It’s becoming very difficult to ignore the growth that is occurring in the world of adventure sports.

 Scads of people are jumping on bikes, taking to the trails, or gravitating to the map and compass each year, at what seems to be a more sustainable growth, compared to the industry’s last spurt. Yet to what is this climb in interest credited to? For many, it is advances in wireless technology and social networking. Yes, the irony of unplugging and venturing into the outdoors only to be digitally broadcasted to the world stings…but only briefly.

Technology is now so entwined in our lives that it also serves to help us and others enjoy the outdoors and relax in new and different ways. “Unplugging” may not be so much about ditching technology for a weekend as it is shifting gears and using our everyday “conveniences” for a different application — plugging into something else.

While typical use of technology in the realm of “mainstream” sports is largely relegated to an off-the-cuff “tweet” from the bench, the adventure sports have embraced wireless technology and social media with the intent to engage the viewer and make their experience an interactive one. Monitor the online chatter for a while and you will fi nd that the web is a-buzz with net savvy adventurists waiting to tell their stories and be part of others’. Technology is bringing the remote outdoors into living rooms and offi ces, and to friends and family that otherwise may not have considered venturing into the less travelled.

To get a better understanding of where we’re headed with all this tech, we’ve pulled in someone who has tried out a great deal of tech for his sport, Paul Angell of the Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing Series.

And while we’re on the topic of remote transmission of information, we felt it appropriate to revisit one of the most remote places on earth: Patagonia — for the expedition race at the end of the world…not at the end of the satellite feed. Then, head north with us to Ecuador to experience adventure racing at its highest — elevation that is. Following along our equatorial exploits, we then cool off in the water and look at the rising success of paddleboarder, Jamie Mitchell. And, of course we present the foods that fuel us for all of this and for the summer entertaining season upon us.

With a mobile phone in one hand and a beer in the other – Cheers!