide book has seen a thorough update and there are some significant changes.
Firstly the original author, Peter ‘Green Slime’ Knowles, has been joined by co author Daz Clarkson who is one of expedition kayakings leading lights. Daz spends several months a year running trips in Nepal through Pure Land Expeditions and is the only person in the world to have kayaked all the rivers that flow from Everest. His current knowledge and expertise have helped bring the guide bang up to date.
Secondly the guide is now printed in Nepal. Daz says “As co authors we wanted to keep the style and feel of the 1st and 2nd edition, it is an iconic guidebook and we felt it mattered to people that they were able to return to it like an old friend. The book was made in Nepal, jointly published by Rivers Publishing in the UK and Himalayan Map House in Kathmandu.For me it was a great learning curve to be sat working in the publishers in Kathmandu, working away with traditional cut/paste. The finished product is perfect, it shows the great development in Nepal and the increase of river running in the Himalayas.”
The guide is an invaluable tool for anyone planning a rafting or kayaking experience in Nepal whether as a client with a rafting company or as a dirtbag boater planning an extended season. The book is packed to the gunwales with information, stories, cartoons and detail that will both entertain and inform both beginner and seasoned verteran.
Career Warning– Reading this book could lead you into the world of the expedition kayaker/rafter. It is a world of discovery including real adventure, cultural understanding, gobsmaking natural beauty and incredibile people achieving truly staggering things. If you’d rather sit in front of a screen of Column A and Column B than by a camp fire on a white sandy beach museing the days adventures while trying to spot satelites as they move across the sky in front of the Milky Way then this is not the life for you. Unfortunately these life choices don’t fit very well with a sensible career your Mother would approve of.
The Third Edition of White Water Nepal by Peter Knowles and Darren Clarkson-King (ISBN 978-0-9550614-2-4) is jointly published by Rivers Publishing U.K. and Himalayan Map House Nepal and available from all good book shops.
In this months Outdoor UAE my article is on ways to improve your first aid kit.
James has kindly produced a PDF version of the article for folks to download and use.
Enjoy
Ian
I’ve had a really interesting couple of days. Firstly my first radio experience on Thursday morning and then a day and a half helping out on the Adventure HQ shop floor. The radio was a completely new experience, the shop floor of an outdoor store was revisiting old experiences. Both were interesting and both great fun.
Continue reading “Interesting days- Radio Debute and Outdoor Retail Revisited”
The latest Outdoor UAE is out, June 2011, and includes my article ‘Rivers Running With Positive Karma’ about our kayak trip to Nepal.
Adventure is something I know I’m passionate about, I can feel myself get animated when I talk about it. It inspires me, motivates me, makes me laugh, smile or even cry when I see people affected by it. Looking back when it’s not in my life I feel unhappy, dissatisfied and ill at ease with myself although I often wont realise that’s what the probable cause is at the time.
I’ve never been much of a writer but generating the posts on this blog has been really interesting and now, for some reason, I feel a need to write about my thoughts on adventure. Not quite sure where this will go, where it will end or how it will be recieved (if I press the publish button of course). Guess its just a different kind of adventure! Let me know what you think in the comments at the end please 🙂 Continue reading “Lets talk about….. Adventure”
This is my solution to the problems of mobile phones for those of us who play outdoor games. Keep your smart phone safe by using a cheap phone, a waterproof case that works and 2 sim cards on one number. Continue reading “Top Tip #4- My ‘Adventure Phone’ solution for the UAE”
Following my recent trip to Nepal https://ianganderton.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/rivers-running-with-positive-karma-nepal-kayak-trip-spring-2011/ here is some of the travel info you wont find in the Lonely Planet Guide.
Continue reading “Information for Adventure Travellers – Dubai to Kathmandu”
If you dont fancy reading my ramblings cut to the chase, scroll down the post and watch the 4 minute 20 second photo slide show with music at the end of the post
What a fantastic couple of weeks. Obviously I was expecting to have a great trip, you dont go for 2 weeks in Nepal expecting it to be a bit crap now do you, but some how it exceeded my wildest expectations.
Continue reading “Rivers running with positive karma – Nepal Kayak Trip Spring 2011”
Ian Ganderton 