Inhaltsverzeichnis für January 2015 in Outside

FOREST WOODWARD During a three-month climbing trip last summer, Woodward, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, made a stop in the North Cascades to shoot photos for a climbing guidebook. At Washington’s Colchuck Balanced Rock, he caught Jenny Abegg leading a route called West Face, 600 feet above the ground. “We’d just made it to the top when I found out she’d only been climbing for two years,” says Woodward. “I was blown away.” THE TOOLS: Canon 5D Mark III, 14mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 320, f/5, 1/500 second GRANT GUNDERSON Last winter was unusually dry in Bellingham, Washington, where Gunderson lives. But in late February, ten inches of new snow blanketed the North Cascades, and in the first week of March, the 35-year-old photographer headed into the backcountry with professional…

CLAUSTROPHOBICS beware: John Vaillant’s novel The Jaguar’s Children ($26, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) takes place almost entirely inside the 10,000-gallon tank of a Dina water truck stranded near the Arizona- Mexico border. Hector Gonzalez and his friend Cesar decide to leave Oaxaca for the United States; Hector for family reasons, and Cesar, a plant geneticist, because a Mexican Big Ag corn cartel wants him dead for exposing a sprawling conspiracy involving GMOs. The two buy in with coyotes, who seal them— along with 13 other immigrants—inside the sand-colored truck with AGUA PARA USO HUMANO inscribed on the tank. (Someone has tagged it with a J and an R, so that AGUA now reads JAGUAR.) Once safely across the border, the plan goes, the coyotes will cut a hole in the tank…

LONG BEFORE CIDERS gained a reputation for being too sweet, our nation’s founding fathers were growing cider-specific apple varieties and swapping recipes. Then prohibition dealt the drink a blow, German-style beers became the nation’s favorite quaff, and ciders vanished from bars and taprooms. But in the past five years, American cider has undergone a renaissance, with sales jumping some 400 percent and craft producers leading the way. “When you taste a real, traditional cider, you’re tasting that specific apple, that farm, that soil, and that season,” says Gregory Hall, founder of Michigan’s Virtue Cider and former head brewer at Goose Island Brewery in Chicago. Most broadly distributed domestic ciders use common apples and add sugar, yielding the candied concoctions you see next to the malt liquor at the store. Small…

Access Fly into Calgary and catch a shuttle to Fernie. a snowcat takes you to the lodge. From Us$1,980 for three nights and three days of cat skiing, allinclusive; islandlake catskiing.com January 26° HIGH 10° LOW Detour Take a break from the slopes to kick and glide on groomed nordic trails circling the lake. It’s the most peaceful way to experience the old-growth snowscape around Island Lake. INDULGE A day of turns in waist-deep powder can blast even the strongest legs. tune up tight muscles with a soak in a Japanese tub and a deep-tissue massage (Us$92) at the lodge’s spa. ISLAND LAKE LODGE: 49°30’32.9”N, 115°10’31.8”W IT’S BEEN MORE THAN 20 years since legendary ski-film director Warren Miller was shooting movies in the mountains above Island Lake Lodge, back when…

I DUMPED MEAT A FEW WEEKS AGO, and it was not an easy breakup. Some of my most treasured moments have involved a deck, a beer, and a cheeseburger. But the more I learned, the more I understood that the relationship wasn’t good for either of us. A few things you should never do if you want to eat factory meat in un conflicted bliss: write a story on water scarcity in the American Southwest; Google “How much shit is in my hamburger?”; watch an undercover video of a slaughterhouse in action; and read the 2009 World watch Institute report “Livestock and Climate Change.” I did them all. And that was that. By then I knew that with every burger I consumed, I was helping to suck America’s rivers dry,…

“PASS THEROCK, SAYS KYLE KORVER” The six-foot-seven Atlanta Hawks guard is arguably the best shooter in the NBA, so this should be funny, given the circumstances. See, we’re not on a basketball court. We’re not even on land. On a sunny California afternoon in June, in a pristine harbor along the coast of Santa Cruz Island, 30 miles south of Santa Barbara by boat, we’ve been taking turns lumbering along the shallow seafloor for the past three hours lugging an 85.2-pound stone that Korver procured from a nearby beach. It feels a little lighter in the ocean, thanks to the relative density of water, but it’s still a heavy-ass rock. Korver is treading water above me. I drop the boulder below his feet and surface. Struggling for air, I try…

