Ski season opens at Mammoth Mountain this week!

by Kraig Becker on

While skiers and snowboarders in Colorado have already been on the slopes for a few weeks, their counterparts in California have been forced to patiently wait for their turn to come. Their patience is about to be rewarded however, as Mammoth Mountain, one of the top ski resorts in North America, opens this week.

On Thursday, November 10th, at 8:30 AM, the first chair of the season will begin shuttling eager skiers and snowboarders up the mountain for the first runs of the day. But that will just be the beginning of a four-day celebration at Mammoth that will kick off the new season in grand style with live music, special events, film premieres, and parties all weekend long. For a full schedule of events, which includes autograph signings by the DC Pro Snowboarding Team, a concert by Black Lips and Ra Ra Riot, and much more, click here.

Mammoth also currently has season passes on sale, with an adult pass running just $799. Passes for children and seniors are significantly cheaper than that price, but if you’re interested, you’ll want to act fast. The sale ends November 13, after which they’ll return to their regular price and you’ll end up kicking yourself for not nabbing one sooner.

With an average snowfall of more than 400 inches per year and over 150 trails to ski or ride, you would think the management at Mammoth would be content to lure in visitors with the mountain’s natural wonders alone. But during the off season, they spent more than $20 million on upgrades to the resort, incorporating RFID technology into the lift passes, installing a new quad chairlift, and improving other facilities for their guests. New direct flights from San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities makes it easier than ever to get to the mountain as well, eliminating any excuse you have for not hitting the slopes this winter.

I know the calendar still says November, and winter is still officially six weeks away, but there is already plenty of powder in the mountains. Why not go enjoy some early seasons turns at Mammoth this weekend?

10 best eco-friendly hostels in the world

by Jessica Festa on

While you can usually expect an inexpensive stay at a hostel, not all of these accommodations are alike when it comes to being sustainable and green. For your next trip, why not stay somewhere that will not only give you a social experience on a budget, but will also be good for the planet? Check out this list of the 10 best eco-friendly hostels around the world.

Portland Hawthorne Hostel
Portland, Oregon

The Portland Hawthorne Hostel offers a clean, safe accommodation in the Hawthorne District of Portland, Oregon. The hostel has free breakfast, cheap bike rentals, and is a short walk from Mount Tabor and Luarelhurst parks. Not only that, but this hostel does its part in being eco-friendly. One of their biggest draws is their ecoroof, a “green living roof of vegetation and soil”. The project is low-maintenance and self-sustaining and is being encouraged by the city due to its ability to soak up stormwater and return it to a natural water cycle (water that is not soaked up usually becomes full of sewage and dirt and negatively affects aquatic habitats). Along with the ecoroof, the hostel makes use of green cleaning products, recycling and composting, and gives guests arriving by bicycle a discount of $5 per night.Auberge Alternative du Vieux-Montréal
Montreal, Canada

The Auberge Alternative is a boutique hostel for budget travelers. Old-warm charm resides here as the accommodation is actually an 1875 warehouse that was restored and enhanced. Art-lovers will also enjoy it here, as there is a gallery and studio that hosts artists from all over the world. Mix Auberge Alternative’s flair for art and design with their passion for green living, and you have one amazing accommodation. The hostel boasts free fair-trade coffees and teas, an organic and sustainable breakfast buffet, and usage of products made by small, locally run businesses. Moreover, you will not find a single vending machine, soda machine, or TV.

Mellow Eco Hostel Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain

Located in the traditional Horta District, this hostel is surrounded by greenery and away from the pollution and crowds of the city (but, still only fifteen minutes away by metro). There are many amenities and services included in your stay, including free Wi-Fi, free lockers, free linens, and free luggage storage. It is also one of the more social hostels with a shared kitchen and events, such as BBQ’s and dinners, on the terrace. What’s really great about Mellow Eco Hostel Barcelona, however, is its approach to a reduced environmental impact. They use renewable energy, with shower water being heated by solar panels on the roof. Moreover, they make use of recycling facilities, draught tap water, soap dispensers, biodegradable cleaning products, low consumption light bulbs, and only having air-conditioning in the common areas (don’t worry, the rooms were built to be well ventilated).

