relax outside!

All this talk about the NKOTB reunion, and then they show the faces of those girls that were just losing their minds at the sight of these dudes… I used to make fun of them. Now, I understand these girls. I feel that way right now. It’s as if someone gave me tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers.  Smooth talking and a semi-official Outdoorzy press credential have helped me get invited on a FREE heli trip! Here!

I haven’t been able to sleep so well the past few nights. I’m sure tonight I will be sleeples, eyes open, practiaclly vibrating with excitement.

I will have wi-fi at night, so I will try and update the blog with our adventures every couple of days.

As far as the X games went, well sorry your on-the-spot reporter let you down. I finally recovered from my hangover yesterday. While I have no pictures of the weekend due to a camera malfunction, I have some pretty amazing stories. For future refence, a guy on crutches, a “team manager” with an all access pass, and another with 2 trophies “won” at the Powder awards, makes for an awesome trio.

(original article)

Lisa Rands Makes First Female Ascent of The Mandala

Lisa Rands made the first female ascent of The Mandala (V12) in the Buttermilks in Bishop, California, on Friday, January 18. Rands, who lives in Bishop, had her eye on The Mandala for years, but had not had a chance to really work on it until recently. She took only three days in 2008 with the problem before sending it. Fellow The North Face athlete Peter Croft and Bishop local described The Mandala as the best unclimbed line in the Buttermilks before Chris Sharma's 2000 first ascent.

Want to Run Across the World?

Run Across The World (RAW) is a series of ultramarathon events that will take place on five continents (Sorry Antarctica and Australia), challenging competitors to complete a 250 km course over five days. Racers will be expected to carry all of the supplies they need with them as they head out onto the course. The first event is RAW Africa, which will take place April 21st - 25th in Cape Town, South Africa. From there, the other events will be held in Mexico, Spain, The UK, Japan and Dubai. The final leg of the series will be take place at The North Pole.

Avalanches Claim Another Victim

The leading edge of what forecasters said could be the most powerful storm of the season blanketed Southern California on Saturday night, dropping moderate to heavy rain from Orange County to Ventura and promising even heavier downpours today. But as the region braced for the latest deluge, authorities said they had recovered the body of a third avalanche victim from last week's snowstorm near the Mountain High ski resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, and a young snowboarder was rescued unharmed after a night outside.

See full article.

Related Entries:

Outdoor News Update: Endangered Destinations & World Cup Skiing - 29 October 2007

Outdoor News Update: Solar Kayaks & Antarctic Ship - 27 November 2007

Outdoor News Update: Non Ski Resorts & A Letter from Tibet - 04 December 2007

Outdoor News Update: Bike Friendly Cities & Three Missing Snowboarders - 12 December 2007

Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

(original article)

“Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. Only when this is recognized can the blown-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”

—John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley

See full article.

Related Entries:

Outdoor Quote: Mark Twain - 30 July 2007

Outdoor Quote: Wilfred Noyce - 02 August 2007

Outdoor Quote: Miles - 30 October 2007

Outdoor Quote: Claude Levi-Strauss - 27 November 2007

Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

(original article)

Nope, it’s not a new species discovered in the Amazon. It’s an adventure race in South Carolina. And Outdoorzy will be a sponsor this year. We’re very excited to be part of this race and can’t wait to get down to Charleston.

The 60 mile race will be held on March 8th in the Francis Marion National Forest, and is put on by Kando Adventures. It will include kayaking, mountain biking, trekking, and orienteering across land, water, and swamp. The “swamp” aspect should add some interesting features for people not used to those conditions.

Come by the race if you’re in the area, it should be a fun weekend. The race will be a USARA national qualifier. Check out their site here.

(original article)

Ok so you’re wondering WTF is happenin’ with the OGE Outdoor Blog. Sorry folks. We got slammed with the holidays and then the focus shifted on making the gear search engine (OGE Database) better. Nothing is live yet, but we’ve got a good plan to improve the search functionality of 350,000 plus outdoor gear products.

You should also see a new site design for the main site: OutdoorGearEngine.com

Of course here on the blog, we’ll keep posting the best gear deals on the web from over the 65 merchants we partner with. We’re including the cream of the crop online retailers with our service so you know you’ll be shopping a trusted and secure store.

Thanks for your ongoing support. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Sales/Promotions Category of our blog. It will save ya some bucks!

(original article)

I wish I would have thought of this one myself. The Gear Junkie has posted the 10 Most Dangerous Mountains on his website. I think the list is pretty comprehensive. Although I’m sure that the Trango Towers might argue that they should be on there. But all in all, a great list.

