A trek that started in July has now landed three young men in Moab, Utah. Thompson, Monterastelli and Goat, three graduates from UC Santa Cruz, started in Alaska at the Arctic Circle, and made it down to Moab just this month.

Now 24 Hours of Moab and other bike races are intense, but this is a whole new level of crazy. They reported that temperatures at time dropeed to -10 degrees, and "survival" is what keeps them alive. Nice. They saw everything from wolves, to car crashes, to frozen wheels and broken brakes. Heck, I bet they saw more in those months than most of us have seen in years. Hats off guys.. hats off..

Danelle Ballengee is an adventure racer. Adventure racers go through some of the most intense training and competitions in the world (just ask those who raced in Moab Primal Quest this year). The adventure training probably saved Dennelle's life.

While training in Moab this week, she fell 60-feet breaking her pelvis. She crawled 1/2 mile and survided two sub-freezing nights in Moab, UT. That is quite the feat being healthy! The ABC 7 Denver news has a video news report on the ordeal. Fortunantly, her dog assisted rescuers to finding her and she is recovering in the hospital. Normally, injuries are second nature to adventure racers. But the pelvis bone is one of those vital and extremely painful breaks that you can't do much about. Arms, hands, ribs and shoulders are one thing. Pelvis is on its own level. Southern Utah in the winter is no treat either.

About a month ago, the new television show "I Shouldnt Be Alive" and the "Nightmare Canyon" episode featured a man who broke his leg/shin while hiking in the Southern Utah area, and he too survived sub-zero temperature, freak snow storms, ice and an overnight stay. I am sure Dannelle will have her own episode soon. Check out the show's website for some great webisodes and adventure survival stories.


Red Bull is sponsoring a first-ever Top 50 Action and Adventure Sports Image contest. The contest will highlight the best action pictures and photos for the year 2006. There are some pretty crazy photos in the submissions. Although I get a lot of good action shots on Moab, UT, they don really compare to some of the shots.

Its a good idea to push forward the photography of outdoor adventure sports. I think that photography plays a big roll in getting people interested in the sports. For websites, it makes all the difference.

Some of my favorite picture from the adventure sports submissions was this sequence to the left.

Well, I had a great time at this year's America Outdoors Conference here in Salt Lake City, Utah. All the outdoor outfitters (mostly just rafting companies) go and catch up with each other and the industry. Its a pretty good source for getting information about adventure travel in general.

I know I haven't posted in a while, and the sad part is that I can't really blame it on AO, because it was here in Utah! So, with no excuses, I will blame it on being busy at work............ yah, work. It is interesting to see the other outdoor adventure companies that operate in different parts of the country. Everyone is still struggling to tap into the outdoor adventure market, and capture the rising trend of adventure travel in general.

Outdoor adventure travel is a rising trend, and more people enjoy getting outside and taking vacations that involve activity. Moab, Utah has seen significant increases in visitors and tourism over the last few years. I thinks its because Moab is a great one-stop destination for adventure. But there are plenty of place like Moab throughout the country. Anyway, lets hope that the trend continues!

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