As I see it, they need 2 things

1. Cash and fast.

2. You to spend money in Nepal over the next few years

Idea…

If you have been to Nepal kayaking, paragliding, mountaineering  or anything why not host a slide show / film showing to raise immediate funds and to inspire people to book holidays.

I am doing one HERE

If you want to use the film Hanuman Airlines they just let me know.

Where to give you money?

I have been very moved by all the outdoor / adventure organisations that have dropped everything to help the rescue and relief effort.

Rafting and paragliding outfits are in a ideal position to get aid to help people. They are skilled at logistics, they can access places by river and air, they have fleets of off road trucks, they create camps for a living, they love their country and their fellow people and they have teams of talented people. However most importantly they have access to western dollar. Donating to some of these organisations will get money right where its needed right away, without delay. Please reconsider giving to a conventional charity and think about this grass roots giving. I am not saying the big charities don’t know what they are doing but I’d imagine quite bit goes towards their marketing and overheads. I’d urge you to consider donating to some of the following organisations who are on the ground getting supplies where they need to go. They simply love Nepal and want to help their own people.

I can personally vouch for all the following companies, please consider donating to them.

Chrissie Dawkins and Maila at GRG Adventure

Chrissie and her Nepalese partner Maila run GRG adventure based in Pokhara. They have helped a good friend of mine out after he got injured on a paddling trip a few years ago. They also distributed lots of kayaking equipment amongst lots of young budding Nepalese kayakers. Maila is one of the best and most respected kayakers in Nepal and is a go-to-guy to getting stuff done. Chrissie is an organisation queen. They make a dream pair in getting stuff done in the relief effort.

Read this update from Chrissie on Facebook

You can follow their efforts on their website and Facebook

DONATE HERE

Daz Clarkson at Pureland Expeditions

Daz has been kayaking in the Himalayas for many many years. He re-wrote the guide book. He has great connections in India. He has more energy and enthusiasm by the bucket load. He loves Nepal. He is doing every thing he can. His wife Andrea is also very involved in co-ordinating relief operations.

Daz on Facebook

They are taking donations via PayPal: info@purelandexpeditions.com Ref Quake

Sano Babu (Adventure Babu) and Dennis McMahon

Babu is very close friend of mine. Kayaking legend. Paragliding legend. Flown off the summit of Everest. “Anything is Possible” is his slogan. Runs two paragliding companies. I could go on. He has teamed up with Dennis to help coordinate their rescue efforts.

Latest Facebook post from the team

Facebook post explaining what they are up to

Dennis’s Facebook

Babu’s Facebook

I had a message from Babu this morning saying they are heading to the hard hit Gorkha region to get much needed supplies

Donate to thier efforts via paypal to dennis.mcmahon@gmail.com Ref Quake

There are many others as well..

http://www.kayaksession.com/nepal-earthquake-river-rescue-mission-interview-with-anup-gurung/

Please donate and share this page.

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Being a massive fan of his Start with Why video and concept, 12 minutes seem like  worth while investment.

My main points are:

Great military leaders are great because they put the needs of the team first.

Quote: “You know, in the military, they give medals to people who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that others may gain. In business, we give bonuses to people who are willing to sacrifice others so that we may gain.”

We need to feel safe within our organisation to to a good job

I loved the example of the manufacturing company that lost 30% of its orders over might. They needed to save £10m. Instead of laying off lots of people they made EVERY on in the company make 4 week unpaid leave. They could take it when they wanted and they could trade the weeks with anyone else in the company. They saved £20m and the company was better off for it

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I spent about 20 minutes packing and preparing for it (this includes training!) I through a  sleeping bag, some plasters and some water into a backpack and I ran out the door!

I jumped on a train to Weymouth with the aim of seeing how far home I could get before work in 2 days time

The first 11 miles from Weymouth went very well. Then my knee started hurting and I was down to a brisk walk.

Then the MOD had shut off a lot of the coastline from Lulworth for firing practice (probably should have checked that!)

After waiting for the MOD to open up again I decided that my knee couldn’t  take much more.  I bedded down under Grange Arch for the night and then hobbled down to Corfe the next morning to get a bus home!

I didn’t make it home under my own steam but I didn’t give a toss – great to be out

Check out the rather dull video I made.

