Once in a while, Burton comes out with a board that doesn't draw mocking comments from us for being misogynistic or over-priced. In this case Jake and his team have teamed up with Marley and Co to introduce the Whammy Bar Marley, a board celebrating one of the most gifted musicians of the 20th century, not to mention a friend of the ganja. So let us raise a fat one to exceptions to Burton's rule, keep it up. Available for $399 at Burton.
If you've ever wanted to have robot-like vision - where different statistics are displayed across your field of vision - Zeal Optics has the ski goggles for you. On October 10th, Zeal is releasing its Transcend GPS Snow Goggle. Described (by Zeal Optics) as the most technologically advanced goggle in the world,
the Transcend GPS™ features Recon Instruments’ proprietary GPS technology and Zeal Optics’ high-performance lens options. It features vertical odometer technologies and provides real-time access to performance statistics including speed, altitude, temperature, and time. Sleek graphics are completely non-obtrusive for front and peripheral vision, making it the ultimate solution for use in fast-paced, alpine environments.
Yep, these goggle flash different statistics across the inside of the lens so you can report to the stranger on the chair lift that you just hucked a 10 foot air at 20 mph. And if you want to prove to your bros how hard core you are, there's USB port so you can download all your stats onto your computer. A rechargeable lithium ion battery runs everything for 7 hours. Zeal is offering two versions of the goggle - one with an SPPX Polarized and Photochromatic Lens and one with just an SPX Polarized Lens. The Photochromatic lens adjusts automatically due changing light conditions.
So what's all this technology gonna cost you? 'Bout as much as a new pair of ski boots. The SPPX Lens costs just $499 while the lesser SPX lens costs a mere $399.
Hmm, 5 hundo for some goggles? That seems a little steep - especially considering most early season ski passes run right around 5 hundred - but skiing is a rich man's sport so what the hell?
I'm just wondering how well the photochromatic lens, the batteries, and the head mounted display will work in cold, wet, windy winter weather, you know the kind that always seems to blow in for the week you booked at you favorite resort.
I remember having read about "Glamping" a few years ago in Outside Magazine. At the time it was something some silly, rich English people were doing, people like Kate Moss, and Gwyneth Paltrow (ok, she's not British per se, but my wife said her husband is…close enough). I thought it sounded lame, especially considering its origins - super expensive African Safaris where ten or twenty servants rush about preparing your nightly accommodations and food.
Well, apparently Glamping - an oh-so-cute combo of Glamour and Camping - has made it across the pond. Check out the opening line of this recent article on Glamping:
"Love the great outdoors but hate the idea of sleeping on the ground in a lumpy sleeping bag and taking cold showers?" According to this particular author, "Going glamping means you can enjoy first-class accommodations without forgoing the eco-friendly, get-away-from-it all appeal of camping."
When I read about Glamping years ago, I remember matching tents and sleeping bags, maybe something about a sheep skin rug or an extra thick sleeping pad. But that was in impoverished England. In America, Glamping dispenses with a tent altogether. For example, just up the road from where I type these very words is the Paws Up Resort - a typical Glamping destination and specifically mentioned in the article. I've never been there because it costs several hundred dollars a night, but according to the article, "…the canvas tents feature art-adorned walls and heated floors; a private master bath is a short walk away along a solar lighted path."
That's not camping at all. That's staying in a pricey cabin at a resort. Which, as I read on, is pretty much entirely what the American version of Glamping is. Just last year, these places were called luxury eco-lodges. Before that, high-end b+b's. No part of spending upwards of $500 a night to sleep in a fancy tent/yurt/tipi/cabin can be considered camping. Unless the fancy tent matches the fancy sheets, and Kate Moss is at the site across the path…then maybe. If, however, your idea of camping is staying in a "tent" some college kid set up on Memorial Day so you and your rich friends could pretend to "get-away-from-it-all" then by all means check out Glampinggirl.com. Yes that's right, there's a website...
I always get a little bummed out this time of year. The cool mornings, all the damn college students back in town and taking over my favorite bar, the fact that it's September, inevitably make me realize that I did about 1/2 of the things that I wanted to over the summer. This summer seems particularly bad on my end…too much time blogging I guess, 'cause I blog all the time.
