John Fried

Travel: Having Fun Yet?

 

There's next to no mobile reception, even with a satellite phone. Even if you call for help, there's no room for helicopters to swoop in, so if something goes wrong, the only way out is on a raft.

Be My Wingman

In terms of pure adrenaline rush, few things compare with flying in a fighter jet at Mach 2. At a private Russian air base outside Moscow, you'll prepare for the G-forces in a subsonic flight training jet. Then, accompanied by a professional pilot, you'll take to the skies in a MiG 25, soaring up to 80,000 feet. You must be in decent shape and provide a letter of approval from a doctor. Flyboys (and flygirls) over 40 must supply the results of an electrocardiogram.

Who'll take you

MiGs Over Moscow by Incredible Adventures offers packages that allow you to fly in a number of classic Russian jets. A five-day trip that includes two training flights and a trip to 80,000 feet costs $20,450.

Danger quotient !!

There's minimal risk of the plane going down because you're in someone else's care. A heart attack is the greater risk. G-forces can dramatically raise and lower your blood pressure.

Underwater Cage Match

On the surface, this trip to Isla de Guadalupe--an island some 160 miles off Baja California--seems tame: Guests stay on a luxury boat with gourmet meals prepared by a chef. Of course, it's what lies beneath the surface of the crystal-clear, 70-degree water that makes hearts pound. One of the filming locations for the recent Imax feature Sharks 3D, Guadalupe gets you up close with great whites. You swim in an aluminum cage just below the surface while sharks as long as 18 feet circle around.

Who'll take you

Great White Adventures runs six- and eight-day cage diving tours ($2,895 and $4,150 per person, respectively) from July to September. You'll need to be physically fit and weigh less than 250 pounds.

Danger quotient !

Though it's difficult to dismiss a shark's mouthful of 3,000 sharp teeth, this is no Open Water. Great White Adventures has a perfect safety record.

Because It's There

An Everest summit remains the benchmark by which all other extreme adventures are measured. But it requires several months--if not years--of physical training and instruction before you can think of setting foot at base camp, 17,600 feet up. Once you're ready, scaling the 29,035-foot peak will take one to two months. Potentially life-threatening challenges include altitude sickness, climbing accidents, avalanches, subzero temperatures, and passing storms that can drop as much as 10 feet of snow on you as you climb. Make it to the summit, though, and you'll be one of about 2,250 people who can boast, "I climbed Mount Everest."

Who'll take you

The renowned Alpine Ascents of Seattle has led 102 people to the summit. Its guides recommend that the inexperienced complete a six-day training course ($1,000) and first ascend other mountains like Denali (20,320 feet) in Alaska and Cho Oyu (26,906 feet) in the Himalayas. When you're ready for Everest, Alpine Ascents will guide you up the South Col--the same route taken by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953--for $65,000.

Danger quotient !!!!!

About 10,000 people have tried and 186 have died. If you do perish, there's no funeral procession down the mountain. The dead stay where they fall.

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