Extreme Sports

Five Adrenaline Fixes You Can Find Soon

David Wilson July 27, 2011

The catch with most extreme sports is that they are extremely hard to do. The likes of free running (urban acrobatics), rock climbing and base jumping (low-altitude, high-risk skydiving) demand guts and skill. Screw up and – crunch – you may wind up in the low-adrenaline hell of a hospital: the last place that anyone with a sense of adventure wants to be.

So if hardcore sports aren’t your shtick but you like to take the odd calculated risk with an outdoorsy slant, here are some sample ‘doable’ adrenaline alternatives. No heroics required. In each case, essentially, although the terrain may be extreme, you just need to show up and go with the flow.

1. Air Trekking

Air trekking takes a cue from the movie The Medicine Man starring Sean Connery as a doctor scouring the South American rainforest canopy for a plant to cure cancer. Connery counts on a network of ropes and cables that let him glide across the canopy, grabbing specimens for analysis. Now, like Connery, you can cross a specially designed rainforest adventure trail featuring ‘flying fox’ ziplines and aerial rope bridges. As you cross the canopy in an atmosphere of lush, sap-scented tranquility, you get to see striking animals on their own terms, in their own hood. Standing atop a strangling fig or whatever and eyeballing a giant hornbill, say, is a phenomenal feeling. When you are done, you just abseil back down to earth
2. Deep Water Solo

Deepwater Solo is a starkly exhilarating sport that does not require you to be a budding Navy SEAL. You just hop on a boat that rides out and weighs anchor beside a rock face sticking out of the sea. Thailand has lots – called ‘karsts’, they are honeycombed with limestone steps. After clambering onto a ledge, you close your legs, raise your arms above your head and plunge - slice through the water in a rumble of bubbles, descending ever deeper toward the sea bed until your momentum runs out. Rammed back up, you explode to the surface, gasping and laughing. That’s it. Deepwater solo is simple - yet fun and addictive. Do it and you may find that you are instantly hit with an itch to keep repeating the thrill.
3. White Water Rafting

Whitewater rafting on a moderate river ranked Class 4 or lower is none too demanding. Essentially, you just have to put on the gear – lifejacket, helmet - tuck in your knees, dip that paddle and roll... You can slack - let your crewmembers pull your weight, unless they have the same idea. But what fun is that? Even then, the current will drag you along. No matter how languid, a ride through the cold, crisp froth is buzzy. As you waltz from rapids to rapids, likely, the worst that will happen is that you swallow a mouthful of bubbles.
4. Via Ferrata

The fancy Italian name for this mountaineering jaunt simply means ‘iron road’. Think a network of fixed cables, ladders, bridges and the like wrapped round a mountain. Assuming your via ferrata’s bolts are securely superglued, you might be safe. The exertion demanded is low – little more than a kid exerts on a climbing frame - if you relax. The aerial hike will appeal to anyone who has fantasized about conquering mighty slopes. A perk is the obstruction-free, cavernous, intoxicating views that may surpass any you have experienced elsewhere
5. Sandboarding

So you can’t surf or snowboard? Smile because an easy adrenaline alternative exists. Welcome to the low-skill, high-thrill world of sandboarding, which is as simple as it sounds. First, find your dune. Then, jump on your board and go with gravity. Easy, although the stopping bit can be hard. Essentially you just slam into the powder sand at the base of the dune, which can be painful if you fail to roll. Again, go with the flow and all will be well, bar a few grits of sand between your teeth.