The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) [Paperback]

Greg Witt (Author), Rough Guides (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2008 | Series: Rough Guide Travel Guides

Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel features adventures for all travellers, including “soft” experiences for those testing their bravery levels and extreme adventures for adrenalin junkies, each rated by physical, psychological, skill and wow factor! Whether your appetite for adrenalin takes you to arctic freezes, ocean depths or sweltering deserts, this book will tell you the how, why and when to plan your ultimate adventure. Experienced tour leader and trekker extraordinaire, Greg Witt brings cultural sensitivity and humour, as well as concise practical information. The guide is packed with maps & safety advice and includes information on all the best local guides. Make the most of your time on Earth with this spectacular foray into world adventures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Ultimate Adventures is fantastic. It s well written, perfectly organized, and absolutely inspiring. These adventures are irresistible. --Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, World Record Holder, Fastest Everest Summiter

We recommend Ultimate Adventures for all your camel-trekking-in-the-Sahara, rock-climbing-at-Joshua-tree, Pacuare-River-rafting needs. Beautiful photography and tantalizing descriptions are coupled with informative Need to Know sections that spell out the who-what-when-where-and-how that will help you get your adventure under way. --bibliodklept.com

Adrenaline seekers can plan a lifetime of vacations with "Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel". From trekking in the Karakoram to dog sledding in the Yukon, each entry comes with stunning photos and practical info --Express

If you are a dreamer or doer, this is the book for you. If you know how to upright a swamped canoe, this is the book for you. If you don't, this book will tell you how. If pictures are about as far as you want to go with this kind of exotic planning, this book is for you…What a great big, fat, great book this is! Go for it! --MyShelf.com

About the Author

Greg Witt has lived the adventures he writes about and shares with audiences around the world. His journeys have taken him to every corner of the globe. Witt has guided mountaineering expeditions in the Alps and Andes and paddled wild rivers in the Americas. He has trudged through deep jungles in Africa, Central America, and Asia and guided archeological expeditions across the parched Arabian Peninsula. He has dropped teams of adventurers into golden slot canyons and dived with dolphins in tropical waters. His passion for adventure has always focused on sharing his experience with others.

Witt has led mountaineering teams to the top of Mount Rainier, the Matterhorn, and Peru s Pisco. He has crossed the Grand Canyon on foot eight times, trekked the Inca Trail, rafted the Snake and Colorado rivers, explored Costa Rica s cloud forest, and summited Colorado s three highest peaks in three days. He has kayaked on the Sea of Cortez, windsurfed in the Caribbean, dived in Hawaii, cycled the California coast, and ski toured in Utah s Wasatch Mountains.

Following his B.A. from the University of California in Comparative Culture and a Masters in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University, Witt began his career in human resources management with Exxon. For over two decades Witt has guided young people on wilderness treks and canoe expeditions and has received awards from the Boy Scouts of America for his service to youth.

Witt launched his own travel company which he developed into a multi-million dollar business within three years. He became a recognized leader in adventure and incentive travel and was a consulting editor for Travel Agency Management and a frequent contributor to travel publications and newsletters. In addition to his travel, Witt has led and been an actively involved in humanitarian and relieve missions in Argentina, Cameroon, Peru, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Mexico, and Romania.

Witt has served on the board of directors of Serac Mountaineering Club and is a member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. His audience connects with him at TheAdventure100.com where they can find valuable downloads, news, information and podcasts. They can also follow Greg s daily dispatches and commentary on his Outdoor Adventure blog at gregwitt.blogspot.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 1 edition (September 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858281997
• ISBN-13: 978-1858281995
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #707,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enough ideas to last a lifetime, January 29, 2009

By 

Tim Leffel "author, The World's Cheapest Dest... (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

This guide is oddly deficient for some parts of the globe, but provides plenty of great wanderlust ideas. First the bad part. Of the 48 adventures listed for North America, there are exactly three in the U.S. that are east of the Mississippi River. Apparently the Canadian Rockies aren't good for much either and there's nothing to do in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, or the Middle East. (An adventure guide without Petra or Wadi Rum?)

But none of us will get to more than a fraction of the options anyway. There are a slew of choices on each continent, some well-worn (walking the Camino de Santiago, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro), plus some true battles with danger (skiing to the South Pole). Each is rated on categories that determine, "Is this for me?" There are star levels corresponding to "physical, psych, skill, and wow." For the tours I have actually done myself, the descriptions and information were accurate, but the target reader is obviously someone with plenty of money. The recommended outfitters are often the most expensive ones out there and apparently people who do adventure tours are scared of public buses.

If you're looking for ideas though or just want to stoke your wanderlust, this will get the heart pumping. Packed with great photos, plenty of instructions, and bonus helpings of fun facts, this is a book worth savoring during your cubicle daydreams. [...]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars accurate and veritable, January 12, 2009

By 

arzewski (pittsburgh, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

I reluctantly took this book, thinking it was another bungee-jumping adrenaline-rush guidebook for the quick-marketing need-to-be-impressed crowd, but as I read some of the descriptions, I was impressed by the accuracy in the experience described, as I personally have done in the past some of the routes they suggest. For example, towards the 10th mile of the 12 mile Virgin River Zion Narrows hike, the author mentions that you encounter the tourists wading the river upstream, you know the end is near (sooo true...). The description of the Via Ferrata concept in the Dolomites is very accurate, quite unique in the travel books for the North American reader audience. And the book is not necessarily for those that need to be young and fit and risk-takers, as there are many trip suggestions for the simple walker, such as Adrian's Wall in northern England, and the Camino de Campostela in France-Spain. Nice was also the small tips such as the top five one-day trips that can be done on the Appalachian Trail. So, in a nutshell, this book is a refreshing return to a REALISTIC DO-ABILITY.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Dreamers and Doers, November 11, 2008

By 

H. Legler (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

Lewis and Clark. John Wesley Powell. Greg Witt. They're all tops in the field of adventure travel. And they know their stuff. Trust them.

Ultimate Adventures takes you on a whiplash ride from O2-thin summits to batty caves--and everywhere in between. It's an exciting read, as well as a fantastic trip-planning tool. It's filled with fascinating background details and how-to tips for 177 of the world's greatest outdoor adventures. It's all here: hiking, diving, surfing, kayaking, kiteboarding, mountain biking, dog-sledding. Plenty of compelling photos, too.

Each adventure comes with an "Is this for me" rating which assesses the physical demands, the psych or emotional challenge, the skill required, and the overall "Wow!" it delivers--so you know what you're getting into.

Ultimate Adventures is a therapeutic book for those suffering from Stage II, III or IV Wanderlust. (See Wanderlust-o-Meter below for a handy diag tool) It will feed your need for intense adventure, thrilling (yet accessible) peaks, exotic treks, exceptional wildlife viewing, and wild rivers waiting to be run. No more lame vacation - or worse yet, "staycations" (whoever thought that was a good idea?).

If you have money to spend on travel, and are way past Stage I Wanderlust, then buy a copy of Ultimate Adventures and start dog-earring.

WANDERLUST-O-METER
Stage I - My last adventure trip was in 1987 when I wandered the "realistic" European villages at Disneyworld. Wow!
Stage II - I subscribe to every travel magazine there is and usually spend my tax return on a trip to somewhere I've never been.
Stage III - My best vacation is your worst nightmare. Don't make me lie on a beach in Hawaii. I crave excitement. Heliskiing? Sure! Whitewater rafting? Bring it on!
Stage IV - Ultimate Adventure? I'm reading this with my headlamp from the bottom of a cave at Borneo (see p. 286).