Want to Ride a Bike to the South Pole in 2016?

The 2015 Antarctic season is just barely getting underway, but there is already a reason to start looking ahead to next year. That's because TDA Cycling � a company that specializes in long distance trips by bike � has announced the first ever guided bike expedition to the South Pole.

The new trip will launch in December of 2016, and will cover the last degree to Pole. Riders will be flown to the 89th parallel to begin their journey in Punta Arenas, Chile where they will first spend four days prepping for the challenges they'll face out on the ice. After that, it'll be on to Union Glacier Ice Camp for a brief stay before proceeding to the 89th parallel, which is where they'll start pedaling to the Pole. It is expected to take nine days to cover the distance to 90�S, with the team covering approximately 20km (12.4 miles) per day.

The ride will be conducted on fat bikes, which are the only ones that are suitable for the Antarctic terrain. These types of bikes are big, and heavy, but the wide tires are very forgiving on snow and ice. There have already been a couple of people who have ridden to the South Pole, so the usefulness of the fat bike has already been proven in these conditions.

Before you can sign up for this one-of-a-kind tour, TDA is requiring all participants to first take part in a training ride in Lake Winnipeg this coming February. That tour will be used to get everyone accustomed to riding in the snow, and get acquainted with their bikes. Successfully completing the training ride will demonstrate to the TDA guides that you are ready for your polar expedition.

As you can imagine, a trip like this one doesn't come cheap. The price is $70,000, which doesn't include flights to Punta Arenas, travel insurance, gear, the Lake Winnipeg training session, or even a bike. In other words, this is one expensive adventure. But if you have the cash, it looks like it would be the experience of a lifetime.

Check out this tour, and all of TDA's cycling expedition, on the company's website. And watch the video below for more information.

Video: On Safari in South Africa

Most of the time when we get a beautiful timelapse video it features stunning landscapes and occasionally a spectacular night sky. But this one was shot in South Africa while on safari, so not only do you get a chance to see some great scenery, but plenty of wildlife too. Shot in Marakele Reserve, Madikwe Reserve, and Sabi Sands, this gives you a taste of what to expect while on safari there.

And when you're ready to travel to South Africa yourself, Mountain Travel Sobek can help. They offer several trips to that country, including a week long safari to some of the places shown in this video.

SAFARI South Africa | A Time-Lapse Film - In 4K from Tyler Fairbank on Vimeo.

Video: 142 Miles From Monday - Mountain Biking the Kokopelli Trail

The Kokopelli Trail runs for 142 miles between Loma, Colorado and Moab, Utah. It is an epic route the draws mountain bikers on a regular basis, and in this video we join three friends who set out to ride its entire length. Along the way, we get plenty of great scenery and an amazing look at the route, but we also get a healthy dose of inspiration as well. There is a great message here about pursuing the things that you are passionate about in life, and breaking away from the routine to seek your own path. It is a good message, and one that we should hear more often. Either way, this is a great short film about three friends on an amazing ride that can be completely enjoyed on that level too.

142 Miles From Monday from Alex Witkowicz on Vimeo.

Video: Teaser for Snowboarding Film The Fourth Phase

I don't post a lot of snowboarding and skiing films on The Adventure Blog, but this one looks so utterly fantastic that I had to share the teaser trailer for it. It is called The Fourth Phase, and it comes our way from the same team that brought us the critically acclaimed Art of Flight a few years back. The film features the return of pro rider Travis Rice, along with a host of other snowboarders, as they travel the globe looking for epic powder. Based on the fantastic scenery that is on display here, this documentary will be worth watching just for the landscapes alone. Oh, and the snowboarding looks pretty great too. Take a look below.

Adventure Tech: The North Face Uses Virtual Reality to Take Us to Nepal

Way back in January of this year, I told you about a project that The North Face had been working on to use virtual reality technology to provide an immersive outdoor experience to customers visiting the company's retail stores. The initial VR videos took viewers to Yosemite National Park and Moab, Utah where they could explore the landscapes there using high tech VR headsets and incredible 3D movies. Now, that program is expanding further, this time taking us into the Himalaya in Nepal.

