29/3/16                           Orlando Duques Cliff Diving Expedition                      Shiwa Tawakoli
Rate: ****

Orlando Duque is an Olympic gold medalist high diver from Colombia. In this video; sponsored by RedBull, the 41 year old athlete visits Croatia and the island of Vis, taking us with him on his cliff diving expedition.

On his adventure along the coast, he climbs and jumps from various magnificent locations. Many people view cliff diving to be dangerous, and although it may be on the more extreme side of the spectrum, when done with caution, it can be a very exhilarating experience. There are many tourist attraction places such as La Quebrada in Mexico, that provide newcomers with cliff diving sites.

The most thrilling part of the trip, he says, was the Blue Cave. A truly majestic place with vibrant, neon blue water. This Sea cave is a protected monument of nature, hence prohibiting anyone from swimming. However, Orlando was granted permission for his venture. He described the trip to be overall a ‘once in a lifetime experience’.

I have never been cliff diving but this video has definitely inspired me to look further into this activity, and sea cave swimming. Experiential learning of the outdoors can not become any more relaxing or nerve racking than these two activities.

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phFwx4uozhY

"The Summit" review

Rabeel Akram

3/30/2016

Mr. Laughton

PAD03

The Summit- Nick Ryan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0pPhTLvzu4

Rating : *****

This movie is based on real life events that took place on August 1st, 2008, on a climb to the summit of the worlds second tallest mountain, K2, that left 11 of 25 international climbers dead. It combines real life footage from the day and dramatizations to really give the viewer a clear visual.

On August 1st, 2008, 25 international climbers had set out to climb K2, the worlds second tallest, and deadliest mountain. Although the weather was almost perfect, the climb slowly became deadlier. 18 of those climbers made it to the summit that day, but by the next day, 11 had died. The mystery behind their deaths are still a wonder, and this movie highlights their lasts moves made.

This experience was one of the biggest tragedies in mountain climbing history, and really shows that, no matter how prepared you think you may be, or how great the weather is, even if you are 100% prepared, things can go very, very wrong in a blink of an eye.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in either mountain climbing or mystery.

The Summit. Dir. Nick Ryan. 2013. Fantastic Films, 2013. Film.

 

 

Castaway Review

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Castaway Review

Castaway - Robert Zemeckis

Rating: *****

Castaway is an immersive movie that presents a realistic show of a lone man's experiences when stranded on a remote island after a plane crash. The movie was fairly anticlimactic and there was a lack of dialogue but the movie was still enjoyable and absorbed me into the plot.

Chuck Noland, the protagonist, works at Fed Ex as an executive. As Chuck was flying to Malaysia due to an assignment there, his plane crashed over the Pacific Ocean. Miraculously being the only survivor of the crash, he finds himself on a deserted island. After spending weeks surviving on the island with only a volleyball named Wilson to accompany him, Chuck begins building a raft. Chuck's past attempts to try and catch the attention of passing ships and planes have all failed; he needs to take a risk if he wants to be saved. The raft was his only option to leave the island unless he wanted to spend his life stranded. Castaway his story of surviving on a deserted island.

This movie really absorbed me into its story. The moment Chuck became stranded on the island, I was completely immersed into the movie. The movie was very atmospheric which made it almost seem as if viewers were stranded on the island as well. The movie does not feature a whole lot of talking or soundtrack in the background but this only increases the realness of Chuck's scenario. Also, Chuck is an average man which means that it is most definitely possible for someone in real life to have experienced and done similar things as Chuck to survive. 

Castaway relates to outdoor ed. since it is basically a realistic movie on surviving in the wild and away from any suburban areas. The physical and mental tasks Chuck did in the movie all helped him survive which can be connected to the survival unit in outdoor ed. as well.

This is a great 50 minute movie to watch when craving for a survival film and won't take up much time. Really recommend it.  
  

     Castaway. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Tom Hanks. 2000. Twentieth Century Fox Film Coporation, 2000. Film.

