I want to entertain an offhand theory that I've had ever since I became obsessed with indoor rock climbing two and a half years ago: It's great for geeks, and we should all be doing it. The concept is simple: you tie into a rope that hangs from the top of a wall and climb that wall according to color-coded fake rocks that are bolted into it. Within this simplicity lie some great life lessons that you can experience all while having an amazingly fun time: conquer your fears, solve puzzles, stay fit.

Imagine if you had a tackler coming at you, but you had no idea how strong it was or how to take it down. That's what the pro surfer deals with everyday. They tackle Mother Nature, yet when you see them emerge from the water, they have this look of rebirth and exhilaration. It's a lifestyle I admittedly know little about, as I have next to zero coordination. But I do have an immense appreciation for those that tackle the gods of the ocean. Especially when they are as gorgeous as the 20 surfer babes in this slideshow.

In 1989, Brad Dorfman reported a whopping 89-million dollars in company turnover for Vision Inc. Not too shabby. Two years prior, with business already blooming alongside the 80s skateboard explosion, Brad had to make what probably seemed like a rather mundane decision at the time. He kicked 27-year-old freestyle professional Steve Rocco off of Sims Skateboards, one of Vision’s many lucrative subsidiaries. By 1991, that very same man was at the helm of the best-selling company in skateboarding: World Industries and rumors were churning about Vision’s imminent bankruptcy. What happened? A man living on Natas Kaupas’ kitchen floor maxed out his credit card to buy $6,000 worth of boards, screened them, and then proceeded to all but tear down the “Big Five” (Vision, Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz, Thrasher, and Transworld), usher in a new era of street skating, give a heavy shot in the arm to the skater-owned company, and permanently change the rules by which skateboarders do business. He did so with little more than a keen sense of humor, an ear to the ground, fearless power moves, and an incredible knack for turning his weaknesses into advantages. That man would quickly become known throughout skateboarding simply as “Rocco”. The following are the broad strokes.

Childhood obesity rates are rising. Experts worry that childhoods spent hunched over video games will soon create a nation without sportsmen. On the flip side, a small number of children are racing into the record books by posting monster feats at younger and younger ages. Recently, Outside Magazine took a look at the rising movement of next-generation extreme adventurers. They highlighted the story of Jordan Romero, a precocious 13-year-old who plans to summit Mount Everest. If he succeeds, he would be the youngest person to do so. Jordan of Big Bear, Calif., is already an accomplished climber who has reached the tops of some of the world’s highest peaks. At age 10, Jordan and his parents climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Kosciusko in Australia, and Mount Elbrus in Europe, Outside Magazine reports. The next year, he was the youngest person ever to climb Aconcagua in South America and Denali in North America. Last year, he climbed Indonesia's 16,023-foot Carstensz Pyramid, the highest point in Oceania and the so-called "eighth" summit. Now, along with his father Paul Romero and Paul’s partner, Karen Lundgren, Jordan has his sights set on Everest. Jordan Romero trains daily to prepare for the extreme hardships of climbing the world’s tallest mountain. No longer in school, he follows an independent study program which allows him to focus on his climbing. The family has two hypoxic tents on loan. His mentors, Romero and Lundgren, are pro adventure racers. But Outside points out that Team Romero seems to operate in a world of all-consuming passions. There are no professional guides on the team, a detail that has experts concerned. If Jordan does complete his record-breaking summit, he'll be the only teen to do so without an experienced Everest climber on his team. While some point out the importance of Jordan being a role model for active kids, not many Everest climbers support the attempt. Russell Brice is one of Everest's most succe read more »

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The 24th annual Tough Guy Challenge took place last weekend, on Sunday, January 31st, on South Perton Farm, near Wolverhampton, England. Despite being billed as "the safest most dangerous taste of physical and mental endurance pain in the world", this year's race still attracted over 5,000 men and women - all of them signing a disclaimer saying "It's my own bloody fault for being here". About 600 racers did not complete the course this year - the winner being Paul Jones of Oswestry, England, completing the course in one hour 18 minutes. The Challenge is annual event to raise cash for charity with funds going to the Mr. Mouse Farm for Unfortunates. Special thanks today to photographer Mike King, who was kind enough to share 16 of his great photographs of the 2010 Tough Guy Challenge below. (31 photos total)

