~ ~>> SiteFinder 2.6  OUTDOORS ON THE WEB This issue of SiteFinder is mostly about the OUTDOORS. Future issues will return to a more 'educational' theme. If you have outdoor friends who would appreciate knowing about these OUTDOOR RESOURCES, please forward this issue of SiteFinder to them - with a friendly covering note :-)   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~ ~ S I T E F I N D E R ~ ~ Vol 2 Issue 6 ~ ~ ISSN 1465-8224   ~ ~ OUTDOORS ON THE WEB   ~ ~ Adventure and Experiential Education Directory Ezine   ~ ~ your free monthly newsletter associated with the SiteFinder Directory: http://reviewing.co.uk/sitefinder/ edited by Roger Greenaway roger@reviewing.co.uk   You are receiving this free monthly newsletter either because you subscribed [thank you] or because a friend has forwarded it to you [thank them - check the message header].   YOU are in control of your subscription. Details are at the end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 1 ~ CHANGE OF EMPHASIS   Thanks to the increasing efficiency of search engines (see Trackers' Tips below) it is now much easier to find what you are looking for on the internet.   Search Engines may be getting more and more ''intelligent'' but they can't yet write site reviews!!   So future issues of SiteFinder will focus more on the BEST web-based resources - through REVIEWS and AWARDS.   As the subscriber base for SiteFinder steadily increases (now 280 intelligent beings) I hope that more of you will feel inspired to make recommendations and share them with other subscribers.   Send your views and comments to: roger@reviewing.co.uk   Other changes are on the way - see Reader Survey Results below.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 2 ~ TRACKERS' TIPS: THE BEST MULTI-SEARCH ENGINES   One reason why I started SiteFinder Directory and Ezine was my impatience with search engines that never seemed to appreciate what kind of sites I was looking for!   Since then (last year) my own search skills have improved a bit, but search engines have improved a LOT.   It is now much, MUCH easier to find what you are looking for - thanks to these two amazing multi-search engines that search the big name search engines and directories and quickly integrate all the results into one tidy list.   I entered this string of 7 words in both search engines: experiential outdoor adventure education learning training development   I was so impressed with the quality of the results that I will continue to use savvysearch and metacrawler as my first choice search engines. I will also continue to use long search strings to help reduce the odds of getting unwanted results.   http://www.savvysearch.com/ http://www.metacrawler.com/   I found this advice at Windweaver http://www.windweaver.com/searchlinks.htm which is an excellent site for up to date search advice.   Dogpile is Windweaver's third choice. This multi-search engine doesn't integrate the results but it does cover a different range of search sources. http://www.dogpile.com/   I liked all three, because each of them placed my own site high up on their first results pages! (See Site Owners' Tips below if you want help in achieving this for your site.)   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 3 ~ NEW ENTRIES IN THE SITEFINDER DIRECTORY   Conrad Cone & Chris Moore Pacific Adventure Learning AEE, ACCT postmaster@pacificadventure.org http://www.pacificadventure.org Experiential educators and adventure enthusiasts See what one organization is doing in Western Canada in     experiential and adventure based learning. Games page, links, adventure therapy, EBTD and trainings Games page, resources and links, training and course postings   Derek Platt I Will Not Complain International http://www.iwnc.net those interested in facilitating significant, positive and     lasting change in individuals and teams We are the leaders in EE in Asia with offices in Tokyo,     Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing introduction to our company and programs, our people, and what is     unique about our approach Programs in conference rooms or programs which involve rappelling     off the Great Wall of China   William Conner PhD, DD International Association of Pastoral Counselors AAP, IAPC drconner@angelfire.com Ordained ministers who provide pastoral counseling An international professional association of pastoral counselors Pastoral counselors from all over the world PhD in Biblical Studies, professional membership certificate with     designation as Pastoral Counselor   If you can recommend a site to include in SiteFinder Directory (even your own site!) write to: roger@reviewing.co.uk or complete the form at: http://reviewing/websites/add.htm   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 4 ~ FINDING OUTDOOR INFORMATION ON THE WEB   .................... by Richard Nelsson   Earlier this year the news that a massive avalanche had killed 37 people in the Austrian Alps had barely appeared on the wires when the calls began to come through to the Guardian's Research & Information Unit. Could we get detailed maps of the area, find experts to speak to, compile chronologies of previous avalanches and what were Ski discussion groups saying about the disaster?   Traditional reference and commercial online sources were used, but much of the immediate information was found via web sites such as the Avalanche Center <http://www.csac.org/>, local facts from <http://www.thealps.com/> and the British Ski Club <http://www.skiclub.co.uk/>.   These sites form what could be loosely described as 'outdoor information'; the places where mountaineers, surfers and walkers etc, go for details on such things such as the weather, land access, climbing routes and of course to buy equipment. The sites fall into three basic categories:   Official information -------------------- Includes Government sites such as the National Parks, the Met Office and the Countryside Commission. Can be useful for finding out about access problems.   