 

Alicia Saunders

29/03/2016

Mr. Laughton

PAD30

14 Year Old Achieves Hardest Boulder Climb Ever Done by a Woman

By:Andrew Bisharat

Rate: *****

Ashima Shiraishi is a fourteen year old girl from New York City who recently climbed Horizon; a large, smooth, V15 boulder in Mt. Hiei near Miyazaki in Japan. Shiraishi is now the youngest person, and the first female to climb a V15 boulder. (*Boulder problems are measured on the “V-Scale”  which currently ranges from V0 - V16 but it is open ended)

Climbing these near impossibly difficult boulder problems seems in part due to talent but mainly due to hardwork, Shiraishi practises every day after school at the Brooklyn Boulders, a climbing gym that focuses only on bouldering.

Shiraishi goes to these extraordinary places in search of challenging climbs during her breaks from school, and is able to complete them within days. Shiraishi is only the second person to have climbed Horizon, after skilled climber Dai Koyamada who is referred to as one of the best boulderers of all time. It took Koymada three years to finally successfully complete Horizon whereas Shiraishi sent it over the course of her spring break.

This is not the first record Shiraishi has set; last spring break Shiraishi became the first female to reach level 5.15a in sport climbing. She did this when she went to Catalonia, Spain and climbed Santa Linya, achieving an ascent of 5.15a. Also, in 2014 Shiraishi became the second female to ever send a V14 boulder. She accomplished this over the course of a few days on a trip to Rockland, South Africa.

            This relates directly to what we are currently learning in Outdoor Ed. Shiraishi’s accomplishments are due to her raw talent and hard work, and hopefully her story can inspire anyone to strive for greatness in rock climbing as well.

Source:

Bisharat, Andrew. "14 Year Old Achieves Hardest Boulder Climb Ever Done by a Woman." Beyond the Edge. National Geographic Society, 22 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/22/14-year-old-ashima-shiraishi-climbs-hardest-boulder-problem-ever-done-by-a-woman/>. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCPiPh2sWDk

Rating: ***** 5/5

Dominic Lovisa

Ice Diving Guitar In Antarctica 

The video I'm sharing is the perfect combinations of both my interests. It has music, scuba diving and I feel it is a great representation of how far you can go in the scuba world. The video showcases the dive crew's last dive of the season in Antarctica. The crew was listening to Tisziji Muñoz the musical artist that inspired the crew to share their unique job with the world. Scuba diving has plenty of different options from commercial to recreational, and are all rewarding in the sense that they take some work to get to do, but the sensation is like no other.

I personally got into scuba diving just over a year ago and simply can't recommend a single other activity more than this one. The feeling of taking your first breaths underwater is indescribable. Scuba diving gives you a weightless feeling unlike any other activity, and words simply don't do it justice. I'm hoping this peaks at least someones interest and I hope someday everyone can have a shot at the strangely amusing underwater activity.

The video is highly relatable to the Outdoor Ed class, as this is an outdoor activity that can be enjoyed by just about anyone and there are options here in Ottawa to get involved. The scuba diving community is like one large extended family, and I feel it suits the model of the Outdoor Ed class.

I hope some of you were interested in this bizarre form of Outdoor Activity and as mentioned before I simply cannot recommend anything more than I recommend scuba.

The Crash, Recovery, and Miraculous Return of Jeb Corliss

Mackenzie Lagrove

3/29/2016

Mr. Laughton

PAD03

The Crash, Recovery, and Miraculous Return of Jeb Corliss

By: Devon  O’Neill

Rate: ***

Jeb Corliss is a 39 year old man who has been base jumping and wingsuiting for 18 years all over the world.  He has jumped off the Eiffel Tower in France, flew through Heaven's Gate in Tianmen, and flew through a long ride on Swiss Peak in Columbia-Shuswap.  Jeb had a perfect record of not getting injured or crashing until January 2012 at Table Mountain in South Africa. Table Mountain is South Africa's 3,558 foot mountain.

While Jeb was flying on the mountain he clipped his foot on the edge of a boulder and took a hard fall, breaking both his legs and tearing his ACL.  He had to have reconstructive surgery and took a year off to recover from this tragic accident.  Many people asked if he would give up this unique sport, but he just laughed and responded, “of course not”.  

In 2013 Red Bull asked Corliss if he would be interested in flying through a unique narrow slot on the 875 foot Langshan Mountain which is located in China.  Corliss researched and viewed photographs of the slot and declined, his accident in South Africa was still haunting him.  Red Bull again contacted him and asked if he would be interested in seeing the formation of the slot in person.  When Corliss saw the slot in person he agreed to do it instantly, he said he had never seen anything like it.  The slot was 60 feet wide at the top and 15 feet wide at the bottom.

