Lets be honest, backcountry snowboarding kind of sucks. You either
have to slog in on snowshoes or buy a split board and deal with the
icing or performance issues that entails. Well, now you have another
choice, here, today, on GoBlog. MTN approach takes a novel approach with
foldable skis. That's right, just like speakers that go to eleven and
those little sandwiches you can fold over and over, the 8 lbs of MTN
Approach skis fold up nicely into your backpack when you're ready to strap on the board and ride home. Here's their pitch:
Lightweight - Only 8 lbs. (total weight Including skins) 3 .5lbs per foot, per step = less fatigue & longer tours
Quick transition time - Unfolds in seconds, no skins to peel and store, no removable parts
Ride any board you want - No compromise on performance, you don't have to give up your favorite stick!
Unique tool - You already own at least one snowboard, why should you be forced to buy another to get uphill?
Ascends effectively - Full metal edges, side cut on both edges, easy to kick-turn and traverse
Ascends effectively - Side cut on both edges, lightweight
Full Camber - Allows for the entire length of the climbing skin to be in contact with the snow serface
Size - Stores easily in backpack for the decent
Still not sure. Watch the video below to get an idea of how they work. Yours for $795 on the MNT Approach site, though they're sold out at the moment.
Kids. Love 'em or hate 'em, they never stop growing. At least until they're adults. Seems like every other month you gotta buy them a new pair of shoes, new backpack, new clothes, never mind all the sports gear they need each year. Well, Spanish bike maker, Orbea, is trying to change that - at least for bikes. The company is now selling the Grow bike in the U.S., which has an adjustable aluminum frame that extends as your little grommet does. Pretty cool, in theory.
Orbea claims the bikes fit much better than simply moving the seat and handlebars on a bike that's a bit too small or large, which was the old solution for cheap (read reasonable) parents, unwilling to shell out for a good fitting bike. With the Grow, your special little person gets to ride a bike that fits perfectly.
This seems like a good idea, but then, maybe its just overkill. Riding an ill-fitting, hand-me-down bike is something of a rite of passage for kids. Or at least it used to be. But then again, so did not wearing a helmet, getting lost in the grocery store, and spending the entire day outside, free from parents. Furthermore, there are three sizes of the bike, which seems to somewhat defeat the point. I don't have a perfect memory, but I remember having three bikes growing up. A red one, a black one, and then, a mountain bike that was too big for the first couple of years I rode it, because I was supposed to grow into it, which I did after mashing my 'nads on the cross bar a few times. Also, they're expensive - or so they seem to someone who doesn't buy kids stuff very often - ranging from $240-$340 depending on the size. Seems like you could buy 8 used bikes for your kids for that price. Just saying'…
Holy crap, did you guys watch the Superbowl? Perhaps we're just over-reacting, but did we witness probably the best free press coverage for a niche sport in the history of outdoor sports? Did slacklining just become the rollerblading of the new millennium? Listen, we're no experts in the outdoors p.r. biz, that would be Drew and Geraci. But are you kidding us? Before the Superbowl halftime show, only famous slackliner anyone could name in the world was probably Dean Potter, if you even knew what slacklining was. Now the biggest thing to come out of the Superbowl besides MIA's finger was Bay Area native Andy Lewis, the red headed little cherub slackliner kissing Madonna. Sweet baby j, Gibbon must be besides themselves right now. Articles all over the place about Lewis, slacklining, Gibbon, and how old Madonna looked. Even made the NY Times, in an article titled, "That Guy in the Toga? Call Him a Slackliner." If you have a chance to invest in Gibbons, do it, because they're going to be selling a few slacklines after all this press. Nice work. In fact, The Clymb has a daily deal going on today with 40% off slacklines, so jump on it before you miss the trend and look silly in your toga.
How 'bout a little Humpday video action. This one's of the Red Bull Supernatural. For the past few months, snowboarder Travis Rice and pals have been talking up the Supernatural, (and catching shit from enviros, for carving a custom run out of the trees in British Columbia). They holed up at Baldface Mountain and built ramps, kickers, and table tops on a big backcountry slope and got 18 of the world's best snowboarders together and rode the hell out of the course. I'm not a huge fan of the park scene - I'm a backcountry telewhacker for chrissakes - but this is pretty cool. Oh yeah, Travis Rice won the competition. Of course he did.
