ajtestbed A few years back, Emily Pennington pitched us an idea: What if I travel to every single national park in the US and write about it for AJ? We loved the idea, but unfortunately didn’t have the budget to commit to dozens of stories at once. Thankfully, she did the trip anyway and took great … Read more
Young evergreen trees are reclaiming the formerly groomed ski runs at Marshall Mountain, just outside Missoula, Montana. In the winter, backcountry skiers descend its slopes, donning headlamps to earn turns in the dark before or after work. In the summer, mountain bikers let out shouts of jubilee as they whiz down the maze of trails, … Read more
How good does this sound right now—a warm mountain meadow, and you’re just rolling through it. And, wait, are those shrubs actually broccoli? Those logs actually carrots? So maybe you’re high, or maybe it’s a dream, or maybe it’s an animated short you’re watching when you’re supposed to be spreadsheeting or emailing or something and … Read more
Wildlife researchers in Boulder, Colorado, use cameras to capture the comings and goings of the local fauna for valuable data mined by the Open Space and Mountain Parks department. The goal is to see what animals are there, and what they’re doing so to better minimize human/wildlife interactions. Turns out, they’re taking selfies. At least … Read more
How easy it is to imagine weather as a force wholly imposed upon us. We shake our fists at rain on the day of an outing, at snow entombing our cars. The causes of that rain or snow are complex, involving the angles of solar rays and the long odysseys of clouds: forces so far … Read more
Meet Tyson Rettie, a backcountry ski guide who lost his vision, but kept right on guiding.
I’m not the careful backpacking organizer that I probably should be. Oh, once upon a time I was. But over the past few summers, anytime we’re headed for the backcountry, my wife and I basically throw the big camp gear box in the back of our truck along with our packs and clothes and shoes … Read more
We’ve covered Glerups before, a few years back when they first started appearing more regularly on the feet of cozy people near fireplaces, with the contented glow of a day well spent somewhere cold. We declared back then they were the best aprés anything shoe out there—skiing, surfing, snowshoeing, hell, being at work, even. If … Read more
Irakli Khvedaguridze knows how to handle a winter. Or anything, really.
Skamtinden, Norway. An Olympic medalist, a nerve-tingling run, and a mishap at a very inopportune time.