1. Giro’s Air Attack Shield helmet ($240; giro.com) was designed for aerodynamics, but the minimalist approach to venting cheats wind in another way: by keeping your noggin warm and dry. Bonus: the magnetic Zeiss lens offers eye protection without the fogging of full-on goggles. 2. Even if you have no plans to ride after dark, it’s a good idea to pack a light, like Knog’s Blinder Arc 5.5 ($120; knog.com.au), in case a mechanical problem keeps you out on a short winter day. The rechargeable headlight lasts eight hours and throws 550 lumens, enough for the shadiest trails 3. Most hats are too bulky and warm to be of much use while cycling. Not so the headsweats mid cap beanie ($18; headsweats.com), which is trim enough to slip under a…

FJÄLLRÄVEN GREENLAND NO. 1 DOWN JACKET A down version of Fjällräven’s most timeless jacket in G-1000 Eco (recycled polyester and organic cotton) with contrasting colors and leather details. Filled with premium 700 goose down. Fixed hood, chest and hand pockets. The jacket can be treated with Greenland Wax for extra protection against wind and rain. f allraven.us STANLEY BRAND CLASSIC VACUUM PINT The pint grandpa wished he had, this vacuum-insulated pint keeps beer cold for 4+ hours. Featuring Stanley’s iconic hammertone green finish and legendary durability, it has a built-in, removable bottle opener ensuring you’re always at the ready. Dishwasher safe. MSRP $23. Stanley-pmi.com LEATHERMAN JUICE® CS4 IN BLUE The Leatherman Juice CS4 is a compact multi-tool that’s packable for all adventures. With 15 tools in one, it’s for outdoor…

PAGE 42 Mind Matters When I was in ninth grade, my high school soccer coach announced that we would be performing team visualization exercises before games. This was the late eighties, and the ubiquity of mindfulness was another two decades away. Also, I was 14, the age at which young men are most likely to mock any unconventional idea coming from an adult. When coach Davis had us lie on the floor of the weight room, a wave of snickering spread through my teammates. Then he began prescribing images in the gentle cadence of a hypnotist: “Imagine making crisp passes… receiving the ball with composure.…” We won our first state championship that year. I have no idea what role positive thinking played, but it was the last time I underestimated…

YELLOWSTONE’S grizzlies are back. Although they’ve been on the endangered species list since 1975—when just over 200 of them remained—biologists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate that the population of Ursus arctos horribilis in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem has since more than tripled to roughly 780. There are nearly 3,600 square miles of carefully cultivated wilderness in the park and another 9,200 square miles near its borders, all protected from development and drilling by the Endangered Species Act. “We’ve got a gold-plated management plan,” says Chris Servheen, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s coordinator for bear recovery. Which is why, in early 2015, the USFWS is expected to issue its second proposal to remove the area’s grizzlies from the list and hand over the animal’s fate to the…

THESE ARE GOOD times to be moving about the continent in search of powder. Thanks to the consolidation of resorts and the rise of ultra-affordable, multi-resort passes, the price of skiing hasn’t been this cheap since the advent of chairlifts. That makes for happier skiers in a generally expensive and flat-lined sport. There’s a potential downside, however. As the big conglomerates buy up resorts, bundle them together, and sell access to their network at a deep discount, there’s increasing concern that the little guys will get priced out of the game. Previously, season passes were purchased by local skiers or wealthy second-home owners. Most were expensive, sometimes as much as $1,500; the majority of vacationers bought daily lift tickets. Then, in 2008, Vail Resorts debuted the Epic Pass. It cost…

