Extreme sports are the perfect activity for any adventurous teen. Not only do they help keep you healthy, stress free, and confident, but as long as you stay safe and take precautions when participating, they can also help you see the world, bring you closer to nature, and allow you to join a community of other adventurous people from all walks of life. Here are four of the many extreme sports you should consider trying at least once.
Mountain Biking
Mountain biking allows you to travel farther and discover more than you ever could on foot. Trails, beaches, streams, mountains, and pretty much any other terrain you can imagine, a mountain bike can take you there while allowing your inner explorer to run (or bike) free.
Surfing
Surfing has a reputation of being a relaxing sunny day activity, when in reality it’s anything but. Hawaii, California, and Australia aren’t the only places you’ll find surfers, look on almost any coast, warm or cold, rain or shine, and surfers will be swimming out from the comforts of land and into the ocean surf. Surfing can be a grueling activity, pitting you against the constantly changing waves of the ocean as you balance and react to every height and directional change of the water. However, if you can master your body and board while gliding on top of the salty ocean waves, it’s a feeling like no other, and definitely worth the hard path to serenity.
Snowkiting
Snowkiting is a relatively new extreme sport, having started in the second half of the 20th century, and only really taking off in the 21st. A combination of kiteboarding and snowboarding/skiing, snowkiting is a snow-based sport that allows you to ski or snowboard along almost any snow-covered terrain, attached and propelled along by a specially-built kite flying in the air. While traditional downhill winter sports only allow you to travel in one direction, snowkiting allows you to go downhill, uphill, or along the ground with no hill at all. Some people may stay inside on a windy winter’s day, but snowkiting allows you to enjoy the weather as you surf and glide along the glistening snow-covered land. This is a sport that you can brag about without end – so long as you can master it!
Rock Climbing
The risks in rock climbing can be high, which is why it’s always recommended (like with all the other sports listed), to learn and follow all the rules and techniques before embarking out on any climbing adventures. That being said, there are several different types of rock climbing you can try, from roped indoor walls and bouldering, to more extreme climbing on ice and mountains. The satisfaction and confidence you’ll gain from going out and climbing whatever goal you set for yourself can equal or exceed the breathtaking views you’ll have, as you stand high atop recently climbed landscapes, looking out at the world from a point only a select few ever see. And you’ll be doing it before you even hit 20!
Contributed by Alex Anderson
