Backpacking: Our Ultimate Prep-for-the-Season Guide
You might be ready for the season, but is your gear? Here’s how to make sure.
Choosing Mountains: Mountaineering with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Diagnosis: Traumatic Brain Injury Exhausted before it even started, my first expedition was one of survival. Constant changes in direction, diagnosis, and dialects across seven hospitals in three countries. 70% vision loss, cognitive chaos, murky memory and an abolished appetite—I was both lost for words and a lust for life following 26 stormy months in a constant climb for my life. Every step felt like an unsteady crevasse crossing, my medical team leading me from the edge of death’s doorstep into an avalanche of unknowns. Adrift amidst the losses, the only sign I could see illuminated was the mountains. They are home, comfort and constant. Mountains allow me to make sense of the confusion that surfaces amongst crowds and questions, stares and cities. Natural colossi—blockades to some, obstacles to others, opportunities…
Crag Dogs: A Climber’s Best Friend (Or Worst Enemy)
When you punt off your project for the hundredth time in a row, having your dog at the crag with you can spell the difference between holding it together and bursting into tears. But it’s a double-edged sword. If you’re going for the send on your project and your crag dog spots a wild animal they want to chase, you need to stop, go in-direct or lower and handle your crag dog. Whether dogs belong at the crag is a difficult question with many different answers, and they may all be right. We’re here to help you make the right decision for yourself and your dog. Rules and Regulations It doesn’t matter if your dog is the best crag dog in the world, if the area’s regulations say no dogs—sorry…
Tips for Thru-Hikers: Hiking the PCT & CDT in the Snow
Where is the snow on the PCT and CDT? And how do you conquer it?
Cycling Around the World: Lessons from Living a Nomad Life
Oscar Wilde said, “If you want to be a grocer, or a general, or a politician, or a judge, you will invariably become it; that is your punishment.” Long before living a nomad life, I had wanted to be a software engineer. But when I became one, it felt like a punishment. It is not to say that a Ph.D. in computer science and a software development career in Germany were not dreams that came true. But those dreams were no longer mine. Now, I have no career, permanent address, fixed phone number, bank balance, spouse or kids. Everything I own fits inside my bicycle panniers. Every day is a new adventure. Despite all the uncertainties and difficulties I face on the road, I find a new home, a new…
The Importance of Inclusivity in the Outdoors
I grew up sharing a deep connection with nature. I fell in love with the boundless beauty and felt its powerful spiritual and emotional healing benefits. As a black, queer human, I also observed a lack of diversity in many of these spaces that I treasured, which led to feelings of otherness and even moments when I had concern for my personal safety. These feelings inspired me to further explore the reasons why there is a lack of inclusivity in outdoor spaces, lands and activities that are a part of everyone’s culture and a right for all people. Growing up, I fell in love with chasing fireflies, riding my bike, climbing trees and creating artwork inspired by nature. This love expanded to coastal adventures, camping, canoeing and hiking in the…
8 Tips for Cold-Weather Camping in the Fall
What to pack and how to stay warm during this spectacular shoulder season.
Strength Training for Climbers: 3 Tips from Steph Davis
The training trifecta for rock climbing and mountain adventure includes these tried-and-true components: power lifting, finger-specific training, and the ever-enjoyable carrying things uphill.
Mountain Running in the Sierra Nevada
One of the best parts of mountain running is when you get to walk. I’m not calling mountain running a gentle stroll, but generally, you’re not full-on, maxed-out sprinting hour after hour up an enormous rock pile. The running part is great, but the main draw is that rock pile and the ones around it. Just being, and moving, in the mountains. Starting from the smell of sage and climbing into solitude with the sounds of rushing water, birdsong, and your own feet finding rhythms on the ground. Often, if you are walking, you are someplace spectacular: a steep forest trail, a technical ridge, or on the way to a lonely summit where the air is thin. As a mountain runner coming from the Alps, I’ve been adapting to the…