Everyone鈥檚 up for an adventure in theory, but it鈥檚 hard to actually take the leap. Maybe you鈥檙e not sure how to bushwhack through the jungle, or communicate in a place where English isn鈥檛 spoken. There are safety concerns to think about, and even if you make it all the way to France, or Kyrgyzstan, or Antarctica, you worry that you鈥檒l just sit in your hotel room wishing you鈥檇 landed somewhere a little closer to your comfort zone after all.

But would-be adventurers don鈥檛 have to stay would-be forever. That鈥檚 the pitch made by Brit who is ramping up a program he calls . Prior leads small groups of paying travelers (who cough up $4,000 each, plus flight expenses) on challenging treks through remote parts of Indonesia. These are classes, stresses Prior.聽Not tours. They come with many of the conveniences of a tourist package鈥搇odging, transportation, a guide鈥揵ut they鈥檙e also intended to prepare participants for future wilderness trips on their own. Accordingly, you can鈥檛 just sign up. You apply for admission.

鈥淭here are people out there who have an idea and they鈥檒l just go and do it and they don鈥檛 need anyone for a bit of guidance. That鈥檚 fine. That鈥檚 not who this is aimed at,鈥� Prior says. 鈥淏ut then there are people out there who love the idea鈥� of a challenging, international adventure. 鈥淭hey love talking about it, they like reading articles, they like looking at pictures, but they鈥檒l never, regardless of what you do, take that plunge. There鈥檒l always be a convenient excuse that they鈥檒l put in front of themselves鈥his concept falls right in the middle of those two kinds of people.鈥�

Those who make the cut couldn鈥檛 ask for a more qualified teacher. Prior, a former pilot for the Royal Air Force, has traveled to more than 100 countries and summitted peaks on five continents. He鈥檚 best known for a series of long journeys raising money for charity: 聽on a World War II-era motorcycle; ; and driving from London to Mongolia in a $200 car. Between these adventures, he flies commercial jets in and out of Hong Kong. He launched 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy last year.

What exactly happens during an 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy class? Prior requested that we not reveal too many details of his previous four trips, since unpredictability and spontaneity are essential to the service he鈥檚 offering,聽but here鈥檚 a broad picture.聽Over the course of a week, he leads three people across several Indonesian islands, staying overnight in a small village聽and climbing a volcano. (No, there's no Internet or phone access.)

The details change, and sometimes improvisation is needed, as when Prior鈥檚 motorcycle unexpectedly required repairs on the August trip; he gave his students a satellite phone and a basic map and set them off on their own for the day while he dealt with his bike. A translator (for emergencies)聽is usually available, but for the most part the students must learn to communicate with locals using universal gestures and patience, just like the many generations of globetrotters before them. Along the way, Prior passes on tidbits of travel wisdom, for example how to haggle with vendors and drivers, figuring security, being diplomatic, planning and preparation,聽the pros and cons of various gear, and how to manage money on a long trip.

Holding a motorcycle permit is also a prerequisite for the course, since Prior and his students get around mostly on two wheels after meeting in Bali. This is a risky move for a new tour operator, since it significantly limits the number of eligible participants. But Prior told me it helps 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy live up to its name: 鈥淚 want people to feel like they鈥檙e on their own expedition. Whereas if they鈥檙e just sitting in the backseat of a car, they can just fall asleep and get nothing out of it.鈥�

The motorcycling aspect of the trip was a particular challenge for 42-year-old Tessa Chan, a Hong Kong-based journalist who took part in Prior鈥檚 first course, in August 2015. 鈥淚 was really shit [at] it. I can鈥檛 even properly ride a bicycle,鈥� Chan confessed by phone. But even she ended up appreciating the challenge. 鈥淢att sort of shouted me through it. He was really patient with me鈥nd when you get a bit of nice, flat road, it鈥檚 amazing. There鈥檚 a real sense of freedom.鈥�

The August course in which Chan participated was 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy鈥檚 first trip open to the general public, after Prior conducted several practice runs with military acquaintances over the previous months. As it happens, all three students in the inaugural course were women鈥揅han, from Hong Kong, was joined by聽two women from Australia.聽

The profile of the type drawn to the academy is hard to pin down, Prior says: mostly Westerners; a roughly even split of men and women; teenagers, middle-aged people, and retirees alike. He鈥檚 guided a junior officer from the New Zealand Defense Force, a search and rescue crew woman, and a banker, among others. 鈥淚t's a varied bunch,” Prior says.

国产吃瓜黑料 Academy is one of the first companies to offer these types of excursions聽with a safety net on such an ambitious scale鈥搈otorcycles, volcanoes, international borders鈥揵ut it鈥檚 part of a growing movement to help adults reconnect with rural and wilderness environments.聽“The way that people find fulfillment in life in general is presenting themselves with a series of challenges and overcoming them,” Sasha Cox, founder of Trail Mavens in Northern California, . “I think that going into the wilderness provides such a delightfully ripe opportunity for this because there are challenges that are inherent to it, you have to do things in a different way than in the comfort of your own home.”

