January 14, 2015 § 2 Replies
Think making movies takes time, experience or fancy software? Think again. If you own a DSLR, a tripod and a couple of lenses you already have everything you need to find your inner videographer. I headed to the Forest of Dean with mountain biker Jake Ireland to create this beginner-friendly guide for Digitalcameraworld.com
November 20, 2014 § Leave a reply
Off on a ski season this winter? You don’t need warm pants, extra scarves or photos of your dog. Trust me, I’ve seen enough emergency care packages get delivered to Cadbury’s-starved seasonnaires to know that if you’re off to work a winter you require:
November 6, 2014 § 1 Reply
Get inspired for a winter of adventure with the awesome new Adidas #openallwinter trailer, featuring skiing, cold-weather trail running, ice climbing and the very brave Hayley Ashburn slacklining 3,000 metres up a Dolomites peak in Italy. Adidas are also launching their new insulated Climaheat winter range, designed to keep you warm in extreme conditions. Watch out for my review, coming soon.
October 25, 2014 § 2 Replies
Push your adrenaline levels to an all-time high with eight of the craziest extreme adventure experiences on the planet (I’ve ticked off three so far). There’s volcano bungee jumping, hair-raising cycling, antarctic running and cheese. Because all good lists include cheese.
The mucky pups over at Muddy Race asked me to write a little review of my latest foray into cross-country obstacle running – last weekend’s 12k Monster Race. There were cow pats, 10ft walls, ice baths and some delightfully gloopy mud to contend with – heaven.
Add a little bit of James Bond to your life with a watch of this rather cool video. It follows Nissan’s new Nismo as it races a wingsuited skydiver down Switzerland’s stunning Susten Pass. So a standard day’s work, eh?
I had a nice chat with Laura of Team Boatylicious. In June 2014, she and three other super-adventurous ladies are aiming to set a new world record, rowing 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii. The best bit? You could join them.
The adrenaline junkies over at Explora Morocco have a pretty rad prize up for grabs in their new competition – an action-packed week of kite surfing for two on the Moroccan coast.
Well done, EOFT! You are returning for a whirlwind tour of Europe and will be passing through Britain showing a truly stunning collection of adventure films. I just have one question – why are there no ladies in your videos?
The awesome Nass Festival dudes asked me to come along last weekend and snap some of the goings on. There were mental people parkouring, motorbikers backflipping in the air and a lot of very chilled out skater kids horizontal in the sunshine. And me falling off a tiny slackline a lot.
In June I spent a week in Israel discovering the delights of Tel Aviv, biking in the Negev Desert and wandering around the labyrinthine streets of old Jerusalem. Here’s part two of the journey – cycling in the desert. Some photos by the fantastic Mark Stratton.
Photo By Mark Stratton
I seriously can’t wait for NASS, the white-knuckle ride of a festival that focuses on skate, BMX and rad music, to return on the 11-13 July 2013.
If you’ve ever fancied chalking up your fingers and teaching your body to defy gravity, watch inspiring UK champ Shauna Coxsey talk about her love of climbing, plus tips on warming up and improving your footwork, in these videos from Adidas’ All In campaign.
I started last year and am addicted, despite my constantly blistered fingers.
A speedy chat with the rather epic Sean Conway, who this summer will attempt to become the first person to swim round the British coast from Land’s End to John O’ Groats.
No biggie – he’s already cycled the world, climbed Kili dressed as a penguin and grown a ginger beard of fearsome proportions.
I spent last week on the sunny slopes of Verbier shooting a ski and snowboard photography feature for NPhoto magazine with the fantastic Ross Woodhall. Click on the images to see them in all their glory.
No matter where I live in the world, I’ll always have a huge soft spot for Spain. It’s a treasure trove of unspoilt beauty spots and offers an amazing range of outdoor activities to suit all seasons, from gentle walks in summer to extreme skiing in winter. Here’s my favourite destinations for a year of outdoor love.
I am beyond excited about January. Four days in Verbier followed swiftly by a week in Val Thorens means I can finally stop pretending that riding my bike really fast down hills feels a bit like skiing and actually SKI!
I love skiing. I love beards. The fact that I don’t have enough testosterone to grow my own beard need hinder my attempts to stay warm on the slopes NO LONGER!
I don’t know when I was last this excited about going to the movies. Nine of the coolest European extreme sports films are on tour across the continent. Get tickets now.
Surf fan and fellow girl outdoors Karina Kold on catching the best of Danish waves at Klitmøller.
