Understanding the motivations behind those who partake in extreme sports can be difficult for some. If the popular conception holds that the incentive behind extreme sports participation is entirely to do with risking one's life, then this confusion will continue to exist. However, an in-depth examination of the phenomenology of the extreme sport experience yields a much more complex picture. This book revisits the definition of extreme sports as those activities where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death. Extreme sports are not necessarily synonymous with risk and participation may not be about risk-taking. Participants report deep inner transformations that influence world views and meaningfulness, feelings of coming home and authentic integration as well as a freedom beyond the everyday. Phenomenologically, these experiences have been interpreted as transcendent of time, other, space and body. Extreme sport participation therefore points to a more potent, life-enhancing endeavour worthy of further investigation. This book adopts a broad hermeneutic phenomenological approach to critique the assumed relationship to risk-taking, the death wish and the concept of "No Fear" in extreme sports, and repositions the experience in a previously unexplored manner. This is valuable reading for students and academics interested in Sports Psychology, Social Psychology, Health Psychology, Tourism, Leisure Studies and the practical applications of phenomenology.

"Backpacker" magazine-branded and fueled by FalconGuides, this book provides essential mind gear from the two most respected and reliable publishers of outdoor-related information. Perfect for pack or pocket, it breaks down its subject into the essential topics, providing practical and portable information useful in the field. Full-color photos, charts, and illustrations are organized with text by an expert in a brief and accessible manner, introducing readers to basic and intermediate skills needed to safely and successfully get by in the outdoors. Backpacker "Magazine's Outdoor Knots" provides readers step-by-step instructions for tying the most useful knots and hitches, splices and lashings for the outdoors; info on the best type of rope and knot for each task at hand; how to properly prepare, coil, and maintain ropes for durability and reliability. This handy pocket-sized guide is 96 pages and incorporates color photos, charts, and illustrations as needed throughout the interior.

Train for your next race with the man who has been called “the world’s best running coach.” With more than 55 years of experience, Jack Daniels is a legendary figure in the running community. Named the National Coach of the Year by the NCAA and honored as the Division III Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Century, Daniels has mentored some of the greatest names in running, including Jim Ryun, Ken Martin, Jerry Lawson, Alicia Shay, Peter Gilmore, Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom. In Daniels’ Running Formula, he has shared training advice with hundreds of thousands of runners. Now in this updated—and definitive—fourth edition, he again refines his methods and strategies to help you run faster and stronger. Building upon his revolutionary VDOT system, Daniels incorporates new insights gained from studying participants in his unique Run SMART Project. You’ll be guided through the components that make the training formula work and then learn different types of training—including treadmill training, fitness training, and training at altitude or in other challenging environments—along with age-related modifications for runners from ages 6 to 80. Everything comes together with expert advice on event-specific training ranging—for runs ranging from 800 meters to ultradistance events and triathlons. You will find advice on setting up your own seasonal plan, or you can follow one of Daniels’ 31 proven training plans and workouts. You’ll even find four fitness running plans, from novice level to elite level, to get in shape or regain conditioning after injury. Join the thousands of runners who have relied on Jack Daniels to help them reach their peak running performance. Using the programs outlined in Daniels’ Running Formula, you too can achieve the results you seek every time you train and race.

This up-to-date guidebook is just the ticket for campers, hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, birdwatchers, nature photographers, and folks who just like to enjoy the outdoors. It offers all the details to every state and national park, recreation area, national forest, and historical park in Texas. Where appropriate, maps are provided to identify specific campsites within the larger parks, and "at a glance" charts provide a quick and easy way to determine the extent of such amenities as showers, flush toilets, electricity, etc. The unique features of each park or campground are described, as well as the recreation available, be it boating or bird watching. Whether it's for a Saturday getaway or a two-week vacation, this handy book is a great guide to outdoor fun in Texas.

After years of expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year exploring the detailed local map around his home.

Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, hold any surprises for the world traveller or satisfy his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration? Discovering more about the natural world than in all his years in remote environments, he learns the value of truly getting to know his neighbourhood.

