Monday, September 29, 2008

Adventure Insurance: Any Extreme Sport, Any Location

To get adventure travel insurance is a smart choice to make. There is even insurance that specializes in covering only a specific sport or activity that a traveler may be particularly interested in doing For instance, if an travel tour consists of something as common as backpacking or a little bit more extreme such as snowboarding, there are polices out there that a traveler can be secure in knowing that it covers specifically these activities. What is even better is that if you want an insurance policy to cover only one specific sport then so be it. For more coverage, there are contracts that will cover injuries suffered doing all sorts that fall under one umbrella such as all activities done in the snow.

Certain kinds of insurance cover particular regions. for instance, there is adventure travel insurance that will cover specifically, when the climate permits, snowboarding along with skiing done in the United Kingdom Channel Islands and Northern Ireland. What a traveler would have to do with such an insurance contract is determine if he wants it to cover him yearly or monthly. Additionally, there are two categories of adventure travel insurance offered in the UK, one that is less expensive than the other. It would be important to carefully assess which a budget would allow for because you want necessary coverage but you do not want to go overboard.

Do not neglect obtaining adventure travel insurance when traveling to any location in Asia. Rock climbing and skydiving along with snorkeling in locations like Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, adventure travel insurance is a must because their local medical facilities will only give care to those with it. If you do not have insurance then it could be days before you receive any kind of medical attention.

Adventure travel insurance policies have coverage of exploration activities that consist of unavoidable dangers that are not part of regular insurance policies. Frequently, insurance companies in the United States will request that you list the sports you plan to participate in as well as those offered on the tour as a whole. That way you are able to get an insurance policy tailor made with a safety net built in so that you have freedom to try as many activities as you want.

Many insurance businesses do not cover activities like skydiving, spelunking, hot-air ballooning. However, adventure travel insurance businesses specialize in such policies make it so certain contracts can be streamlined and deals can be added to them. A hundred or more activities are covered by contracts with these particular companies. *

Interestingly, there is a counterintuitive fact of insurance policies obtained from adventure travel insurance businesses. Most of the time the company has to pay more often for injuries received in lodgings than they do for injuries suffered doing activities outlined in policies. Hence, when and where injuries will take place is unpredictable. But the responsible thing is to take the time to get adventure travel insurance which will mitigate some roadblocks that may arise once and if injury occurs.


About the Author

Linden Walhard's newsletters are published on a variety of web publications related to la manga golf and spain holidays. Through his detailed publications on cheap hotels in la manga and spain holidays the reviewer affirmed his depth of understanding on the subject.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Ride your kite

During the last decades interest to various water sports has dramatically increased. Among those is kiteboarding which represents one of many types of kite propulsion including kitelandboarding, kite buggying, snow kiting, kite skateboarding, kitesurfing, mountainboarding and kite jumping.

It's obvious that kiteboarding is a very fun sport. Nevertheless a lot of efforts have been put in order to make it safer and there are still some dangers kite boarders can face. Before you start doing kite sports more or less professionally, you should go through appropriate training course at the kiteboarding schools or take some private kiteboarding lessons in order to make sure you are ready to face all the dangers and risks.

Keep in mind that kite sports are considered to be extreme sport for a reason. So if you're going to try it out, you should make sure that you have passed proper training and have all the necessary equipment and clothing from a kite shop for professionals. Speaking about kitesurfing, which is a water sport, you should be sure that you're aware of all possible water-related emergencies. You should also know which sea animals can be dangerous to swimmers and surfers and pay attention to changing water conditions, as well.

The best way to be sure that you are as safe and skillful as possible is to practice your kiteboarding techniques regularly. The more experience you have, the easier it is for you to cope with any emergency.

About the Author
born in 1970.

Passo Tonale - Alps Skiing on The Cheap

At 1883 meters, however, snow coverage and icy terrain made winter progress both difficult and dangerous. In the summer, travel was possible, but became rocky and sometimes icy. The only other way to get into the Italian lowlands was to cross from Switzerland, which is 900 meters taller than the Passo Tonale border crossing.