What makes 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy stand out in this movement is its focus on experiencing another culture, rather than nature, per se. The first class, for instance, didn鈥檛 spend one night in a tent. Instead, they stayed in locals鈥� homes in order to get to know Indonesia鈥檚 people as well as its terrain. That kind of trust is part of the ethos of the academy, Prior says.聽鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like this that exists in the world,鈥� Prior says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e working with total strangers, and the first time you meet them is on the other side of the world. At the end of the day, it comes down to trust and a willingness to go with the flow.鈥�

Prior said he鈥檚 still sorting out where 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy fits in the broader ecosystem of educational travel, after launching his business last winter at London鈥檚 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel Show, having conducted zero market research. But business is good, Prior says. He鈥檚 about to embark on his fifth trip, and has another lined up for October and possibly one聽in November as well. He just brought on a new instructor鈥攁 35-year-old British ski-tour guide named 聽who has paraglided off of Mont Blanc and聽summited Everest.聽

For Tessa Chan鈥檚 part, 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy not only helped her check an adventure off her bucket list, it also gave her more cred with her kids back home in Hong Kong. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good that they see me doing this,鈥� she explained. 鈥淣ot just baking cookies, you know what I mean?鈥�

A guided trip like 国产吃瓜黑料 Academy鈥檚 may be all that some participants are looking for. But Chan, an apt pupil, told me she hopes to apply the Academy鈥檚 lessons in another far-flung location someday soon. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to do next,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ee if I can apply some of these learnings off on my own.鈥�

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鈥淭here鈥檚 just this larger-than-life feeling about the Needles,鈥� the renowned climber Alex Honnold says over footage of him free-soloing one of the range鈥檚 spires in southern California鈥檚 Sequoia National Park. 鈥淭hey have this mythical reputation almost, because not many people come out here. You feel like you鈥檙e just out there by yourself.鈥澛�

Thanks to a new virtual reality video series, it鈥檚 now possible for thousands of people to feel this sense of solitude, all at the same time.

The series, 鈥�,鈥� is the result of a collaboration between outdoor production veterans Camp4 Collective and virtual reality studio Jaunt VR. So far they鈥檝e released four immersive videos showcasing top athletes: Alex Honnold climbing the Needles, Galen Volckhausen kayaking in Iceland, Cameron Zink mountain biking in Utah, and 鈥淪ketchy Andy鈥� Lewis slacklining聽in Moab.

This is certainly not a first in the world of virtual-reality adventure鈥攊n fact, Jaunt and Camp4 have already teamed up before, in Nepal. The 360-degree experience just seems like a natural progression from GoPro footie. By enlisting some of the biggest names in extreme sports in this new series, Jaunt makes the case that VR isn鈥檛 just cool tech, it鈥檚 a superior way to enjoy an adrenaline rush.

Virtual reality creators must relinquish control in the sense that viewers control the direction of their gaze,聽but it鈥檚 easy to see how our natural reactions can make quick work of such heart-pounding footage. As Honnold talks about how secure he feels while free-soloing, tilt the camera downward and see just how far he could fall. In Moab, turn slowly to see the improbable length of Lewis鈥檚 slackline. This is also a great medium for incredulous double-takes, if you want to look back and forth between Volckhausen鈥檚 kayak and the gushing waterfall that just spit him out.

鈥淲e just wanted to show people what it鈥檚 like to go over a waterfall,鈥� said director Tim Kemple of Camp4. He argues that VR is more than just gimmicky video. 鈥淭o me, 360 is a completely new way of telling stories. It鈥檚 like going see a movie versus going to see a play.鈥�

Enthusiasts like to say that VR devices are 鈥渆mpathy machines,鈥� because they supposedly create such an immersive experience that it helps the viewer see the world from someone else鈥檚 perspective. In a TED Talk last year, VR evangelist Chris Milk drove this point home by putting his audience in a tent with a young Syrian refugee.

When it comes to adventure sports, VR devices might also be 鈥渆xperience machines鈥� that allow people to 鈥渟ee places they鈥檒l never get to go,鈥� as Jaunt president Cliff Plumer puts it. Whether the viewer is constrained by her budget, or advanced age, or a disability, she can don an Oculus Rift and be transported instantly to the Needles. Thomas Hayden, of the Portland-based 360 Labs, 聽is working on a VR recording of the Grand Canyon in part to help the elderly see it up close.

For all the opportunities VR presents to filmmakers, it also comes with unique challenges. For starters, some sports are better suited to the medium than others. Climbing is especially tricky: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty slow sport, and it鈥檚 a 2D sport,鈥� Kemple explained. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go inside the cliff, so we鈥檙e down to 180 degrees from 360.鈥� Shooting from a drone, on the other hand, creates a fuller, 360-degree shot, but that too comes at a cost: it can take days to stitch this footage together from the drone鈥檚 many cameras, since the drone is almost always in motion. Virtual-reality editing software does some of this work automatically, but a human touch is required to achieve the seamlessness on which Jaunt and Camp4 insist.

While VR might help extend sports鈥� fan bases, the 鈥淗ome Turf鈥� series could also end up using the popularity of adventure sports to build up the VR audience. The medium is still in its infancy, and premium viewing devices like the Oculus Rift headset cost as much as $600. The more compelling content there is available to view in VR, the more likely people are to invest in such headwear. Plumer, of Jaunt, is keenly aware of this. He said 鈥淗ome Turf鈥� was spurred in part by the fact that VR鈥檚 early adopters tend to be gamers and young men. 鈥淥ur mission is to create VR experiences for our consumers, and right now that鈥檚 who our consumers are.鈥�

Neither Plumer nor Kemple would reveal who might appear in future 鈥淗ome Turf鈥� installments, but they hope to feature sports like surfing and skiing, and to add some female athletes to the roster. On the technical side, Plumer said he hopes to see more interactivity in VR videos in the future. For instance, where the viewer looks might trigger different content鈥攑erhaps choosing one path or another as a kayak barrels toward a fork in the river.