Home for the night

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The plan was to swim across the narrowest part of Poole Harbour after work one day, camp the night, swim back in the morning and then head straight back top work for 8am.

However due to an hour of faffing we had cocked-up the tides. We made in about 40m out before realising we would NEVER make it.  Mega fail. Felt silly but quite excited that there were adventures out there that you can do after work! Plan B was to go buy some beers and sleep in the beach. Life is pretty good when you have that as a plan b!

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http://venturesomeexchange.strikingly.com/

I love the idea of sharing outdoor gear with friends and fellow enthusiasts

Lets see how it goes…

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Hopefully this article will be of some use and if you ignore every thing in it, then it should set you up well for your next adventure!

Bike in trouble after 1km

The concept

1. Book a budget flight to some where that sounds cool in Eastern Europe
2. Pull a figure out the air as to how many KM’s you think you will do in a day
3. Find a place that you think you can get to in your time period
4. Basically ignore 2. and 3. and pick the place with the cheapest flights home

The Basics

• If you don’t have your own bike – beg to borrow one from a friend
• Panniers is the major bit of kit you’ll need
• Get a cardboard bike box (for free from your local bike shop) to take you bike out in. Arrange to pick one up at a local bike shop from your return city. This work VERY well.
• Pack the cycling essentials and a party shirt

Speed-Cycle-Touring

Speed-cycle-touring was something that we resorted to soon after getting in the saddle. It was kind of born out of necessity to get to where the flights home were cheap but it was also what we loved doing. Pushing your self each day to get to the next arbitrary location no matter what the distance or the state of the hangover.

You also see a shed load more cities and country side and go to sleep every night knowing you’ve really achieved something.

I wasn’t by any means a cycle addict before the trip and I am not one now but cranking in the miles with everything you need in your pannier is incredibly additive: Waking up, picking a point on a map and doing everything you can to keep the bike moving till you get there- what a life style!

A few words we had be told before hand became to ring very true. Those being:

• “Its not about how fast you peddle, its about how fast you live”
• “Time in the saddle is every thing”

Photos on the move…

Things you don’t need to stop peddling for:

• Eating hot dogs, bananas etc
• Yoga
• Photos
• Site seeing
• Map reading
• Massive tunnels
• Rain
• Dogs
• Darkness
• ‘No cycling on motorway’ signs
• Hangovers

Some tips for Speed Cycle touring

• Load up your cycle top with sweets and carbs
• Only stop when you have at least 3 things to do that can’t be done in the saddle. E.G pissing, taking a layer off, press ups, buying peaches, sleeping.

The set up..

Practicalities Tips

• Use triathlon bikes. Pannier do fit (Ortlieb are the best). Put slightly thicker tyres on. 3 front rings would be best.
• Take a pump with a long ish hose – you can get enough pressure but using a shoe against your chest
• Travel light. No stove or cooking crap. Eat on the move.
• Only one party shirt.
• Tent/tarp/bivi to stay in the woods if you want or need to
• Get 2 x 1 litre water bottles
• Electrolytes to stop cramping
• Pockets in the back of your shirt to access food whilst in the saddle – saves sooo much time.
• Use Maps with Me for navigation. Its amazing. Get a handle bar mount for you phone. Keep it in airplane mode or off till you need it. Drop a pin of your Hostel and cruise straight there.
• Mini tablet – Amongst all the other practicalities it was very useful scouting roots and roads
• Use Google Earth to see what the road surface is like, what the scenery might be like and seeing if tunnels has foot paths!
• You can just plan your route as you go
• Check out AirBnB and Warm Showers
• Take light for the tunnels
• Before leaving home get a cardboard bike box from your local bike shop to take you bike out. Just use one pannier for hand luggage

Plastic box replaces need for stove, pans, carrying food etc

Pro’s of speed cycle touring over taking it easy

• You see more countries, experience more scenery, get to more cities, cover more ground
• Every day is a endurance test
• You can eat 3 kebabs and lots of beer in one evening and still be hungry and thirsty

Cons

• More chance of falling off
• Less chance of forming deeper relationships with local people
• You miss things
• You don’t get as good photos
• Its not as relaxing

Photo albums from the trip- Reverse Selfies and Selfies

Our Route

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Here are a few in London:

The Telegraph Adventure and travel Show (formerly The Outdoor Show)

The Adventure Travel Show

Destinations

Most of these show are in Jan / Feb.

