2010 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Dual Suspension Bike for Sale

2010 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Dual Suspension Bike for Sale

For Sale $1400

Used bike well maintained Retail on the bicycle is $2400

Location: Brevard, NC

Components include

Fork Fox Float 32 RL

Rear shock Fox Specialized Triad

Brakes Avid Elixir RSL

SRAM X7 shifters

SRAM X9 rear derailleur

DT Swiss Rims

Email contact@pvadventures.com if interested

Banff Mountain Film Festival Brevard: Pura Vida Adventures

Pura Vida Adventures is offering both climbing and canyoneering courses the weekend of the Brevard showing of the Banff Mountain Film Festival on March 17th and 18th. Experience Adventure with Pura Vida by day and watch the adventures of the fil festival by night. All courses are open enrollment and start at 8:30 am each day.

2 Day Rock Climbing Course, 3/17/12-3/18/12, Cost $275 a person

This course is designed to provide you with competence and confidence on ropes basic rock climbing skills. It covers all skills beginning climbers shoul learn including proper gear and how it should be rigged, belaying and rappelling techniques, knots, prussic knots, and climbing techniques.The second day goes into natural and artificial anchor building for top rope set up. This program also allows for a sufficient amount of climbing time to gain additional climbing experience.

American Canyoneering Academy
3 Day Technical Canyoneering Course 3/16/12-3/18/12 Cost $350 a person
This program includes proper rappelling technique, basic knots and their application for canyoneering, ascending techniques, basic haul systems, canyoneering movement and an adventure canyoneering trip. . In addition it includes an additional day of practicing canyoneering skills along cliffsides at a dry site.

American Canyoneering Academy 2 day Technical Canyoneering Course 3/17/12-3/18/12 Cost $275 a person
This program includes proper rappelling technique, basic knots and their application for canyoneering, ascending techniques, basic haul systems, canyoneering movement and an adventure canyoneering trip. Includes an Adventure Canyoneering Trip.
For more info or to register for any of these courses email contact@pvadventures.com or call 772-579-0005
Canyon Instructor, Joe Moerschbaecher is certified through the American Canyon Guide Assoc.
Pura Vida Adventures is accredited by the American Canyoneering Academy

Icycle Bike Race North Carolina: A North Carolina Winter Classic

I have heard about the Icycle Mountain Bike Race for years this year I finally had an opportunity to do the race and experience the party for myself. The Icycle is held at Fontana Village every winter it offers various races including beginner, sport, and expert divisions in both its cross country and down hill courses, and a single speed division in the cross country race. The icycle mountain bike race is even better known for the partying that is part of the race activities which continue into the late evening hours.

While the typical double done by most racers at this event is the cross country and downhill races I decided to do a double in the sport cross country and single speed cross country races.
This included a 11am start for the sport race which included 3 3 mile laps followed by a 45 minute break and then a 1pm start for the single speed race of the same length. Both races were a blast as I rode on a course which could best be described as oil slick like conditions caused by the rain from the last couple days.

At the start/ finish area there were plenty of people cheering and drinking as you came around during each laps. Horns were blown and shouts were heard from that area through out the entire day. After finishing my races I got a quick shower and a bite to eat and headed back down to enjoy the beer provided by French Broad Brewing and watch the downhill racers practice and prepare for the night time downhill race.


At the end of the down hill race awards were given out and the party continued late into the night. As I sat around talking to friends one buddy commented, "who cares if I am slow this is fun and having fun is what life is about." I thought that just about summed up the Icycle weekend. Thanks to Sycamore Cycles and French Broad Brewing for sponsoring the event and a special thanks to Sarah Watt for providing me with great support as I came through each lap of the two races.

Pura Vida Adventures offers guided mountain biking trips throughout the southeast as well as other mountain adventures throughout the US and world. To find out more about Pura Vida Adventures visit www.pvadventures.com .