Passo Tonale is still today a crucial link adjoining Trentino and Lombardy. As far as Italians are concerned, the Passo Tonale is the highest purpose-built resort in Italy. Resting on the Rhaetian Alps between the two said towns, Passo Tonale is surrounded by the Ortles-Cevedale and Adamello pinnacle above to the north and south respectively. Passo Tonale Italian ski resort was extended in '06 and '07 with cable cars linking it to Presena and Ponte di Legno. This opened up over 10 more kilometers of piste possibilities.

You'll want to stay on the north and south facing trails above the trees to get the best skiing here. This part of Italy gets lots of sunshine and plenty of snow during the winter. The slopes are open later than many other Alp-centric ski resorts too. This means more ski time for your silver coin. The lift system is easy to get to know and is compact enough to get you to the best piste quickly. A holiday here almost guarantees, then, sunshine, snow, ski and cheap sales.

Passo Tonale is considered one of the cheaper ski holiday resorts in Italy. You can come here during the high season, for example, and find cheap hotels, cheap piste passes and cheaper cuisine. Why? You may ask: Because, Passo Tonale is considered a family-geared resort. There are pistes for advanced professionals, but mostly the groomed trails cater to the beginner and intermediate skiers. The cheaper value for your money means you can stay more time, thereby having more fun with more of your family and friends.

Passo Tonale has always been known but not discovered per se. Today, though, with the advent of the Internet and better marketing and word of mouth, Passo Tonale in Italy is growing each year. The higher altitude close to the Italian lowlands means skiers can come for two or three days and make it back to work. Plus, the new ski lift and ski bus system ensures you'll have time to hit all the pistes and boutiques even if the place is bustling with skiers and cheap holiday goers.

Passo Tonale's ski high season starts in December and ends sometime in April. This doesn't mean, however, that cheap deals can't be found. Though Passo Tonale is aggregated as a beginner and family one-ski spot, the slope suitability is broken down as follow: beginner: 10-20%; intermediate: 40-50%; advanced: 30-40%.

Passo Tonale's highest lift lies at over 3,000 meters with 30 total lifts and an equal number of slopes. Moreover, there are 100 km worth of runs lined with 150 snow cannons. You'll find the Presena Glacier as one of the best ski areas with the longest run reaching 7 km and the longest cross country trails marked for over 20 km. All this is cheaper than you may think: costing around 40 to 200 euros for a one to six day ski lift passes.

There are top-notch ski schools here too catering to the familial atmosphere the place ensures. Though not considered cheap, you'll learn a lot about skiing, chiefly if you're a first-timer. If members of your family are not game to ski, they can choose other sports, some free with a ski pass. There is a swimming pool, a natural ice rink, beauty center, fitness facilities, skidoos, tobogganing, spas and all sorts of après ski options, such as discos, restaurants and alternating Happy Hours at the local bars. Furthermore, there's plenty of places to shop and eat along the main tourist routes where you can meet, greet and delve into skiing conversation. Passo Tonale is Italy's cheaper but never inferior ski resort.

About the Author
O.B.S. company is currently working on Italian project, Passo Tonale ski resort. It represents Passo Tonale cheap hotels and possible vacation activities.

