Walk on the wild side: Your computer can take you there

Whether you?re interested in rock climbing, snowboarding or sailing, what?s the best way to get the full gen on these adventure sports? Earlier, you went to the experts themselves. Now, with the Internet, you?re saved the bother. You can find sites that provide tips on how to learn a sport, guides on gear buying, competition results, interviews with famous athletes and much more. Here?s a list of a few of my favourite adventure sports sites:

Adventure Sports Online: The site is geared mostly towards buying equipment or booking a trip. There is information about touring companies, links to outdoor product companies, hot picks on gear, a trip and product finder, and event calendar.

Adventuredirectory.com: This site is packed with information! Just select which sport and location you?re interested in and you are provided with a list of things to choose from: accommodation, clothing, events, providers, etc. Better than the Yellow Pages. Worth checking out.

Adventuresportsmagazine.com: Also a website for a magazine of the same name. Its focus is mainly on adventure racing with top-notch editorial content. There is also an extensive ?upcoming races? section.

Mountainzone.com: Widely considered to be one of the best ?adventure? sites on the web. It focuses on snowboarding, hiking, mountain climbing, mountain biking and skiing. Here you will find the latest news on these types of sports. There are also gear reviews, trail-finders and videos.

Aboutclimbing.com: If you?re interested in rock, mountain or ice climbing, check this site out. You?ll find gear and book reviews, location and athlete profiles, how-to tips, and training advice.

Outsidemag.com: This is the site for the award-winning magazine of the same name. The articles focus on gear, bodywork and travel. The site also offers a travel directory.

Rockclimbing.com: The final word on bouldering, and on Alpine, competition, and traditional climbing. Forums and gear reviews from both pros and amateurs.

Explorersweb.com: Originating as a report on their 1999 Everest ascent, the site got so much traffic that its authors decided to expand it to cover news from Pole to Pole. It?s now one of the online centres of mountaineering, with news, on-the-spot reports, and video from current expeditions.

Adventuresports.com: Again, one of the most useful sites on the web with sections on what the sports are all about, resources to best gear outlets, and outdoor companies who can plan your tour to a specific place anywhere in the world. It even an ?Ask the Expert? section where any query about technique, training or gear is answered by a panel of experts.

Adventuretravelbooks.com: This unique website offer books about adventure travel and tours for all ages. And there?s a book club that you can join too. They also have a free newsletter. They will be continuing to add additional books and information to this site so if you have any suggestions for books about adventure travel or tours, or know an author, writer, poet, illustrator, or photographer, who has information or photographs or is currently writing, you can contact them at: info@adventuretravelbooks.com.

Mtbchick.com: A cool site focussing only on women in the mountain biking fraternity. They have tips for women in their section ?ask-a-chick?, then there is chick-chat which is a discussion list of members. If you are interested in women-specific gear, you can find it here. They also have links to women?s groups and clubs.