In parts the narration sounds a bit over-the-top to me, but it ultimately offers some insight into why extreme athletes put themselves into dangerous situations over and over again, which, in a media environment filled with idolatry and uncritical praise for achievement, is both refreshing and needed.

What do you think?

Lead photo is NOT Steve House, and is by schoeband

The post Shattered: The Mind of a Driven Climber appeared first on XpatMatt.

The post My House Hunters International Episode appeared first on XpatMatt.

In 1963 Will Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein’s made a historic traverse of Mount Everest, the first traverse (climbing and descending by different routes) of any Himalayan peak. To do this they had to ascend Everest’s treacherous West Ridge. This year North Face athletes Conrad Anker and Corey Williams plan to recreate that expedition.  In this video Mark Jenkins, climber and award-winning author, gives the pair a “50:50 and chance of summiting or dying”.

I’m looking forward to following the expedition on NatGeo. Good luck boys!

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About a year ago I received an email from a company called Leopard Films. It asked if I would like to be on a television show called House Hunters International. I don’t watch TV, so I’d never heard of the show. From the cheesy name of the production company and the strange disco-ball logo on their letterhead I assumed that the email was from a low-budget cable access network of some kind and ignored it. A few days later I happened across the email again. This time I decided to answer it out of curiosity.

The production company asked me to send them a three-minute audition video (you can watch it below if you’re really interested).

On the basis of those three minutes the producers at House Hunters International decided to do an episode about me looking for a house in Taiwan.

I didn’t know how popular the show was until I wrote on Facebook that I would be appearing on the show. Several of my friends commented that it was their favorite show or that they watched it all the time. The director of the episode later told me, if I recall correctly, that the show has somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 million viewers.

Two weeks ago an Australian director, Paul, and a British cameraman who lives in Bangkok, Julian, came to Taiwan to film the episode in a very busy three days. Jeannie Mark, also known as Nomadic Chick, happened to be in Taiwan visiting, so she joined in as my sidekick with whom I looked at houses and discussed the pros and cons of each house. My friend, photographer Richard Matheson, also made an appearance playing the role of the helpful seasoned expat showing me the houses.

We hammed it up quite a bit for the camera. Many jokes about my personal habits were made. Several references to the suitability of each house for orgies were uttered (although I assume that they will be edited out). Paul and Julian were extremely professional and laidback, so the whole shoot was very chill.

In short, it went great.

And, sometime next year, most likely in May or June, the episode will run and I will have my 3 minutes of reality TV fame.

I was kind of hoping that I would become the next Tim Cahill, but now it looks like I’m closer to being the next Kim Kardashian.

The post I’m Almost Famous appeared first on XpatMatt.

I shot this video using my favorite new toy, GoPro® HD Helmet HERO Camera(affiliate link). It’s small, inexpensive, fisheyed, waterproof, and can be mounted to anything. I love it!

The post Video: Cycling in Tainan, Taiwan appeared first on XpatMatt.

I shot this video using my favorite new toy, GoPro® HD Helmet HERO Camera(affiliate link). It’s small, inexpensive, fisheyed, waterproof, and can be mounted to anything. I love it!

About the Guide

Thanks to Barking Deer Adventures for the epic day!

The post Video: Hiking in Hualien County, Taiwan appeared first on XpatMatt.

Last summer I took part in the Mongol Rally; an overland journey with a difference. Travelling from the UK, through the remote and unreported lands of Central Asia, to Mongolia would be hard enough even without the rule that vehicles must have a sub 1.2 litre engine. With a car better suited for the weekly supermarket trip rather than a six week, trans-continental, partly off-road journey, many teams naturally don’t make it to the finish line in Ulaanbaatar. Nothing, from the overall goal to daily plans, is ever guaranteed and it is this unpredictability that makes the Mongol Rally one of the most unique adventures that’s easily accessible to most travellers.

As aspiring filmmakers, we jumped at the opportunity to make a documentary capturing every detail of life spent on the road: the exhilarating highs and the crushing lows; the friends we made and the fascinating countries we visited. However, we needed a hook – something that would set us apart from the 300 or so other teams also taking part – and so we hatched a plan that would also solve our space problem by building our roof box in the shape and size of a Mongolian yak.

The yak more than lived up to our expectations. Not only did it become the focal point of countless camera-phones , elevating us to the status of minor celebrity, but it broke down barriers of language and culture, and garnered us heaps of hospitality and generosity along the way.

Best of all, it also provided the perfect observation deck to contemplate the changing scenery (while risking life and limb in the process!).

Below is a teaser featuring a collection of still photography from the trip. Enjoy!

For more information about our upcoming documentary and our travel blogs, please visit our website: http://returnoftheyak.com

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The waves were apparently caused by a low-pressure system over Iceland that sent them barelling nearly 600 miles to Ireland.  Scientists say that this system only occurs about once every five years, so, you can bet that the surfers will be back in 2015 for another go, kind of like Patrick Swayze in Point Break waiting for the 50-year storm (except not as handsome and without Keanu Reeves chasing them while making witty remarks in his trademark monotone).

So, if nobody else saw the waves, and nobody knows where they were, then how do we know they weren’t lying?  Video of course.  Check it out.

I noticed in this video that one of the surfers wiped out. I also surf and I’ve found that a wave just eight feet high will toss me around under the water like a child swinging a doll by the leg. Surfing waves this size is no joke.  They are five stories of water crashing down right behind, and, if you’re not fast enough, on top of you.  They have enough force to hold you under water for long periods of time, and push you down to depths of uncomfortable pressure.  According to renowned big wave surfer James Williams a wave of that size has the ability to dislocate limbs, and even kill, by the sheer magnitude of the force of the water. Hear more about big wave wipeouts in the video below.

Although the waves that the surfers in Ireland surfed were big, they were far from the biggest.  The waves they rode were 55 feet tall at the most.  The biggest wave in history, by contrast, was a tsunami that hit Litya Bay, Alaska in 1958, which was more than 1780 feet high. The biggest waves ever surfed were said to be over 75 feet high, and were ridden by a group of surfers on a reef 105 kilometers of the coast of Southern California. The video below is said to be of one of those rides.

Most big-wave surfers, like those who caught the waves last weekend in Ireland, need to be pulled into big waves by jet-skis because they cannot paddle fast enough to catch the wave. The record set for the biggest wave ever paddled into was set by Shawn Dollars this year at the Billabong Global XXL Big Wave Awards for catching a 55+ foot wave.  Below is the highlight video from the contest, featuring some enormous waves spectacular wipeouts.  Enjoy!

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