Commercial ---------- Outdoor enthusiasts are often gear freaks. Several equipment manufacturers and shops have their own sites which as well as promoting their products have added on feature articles and links to attract customers. Magazines too are gradually coming online.   Private pages ------------- By far the largest area. Includes sports associations, clubs and pages compiled by enthusiasts. Often detailed information with plenty of links. They can also include more general `armchair' travel pages such as Sir Chris Bonington's latest expedition progress report. Due to the often dangerous nature of the these sports, information is usually accurate and reliable. After all, word would soon get around if the recommendations of a climbing site were found to be untrustworthy. That said, notice boards, specially surf ones, contain their fair share of juvenile drivel. <http://www.surfsystem.co.uk/ss_chat_frame.html [URL may have changed]>.   Obviously these sites are aimed at the outdoor enthusiast, but as with the example described above they are of great value to the researcher. They also provide a gateway into other subjects, particularly on environmental issues. For example, the pressure group Surfers Against Sewage, <http://www.sas.org.uk/> is an excellent source for data on ocean and beach pollution.   If you're not quite sure what you are looking for, <http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Recreation/outdoors/> is a good place begin searching. However it does show that there are hundreds of extreme sport related sites in this country alone, never mind in the US. For the purposes of this guide I have concentrated on UK sites with reliable data, although it goes without saying that most have links to US and the rest of the world.   Official   The Countryside Commission: <http://www.countryside.gov.uk/> has valuable information about land access as well links to the National Parks. The National Trust is at <http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk> (old address?) Ordnance Survey: <http://www.o-s.co.uk/>. For US National Parks look at <http://www.gorp.com/>.   Weather   The Met office: <http://www.meto.gov.uk/> is usually the first site to turn to. For longer range forecasts look at the European Centre of Medium-Range weather forecasts, <http://www.ecmwf.int/> while <http://www.onlineweather.com> is also very good. Look at the Scottish Avalanche Information Service: <http://www.sais.gov.uk/> during the winter months.   Mountaineering and climbing   The British Mountaineering Council, <http://www.thebmc.co.uk/> is probably the best place to start looking. For all things to do with rock and ice climbing look at the UK climbing site <http://www.eclimb.com/ukclimb/> while the unofficial climbing pages: <http://www.lbell.demon.co.uk [dead link?]> provide a different view. An excellent site for general facts and discussion regarding the wider issues, particularly mountain rescue, is Bluedome: <http://www.bluedome.co.uk/>.   Surfing   It may sound corny, but surfers surf the web to find where the surf is. Surf System <http://www.surfsystem.co.uk/> has a constant update of surf conditions throughout the country while for an understanding of wave telemetry and oceanography <http://www.diltd.demon.co.uk/ric/ [URL may have changed]> is the place to go. For news, debate of the issues and links, look at the British Surf Association: http://www.britsurf.org.uk [URL may have changed]. Environmental news is at SAS: <http://www.sas.org.uk/>. If you prefer a board with a sail, the British Windsurfing Association can be found at [website has since moved]   Skiing and Snowboarding   As well as the links listed above, Snowsport Scotland <http://www.snsc.demon.co.uk/> is invaluable both for domestic and international information including weather. The British Snowboard Association can be found at <http://members.aol.com/britboard> and for a complete list of resorts throughout the world look at <http://www.goski.com/>.   Mountain biking   At the moment there doesn't seem to be a single site representing mountain biking in the UK. Cycling UK: <http://www.cycling.uk.com> though has good links especially to the clubs dotted around the country. More general information can be found at Cyber Cyclist: <http://www.cyberbike.com/>.   Walking and backpacking   The Ramblers Association can be found at <http://www.ramblers.org.uk/> while if you want to run around in the countryside, orienteering information can be found at <http://www.cix.co.uk/~bof/ [dead link?]. For a more international perspective try TrailWalk: <http://www.trailwalk.com/>.   Others   If you're planning to delve into the deep, the world's largest Internet diving source The Diver's Resource is at <http://www.ukdiving.co.uk/>;The A-Z of Paragliding is at <http://www.paragliding.com [now a dead link?]. Speleologists can be found at the National Caving Association: <http://web.ukonline.co.uk/nca>. A general extreme sport site (for hardcore enthusiasts) can be found at <http://www.awezome.com/>.   General outdoor and armchair   A general site covering many aspects of the great outdoors is <http://www.mtn.co.uk/> while for a North American slant on things go to the Mountain Zone: <http://www.mountainzone.com/>. If you'd prefer to settle back and just dream of the wilderness, read about veteran mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington's latest exploits at <http://www.bonington.com/> or Alan Hinkes' latest attempt to climb all the 8000m peaks in the world at <http://www.bluedome.co.uk/challenge8000/index.html>. Lazy surfers may want to check how the surf is around the globe (including Cornwall of course) by looking at the surfcam site: <http://goan.com/surfcam.html>.   Shops   Two of the best outdoor shops on the net are Berghaus: <http://www.berghaus.com/> and Cotswold Camping http://www.cotswold-outdoor.co.uk/ [URL may have changed]. Rock and Run: <http://www.eclimb.com/> concentrates on climbing.   Magazines   Climbing Magazine: <http://www.climbing.com/> Surfer Magazine: <http://www.surfermag.com/> divernet, the online edition of Diver magazine <http://www.divernet.com/>. An action sports webzine is at http://www.playhard.com [URL may have changed].   