The underlying message, Plumer says, is that VR is approaching a turning point as a medium. 鈥淎 lot of VR so far has been driven by tech. But now the creatives are driving it.鈥�

The post Virtual Reality Proves Itself as the Next Great 国产吃瓜黑料-Film Tool appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The best heroes in our pop culture tend to save the day not by brute strength alone, but by employing their quick wits between blows. Think James Bond, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or聽MacGyver. These are cultured warriors, always ready for a fight but never eager for one.聽

滨苍听聽retired Navy SEAL Clint Emerson molds the cultured warrior trope into something more belligerent: a ruthlessly pragmatic role model he calls 鈥渢he Violent Nomad,鈥� who avoids gun fights and car chases to preserve his strength, rather than his honor.

Deadly Skills bears many similarities, both in theme and aesthetic, to 1999鈥檚 The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht鈥攁ll the way down to both books鈥� field guide-style rounded corners and simple but evocative illustrations, reminiscent of an old Boy Scout Handbook. That could bode well for Deadly Skills, since its spiritual predecessor blossomed in the early 2000s into a minor multimedia phenomenon that was spun聽off into card games, calendars, a TV show, and a wide range of tongue-in-cheek 鈥渟urvival handbooks鈥� for distinctly non-fatal contexts such as college, parenting, and golf.

Where The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and Deadly Skills part ways, however, is in the threats they prepare their readers against.聽The worst cases conjured in Piven鈥檚 and Borgenicht鈥檚 earlier book tend to pit man against nature: quicksand, earthquakes, poisonous snakes, and the like. In Deadly Skills, the danger mostly comes from other people: mass shooters, kidnappers, terrorists, and foreign governments. The result is a聽book that is less聽of a聽survival manual and comes off as more of聽neo-conservative propaganda tool.

As it turns out, fending off the bad guys requires a lot of MacGyver-esque creativity鈥攁nd yes, some of the 鈥渄eadly鈥� skills in this book are defensive, not offensive, rendering the title a little misleading. 鈥淚n order to remain deadly,鈥� Emerson explains聽in a chapter on how to brace oneself for a car crash (Skill #093: Survive Vehicular Impact), 鈥渁 Violent Nomad must remain safe.鈥� Some of the skills on offer truly could be fatal, as when the reader learns how to turn a fishing weight and a bandana into a weapon 鈥減owerful enough to crack a coconut and do equivalent damage to a human skull.鈥� What connects these violent how-to鈥檚 with the book鈥檚 more general-interest tips is an underlying hope that the reader will learn to think like a Violent Nomad without becoming one. An author鈥檚 note states that the book鈥檚 primary goal is to entertain, not create vigilantes. 鈥淏e deadly in spirit, but not in action,鈥� Emerson impels. And then he continues聽talking about cutting off thumbs, crushing skulls, and impaling people with screws.

In some cases, Emerson聽veers into the brutal facts of real-world espionage. 鈥淔or an operative,鈥� Emerson deadpans, 鈥渃ollecting fingerprints is frequently a postmortem scenario鈥he operative will go the most direct route: severing the target鈥檚 thumb鈥� (Skill #081: Trick Fingerprint Scanning Software). Similarly, in the event that your homemade Taser doesn鈥檛 discharge, you鈥檙e still jamming two sharp screws into a person鈥檚 body, so 鈥渂reaking the skin should injure an attacker enough for the operative to gain the upper hand and make a rapid escape.鈥� One hopes this book鈥檚 readers will never have cause to apply these deadly skills, but nonetheless they offer a fascinating glimpse into the world of shady intelligence gathering.

Emerson spent 20 years conducting special ops around the world as a Navy SEAL and NSA staffer, and聽Deadly Skills聽takes a simplistic, binary view of the world, splitting it into good guys and bad guys without pausing to consider anyone鈥檚 motivations. Emerson has clearly bought into the system.

Deadly Skills聽evinces a聽special distrust of foreign governments, which 鈥渟ometimes use Western detainees as a form of political currency.鈥� Emerson never names specific countries as particularly dangerous for Westerners, but it鈥檚 easy enough to read between the lines: for the reader hoping to assemble some makeshift body armor on the go, for instance, the reader is reminded that 鈥渆very hotel has a Bible or a Koran stashed in a bedside drawer.鈥� This special attention to the Islamic world is reinforced by Ted Slampyak鈥檚 illustrations, which frequently portray 鈥渂ad guys鈥濃�搊r good guys impersonating bad guys鈥搘earing Middle Eastern keffiyeh headdresses. Emerson advises his readers to practice cultural awareness, but only enough to blend into a crowd. 鈥淚f the general population forgoes ketchup on their sandwiches or ice in their drinks, the operative will follow suit.鈥� Absent is any deeper awareness of the danger in reflexively painting the massive and diverse array of Middle Eastern cultures as the bad guys鈥�especially in the case of mass shootings (Deadly Skill #073: Survive an Active Shooter), since the vast majority of such crimes in the U.S. are carried out by white men.

