Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Shandur Polo Festival- Sports Adventure On Top of the world

Shandur Top-The world famous Shandur pass is about 3738 meter an above sea level and lies midway between Chitral and Gilgit. The distance from Chitral is 147 Km and Gilgit is about 211Km. These areas remains snow covered in winter and turn into the green heaven during summer season. There is a big lake in the area. The traditional polo tournament played between Chitral and Gilgit teams in the month of hot July. Foreign tourist and native came to see the festival. The first recorded polo tournament played at this ground was in 1936, since then every year in July a grand polo tournament takes place at Shandur pass.


Shandur-Top in Shandur is often called the 'Roof of the World'. The top is flat, a plateau and can be crossed between late April and early November. The grade is very gradual, and the area is crossed by small streams of trout. Grazing in summer is plentiful.
Every year there is a polo match played on Shandur Top between the home teams of Gilgit-Baltistan and guest teams from Chitral.
Shandur Pass is one of the major mountain passes between Chital and Gilgit-Baltistan
The people who live on both sides of Shandur Top speak the Khowar language.

 Shandur Polo Festival


Shandur invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament which since 1936 has been held annually in the first week of July between the local teams of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. The tournament is held on Shandur Top, the highest polo ground in the world at 3,700 meters (the pass itself is at 3,800 meters). The festival also includes Folk music, dancing and a camping village is set up. The polo tournament is featured in the first episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin.


Various teams of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral have always played the game of polo closest to its original form. During the early 20th century, the British in neighboring India were the patrons of the game.
Free-styled mountain polo is arguably polo in its purest form. This version of the game played at Shandur-Top has attained legendary status and is of great interest to international and domestic adventure tourists alike. There are no umpires and there are no holds barred. The rules are: There are no rules! In "The Roof of the World" Amin/Willets/Tetley write: "by comparison, an American Wild West rodeo might pass for choir practice." As one player once mentioned: "You can ride head-on into the opponent, if you dare."
In order to decide the final teams to play at the Shandur Polo Festival preliminary matches are played both in Gilgit and Chitral in which the best horses and players are chosen for the final games by the local juries. The festival begins on the 7th of July with a polo match between the local teams of Ghizer Gilgit-Baltistan with the guest teams coming from Chitral(KPK). During the course of the tournament A, B, C and D teams of Gilgit and Chitral battle it out on the polo field. Each team has six members with 2-4 reserve players in case of injury etc. The match duration is usually one hour. It is divided into two halves, with a 10 minutes interval. During intervals the locals enthrall the audiences with traditional and cultural performances. The game decided in favour of the team scoring nine goals. The final is held on 9 July.
The field measures about 200 meters by 56 meters (normal polo field is about 270m by 150m), with 60 cm high stone walls running the length of the field on both sides instead of boards. As six players make up one side, the field can get fairly crowded. This has the advantage of slightly slowing down the pace, which, all things considered, is probably somewhat safety-enhancing. Players rarely wear helmets, The horses' legs often have no bandages, and mallets often have no grips or straps.

History

Polo is an equestrian sport with its origin embedded in Central Asia dating back to 6th century BC. At first it was a training game for cavalry units for the King's Guards or other Elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th century AD. From Persia, the game spread to Arabia, then to Tibet, China and Japan. In China, in the year 910, death of a favourite relative in a game prompted Emperor Apaochi to order beheading of all players.

Historically, polo being the king of games was played between small kingdoms, villages and rival groups of Gilgit Agency. From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at Shandur(then part of autonomous princely state of Kashmir)at the patronage of the British from neighboring India. The three day Shandur Polo Festival has developed steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of mountain polo that it is today.

The Shandur Polo ground is in the district Chitral, and is situated at 72’ 35 east longitude and 36’ 06’ north la titude. It is bordered on the west by Yarkoon valley of Chitral and on the northerners by the valley of Gilgit district. It is dividing point between the caracara and the handout mountains ranges. The polo ground is about 168 Km  from the main town Chitral and accessible by jeep. The road is closed during winter due to heavy snow.