Richard Nelsson is a research librarian at the Guardian Media Group's Research & Information Unit. He is also a freelance writer specialising in outdoor issues and is a former editor of Deadline, the newsletter for the Association of UK Media Librarians (AUKML). He can be contacted at <richard.nelsson@guardian.co.uk>.   Why not ask Richard to carry out a search for you?   Credit should also go to FREE PINT the original publishers of this article in FREE PINT ISSN 1460-7239 29th April 1999 #37 FREE PINT have an online version of this article - with activated hyperlinks at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/290499.htm   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 5 ~ MORE OUTDOOR WEB SITES   OUTDOOR EXPLORER Whether you like to camp, bike, paddle or climb, OutdoorExplorer wants to be your online destination for breaking news, features, photos and real-life stories. http://www.outdoorexplorer.com [now a dead link?]   GREAT OUTDOORS Outdoor Adventure-Articles and other resources on a variety of popular outdoor activities including cycling, hiking, hunting/fishing, nature, water sports, and winter sports. Contains profiles of prominent outdoor recreation figures and athletes, gear and clothing reviews, and several interactive forums. Provides current reports on marine, alpine snow, river, and national park weather conditions. http://www.greatoutdoors.com/   If you have any favourite outdoor websites not included above please send the address (URL) to: roger@reviewing.co.uk Better still, write a brief description/review!   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 6 ~ SITE OWNERS' TIPS   ~ CAN I HELP YOU GET MORE VISITORS? Find out where your own site comes in the above searches. Disappointed? Stay subscribed to SiteFinder and ask me to take a look at your site. It will be interesting to follow the progress of one or two sites that are trying to get more visitors. Any requests? Any offers? Readers will be able to follow your progress in SiteFinder (no other catches!). Write to: roger@reviewing.co.uk   ~ DO YOU WANT A SHORTER ADDRESS? What happens when you leave out www from your address? I have recently discovered that I have a shorter address for my site. The official address is http://reviewing.co.uk but http://reviewing.co.uk works just as well - in the latest versions of Netscape and Explorer anyway. So if your internet address is too long to fit on your business card or on the side of your car, maybe you can shrink it a bit? Or buy a bigger car :-)   ~ WHICH SITES DO YOU LINK TO? http://www.links2go.com/ Here is a fascinating site that seems to list all the links from my own site. How do they do that? Are the links from your own site listed here?   ~ WHERE DO YOUR VISITORS COME FROM? The more links you have going into and out from your site the more visitors you will get. If your site has recently led visitors to my site you will find a thank you and another link back to your site at: http://reviewing.co.uk/links2reviewing.htm You can find out where your visitors come from for free by using the services of: http://www.hitbox.com   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 7 ~ THREE NEW SOURCES OF INFORMATION   ~ A NEW OUTDOOR EDUCATION DIRECTORY Do you have any articles or web pages that should be included? A new Outdoor Education Directory will be available online and in print by October 1999. This directory is being co-published by th e Association for Experiential Education and the ERIC Clearinghouse for Rural Education and Small Schools (ERIC/CRESS). ERIC/CRESS is a federally supported clearinghouse that makes articles and documents about education accessible to all who are interested.  The listing is free. For information contact Janet M. Mays maysj@ael.org or visit http://www.ael.org/eric/   ~ A NEW INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER INTERCOM is our way to communicate with everybody around the world about what is going on with the global field of Experiential Learning and Adventure Programming. The name "InterCom" derives from the words INTERnational, COMmunity, and COMmunication. We are using the term "InterCom" to describe this electronic newsletter, actions, AND the resulting communication among citizens of our International Community. Co-editors: Sandra Hernandes Simon Priest sandrahh@u.washington.edu spriest@ups.edu   ~ ANOTHER NEW INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER The first issue of this European Newsletter will be published on the web at http://www.erlebnispaedagogik.de (in English!) before the next issue of SiteFinder appears. For more information write to: info@erlebnispaedagogik.de   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 8 ~ ADVERTISING AN OPPORTUNITY IN CHINA   A leading training company in China (British Owned) is seeking a mature, highly experienced Training Professional to join our Corporate Training Programmes. Based in Beijing, and working all over China, you do not need to be able to speak Chinese, (though it is an advantage), you must be flexible, very competent and have at least three years frontline experience in OMD. This can be a permanent or flexible arrangement with two or three month assignment at a time.   This is a great opportunity to work with a small exciting, professional company with a great reputation.   Andy Brown, Executive Director  andyb@public.east.cn.net   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   CONTENTS (TOP) ~ 9 ~ READER SURVEY RESULTS   More of a small sample than a survey.   Thank you to those who responded and asked for future issues to be:       ~ Shorter     ~ Easier to scan     ~ More links to other sites     ~ More immediately useful sites     ~ More networking info     ~ More good humour in your writing style!     ~ More reviews of other sites.   Your recommendations, news and feedback will help to make this ezine even better! Please write to: roger@reviewing.co.uk and keep your editor up to date, on track and smiling!