9 Things You Can Do To Get Ready For Ski Season Right Now
bySki season is nearly here, kind of. Although you might not actually click into your skis for another 60 to 90 days, it’s important…
SKIING
Dear Loveland Ski Area:
byA few months ago, I walked into your season pass office and filled out a form to get an Uphill Access Pass. You charged…
Dear Winter:
byDear Winter: Hey man. How’s it going? A few of us were just talking about you. And by “just,” I mean for the past…
Skiing: A Bumpy Love Story
byI leaned on my poles at the intersection of Why Not and Vagabond, green and blue runs, respectively, low on the mountain at Steamboat….
Should You Take The Day Off Work To Go Skiing?
byHere is a flow chart to help you decide: But wait, you say, it’s not that simple. Right, it’s not. You have too much…
Help Your Relationship Survive Your Girlfriend/Boyfriend’s First Ski Season
byHere’s what you’ve imagined: You and your attractive girlfriend or boyfriend sitting next to each other on the chairlift, ripping pow, maybe having a…
11 Ways To Make That Chairlift Ride Awkward
bySki season is here, and you’ll be spending anywhere from three to 15 minutes sharing chairlifts with people you may or may not know….
Dear Helmets:
byDear helmets: You guys are my favorite hats. Sure, other headwear may be more stylish, more “cool,” easier to put on slightly sideways to…
‘Hey Girl’ Memes For Outdoorsy Women
by(Chris Sharma photo by Klaus Fengler/klausfengler.de) Ladies: Have you enjoyed Ryan Gosling’s “Hey Girl” meme, but wish there were something a bit more ……
Happiness: It’s The Little Things
byThis past January at a film festival, I got to chat briefly with big-mountain skier Chris Davenport. He’s a big deal (among other things,…
You Wonder Why We Don’t Have Nice Things
byI sat down exhausted last Tuesday night next to my friends Chris and Forest in front of a granite shelter we’d just built on…
How To Get Your New Boyfriend/ Girlfriend To Hate Your Sport
byYou love snowboarding. Or climbing. Or mountain biking. You’ve been doing it for so long, you can’t remember what your life was like without…
There Are Uphill People, And There Are Downhill People
byI realized a couple years ago that I have more fun skiing uphill than skiing downhill. I enjoy the Zen rhythm of methodically skinning…
The Sometimes Awkward Process Of Finding Your Flow
byThe Sunday night before my first day of fourth grade, I rolled my black-and-gold Huffy Thunder 50 BMX bike up to the retaining wall…
What’s The Cost-Per-Use Of Your Skis/Bike/Rack?
by“I’ve been thinking about things on a cost-per-use basis lately,” my friend Nick said to me a few weeks ago. Nick doesn’t make rash…
The Importance Of Being A Lifelong Beginner
byWhen you dismount a mountain bike going uphill, you end up doing a sort of bow. As you step off and swing a leg…
Sick, Brah: The Ineloquence Of Talking About The Outdoors
byYou, outdoor recreator, are quite probably quite educated: Bachelor’s degree, possibly a master’s degree or Ph.D. You wore a cap and gown and were…
What’s Better: Watching Or Doing?
byAs the USA Pro Cycling Challenge was working its way around Colorado and into the Front Range in August, I saw this Facebook status…
Girly Girls And Manly Men
byIn a conversation a few weeks ago, a climber friend of mine described herself as “not super-girly.” Her expanded definition of that was: I…
In Defense Of Denver
byA handful of Saturday mornings, I have driven out of Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood juggling a bowl of granola on my lap, trying to…
All It Takes Is Two Feet Of Fresh Powder To Convince Me
byI know people love skiing — I live in Colorado. People move here just to go skiing. They start salivating when the first reports…
The 6 Things That Can Keep You From Dying In An Avalanche
by(photo borrowed from avtraining.org) I’m not anyone’s mother, but stories like this make me feel like being everyone’s mother. I wouldn’t call myself an…