The weather on the day was suppose to jump was horrible, there was wind and lots of rain.  The representatives of Red Bull were just about to close down the jump until Jeb jumped off the mountain.  He glided perfectly like a bird through the slot and made a safe landing.  Jeb's love for wingsuiting still lives on as he jumps off some of the highest and scariest mountains in the world.

Source: http://www.outsideonline.com/2053051/crash-recovery-and-miraculous-return-jeb-corliss

Life of Pi Review

Life of Pi Review

Jack Gorman                                                                                                                          

Rating: ****                                                                                                                                    

Life of Pi is an enthralling literary masterpiece by Canadian author Yann Martel. It incorporates a young boy named Pi, who is caught up in the sinking of a large cargo ship. He narrowly escapes death, only to find himself on a lifeboat with one other passenger; a large tiger. Pi implements basic survival skills and knowledge of the outdoor to stay alive. He is faced with many dire situations. The tiger on his lifeboat obviously poses a big threat, however he is troubled further by the weather and exposure. Since Pi is aware that exposure will kill him much easier than the tiger who remains passive under a tarp on the boat, he focuses firstly on protecting himself from the sun and other exposure. He uses supplies on the boat to make a sun hat, and does his best to cover himself. Then, he moves to his next biggest threat; the tiger. To solve this problem, he creates a makeshift raft and ties it to the main lifeboat, so he is isolated from the tiger. In the book, he references how important it is to have a basic knowledge of knots and lashings, as he uses them to create the raft that saves his life. Eventually, thanks to being well informed on the subject of the great outdoors, he reaches land and receives medical care.

I enjoyed reading this novel, and would not take the time I spent doing so back if I had the chance. The novel was gripping from beginning to end, and despite the cliché, I found the book hard to put down. If  I had to rate the novel, I would rate it 4/5 stars. The reason I would not give it 5/5 stars is because the portion at the beginning of the plot, before the ship sinks and the survival situation begins, is very dry and lengthy. However, as soon as the plot thickens, it becomes much more interesting and enjoyable to read.

This book is very relevant in terms of Outdoor Education, as the plot is essentially a survival situation. Yann Martel shows readers the importance that even the most basic understanding of survival skills can have. If Pi was put in this situation and he lacked this knowledge, the outcome likely would have been very different. He would perish, likely by way of exposure to the sun or the cold, or by becoming a victim of sharks, or the tiger.

I would recommend this book to a friend, and I recommend you read it yourself. It has an enticing plot that you will find your mind wandering back to throughout your day. It also teaches readers about the value that even an understanding of knots and lashings can have. You never know when you’ll need it, and like Pi, it could help you out in dire circumstances.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2001. Print.

Jordan hunter
March 30, 2016

Rock Climbing in Gatineau Park

Rock Climbing in Gatineau Park

Gatineau Park offers local rock climbers all routes and rock faces they could wish for. The Eardley Escarpment, the 500-million-year-old toe of the Canadian Shield, provides 64 climbing routes on 5 seperate rock faces.

Where Is Rock Climbing Permitted?

The NCC has opened five rock faces, for a total of 64 climbing routes.

• Home Cliff: Centre Wall
• The three rock faces at the Twin Ribs site: Down Under, Eastern Block and The Left Twinn
• Western Cwm — West.

Gatineau Park Rock Climbing Code of Conduct

Rock climbing in the Park is a priviledge for which climbers have fought and continue to battle hard. Please make every effort to minimize your impact on your environment:

• Ensure that you have the necessary training, knowledge and experience
• to climb safely.
• Use the appropriate equipment, including protective gear (e.g. helmet),
• and ensure that it is in good condition.
• Do not use any anchors in the rock unless you have the knowledge and
• experience to assess whether or not they are safe (i.e. in good condition,
• appropriately placed and well anchored).
• Choose a route that is within your technical ability.
• Ensure that you are in good health and proper physical condition, and
• that your mental faculties are not impaired (e.g. by fatigue, medication,
• alcohol or drugs).
• Check to ensure that weather conditions are
• favourable for climbing.

