The popular television show Man vs. Wild, which airs on the Discovery Channel, recently visited South Dakota, where host Bear Grylls got a first hand look at the incredible wilderness, including the Black Hills and Badlands, that will host Primal Quest 2009.

Man vs. Wild has garnered a cult following with the weekly premise of taking the charismatic Grylls and dropping him into some inhospitable backcountry. He then spends the next hour of the program demonstrating ways to survive in that environment. Highlights of this episode include Bear dealing with the notoriously unpredictable weather in the Black HIll, running with a herd of bison, and eating rattlesnake.

The South Dakota episode is set to be re-broadcast on Monday, Oct. 6 at 10 PM ET/PT.  Tune in to get a glimpse at what’s in store for the teams competing in Primal Quest Badlands.

Adventure World Magazine has just released Issue 5. Contents of this issue include a special 10-page Primal Quest section along with:

‘Tips For a Top 5 Finish’
Q&A with Robyn Benincasa of Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure
Looking ahead to 2009

Others topics include:

The Bull of Africa
Battling Blisters
Adventure Destination: North Lake Tahoe
The Racing Compass – Part 5 in a monthly navigation series
and more…

If you haven’t heard about AWM…here is what you are missing.

As true adventure junkies, the publishers and contributors of Adventure World Magazine are scouring the globe to give our readers the latest and edgiest adventure journal. AWM will cover adventure travel destinations, fitness tips, athlete profiles, extreme events and all of the gear you need to make your own adventures. This coverage will serve the gamut of readers from the elite athl ete to the weekend adventurer who is just crossing the threshold to a lifelong addiction.

Adventure World Magazine is dedicated to the preservation of our natural resources by producing a GreenZine. “Of the approximately 12 billion magazines printed annually in the U.S., over 95 percent are printed on 100 percent virgin paper. That results in more than 35 million trees being cut down each year.” The AWM staff believes it is senseless to destroy our natural resources just to print a magazine to celebrate our wilderness playgrounds. AWM is committed to being “green” by publishing our magazine electronically thus completely eliminating our dependency on paper.

Best of all, your low cost subscription will bring you not only the latest issue of Adventure World Magazine, but all previous issues to enjoy at your leisure. Do your part to ensure the longevity of AWM by subscribing today! Go to www.AdventureWorldMagazine.com for more information.

Adventure racer David Boyd, the captain of Team MOAT/Peak.com has passed away after falling more than 150 feet while hiking last week. The 47-year old was trekking the Blanca Massif in Colorado when the accident occurred. You can read more on this story here.

David was a well known member of the adventure racing community and his presence will be missed. An online photo gallery dedicated to his memory can be found here, and it contains a number of images from Primal Quest Montana, where Team MOAT finished in fifth place.

The thoughts and prayers of the entire Primal Quest team are with David’s friends and family. Our condolences at your loss.

Long distance paddler Roz Savage completed the first leg of her trans-Pacific, solo-unsupported row earlier this week, according to the most recent post on her personal blog, aptly titled “Aloha!”.

According to the post, Roz arrived in Hawaii at 5:55 AM local time on the 1st of September. The first stage of her journey took 99 days, 8 hours, and 55 minutes, and the last few hours were marked by a very rapid row into shore. In fact, it was so rapid that Roz beat her estimates and arrived in the wee hours of the morning, before any of the press were there to welcome her. She says that she arrived in Hawaii in much the same fashion as she had spent her time at sea, namely, all alone.

With this stage behind her, Roz will now return home, rest, and recuperate, before beginning the second stage of her journey, sometime next year, when she’ll set out from Hawaii and make way for Tuvalu Island, a distance of some 2,620 miles. Then, in 2010, she’ll complete the Pacific crossing by rowing from Tuvalu to Australia, an additional 2,324 miles.

Roz is now the first woman to row solo from California to Hawaii, and for that she should be incredibly proud. But I also know that this is only step one towards her goal, and it won’t be long until she’ll be looking ahead to her next stage. Congrats Roz! Job well done!

A hundred years after Ernest Shackleton’s famous expedition to the South Pole as part of the Nimrod Expedition, a British team is preparing to recreate that epic journey, and they just might want you to come along for the adventure.

According to this story, over at the Guardian, the Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition is looking for someone to join them later this year, as the six team members, who include Shackleton’s great-grandson Patrick Bergel, will walk in the famous explorers footsteps. But, they’re also looking for someone to join the team. Someone with a zest for adventure, a love of life, and the ability to work with the team. You’ll have to be in tremendous shape and be prepared to endure the challenging Antarctic conditions. To apply to join the team, just head over to this website for more information and to apply.

The journey will begin in October, and it is expected to last about 80 days. The team will fly to the Ross Ice Shelf from Punta Areneas, where three of them will set out to cover 900+ miles to reach the point where Shackleton and his team turned back. At that point, the four other team members will join them, and they’ll attempt to continue on to the Pole, completing the journey that Shackleton was unable to finish.

Hmm… they’re looking for someone with a sense of adventure, is in good physical condition, and works well as part of team. Sounds like an adventure racer to me. I’m sure any number of racers from Montana could fill the position. Perhaps this is your chance to go to the South Pole as part of a historic team.

My favorite part of the Guardian article is in the first paragraph, where they publish the original message that Shackleton posted when looking for crew members for his original expedition. I’ve quoted it below. Great stuff!

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success”