An ode to slowing down, Local is a celebration of curiosity and time spent outdoors, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep.

'It's like being given some sort of magical text... eye-opening and invaluable.' India Knight, Sunday Times 'Even the intrepid Bear Grylls could learn a trick or two from this book' The Times The ultimate guide to what the land, sun, moon, stars, trees, plants, animals, sky and clouds can reveal - when you know what to look for. Includes over 850 outdoor clues and signs for you to enjoy the wonders of the outdoors from your living room. This top ten bestseller is the result of Tristan Gooley's two decades of pioneering outdoors experience and six years of instructing, researching and writing. It includes lots of outdoor clues and signs that will not be found in any other book in the world. As well as the most comprehensive guide to natural navigation for walkers ever compiled, it also contains clues for weather forecasting, tracking, city walks, coast walks, night walks and dozens of other areas.

Mark Atkinson is living proof that you don't have to be 'good' at running to make it through a marathon or even further. Packed with insights and tips, pitfalls and joy, Ducking Long Way invites you to join him for a beer at mile thirty as he pushes himself as far as he can while still running for the sheer joy of it.

22,000 Miles is the distance Richard Seipp has ridden with his 15-year-old son Tom over the past ten years. Starting out on their local trails in the Peak District when Tom was 5, they soon progressed to longer rides. As Tom grew, so did his ambitions - the Coast-to-Coast, the Strathpuffer 24-hour solo mountain bike race, multi-day bikepacking in the Scottish Highlands. Having ridden the 1955 route of the Tour de France during the summer holidays when Tom was 12, they continued to push their limits - Everesting the infamous Kemmelberg cobbles in Belgium and then heading to North America to ride the 2,745-mile Tour Divide, which runs the length of the North American Continental Divide along the spine of the Rocky Mountains from Banff in Canada south to the Mexican border at Antelope Wells. This book is their story in Rich's words alongside his atmospheric photographs of his and Tom's adventures. 22,000 Miles is the story of a father and son bonding over their combined love of adventure.

A New York Times bestseller and a Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and The Times.

Is getting a little less comfortable the key to living a happier, healthier life?

When journalist Scott Carney came across a picture of a man in his fifties sitting on a glacier in just his underwear, he assumed it must be a hoax. Dutch guru Wim Hof claimed he could control his body temperature using his mind and teach others to do the same. Sceptical, Carney signed up to Hof’s one-week course, not realising that it would be the start of a four-year journey to unlock his own evolutionary potential.

From hyperventilating in a Polish farmhouse to underwater weight training in California, and eventually climbing Mt Kilimanjaro wearing just shorts and running shoes, Carney travelled the world testing out unorthodox methods of body transformation and discovering the science behind them.

In What Doesn’t Kill Us he explains how getting a little less comfortable can help us to unlock our lost evolutionary strength.

'Filled to the brim with advice, tips and inspiration to enable you to achieve your dreams over whatever distance you want your legs to carry you' Chrissie Wellington, OBE, four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion From complete beginners to seasoned off-road runners, The Ultimate Trail Running Handbook has all the training and nutrition advice, skills, gear and motivation you need to become a fit and confident trail runner. There are training plans that take newcomers from 5k parkrun to first trail marathon, while for experienced runners there are sections on strength work, injury prevention and advanced training plans to boost performance up to 50k (30 miles). To keep you enjoying every step, you'll find advice on how to choose the right gear; over 20 easy, healthy recipes; inspiring stories from real trail runners; and advice from top athletes and coaches. And if you want to explore new trails, you can use the navigation and route planning section to create your own exciting off-road adventure. If you're a trail runner or would like to become one, this book is your new best friend.

