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 Christmas Naked
December 2009 - You’re 10 years old in your home sewn jammies, tearing down the hall to what you know is there, you just know it: a banana-seat bike in the living room, green with tassels, and Santa’s the greatest! Your mom and dad light cigarettes and beam. The tree’s lit up red and green, and on the turntable John Denver’s singing “Silent Night” all high and nasally again and again and again.
 Turn, turn, turn
November 2009 - Throw your weight forward.
Lean into the abyss. Let go.
My skis are turned parallel to the edge of the cornice. The ground drops away and plunges into steeps and gullies studded with snowdrifts, trees and tree wells. Hints of rocks and downed timber break through the surface.
 Behind the Lines
November 2009 - (Being the Tale of a Rocky Mountain Canary’s Response to ‘Economic Downturn’) Here’s a picture postcard from the past, with this caption at the top: Rocky Mountain Canary Looking for a Tenderfoot. On the back is a postmark from 14,110-feet, stamped over these words, “The ‘Rocky Mountain Canary’ got his name because of his raucous bray; however, the burro is held in considerable esteem by prospectors, miners and others who must travel in the rough country beyond the trails. He is a patient, intelligent and faithful companion and helper.”
 The Importance of Seeing 360 Degrees
November 2009 - When I was a little girl, I remember
my love of spinning.
Whether it was rolling down the
hill, seeing the yellows of buttercups
merging with the green of grass;
twirling with my face up to the blue sky,
watching the blues become whites until
I fell down breathless; or the tilt-a-whirl
at the state fair, which was the most fun
when ridden with my father who would
lean into the motion so that the whole cart
would spin furiously as I clung tightly to
the bar. I always loved anything that involved
rapid rotation.
 Everest's "Other Guy"
At the outpost of Sandakphu, along the border of India and Nepal, the snow-capped peak of Kanchenzonga glistens as the rising sun bathes it in fiery orange. But it is the towering pinnacle of Mount Everest, far in the distance and almost forgotten, that first captures the morning light — and the imagination of the local people.
 CLIMBING EVEREST: WHO MAKES IT TO THE TOP?
The odds a person climbing Mount Everest will die in the attempt are 1 in 61.46. On its deadliest day, May 10, 1996, the mountain claimed eight people during a single 24-hour period. That day Jon Krakauer, a journalist on assignment for Outside Magazine, was part of an expedition led by celebrated climber, Rob Hall.
 To All climbers who know and love Yosemite National Park
By Jesse McGahey / www.nps.gov
- I realize that many of you are probably rolling your eyes at this point about the planning process in Yosemite and the federal government in general, but being actively vocal and involved with this process is your best way of changing the things you don't like about Yosemite and keeping the aspects you love. Yosemite National Park is revisiting the Merced River Plan after two previous plans resulted in litigation.
 Ski Poetry
November 2009 - There are innumerable ski songs. Skiing themes are frequent in fiction, and the sport has drawn many writers, most famously Ernest Hemingway, who in the 1920s, escaped the bleak winters of Paris to ski in Switzerland. In films, there have been many ski scenes and even full-length features, such as “Downhill Racer” (1969) starting Robert Redford.
 The Longest Climb - Part 1
This is an attempt to set a new world record. An attempt to raise £10,000 for three charities: Amnesty International, Heart UK, Mountain Rescue England and Wales. This is two guys, Tom Lancaster and Jonathan Briggs, attempting to climb the height of Mount Everest, 8,848 meters (or 29,029 feet), in one stretch, on an indoor climbing wall. This equates to 738 times up the 12 meter wall.
 International Day of Climate Action Celebrated at California's Phantom Spires
350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis — the solutions that science and justice demand. On 24 October, people in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for action on the climate crisis.
 Samsara and Pra Caramba Trailers - 2009 Adventure Film Festival
Videos by Renan Ozturk and Cedar Wright courtesy of BlueWaterRopes Blogspot.com to premiere at the Adventure Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado - On November 12-14 in Boulder, Colorado, the Fifth Annual Adventure Film Festival will premiere the most exciting and inspiring award-winning independent films from around the world. The festival is dedicated to all aspects of adventure — from serious exploration to environmental heroism to gripping tales from the edge of the believable. Renan Ozturk's "Samsara" and Cedar Wright's "Pra Caramba" will both premiere at this year's festival.
 Two Giants Break World Records on Kilimanjaro
The Guinness Book of World Records might soon add two giants on its lists of record breakers. Chris Waddell pedaled and Tajiri Mungaya hobbled recently to the top of the snow caped Kilimanjaro, the highest mount in Africa, becoming the first paraplegic and amputee respectively to reach the 5,895 meter summit unassisted.
 On Not Being Ed Abbey: An Open Letter to Doug Peacock
October 2009 - Dear Doug,
Five seconds after I turned on my radio, I knew it was big trouble. You were being cross-examined on “Democracy Now!” and philosophizing to Amy Goodman about some false-charge some pissed-off silvertip laid down on you once.
 Getting Trashed at Lake Powell
October 2009 - What were we doing in 95- degree heat wandering the wasted, barren shores of Lake Powell among the weeds, thorns, tamarisk and desiccated wild horse and burro poop? Why, picking up garbage, of course! Most folks get trashed at Lake Powell and consume cases of beer, bags of Wonder bread, quarts of suntan lotion and gallons of soft ice cream at the Dangling Rope Marina. In between large bouts of drinking, they fall off boats, sunburn themselves, drive jet skis in tight little circles and occasionally jump off sandstone cliffs to their deaths.
 Sphincter-Free-Falling into Foam
October 2009 - I admit it: I’ve fantasized about sailing a backflip off a big kicker and stomping the landing (crowd goes wild). But I’ve managed to stay alive this long by not living out this fantasy because, quite simply, gravity can hurt. The higher I go, the harder the crash; the older I get, the longer the healing time. Usually, common sense kicks in and says no thanks, I don’t need massive bruises and broken bones this week.
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