Players on practice for polo match

Top Places To Go on Adventure in the world

1.Himalyan Adventure Trek Nepal


HIMALAYA TREK NEPAL
















2.Mont Blanc: European Union


                             
                                                                      Mont Blanc




                                                                             Caving and jungle adventures – Borneo

  


 3.Rock Climbing – Jordan
                                                 










                                                                                                                                                                 


4.Adventure in Mongolia 
                                                   
Adventure in Mongolia



















5.Sea kayaking-Thailand
                                                            
Sea kayaking-Thailand

                                         
These are some of the famous places you can go for Adventure,
beside this world is full of places which are more thrilling and adventurous then these.but these are best when you consider to go on organised adventure.

All the best and enjoy at the places for adventure in the world.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Best Adventure sports institutes world over

India

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling.
http://www.himalayanmountaineeringinstitute.com/

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi.
http://www.nimindia.net/


Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering, Batote, J&K.
http://www.jawaharinstitutepahalgam.com

Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali. (himachal.nic.in/dmas)
http://www.adventurehimalaya.org

Regional Mountaineering Centre, McLeodganj.
http://himachaltourism.gov.in
Winter Sports Skiing Centre, Kulu.
High Altitude Trekking & Skiing Centre, Narkanda.
Mountaineering Sub-Centres, Bharmour and Jispa.
Water Sports Centre, Bilaspur.
Regional Water Sports Centre, Pong Dam.
Adventure Sports Centre, Hatkoti

Balloon Club of India, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi
http://www.balloonindiasafari.com

Tenzing Norgay Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Jawahar Parbat, Darjeeling
http://www.himalayanmountaineeringinstitute.com

The Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering
http://iismgulmarg.com/

The National Institute of Water Sports in Panjim, Goa
http://www.niws.nic.in/

India Outdoors, H20, National Education Foundation (NEF), Pune
Himalayan Adventure Institute, Mussorie.
www.himadven.com

USA 

Red Rock Community college
http://www.rrcc.edu

Glendale community College
http://www.glendale.edu/
Scottsdale community College
http://scottsdalecc.edu/

University of Alaska Southeast
http://www.uas.alaska.edu/
School: Challenge New Mexico
Zion Rock and Mountain Guides
http://www.zionrockguides.com/

United Kingdom


Adventure center – Kelly College
http://www.theadventurecentre.co.uk

David Matthews Adventure Activities
http://www.aspireadventureactivities.co.uk/

KECO Centre
Outdoorlite Ventures

Australia

Global Village English Centre
Outdoor Education Group
First Track Adventures
http://www.firsttrack.com.au/

Bogong Outdoor Education Centre
http://www.boec.vic.edu.au/


Adventurers of the year 2013


Cannondale CLAYMORE 1- BIG HEART MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE BICYCLE

Cannondale Claymore-1 

 Be your own chairlift.

The big brother of the OverMountain clan, the Claymore brings unprecedented versatility and rideability to the big-mountain category. With the flick of a switch, it changes from a monster big-hit machine with 180mm of travel to a efficient trail bike with 110mm of travel. Never has so much downhill potential been so easy to pedal to the top.

FRAME
CLAYMORE, 180/110MM, SMARTFORMED ALLOY, BB30, ISCG03, DIABLO 1.5 SI HEAD TUBE
FORK
FOX 36 TALAS R, PERFORMANCE, 180MM, 20QR THRU AXLE, 1.5"
CRANK
SRAM S1400, BB30, 36/22
BOTTOM BRACKET
SRAM BB30
SHIFTERS
SHIMANO XT, ISPEC MOUNT
COG SET
SRAM PG-1070, 11-36, 10-SPEED
CHAIN
KMC X10SL
FRONT DERAILLEUR
SRAM X7, DIRECT MOUNT

