By any measure, Swedish adventurer Goran Kropp was visionary, kind, and bold. Everyone he met, it seems, was touched by his humanity, and his death in a climbing accident robbed the world of an extremely bright light. Kropp, however, was also very, very strong. This little clip of him attempting, then succeeding, to put on [...]
backpacking
If life after Gore-tex is Marmot’s Nabu Jacket, life is good. Yes, there’s still a place for Gore (it’s called Seattle), but for most other places and conditions, the Nabu, which is built with Polartec Neoshell, is it. On one winter hike, the steeper and faster I went the better, in as much sleet and [...]
I gave up heavy boots long ago, and Lowa’s Focus GTX is a perfect example of my trail choice now, whether I’m just out for the day or humping 40 pounds over a long weekend. Yes, if I were going to tackle a five-day outing on the PCT I might want a boot that would [...]
At the Filson retail store in the SoDo neighborhood in Seattle, in the literal shadow of Safeco Field, home of the hapless Seattle Mariners, a cop and his partner stroll in the door. It’s not a bust. The officer’s personal Filson belt has popped a rivet. No problem, the factory happens to be in the [...]
Hoodies have been cool at least since the Middle Ages. And for sheer function, Patagonia’s Capilene 4 Expedition-Weight Hoody might last until the End Days. Here’s why: It’s Lightweight: But still very warm. This lightness, plus a gridlike structure, belies the “fleece” lineage of this shirt, and there’s enough Lycra in the mix for good [...]
Born in Berkeley in 1968, The North Face at first was a single store selling other brands — no official in-house label existed. Eventually that would change, and by the 1980s The North Face was less of an independent retailer and instead a label of its own, a legendary one at that, becoming an outfitter [...]
Polartec has been on a tear, first with NeoShell, the highly breathable and waterproof fabric, and now with Alpha insulation, which it says is ultralight, compressible, and will breathe better than any synthetic insulation ever. Actually, Alpha sounds a lot like down. Even like new breeds of water-resistent down, except that Polartec is touting Alpha [...]
Nostalgia is by its very nature narrow of scope and simple of view, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t onto something. Sports go through eras of often explosive change in technology, culture, technique, style, fashion, and thought — a zeitgeist coalesces and a moment is defined, sometimes around a particular piece of gear, sometimes around [...]
When the power went out the other morning I rummaged around with a headlamp to unearth the Jetboil coffee press from my gear bin. I’d acquired it before a recent camping trip and was shocked to find it outperformed my home Bodum. So there I was, at home, but making like a hiker, boiling water [...]
Sometimes I like to fantasize that I have some sort of backcountry suaveness and culinary instinct, and that I will someday take a special lady somewhere beautiful and make a nice dinner for her and it will be really romantic. But the reality is that this is pretty much the best (only?) trick in my [...]
TO RUN FASTER, HIT THE BEACH Running on the beach, you probably already know, is a lot harder than running on a trail or pavement. The mechanics of why that is are now understood and explained by a recent study, which suggests that running on sand is on average 1.6 times harder. The reason is [...]
Rapha’s Chris DiStefano insisted that I know one thing when he sent me their Touring Shorts to test: “These are not ‘mountain bike’ shorts. We will not make products for mountain biking. Ever.” DiStefano wasn’t being an adamant stick in the mud (or, as it were, in the asphalt), he was stating a fact. Rapha’s [...]
One month from today, the National Park Service will give its park superintendents the right to open their dirt roads to cyclists. By most measures it would seem a small step, but in the conservative, not particularly bike-friendly national park system this might be the most pro-cycling move it’s ever made. It might be huge. [...]
The Valkyrie Hoodie LT goes against the norm for women’s fleeces — it’s flattering rather than boxy. Imagine that. And someone at Triple Aught Design clearly knows that hoods need to work with, rather than against, long hair and pony tails. The cut is flattering, with a tapered waist that doesn’t sacrifice any range of [...]
The Daily Bike: Les Granges du Galibier, Giro d’Italia 2013
15 Seconds: Boiling Clouds
The List: The 10 Things You REALLY Need on a River Trip
Kim Havell Makes First Female Descent of Grand Teton’s Otter Body
‘Avalanche Sharks’ Coming to a Screen Near You. Might Be a Very Small Screen
Makers of Mountain Project Launch MTB Project
Chris Davenport and Friends Aim to Ski Colorado’s 100 Highest Peaks
American Donates 37,500 Acres to Protect the ‘Everest of Patagonia’
Chamonix-Mont Blanc Speed Record Broken
Lance Is Responsible for Anti-Lycra Backlash? Really?
The Man Behind Fast Boy Cycles and Teaching Cancer to Cry
Everest Glaciers Melting, Precip Dwindling, Snowline Moving Up
15 Seconds: The Quiet Leopard
Game Reserve Fires Drunk Guide Who Charged Elephant