Also strange is Emerson鈥檚 assumption that Violent Nomads must be men. This requirement is never stated explicitly, but Emerson鈥檚 exclusive use of masculine pronouns鈥揺.g. 鈥�he may assume the outward appearance of鈥� a businessman鈥蝉 he understands that terrorist groups鈥ay be targeting him鈥濃�揻eels strangely dated, especially in light of recent U.S. military milestones such as the Army 聽and the Navy . Even when instructing the reader specifically to fill a tampon applicator with emergency supplies like cash and a map, Emerson seems unable to imagine anywhere to conceal this feminine product besides a man鈥檚 rectum鈥揳 maneuver helpfully illustrated with a picture of a muscular naked Nomad, bound and hooded in a gloomy cell.

At first I found it helpful when Deadly Skills mentioned useful products by name鈥揜ain-X to keep windows from fogging, a steel Zebra pen鈥檚 utility as 鈥渁n incredible makeshift stabbing tool鈥濃�搘hich would make it very easy to write a shopping list before tackling my hit list. But I appreciated this name-dropping a little less when I found out that Emerson was also shilling products of his own鈥搉amely the Zero Trace line of signal-dampening electronics cases, and an app called Photo Trap that helps the user detect telltale signs of rummaging through a desk or cabinet. Both of these products are sold by personal security firm Escape the Wolf, of which Emerson is a founder and managing partner. I suppose unforced disclosure is a weakness聽in the intelligence community, but even the briefest admission of Emerson鈥檚 ties to the wares he鈥檚 hawking would have sufficed.

In sum, Deadly Skills is occasionally a fun and sometimes useful read that nonetheless reflects the shortcomings聽of the agencies in which its author was trained. It鈥檚 intriguing to read about the lives of Violent Nomads, and if governments collapse and we're all forced to become mercenaries, then this book may become a relevant tool. But God help us if we're living in that future.

The post ‘100 Deadly Skills’ Is a Fun Read, but Please Don’t Take Its Advice appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Back when I was a teenager in Minnesota, some friends and I sat around a bonfire in somebody鈥檚 backyard, exhausted after a long day of tallying the tents, tarps, and tomahawks in our scout troop鈥檚 storage garage. We鈥檇 roasted our marshmallows and聽sung our songs, and the night seemed to be winding down when I asked if anyone wanted to play a game. One boy pushed for penny poker. Another suggested I Spy,聽which was so unappealing to the first boy that he stood up and threw an aerosol can full of bug spray into the fire. 鈥淚 know a game,鈥� he said, as our hearts started to bounce in our chests. 鈥淚t鈥檚 called Run.鈥�

We all survived, for what it鈥檚 worth, but sometimes I wonder how much easier our night might have been if we鈥檇 had a deck of cards handy, or even just a half-decent idea for a game. Croquet and lawn darts are perfectly fine pastimes, but they鈥檝e had their day in the sun. To help keep your barbecues interesting this summer, we鈥檝e collected a few (relatively) novel backyard games and activities that don鈥檛 involve hurling shrapnel at your guests. If backyard games aren’t your cup of tea and you prefer online casino games, our good friends at have you covered with their list of the best online casino games for Italian players looking to add excitement to otherwise boring games.

Cornhole

Cornhole, the unfortunately named game also known as beanbag toss聽or simply 鈥渂ags,鈥� isn鈥檛 exactly brand new, but it still has the sheen of youth thanks to its popularity among college students and the twenty- and thirtysomethings who miss their days on campus. The objective is simple enough: Throw your beanbags into a hole five yards away. Purists will want to make sure their bags measure six inches square and are filled with 14聽to聽16 ounces of corn feed, according to the American Cornhole Association. (The rival American Cornhole Organization, by comparison, is less picky about the material inside your bags. So go nuts.)

Spikeball

聽came into the world as a 1980s children鈥檚 toy, combining elements of volleyball and four聽square: Players are required to bounce a medium-sized ball off a small trampoline. The game never caught on in toy stores, but today it has found new life as an increasingly popular competitive sport, with tournaments coming up soon in 16 states. But just because you can play the game at a big beachside tournament doesn鈥檛 mean it wouldn鈥檛 also go over well in your own backyard. The official equipment is even starting to show up聽in sporting goods stores.

Slacklining

For those who can鈥檛 wait until fall for The Walk鈥攖he Robert Zemeckis鈥揹irected film about Philippe Petit鈥檚 famous high-wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center鈥攁 summer鈥檚 worth of slacklining awaits you. Petit practiced for ages on a slackline before attempting his stunt in New York, so you鈥檒l be in good company.

Giant Jenga, Giant Beer Pong, Giant Everything

Anyone can drag a board game from their living room out into the sunlight. But DIY-minded players have gone one step further and created blown-up versions of their favorite games to take advantage of all the space outside. Why play beer pong with ping-pong balls and Solo cups when you can play it with beach balls and garbage cans? With some chicken wire, a few short poles, and a bunch of balls, you鈥檝e got giant Kerplunk. Chop up a few two-by-fours and you鈥檝e got giant Jenga鈥攁lthough to be fair, Hasbro, which owns the rights to Jenga, actually sells giant blocks of its own.