Here is some advice on how to tackle them:

Prepartions

What do you want?

• Decide what sort of job you want. You may target some companies with one type of job and another with a different type but it best to have a plan.
• Prepare your CV so you can send it out quickly after the show (or give it to people at the show)

The Companies

There are a list of all exhibitors on each website. Spend the time to go through them all. Lots will be crap.

• Look to see if they have any jobs going to the site. If there is one you like find the hiring manager names and try to meet them at the stand – maybe worth emailing them before hand.
• Find the names of the important people on LinkedIn and their website so you know who you want to speak to.
• Pick 5 to 6 top companies and do some more in-depth research on them.

Personal Presentation

• Get Business cards – I used moo.com. Picture on the back can be good for chit chat, but blank backs can be good for them to write notes on about how good you are. Keep them easily accessible whilst at the exhibitions. You look and feel like a tool thumberling for you cards. QR codes are worth it as well.
• Get a blog. I already had a website but I spend a bit of time creating a WordPress blog. It doesn’t have to have 100’s of posts but a few good ones which some good multi media.

At the Exhibitions

• If you can, go on a weekday as they are less busy
• Important things first. Go and see your good leads first. You may have to arrange to go back and catch the right people.

Approaching a stand

Be tactful. You may have to watch the stand from a bit of a distance to wait until they are free. If they have people queueing to ask them about their trips and you then pitch up and ask for a job they are not going to be able to give you much time.

First impressions. Make it count. Be friendly ask some how they are, get a bit of chit chat in before moving on to jobs. Don’t pretend you’re looking at going on one of their holidays then ask about jobs.

If you don’t know the person you need to speak to you want to find the most important looking person on the stand. Be judgemental and prejudice as your normally right – just keep it to yourself. If they are busy, just wait.

If you end up talking to some one who is not very senior then there is still lots of benefits:

• What its like to work for the company?
• How long have you been there?
• Are there any jobs going? Who would I need to speak to? What’s  their name? Are they here at all? When could I meet them?
• Get their card.
• The MD may well be over hearing you being super friendly and interested in their company.

As soon as you leave the stand write done EVERYTHING you just talked about. Especially names. Little reminders for chit chat in follow up emails can make all the difference.

On the whole – be prepared, speak to as many people as possible, be methodical, be inquisitive, write everything down when you can and follow all you leads up! Good luck

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Descending the wild, un-navigated and unseen white water rivers in the depth of the Venezuelan jungle was my first real expedition. My first time being really remote. These were my first lucky escapes. All of which have only really become apparent with hindsight.

The combination of having honed my paddling skills competing at a national level in Canoe Slalom, and having a white water kayaker as an elder brother, gave me everything I needed to catch the bug for expedition kayaking in Nepal 2004 on my Gap Year. At the next opportunity, I thought of a country that I had never heard of anyone kayaking in before, bought some maps, found some steep blue lines, did what research was needed to merit a plane ticket, and persuaded two friends to come exploring in Venezuela.

It’s this youthful naivety and lack of unnecessary complications that make these some of my fondest memories, and these only get stronger as I get older. I try to remind myself of this attitude when pondering future travels. It’s so easy to get bogged down with excuses and this trip reminds me to simplify things and just GO!

Before we left the town of Merida to head to the Rio Mucuchachi a lot of work went into planning the trip. We spent hours and hours poring over maps to plan logistics, access to the rivers and emergency exit points. Lots of eye-aching evenings in Internet cafés analysing Google Earth images to find rivers, inspecting rapids and estimating gradients. We were even lucky enough to get hold of some helicopter footage of the river from a local rafting company.

As with all my kayaking trips, it’s the camaraderie within the team, and interactions with the people we meet, that glues all of the experiences together. Doing the first descent of the Rio Muccuchachi deep in the Venezuelan jungle was no different. What made the team so special was the way we flowed so naturally and seamlessly between thriving off the banter between us and needing each other to keep safe during the long arduous days and nights on the river. One minute we were drifting in the calms taking the mick out of each other and the next minute we were fully dependant on each other to make it home. A change in tone of voice was all it needed to go from one state to another and back.

