Adrenaline junkies
Saint Ezzard
Posts: 1,776 ✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
Just going to work on this for a few days, post some photos of adrenaline junkies doing their thing, always been fascinated by it, don't mind me, I'm not even here. Might as well start this thread off the right way with the anthem.
https://youtu.be/CmXWkMlKFkI?si=UeEpsMnpY7-U1xBy0
Comments
We'll start off with this, Nazaré is a Portuguese town and municipality located in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the Leiria District. The municipality has a population of 14,889 in an area of 82.43 km², while the town itself has around 10,000 inhabitants. You wouldn't think much about this place if it wasn't for the monsters that live there, I'm talking about the biggest waves on planet Earth. Only the bravest and most hardened surfers in the world dare to step foot in this arena, one mistake and these waves will make you pay, dearly, these waves can reach heights of over 100 feet high.
The towns people love to stand on the nearby rooftop and watch the insanity play out.
Most of the world records for the tallest waves ever surfed happened in Nazareth, German surfer Sebastian Steudtner surfed a wave at Nazare that was 93.73 feet tall in 2024.
You can see how big these waves are, it resembles something out of the apocalypse movie Deep Impact, when the asteroid hits the ocean and the wave wipes out New York City.
It takes some serious guts to go skydiving, I admit that I would never have the courage. But you gotta really have a set of stones to jump from the edge of space. On August 16, 1960, US Air Force Captain Joseph W. Kittinger literally jumped into the pages of aviation history books when he stepped out of a balloon gondola at an altitude of 102,800 feet. For more than four and a half minutes, he plummeted towards the ground before finally opening his parachute at an altitude of 18,000 feet. No person had ever parachuted to Earth from a higher altitude. It made the cover of LIFE magazine and rightfully so.
Joseph Kittinger free falling from 102,800 feet.
Kittinger on the ground after his historic jump.
Of course someone had to one-up Kittinger, and in 2012 Felix Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 127,852 feet, absolute madness. He became the first person to break the sound barrier in a freefall jump, reaching a top speed of 843.6 mph (1,357.64 km/h) or Mach 1.25. He achieved this feat by jumping from a helium balloon at an altitude of 24 miles (39 km) above Earth, in the stratosphere.
Felix Baumgartner's jump from 127,852 feet, absolute madness.
I remember watching Baumgartner's jump live as it happened in TV, the buildup with him sitting in the capsule was unreal.
Of course Baumgartner's cat jumped out right after him and stole the show.
Never quite understood skydiving.
I mean you get in a plane, jump out of the plane, and it takes you to a spot on the ground.
Wouldn't it be easier to just walk or drive to that spot? Uber is readily available.
It should be noted that in 2014, Google Vice President at the time, Alan Eustace, actually broke Felix Baumgartner's record when he was lifted up to an altitude of 135, 890 feet and dropped, and Eustace stills has the world record to this day. I can't stress how much guts it takes to even consider skydiving from these heights, you have to be damn near crazy.
How about a little music break.
Another thing I find fascinating is free climbing, that is climbing without the aid of any ropes or equipment, just you and the rock. There is absolutely zero margin for error, if you fall you, you die, it's that simple. Alex Honnold's ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite in 2017 is one of the greatest and most terrifying feats in human and sports history, crazy son of a gun climbed El Capitan without any ropes or safety equipment, a freaking 3,000 foot high wall of sheer granite. I've spent a lot of time around the rock climbing community in Boulder Colorado during summer vacations to my uncle's house in the 90s as a teen, and I've been rock climbing, it's an exhausting sport that wears your body slam out. You use every freaking muscle in your body when you climb, and the sun beaming down on you doesn't help your cause. Make no mistake about it, rock climbers are some of the most well conditioned athletes on the planet, you have to be. If you don't believe it, just watch the YouTube videos of Adam Ondra climbing "Silent", and listen to him screaming and yelling and constantly shaking his limbs to regain strength and feeling in them as he pulls himself up the incredibly difficult climb. I know the mentality of these people pretty well, they're as brave as it gets, but it takes more than just bravery to attempt El Capitan without ropes. I'd be terrified to attempt El Cap with ropes, much less without, it's just a scary damn wall, the sheer size and verticalness of it. The first climbers to attempt it back in the day usually spent days trying to work there way up it, they literally had to bring climbing hammocks and sleeping bags with them, screw the hammocks into the wall, and sleep suspended thousands of feet in the air to wait for the next daylight and to get rest, that's how big and complicated this wall was. The first documented ascent of El Capitan was a joint effort by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry, and George Whitmore in 1958, after 47 days of climbing. They were using a combination of fixed ropes and assisted climbing techniques. Royal Robbins was the first one to conquer El Capitan solo back in 1968, he climbed the Muir Wall route and it took him ten days, much of it which he spent hanging from screws, pitons, and bolts. Alex Honnold climbed the Freerider route on El Capitan, an incredibly difficult route, Freerider sits off to the left side of The Nose, El Cap's premier buttress, and tops out at 3,300 feet above the valley floor. No ropes, no safety equipment, only him, the massive vertical monster in front of him, and death just waiting for him to make a mistake, thankfully he didn't. I still can't believe someone actually did this, and that I was fortunate enough to get to see it.