Glow-in-the-Dark Ring Toss

Ring toss may sound pretty tame, but glow-in-the-dark ring toss is the perfect low-energy activity to keep a lawn party going after the sun sets and you begin to realize just how much potato salad you鈥檝e eaten. Even with the phosphorescent glow, the surrounding darkness adds a little challenge, as does your food coma聽and the beer you might be holding while you play. You can buy premade kits, like this one from ($4), or assemble one yourself from glow sticks. In retrospect, this would have been the perfect distraction on that night with my fellow boys-will-be-boys scouts.

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鈥淪ee those olive trees?鈥� John Knapp asks me on a recent visit to Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of southern California. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e invasive. Wanna go in for a closer look?鈥� I nod, and suddenly we鈥檙e falling through the sky.聽

Knapp is a botanist at the (TNC), the country鈥檚 largest environmental non-profit, and we are contemplating these trees not from a trail, but from 400 feet above in a three-seat Schweizer 333 helicopter with an open-air cabin. Knapp, a SoCal native in his early forties with a salt-and-paprika beard and a winning gap-toothed smile, laps up each gust of wind that blasts through the cockpit like a golden retriever leaning out of a car. Meanwhile, I inspect my surroundings for the best place to deposit the lunch I feel traveling back up my throat.

Fortunately, it鈥檚 very easy for pilot Ken Hutchins to drop me off on solid ground. (He hovers low and steady; I hop out.) In fact, that鈥檚 why TNC hired a helicopter in the first place. Santa Cruz Island, part of Channel Islands National Park and the largest island in the archipelago, is crawling with invasive species in hard-to-reach places. The Channel Islands are sometimes called 鈥渢he Galapagos Islands of North America,鈥� due to their unusually high biodiversity, and Santa Cruz Island, Knapp says, “is a hotspot within the hotspot.”聽But invasive species聽are threatening its wonderous ecology. Without intervention, the islands' more than 2,000 plant and animal species,聽145 of which are found nowhere else on Earth and nine of which are endangered or threatened, could be pushed out entirely by non-native competitors like pampas grass, Spanish broom, and Peruvian pepper trees.

Invasives are a problem pretty much anywhere humans go, and constitute one of the largest threats to biodiversity in several of the country鈥檚 national parks鈥攖hey鈥檙e the ,聽for example. But on Santa Cruz Island there are both more unique native species to protect from predators and weeds, and better odds of success in managing them. In part, that鈥檚 because TNC owns and manages more than three-quarters of Santa Cruz Island. (The rest is owned by the National Park Service, which collaborates on conservation efforts.) With free rein over most of the island and a relatively large budget, TNC has been able to experiment with innovative conservation methods that smaller organizations have neither the resources nor in some cases the permission to attempt. The island is a microcosmic conservation battleground, and the helicopter represents TNC's latest and most promising weapon.

鈥淚 hate to use a war analogy,鈥� Knapp says, 鈥渂ut fighting invasives is kind of like Napoleon fighting wars on two fronts. Before we started using the helo, we were getting flanked.鈥�

Besides the invasive species that arrive at the Channel Islands naturally by air, like birds and plant seeds, more substantial invasives have been carried over by humans for the past 9,000 years, starting with the arrival of the Chumash Indians. But, as in many other places, it was European settlers who ushered in the radical ecological transformation that is causing problems today.聽

In the 19th century, Santa Cruz Island became a major agricultural center, with 97 square miles of grazing land for cattle, sheep, and pigs, and the largest winery in California. Ranching dropped off in the second half of the 20th century, and by 1980 several of the Channel Islands were designated a national park. TNC purchased most of Santa Cruz Island around the same time, and it鈥檚 been on a quest to supplant the island鈥檚 dozens of non-native plant and animal species ever since.

Before TNC could fully address the plant problem, though, it had to get rid of the animals. It spent the 1980s somewhat controversially exterminating more than 40,000 feral sheep, as well as live-capturing the island鈥檚 cattle and wild horses and relocating them to the mainland. In the mid-2000s, the organization made a final push to eradicate the island鈥檚 5,000 remaining feral pigs, which were devouring every plant and small animal they could get their snouts on.

This is where the helicopter first came into play. TNC originally contracted the 鈥渉elo,鈥� as crewmembers call it, to help shuttle sharpshooters around the island in search of these pigs, the last of which was destroyed聽in 2006. But in a stroke of insight, the organization decided to keep the chopper around to 鈥渉unt鈥� invasive plants. Being able to travel low to the ground, at a slow speed, allows for dropping people into rugged terrain with precision, and expedites plant surveys as well as weed killing.

It costs $750 an hour to fly in the Schweizer, which is quite a bit more than it does to send two staff members on a hike. But the helicopter gets the job done so quickly that it鈥檚 actually cost-efficient. While an invasive like fennel or saltcedar can be treated with herbicide in just five minutes, it can take hours to reach the more remote populations. By cutting out these arduous treks, the helicopter has turned a day鈥檚 worth of work into an hour鈥檚, and a year鈥檚 worth聽into a month鈥檚. 鈥淚t鈥檚 twelve times faster and half the cost,鈥� according to Lisa Park, a TNC spokeswoman.

It may also be changing the profile of the ideal botanist. Knapp observed that for the grueling hikes of TNC鈥檚 pre-helicopter days, 鈥測ou wanted big, burly botanists鈥� (perhaps the first time that phrase has been uttered) who could haul heavy herbicide tanks for miles. On the helo, in contrast, the lighter the crewmember, the better. Besides saving fuel, this can increase safety around craggy surfaces where the helo can鈥檛 land and crewmembers are required to jump on and off. In practice, this has meant a slight shift in demand from male to female staff members.

