Pope on a Slope

by Erik Olsen on

He was really one of the great statesmen of the 20th Century, and after many days of extensive media coverage, many
of us know a lot more about the Pope than we did before he departed for a better place.

But most people are probably still unaware that the Pope was quite the outdoorsmen in his time. Yes, according to this
Outside article, the Pope could
really carve a turn. In fact, he owned a pretty sweet pair of 195-centimeter Head Pros with Tyrolia bindings.

Dude! Cool. Yes, back in Poland the Pontiff, or JP2 as he is affectionately known, was a hiker, kayaker, and a
hard-core camper. That explains now the  smell of campfire smoke wafting from the Pope’s quarters late at night
and the odd overnight packages arriving from REI.


Ski Trailer

by Erik Olsen on

Give a quick look at this great video
trailer for a film called Spirit of Snow. It’s short but sweet, and a great way to waste a minute of your
time…maybe during lunch. The full film can be purchased on DVD from Lenticular Pictures, a small production company
that has done several films on outdoor topics.

Many of the films can be sampled on the site and make for decent, albeit brief, enjoyment.

In the New Yorker!

by Erik Olsen on

Like Jim Benning over at
Worldhum, I am a New Yorker fan. Wait, this is an understatement. I live for the New Yorker. It is, IMHO, the best
magazine in the world. In fact, I’m not sure what I would do with myself if it ever went defunct, not that I expect it
to, of course. It’s just that in the wide wacky world of publishing, you never know what’s going to happen. The
emergence of all the LCD/ADD lad mags once worried me that long-form journalism was on the way out.

Anyway.

So as a travel writer, I was downright giddy to learn that this
week’s issue is dedicated to travel…or journeys to be more precise. For some reason, my issue, which almost always
arrives on Monday, was not in yesterday’s mailbox. I almost wept, but will rush home today to see if it’s there. But I
did check out the Web today and found several of the peices online (btw: someone PLEASE tell the folks over there that
their site SUCKS. I would LOVE to help them with it, if they need advice.).

There are peices by Jonathan Franzen, Jane Smiley, and a story on back country skiiing (something
we’ve posted about at length) by Nick
Paumgarten. There is also a profile of Brazilian photographer Sebastian Salgado, whose photo essay on whales in a
recent Rolling Stone took my breath away. One of the main pieces is
a wonderful look at Lonely Planet and its
founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler.

Speaking of which, I should also mention that within a day or two, we will post our next
podcast which features an in-depth interview with LP’s Don George. It was
such a treat to talk to Don, who is one of my travel writing heroes. We discussed all sorts of things, including his
new book

Travel Writing, and, in a similar vein to the New Yorker piece, the “Lonely Planet” effect (you’ll see). Anyway, I
know you’ll enjoy it, so tune in again soon when the podcast is up.

Spirit of Snow

by Erik Olsen on

Give a quick look at this great video
trailer for a film called Spirit of Snow. It’s short but sweet, and a great way to waste a minute of your
time…maybe during lunch. The full film can be purchased on DVD from Lenticular Pictures, a small production company
that has done several films on outdoor topics.

Many of the films can be sampled on the site and make for decent, albeit brief, enjoyment.

Backcountry: BC

by Erik Olsen on

Hey, even though its (finally!) getting warm, there is still some backcountry skiiing to get done. There will likely
be at least one more storm somewhere, and quite possibly that storm will be in British Columbia.

So as you gather your gear to head out for that final trip, give a read
to this article in Backcountry Magazine on skiiing
Plinth Peak in BC. The photos are pretty good and it’s
enough to make you want to hit the slopes one last time.