Pisgah Mountain Biking: The secret is out.

Brevard mountain biking takes center stage in Bike Magazine's 2012 bike bible. Bike magazine travels to different destinations each year to test and review the year's new bikes. This past fall the bike magazine team came to Brevard, NC to test the crop of bikes coming in 2012 and check out the trails of Dupont and Pisgah.

The story of their experience in Brevard and review of bikes is now on newstands. What bike magazine talks about regarding the town of Brevard and the bike scene here has been known to those of us who live and vacation here for years. We know we have great trails, we know we have a great town, we know we have the best kept secret when it comes to our trails in Dupont and Pisgah.

The secret is now out. Everyone now knows that when it comes to mountain biking in the eastern US Brevard is the place to come. This point was made clearly in the Bike Magazine article by professional mountain biker Adam Craig who said "I'm going to say Pisgah is definitely one of the top three places in the universe that I've ever ridden-and maybe the very best one."

Once you have read the article and learn about the Pisgah Tavern at the Hub bicycle shop, and the local boy Wes Dickson and his team of mechanics and staff at Sycamore Cycles you will be ready to make plans to come here for your next biking vacation. You will be ready to ride the trails of Dupont which is our zoo for biking and survive the trails of Pisgah which is our mountain biking Serengeti.

Thanks Bike Magazine for visiting and welcome all those who now know America's best kept secret in mountain biking. When you come to visit do not forget about us at Pura Vida Adventures Brevard's only guided mountain biking service for the last 5 years. Sure you can find the trails on your own but you will maximize your experience if you hire one of our guides.

Lopez Canyon Trip Report: Canyoneering Bariloche, Patagonia Argentina

Lopez Canyon--- Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina
Grade 3C III

Approach: The canyon approach is via the trail to Refugio Lopez. Ascend the trail toward Lopez for about 1-1.5 miles. After leaving the trail, head east into the canyon entering a scree slope which quickly becomes a faint bush whack trail. This turn off of the trail occurs just before you reach the old mountain hut and 4 wheel drive road.

Final Rappel in Lopez Canyon

Special Consideration: The water levels in this canyon can vary greatly based upon the amount of snow melt. Consider exiting the canyon via a fallen log and cable if when approaching the second to last rappel the water volume seems to great. The last two rappels consist of the narrowest and steepest part of the canyon.

Upper Rappels of Lopez Canyon



Description: Lopez Canyons lower section consists of rappels ranging from 20 ft – 125 ft in length. The canyon starts with 3-4 rappels ranging in length between 10 and 40ft. After these short rappels you come upon a rappel that seems to measure between 60- 70 ft. There is a second stage of about 8 ft. to this rappel that is not a suggested down climb due to the water flow volume. Set this rappel to length so that you are able to rappel beyond this obstacle 85- 90 ft total rappel. Once you drop into this short section of canyon you are in the canyons narrowest steepest part and at higher water flows it can be extremely challenging. The final rappel the longest and most awe inspiring is about 125ft. It can be difficult to visually set the rope length on this rappel without lowering someone. After completing this rappel the canyon widens as you boulder hop and make your way for about 1-1.5 miles back to Hwy 237.


Top of 2nd to last rappel and narrowest steepest section of Lopez Canyon

Other notes: Special thanks to Frederico of Canopy Patagonia for providing beta and showing me this great canyon. Suggested map is the infotrekking San Carlos Bariloche 1:50,000 topographic map. Additional beta available in Lonely Planet’s Trekking in the Patagonian Andes. Further exploration of the upper section of Lopez canyon looked promising to extend into a longer trip. Unfortunately, my exploration was limited due to the fact that I was alone.

Bottom of Last Rappel Lopez Canyon

Pura Vida Adventures offers guided canyoneering programs as well as canyon instructional classes. In addition Pura Vida Adventures offers adventure travel trips to Patagonia Argentina and various other adventure tours in North Carolina and throughout the US. Find out more at http://www.pvadventures.com/ .