Right now, Knapp told me, a big part of the value of the helo program is showing other conservation groups and government agencies that it can be done. Enthusiasm for the experiment among federal environmental officials has been measured, but it鈥檚 growing.

No agencies have yet adopted the program, but the National Parks Service recently allowed TNC to deploy Knapp and the helicopter on nearby Santa Rosa Island (also part of the Channel Islands). Detection of invasives in national parks right now is limited to what workers on the ground see along trails and thoroughfares. If the program continues its success, it鈥檚 not a stretch to envision an airborne evolution in our approach to domestic conservation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a real paragon of practical environmentalism,鈥� says Doug Johnson, executive director of the California Invasive Plant Council. With a helicopter, 鈥淚 could do our mapping in a week instead of fielding an army of interns for a year. I think it鈥檚 going to be an important tool in the toolbox.鈥�

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Matt Galland is a kind of modern-day Indiana Jones. He holds a Ph.D. in geography and teaches during the week at Brigham Young University in聽Provo, Utah, but on the weekends he finds himself on one adventure after another. That was the premise of a humble 聽he started several years ago, which got so popular that it has been聽reborn as a proper reality TV show called 100 Miles from Nowhere.

The premise is simple enough: each week, Galland and two of his buddies鈥攖hree Weekend Warrior types鈥攁re literally dropped out of the sky into the wilderness, with little more than backpacks, GoPros, and trail shoes, and have to figure their way back to civilization. It's like one of聽Bear Grylls' shows, but without a production crew in tow.聽The first episode premiered聽Sunday on Animal Planet.

国产吃瓜黑料 caught up with Galland this week. He told us a bit about the show, outlined the virtues of cheerful complaining, and described what it鈥檚 like to watch a good friend break his ribs 100 miles from the nearest hint of civilization.

OUTSIDE: So this show evolved from a one-man YouTube operation. With a big cable network backing you, how will 100 Miles be different?
GALLAND: There won鈥檛 be a ton of difference, to be honest. On my YouTube channel I just would go out for a run and carry my camera with me and just start filming whatever happened with really no intention of knowing what was coming. And for the show, that鈥檚 what we do as well. I say, 鈥淟et鈥檚 go to Patagonia and let鈥檚 run over these three mountains.鈥� And there鈥檚 no more to the story than that.聽

Animal Planet is kind of daring聽to just let us go. I鈥檓 like, 鈥淚f something happens, it does; if it doesn鈥檛, it doesn鈥檛,鈥� I鈥檒l just film everything. What ends up happening on the show, though, is way cool. Like in Mexico, we see giant snakes. [Co-star] Blake [Josephson] almost drowns. We jump off cliffs. If you go out and run 100 miles, things happen. I mean cool stuff, every single time, will happen. I think people like it because you don鈥檛 need to fake anything. There鈥檚 no production crew with us. It鈥檚 just me and my two buddies and no one else.

Tell me about your two buddies, Danny Bryson and Blake Josephson, who are your co-stars on the show.
Danny Bryson I鈥檝e known since high school. He鈥檚 the complete opposite from me. I鈥檓 always like, 鈥淭his is freaking awesome, I love this!鈥� even if my tent is about to blow off the mountain, while Danny鈥檚 like, 鈥淭his is the worst, I hate this! I frickin鈥� hate camping!鈥� I asked him about that attitude once, and he said he always secretly thinks the trips are awesome, but 鈥渢he only way I can get through them is to complain.鈥� One thing I love about Danny is that he鈥檚 kind of a 鈥測es man.鈥� I can call him up at three in the morning and say, 鈥淚鈥檝e got an idea: Let鈥檚 run across New Zealand, the whole south island.鈥� And Danny says, 鈥淚鈥檓 in. When?鈥�

I met Blake when he was building my home. He was working on my house and he noticed that I was always coming up in shorts at like 6 a.m., so I told him how I go running at 3 a.m. pretty regularly, sometimes up the mountain behind the house. I invited him to join me, but I truly did not expect Blake to show up. But he showed聽up in a pair of tights, and I took him for 25 miles, through like thigh-deep snow. We did some of the most technical climbing鈥損robably like 5.5, 5.6 climbing, but no ropes and really exposed鈥揳t almost 12,000 feet. I kind of expected聽him聽to be like, 鈥淒ude, I just wanna go home, I hate this.鈥� But he said, 鈥淒ude,聽this is fricking rad, how have I lived here my whole life and not done this before?鈥� After that I knew he had to come with us on the show. He鈥檚 so hard-core.

Blake will do things that he should not do. He鈥檚 kind of a crazy guy. He鈥檚 willing to break more bones than anybody. I will dare him to do something, and he鈥檚 the kind of kid who will jump.

In a trailer for the show, you mention that 鈥渘o cameraman can keep up with us,鈥� so the three of you are doing all the shooting. Do you know what you鈥檙e doing?
It's聽kind of a big shock when I鈥檓 all ready to run and then all of a sudden they throw all this camera equipment on me. I鈥檓 like, 鈥淒ang, this is gonna be hard, now!鈥� It鈥檚 heavy. Battery pack, camera, mic, GoPro, handycam.