- See more at: http://outdoorottawa.com/activities/gatineau-park-rock-climbing/#sthash.XhcUDsTL.dpufGatineau Park Rock Climbing Maps

The NCC provides these rock climbing route maps for climbers to use:

	Official Rock Climbing Sites
	Home Cliff
	Twin Ribs and Eastern Block
	Western Cwm

Gatineau Park Rock Climbing Code of Conduct

Rock climbing in the Park is a priviledge for which climbers have fought and continue to battle hard. Please make every effort to minimize your impact on your environment:

• Ensure that you have the necessary training, knowledge and experience
• to climb safely.
• Use the appropriate equipment, including protective gear (e.g. helmet),
• and ensure that it is in good condition.
• Do not use any anchors in the rock unless you have the knowledge and
• experience to assess whether or not they are safe (i.e. in good condition,
• appropriately placed and well anchored).
• Choose a route that is within your technical ability.
• Ensure that you are in good health and proper physical condition, and
• that your mental faculties are not impaired (e.g. by fatigue, medication,
• alcohol or drugs).
• Check to ensure that weather conditions are
• favourable for climbing.

- See more at: http://outdoorottawa.com/activities/gatineau-park-rock-climbing/#sthash.XhcUDsTL.dpuf

"Wild Edibles- Pine Needle Tea" - outsidefun1

Rating: *****


While tea doesn't wake you up in the morning quite like coffee, tea comes in so many flavours and blends that almost everybody can find a tea that they enjoy. And with tea, once you have hot water, all you need to do is add the teabag, wait for the tea flavour to diffuse, and then sip carefully at your drink until it cools down. What if you were to apply a similar principle to other plants and see what it tastes like? The youtube channel outsidefun1 examines the flavour of pine needle tea by breaking and steeping pine needles in hot water, and tests the taste of tea boiled in different concentrations and conditions.

Before the testing begins, it is made explicitly clear that the viewer should conduct extensive research, referencing multiple sources before consuming wild edibles. The speaker establishes that while white pine is a good source of vitamin C, he explains that pregnant women should not drink the tea, and that the needles of certain types of pine trees are considered inedible, and should not be consumed.

The video first explains the traits that are unique to a white pine, and then uses this information to locate a pine tree optimal for making tea. After the tree is located, and a fire is constructed the testing begins. When the tea is steeped and filtered to remove the needles, what remains is a transparent, slightly green-tinged liquid that could be easily confused for water. While the taste of pine is both present and not bitter, the end product is a very mild tea. Unlike traditional tea, which has been cultivated and bred to enhance the flavour and the dissolution of the juices, pine tea is a healthy, but mild drink.

The video does a good job at presenting the material it set out to present. It warns the viewer of the health risks and urges the viewer to perform research before they test the drink, it provides some background information and an easy step-by-step process, and ultimately presents the results of the experiment. It is a short video with a simple concept, but it achieved its goal and contains more information that what is covered in this review. As the weather approaches the optimal temperature, I might try making myself a cup of pine tea, and maybe share it with some friends while I'm at it.


Wild Edibles- Pine Needle Tea. Youtube. 22 Jan 2016. Web. Accessed 28 March, 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZSBKrXjJN0>

"I'm Going on an Adventure!"

Extreme Photos of the Week 2016 - Various photographers

Rating: *****

If you’ve done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with one of the activities featured in the Extreme Photos of the Week. The link leads to a collection of incredible photos taken of people doing extreme sports in remote outdoors locations, such as kayaking down a waterfall, skiing glaciers and surfing massive waves, amongst other things.

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/943/cache/jasper-gibson-vera-cruz-mexico-twisted-pleasure-aniol-serraolses_94330_990x742.jpg

One of the photos is shown above. Each photo has a short description of the activity, where it was done and challenges to taking the photo. For example, this picture was taken on the Jalacingo River in Veracruz, Mexico. The picture is of a man dropping off a 70-foot waterfall (called Twisted Pleasure) in a kayak. The photographer had to climb a slippery trail through thick roots and branches to get into position to take the photo.