Last Sunday Hayley, Pete and I made it through seven grueling, muddy, sweaty miles of the Mud Runner Classic 2012, at the beautiful Eastnor Castle in the Malverns.
The lovely Elizabeth Grant rounds up some fun and easy ways to get outdoors this summer.
Snowboarder Simon Andrews waxes lyrical over his favourite bit of kit, the GoPro Hero camera.
Snowsports are definitely the most style conscious sports around, as Dolce and Gabbana are obviously aware, even if their lovely model has forgotten her trousers. Working as a seasonnaire in the Italian Alps, I’m constantly exposed to a fashion parade of girl skiiers and boarders in the latest look-at-me labels.
Check out what the coolest girl skiers and boarders are wearing in my resort, Cervinia.
I am in love with Frankie's gorgeous Roxy jacket and rainbow goggles
There’s some spectacular scenery that’s ideal for rock climbing in the United Kingdom, and wherever you live in Britain, you’re sure to have some fantastic cliff faces a reasonable distance away. Rebecca Hall sums up her favourite spots.
As devised by myself and my lovely housemate Jillian whilst we were very hungover and in bed. We’ve been working in the Italian Alps for two months now, in which I have learned that salopettes are perfect for après ski, as they are wipe clean, and that I have the strength in me to clean over 700 toilets. Who knew? I have also learnt that, as a seasonnaire:
Waxing guide! That’s boards and skis, not legs. Snowboard wonderkid and fellow seasonnaire Simon Andrews kindly took time out of shredding the crap out of the Cervinia backcountry to compile this fantastic guide to waxing your snowboard or skis for The Girl Outdoors.
The Girl Outdoors loves a good girl sports hero, especially one as fearlessly cool as Becky Hammond, UK freeski champion and part of Team GB. The 25 year old took time out of training halfpipe in Breckenridge, Colorado, to chat about the highlights of her sporting career and what the ski scene is like for aspiring pro girls.
Having to surf in the biting cold is pretty much inevitable for riders in the UK, where freezing green waves, menacing grey skies and frostbitten fingers are more of the surf scene than tropical sands and hibiscus flowers.
In preparation for my epic ski adventure, coming soon to The Girl Outdoors (well, once I actually hit the slopes), the amazing outdoorsy peeps at Webtogs have sent me a lovely North Face fleece to test out in chilly Britain before I wear it whilst falling over a lot on an Italian mountain. Read on to see how it measured up, or get your own here for £34.
I’m off on a ski season to Cervinia, Italy in December, which I am so excited about that I can’t sleep at night without cuddling my new woolly hat. The fact that I can’t ski very well is clearly immaterial in my night-time fantasies of perfectly executed black runs. I am busy figuring out what gear to take with me to the mountains, so I was very pleased when the lovely people at Gear Zone sent me over some sun creams from French company Annecy to test.
It’s a warm and sunny Indian summer afternoon in Soho and I am sitting in an air conditioned office. This is not ideal. Instead I will fantasise about practising these absolutely amazing bike moves courtesy of film director Ninian Doff. I am particularly enjoying the Royal Wave, the MGM Lion and the Cup of Tea. Lovely.
White water rafting does not involve the most attractive outfit in the world. Over your normal clothes go thick rubber dungarees, a coat of the same shiny blue material, wellington boots a few sizes too big, a lifejacket so well padded you can perform sumo wrestler moves on friends worry free, and, finally, a helmet strapped under your chin that immediately makes your scalp sweat. As soon as you are dressed like this, all you can think about is how much to now need to pee.
I absolutely, utterly and completely love surfing. I should quickly make it clear that this does not mean I am GOOD at surfing: I spend most of my time flailing in the shallows or getting hit on the head by my board, but the utter rush of catching a wave makes pain, cold and wee in your wetsuit seem like very minor issues. Whilst I would love to surf the USA, Indo or Oz, living in Cardiff has meant I’ve been able to get out on the green waves of Wales, which offer some very decent surf.
It’s been a few weeks since a crack team of 13 of outdoor enthusiasts decided to take on the mighty Snowdon. I swear my legs still ache.
Need some inspiration to get fit and get outdoors? Read my interview with the incredibly inspiring injured soldier who proved the doctors wrong – not only by walking again, but by trekking all the way to the North Pole for charity.
This is what happens when you take three mates (one of whom has IMovie and a great desire to avoid doing revision) and go on this walk to the waterfalls at Ystradfellte in the Brecon Beacons national park.
An epic tale of drama, hope, love and wilderness.