Danny was the same as me growing up: in high school we both had video cameras, just video taping everything. These days Danny鈥檚 actually a really good cameraman. Any time I have a camera question I call him up, because he鈥檚 kind of one of those 鈥渢ech鈥� guys, he鈥檒l figure out anything and he鈥檚 been great to have.

Blake, on the other hand: I literally had to show him where the record button was when we shot the pilot. Zoom in, zoom out, all that stuff. I鈥檓 like, 鈥淎re you serious? My five-year-old can handle a camera better than you.鈥� There鈥檚 this little thing in the show called the Blake Cam. You know when Blake鈥檚 filming because it鈥檚 out of focus, or half the person鈥檚 face is out of the frame. I think I said by Episode 5 or something like that, 鈥淣o more Blake Cam. You鈥檙e a professional now.鈥� I mean, cameras aren鈥檛 that hard. You gotta point it at the action. But it鈥檚 definitely been a fun struggle for all of us.

Besides cinematography, you three are also on your own when injuries occur. Does that scare you?
Well, Blake seems to get the brunt of it. He got stung like 18 times by bees in one episode. But the worst one so far was down by the Guatemalan border. We鈥檙e in this canyon that has almost no research on it鈥攚e鈥檇 heard that like eight years ago an Italian team crossed it in eight days. We had to do it in two days. We just were running as fast as we could and then finally we were like, 鈥淟et鈥檚 just jump into the river and float this thing.鈥� And Blake jumped in and eventually got jammed in a bog. He was able to free himself, but he broke a couple ribs and of course we still had to finish the hundred miles. He got a pretty big contusion on his leg, it looked like a golf ball was sticking out of him.

Other than that, though, for the most part really what happens is we get way dehydrated. After the Utah episode, we got to our truck and on the drive back to town I was completely passed out. 聽I鈥檓 a skinny dude, I鈥檓 like 150, and it was lights out for me. We also deal with big cliffs and lots of exposure. It鈥檚 a dangerous game sometimes what we do, but if you鈥檙e meant to do it, you just gotta live up to what you鈥檙e supposed to do.

In the show you trek across parts of Utah, Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii, southern Mexico, Belize, and Chile. How did you pick the places you visited?
It鈥檚 about as simple as it gets: I literally sit in my office, where I have a giant screen because I鈥檓 a lover of Google Earth.聽Google Earth is like my painting palette. I鈥檒l spin that world around and be like, 鈥淒ude, look at that place in eastern Russia!鈥� I look for big rivers, I look for diversity, where there are big rocks. If something is plastered with snow at a high elevation, it gets my attention. If I look at massive swaths of desert and zero vegetation, it gets my attention. It鈥檚 just pure, like, five-year-old curiosity. It鈥檚 like a child walks onto a playground and you ask, 鈥淲hy did you choose the monkey bars?鈥� Well, they looked freakin鈥� awesome.

The show鈥檚 title is kind of specific. Why 100 miles?
It鈥檚 something I鈥檝e done over and over. For example I know, because I鈥檝e done it, that I run 100 miles straight without stopping. I鈥檝e done it in 27 hours, through the world鈥檚 roughest terrain. Also, Danny and I have both run the , which is Utah鈥檚 biggest ultra race. It鈥檚 100 miles through the mountains in the middle of nowhere. I think there鈥檚 almost 40,000-foot vert on it.

Plus, a hundred is a big number. It鈥檚 kind of like a million dollars on all these TV shows鈥搕his is that big number, a hundred miles. It鈥檚 fun, it鈥檚 an adventurer鈥檚 number. And sometimes we go farther鈥搘e went 135 in one episode. It鈥檚 definitely about the miles, but it鈥檚 also about whatever fits the adventure. If I want to cross a place in Antarctica and it happens to be 122 miles, then we go 122. Or if I wanna cross a big canyon in Mexico and it鈥檚 78 miles, we鈥檒l probably do 78. I just love doing it, and I鈥檝e done it my whole life. It鈥檚 win-win for me, whether the show makes it or not. I still get to do this, and share it one way or another.

The post Average Joes Run for Their Lives in 鈥�100 Miles from Nowhere鈥� appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Last year, daredevil Dean Potter took the stage at festival in Telluride and screened the trailer for a short movie he made of his mini Australian cattle dog, Whisper, clad in tinted goggles, bundled in a backpack, and soaring through the air on Potter鈥檚 back during a BASE jump. The reception he got from the audience was lukewarm, to say the least.

Potter, who has graced us with decades of antics including free soloing, slacklining, and wingsuiting, and who has lived in a cave in Yosemite on and off, is no stranger to the role of the misunderstood outcast. But the video, called When Dogs Fly, really struck a nerve with the outdoorsy animal lover crowd. Some viewed it as a story of deep love and trust between man and dog. Others saw an animal needlessly put in harm鈥檚 way.

Nearly a year later, Potter has decided to release . 国产吃瓜黑料 caught up with Potter last week to ask what it鈥檚 like to fly with a passenger in his backpack, and what he has to say to his critics.

OUTSIDE: Are you still wingsuiting with Whisper pretty regularly?
POTTER: I would never make a movie just for the sake of making a movie. It captures our real life. Whisper鈥檚 entire life, she鈥檚 done what I鈥檝e done. We wingsuit, BASE jump quite a bit, but only on the safest jumps. I don鈥檛 take her on any super advanced, death-defying jumps. I鈥檓 also into paragliding, so Whisper goes paragliding very often.