Deciding what user impacts are natural or unnatural has inspired much debate. Biophysically, moose cause similar kinds of soil and vegetation impacts as hikers. Yet moose are the sign of nature while hikers are the sign of damage. The field of outdoor recreation is beset with paradoxes, and this book presents a unique, alternative framework to address these dilemmas. Examining outdoor recreation through the lens of ecological theory, Ryan draws from theorists such as Foucault, Derrida and Latour. The book explores minimum impact strategies designed to protect and enhance ecological integrity, but that also require a disturbing amount of policing of users, which runs counter to the freedom users seek. Recent ecological theory suggests that outdoor recreation's view of nature as balanced when impacts are removed is outdated and incorrect. What is needed, and indeed Ryan presents, is a paradoxical and ecological view of humans as neither natural nor unnatural, a view that embraces some traces in nature.

With more and more people heading into the winter backcountry on skis, snowshoes, and snowmobiles, avalanche safety is of paramount importance. Allen & Mike's Really Cool Avalanche Safety Book distills the sometimes overly technical information of snow science into a user-friendly format with helpful illustrations and easy-to-understand text. With years of experience as NOLS instructors to draw on, Allen O'Bannon and Mike Clelland team up to give winter recreationists the information they need to stay safe in the backcountry, including how to prepare for your trip, proper equipment and how to use it, snowpack assessment, choosing safe travel routes, decision making, and rescue scenarios. Written for both aspriring winter backcountry travelers and experts alike, this book is a must-read for anybody who loves to experience the solitude and beauty of the snowy mountains.

True Stories of Outdoor Adventure and Inspiration All fans of whitewater sports have been impacted by the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in one way or another. In 1972, the NOC was the outgrowth of an idea that friends working together to pursue their outdoor passions could change lives for the better. Today, the center is a seminal Southeastern paddling hub. Compiled by Payson Kennedy and edited by Greg Hlavaty, NOC Stories is a collection of 62 entertaining stories by NOC staff veterans-memories that describe the center's first 25 years. It approaches the story of the NOC's inception, a time of exponential growth in whitewater sports and instruction, a time when the NOC's contribution to paddling technique and instruction reverberated around the world. It is both a history of NOC's leading role in the evolution of commercial river running and an overview of when kayaking, as a sport, exploded in the United States. The remembrances presented here blend history with adventure as they document the NOC's singular vision.

'A book of instructions to those who will dare one day the impossible. I bow my head in reverence' Werner Herzog 'Petit is an artist whose theatre is the sky' Robin Williams 'Fascinating. You will learn about the man, his work, his passion, his tenacity and lucidity' Marcel Marceau 'Petit outlines a whole approach to life. The lessons are simple, universal. Be committed. Feel alive. Give everything' Independent In cities you travel to, always remember to visit the highest monument. Remain at the top for many hours, looking into the void. In this poetic handbook, written when he was just twenty-three, the world-famous high-wire artist Philippe Petit offers a window into the world of his craft. Petit masterfully explains how preparation and self-control contributed to such feats as walking between the towers of Notre Dame and the World Trade Center. Addressing such topics as the rigging of the wire, the walker's first steps, his salute and exercises, and the work of other renowned high-wire artists, Petit offers us a book about the ecstasy of conquering our fears and reaching for the stars. Translated and introduced by Paul Auster A W&N Essential

A Wall Street Journal bestseller. In this groundbreaking book, New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler decodes the mystery of ultimate human performance. Drawing on over a decade of research and firsthand reporting with dozens of top action and adventure sports athletes like big wave legend Laird Hamilton, big mountain snowboarder Jeremy Jones, and skateboarding pioneer Danny Way, Kotler explores the frontier science of "flow," an optimal state of consciousness in which we perform and feel our best. Building a bridge between the extreme and the mainstream, The Rise of Superman explains how these athletes are using flow to do the impossible and how we can use this information to radically accelerate performance in our own lives. At its core, this is a book about profound possibility; about what is actually possible for our species; about where-if anywhere-our limits lie.

