The latest craze: Snowskating
If you haven’t heard of the latest craze in winter sports, you’re not alone! Snowskating has been around for a while, but has finally come into its own and is growing in exposure, interest and ridership. Snowskating is a cross between skateboarding and surfing, but on snow. A Snowskate is a skateboard deck that is mounted to a single short ski about 4 inches off of the snow.
“Snowskating is the best stuff you can do on a skateboard combined with the cool feeling of snowboarding, while also being able to do a kick flip, ollie, or any other skateboard related trick!” said Snowskate instructor Chance Caswell.
Snowskating has gotten a new lease on life during the past year as ski slope Bellayre in upstate New York became one of the first to welcome riders. In addition, new equipment, new athletes, and the promise of competitions next year have created excitement.
Snowskaters say they love the sport due to the freedom of not being locked into the board with bindings, like you would be in snowboarding or skiing. Cassie Cay Merwin has been Snowskating for just six months and she is now tackling advanced slopes. “Snowskating was a really easy step for me to make since I was already a long boarder. Honestly, Snowskating makes a small mountain fun again, and it was one of the first times that I have been really terrified coming down some of the easy trails,” says Cassie Cay Merwin.
The sport is fast and fun, and relatively easy to learn. It’s something every action junkie should try, and certainly is a new challenge and thrill – but its not just for adrenaline seekers. It’s certainly something everyone can try from old to young.
Robot Jellyfish ‘Could Roam Oceans For Months’
A robot jellyfish more than 5ft wide has been shown off by researchers in America.
The lifelike invention could one day conduct military surveillance, clean oil spills and monitor the environment.
It is part of a multi-university project for the US Navy that is being led by Virginia Tech professor Shashank Priya.
The Robo-Jelly is being designed to operate on its own energy for up to several months and has a silicone skin that protects the electronics inside.
It moves using eight mechanically controlled arms.
Researchers have been testing the device in a swimming pool and have also made smaller versions, roughly the size of an adult’s hand.
The project needs a few more years of work before the Robo-Jelly gets released into the wild, according to the university.
Professor Priya said the jellyfish is an ideal candidate to mimic because they use little energy and have “a lower metabolic rate than other marine species” and can also survive in different water conditions.
Other universities are also working on the $5 million project.
The University of Texas, Providence College in Rhode Island, the University of California and Stanford University are helping with areas like optical and pressure sensors.
High Wire Daredevil Eyes Grand Canyon
He calls himself “King of the High Wire”. Nik Wallenda announced plans to prove that title on Monday, with news of his next daring stunt; a tightrope walk over a section of the Grand Canyon, without a harness.
Wallenda, 34, will be higher than he’s ever traversed before at 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River.
The daredevil says his latest attempt is a chance to honor his great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda, who died after falling from a tightrope in Puerto Rico in 1978.
The tightrope crossing will take place on June 23 in a remote section of the Grand Canyon operated by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation, and will air live on Discovery Channel.
In June, 2012, Wallenda became the first person in 116 years to walk across the Niagara Falls on a high wire.
From The New York Post and Sky News and NTD TV.
