Extreme Sports
The peaks and troughs of extreme sports
Image by : Corbis
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It is the closest you’ll come to being a bird. You wear a wing suit and leap off a cliff 984 m high, against a spectacular landscape of fjords carved out during the Ice Age by receding glaciers. And you land onto the icy cold waters below. One of the best places to leap from is at Kjerag in Lysebotn, Norway. Visiting Lysebotn and not leaping off a cliff is akin to going to Agra and not seeing the Taj Mahal. Well, kind of.
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At the beaches of North Goa, you may stumble upon a rather compelling sight: Athletic sun worshippers holding onto a rope while being dragged and brought to their knees almost as if they were lassoed to an invisible, unruly beast of immense strength. They are merely practising in the sand, a prelude to the battle they will face at sea with water and wind. Surfers raise the bar by riding the waves at breakneck speed powered by a large kite that harnesses the energy of the wind. Their bodies contort as they leap high over the waves. The places to kite surf are Skanör and Habo Ljung near the city of Malmö in Sweden.
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you lie face up on a modified skateboard, two inches off a tarmac and let go of yourself—without the security of breaks—rushing downhill at speeds exceeding 120 km/hour with only your feet to steer you clear of any oncoming objects, which includes other street lugers. It’s only for the strong-hearted with a reasonable recent fitness regime and a drive that goes beyond that needed for four-wheelers. Private roads with a challenging incline are essential, so we recommend spots around Eastbourne and Cotswolds in the UK
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In the deep waters of the Mexican Caribbean, you will be put to test. And you will be forced to appreciate the air your body craves. Take a deep breath, and dive at least 400 ft, the equivalent of a 40-storey skyscraper. Beware of the blood surge and the consequent blackouts on your way back to the surface, though: Of about 5,000 free-divers worldwide, an estimated 100 die every year
Image by : Corbis
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There is a peculiar thrill to a death-gasp as your reinforced boot slips off its grip on a tiny crevasse, while your body is stretched—straddled across two vertical walls of ice. A lightning-like terror surge courses through your body. Your brain goes quiet. You have no thoughts. Sounds cease. You have an out-of-body experience. Still want to try this? Go to the Canadian Rockies or Colorado in the US. Or even better, East Iceland
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