Well, fortunately the kind folks over at Adventure Cycling time their 2011 trip announcement to give me something to look forward to next summer. If weeks in a saddle, sore shoulders, and chafed places you didn't know you had places is your bag, then these trips are for you. The guys and gals at Adventure Cycling have been putting together some pretty epic bike tours for like three of decades now. Perfect for making sure that next summer isn't a bust. What's more, some of the self guided tours can still be done this fall.
Check 'em out…some are only a few months away, and they book up fast so sign up now and start dreaming. Personally, I think "Death Valley Loop I and II" has a nice ring to it.
2011 Early Season Supported Tours
Tight on vacation time? Grab a spot now on one of Adventure Cycling's shorter, early season supported bike trips and get tuned up for the spring riding season.
California Kick Start — February 26 – March 4, 2011: A late winter/early spring bike tour along the sun-dappled coastal and desert roads in Southern California may be just the thing to get the jump on the new cycling season. Boasting a wealth of training opportunities, this weeklong supported ride will leave riders feeling well prepared. Death Valley Loop I & II — March 5 – March 11, 2011 and March 12 – March 18, 2011 Death Valley is a wonderful and mysterious place that supports nearly 1,000 native plant species on only two inches of rain a year. Explore it by bicycle! This 13-person van-supported ride filled quickly last year so sign up today. Two dates available. Southern Arizona Road Adventure — March 12 – March 18, 2011: Get an early taste of spring and summer on this memorable bike tour through the high Sonoran Desert. Amenities include luggage support, catered meals, two nights of indoor lodging and moderate daily mileages (ranging from 23 to 54 miles) to help participants ease back into the spin of things. Texas Hill Country — April 9 – April 15, 2011: This supported cycling adventure begins and ends in Austin, "Live Music Capital of the World," following quiet farm and ranch roads through a region of Texas celebrated for its dazzling displays of spring wildflowers, German-style biergartens, Texas barbecue, and Tex-Mex specialties.
2011 Supported and Self-Contained Cross-Country Tours
Always wanted to cross America by bicycle or travel the full length of the Atlantic or Pacific coasts? Register today for one of Adventure Cycling's classic, expedition-length adventures, either supported or self-contained.
Southern Tier Supported
— March 20 – May 16, 2011: The shortest, most accessible transcontinental trip, traveling from the West Coast, across deserts, over mountains, past prairies, beyond bayous, through citrus groves, all the way to sunny Florida. TransAm Supported — May 21 – August 10, 2011: An opportunity to cover the 4,253-mile TransAmerica Bicycle Trail — the "granddaddy of all bicycle routes" — with full support. Pacific Coast Supported — September 25 – November 4, 2011: An exciting new take on an old favorite: a chance to ride from Canada to Mexico, unencumbered by traditional touring gear, along one of America's premier cycling routes: the gorgeous Pacific Coast. TransAm — May 4 – August 4, 2011: A self-contained adventure on the TransAm is a classic, cross-country adventure. A 2008 TransAm tour participant advised, "There will be other trips, but I don't think they will be able to top this one ... If you have a sense of adventure and are thinking of doing this ride someday, don't wait!" Atlantic Coast — August 20 – October 19, 2011: Traveling from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Key West, Florida, this first-of-its-kind, self-contained grand tour of the Atlantic Coast will guide riders through the "best of the East," for a chance to experience the history and natural beauty of the Atlantic Coast as never before. Pacific Coast — September 7 – October 21, 2011: This incredible journey along one of the most popular cycling routes in North America promises a rare opportunity to ride from Canada to Mexico invigorated by beautiful landscapes where land and sea collide in a crescendo of sun, blue waves, and invigorating salt air. Southern Tier — September 18 – November 21, 2011: On this very popular self-contained adventure, participants will experience a parade of cultures and the delicious cuisines associated with each of them, from enchiladas to Texas barbecue and alligator po' boys to Southern grits.
Ruh, roh. Seems like the lingering question of Oh Eun-Sun's summit of Kangchenjunga is going to linger a bit longer according to ExWeb and the Korean Times:
Thursday, the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) declared her summit claim for Kangchenjunga 2009 "unlikely." Their doubts add to those previously brought forward by rival Edurne Pasaban, which moved Himalayan chronicler Elizabeth Hawley this spring to tag the summit as “disputed."
ExplorersWeb/AdventureStats previously investigated but found no proof to invalidate Miss Oh’s summit, and no new evidence seem to have showed up since.
Seven senior members of the Korean Alpine Federation, including six Kangchenjunga summiteers such as 14x8000er climbers Park Young-Seok, Un-Hong Il and Han Wang-Yong held marathon talks and scrutinized the facts before concluding unanimously that Miss Oh apparently didn't reach the summit, Korea Times report.
