Auden Schendler, one of the biggest climate advocates in the outdoor industry, doesn’t start his new book, Terrible Beauty, with any of the myriad lessons he’s learned over decades of environmental work. Schendler, who is Aspen One’s (parent company of Aspen Snowmass), doesn’t drop into scare tactics, or data, or the myriad ways global warming is harming recreation, business, and our...

　　Mountain bike design, especially suspension, involves managing tradeoffs. Weight, price, suspension travel characteristics, handling, and even pedal height (to avoid pedal strikes) must all be considered. The final set of compromises hopefully aligns with the designers original mission statement for the bike. 　　Rocky Mountain may have never received that memo, as its Instinct Carbon 70 AXS made it difficult to...

　　As a touring bluegrass musician, Tim Parr was passing through Malibu, California in 2017 when he decided to shop for reading glasses. At age 49, the outdoor industry veteran who’d worked at Patagonia and founded a bike company (Swobo) had never worn glasses before. But, Parr says, his younger band members had been giving him a hard time for having...

　　December 8, 2024, marks the day that Taylor Swift ends her record-shattering Eras Tour. It lasted 22 months, spanned over five continents, and earned more money than any tour that had ever come before it, grossing more than $1 billion in its first year alone. 　　At Outside, we wanted to pay homage to Swift’s Eras achievements through the lens of...

　　The Grand Canyon is stunning. At Outside, we’re in love with that giant ditch, and chances are, you are, too. This river canyon, measuring 278 miles long, roughly 10 miles wide, and in places more than a mile deep, is unlike anything else in the country. Artists paint pictures of it. Musicians write songs about it. Scientists read the history...

　　After podiuming at the Freeride World Tour, Hank Bilous wanted a change of pace. So, he decided to pursue a different passion for a while — medicine — and became a nurse. Both careers require extremely technical skill sets, and both frequently deal with life-and-death risks. 　　How did he translate his own self-expression from one to the other? And what does...

　　Shauna Coxsey is one of, if not the, most successful British competition climbers in history. She started when she was 7 and became a national champion at 15. Her resume is incredibly impressive: 　　30 World Cup podiums include 11 gold, 12 silver, and 7 bronze medals Multiple British Bouldering Championships 2016 and 2017 IFSC Bouldering World Cup Champion First British...

　　Mother Nature has provided another reminder that avalanches can occur on either side of a ski resorts boundary. 　　Earlier this week, patrollers at Colorados Steamboat Resort published images and video of a massive avalanche that swept down four closed runs on the morning of Wednesday, November 27. Nobody was injured in the slide, which occurred near the summit of 10,570-foot...

　　What does an experienced politician, bicycling advocate, and native Texan do to fill up their time when they retire? If you’re Charles Gandy, you try to create a Texas version of the Pacific Crest Trail. Gandy is spearheading efforts to develop the xTx trail, a 1,500-mile thru-hike that crosses Texas from Orange to El Paso. We chatted with Gandy to...

　　Every Sunday afternoon I sit down in my home office prepping for next week’s clients directly in front of one of my favorite quotes: 　　“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 　　While George Bernard Shaw has many famous expressions, the words “grow old” in this particular quote could be replaced by any...

　　Last month, Allegheny County opened Boyce Bouldering Park—a 6,000-square-foot expanse of artificial boulders. Carved into the edge of Pittsburgh’s urban sprawl—just fifteen minutes from downtown—this free outdoor bouldering gym was designed with an ambitious vision: to bring outdoor adventure to all. 　　The park boasts more than 100 problems, ranging in difficulty from VB to V10+, which will be reset twice...

　　While Urban Arrow electric cargo bikes have been around for well over a decade now, this latest one with Boschs Smart System is the most refined yet. The Urban Arrow Family Smart System Cargo Line e-bike was announced on September 19, but I got my hands on it early for a few months of testing over the summer. 　　I mostly...