The Grampians YHA Eco-Hostel
Grampians, Australia

Located in the heart of the Grampians National Park, the Grampians YHA Eco-Hostel provides adventure activities such as rock climbing, hiking, and abseling, as well as the chance to experience the beauty of nature. The hostel also aims to be as green as possible and succeeds in many ways. Not only is the accommodation powered by solar electricity, it also does its part by using solar hot water, recycling, and collecting rainwater to reduce water consumption. Free-range eggs and organically grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs are also offered to guests.

Reykjavík City Hostel
Reykjavík, Iceland

Not only is Reykjavík City Hostel eco-friendly itself, it is also located next to a big geothermal swimming pool, beautiful waterfalls, explosive geysers, and other natural wonders for an even greener experience. Moreover, the hostel practices extensive recycling services, energy monitoring, and erosion control, offers a breakfast of local and organic fare, and sells fair-trade beverages at their cafe. While enjoying free Wi-Fi, a BBQ terrace, lounges, game rooms, and comfortable beds, guests can also take part in educational programs that will offer knowledge on sustainability and green living.

Eco Hostel Palermo
Buenos Aires, Argentina

This green hostel is situated in the trendy Palermo Soho of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Along with free linens, Wi-Fi in every room, a fully equipped kitchen, and 24-hour reception, guests can expect a stay that is friendly to the planet. The Eco Hostel Palermo makes use of solar powered panels, solar collectors, an organic garden, low enery light bulbs, insulated windows, cross-ventilation chambers, and eco-friendly computers with less plastic and low carbon emition. Moreover, almost all of the decoration and furnishing of the hostel is made with recycled and reused materials.

Strawberry Fields Eco-Lodge
Konso, Ethiopia

Staying at the Strawberry Fields Eco-Lodge, guests will get a feel for the simple life (the accommodation is also a farm) while being surrounded by dusty hills and lush greenery. It is a great budget accommodation if you’re looking to have a culturally-immersed experience as you will be staying in wooden thatched huts with authentic decor and eating locally prepared foods. Not only that, but your stay here will make you feel good about the environment, as it is run on solar power including solar showers and composting toilets.

The Green Hostel
Montevideo, Uruguay

This eco-friendly hostel has a lot to offer in terms of both amenities and sustainability. The Green Hostel features tours, bike rentals, 24-hour reception, a kitchen, a bar, internet, free breakfast and linens, lockers, luggage storage, and laundry services. Not only that, but they clearly have a committment to the environment, with furniture made of reused materials, hot water generated by solar panels, energy efficient light bulbs, a recycling program, and promotion of using bicycles as a way to explore the city.

Gyreum Ecolodge
Sligo, Ireland

Located in the North-West of Ireland, the name Gyreum literally means “round building” in Latin. You will understand why once you see the temple-like roof of the seemingly invisible Gyreum Ecolodge poking from the Earth. The hostel is an Installation Incubator, a place where people can come together to “incubate” new ideas. It is also an ecolodge, using a wind turbine to power geothermal heating, solar panels to heat water, and a traditional toilet that is connected to outside compost. Moreover, rainwater is collected and used for showers and toilets and an organic vegetable garden can be enjoyed by guests.

Enigmata Treehouse Ecolodge
Camiguin Island, Philippines

The Enigmata Treehouse Ecolodge is more than just a hostel, it is a place for travelers, artists, and environmentalists to come together to create positive change. With options of home-stays and dorms, there is also an art gallery on site (the accommodation is run by local artists), as well as a sculpture garden, library cafe, theater, and an open classroom. Along with trying to educate about ecology through art by, for example, decorating with pieces made of recycled products, guests are also invited to attend conservation and biodiversity workshops and seminars. Surrounded by farms and trees, the accommodation is located far away from highways and pollution. An array of ecotours are offered, as well as recycling and energy saving programs.

The “surfer almost swallowed by whale” video explained

by Kyle Ellison on

Across the internet and television today, the latest viral hit has been the woman surfing off of Santa Cruz, California who has an incredible encounter with a couple of migrating humpback whales.

Before writing for Gadling I spent 5 years leading humpback whale watching tours in Hawaii and Alaska, so it’s safe to say I know a little bit about these creatures. Though the kayakers and surfer in the video are undoubtedly encroaching far too close to the animals (the Marine Mammal Protection Act stipulates that all boaters must maintain a 100 yard distance from humpback whales), the surfer was never in any REAL danger of being swallowed by the whale.