"The facts to prove her summiting were not enough," KAF managing Director Jae-Bong Kim told media. The commitee based their doubts on the lack of a proper summit pic, climbing times, contradictions among climbing sherpas, and a summit flag - intended to be left on the top - which was later seen by other climbers quite a way below.
Anybody remember Mtn Hardware's ill-fated foray into active suspension backpacks with the Exodus line a few years ago. Black Diamond, on the other hand, was a bit more successful last year with the the launch of their backpack specific Enduro Series packs with Active Frame Technology. And now that they're going public, they'll need to keep the innovation moving along. In Spring 2011 they'll be introducing a new line of climbing specific packs called the Ascent Series, including the Axis 33 and Speed 33, which use the same active frame technology. In anticipation of the launch, they put up a mini-site with the technical specs, background of the technology, recommended uses, etc.
These active frame systems seem to be catching on, BDEL's ergoActive technology basically acts like a suspensions pivoting in "3D" as the video explains below. The feedback is generally positive, though when people say things like, "didn't notice the weight and misjudged the distance I could jump and landed in the river", you might want to gets some practice before you head out into the backcountry.
My momma always told me there are two things we don't talk about at the dinner table, politics and religion. I, of course, never learned this lesson. One of many. Anyway, as I sat down to write a post about Christian Cycle Online, I kind of threw around a couple ideas from the humorous/sarcastic to the blasphemous to the shocked outrage to the downright puzzled. The idea of a Christian themed bicycle shop seemed so bizarre to me, that I just couldn't pass up not writing about it. Particularly in these times of religious indignation and fear mongering around anything remotely related to Islam, it seemed like a perfect time to wonder out loud why stuff like this always gets a pass. Imagine you're riding in the peloton and some guy cycles up next to you with a Armor of God or Tour de Christ jersey. Would that offend you? Probably not. For the same reason you eat at In'N'Out and don't mind that the cups all have John 3:16 stamped on the bottom or you don't run those annoying Covenant Transport semis off the road (you know the blue/red ones with the "it's a child, not a choice" emblazoned on the back) or you drive by all the roadside cross in Montana and never wonder, do Jews and Muslims ever die in car accidents in Montana? But what is that reason? You're Catholic? You're tolerant? You could care less?
Now imagine some guy rides up to you in the peloton with a star of David on his jersey. Is that going to seem strange to you? Maybe not. But what about a Islamic crescent? Is that going to be offensive? Again, maybe not, since I'm going to guess 90% of American couldn't recognize the crescent. But still, are we going to start boycotting races with Muslims soon? No burkas in the peloton damn it. What about a Muslim Cycle Online website or Jewish Cycle Online or even better, an Atheist Cycle Online? Why don't those exist? I get that Catholics have to proselytize and all, but still, even if Jews were the proselytizing type, I'm gonna say you'd never see a Jewish Cycle Online shop. Maybe Mormon Cycle Online, but not Muslim Cycle Online. That's just asking for trouble. Anyway, at the end of the day I don't really have a hard opinion on this, because sadly I've gotten used to the religious hypocrisy in the U.S., in fact the pervasive hypocrisy in general, not just when it comes to religion. Liberal fatigue, as the Onion so aptly put it.
Regardless, I'm still fascinated by the whole concept of a Christian themed bike shop. Wonder if you get a little more help from the man above in your races if you wear one of the Trinity Jerseys? Or maybe you don't have to worry about wearing your helmet if you wear your Armor of God jersey. I'm actually pretty close to buying the Armor of God jersey and wearing it through San Francisco on my commute to work, then making my own jersey with a big Islamic crescent and the words Allah is Great and riding down the streets of say, Huntsville, Alabama Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Wonder what would happen? I imagine I'd get a lot of stares because they'd never seen a bike before, and if any of them could read, I might get my ass kicked. But that's just conjecture wrapped in sarcasm based on poorly informed stereotypes of the redneck South. But really, what would happen? Anybody in Huntsville Murfreesboro care to try?
Anyway, enough. I've got no other thoughts for the moment on the subject. I'm busy buying up URLs for Atheist Mountaineers. I got an idea brewing.
UPDATE I changed Huntsville to Murfreesboro to make it more salient given the opposition some people there have to building a mosque. Plus, looking at the first comment already, seems like people from Huntsville (or maybe Tennessee) are not so good with the sarcasm. It offends them and hurts their feelings.
