Look at the face of a person skiing. OK, that sounds dangerous. Instead, look at the face of a person who has just made that final steep run and slid into the back of the lift line. Smiles. Maybe a look of steely self-satisfaction. Ruddy exhilaration. Actual human emotion. Now go to the gym...
We’re done with glamping. So over it. We’re over thinking about it and looking at the pictures. There’s no future here. But we can’t quit it. Not just yet. Soon, but not now. One reason: we like the pictures. We don’t know why we like them. It might be for the same perverse impulse that...
Some days skiing—especially resort skiing—seems to have no more connection to the raw mountain than a Carnival cruise ship has to the sea. If you snap into your bindings in hopes of engaging nature, you will be disappointed. The hills are mostly manicured and groomed, rendered comfortable and convenient and predictable. Most folks like...
Snow melts, summer seems like a possibility, and suddenly hiking and biking gear seems fascinating in a way it didn’t three weeks ago. The seed takes root; a few days later you invent a reason to swing by your local outfitter. You daydream about day hikes. Then something a little longer. And gear that...
So much of our attention is diverted to the marquee destinations, and understandably so. It’s fun to read about diving in Bonaire or skiing Whistler, and we can convince ourselves that we’re actually gathering useful information. Something that will help us plan that next outing. No, I’m not wasting time looking at this video of...
Despite years of truly frightening predictions about the inevitability of climate change and its disastrous effects, the world seems to have lost traction on the issue . People are still writing stories, scientists are still debating models, activists are still acting. But previously concerned citizens now seem to be uttering a...
If you are confused about luxury camping (also called glamorous camping or, awkwardly, glamping), you are not alone. Some of these places, like the “romantic” English shepherds’ huts found on goglamping.net, look like slightly-more-claustrophobic-than-normal ice-fishing shacks. But there seems to be a trend toward more upscale hospitality, where guests are coddled with opulent...
We have a new favorite line of the week, from a story in the Edmonton Journal on octogenarian skiers: during the photo shoot for the story, 87-year-old Hanna Andersen “thinks about doing a jump, something she hasn’t done since she was 85….”* Andersen is one of 20 over-80 skiers in Edmonton’s 400-member Rocky Mountain...
One nostalgic post (Runestone’s harkening back to his Jet Stix knock-offs) leads us to another. We came on this fascinating film that purports to show skiers in 1932 Poland’s Tatra Mountains (Geography lesson: The Tatra Mountains form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. Thanks,...
We did it! February 24, on our six-month anniversary (yes, it does sound like something high school sweethearts would say), we did what connivers always do: we professed our affection, and our thanks, and then asked for something in return. Specifically, we asked our good readers to help us reach just one reader in Mongolia....
While not conducive to the healthiest of lifestyles, the lowly cigar has become the last refuge of a population entirely comfortable with politically incorrect acts. Stereotypes die hard (and usually of cancer) but as I took on the art of the cigar it became clear that this was indeed an outdoor pursuit. When my favorite...
You could spend what remains of your life collecting stories about engaging people who have chucked over their rat-race lives, bought a sailboat, and cruised the world for a year or a decade or longer. That’s because a lot of people actually do this. There are communities of cruisers, in boats of varying degrees of...
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