Paddling Patagonia's Nahuel Huapi Lake

The Beginning of our expedition

Pura Vida Adventures began a 10 day Patagonia Expedition with clients Tom and Danielle Saunders on Dec 15th. The first portion of this trip was a 4 day 3 night paddle on Lake Nahuel Huapi. Nahuel Huapi is the largest and most popular of the glacial lakes in the Patagonia Lakes District. It borders the town of San Carlos de Bariloche and legend has it if you drink out of the waters of Nahuel Huapi you will return to Patagonia. This legendary and mythical lake was our home for the first 4 days of our Patagonia Expedition.

Day 1: We departed from Playa Serena with little wind and clear skies as we made our way around the San Pedro Peninsula we began to feel the wind and paddle through some 2 ft swells in the open waters. After completeing the crossing to the other side of the lake we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the sunny calm weather of the day. The afternoon consisted of many more hours of paddling along the shores of Victoria Island where we saw beautiful rock outcroppings with birds nestled in the rocks and flying around the island shore. We made camp that night on the island about .5 km north of Piedra Blanca Port. After enjoying a full dinner we all made our way to bed tired from the days paddle and preparing to get well rested for another day of adventure.

Day2: Day 2 started with sunny skies and calm waters just like the day before. We continued to paddle north along the east side of Victoria Island where we stopped for lunch at the Northern end of the island. The sky became hazey with ash as from the recently erupted and still smoking Volcano Peyehue just across the border in Chile. During our first two days of paddling we saw small rocks which were actually volcanic ash floating in the lake.

Hanging out in Arrayanes Forest

At lunch we began to feel the power of the infamous Patagonia winds as the northern wind began to pick up and caused us to extend our lunch break for another 2 hours. After lunch we would make a short open water crossing to visit the Arrayanes Forest outside the town of Villa La Angostura on the tip of the Quetrihue Peninsula.

As the wind calmed down we made the crossing North to the Peninsula and Arrayanes Forest. The Arrayanes tree is endangered and this forest is the only one that still exists in the world. The tree is unique because the trees grow out from one another and as a branch breaks of it can generate into a new tree over time. Many of the trees in the forest are hundreds of years old as the trees grow only 1 cm per year. As we walked through the forest we were all amazed and fascinated with this unique forest. After stretching our legs while walking through the forest and enjoying a much needed break we got back in our kayaks to find a campsite on the western shore of Nahuel Huapi. The Northern wind we had faced earlier in the day was still blowing strong but would now be of assistance as it would provide a tailwind in our travels.

Waterfall during the trip

Southwest we travelled from the Arrayanes forest making incredible time as we travelled with the wind at our back and surfing 3-4 foot swells. Camp that night was set under clear skies where the Coluco River met Nahuel Huapi Lake. We fell asleep staring at the bright southern stars that created constellations such as Orion and the Southern Cross.

Day 3

Day 3 started with us awaking to an even stronger northern wind continuing to blow. The wind was so strong that even though it blew in our direction of travel the morning hours were spent on shore waiting for the winds to slow and waves to calm. During this time we took a hike up the Coluco River jumping from boulder to boulder as we made our way up the river taking in the beauty of its waterfalls and the giant trees which surrounded its banks.

Hiking along the Coluco River

Upon returning to camp along the lake's shore we were happy to see the winds had seceded a bit. Not wanting to lose this window of opportunity to travel we had a quick bite and enjoyed the beautiful weather and a nice northerly wind which assisted us as we made our way south toward the Blest and Tristeza Rivers. As we rounded the Peninsula and began to head west toward the rivers' ports we were blasted with a tremendous head wind. As we made our way around the Peninsula the wind had a sudden shift now blowing due east. This quickly became a problem as we headed west with our head down we fought the 4-5 foot swells and slowly moved west north west . We wanted to get to the land to our north but had to be careful not to expose the entire side of the boat to the east blowing wind gusts. Slowly, we fought the winds andd made it to shore where we warmed up with some coffee and waited for the wind to provide us with another opportunity to travel toward our west south west destination.