Kind of mesmerized by this photo and video shoot of tennis stars Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, Sam Stosur, Serena Williams crushing tennis balls to a soundtrack of new age music. Mesmerizing. But we can't stop watching and thinking, those poor tennis balls. What did they do to deserve such treatment? From the NY Times article on the power game in women's tennis. More videos after the jump.
A new report issued by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) lists the threats facing Grand Canyon national Park - many of which are obvious to even the most casual visitor: summer days are thick with haze and smog drifting in from afar, helicopters and sight-seeing plane flights disrupt solitude in remote backcountry locations, the Colorado River is not the muddy brown torrent it once was, and uranium mines are again knocking on the park's figurative doors.
The NPCA adds chronically underfunded budgets to the list, linking and exacerbating the other threats facing the Park. The report claims that Congress and past administrations have continuously failed to adequately fund national parks. The Feds provide just 38% of the Canyon's operating budget. The other 62% is made up of entrance fees, grants, and donations, but the park faces more than $200 million in deferred maintenance that neither source of funding can fix.
These reports come out every few years - crumbling roads, besieged visitor centers, resource extraction and development getting closer and closer the parks' borders. Grand Canyon, Glacier, Zion, Yellowstone, Acadia, the most iconic parks often have most pressing problems. Meanwhile national park visitation rates increase and increase. Clearly Americans love our national parks and clearly they are struggling to meet the demands of the 21st century. Throwing $100 million at the parks every decade doesn't solve the problem.
What to do? Start by raising federal funding to 50% of park budgets. Then implement bus and other public transportation efforts to reduce the affects all those damn cars have on the roads - Zion, Denali, Yosemite, and others have this idea nailed down. Raise entrance fees for people who want to fly over a park instead of hike into it to twice the typical fee (you bastards damn near ruined my five day hike in the the Grand Canyon). At least those are my ideas…are you listening Secretary Vilsack?
If you commute to work on a bike, you know Prius' are the silent killers, slowly prowling the streets like land sharks, ready to take you out in one soundless right turn. Starting this month in Japaan you'll be able to buy a device that attaches to your Prius and emits a noticeable and annoying sounds as you drive your little status symbol around:
Toyota's Prius hybrid is becoming a little less quiet with a new electronic humming device that is the automaker's answer to complaints that pedestrians can't hear the top-selling car approaching. The 12,600 yen ($148) speaker system that goes under the hood of the third-generation Prius sets off a whirring sound designed to be about the same noise level as a regular car engine so that it isn't annoying, Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday. [AP]
Listening to the sound in the video below, though, we may opt for the noiseless Prius and take our chances. Especially if people starting hooking up their own sounds and we're all of a sudden forced to navigate the streets with a cacophony of animals sounds, and even more ominously, Lady Gaga. Thankfully, the gadget isn't going on sale in the U.S., seems Toyota U.S. is making their own.
something some silly, rich English people were doing, people like Kate Moss, and Gwyneth Paltrow (ok, she's not British per se, but my wife said her husband is…close enough). I thought it sounded lame, especially considering its origins - super expensive African Safaris where ten or twenty servants rush about preparing your nightly accommodations and food. 
end b+b's. No part of spending upwards of $500 a night to sleep in a fancy tent/yurt/tipi/cabin can be considered camping. Unless the fancy tent matches the fancy sheets, and Kate Moss is at the site across the path…then maybe. If, however, your idea of camping is staying in a "tent" some college kid set up on Memorial Day so you and your rich friends could pretend to "get-away-from-it-all" then by all means check out 
students back in town and taking over my favorite bar, the fact that it's September, inevitably make me realize that I did about 1/2 of the things that I wanted to over the summer. This summer seems particularly bad on my end…too much time blogging I guess, 'cause I blog all the time.
Ruh, roh. Seems like the lingering question of Oh Eun-Sun's summit of Kangchenjunga is going to linger a bit longer according to 
Anybody remember Mtn Hardware's ill-fated foray into active suspension backpacks with the 
Grand Canyon national Park - many of which are obvious to even the most casual visitor: summer days are thick with haze and smog drifting in from afar, helicopters and sight-seeing plane flights disrupt solitude in remote backcountry locations, the Colorado River is not the muddy brown torrent it once was, and uranium mines are again knocking on the park's figurative doors. 
