Advice, Articles & Interviews

Click on the title to access the full blog.

The World's Toughest Race: Eco Challenge Fiji

The 11 day, 416-mile “world’s toughest race” is back. After an 18-year hiatus the adventure race, Eco-Challenge, is back for new audiences on Amazon Prime Video. Set in Fiji, in September 2019, this epic quest invited 66 teams from across the globe to compete against each other and the elements through oceans, rivers, jungles and up mountainsides. Our very own Eric Lillstrom was chosen to captain Team Eagle Scouts in this race, and we sat him down to answer a few questions about his experience.

ECO Team Eagle Scouts

FUNctional: Shakedown Polar Training

fullsizeoutput e50

The Shakedown Polar Training was first conceived as a litmus test for extreme cold weather expedition readiness, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an exhilarating adventure in its own right, and one that will hone universally applicable outdoor skills.

Origins of The Explorers Grand Slam with Vanessa O'Brien

We recently connected with Vanessa O'Brien, keeper of the Explorer's Grand Slam stats, about the origins of this 7+2 adventure challenge, and what the future holds for similar expedition endeavors. Here are her anwers to 8 questions we put to her:

Five Tips For Planning Your South Pole / Vinson Combo

The South Pole / Vinson combination is an increasingly popular duo of polar expeditions and not only for adventurers doing the Explorers Grand Slam. It makes a lot of sense to combine Antarctica's two most popular expeditions into one departure - especially if you are smart about how you plan it.

Layering Like a Pro

Most people who venture out into the cold nowadays have at least heard about layering. The beauty of a good layering system is the ability to adapt it to any conditions or type of activity. Are you doing it right? If you’re still struggling to find the right combination of clothing for a given activity, maybe this will help.