The Redbull Divide and Conquer is a three-stage race during which a three-person team has one member of their team cover each leg. This year's event took place on June 8 on Vancouver's spectacular North Shore. The video below gives you an idea of what it is all about, but judging from how amazing each leg of the course looks, I'd have a hard time deciding which discipline I'd want to do the most. It all looks spectacular to me! And as a side note, I'm jealous that hose living in Vancouver have this outdoor playground right in their backyard. It looks beautiful.

Canyoneering is a sport that has been growing in popularity in recent years thanks in part to its intriguing mix of climbing, hiking and exploration. In a nutshell, canyoneering sends us down into the depths of a narrow slot canyon looking for a way out. It has caught on in the canyon-rich places like Utah or the ALps, and now there is a group of outdoor enthusiasts bringing the sport to Vancouver.

The video below is a trailer for a film called Down the Line and it follows a couple of canyoneers as they go out looking for a first descent in the Squamish mountains. If the full film is as beautiful as this teaser video, it looks like we'll be in for quite a treat when the full film becomes available. It looks spectacular.


Down The Line - Trailer from Francois-Xavier De Ruydts on Vimeo.

You've heard me mention the FEAT events on more than one occasion on this blog. Originating in South Africa, FEAT stands for Fascinating Expedition & Adventure Talks during which guest speakers are given seven minutes to share an important aspect of their adventures in a style that is similar to TED Talks. Speakers generally include mountaineers, outdoor endurance athletes, rock climbers, kayakers, explorers and more.

Previous versions of the event have been held in Cape Town and Johannesburg over the past couple of years but now the FEAT format is coming to North America. On March 8, FEAT Canada will take place at the Rio Theater in Vancouver where a number of interesting guests will take to the stage to tell their story. And since that day also happens to be International Woman's Day, there will be a particular emphasis on female adventurers.

Some of the speakers that will be sharing their stories at FEAT Canada include ultramarathoner Ellie Greenwood, adventure racer Jen Segger, mountain biker Aimee Dunn and adventure photographer Robin O'Neill. In all, there will be a total of nine speakers, with each strictly timed to just seven minutes each. That adds up to one full night of adventure that will be hard to beat.

If you're in Vancouver, or will be there next weekend, you'll definitely want to drop by the event. Tickets are available online or at the door the night of the show.

Kayakers bobble past, waving at friends on the beach. A floatplane shimmies over the park, diving to its watery landing strip. A chattery hubbub bounces off the gleaming glass towers that forest the city like latter-day totems.

When the Olympic Winter Games rolled into town in 2010, there was no shortage of jaw-dropping visuals, instantly inspiring people around the world to check out Canada's immigration procedures. Vancouver is, after all, one of the cities that routinely tops those lists of the world's greatest places to live. But beyond the breathtaking snowcapped crags, city-hugging beaches and dense waterfront forests lies a comparatively young metropolis that's still trying to discover its true identity - less than 150 years after a 'gassy' Englishman rowed in and kicked it all off with a makeshift pub.
Covering the city's main outdoor, museum and gallery attractions will certainly keep you busy for a few days. After that it's highly advisable to start digging beneath the surface to find out what really makes this laid-back lotusland tick. You'll discover that the 'real Vancouver' is in the clamorous Commercial Dr coffee shops, the hipster hangouts of SoMa, the gay-friendly streets of the West End, the kaleidoscopic thoroughfares of Chinatown and the historic, re-invigorated old streets of Gastown, where that original pub once stood.
Of course, the rest of the world will know all about this in 2010. Why not beat them to it by dropping by for your own urban adventure - coupled with a giant doorstep of outdoor attractions.

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