The surf break off the central California coast known as Maverick's produces one of the sport's most infamous waves. Part of what makes it so tricky lies in its powerful currents and frigid temperatures. On a typical winter day the water can average 48 degrees, while air temps can drop into the mid-30s. This fact alone separates Maverick's from other marquee big-wave spots in Mexico and Hawaii. The machinations below the surface of the Maverick's Surf Contest these days have a lot of the same unsettling qualities. How those machinations might impact the 24 contestants willing to launch themselves onto Mav's unpredictable 20-foot-plus walls of ocean will be discovered this winter -- whether the event is held or not. A dispute between the contest's principle organizers that has swirled for several years finally took under Jeff Clark, the man synonymous with the big-wave break. Clark, who founded the contest 10 years ago after surfing it alone for a stretch of 15 years, was unceremoniously dropped as contest director and stripped of any authority in Mavericks Surf Ventures, the company Clark formed to run the contest. Neither Clark nor Keir Beadling, the MSV CEO who announced Clark was "stepping down" only to have Clark quickly respond that he had been "ousted," will cite the reasons for Clark's departure. Both claim potential legal ramifications for their silence. Sources say that Clark was booted in June by Beadling and MSV's other board member, Mark Dwight, for everything from attempting to start a rival contest, to insisting on mega-size waves to stage the contest, to refusing to cede the use of his name and likeness wholly over to MSV. Those same sources say Clark plans to file a suit against Beadling and MSV but has not done so yet. "It's a classic bait-and-switch, followed by a squeeze-out, but it'll all come out in time," says Clark, who still owns shares in MSV but resigned from the MSV three-man board shortly after being removed as contest director. T read more »

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When Fergal Smith dropped in on a monster barrel two miles off the coast of Perth in Western Australia, he little realised he was also dropping in on a monster of another kind. For as he powered down the face of the 20-plus-foot wave, lurking there just a few feet from him was a 500-pound Great White Shark . Smith didn’t even realise how close he had come to an encounter with one of the ocean’s deadliest predators. Other surfers’ shaves with man-eating sharks are closer still.

There are plenty of daring souls in every performance industry that defy the normal rules of self-preservation every day, but since the mid-1800s there have been a different breed of risk-taker, the daredevil. These folks did more than risk their necks for the sake of entertainment, they advanced the fields of showmanship, stunt-work, safety devices and even contributed to such things as aviation and rescue equipment. They’re usually pioneers and visionaries, and they make history for a living; these are the 15 greatest daredevils in history.

I know snowboarding and skiing is fun, and believe me I enjoy watching it on TV whenever the Olympics roll around, but these kinds of stories are what make me terrified of actually getting off the bunny hills. There's a difference between fearless and careless. Fearless is what this photographer did when he snapped the pictures of the car crash. Careless may describe Austrian Kurt Welden, a 31 year old man, who was out for a nice snowboarding trip when he found himself clinging to the edge of a cliff for dear life at the Moelltal Glacier in Carinthia, Austria. After traveling off the marked trail, Welden realized he was hurtling towards the edge of a cliff but was able to stop just in time. As you can see from the crazy photos, he dug a little bit into the snow so he could hang on to the edge and await help. Help eventually did come for Welden. After about an hour rescue workers were able to lift him out by helicopter. I'm not sure how he hung on for that long without his board slipping or losing his grip on the mountain, but by some miracle he survived. Apparently the Moelltal Glacier is over 9,800 feet above sea level at its highest point. A little advice for Welden and others skiing on these high peaks: stay on the trail! I'm not sure if it was by accident or on purpose, but staying on the trail is the key to not ending up hanging off a cliff for dear life.