I found all the photos to be mind-blowingly amazing. I like taking pictures (I’m a com tech student) and love seeing incredible pictures like these. I also love being outside and I want to go to some of the places shown in the photos because of their beauty and the adventures they promise. I like to think I’m becoming a sort-of skilled photographer, and I wonder if I have the skills to take pictures of this quality if I was in a similar scenario. The pictures also give me the desire to go out and try something extreme, albeit under more controlled conditions. While I wouldn’t immediately kayak down a waterfall, I’m now more excited to try white-water canoeing at the camping trip.

Anyone who appreciates good photography or insanely crazy stunts, or would simply like to have their mind blown by the incredible photos should definitely take a look at the collection, and see how the pictures inspire you.

"Extreme Photo of the Week - 2016 - National Geographic." National Geographic. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. <http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/extreme-photo-of-the-week/2016/>.  

Noah Veenstra Review "The Survival Handbook"

Noah Veenstra
3/20/2016
Mr. Laughton
PAD3O

The Survival Handbook

(Published by DK)

Rating ***** 

     The Survival Handbook provides a lot of insight towards a lot of survival and outdoor skills, specifically what I have reviewed for this assignment is the Fire Making section.

     In this section there is tons of information regarding how to make fires ranging from the various tinder you can use to all the different arrangements of fires you can have and what they are best for not to mention how to light them. The book also has a lot of tips and advice about what wood you should use,  what tools you can use, things you should and shouldn't do when making a fire and a lot more. Another very helpful thing the book does is for specific methods it goes step by step painting a more clear picture of how to go about starting certain fires and making certain tinder. 

     Overall I think this is a wonderful book. I have gotten to try a couple of the methods it describes for fire making, lately what I have been working on is trying to make feather sticks and proper natural tinder and I find the step by step descriptions of these methods to be extremely useful. When I first started trying the fire steel to start fires instead of more traditional means I definitely struggled quite a bit but after finding this book I have changed a lot of what I do when starting fires and can do it much more easily. I will definitely try things like the bow drills and other friction methods when I am more efficient at lighting fires with the fire steel. Overall I think this book is a very useful tool for anybody who takes interest in this kind of stuff  and I hope that people in this outdoor ed class take the time to look at it because fire building will be part of the course and this can help them out.

    To conclude I really hope that now and in later years that people in this class and those who fancy these kind of things take a look at resources like this and make the most out of making fire.

PS. The book is to large to photocopy properly but if you guys comment if you want me to bring it for class, I certainly can.

Source 

Towell, Colin. The Survival Handbook: Essential Skills for Outdoor Adventure. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley, 2012. Print.

Plant Guides

Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada

Published by Lone Pine.

Rating: ****

Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada is a comprehensible, organized guide that is interesting and easy to use. It gives information on many recognizeable species, and has all the appropriate warnings.

It has details on historic use of plants such as pines, ferns, and birches among other trees shrubs and herbs. Also included is a photo, description and toxic effects of each plant in the book. Though the information in the book should not be put to practice without nessecity, it gives a better understanding of the nature/ wildlife around you.

Aside from the new understanding associated with the book, it is interesting to see how much of nature can be used to our advantage, with the proper knowlege. The book may also have a point about the versatility of evolution in that the most similar plants are far more diffrent than it seems at first glance with painful, hair like barbs or toxic chemicals. This point is made again in the suggestion that the potency of dangerous effects in the same sort of plant may range from case to case. 

I wood recomend leafing through the guide to anyone looking for a closer connection to their outdoor surroundings.

Andy MacKinnon [et al].

Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada.

Published 2009. Print.

Sample Report

Into The Wild – Jon Krakauer

Rating: *****

Into The Wild is one of my all time favourite books. It is an easy read that just grasps your attention from start to finish.

The story is about a young man who struggles to be part of regular society and in his search of himself, he ends up living in a school bus in the Alaskan wilderness. Determined to survive off the land, he rids himself of almost all modern day luxuries. Unfortunately, he doesn't survive.

I really enjoyed the story and the fact that it has made me think hard about his mistakes. How the fact that if he had a map, that he would be alive today. Also, that with all the dangers we would think about falling a victim to in the Alaskan wilderness, like bears & cold temperatures, it was something he ate (and he had a edible plants book).

I highly recommend you read this book before you watch the movie.

Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Villard, 1996. Print.