An hour later the winds seemed manageable Tom and Danielle were getting much more comfortable in the kayak and we all felt that although there were still decent size swells the size had gone down since earlier when we were forced to go to shore.

The next 2 hours were spent battling the wind and waves in the area of the lake known as the cocktail where the Blest and Tristeza Branches meet the Nahuel Huapi. Bows of the kayaks rising up high and water splashing into our faces we made it to shore only a half mile from the next days pick up point at Arroyo Angostura where Nahuel Huapi flows into Moreno Lake.

As we got out of our kayaks and pulled them ashore we boiled water and got into warm clothes. The sky showed a storm in our future and and we quickly set up tents and made camp. While eating dinner we were pleased to see the skies clearing a bit but were still preparing for a long rainy night after a hard day of paddling. We went to bed wondering if the rain would come and bring more winds with it.

Bueno Viaje

The next morning we awoke pleased to see that the skies had cleared and winds had calmed. We paddled the last half mile where we enjoyed the sun and got some final photos before getting picked up and heading back into town.

The paddling expedition was a great success we experienced two days of sun and little wind but on day 3 Danielle and Tom got to experience the volatile weather and infamous winds that make Patagonia so unique. Patience and sound judgement made for a successful paddling expedition when the Patagonia winds came in.

Pura Vida Adventures heads to Patagonia Dec. 14th- Jan.4th

Pura Vida Adventures is once again headed to Patagonia this Dec. Currently we have one expedition program running from Dec.14th- 24th. This program will include 7-8 days of backcountry camping while paddling the rivers and lakes of Bariloche via Sea kayak and backpacking and mountaineering in the Patagonian Andes. In addition the program will include a day of canyoneering and/ or rafting Cost of this program is $3500 a person. Contact Pura Vida Adventures contact@pvadventures.com directly for more details. A tentative itinerary can be found below:

Sea kayaking on Patagonia’s Glacial Lakes and their rivers. The trip includes great meals, as well as beer and wine with dinners. The sea kayaks are the tandem Necky Amurk . This trip you will not want to pass up. The trip also includes great opportunities for swimming, hiking, and just messing about.
Mountain Trekking/ Hiking (options from 2-6 days) located outside of Bariloche this trip requires little travel time before getting to the trailhead.
Nahuel Huapi Traverse- See magnificent, glaciers, and lakes while tackeling steep scree slopes and summiting multiple 10,000 ft peaks. At the end of the day rest your bones in a mountain hut with a hot meal made in their kitchen. Do not worry about carrying or setting up a tent, or cooking and carrying large amounts of food the key to this trip is to stay light and relaxed and let the caretakers of the mountain huts take care of your food and shelter. Finish your evening staring over a glacial lake at the Patagonian sky filled with shooting stars.

All activities includes: Transportation, equipment, english speaking guides and food.All days includes:-Accommodation.
Not included:-Alcoholic beverages, airfare, in town dinners-Phone calls.-Tips.

In addition to our expedition from Dec14th-24th we will offer the following programming from Dec 24-Jan 4th.

Spend the evenings in the city and its outlying areas dining along the natural glacial lake Nahuel Huapi enjoying Argentina’s world famous free range beef, fondue, and fine wines.
Spend your days exploring the Patagonia Andes through a variety of activities including kayak touring, whitewater rafting/kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, canopy tours, and flyfishing. You will have American and English speaking Argentine guides helping you on each day of your adventure through various activities. They will also teach you more about the way of life in this place called the “Uttermost Part of the World”. Progamming price will vary based upon your desired activities and accomodation desires.

Spend the 2011-2012 holiday season adventuring in one of the worlds most beautiful places filled with history, culture, and adventure,