Extreme Sports

Archive for February, 2011

1. Kitesurfing

If you love kitesurfing than you know what I am talking about and if you haven’t tried it yet, Egypt is a beautiful place to start. Excellent conditions, sea temperatures hardly fall below 18 degrees Celsius. There are many well developed destinations here where you can experience this thrilling sport.

2. It’s a paradise for scuba diving

While kite surfing is for those who want to stay above the surface of water, but for those who want to explore the world underneath Scuba diving in Egypt is a must. Egypt offers some of the best diving spots in the world, with some stunning reefs and not to forget the famous submerged wreck of SS Thistlegorm.

3. One of the Oldest Civilizations

Egyptian civilization is one of the oldest in the world, dates back more than 5000 years. The overwhelming huge architectural structures, the pyramids that never cease to mystify men, and the thousands years of culture beautifully entwined in their lives can never disappoint any soul.

4. Land of Adventure

The beautiful terrains of the country are sure to inspire any adventure seeker. The never ending desserts, the Nile Delta, camel trains, Bedouin villages, the many adventure sports in the desserts of Sahara, there is so much to experience.

5. Value for Money

Egypt is a place where you can try quality and variety of adventure sports combined with the breath taking natural surroundings. It is pretty cheap compared to other adventure sports spots in the world, which makes it a hot favorite among adventure enthusiasts around the world.

What initially was devise as a method of descending from steep slopes, Abseiling a.k.a. Rappelling has come up as a popular adventure sports.

1. Origin – The origin of this technique of descending steep slopes is credit to Jean Esteril Charlet (1840 – 1925). He was Champion guide who developed this method after a failed attempt to climb Petit Dru alone in 1876. After some more failed attempts in 1879 he finally managed to reach the summit with the help of two Chamonix guides. It was during his this climb that he perfected the abseil.

2. The Word ‘Abseilen’ – is a German word which means ‘to rope down’.

3. Highest Abseil in the World – Maletsunyane Falls near Semonkong Lesotho, Africa measuring a drop of 240 m is the Highest Abseil in the World.

4. Most Expensive Abseil – The 128m high Blade Building in Reading, London has 14 floors and is considered the most expensive structure for abseiling in the world. The building was used Royal Berkshire’s Hospital for raising fund for high tech surgical robots.

5. Many purposes, one technique

This technique of descending steep slopes is used for many diverse purposes

i. When canyon hikers need to travel down a mountainous water system.

ii. By rock clamberers to return to their point of start.

iii. Rescue workers use this method to access injured people.

iv. Also used by industrial and commercial jobs that involves cleaning of tall structures.