Here's what legendary Yosemite climber Tommy Caldwell had to say about it:
"Free soloing El Cap has been the most anticipated climbing feat of our generation, but only because of Alex. There have been very few people potentially capable of accomplishing this, and sadly most of these individuals are no longer with us. In the past I’ve equated the possibility of this climb to the moon landing. Today, knowing that it has been done, I think that is a fair assessment of the significance. It’s a generation-defining climb."
In an article on Evening Sends, entitled “Is Alex Honnold’s El Cap Free-Solo the Greatest Sports Achievement–Ever? Probably,” climbing writer Andrew Bisharat summed up many people’s sense of astonishment: “We’ve all stared up at stars, and wondered what’s out there in the universe. It takes a once-in-a-generation visionary to figure out how to actually go there."
Love this cover of National Geographic, it sends chills up my spine, "How Alex Honnold scaled El Capitan without ropes - and lived to tell about it."
It's actually sometimes difficult to look at these photos of Alex Honnold during his climb, I get jumpy and nervous, like I'm attempting it.
He knew the cameras were rolling, watching him, he had nerves of steel.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Awesome photo, terrifying, but awesome!
My goodness, incredibly difficult maneuvering, it's just shocking how little he has to hold onto.
View straight down.
This gives you an idea of how high El Capitan is compared to some famous landmarks.
Crazy kid.
Alex Honnold at the top of El Capitan after his historic climb.
Sorry about that Steve, I missed your comment on this thread, I get carried away and started posting and don't see everything on here. The only explanation I can offer is the rush some people get, it's like a high to them. There's a line in the movie Point Break, where Patrick Swayze's character Bodie says about skydiving, "100% pure adrenaline, other guys snort for it, jab a vein for it, and all you got to do is jump." That's the best explanation I've heard, personally, I'm fine right here on the ground!
I've been on roller coasters a few times so i think i understand the "thrill" to some small degree. That being said, a number of times, I've been invited to go snow skiing. Sort of a similar type of "body falling" thrill, and I've always turned it down. I had no desire to risk breaking my leg for a quick adrenaline rush thrill. Never seemed like a good idea to me.
I've been skiing a few times in Colorado during the winter, once at Keystone and once at Vail, it wasn't really everything it was cracked up to be at least for me anyway, I can't speak for others.
One more quick story before I go to bed, I'll tell you what, I've had my brush with adrenaline rushes before, I've always enjoyed nature, the peace and solitude. I used to go camping deep in the woods by myself back in the day in the mountains of North Carolin, my home state. I'd have a tent, some food, water, flashlights to see at night, stuff like that. Well, let me tell you, it was ok during the daytime, you can see everything around you and your in control of your surroundings. But at night, totally different ballgame altogether, it gets so dark out there that you can't see your hand in front of your face, it's like being on a different planet when compared to daytime, even if you have a lantern or flashlight, you can only see so far, the rest is pure darkness. Well, one night I was out there, and it was late, around midnight or so, and I started hearing noises, it sounded like footsteps. My first thought was, it's probably a raccoon or possum or something of that nature, but as the footsteps continued it started sounding like they were more human. I kept hoping that whatever it was would go away, go off in another direction, but the footsteps continued. As the footsteps continued, I started to become more and more nervous, unnerved. I remember getting an adrenaline rush because I was thinking that I was going to have to defend myself against whatever the heck this was. Like I said, deep in the woods, it's ok during the day, you can see whatever is coming from a distance and prepare for it better, but at night, you just hear noises and don't know what your up against. I'm not going to lie, the footsteps continued and I decided to get the hell out of there, so I turned on my flashlight, grabbed by backpack and took off in the opposite direction, I decided I would leave my tent there and come back for it the next day when I could see. Stuff like that has happened to me before in the woods at night, you hear stuff, strange noises and it can be unsettling at times, but it usually goes away after a while. But this particular incident was different, I think somebody was out there stalking me, so I got the heck out of there rather than be in a vulnerable position. Below is a dramatization of what I believe was probably stalking me that night in the woods, and I don't regret my decision to hightail it out of there.
Considering your propensity for "tall tales" over these past months, I don't believe your story. However let's say I do believe it.
First of all, speaking of bad ideas, it's a really bad idea to go camping alone such as that, for a multitude of reasons. And if as implied, you had done this before, then you should know that likely it was simply a black bear or fox, both hunt at night, simply sniffing around for food which isn't rare at all in an area such as that.
These animals have extraordinary senses of smell. Because we are not prey for them, and virtually all of these animals have encountered humans before, you should also have known that there was in reality no danger to you at all. These animals were only hoping to grab a tasty morsel, left by humans at a campsite such as chicken bones, etc. A knowledgeable camper would have stayed in the tent, turned over, and gotten a good nights sleep.