4 Important Tips for The Novice Hiker

Hiking provides hundreds of thousands of people with a great deal of pleasure and a sense of adventure each year and 99% of the time it is anything but dangerous. This said, people do have accidents and get lost from time to time and it can then become a dangerous activity very quickly if you are not prepared.
Below are just 4 simple safety tips to ensure that your hiking trips don't get you into trouble.
Safety Tip No1 - Think about taking a partner of friend along with you.
There's really no need to worry about heading out alone if you are going for a short hike in a local area on easy terrain, however, if you are heading out into heavily wooded wilderness areas with steep canyons and winding trails then the possibility of getting lost or sustaining injury becomes very real and you ought to think carefully about whether or not you are wise to head out alone.
Having a friend or partner along can have a lot of advantages, especially if that person is an experienced hiker. After all, 'two heads are better than one' and if you do become lost or get into trouble you're a lot less likely to panic if you have somebody with you to help to sort out the problem.
Safety Tip No 2 - Let somebody know where you are going.
If you are a novice hiker then you ought to certainly stick to clearly marked and well traveled trails and should not start to stray from these trails to explore until you have some experience and have mastered the basics of map and compass work. However, it will not be too long before you are ready to try some more adventurous hiking and the possibility of getting injured or lost will arise.
For this reason, you must always let somebody know where you are going and when you plan to return so that a search party can be sent out if you don't return when expected.
Safety Tip No 3 - Take along some basic equipment.
It is vital to have a basic survival kit with you and your local hiking club will be able to give you excellent advice on the items that this should include. Here we're looking at such things as matches and a lighter, a first aid kit, a good knife and a flashlight.
Additionally, it is a good idea to have a map and compass along together with a fully charged cell phone.
Safety Tip No 4 - Take some basic provisions along.
Water or other fluids such as sports drinks are essential as you can lose a lot of water even over an hour or two on a hot day. You should note though that water is heavy, so take sufficient but not too much. Remember though that you should not drink from local streams as natural water sources might appear to be inviting but they are often high in bacteria and may make you sick very quickly.
Also do not forget to take sufficient food to last you. It is no fun to be hungry while you're out but remember that you can last a lot longer without food than you can without water.
Visit The-Hiking-Club.com for advice on everything from finding a great pair of Timberland hiking boots to the wonders of a Hawaii waterfall hiking adventure
About the Author
Visit The-Hiking-Club.com for advice on everything from finding a great pair of Timberland hiking boots to the wonders of a Hawaii waterfall hiking adventure

History Of Rock Climbing

The history of climbing rocks, unlike many sports, is recent. According to history, people used to climb steep mountain faces and dangerous cliffs since they had to, but today people do it as a sporting activity. Rock climbing and bringing down stranded people was part of the Alpine mountaineering.

It was during late 19th century that climbing emerged as a sport from three specific areas of Europe. The first was in Germany in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the South-eastern part of the country near the Czech border. By 1903 there were several climbing clubs opening up in the territory and nearly 500 active climbers playing the sport.

It was during the same time, rock climbing was observed as a sport in England. Some of the climbers at this time invited attention as they soared some difficult cliffs all by themselves. Depending of the varying types of cliff formations, it is here that marking the various difficulty ratings first started. The formation of climbing clubs were rather slow in this area, however, the climbers would meet up themselves to thrash out their individual climbing experiences.

It took a 17 year old student from Munich Germany to do a solo climb in the Dolomite Mountains located in northern Italy to turn the area into the third hot spot for European rock climbing.
In the United States rock and mountain climbing was viewed in a similar fashion but it was treated as a well defined sporting activity only from the 1950s. Many of the modern techniques which are evident today, were initially developed with mountain climbing in mind.

Rock climbing as we know today has come a long way with new ways of doing things being introduced everyday and novel equipment getting launched. Climbing is now viewed more as a lifestyle by rock climbers than just a sport.

Another noticeable trend is the setting up of indoor climbing in urban zones. Here many actual rock formations are duplicated in design with artificial rock faces. You can be completely risk-free in these indoor climbing facilities since the safety equipment is guaranteed to give you all the excitement of the sport of rock climbing without the inherent risk factors.

Rock climbing requires a lot of effort, strength and determination and can never be a risk-free experience despite the plethora of safety equipment and new techniques in place. The modern day man has to encounter far more challenges to test his might and stamina than those who lived in the past.

Rocks were climbed only when people had a good reason to do so. The increasing popularity of rock climbing is perhaps a reflection of the changing preferences of our society. Many has sought fresh challenges everyday and perhaps this is the basic driver responsible for the existence of this activity.

About the Author
Article By Suta At: http://interesting-hobby.blogspot.com/

Skateboarding

Skateboarding first started back in the 1940s. Many kids had scooters then but these were expensive, those kids who could not afford scooters took the wheels from their rollerskates and nailed them to pieces of wood. They also nailed a handle to the board so they could use it as a makeshift scooter. Pretty soon the handle was removed and the kids would ride just on the wooden board and wheels.