Landed on and crushed? Sure. But swallowed? Definitely not. Here’s why:

As the video explains, the migrating humpback whales are engaged in a process known as lunge feeding. During lunge feeding, humpbacks will encircle a school of small fish such as herring or anchovies and trap them within a net of bubbles in a process known as “bubble-netting”. Once the fish have clustered into a tightly packed bait ball, the whales use their peduncle muscle (the strongest in the animal kingdom) to lunge them forward and gulp the bait ball down into their expanded gullet.

Here’s the catch, however. Though humpback whales can expand their ventral pleats while feeding to take in the volume of two African elephants, their throat opening is only the size of a grapefruit, so at worst, the surfer would be engulfed in the gullet of the whale and effectively spit back out, which if you ask me, would have made for a much better video.

Some have speculated that the video is so dramatic that it’s a fake. Certainly the number one piece of evidence for this is the fact that the woman is wearing a bikini in the cold water that is characteristic of Santa Cruz in November. Allegedly the girl is allergic to neoprene, which explains her poor decision to paddle out next to 40 ton creatures in cold water with no wetsuit.

Incredible footage? Yes. Surfer almost swallowed? Not quite.

Street art comes alive at the Sarasota Chalk Festival

by Melanie Renzulli on



Go to any major tourist city, particularly a city with a car-free, pedestrian-friendly center, and you’ll likely find street artists honing their craft, using just chalk as their medium and pavement as their canvas. Within hours, these street painters are able to create everything from spot-on renderings of the Mona Lisa to 3-D chasms that look so realistic you fear walking too close to the painting’s edge. Street painting is always a treat to come across. But, like all street art, chalk art is not organized. So it’s not an activity you’ll typically find on your weekend arts calendar. That is, unless you’re in Sarasota.

This week, the south Florida city of Sarasota hosts the Sarasota Chalk Festival, an annual event during which the world’s best chalk artists transform South Pineapple Avenue into an open air performance art space. In its fourth year, the Chalk Festival will focus on “Pavement Art Through the Ages,” paying homage to the art’s centuries-old Italian roots. In particular, the festival will showcase historical street painting, giving artists the opportunity to depict on pavement hundreds of years of Italian culture. The festival will also feature a 24-hour chalk painting competition modeled after the Grazie di Curtatone Madonnari, the very first street painting festival that took place in Mantua, Italy, in 1973. Madonnari, by the way, is the Italian term for “street painter.”

And then, there’s the 3-D art. Legendary chalk painter Kurt Wenner, an American artist who helped popularize anamorphic, or 3-D, street art, will be on hand to demonstrate his technique for creating three-dimensional chalk figures on a horizontal plane. In all, approximately 100 artists will decorate downtown Sarasota with dozens of mind-blowing street paintings that will all fade away shortly after the festival ends.

The Sarasota Chalk Festival runs through November 7.

Aspen offers $25,000 ‘Ultimate Ski Pass’

by Kraig Becker on

The Aspen Ski Company is offering a very exclusive – and very expensive– option for anyone who wants to hit the slopes in the Colorado mountain town this season. Skiers and snowboarders with deep pockets can opt for the Ultimate Ski Pass, which grants them a bevy of special privileges but comes with a hefty $25,000 price tag. Before you experience cardiac arrested brought on by sticker-shock however, you should know that money raised is going to a variety of good causes.

The perks for Ultimate Ski Pass holders include the opportunity to meet the U.S. Women’s Ski Team when they compete in Aspen later this month at the 2011 Winternational World Cup. They’ll also receive two VIP passes to that event, as well as breakfast with Bill Marolt, the President of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. Additionally, they’ll be entitled to a behind the scenes tour of Aspen-Snowmass and be allowed to ride along on a snowcat grooming session.

While those opportunities may be intriguing to some, the real benefit for avid skiers is that the pass includes unlimited first tracks on fresh powder. What that means is that pass grants its holder, and three of their friends, access to the mountain before it opens to the public, on any day of the season, giving them the opportunity to be the first down the hill on those days.

The Ultimate Ski Pass provides access to four different hills, including Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk. Additionally, there are only 18 Ultimate Passes available for sale, one of which has already been sold.

Proceeds from the sale of these rather pricey tickets will go to public schools in Aspen and toward supporting World Cup skiing events that take place there as well.

[Photo courtesy Aspen Snowmass]