It all started because I had to take her on hikes. I was taking Whisper for a dog walk in the morning, then I鈥檇 go on like a four, five-hour hike by myself to go BASE jumping, and then I鈥檇 come back home, and take Whisper for another walk. It was like six or seven hours of hiking every day. I was like, 鈥淭his is crazy, I鈥檓 getting run ragged. I鈥檝e got to figure out a way to take Whisper with me.鈥� I realized that for all but probably three or four minutes, Whisper would love it. These are long hikes into the mountains 鈥� that鈥檚 her favorite thing! I wanted to figure out these three or four minutes of being in the air so I could bring Whisper for four or five hours on these amazing hikes.

Tell me about your relationship with Whisper.
I spend more time with Whisper than I do with anybody else. I chose her when she was three or four days old, I鈥檝e had her since she was nine weeks. She鈥檚 a mini Australian cattle dog; cattle dogs need to have a job, and her job is just walking after me. Whisper started coming with me on little climbs, and then on longer ones鈥攎ulti-week trips into the mountains, that kind of thing. She鈥檚 my wing girl鈥搇ike my wingman, but she鈥檚 a girl. Wing dog.

I don鈥檛 imagine they sell the gear you use at your local sports shop.
No, you don鈥檛 just go and buy a wingsuit BASE jumping backpack for a dog. I have to make it. My whole life I鈥檝e always innovated the gear to match my pursuits. I鈥檝e innovated the best climbing gear, the best slacklining gear, and definitely the most advanced BASE jumping gear. With Whisper, it took about a year and a half working with a few riggers to create the first BASE jumping container that allows Whisper to safely ride on my back. The model I use is quite bulky. It鈥檚 way overbuilt for safety, so it鈥檚 not very streamlined. Right now I鈥檓 working on a more aerodynamic prototype, so I can be more agile and safe in the air.

What about the extra weight on your back? Does that throw off your balance?
Whisper with all her gear weighs about 25 pounds, and that鈥檚 all up pretty high on my back. Upon exit, when we leap off the cliff, it puts me more head-down, which is a pretty vulnerable position. I practiced with sandbags and this little stuffed animal for a while and made sure I had it before I flew with Whisper.聽

In a more, let鈥檚 say, spiritual sense, how does it feel to wingsuit with a passenger?
The whole film is about how it was almost too much responsibility for me to fly with Whisper on my back. Wingsuiting is super dangerous. It鈥檚 not a glory film. I鈥檓 not saying, 鈥淗ey, look how rad we are, jumping.鈥� Certainly some people will think, 鈥淲ow, that鈥檚 amazing.鈥� But the film really goes deep into the fact that I am unsure and I don鈥檛 try to hide my uncertainty. 聽

After the film鈥檚 trailer debuted at the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride last year, some viewers said your jumps expose Whisper to unnecessary danger.
It is an unsettling film. You shouldn鈥檛 expect just to see a dog with goggles on. Some people still watch the film and that鈥檚 what they take away. But if you really watch the film, and you鈥檙e thoughtful, the takeaway is how precious life and love are. And how all of us have to balance what we do with the effects our actions have on our lives. In Whisper鈥檚 and my case, and in [girlfriend and co-producer] Jen [Rapp]鈥檚 case, it鈥檚 way more front-and-center. The decision to go into the mountains and hike with your dog, and wingsuit with the dog, can bring catastrophe. These are decisions we make because they fulfill us, but they also have danger.

Do you think Whisper is 鈥渇ulfilled鈥� by these jumps the way you are? How can you tell?
Thanks for bringing that up. Whisper isn鈥檛 just a silent passenger. Whisper chooses to do everything she does. And there are some things Whisper will not do. We found out very early on that Whisper hates to ride in helicopters. We took her on one helicopter ride, and she pooped in the helicopter. We tried to take her again, but she plants her feet and sits down and won鈥檛 go. Or when I run the vacuum cleaner, like most dogs, Whisper tucks her tail and runs underneath the bed.聽

But when I pick up my BASE pack, and say, 鈥淗ey Whisper, let鈥檚 go for a hike, let鈥檚 go BASE jumping,鈥� she鈥檚 right at my heels. She knows what the pack means 鈥� she鈥檚 been in that pack now close to a hundred times. When I鈥檓 sitting near the edge of the cliff and I start putting on my wingsuit and getting our gear together, Whisper comes right to me. She鈥檚 not pooping the helicopter, or hiding under the bed, she鈥檚 coming right to me, and nestling close and through her body language asking to come along.

With or without Whisper, what鈥檚 next for you?
I鈥檓 living full-time in Yosemite, and pursuing my art as strongly as ever. Right now I鈥檓 very focused on rock-climbing here in the park. There鈥檚 one rock that calls my name. When I first came to Yosemite, I wondered if I could free solo it. Recently I鈥檝e also been setting up this major highlining zone in the park, as well as innovating the best flying wingsuit in the world, and I pretty much fly daily. My life is a mixture of pursuing those arts.聽

Also we bought this big piece of land inside Yosemite, and we鈥檙e trying to make this land more livable and have a place for all of our friends to be able to stay in the park for longer than the national park itself allows. So we鈥檙e kind of making this little safe haven, to be able to come into the park and really enjoy it.

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