One time I found myself at the bottom of an abseil, looking at a river-wide raging wall of water with steep banks either side, making it impossible to carry a kayak around. There was no option but to take on the wall of water in our kayaks. As I was the only person who had seen this, the other two had to trust me explicitly as they followed my line around this blind corner into the wall of water which we blasted our kayaks through with all our might. Seconds later we were laughing and sharing our thoughts, thrills and fears about what had just happened. All the while remaining alert for the next corner.

All our planning, although not always fully accurate, proved invaluable to our experience and to our safety. However it is always the things that didn’t quite go to plan that resonate with hindsight. The bridge at the reservoir at the end of the river that never came springs to mind. We ended up paddling across this reservoir which had been turned into a fortress as the rising water levels left no banks, only trees covered with ants, making camping impossible. After 40km of paddling we arrived at a dam where we eventually met Roque. Only later did we find out that the bridge we were supposed to meet him at was actually underwater! After convincing the military guarding the dam that we were safe, we were treated to some much-needed hot food and some light medical attention.

It was not just the strong bonds within the team that made the trip, but those we formed with everyone we met. Tom, the owner of a trekking company took us under his wing from the start. The Swiss-expat had a healthy zest for armchair based adventure and was only too keen to help us uncover some of ‘his’ Venezuelan rivers. Roque our driver has become a lifelong friend. The sort of guy who only mentioned in passing, some days later, that he had to endure hours of negotiations to gain access to the dam site where we had arranged to be collected from after our descent of the Muccuchachi. Not just this but he had also, after we did not arrive back at out rendezvous, arranged for a helicopter to be sent out for us the next morning should we not return. He was a man who kept his adventurous, fun-loving youthful spirit alive with a healthy sense of maturity. After our kayaking adventures had finished he travelled around Venezuela with us taking us to visit his family and friends, which he had in every place we went to. Each one gave us a wonderful insight into Venezuela and its people. Each one with their own way of going about life in Venezuela.

It’s these experiences that although arduous at the time, make for the best stories and fondest memories.

NB This post was updated on 22/10 with the final version.

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Trying to make a living or career out of  stuff your’re passionate about is all about projects I reckon.

Not being an entrepreneur from day one or sitting down to start a business from scratch.

To find that sweet spot where your passion meets sufficient demand for people to pay enough for you to make a living out of it is bloody hard. …Think how many circumstances must come together for it to be successful…it’s mental.

Some people get lucky (or at least appear to get lucky) and find the right business partner,

get the right experience,

meet the right people,

have the right idea

or simply are only passionate about one simple thing so don’t have many decision to make.

I reckon the sweet spot is a hard place to find, especially as it doesn’t really exist and setting out to be an entrepreneur may not be the best way about it.

So start lots of projects along side a job and find your own luck- How many projects can you do in a year?

Do some volunteering,

interview people about something,

draw pictures,

write an ebook,

do courses,

have lunch with as many people as possible,

start a blog,

write a business plan in pictures,

start a Facebook group and see where it goes,

take a volun-tourism holiday,

take a photo every day.

Keep some sort of a record

Why?

• They are less stressful then ‘setting up a business’ and probably just as productive and one may turn into a business or will at least help you find a job you love and prove to them your worth it.
• Surely when it’s time to put your business head on the project it will be obvious….? so just chill till then.
• They are the best sort of market research and ‘personal’ research – both must be important to find that sweet spot?
• They sound more constructive than hobbies.

Maybe looking back at your past activities / business ideas  as learning projects will help you plan for the future…

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1. Be inquisitive – you will need it to find your passion.

2. Engage and Enchant everyone you meet. Make it part if who you are and you don’t need to call it networking.

3. Don’t conform with current standards, what people say and how things are usually done when your setting your goals. You will rustle some feathers!

4. Intrinsic Motivation = Fulfillment – Do it because it’s your passion and it will become easier.

5.  No money No Problem. If your following your passion living on a shoestring is easier.

6. Seize the right people. You mostly likely find this people when you doing what your passionate about.

One that has just come to mind recently:

Less communication =  less complications

 (more on this later). I feel some awesome info graphic style diagram coming on!

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