E XTREME
VIGOUR
taking it to the...
Vigour takes a look at the most extreme ways to get healthy and get your adrenaline juices flowing! EMMA BIGG
CANYONING
MOUNTAIN BOARDING ICE CLIMBING If rock climbing alone isn’t extreme enough for you, give ice climbing a shot. Considered to be one of the most dangerous sports in the world, ice climbing is not for the faint-hearted or foolish. The legendary ice climber, Guy Lacelle died from serious injuries after becoming trapped in an avalanche in December during an ice climb. Ice climbing is a wintry, riskier
alternative to rock climbing. Anywhere there’s ice, there’s an opportunity to climb: waterfalls, icefalls and ice covered rock all provide you with a thrill.
Power boating is one of the most extreme and highpowered water sports around.
boat, the ZapCat has a twin, lightweight, inflatable hull and reaches 50mph in 3 seconds.
The ZapCat powerboat is the best and most popular boat in use and there is also an annual championship on the South coast of England each year that attracts thousands of people and lots of press attention.
You will experience forces of between two and three Gs while you bounce around on the waves. It is an exhilarating experience and will raise your heart rate whilst releasing endorphins-feel good hormones that are great for your health and well being.
Originally designed as a rescue
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Mountain boarding is an increasingly popular sport amongst the younger generations of extreme sports fanatics.
A mountain board is a large skateboard with thick-tread Unlike rock climbing, however, tyres, it is the perfect tool for there are no preset holding speeding down a snowy hill! places and you can put your A small but well established feet and hands anywhere. sport; mountain boarding has But this doesn’t mean that it had plenty of media coverage is an easy way out, ice climbing over the last decade and is a real workout. It raises now has several worldwide the heart rate; works all the competitions that followers muscles in the body and the can get involved in. fresh air is good for you too. Mountain boarding is a tamer Vigour recommends intense training sport than many of the before attempting ice climbing or any extreme options on these pages but it is still a tough of the activities shown here workout.
POWER BOATING
Canyoning is a sport where you travel through canyons in any way you can. Scrambling, abseiling and climbing, canyoning requires strength, stamina and skill, especially in using equipment and planning routes.
Attempting to keep your balance on rough terrain is one of the main challenges of the sport and it gives you an opportunity to really work on your leg muscles.
BACK-COUNTRY SKIING Skiing in itself is hard work: just keeping your balance and turning at the right times when you first start out proves to be a bit of a challenge. The ski lifts are the only part of the ski tour that provides even a bit of respite from constant exercise.
Although it is done around the world, it is often in remote places and therefore requires survival and navigational skills. You need to make sure you own all the correct gear and stick with experienced canyonners and there is always a risk of flash floods, hypothermia and becoming trapped in crevices. However,you are able to canyon safely with experts at your side in the Breccon Beacons in Wales.
While back country skiing is the most extreme form of the sport, it is also highly dangerous and Vigour does not recommend skiing on unchecked and unregulated slopes: your safety must always come first. Any form of skiing is great for working the thigh and core muscles and improves your balance hugely.
KITE BUGGYING
Take in the breathtaking scenery and have a go at white water rafting without the raft! It is one of the most demanding physical activities around but will give you a change to see things that the ordinary tourist or hiker would not. Kite Buggying is the latest in a long line of kite centred sports to sweep the country. Usually enjoyed on a beach or in a field, you are just three inches from the ground as you reach some extreme speeds. You are harnessed into a threewheeled buggy, handed a power kite and let loose! The buggy is powered only by the wind and the skill of the pilot. Committed pilots are encouraged to get third party insurance for occasions where they may collide with other kiters or bystanders.
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