Inhaltsverzeichnis für January/February 2018 in Outside

PYEONGCHANG 2018 PASS THE TORCH AND OWN THE THRONE WHY THIS YEAR’S WINTER OLYMPICS ARE POISED TO BE AMERICA’S MOST MONUMENTAL YET We’re calling it: South Korea will play host to Team America’s most successful Winter Olympics ever. Why? We’re stacked. We’ve got established superstars like Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White; a slew of ringers in some of the more unheralded sports, including biathlete Lowell Bailey and nordic skier Kikkan Randall; and a litter of fresh talent, many of whom have been quietly dominating their sport for the past couple of years. Take a look, if you will, at our alpine athletes. Mikaela Shiffrin you probably know. The 22-yearold earned gold in slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games and took the overall World Cup title last year. This time around…

men’s a. Leki Aergonlite 2 V poles $130 Catch your basket on a branch and the releasable strap will pop free before your shoulder does. b. Marker 3D+ MAP goggles and Ampire MAP helmet $225 and $159 Marker’s MAP tech- nology stands for “multi-impact adap- tive polymer” and provides extra cushion. Pair the oversize 3D+ goggles with the Ampire helmet for a seamless fit. c. Outdoor Research Uberlayer hoodie $315 Everybody makes an insulated hoodie; Outdoor Research does it better. Credit the Polartec Alpha insulation, which breathes so well that you sweat less and avoid ending up clammy and cold. d. Dalbello Lupo Factory boots $1,100 Should you opt to forgo the lift line, the Lupo’s upper cuff unlocks to provide 67-degree range of motion. Buckled, it has racelike 130 stiffness.…

“This is my last expedition.” My wife, Sue Ibarra, was driving me to the small airport outside Laramie, Wyoming, as she had dozens of times before. It was dark, and the lights of the little prairie airstrip were shining like stars. “You know how many times you’ve said that?” Sue’s long, dark hair was tied in a loose ponytail to one side. She laughed and wiped away a tear. “Really,” I insisted. “I’m getting too old for this.” It was April 2005, and I was bound for Nyambo Konka, an obscure, 20,000-foot mountain in central China. Neither particularly hard nor notably high, it’s plenty dangerous—mainly because of the likelihood of avalanches. The peak had initially attracted me because it was unclimbed and because of its ele gant humpback shape, resembling…

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND? If you care about the future of public lands, you are probably aware that politicians had been making noise about downscaling the Antiquities Act, reducing the size of national monuments, and transferring large swaths of federal land to state control long before President Trump was inaugurated last January. Some of the signs of this political mobilization, such as the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, became national news stories. Others, like Utah congressman Rob Bishop’s attempt to strike a massive land-transfer deal in the halls of Congress, were happening more quietly behind the scenes. Through it all, Outside has remained committed to covering these issues. Some of the proposals may come wrapped in sensible debate about local control, but they threaten access to the…

2018 ADVENTURE BUCKET LIST Start Dreaming BECAUSE WE ASKED OUR TRAVEL EXPERTS WHERE THEY’RE DYING TO GO THIS YEAR, TO HELP YOU CREATE THE ULTIMATE OUTDOOR AGENDA EXPERT: CONTRIBUTOR JEN MURPHY THE TRIP: STAY IN A PUREPOD IN NEW ZEALAND THE DRAW: These eco-friendly onebedroom structures with glass walls are plunked down in some of the most stunning, off-the-grid woodlands the Kiwi kingdom has to offer. It’s like bivying, but with a flush toilet and a hot shower. There are five locations scattered throughout the country. One property, in Kahutara, a town 2.5 hours north of Christchurch, overlooks the Kahutara River and the Seaward Kaikoura Mountain Range. Guests can hike the nearby Kaikoura Peninsula or just enjoy the view from the deck while sipping a local sauvignon blanc. The solar- and…

PLUS: WE TURN THE MICROSCOPE ON SEVEN PROS’ MICROBIOMES. (SPOILER: THEY HAVE WAY COOLER BACTERIA THAN WE DO.) IT’S NEVER AN EASY THING, CONVINCING A PERSON TO GIVE YOU THEIR FECES. The instructions are simple enough: defecate, swipe the provided swab across a wad of used toilet paper (no need to be aggressive— so long as the tip is brown, you’ll have enough material for analysis), pop the newly defiled cotton bud into its test tube, and wash up. Still, even if the donations are for science, the gross-out factor means that people tend to make excuses. They’re too busy or too tired, or their sample was “off” that morning. No matter. For Embriette Hyde, a scientist at the University of California at San Diego, the value of a fecal…

