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If you could take a year or so off from responsibility what extreme sport...

Xenomorph

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
15,447
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...would you take up? You know.. if you didn't have a job, a mortgage, kids or a family that would crap if you didn't show up for Thanksgiving dinner.

I've often thought of what it'd take to climb Everest or K2 and I've read several books about both. In the end though, I just wouldn't want to spend nearly $100K only to have my toes and nose amputated after sitting for 24 hrs in the death zone and not even reach the summit.

No.. I'd take a year and become a really good surfer with my goals set on surfing big waves. Mavericks or Wiamea.

Anybody here ever done it? Surfed big stuff? I've been up on a few ankle busters.. 4 footers or so with my longest ride around 5-6 seconds.
 
Xenomorph

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
15,447
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Sigh... I figured this thread would go sideways pretty quickly. *

*
 
A

AssEndDawg

Freshman
Aug 1, 2007
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I lived the dream

I had a nice period in my late 20's and early 30's where I had the devastating combination of money and a lot of free time. Here is what I did:

I'm a certified advance scuba diver. One class away from Dive Master but didn't push it since I don't want to teach. I'm Nitrox and deep certified so I can pretty much do it all. Don't go deep anymore though, just not worth the risk.

Fully certified and trained sky diver. Quit this fast though, right after I got my certification. Too dangerous for me and I found that I enjoyed being under canopy more than I liked the free fall which led to:

Flying paragliders and powered paragliders. So worth it! It looks crazy but it's actually the safest form of flight. There just isn't much like being 8000 ft. in the air hanging by some cords. It's nothing like skydiving, you aren't hanging from a harness that is squeezing your nuts, you are actually kicked back in a seat in a nice, relaxing position.

But alas, I'm getting older now and the responsibilities have mounted. No more time for foolish adventures. I still scuba dive some and get tempted to dust off the paraglider for some easy stuff but definitely not the wild man I was before.
 
Xenomorph

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
15,447
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I've thought about that...

And while it's appealing in an at-least-I-won't-die kind of a way, I'd want to do something where I needed to learn or acquire a skill.
 
T

tenureplan

All-Conference
Dec 3, 2008
8,558
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Stop at one of the rafting places, live in a bus, learn to kyack and be a rafting guide.
 
seshomoru

seshomoru

Junior
Apr 24, 2006
5,603
293
83
Swim...

for extremely long distances at one time.

or learn to scuba and swim with the sharks
 
FISHDAWG

FISHDAWG

Redshirt
Dec 27, 2009
2,077
0
36
not so extreme, but after 8 months of unemployment my handicap dropped 8 strokes from 12 down to a 4 ... now I'm back at work and it's starting to climb again ... also, I lost 30 lbs. doing what I wanted to do every day instead of sitting behind a desk doing what someone else wanted me to do
 
Xenomorph

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
15,447
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I've done scuba a couple of times...

... I can't go deep. I have too much trouble clearing my ears. (also read: my damn ears won't clear at all). Anything over 20 feet gives me a vicious headache.

I've thought of hang gliding around Sugarloaf.. but never paragliding. Interesting.
 
Xenomorph

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
15,447
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Two words... 17 THAT...

I trained for a couple of months and did a half marathon this year. Umm... Never. Again.

There's a reason NOBODY has smiles on their faces while running a marathon. Ain't **** about that fun.

Mix in a 2 mile swim and a 100 mile bike? Nuh uh...
 
J

JackShephard

Senior
Sep 27, 2011
1,537
674
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Snowboard as many places in the world as possible and do some blue water trophy fishing. I would also spend a LOT of time catching as many not so elusive pink snappers as possible (no wife and kids for a year and all).
 
J-Dawg

J-Dawg

Junior
Mar 4, 2009
2,218
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Snow ski various places all winter and fish as many places I could during warmer months.
 
B

Big Sheep81

Freshman
Feb 24, 2008
2,134
55
48
Hunt Alaska, Africa, and Russian Siberia and then swing through Afghanistan.....

Hunt a Taliban or two there (not sure about the bag limit) and pick up a cheap AK...
 
Shmuley

Shmuley

Heisman
Mar 6, 2008
23,865
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I'm sure you've seen the 5 minute stop motion video called the "Green Tunnel." Just in case others haven't seen it, I wanted to stick a reference in this thread. Just google "green tunnel."
 
S

Stuttgart

Redshirt
Apr 15, 2007
165
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And there's your problem..

2 months of training for a half marathon is incredibly insufficient. Most training programs are 12-16 weeks, and assume you are already working with a weekly base of 10-15 miles.
 
Xenomorph

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
15,447
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When I started my "training" I was already running 15-18 a week.

You must know my wife.. she comes at me with the "you just don't run distance enough to really enjoy it". .......*****, please.
 
F

fishwater99

Freshman
Jun 4, 2007
14,073
54
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Be a Powderhound in the Rocky Mountains...

Follow the snow, I did this in 1997-1998. We followed the snow if it was within a days drive and we could get off work or call in sick.
Got 56" in Wolf Creek on day. It was beyond Epic, we had to wait 2 hrs for them to open the lift...
The Waterfall area was awesome that day...
I have skied over 30" several times in Colorado, but nothing can compare to that day...


I would also like to play golf everyday for a year to see how low my handicap would get.
It would be nice to be able to shoot even par again on 18...
 
S

Stuttgart

Redshirt
Apr 15, 2007
165
0
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Nope, but I know people who run but just don't enjoy distance running, or can't get into it for whatever reason, so I understand. To me, it's fun.
 
F

FlabLoser

Redshirt
Aug 20, 2006
10,709
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I'd like to hike & camp in Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies for an extended period. I've been to both for fair short times. Parts of the Canadian Rockies felt like being on another planet. That going-to-the-sun road just keeps going up-up-up.
 
D

DerHntr

All-Conference
Sep 18, 2007
15,829
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Do some really high altitude hunting with muzzleloader or bow only for sheep

Hike the AT

Train for Ninja Warrior

Become a stunt man
 
A

AssEndDawg

Freshman
Aug 1, 2007
3,183
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Paragliding is much safer than hang gliding, and more fun. You have to have really strong thermals to get a hang glider to climb but the paraglider grabs just about anything. Once you are in the air you can usually just watch the bigger birds (hawks, buzzards, etc.) and they will show you where the thermals are. I've been circling upward within a couple feet of a hawk and he was just giving me the "hey, what's up man?" look. Pretty cool.

Powered paragliding is a little more work. Running around with a scooter motor on your back is taxing but it's cool to be able to do it without wind or a mountain to jump off of. Get training if you do it though, people who think it's easy to figure out end up in power lines or a lake (lake + 40lbs of motor = bad).
 
Bulldog Bruce

Bulldog Bruce

All-American
Nov 1, 2007
4,766
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Extreme Fishing

Fish all over the world for the big fish like Blue Marlin, Great Whites, Tuna, Swordfish, Goliath Grouper, etc. Even mix in some of those giant freshwater fish.
 
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