Perhaps this site has made the Gadling pages before, but at the same time I’m willing to bet we’ve somehow managed to look over this fine jewel packed with National Park info. A buddy of mine who happens to be good pals with one of the creators of the USA-C2C venture pointed it out to me a few days back and after accessing the very thorough and detailed information, I must recommend that anyone with an interest in National Parks bookmark this page – NOW. Having toured almost all of the 358 National Parks, National Historic Site, National Battlefield Park, National Battlefield and National Monument officially recognized by the National Park Foundation within the United States, Michael and Gabrielle have created a highly dynamic ranking system for each, all on one site. (Very easy to navigate through as well.) The park museums, ease of access, ranger to tourist ratio, and park facilities are all critiqued for each and every park including anything else imaginable. I look at the amount of work placed into this project and I am baffled. With around 29 more parks left, once this project is fully finished I’m sure it is going to spread like wildfire. Maybe we’ll get lucky enough to see it in a paper / book version perfect for the backpack on long summer or fall road trips.
Banff Mountain Festival Starts Today
Today kicks off the 2006 Banff Mountain Festival.
For lovers of the outdoors, there is perhaps no better gathering of authors, film makers, and adventurers specializing in the natural world. The festival provides a venue for those passionate about the outdoors and then delivers this passion to festival goers in all its glory.
Seminars and guest speakers make up a big part of the entertainment. This year will include, among others, Italian mountaineer Simone Moro, and Nando Parrado, one of the survivors of the infamous Andes plane crash in which cannibalism took place.
There is also a book festival honoring those who have written about the Great Outdoors.
The real draw for most people, however, is the legendary film festival. This year, 300 films of various lengths have been submitted; 50 will be shown throughout the festival. The winning reels then go on tour around the world. I catch the tour every year when it comes to Los Angles and keep telling myself that I need to get to the real event itself. Looks like I’ve come up short this year, once again.
Todd Skinner Dies in Yosemite
Adventurers seem to be dropping like flies. Literally. First we read about the horrible death of world-renowned BASE jumper Brian Shubert, whose cute failed to open (or he failed to release it) at the New River Gorge Bridge Day celebration last weekend. And now, one of the world’s top climbers dies in a place he supposedly knew very well.
Todd Skinner pioneered the sport of free climbing, and was an ardent advocate of keeping the sport of climbing pure, that is reducing the amount of extraneous equipment that a climber uses to scale a face. He was very well-regarded among the cognoscenti for his ballsiness and ability. In fact, he accomplished more than 300 free ascents in 26 countries. Some of his notable accomplishments include include the first free ascents of the Salathe Wall on Yosemite’s El Capitan, the north face of Mount Hooker in the Wind River Range and the Great Canadian Knife in the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Yukon Territories. Skinner also led expeditions to Pakistan, Vietnam, Mali, Greenland and Kenya. Skinner, who came from the Teton spiked state of Wyoming, was descending from a route called Leaning Tower when he fell about 500 feet. He was dead soon thereafter.
A sad story, to be sure. But in both of these cases it seem these guys were doing the things they loved. I suppose there’s no better way to go. One could just as easily die inhaling toner vapors by accident at the office or by stepping in front of a bus. Still, two rather significant adventuring tragedies in a short period of time.
Yosemite as Art
I picked this one up from a great Web site on he National parks called Park Remark, and this could be a cool event for folks who love both art and the National Parks. The Autry National Center is currently hosting a cool-looking exhibit called “Yosemite: Art of an American Icon“, which features lots of paintings of, you guessed it, Half Dome and El Cap and the whole Yosemite Valley….sans traffic clogged roads, smog and fat kids holding their wieners…the BBQ kind, I mean. You can check out the exhibit website to see what it’s all about. It’s actually quite well done with audio narration around some of the many prints and paintings on display. Bierstadt is covered, but oddly, I saw no Ansel Adams…I’m guessing those photos were either too expensive to get or they couldn’t get permission because an Adams exhibit is already on the road somewhere.
Winter Activities
I’ve been trying to convince myself that winter is still aways off. I’ve planned a paddling trip to Baja California for early December, and I’ve yet to pack away my shorts and short sleeved shirts. But as temperatures fall, I guess I should start to deal. And more I should probably start to plan a few trips and activities for the coming cold months.
In this effort, I took a quick look this morning at a nice post over at sister blog That’s Fit, a blog that’s all about keeping in shape…so long as that shape is NOT round. The post links to an article on skiing alternatives in the Canadian Rockies. But of course, the principles provided therewith can most certainly be applied anywhere there is snow. To paraphrase Monty Python, it’s meant to apply to all manufacturers of snowy products. In addition to snow kiting, they also mention skijoring, snowmobiling and backcountry skiing…all rather predictable, except for skijoring, which I only learned a moment ago is about skiing with your dog. Or something like that.