I noticed that Mt Washington in New Hampshire made the list. I climbed Mt Washington several years ago in the summer. Now it is pretty dangerous in the winter, with extreme temps and the highest recorded wind speeds in the US. But in summer it’s just a hike and a scramble for anyone in good physical shape. Hit it up if you can. Then you can say you climbed one of the 10 most dangerous mountains in the world.

(original article)

For years now, fly fisherman have been making “How To” & other technical type movies on casting, fly tying, fly fishing, trout streams, etc, and they are all usually pretty tame. The instructor/narrator is usually standing in field casting, sitting a tying table, or riding a long in a drift boat while a fishing guide floats them down a river. The basic point here is that there is a lot of comfort.

But what do you get when you have four young fly fishermen that have nothing better to do than fish? This is what they do. They form Angling Exploration Group (AEG) and travel to Patagonia (Argentina and Southern Chile) for five months; surviving off of beer and pasta, sleeping in dirt, and fishing their asses off. They filmed the entire adventure, added some music, and now have created FISH PORN!!

Trout Bum Diaries: Volume 1 Patagonia is pure fishing porn and has set the bar on what all outdoor movies should be like and is a must see for everyone; whether or not you are a fly fisherman, you will enjoy this movie for the story, scenery, mishaps, and BIG FISH!

(original article)

Okay, so you know how we do it here at Outdoorzy. We like to give prizes away when we can. This most recent contest was sponsored by Sierra Summits. They make sunblock, bug repellent, and other great skin products for active people like us.

The contest was simple. Tell the worst sunburn story, and win a pack of skincare products from Sierra Summits. Let me tell you, this one was hard. All the stories submitted were great. It was alot of fun, and a bit distrubing reading them. So, without further adieu, the winner is laclimchick!

And here’s her story.

Mine would have to be spring break when I was 15 in St. Thomas. First day we went to the beach to get sun and windsurf. I guess when I sat down on the beach chair the sun screen wore off behind my knees and upper calves. That night I could not walk at all. My legs were huge, so I applied after sun care stuff to help. Two days later it was still bad and I was stuck inside. My dad took me to an “island” doctor. No English at all and they told me to take antibiotics. They said the name and it was the anthrax medicine so mom told me no. Next day really could not walk and apparently my legs were having this blue tint to them on the back. The only thing I could wear was skirts. So we went to this other doctor and he was American. First of all never put cream or anything like that on a burn, it just holds the heat in. I got put on Vicadin and prednisone and benedryll. No idea on spellings here. This is when we found out I was allergic go benedryll. I could not sit still, I kept laughing and shaking and rocking back and forth and I saw dolphins standing in front of me. Then I passed out.

So now my legs never really get that tan anymore because I freak out. It was so painful.

(original article)

Some outdoorzy links and some not so outdoorzy links.

• All I can say is…wow. I can’t imagine seeing someone in these out camping.
• Why not cook your food while you drive to your next adventure?
• Hmmm…these utensils seem like a good idea.
• Solar powered emulator - for gaming while outdoorz
• know your genes - I don’t know about this, do I really want to know what all my genetic health problems could be?

(original article)

No, The Hulk is not running for Prez in ‘08. For if he were, I wouldn’t be conflicted on who I stand behind.

Being “Green” is what all the cool kids are doing these days. And that’s great for the cause and great for our future here on planet Earth. But how green are they? There are way more things on peoples minds than the environment these days. But it may help to see where your candidate stands on the main environmental issues before voting in November.

Check out this site for a good overview that gives the basics on each candidates stance on environmental issues.

Hulk art by David Finch

(original article)

Holy Crap!

That’s what I said, out loud, when I saw the story about this on the Backcountry Blog. Apparently a group of climbers decided they’d take the equipment up to the summit of 15,771 foot Mont Blanc on the border of Italy and France. Part of me wants to say… “Dude I’m so jealous.” And another part of me thinks I’d be pissed off if I spent all night and morning working my arse off to get to the summit and these guys were partying when I got there. But you definitely have to give them points for creativity. And judging from the pics over at their site, this was no easy feat. Thinking about the logistics of it is actually a little fun. If you can ignore the fact that they were kinda missing the point of mountaineering.

(original article)

Just when you thought the doping/steroids news was slowly ending, today, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that 2007 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador could be banned from depending his yellow jersey. This news comes on the heels of the Operation Puerto doping scandal and his alleged involvement. CONI wants to bar all riders.

