Can’t say I’ve ever done much ice climbing in
my life, but you take a look at these pics over at National Geographic and you think…well, maybe there’s a reason I’ve
never been ice climbing before. Gnarly stuff.
The photos by Steve Casimiro
are part of a whole series from Colorado’s Ouray Ice Park that the online site is
running. A few of the pictures are better than others, including the one here
of a guy making his way up the face of a waterfall that is pretty awesome.
Following
up on my post…a short essay, really…on how
snowboarding has become mainstream…which is not how it started…I thought it was interesting to note that there are
a mere four resorts in the country have maintained a "no snowboarder" policy. Top among them is
snowboarding terrain anyway. Deer Valley, I am sorry to say…and apologize now to the PR people who are sure to
take umbrage at this comment…is largely a resort for old people whose knees, hips and backs have gone out, and
who feel the need to be endlessly pampered like the spoiled rich Americans they are. Ouch. That sounded harsh. Let me
retract part of that…naw, let it ride.
Anyway, the other ski-exclusive resorts are Alta, southeast of
mystery…or at least I suggest it varies from place to place, and is largely based on exaggerated notions and
fears that there are vast armies of snowboarders made up entirely of pot-smoking, baggily-dressed youth who have little
regard for the long-established protocols of ski area etiquette. Are these fears founded? Probably not. For the most
part I think snowboarding has gone mainstream, which was largely my point in this earlier post. But, yes, there are
most certainly vestiges of the tatterdemalion armies cutting turns on slopes around the country. But should we keep
certain places off-limits to them? I’m not so sure.
Not sure for sure if this is actually a Russian video or not, but it’s
quite enjoyable. I’ve read about these guys before…or at least this phenomenon of young guys doing stunts and jumps
and flips and whatever around their neighborhoods. It’s amateurish stuff, but there’s a real skill-set here. A couple
of scenes in this little film show of some extremely impressive acrobatics. Not to mention some death-defying
stupidity. But hey, that’s their business. I’ve always felt that if someone wants to hurt themselves on camera for my
pleasure, that’s their prerogative.
The
recent release of
The Sound of Music, 40th Anniversary DVD Edition, has no doubt warmed the cockles of music lovers everywhere.
While the blockbuster musical certainly inspired countless fans to pursue a singing career, that fantastic opening shot
of Julie Andrews twirling about the grass-covered Austrian Alps ignited an entirely different flame within me—and
I’m not talking about the one which engulfed Blake Edwards. I’m talking about hiking the Alps.
It would take me more than 20 years after first seeing the movie, however, before I was able to stand in Fraulein
Maria’s footsteps. Literally. Thanks to an homage-paying tour company located in Salzburg, Austria, I was not only able to
emulate the future Baroness von Trapp mountaintop dance which I found so mesmerizing in my youth, but I was also able to
visit numerous other Salzburg spots in which the move was filmed. The tour is campy, humorous, and nostalgically
rewarding—albeit, slightly embarrassing for the same proud Austrians who brought us Mozart.
It’s not everyday I’m blown away and deeply inspired
by a piece of online multimedia. But that happened recently when I took a look at the online documentary and the
accompanying book Powder Road by Stellar Media. Now, I’ve posted about Stellar
here a few times before. The Stellar site is a wonderful place to read stories and encounter superb online multimedia
about adventure sports and personalities. The site is elegantly designed, and the media – such as video interviews with
various outdoor personalities – is usually entertaining and well-edited.
But I have to single out this
particular effort because I have the book and because I watched much of this online documentary. The story of
Powderroad is pretty basic…but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Basically it’s the story of four buddies, all
of whom have a passion for skiing epic terrain, as they head to Alaska to heli-ski and generally tear up the gargantuan
slopes of the 50th state.
This is really worth the time, maybe a sit down with your sandwich lunchtime
thing. The photos are amazing as well. You might even call them, um, stellar.