Glamping is proving itself to be an exceedingly plastic notion, applicable to pods, safari tents and now—says this person in the N.Y. Times—a blacked-out apartment 10 floors up a dark stairway above a rubbish-clogged, soon-to-be-black-moldy rat-scape. Hats off to New Yorkers, and all you folks in New Jersey and Delaware. Everyone who was clobbered by...
The first priority now, in the aftermath of Sandy, is to take care of the people who have lost their loved ones, homes and worldly goods. They need food and water and a jump-start. The complicated and interlaced systems that keep the East Coast hive functioning—all that needs to be drained, cleaned and in many...
For some time, people have noticed Bakersfield, California. Not as “the birthplace of the country music genre known worldwide as the Bakersfield Sound” or because it has more Basque restaurants than any other town in the country. Bakersfield gets a lot of unwanted attention because it is the most polluted city in the United States....
As people age, their sleep patterns change. This is not a revelation for you. Once, you could stay up till 2 a.m., sleep 12 hours, then do it over again. And feel great doing it. Now you go to bed at 10 p.m., turn turn turn, knuckle the pillow, wonder if the iPad will wake...
Camping in summer is perfect: a chance to shake off the stale atmosphere in your (probably) air-conditioned home. You live simple, work hard, sleep well and wake up a little sore. And camping in winter seems deranged. Correction: winter camping in the north, or at altitude, seems mad. This is true when you’re twenty, and...
If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve learned to be skeptical. Maybe cynical. You may even have crafted a few homemade conspiracy theories that you’re reluctant to divulge because everyone knows what conspiracy theories mean. (They mean you’ve taken the first step on the meandering trail to someone’s-been-sneaking-into-my-apartment-and-moving-my-reading-glasses-and-car-keys.) You might even think that Nike’s huge advertising...
Ever notice how a few weeks away from the office upgrades your mood? You have ideas…and visions. You develop plans for making those visions a reality. That’s why companies have off-site meetings and vacation benefits—to give you a renewed sense of meaning and purpose. Haha. Companies just want you out of the office. It’s a...
If you live at my latitude, these are the weeks hope, when every trip to the basement reminds you that the camping gear is still there, still not packed away for the season. Part of you wants to believe you might get out again this year, but you know the odds get slimmer with each...
“Do you think God is going to come down here and save you for being stupid? He doesn’t save stupid people, Abel.” Those lines—from There Will Be Blood, a movie about an obsessed oil driller—came to mind reading the Center for American Progress’ recent report on oil and gas drilling within national parks. Surprising fact:...
Travel publisher Lonely Planet just sent me an email with a subject line that promised “The top 10 places to have a midlife crisis”—an enticing come-on for a huge load of inexperienced posturing, a smoky glance from a virgin. The travel article (which was, oddly, two years old when it appeared in my mailbox)...
New Zealand’s Otago Daily Times just ran a story about an adaptive ski program for disabled skiers and snowboarders, which is a pleasing piece to read if you like the idea of disabled people enjoying all the good things in life, and if you’re looking ahead to winter and are happy to see a ski...
This is a story about sex, drugs and sports—things we love to talk about. And, for extra spice, porn and cancer. Pharmaceutical companies are aggressively marketing drugs to combat low testosterone—“low T’ in the ads—in older men, and they are doing it with the same enthusiasm (and big budgets) that they market rejuvenating creams and...
Shoulder Season 2: (Supposed) Best Hikes in the U.S.
Mar 4, 2020
Shoulder Season 1: It’s soon time to hike
Feb 25, 2020
Klaus Obermeyer is a 100-year-old beast
Feb 22, 2020
The Soft Bigotry of Age Brackets
Feb 19, 2020
Ski North Korea! Also, Again: Climate Change
Feb 17, 2020
When obsessions collide: Pensions, skiing and climate change
Feb 15, 2020
Vail Speaks! Vail Speaks! (And More About Crowds)
Feb 14, 2020
Ski Passes Suck But Also Don’t
Feb 12, 2020
A mid-season reminder that (some) seniors ski free (or cheap) in (some) places
Feb 9, 2020
Every ski hill is Disney-fied
Feb 6, 2020