Wildest Wreck I was training for a mountain- bike race, going too fast downhill, when I hit a gopher hole, went over the handlebars, and crashed into a boulder at 40 miles per hour. My left shoulder was crushed; the collarbone was shoved straight through my back. Most Painful Stomach Ache I’ve blown out my belly three times carrying heavy packs. After several hernia operations, I now have a stomach lined with large swatches of bulletproof nylon mesh. Big Break I shattered my leg while telemarking the steep and deep in Utah—but who hasn’t? Even Bigger Break I was climbing near Taos, New Mexico, and fell more than 20 feet into some boulders because of a belaying accident. My left hand hit first and was nearly snapped off at the…

At the outlet of Glacier National Park’s Lake McDonald, a lonely dock stretches into glassy water over kaleidoscopic gravels, framed by the reflection of fearsome mountains. The lake is only a few steps from a major parking lot, so it draws legions of tourists. It is not, however, the place to find cutthroat trout in late June. I’d been trying for over a month to set up an out ing with Ryan Zinke, the freshly minted secretary of the interior, who was born and raised in nearby Whitefish, Montana. I’d already met him once, at Alaska’s Denali National Park, but his harried schedule didn’t allow for anything more than a cursory walk on a trail that might as well have been paved. I wanted to see my former congressman, who…

Gear that hails our outdoor playgrounds has become a thing in recent years. Much of this is due to the National Park Service’s centennial in 2016, which stirred up pride in America’s best idea. More recently, the battle over public lands has provided the inspiration. So far, we think Filson has payed tribute best. Last fall the Seattle brand launched a line of apparel and accessories featuring the iconic badge of the U.S. Forest Service, an acknowledgment of the 34,250 employees who oversee 193 million acres of federally managed trails and woodlands. Our favorite from that collection? The USFS Ranger pack. With tough cotton twill—in vintage Gifford Pinchot–esque drab green—and leather straps and drawcord, the 25-liter satchel boasts the famed Filson durability prized by folks who’ve been making the most…

a. Oros Insulated leggings $90 These sleek tights are lined with Solar- Core, a breathable aerogel that’s superinsulating even when wet or compressed. b. Lupine Wilma RX 7 headlamp $615 That gonzo price tag gets you some gonzo features, such as 3,200 lumens— more than your car’s high beams put out— and a remote you can slip into your glove The battery pack is good for a week’s worth of illumination, and the aluminum body is waterproof. c. KLOS acoustic guitar $599 Climber Chris Bailey carried this ultratough carbon-fiber ax up Denali to play “Stairway to Heaven” above the clouds. The body won’t crack from temperature changes, so you can pack it on your next polar expedition. d. Helly Hansen First Tracks app No more setting the alarm for 5 A.M. to check the…

Getting my buddy Matt Thomas into the driver’s seat of his Sprinter van is a 12-step process. Mostly it involves a finicky hydraulic lift that transports Matt, seated in a wheelchair, a total of two feet, from the street to the edge of the van’s rubber floor. Then somebody has to bear-hug him and swing his inert 180-pound body from the wheelchair into the swiveling driver’s seat. The final step is to tighten the Velcro on a wide neoprene band that cinches his torso to the seat. One morning in September 2016, Matt slowly talks me through the transfer. I’m scared and he knows it: I nearly dropped him the last time I tried to help. He shrugs and laughs as I accidentally catch his right foot on the center…

THE SIGNS LEADING INTO TOWN HINT AT THE INSANITY. TURN CHONGLI INTO A DISTRICT WITH CIVILIZATION AND ETIQUETTE! screams a banner fastened to a construction fence. Behind it stands a row of shiny new statues of skiers crouched in racing tucks. And a billboard on the main highway from Beijing showing fresh tracks on an open slope says, YOUR MARK LASTS LONG AFTER YOU GO! Impressions here matter a lot these days. When the Winter Olympics come to China in 2022, this rapidly evolving outpost of miners, farmers, and bureaucrats will host a number of events and medal ceremonies. You simply cannot have pigs pooing in the street. Chongli is a sprawling, mountainous region roughly 100 miles northwest of Beijing. The highest peaks reach 7,000 feet, while the urban core…