The new VR film is entitled "The North Face: Nepal" and it was made in conjunction with Jaunt Studios. It is a 3D film that offers 360� views of the mountain landscapes found in that country in high definition, but with the ability to look in any direction at any given time. The video was shot in Nepal last February, in the heart of winter, providing a look at the Himalaya at a time of the year that few people ever get to experience. It was then that TNF athlete Renan Ozturk traveled to the mountains to test the new Summit Series of gear, and he helped capture the VR footage.

The film reportedly takes us from the city into the foothills of the Himalaya, before proceeding up into the mountains themselves. The journey begins in the famed Monkey Temple in Kathmandu, passes through the Thamel shopping district, before proceeding out to the Khumbu Valley, passing through villages along the way. Eventually it takes us to the top of Lobuche Peak as well.

As with the previous VR videos, this one will be available in The North Face retail outlets. But, you don't have to visit those stores to get an idea of what this virtual reality experience is all about. The video is also available for free from the Google Play and iOS App store through the Jaunt app. Don't own a pair of VR goggles to watch it through? Than just pick up the latest issue of Outside magazine, as it comes with a Google Cardboard headset that will help approximate the full experience.

This story, coupled with the one earlier in the week about a virtual reality version of Everest coming in 2016, heralds the advent of a new era in VR technology. The promise of virtual reality has been out there for decades, but it seems like we finally have the proper tech to make it truly happen. While these experiences will never replace the actually feeling of going outside and visiting these places for ourselves, it is still exciting to see it all come together.

I haven't had the chance to try out one of these VR films yet, but I think I may have to make a point of dropping by my North Face store very soon. Find out more about the "Nepal Experience" in this article from Outside Online.

Ueli Steck Sets New Speed Record on The Eiger

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Swiss climber Ueli Steck. It wasn't all that long ago that he was in the Himalaya attempting a summit of Nuptse, and now he is back home in the Alps, and enjoying some time in the mountains that he knows best. That includes climbing The Eiger recently with mountain runner Kilian Jornet. But now Ueli has reminded us why he called "the Swiss Machine" by also setting a new record for a speed climb on that same mountain.

On Monday of this week, Ueli set off on the famous Heckmair Route in good conditions and with great weather. He later posted a photo of himself on the summit, showing his recorded time on his Suunto watch. The display read 2:22:50.7, which means he was able to top out in under 23 minutes. Thats five minutes faster than the 2 hours and 28 minutes it took Dani Arnold to summit the same route back in 2011, when he set the previous record. It should be noted that Arnold used fixed ropes on his ascent, while Ueli does not. For purists, that added an asterisk to the previous mark.

Ueli is certainly no stranger to The Eiger. He climbs it regularly, and it is part of his personal playground in the Alps. In fact, he set a record of 2 hours, 44 minutes back in 2008. That was the record that Arnold later broke. It has been a few years since than, and that record held up well, but it seems Ueli has lowered the mark even further. The funny thing is, he probably didn't even set out to break a record, but was instead just trying to climb while the weather conditions were good. But we all know how fast Steck can be once he gets rolling.

Congrats tu Ueli on setting the new mark. He was as impressive always.

Video: Male Lion Proves Why He is the 'King of the Jungle'

Shot in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, this video is a stark reminder of why the male lion is often referred to as the "King of the Jungle." The video shows a pride of female lions who had recently taken down a buffalo. The fresh kill attracted a swarm of hyenas and jackals to the feast, to the point that those scavengers were overwhelming the big cats. That is until the "big boy" show up. When a large male lion appears on the scene, he sends the intruders running with quite a display of ferocity.

Warning: the clip may be a bit hard to watch for some, but it is an impressive display of what happens in the animal kingdom.