“After prosecuting and sanctioning Italian athletes, we have turned our focus to the two (Spanish) doctors (Eufemiano) Fuentes and (Merino) Batres, and about 50 foreign athletes that we know frequented their medical practices and probably used banned substances,” CONI's chief anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri said Monday in an interview with RAI state TV.

“It's really unfair that our athletes were (punished) and can't participate while other well-known athletes - Spanish and of other nationalities - like Contador and Valverde, remain fully active and even participated in the world championships,” Torri added. “We stopped (Giro d'Italia champion Danilo) Di Luca on the eve of the worlds, and it was a decision we really struggled with but the right one.”

See full article.

Related Entries:

Rasmussen Wins the 16th Stage of the Tour de France - 25 July 2007

Contador Wins Tour de France - 29 July 2007

Outdoor News Update: More Tour de France - 29 July 2007

Tour de France Cyclists Have Big Hearts - 04 September 2007

Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

(original article)

Don't let the unseasonably warm weather fool you, it's still winter and that means its not to late for snowboarding. Luckily for you, the editors of Future Snowboarding magazine have compiled a list of slopes located within an hour of the airport. They call the article, “Storm Chasers: From Plane to Powder in Under an Hour”. Nice.

Here are a few highlights:

-Burlington International Airport, Vt., from which the magazine says you can be on the lift in 30 minutes at Bolton Valley. Sugarbush, Stowe and Smugglers Notch are within an hour's drive of the airport.

Check out the rest in the February 2008 issue.

See full article.

Related Entries:

THE OUTDOOR SPORTS LIST: #3 SNOWBOARDING - 05 January 2006

All The Powder You Can Eat - 04 October 2006

Weekly Recap: Record Season on Everest and Snowboarding - 11 June 2007

World Cup Snowboarding Season Begins August 31 - 30 August 2007

Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

(original article)

New Functionality at AmericaSkiing.com Allows Users to Share Blogs, Post Photos, Join Clubs, Create Events and much More.

Philadelphia, PA, January 15, 2008 - AmericaSkiing.com, one of North America’s top skiing and snowboarding web sites, introduced recently the first social networking portal exclusively for skiers and snowboarders. This unique portal is the latest to capitalize on social networking as a medium to unite people of similar interests. The site is designed to combine the networking power and capabilities of popular social networking sites, with the shared focus of snow riding.

“AmericaSkiing’s new feature offers a comprehensive forum for skiers and snowboarders to network and plan. The technology on the site allows folks to create profiles, share skiing and snowboarding experiences with photos and blogs, and plan skiing and snowboarding events” says Brian Boyd from Backcountry.com.

In addition to the wealth of skiing and snowboarding resources already available on AmericaSkiing.com, the new portal features interactive capabilities including:

• Profiles
• Photo Section
• Blogs
• Friends
• Clubs
• Events

About AmericaSkiing.com

Formed in 2000, AmericaSkiing.com offers information on the latest ski gear and other outdoor gear; research on ski resorts, clubs, and events; skiing and snowboarding videos; and now, a forum for skiers and snowboarders to connect with people who share their passion for the powder. The AmericaSkiing social networking portal has been in development for the last year and has been in beta since the beginning of Q4 2007. For more information or to sign up, check out http://www.americaskiing.com/community/ or contact Gina Ermilio at Gina@AmericaSkiing.com.

####

(original article)

Well 2008’s first mountaineering “news story” has come and gone. Two climbers on Mt Hood got caught in some weather, dug a snow cave and then headed on the next day. They missed the Timberline Lodge on their descent due to heavy snow and ended up about 1,000 feet below the lodge. They called out on their cell phone and reported that they knew about where they were and were on their way to the lodge. They are back safe and sound.

No radio locators were taken, but they vowed to take them next time. That is always a good idea folks! You never think you’ll need it, but the one time you do you’ll be glad you brought it.

I have never gotten turned around on a mountain and ended up 1,000 feet below where I thought I was….. okay maybe I did just that a few years ago. Yet it didn’t make the news. I guess the Obama-Clinton scuffle wasn’t exciting enough today.

(original article)

Contact:
Josiah Roe
423.822.6850

Chattanooga, TN, January 14, 2008 - Rock/Creek has launched a new ecommerce site, developed by Chattanooga’s leading integrated design company, Coptix, Inc. The company has also named Coptix as its Interactive Agency of Record.