A month or so ago, I wrote about the perceived influence of Coca Cola over a plan to eliminate disposable water bottle sales at Grand Canyon National Park. You may recall the Park had a plan to get rid of the bottles, but it was postponed after NPS Director, Jon Jarvis, received a call from the Director of the National Park Foundation who had, in turn, received a call from Coca Cola expressing concern that the proposal hadn't been "analyzed completely." I believe there was a quote about personal freedom from the Coca Cola p.r. flack - ie banning the sale of disposable plastic water bottles would somehow curtail one's personal freedom to waste $2 on a bottle of water hauled on a truck from who knows where and then leave it on a bench or just chuck it in a tree.
Well, Grand Canyon officials agreed to study the plan even more, and this week, issued the ban, which will take effect in 30 days. The Park has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on water filing stations and is confident that folks will be safe and hydrated while in the park. Also, the ban doesn't apply to gallon jugs of water.
The ban also doesn't apply to soda bottles, energy drinks, or juice bottles. So, it'll be pretty easy for folks to continue to litter after slugging back a refreshing 20 oz. Coke. Unless, of course, they hold onto that disposable plastic bottle and fill it with water. Not quite so free, but still pretty free - you're free to throw the bottle on the ground after you're done.
Bicycling Bis wrote about Erin Nelson, an eighteen year old who left Turlock CA in 2010 to try and become the youngest person to ride around the world. Her blog speaks to her youth, "The air is so polluted my snot and spit is black. That is pretty gross I know" and "chinese people are so nice, I am so happy to be out of india!!?", but we'll cut her some slack. She hasn't gone to college yet and everyone can't be master wordsmiths like we are here at GoBlog. At least she's not just sitting in some florescent lit office building with her Strunk and White, writing about other people doing cool things. She's out there doing it. So good on her. Plus she likes Tom Petty.
Are we right? You saw this and coveted it. First on your block to say, "Dude, yeah this is my upcycled bag made from exploded car air bags." Hopefully they cleaned the blood off well. But best of all, as the copy says, you "can wear to from your favorite local skate park to riding your BMW motorcycle." Yay. Yours for a mere $299.
God forbid you actually left your cell phone or MP3 Player in the car and enjoyed the slopes and outdoors technology free. Sure the days of being outdoors without having to listen to jackasses chattering away are long gone, but we it doesn't mean we can't whine about it. Helmets with integrated bluetooth have been around for a while, but the Buhel Speakgoggle G33 has an integrated microphones that uses bone conduction technology to let you chatter away in annoying handsfree mode. Yay!
SPEAKGOGGLE G33 - INTERCOM is equipped with a bone
conduction microphone integrated into the frame, which is able to catch
your words directly from your nose, without boring traditional external
microphones. It allows a clear conversation everywhere, also with strong
environmental noise.
SPEAKGOGGLE G33 - INTERCOM
answers automatically an incoming call, even while
listening the music. G33 - INTERCOM allows Voice Dial calls, when
supported by mobile phones that include the Voice Dial feature.
SPEAKGOGGLE G33 - INTERCOM
is a Bluetooth® Com System that has been thought with an absolutely
innovative concept by using BUHEL VIBRATION SYSTEM technology. G33 -
INTERCOM can be connected to Bluetooth® enabled cellular phones, music
players and gps.
Pretty cool water purifier based on cutting edge 17th century technology, from Black and Blum.
Binchotan active charcoal has been used in Japan as a water purifier
since the 17th century. It reduces chlorine, mineralises the water and
balances the pH. The binchotan active charcoal can be used for up to 6
months and amazingly recylces for
All in all we spent 5 months on the road from March through August
2011. In that time we covered 36 states in addition to a short stop in
DC and a few days in Vancouver. Our total distance clocked in at about
18,000 miles and we visited a total of seventeen rock climbing areas.
You can see the breakdown of our budget below. We spent a little more
than half of our money on food (including restaurants, groceries and
beer) and about a third of our money on gas. The chart shows costs PER
PERSON with two of us traveling in the truck. If you take a trip by
yourself gas would be twice as expensive.
For 5 months driving around the U.S. we spent $9,700 which comes out
to $4,850 per person, and $30.70 per person per day. That is slightly
less than the $33/day we spent during our year abroad. I think it’s
pretty interesting to see how these costs compare.
A month or so ago, I wrote about the perceived influence of Coca Cola over a plan to eliminate disposable water bottle sales at Grand Canyon National Park. You may recall the Park had a plan to get rid of the bottles, but it was postponed after NPS Director, Jon Jarvis, received a call from the Director of the National Park Foundation who had, in turn, received a call from Coca Cola expressing concern that the proposal hadn't been "analyzed completely." I believe there was a quote about personal freedom from the Coca Cola p.r. flack - ie banning the sale of disposable plastic water bottles would somehow curtail one's personal freedom to waste $2 on a bottle of water hauled on a truck from who knows where and then leave it on a bench or just chuck it in a tree. 
