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Bike
Bike Town USA
Bike Town USA
Steamboat’s bike paths earn smiles from Marc, Ada, and Jake Peruzzi. Photo by Sarah PeruzziWhenever I watch the Tour de France I can’t help but cringe as face painters draped in American flags chase at the rear tires of the best riders in the world like rabid, umm, Belgians. Finally it’s Europe’s turn to cringe. The USA Pro Cycling Challenge is racing through Steamboat this weekend, and several thousand fans (many from Europe) are expected. It’s the only stop of the seven stages of the tour to host both a start and finish. You probably already know about the…...
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Culture
Nuun Teams Ready for Hood to Coast Relay
Nuun Teams Ready for Hood to Coast Relay
Van 1 of the Nuun Platuun team. From left to right: Margot, Tricia, Lisa, Alyssa, and Kerrie. Photo courtesy of Kerrie Turcic At 8:00 this morning, a van decked out in camouflage cruised along 90 miles outside Portland. Inside were five runners, women from near and far, all headed for the starting line of the 30th Hood to Coast Relay, the largest running relay race in the world. They are part of two teams of 12 recruited and supported by nuun, which invited female bloggers to get creative and apply for a spot. (For a full list of the women and…...
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Bike
Mountain Biking with Andy Schleck
Mountain Biking with Andy Schleck
Yeah, he’s clearly the best climber in the world, but maybe you thought it wise to discount Andy Schleck’s chances in the PCC that starts August 22 because he’s from Luxembourg (height of land: 1,319 feet) and the PCC is in Colorado where much of the racing will be done above 9,000 feet. You might want to think again. In the weeks leading up to the race, Schleck’s been training and living at 7,000 feet in the hills north of Steamboat. Surprisingly—if you only know the younger Schleck from the second step of the Tour de France—he was getting in…...
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Bike
BRECK Epic Photo Gallery
BRECK Epic Photo Gallery
Some of the world’s best endurance mountain bike racers are pedaling their way through six days-three for the spark notes version-of calf crushing climbs, massive miles, and endless elevation changes. Here’s a photo gallery of the action so far. Stay tuned for more to come. Photos by Liam Doran Click below for a photo gallery of the action....
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Culture
Mountain Aged Whiskey
Mountain Aged Whiskey
The High West Distillery tour starts at the still downstairs in mad scientist territory. After an afternoon of trail running under the Utah sun last week, the first refreshing sip of my Clementine at the High West Distillery told me I had come to the right place to end my day in the mountains. The Clementine, a margarita made with whiskey, is a High West original. It’s a small taste of the beverages and victuals that deliver the flavors of the Wild West with modern flair. High West is located a block from Main Street in downtown Park City,…...
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Culture
That Bad Ass Chinook Pilot is My Brother-in-Law
That Bad Ass Chinook Pilot is My Brother-in-Law
You may have heard of this daring rescue of an injured Russian climber from the nose of Disappointment Cleaver on Mount Rainier last month. Somehow he’d broken a leg near the summit and was making his way down with grim but slow fortitude when rescue rangers and an Army Chinook decided to intervene. My brother-in-law, Richard Bovey, is the pilot in command. The entire rescue was caught on video by a climbing party camped beneath the Cleaver. At one point, one of the videographers rhetorically asks where the pilots practice for such missions. While it’s true they train in…...
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Culture
Outdoor Retailer: Day 4
Outdoor Retailer: Day 4
Camelbak has redesigned its iconic water bladder to make mountain biking more comfortable. The Charge LR, available this fall, will have a bladder built for lumbar support, as you can see below. Compression cords on the hip belt cinch things down as you drink to prevent sloshing, and there’s extra cushioning in the back to prevent getting poked by your stowed multitool. But that’s not all from Camelbak. The company has also developed a water filtration system using UV light rays that works in tandem with a 750 ml water bottle. The filtration housing can be submerged in water…...
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Culture
Outdoor Retailer: Day 3
Outdoor Retailer: Day 3
Mountain Hardwear has developed a gear collection built around a design philosophy they call “en-lite-ment”, working with speed mountaineer Ueli Steck to maximize experience while minimizing burdens. The result was a system that weighs just 12 pounds, 8 ounces—including sleeping bag, tent, pack, and outerwear. This line inspired ultralight pieces for the mere mortals, including the Ghost Whisperer Anorak, pictured below. It’s wind and water resistant, and the men’s version weighs only 52 grams. Salewa is treading on new ground with its Pro Gaiter and Pro Guide mountaineering boots. The company is bringing ski boot technology to mountaineering boots…...
