Now that half the world is strolling about with GoPros strapped to their heads, the internet is awash in adventure videos. Over recent months on my Facebook page (hint, hint…) I’ve been running a string of adventure clips, ranging from the inspiring to the absurd.
Here are the seven adventure-related videos I’ve most enjoyed. It’s not a comprehensive list – there’d be umpteen clips and movies I haven’t yet seen – but it is entertaining. If you’ve come across any other great adventure videos, let me know. I enjoy procrastinating over somebody else’s adventure as much as the next person.
7. Cross-Country Snowboarding
An oldie but a goodie, this spoof documentary went behind the scenes of the unlikely sport of cross-country snowboarding. Scoochingly good.
6. Summits of my Life
In August, superman runner Kilian Jornet set a speed record on the Matterhorn, ascending and descending in less than three hours. Watching him power down the mountain in Summits of my Life, it became pretty clear how he knocked more than 20 minutes off Bruno Brunod’s previous record.
5. Kainos
Sarah Lee has been taking beautiful photos of women underwater for years, and in the teaser for Kainos, she added motion to the images. The contrast between the fluid passivity of the swimmers and the force of the waves is stunning.
4. Kelly McGarry’s Downhill Run
I’ll happily stand on the edge of any cliff anywhere, but the vision of Kelly McGarry’s downhill mountain-bike run at the Red Bull Rampage in Utah was an vertigo-inducing as anything I’ve seen. For good measure, he threw in a lazy backflip over a 20-metre canyon.
3. NotBad
Mountain biking lends itself to good footage, but in the opener to NotBad, a mountain-biking movie shot in New Zealand, the lads hadn’t even climbed onto the bikes before it went all wow. The opening scene ran for about 90 seconds but took just four seconds to film. It all becomes clear when you watch it.
2. Pipeline Winter 2013
Take surfing’s most famous location and film it from a drone and you get this amazing collection of vision. This video is beautiful for its perspective on the surfing but also on the waves themselves. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched this, and I don’t even surf.
1. Kayak-Free Kayaking
My undoubted favourite last year was the epic tale of kayak-free kayaking…take the sport of kayaking and remove the kayak, as Trip Deacon did. “Who’s saying you need a kayak to go kayaking?” Profound and revolutionary.
Nice collection. The pipeline and Kainos are my favorites, Water must be calling me!
There’s a lot to like about those water ones. And even the lack of water in kayak free kayaking…
Good stuff mate, loved the concept from Notbad!
Cheers Cam, brilliant isn’t it, that Notbad. Hope you’re busy.
Cross country snowboarding…I’m laughing out loud.