Rock Goddesses

by Erik Olsen on

Conventional wisdom has it that putting babes on the cover of your magazine will increase sales.

Well, it worked on me. Sort of.

Even though I have a subscription to Outside Magazine, I confess I would have, um, snatched up
this month’s copy in a heartbeat
from the newsstand. This month’s feature on rock climbing hotties is enough to make you want to go buy a whole backpack
full of carabineers to join some of the women on a really long belay. (OK…enough with the lousy puns). The hottiest is
definitely Sara Carlson, who is featured prominently on the cover, sans shirt. Oh, and the article is good
too.

Sherpa Work

by Erik Olsen on

Sherpas are really the unsung heroes of mountain climbing. Where would any group heading up Everest be without their
dedicated team of sherpas carrying their crap, showing the way, helping people along? Hillary would not likely have
made it up Everest without Tenzing Norgay, let alone the scores of modern-day Hillary wannabees who pay exorbitant peak
fees to scale the world’s tallest peak.  So who are the sherpas, and why don’t they get more attention?

Well, to answer some of these questions, here’s
a great NYT article about the
Himalayan sherpas. I’ve always thought that an entire documentary ought to be done about sherpas, their life-style,
their beliefs, their stamina. They’re a fascinating group of people who’s contribution to mountaineering needs to be
better recognized.

Got No Plans This Summer…Work in Alaska

by Erik Olsen on

Sure you can sit at your desk, type up your memos and let the bleat of the fax machine be your sparrow song…but
wouldn’t it be great to pick up and go to, say, Alaska?

Here’s a site where you can get the suummer job of your dreams in the
nation’s largest state (unless, of course, your dream job is to make Powerpoint presentations).

The seasonal jobs are based on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The positions  generally require skills and experience
in natural history interpretation, guiding, outdoor leadership and recreation, fish guiding, rafting, maintenance
and/or hospitality. Surely you can finesse your resume, right? Walks in Central Park = Outdoor leadership.

Employment for these seasonal jobs runs from mid-May through mid-September.

Hiking Bali

by Erik Olsen on

Bali is still recovering from the bombings there several years ago, and many visitors are looking for ways to
appreciate this Indonesian gem other than hitting the resort areas. So some, like
this writer, set
out for the hills looking for killer treks and fairly vigorous hikes. The goal of this intrepid hiker was to scale
Mount Rinjani, the highest mountain in Indonesia outside Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). Leave your notions of Bali as a
tropical paradise at home if you’re trying this hike, It is a cold place that wil require you to pack long
johns. 

NPR on Exploration

by Erik Olsen on

Why do we explore? What do we travel at all? Wouldn’t it just be easier to sit at home on our butts and watch TV all day? I mean, travel requires all that planning, all that exertion. Yuck.

Well, face it. We travel because it stirs our spirits, because there is something in us that wants to know, that demands we see things for ourselves. Exploration is a part of us, it is what makes us human.

So listen to some of these great NPR stories about explorers and exploration. I have listened to all of them, and some are better than others, but all of them are worthwhile. Listen and enjoy, and if you don’t some away fired up to get out there, well, something is wrong with you.