As a leading retailer of outdoor equipment and apparel, Rock/Creek sees the Internet as an opportunity for robust sales. The company has a long history of participation in the active life of Chattanooga and the larger outdoor community. Rock/Creek organizes grassroots events, educates customers on outdoor safety, how to get the most out of backcountry experiences, and promotes environmentally responsible recreation and stewardship.

“We’re delighted to roll out this latest version of our site,” said Rock/Creek Marketing Director Mark McKnight. “The new look and the functionality Coptix has developed builds on our 20-year brick and mortar heritage and responds to what we’ve learned from our web customers over the years.”

For the rebuild of the site, Coptix incorporated Rock/Creek’s newly developed visual identity and implemented the site with the latest in web-standards & search engine-friendly methods. The new site is much easier to update and maintain. Additionally, the Coptix tools and systems build upon and expand Rock/Creek’s ability to serve their customers in ways that enhance the outdoor experience.

“We are thrilled to partner with Rock/Creek, which is not only a cornerstone of the Chattanooga community, but is also pushing the envelope on how products can be taken to market on the internet,” said Coptix President Josiah Q. Roe.”

About Coptix
Coptix, Inc. is a leading integrated design firm in the Southeast, bringing clients holistic business development through branding, graphic design, internet marketing, ecommerce and software development.

About Rock/Creek
Rock/Creek, member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, is an independent specialty outdoor retailer with over two decades of experience in the Southeast. Along with its online shops, RockCreek.com and ClimbingGear.com, Rock/Creek provides quality outdoor clothing and gear for a host of activities including kayaking, rock climbing, camping, hiking, trail running, travel, and adventure racing. Rock/Creek is committed to making a positive impact on the environment.

(original article)

As news about Sir Edmund Hillary's death, the first man to summit Mount Everest, circled around the world, Sherpas in Nepal mourned the person they considered to be a “second father”. A statue and memorial are planned for Hillary.

The gritty mountain community said the larger-than-life New Zealander will be best remembered for his promotion of Nepal as well as his efforts to give something back to the impoverished villages nestled in the mountains.

“He was an undeclared ambassador for Nepal. When Nepal was going through conflict, he still came and continued to promote Nepal,” Gurung said, referring to the decade-long civil war with Maoist rebels that ended in late 2006.

See full article.

Related Entries:

Crowds Pack Everest - 20 September 2006

This Week in Outdoor History: Mount Everest - 27 May 2007

Nepal Reduces Climbing Fees on Mount Everest - 22 August 2007

First Person to Summit Mount Everest Dies - 11 January 2008

Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

(original article)

Serious, that’s what I have. Look it up. There is no way I could have been able to work the past 2 mornings.

I can officially say that after 10+ years of skiing/riding Vail, yesterday was the best conditions I have EVER seen,,, ever. Totally worth getting fired over. Snow report only said 8 fell (on top of the feet that had been accumulating all week) but the wind howled Wednesday night and filled-in everything. Amazingly, as soon as the lifts opened, the clouds parted and we were blessed with bluebird conditions all morning. The real icing on the cake was the lack of other people. This weekend could be a royal cluster, people come out of the woodwork for conditions like this… another 6 inches fell last night, and the hits just keep on coming, more snow accumulating through Sunday!

Quit your day job you freakin robots! Buy these, or this, come wash dishes and live on my couch for a winter. You’ll be glad you did.

So if you can’t get to Colorado this weekend, rent “Hot Dog… The Movie”, pour some out for Sir Edmund Hillary, and please think of me and my awful ailments. I’m sure by Monday morning I’ll come down with Raynoud’s Syndrome, or something of the like.

(original article)

Sir Edward Hillary, the first man to successfully summit Mount Everest, died today at the age of 88 years old. Hillary suffered a heart attacked and was pronounced died at the Auckland Hospital in New Zealand. “Ed” as the mountain people of Nepal called him accomplished his Everest feat on May 29, 1953 with his climbing partner, Tenzing Norgay.

“In reality, he was a colossus,” Clark said in a statement. “He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity.”

“Awe, wonder, humility, pride, exaltation - these surely ought to be the confused emotions of the first men to stand on the highest peak on Earth, after so many others had failed,” Hillary noted.

See full article.

Related Entries:

Crowds Pack Everest - 20 September 2006

This Week in Outdoor History: Mount Everest - 27 May 2007

Everest Mystery Over Ladder Remains - 20 June 2007

Nepal Reduces Climbing Fees on Mount Everest - 22 August 2007

Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

(original article)