Soon after this surfers began to ride on skateboards when there were no waves. And in the 1950s commercially made skateboards were finally available.

Now skateboarding is one of the most popular sports among teenagers in the world. There are competitions held in almost every country that attracts hundreds of both professional and amateur skaters. You can find skate parks in almost every major city and town. With the rise in professional skaters skateboard design is also improving. As a result of this special shoes and clothing have been designed, and there are even extreme sports shows that include skateboarders, attracting huge crowds.

Skateboarding can be separated into two forms, street and ramp. Street skating is basically defined as skating carried out anywhere except on a ramp. Various tricks are carried out anywhere where there is a flat surface, this can be school grounds car parks, or on streets and roads.

Skate parks are custom-made for all these kinds of skating. They have excellent smooth surfaces, and often include a obstacles such as curbs, ramps, and fun boxes. There is also an extreme form of street skating called skateboard racing.

This extreme skateboard racing is carried out on winding and sloping roads, competitors stand on their board and race each other down the slope to the finish line at the bottom. Skaters have been clocked at over 65 km an hour.

There are two types of skateboard ramps, vert ramps and mini ramps. Vert (short for vertical) skateboarding ramps are huge U-shaped structures between 3.5 and 4.5 m high. At the top of each transition is a short piece of vertical ramp which gives it its name. Mini ramps are much smaller and generally do not have any vertical transition. They are easier to learn new tricks on and are generally better for beginners.

Skateboarding like any sport can be dangerous at times. To reduce the amount of risk skaters should follow these simple rules at all times: 1) when learning the basics stick to flat a safe ground 2) make sure you are in control of your board at all times 3) always wear protective gear, such as helmets, and knee and elbow pads 4) always stay with friends in case somebody has an accident 5) keep your board and gear maintained

About the Author
Do you want to learn how to skate like a pro? Well then there is only one thing you need to know. Check out this site now to find out what I'm talking about. Learn Skateboard Tricks

Snow Boarding

Long a favorite of snow sports fans, snowboarding originated in the United States in the year 1960. Little by little it got the spot light with the spectacular artistic features it involves, getting the thrill of adrenaline for extreme sensations lovers.

Even the Olympics now recognize snowboarding, and since 1998, the top snowboarders in the world have been competing for the medal. The popularity of snowboarding as a recreational activity is a definite benefit when it comes to finding a professional instructor to teach a newcomer the techniques and safety involved.

All beginners must apply for a set of lessons and not just go for a ride, particularly if you've never used a snowboard before. Given time, advanced students can ask their instructors for lessons in even tougher training. You'll need more than a mere couple days or weeks snowboarding to be an expert, so judge accordingly and keep away from the harder slopes.

It's true that this kind of activity follows the tradition of other alpine sports in having a risk of danger that requires the use of protective gear. Freestyle snowboarding is known to be risky even for an expert, so, helmets are a must in such cases. Protective gear to cover the head, tail-bones and wrist are very important to anyone involved in snowboarding.

It's also imperative that your boots are ones that fit and provide comfortable. While it goes without saying that your boots should never hinder any of your moves, it is also very important to have them fit tightly below the knee.

Goggles protect your eyes from snow and light and should always be included in the protective gear of anyone in the sport of snowboarding. Good vision is imperative in any type of sport, and this includes snowboarding, where the sun and snow can combine to wreck havoc on your sight. Goggles should always be worn on the slopes if you want to have successful exercises and protected eyes.

Because of the privacy and extra adrenaline rush, many beginners also face danger through visiting the back-country part of the ski slopes. Any such athlete should be very careful, as they run the high risk of being involved in an avalanche in these types of slopes due to their untouched nature.

An avalanche has been known to cause even experienced riders to have difficulty, so snowboarding in these areas should be taken very slowly and cautiously.

About the Author
Article By Suta At: http://activespots.blogspot.com/