I WAS A MULTISPORT BURNOUT, searching for a new challenge, when a Web trawl served up a fitness program I’d never heard of: Kokoro Camp, a civilian version of the infamous Hell Week that the Navy uses as a grueling test of the men who hope to serve as SEALs. Kokoro is run by coaches working for a company called Seal fit, based in Encinitas, California. Most of them are active or former Navy SEALs, and for $1,595 they put you through a rugged training regimen that’s spread out over three days. In exchange for your effort and money, you’re promised a painful, supremely difficult, and ultimately transformative experience. “Kokoro Camp is designed to help you discover the deep power of your resilient spirit over your mind, and your mind’s…

LAST OCTOBER 17 WAS A MIXED DAY FOR SURFING ON THE WEST COAST OF PORTUGAL. ON THE SOUTH side of Peniche, a small oval-shaped rocky peninsula poking out into the Atlantic, winds were gusting onshore at about 25 knots, leading organizers of the Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal, the penultimate event in the 11-contest Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour, to call for the fifth lay day in a row as they waited for conditions to improve. Things were better on the north side, so many of the pro surfers who had come to town for the event went to a beach there to chase down the occasional barreling swells. Among them, Kelly Slater, at age 42 the oldest competitor on the tour by six years, was probably the…

WANTED High Society SALOMON’S LIMITED s-Lab X alp Carbon GTX mountaineering boot is designed for the one percent—those rare ultra-athletes, like Kilian Jornet, who are shattering records on traditional mountaineering routes using less equipment than most of us take on a long trail run. the boots are crampon compatible for high-alpine climbing but also light and flexible enough for running across glaciers, navigating rocky spines, or traversing tricky scree fields. a gore-tex liner and gaiter keep rocks and snow out, so you’ll never have to suffer through hours of wet feet. the X alp might not give you the power to knock off fastest known times before breakfast, but it’s a great lightweight mountaineering option—even if you’re not superhuman. $300; salomon.com…

1. Quit Whining SOLUTIONS TO CLASSIC DODGES —M.S. EXCUSE: It’s dark. QUICK FIX: At under two ounces, Black Diamond’s ion headlamp won’t weigh you down—or bounce around while you run. $25; blackdiamond equipment.com EXCUSE: It’s so cold my gels are freezing. QUICK FIX: Honey stinger’s organic gingersnap waffles never freeze and taste like delicious candy. $1.50; honeystinger.com EXCUSE: There’s a foot of new snow on the ground. QUICK FIX: Go skiing! Not possible? Inov-8’s race ultra gaiters weigh less than 20 grams and fit practically any shoe. $27; inov-8.com EXCUSE: I’m worried I’ll slip on the ice. QUICK FIX: Hillsound’s Trail crampons weigh just 17 ounces and have a wide heel plate for extra stability. $60; hillsound.com 2. Score Yourself Some Wind Briefs SAM MOULTON They’re called the screaming barfies,…

ON A TYPICAL school day, 16-yearold nordic skier Madison Morgan wakes up at 5:45 A.M., spends two hours at the gym, attends classes from 8 A.M. to 3 P.M., trains for another two hours, and goes back to her house to have dinner and do schoolwork. “I don’t spend a lot of time at home,” says Morgan. It sounds intense, but that’s the norm at Utah’s Winter Sports School in Park City (WSS). It has an impressive track record: the school’s alumni include Olympians Julia Mancuso, Ted Ligety, and Steven Holcomb. But back when they were students it was private, and attending was expensive. That changed last spring when WSS became a public, tuition-free institution. “WHEN MADISON HEARD IT WAS BECOMING A CHARTER, she went to the parent meeting on…

LAST FEBRUARY, as the sports world converged on Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Olympics, one of the best halfpipe snowboarders in the world made the trip to Pyeongchang, South Korea, instead. Chloe Kim had just earned a silver medal at X Games Aspen—defeating eventual Olympic champion Kaitlyn Farrington— but at 13, she was too young to compete in Sochi. So she and her parents, who emigrated from South Korea before Kim was born, boarded a 13-hour flight so she could start prepping for the 2018 Games; Kim, now 14, is expected to be a heavy favorite. FAST START: Kim threw her first backflip off a natural feature at age six and landed a rare switch McTwist (one and a half spins upside down, launched while riding backward) in the…