As for the ghost story, it's beyond silly, and I'm not even going to comment on any Bigfoot tales, etc. All of which are either pranks, or figments of someone's imagination. If anybody believes that "famous" video of a guy parading around in a gorilla costume was Bigfoot, then my advice would be to stay away from swamp land salesmen. LOL
chupa chub cabra
bigfoot was an alien , steve austin cleared all that up like 50 years ago
it bears obvious mentioning that Honnold is a different cat, but it's more profound than you think. years ago he was inserted into an MRI tube to measure his brain's fear levels, and not surprisingly the results were different from you what yours would be, what mine would be, and different from almost every other human being on this planet. nowhere in the fear center of his brain could the neuroscientist spot activity. his amygdala walks to the beat of a different drummer, and that's the primary reason why he's still alive today.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Yes, simply an emaciated animal. I've seen stories and pics before of this situation. Not uncommon when a wild animal has various diseases, starvation, etc.
Some folks start believing it's some sort of evil creature or alien being from another planet. Again, figments of their imagination.
Since it didn't happen anyway because I don't believe his story. But the dumbest thing you can do is start running away in the dark of night in a forest. Not hard at all to trip and fall, injure yourself, break a leg, etc. Then you are in a world of trouble especially when out there alone. With a cellphone you've got a chance. However even with a cellphone, if you badly cut yourself and can't stop the bleeding, better start saying your prayers, because it won't take long to go bye-bye.
Bigfoot exists, as does the elusive Himalayan Yeti and Loch Ness monster, at least until proven otherwise!
That would definitely explain it, he's a different breed of animal, that's for sure.
I'm taking a break today, but I'm going to get into base jumping and wingsuit base jumping next, two of the most dangerous and deadly activities. I don't recommend trying any of the activities on this thread, but I especially don't recommend these Two. If you're not familiar with them, base jumping is jumping off of high objects with a parachute, and wingsuit base jumping is the same thing, except your wearing a wingsuit, a wingsuit is a specialized jumpsuit with wings attached between the arms, legs, and torso, allowing a jumper to glide and control their descent through the air, I believe it's design is inspired by the flying squirrel. It's essentially a human-powered flying machine, enabling jumping enthusiasts to increase their freefall time, speed, and maneuverability. Both base jumping and wingsuit jumping are highly dangerous and controversial.
You do realize that the movie "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" was not a documentary? 😉
All kidding aside, it's interesting that before the advent of those various science fiction movies of the 1950's, the world wide reporting of space aliens was virtually nil. Although Orson Welles scared the chit out of many on his famous Halloween radio broadcast in 1938, there weren't any significant number of folks claiming they actually saw anything.
However when folks starting attending those movies mentioned, suddenly the world wide reporting of seeing flying saucers and aliens increased exponentially. Otherwise known as cause and effect. LOL
Honestly, truthfully, I've done quite a bit of research on Bigfoot, Yeti, and Loch Ness monster and I don't believe that any of these creatures actually exist. I would need to see some real hard scientific proof before I would believe it. I do believe we are not alone, the universe is simply too big, with too many exoplanets for there not be life out there somewhere. Whether or not that life is similar to us, or hostile, I don't know.
Anyway, getting back to wingsuit jumping, if you haven't seen it, you really should, it is a site to behold. This is Jeb Corliss, jumping from a helicopter over the Eiger Ridge Line in Switzerland, pure insanity.
DD here's an adrenaline rush for you to check out. A helicopter lineman. Working on a 22KV line at crazy heights.
In a nutshell, yes, the universe is teaming with life. Not even debatable really for reasons you stated.
What can be debatable, is has intelligent life or at least robot probes of sorts, ever visited planet earth? I'd say the chances are virtually nil. The problem is simply physics. The distances are just way too far for "Star Trek" like space travel to become a reality.
Now could something be invented or discovered that would make space travel possible, to be able to visit neighboring solar systems and such? That could possibly happen, however it certainly won't be in our lifetime. Take the moon for example. The US was able to put a man on the moon way back in 1969. But we haven't even progressed yet to be able to send a man to Mars, despite all our innovations with computers and everything else since then.
I'll wrap it up with this, and it's not good. We've had satellite dish type receptors for decades, trying to pick-up signals from intelligent life out there. No success whatsoever. Yes, the universe is teaming with life. However there's a theory and sorry to say nobody can definitively dispute it, that once a life form reaches a certain level of high intelligence, it finds some way to destroy itself. Really not that hard to envision this theory at all, if right here on earth our species is stupid enough to make that happen thru nuclear war.
The problem with the distances between stars can be solved through the use of sophons.
That's insane, he certainly earns his paycheck!
Mind bending stuff, you should check out the simulation theory sometimes, it's insane.
>
Nah, didn't even look at it. It's just silly Hollywood fiction movie writer material. Which is fine, but that's all it is.
Frankly, it's already known how the universe was born, and how it will die around 35 trillion years from now, when the final quark fizzles out. I'd advise telling descendants to cash-out the card collection around 34 trillion years from now, to get maximum value. LOL
Ancient Aliens, the Pyramids, Area 51, the government. They're all watching us as we speak. It's a conspiracy Steve, a conspiracy!