Guidebook to 35 full and half day mountain biking routes in Slovenia. The graded routes, which range from technically not difficult but requiring a reasonable level of fitness to highly technical, requiring a high level of fitness and confident bike handling skills, vary in length from 12km to 59km. Routes are located in Gorenjska, Soca Valley, the South, as well as Central and North Eastern Slovenia. Full route descriptions are accompanied by gradient profiles and 1:75,000 mapping, together with practical information such as getting to and around Slovenia, travelling with the bike, arranging accommodation and dealing with emergency situations. A handy Slovenian language glossary is also included. Showcasing a remarkably diverse landscape, Slovenia is an idyllic mountain biking destination. From the towering peaks of Gorenjska and the stunning riverside trails of the Soca Valley to the tremendous limestone caves of the Karst region and the forests of the Nanos plateau in the country's south, there is endless opportunity for tough climbs, long descents and technical trails - as well as slow, scenic trips lakeside and through vineyard-laced landscapes - making it a perfect travel destination for the avid mountain biker.

An inspirational collection of the world's most beautiful scenic runs, selected by the editors of cult independent running magazine Like the Wind. Trail running is as simple as it sounds: just put one foot in front of the other, somewhere unpaved and outdoors. The opportunities it presents are endless, with a wide variety of routes that stretch over mountains, forests and deserts, in hot climates and frigid ones, through some of the most wild and beautiful places on Earth. Targeted at both novice and experienced runners, this book presents the finest trail-running locations around the world. From the heights of the Alps to the snowy expanses of the Arctic to the jungles of Latin America and the outback Down Under, each destination is brought to life by a different trail runner, showcasing exactly what makes each location so spectacular, as well as providing practical information to keep you moving on the ground. Compiled by the editors of Like the Wind, the first independent running magazine, each run offers an unparalleled experience, while the foreword was written by renowned American ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes. As trail-running events assume the popularity and buzz of music festivals - tens of thousands of people run in some of the world's toughest endurance races - this book offers a passport to exotic places and experiences, on and off the trail, at a time when getting off-grid and alone with yourself has never been more important. The Trails * The Dolomites, Italy: Davide Grazielli * The Lofoten Islands, Norway: Linda Helland * The Chamonix Valley, France: Simon Freeman * Inverie & The Knoydart Peninsula, Scotland: George Bauer * Corsica, France: Guillaume Peretti * The Pyrenees, France/Spain: Tobias Mews * The Kungsleden, Sweden: Anna Gatta * The Lake District, England: Ricky Lightfoot * Jura, Switzerland: Julie Freeman * British Columbia, Canada: Hilary Matheson * The White Mountains, USA: Stefanie Bishop * Sedona & Flagstaff, USA: Rob Krar * Sierra Norte De Oaxaca, Mexico: Emma Latham Phillips * Patagonia, Chile: Jenna Crawford * Great Himalaya Trail, Nepal: Lizzy Hawker * The West MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory, Australia: Tom Le Lievre

'Never have I felt so connected to the natural world than when trailing . . . The direction of the wind is noted almost subconsciously, the alarm calls of birds are obvious and the track and sign of all the other animals, even insects, crossing your trail reveal themselves. It's a strangely peaceful state where every sense seems to be stretched to the limit in a state of extreme concentration, and yet one feels completely relaxed and at peace. The whole of nature is revealed within an animal trail.' John Rhyder explores the world of British mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians through their tracks and other signs, including scat, feeding, damage to trees, dens, beds and nests, providing a fully explained and illustrated guide to the natural world around us. Following years of extensive research from one of the UK's leading wildlife trackers, Track and Sign is illustrated with line drawings and photographs, making identification in the field effective and accurate for both the complete beginner and the expert naturalist.

Camping in the garden, riding bikes through the woods, climbing trees, collecting bugs, picking wildflowers, running through piles of autumn leaves... These are the things childhood memories are made of. But for a whole generation of today's children the pleasures of a free-range childhood are missing, and their indoor habits contribute to epidemic obesity, attention-deficit disorder, isolation and childhood depression. This timely book shows how our children have become increasingly alienated and distanced from nature, why this matters and how we can make a difference. Last Child in the Woods is a clarion call, brilliantly written, compelling and irresistibly persuasive - a book that will change minds and lives.