Let me set the scenario for all you folks watching at home. We all know racing cars is dangerous, but there are things that can be done to prevent injuries. Let's say you're a photographer (or anyone for that matter) and a 250-mph drag car comes hurdling at you, clearly out of control. If you have any respect for life, you probably run or at least start moving away from the wreck that is sure to injure you badly if you are caught in it. Seems logical enough, right? Well don't tell Andy Wilsheer that. Wilsheer takes his job way more seriously than his life apparently. During a drag race last month at Pomona Raceway in California, Steve Gasparrelli's Ford Mustang spun off right at the start of the race and immediately began crashing towards a row of photographers protected only by a small temporary barrier. Most of the photographers scurried out of the way, fearful for their lives. Andy Wilsheer did not, and while his courage was boneheaded at best and near-fatal at worst, it did allow him to obtain some amazing photos and also the respect of people everywhere for his gutsy performance. I wish this guy had been there when that million dollar car wrecked in Hong Kong, then we might have had some better shots of it. Now am I saying its good he did this because the photos are that amazing? No, but still you have to respect someone so passionate about their work that they are willing to risk life and limb to accomplish it. But seriously Andy, just get out of the way next time, okay?

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Any number of catastrophes could befall Katie Spotz in the next three months. She knows them all, and will rattle off all the potential and likely issues that could arise when she's by herself, surrounded by the nothingness of the Atlantic Ocean. There are salt sores. Blisters. Dehydration. Sunburn. Seasickness. Exhaustion. Loneliness. Landfall. Freighters. Sharks. Storms. Barring a broken bone, a major equipment failure or a lack of drinking water, the Mentor native is prepared to overcome them all. If she does, she will become the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Thousands of spectators and surfers are flocking to Hawaii's beaches to see the biggest waves in years crash ashore. Heavy traffic backed up for miles yesterday along roads leading to Oahu's North Shore. Some of the world's most daring surfers took on the powerful and dangerous waves, which forecasters say could reach heights of 50ft (15 metres) by tomorrow. The surf grew so large that a few beaches on Oahu and Maui were closed because lifeguards feared inexperienced sightseers could drown, according to state officials. 'After the water comes in, it can drag you back out with it,' said Eric Basta, a manager at Surf N Sea in Haleiwa. 'Be mindful of how powerful the surf really is.' As violent as the waves were, they are expected to growth in strength, according to the National Weather Service. The high waves are expected to continue throughout Wednesday. A legendary big wave surfing contest, the Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, may be held today for the first time since 2004 if waves reach a minimum of 40 feet (12 meters), organisers said. The event is only held in perfect conditions, and the waves weren't quite big or smooth enough on Monday. 'The swell energy is continuing to grow, and the waves may get larger,' said Robert Ballard, a forecaster for the National Weather Service. 'A large storm over the North Pacific has sent a wave train at us.' Hawaii hasn't seen such large waves since 2004 or 1998, he said. Teams of tow-in surfers - who use jet watercraft to race into waves too big to paddle - are flying to Maui from Brazil, South Africa and Australia, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.

Jamaican dog musher Newton Marshall arrived in Alaska on Sunday to begin a kind of three-month Iditarod boot camp with reigning champ Lance Mackey. Mackey, who plans to lend Marshall his lead dog from last year's winning team, is a blunt-talking cancer survivor who's won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race three years in a row. Marshall took up the sport on a Caribbean island where it never snows. Singer Jimmy Buffett is his main sponsor. In other words, Hollywood might as well start casting the movie now. After training with three-time Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt last year, Marshall placed 13th of 29 mushers in the 1,000-mile race from Whitehorse to Fairbanks. Now it's Mackey's turn as mentor, and his family spent three months building a cabin next to their Fairbanks home, where Marshall will live and train until the Iditarod in March. "He's going to be doing everything that we do," said Mackey, who is also a four-time Yukon Quest champion. "From cleaning dog crap to cutting meat. Prepping for the races. Obviously the training part of it. Everything that it takes to make this household run, he's going to be involved in," Mackey said.Mackey's wife, Tonya, greeted Marshall with a hug at the Anchorage international airport Sunday afternoon as the family prepared to climb into the black Dodge pickup Lance won at the last Iditarod for the hours-long drive back to Fairbanks. Mackey waited at home where he'd been running dogs until about 2 a.m. Marshall, 26, said he met the champion musher in Toronto earlier this month for a fundraiser for the fledgling Jamaica Dogsled Team. The visit included a Buffett concert where the "Margaritaville" singer dedicated a song to the young musher, said team founder Danny Melville. Marshall sometimes sings reggae songs to himself on the trail to keep his spirits up, he said. As the training begins, Mackey hopes that kind of crossover appeal brings more worldwide fans to dog mushing. He's also getting paid for his troubles, thou read more »

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