The Wild Place at the End of the World TWO IF BY SEA Pumalín Park, Chile Getting to the Patagonian Andes can be hard. Along much of Chile’s coast, the heart of the range is unreachable by road. But by water, the mountains are there for the taking. Sea Kayak Chile’s six-day Andean Fjords trip tours the steep, rocky inlets of Pumalín Park and other protected areas of northern Patagonia ($1,460; seakayakchile.com). “The main thing is the size of the mountains that plunge into the sea,” says the company’s owner and head guide, Francisco Valle. “It’s all big waterfalls and snow-capped peaks.” Guests and two guides navigate roughly 30 miles of this landscape, and no paddling experience is necessary— the outfitter uses a 50-foot support vessel for meals and to…

“I need to ingest specially formulated foods after a workout for my muscles to recover.” SCIENCE SAYS: Last year, Brent Ruby, an exercise physiologist at the University of Montana, looked at whether recovery foods help muscles refuel more quickly than junk food. A half-dozen men rode stationary bikes to exhaustion, then consumed energy chews and sports drinks. A few hours later, they performed a 20- kilometer time-trial. They repeated the routine a week later, only this time the cyclists fueled with McDonald’s. Surprisingly, no matter what they ate, the men completed the time-trial in a dead heat. Biopsies showed that their muscles used the carbs from the two meals similarly. TAKEAWAY: “The point is not to validate fast food as a recovery tool,” says Ruby, but that “just about any…

THERE’S A NEW COMPETITION RAGING AMONG ELITE RUNNERS: THE BEER MILE, IN WHICH YOU DO FOUR LAPS AROUND A STANDARD TRACK, CHUGGING A 12-OUNCE BREW AT THE START OF EACH LOOP. IF YOU CAN DO IT IN UNDER FIVE MINUTES— WITHOUT HURLING OR PASSING OUT— YOU’RE NOT JUST FAST. YOU’RE A HERO. ELITE AMATEUR JOSH “HARRY” HARRIS LOOKS LIKE HE’S ON HIS WAY TO A RECORD MILETIME AT THE HISTORIC RAW LINSON TRACK IN MELBOURNE, ON MAY3,2014 Pixie-size, with legs pinwheeling, the 23-year-old Australian runner is about to arc through the first bend of the bell lap and is a half-lap ahead of the 30-person chase field when he unexpectedly comes to a near stop. Something is wrong. The rowdy spectators who’ve spilled onto the track’s outer lanes to bellow…

BEST FOR: Speed Borealis Echo XX1 $6,000 At just 27 pounds, the carbon echo is like a human-powered snowmobile, built for sluicing around wintery trails as fast as you can pedal. and with the new 100-millimeter rockshox Bluto suspension fork, the bike demolishes technical terrain. we love the 3.8-inch 45nrth hüsker Dü tires, which are the fastest, grippiest option in hard-pack conditions, but we also appreciate the versatility of clearance for bigger tires when the white stuff piles up. Borealis added through-axles in both front and rear, which makes the bike stiffer and more precise than its previous iterations. For the typical slower going of winter riding, the 1x11-speed XX1 drivetrain is a perfect choice, though we’d prefer a 30-tooth ring up front for more spinning. borealisbikes.com BEST FOR: All-Day…

Use a mat that’s too thin and it’ll kill your knees. Too thick and you’ll be off-balance in poses like warrior three. The five millimeter gaiam citron meadow ($30; gaiam.com) is the ideal compromise. The rubber is cushy enough that your spine won’t rub against the floor during core work, and the sticky surface gives you extra grip. Prana’s Flex shorts ($59; prana.com) are lightweight, water- resistant, sun protective, and made with recycled materials. more important, they’re just as comfortable on the bike ride home as they are in your vinyasa class. Lululemon’s Dense Foam blocks ($12 each; lululemon.com) will help you practice proper alignment without unnecessary strain. the rounded edges are extra comfy when working on jump backs. If you’re thinking of taking up bikram, you’ll need a water…