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Culture
Outdoor Retailer: Day 2
Outdoor Retailer: Day 2
There is 256,000 square feet of exhibition space in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. After Day 2 at Outdoor Retailer, my feet feel like they’ve walked every inch. But the shoes on display are worth every step. Teva‘s Blue Line collection for spring 2012 couples Spider rubber, with high friction and durability, and J Step technology, which was first used in non-slip footwear for chefs. Together, these surfaces take grip to a new level—enough to stand still on a ramp coated with vegetable oil at the booth. On the other side of the floor,…...
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Culture
Outdoor Retailer: Day 1
Outdoor Retailer: Day 1
Columbia trailrunners make a splash at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City. Speed mountaineer Ueli Steck teamed up with Wenger Swiss Army to develop a knife for the alpine realm. Three hex keys mark the blade, the middle just big enough for a fingertip to ensure easy opening. The knife is fast and light, like its namesake, and is starts at $200. Ortovox teamed up with Mountainskyver to develop the Downhill Mountain Scooter, modeled below by Alli Noland of Terra Public Relations. She says it’s the closest thing to powder skiing you’ll find in winter. The scooter folds up and…...
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Culture
Mile High Mountaineering
Mile High Mountaineering
Jeff Popp and Casey Lorenzen of Mile High Mountaineering say they’re often mistaken for brand reps rather than business owners. “They don’t assume that guys our age would be so involved with a new company and be the backbone,” Lorenzen says. “Or if they know that we’re the ones behind it, they’re kind of skeptical about the product.” But MHM backpacks, with their innovative features and bright colors, are quickly correcting that image problem for Popp (founder and president) and Lorenzen (VP of marketing), both in their 20s. Popp and Lorenzen grew up in Colorado backpacking and snowboarding, and…...
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Culture
Colorado Ghost Town
Colorado Ghost Town
This weekend, I drove south past Leadville and turned up the dusty Clear Creek Reservoir Road, spotting mountain bikers, boaters, hikers, rafting operations, and trucks bearing ATVs along the way. Two forks of the creek meet 12 miles down the road, where all that remains of Winfield is a schoolhouse (now a small museum) and a handful of miner’s cabins that are still in use. Before scrambling up a peak overlooking town Saturday afternoon, I filled my water bottles from a spring crowded by wildflowers. Afterwards, I dunked my blistered feet in the icy water of Clear Creek. Fly fishermen…...
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Bike
Slow Food Across the Atlantic
Slow Food Across the Atlantic
“If you want to sample the most local food, try prix fixe dinner numero uno,” my waiter Terry suggests. I reply, “You know, in the States I’ve read that Alba is the birthplace of slow food movement.” Terry relies that sì, Italy’s Northern province of Piedmont, and especially Alba, is famous for its rustic cuisine, and says that most of the food served comes from the local farms and vineyards. I tell Terry I hear the term slow food came as a reaction to the news of the first McDonald’s opening in Rome. Terry sighs and says, yeah, tourists come…...
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Culture
Ski Town Rodeo
Ski Town Rodeo
Cowboys in action at the Steamboat Springs rodeo. See more photos below. Photo by Sarah Peruzzi Before our recent trip to Steamboat, our seven-year-old daughter wanted to be a ballerina in Paris. Now she wants to be a cowgirl. She hasn’t taken off her hat since our night at the Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series. Living on the Front Range it’s easy to forget we live in the West—a place where values and heritage carry more rank than organic root vegetables and wood fired pizza. The rodeo announcer repeatedly appealed to parents to teach their children to be honest and…...
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Culture
Bugging Out
Bugging Out
Making sense of the mountain pine beetle infestation. By Patrick Doyle | Photographs by Matthew Staver Entomologist Bob Cain is wandering through a lodgepole pine forest looking for mountain pine beetles just east of Loveland Ski Resort. He’s been hunting for 30 minutes with little luck. Many of the trees are already dead, the beetles long gone. Our timing, Cain says, is off. The bark beetles tore through this part of Colorado last year and the Forest Service has already cut down many of the infected trees for firewood. Still, Cain, who’s the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Regional Entomologist—aka the resident…...
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