REAR DERAILLEUR
SHIMANO XT SHADOW+
RIMS
SUN RINGLE CHARGER PRO, TUBELESS READY
HUBS
SUN RINGLE CHARGER PRO, 20MM FRONT, 142X12MM REAR
TIRES
SCHWALBE HANS DAMPF SNAKESKIN TRAILSTAR, 2.35" TUBELESS READY
PEDALS
N/A
BRAKE
SHIMANO XT TRAIL, 203/180MM
HANDLEBAR
CANNONDALE C2 ALLOY, 740X15MM RISE

STEM
FSA GRAVITY LITE, 1.5", 31.8
HEADSET
TANGE SEIKI 1.5", SI ANGULAR CONTACT
SPOKES
SUN RINGLE CHARGER PRO
GRIPS
CANNONDALE DUAL LOCKING GRIPS
SADDLE
PROLOGO SCRATCH X18
SEAT POST
ROCKSHOX REVERB, 31.6X385MM HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE
EXTRAS
CLAYMORE, 180/110MM, SMARTFORMED ALLOY, BB30, ISCG03, DIABLO 1.5 SI HEAD TUBE, MRP 2X GUIDE

Cannondale Claymore-1 

for more information visit http://www.cannondale.com

Sunday, July 28, 2013

welcome to the world of extreme sports

Note: Many of these sports carry a real risk of injury. Always seek proper instruction and guidance before participation.

forget wasting time at gym or here & there to  De-Stress and for pure adrenaline rush .

These sports can recharge and thrill you in a way exactly you dream off.

so here are these stress busters and full of  life sports.
sky diving




On Air:

Paragliding 
Parakarting 
Kitesurfing                                    
Land Speedsailing 
Windsurfing
wind surfing
Tandem Parachuting 
Sky surfing 
Sky diving 
High-performance catamarans

On Earth:

Big-Wall climbing 
rock-climbing                              
big wall climbing
Bouldering                                                               Sport-climbing 
mountain biking
Hill-walking 
Caving 
Expedition mountaineering 
Street lugeing 
Western-style bull riding                         
Mountain-biking 


On Fire:

Wing Walking 
Ribbing 
Banger racing 
Drive Formula 1 
Drag racing 
Race driving 
Hot-air ballooning 
Karting 
Off-roading 
Quad-bike racing 
On Snow
Waterfall ice-climbing 
Nordic skiing 
Snow-Gully climbing 
Alpine-climbing                                                        
mountaineering expedition
Extreme snowboarding 
Ski mountaineering 
Heli-skiing 
Dogsledding 
Snow Tubing 
High latitude expeditions                                         

On Water:

                                                                               
surf canoeing
Surf canoeing 
Alpine White water 
Rodeo-style kayaking 
White-water river kayaking 
Open Canoeing 
Coasteering 
Sea Kayaking 
White-water rafting 
Surfing 
Wreck diving 

            

                                                                                 
wind walking























hope you enjoyed the list of adventure & extreme sports,

watch also:  Adventurers of  the year video

2013-- adventurers of the year

                                                  2013-- adventurers of the year

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Avon Rough Rider (cycle)- ruf & tuf freedom to go anywhere

This time in mumbai rain, i am having adventure on a cycle.

its a long time since childhood, i never had that kind of adrenaline rush for cycling.

That's over now,i am driving an AVON -rough rider and this experience gives me back

the lost child inside me.

I am adding this wonderful machine in my blog,

go and drive it and see yourself. i did it already.

it deserve to go out on a adventure?




FrameFrame        42cm (16�") Aluminium Alloy Frame with Suspension
ForkFork                                                              Suspension Fork
WheelWheel                57-559 (26 x 2.35) Aluminium Alloy Double Wall
Handle                                                                     Raised Handle
Saddle                                                                  Pu Foam Padded
            Brakes                                   Front and Rear Disc Brakes with Alloy Levers
                    Derallieur                              Shimano Derallieur System with Rapid Fire Plus Shifters.







                                  Avon-    Rough Rider