Indholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2021 i Outside

End Games Do we really need the Olympics? That question has been posed in editorial pages across the globe for a couple of decades now and recently informed Outside’s own coverage of the Games. It’s not that we don’t love the spectacle of the quadrennial competition, but increasingly the scandals and grift involved have become impossible to ignore. In 2013, when we sent McKenzie Funk to Sochi, Russia, to write about the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Games, he uncovered a mountain of excess and shady dealings. A year later, Rachel Sturtz reported on the devastating legacy of sexual abuse within competitive swimming, which had largely been overlooked by the Olympic-affiliated governing bodies charged with protecting athletes. In a 2016 online editorial, contributing editor Brian Alexander argued that hosting had…

For climber, photographer, and designer L. Renee Blount, trying new things is second nature. From her home base in Oakland, California, she makes a committed effort to cross at least one goal off her outdoor bucket list each month. But in October, Blount pushed herself to attempt five new endeavors: dirt biking, bikepacking, camp kayaking, high-altitude running, and rock climbing somewhere she’d never been before. To make it happen, she had a little help from her friends, along with Cake, Onewheel, and Oru Kayak, who lent her the gear and sent along some folks to show her how to use it. Many of the photos here are from Beyond Familiar, an upcoming video series produced by Blount and Topo Designs that follows her as she learns basic skills. Blount says…

A. Osprey UL Dry Stuff $60 Sometimes the simplest setup is the most effective. When packed into its front pocket, this seam-sealed waterproof bag fits into the palm of your hand, and at just 6.9 ounces it feels like a whisper. Adjustable mesh shoulder and sternum straps make it a comfortable carry despite its lack of frame, while external water-bottle compartments, compression webbing, and gear-attachment loops keep you organized. Whip it out of your full-size hauler for a summit push, or throw it on for a rainy day hike. B. CamelBak Octane 25 70 Ounce Hydration $145 Our key pack criteria are accessibility, capacity, comfort, and organization. The Octane scored perfect tens across the board. It combines the body-cradling support and minimal bounce of a running vest with enough volume…

IN RECENT YEARS, alcohol-infused seltzers like White Claw and Truly have become popular alternatives to beer, preferable for their easy drinking and modest calorie count. It’s inevitable, then, that a boozy kombucha should come along, offering natural ingredients and enticing flavor combinations. (While there are trace amounts of alcohol in regular kombucha left behind by the brewing process, the drinks featured here contain at least 4.5 percent alcohol by volume.) Hard kombucha is already a $33 million industry, according to Kombucha Brewers International, and that number is expected to triple by 2026. Another good rea-son to swap brews and seltzers for hard booch? Belly health. Explains dietitian Kristin Gillespie, alcoholic kombucha may offer some of the same probiotic benefits—albeit in diminished form—as the soft variety. “Probiotics can’t withstand high alcohol…

PLUS: JIMMY CHIN AND THE NORTH FACE HAVE A $7 MILLION PLAN TO MAKE ADVENTURE MORE INCLUSIVE.…

There was plenty of trauma to go around in 2020. But new studies point to a number of ways we might recover and even thrive. Post-traumatic growth refers to positive changes that can happen after a life-shattering event occurs, according to Richard Tedeschi, a clinical psychologist with the Boulder Crest Foundation, an organization that offers recovery programs for combat veterans, first responders, and their families. “Most people still think that if you suffered trauma, you’re going to be damaged,” Tedeschi says. “We’re talking about something beyond that, where people actually transform into something different from who they were before.” Worldwide, more than 70 percent of people report exposure to at least one traumatic event in their lives—from the death of a loved one to a life-threatening injury—according to a 2016…

Leroy Bull was a boy who felt things other children did not. He sensed that there was something right on the edge of his reality, in rural Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where he grew up in the 1940s and ’50s. Sometimes it sent him messages, although at the time he did not know them as such. What he knew was that in school his eye was drawn out the window and into the woods, where his world hushed. He quickly learned not to tell the other kids that sometimes, in these moments, he thought he glimpsed the future. Once, when he was older, he called his high school sweetheart and urged her to stay home from school. She hung up, ignored his advice, and broke her ankle that afternoon in gym. As…

Ghost Reefs For our December issue, Robert Moor wrote about a trip he took to the Great Barrier Reef less than a month after his husband, Remi, had survived a stroke (“We’re Here to See the Great Doomed Thing”). Along the way, he reflected on the ethics of visiting a natural wonder devastated by climate change, an issue that resonated with readers. Having had multiple health scares this year, this story broke my heart. As I kept reading, it was slowly put back together by Remi’s astounding resil-ience and the grace of Robert’s words. Miles W. Griffis Twitter This essay by Robert Moor is one of the loveliest and most generous examinations of the perils of travel that I’ve read. Boyce Upholt Twitter Never Too Late In January, Outside Online…

A. Altra Rivera $130 The Rivera is a minimalist gateway shoe. The forefoot is roomy (for natural toe splay) without feeling sloppy, and the 26-millimeter-thick foam from heel to toe is both soft and responsive, resulting in a notably enjoyable ride. It has “good bounce” and “inspired speed,” test-ers reported. Bonus: the largely seamless, breathable upper is über-comfy. 9.1 oz (men’s, pictured) / 6.9 oz (women’s); zero drop B. Brooks Glycerin 19 GTS $150 Take a cushy, plush, neutral Brooks Glycerin and add stability rails—dense foam bumpers at the heel and along the instep that keep your foot from pronating—and you have the new Glycerin 19 GTS. Testers praised the sublime heel strike, saying their gaits felt “smooth, controlled, and stable” in this workhorse. 10.7 oz (men’s, pictured) / 9.5…

FOR MILLENNIA, professional athletes and regular folks alike have sought to maximize the benefit of a seemingly basic function: sleep. Getting quality z’s—or not—can affect risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. No wonder that the sleep-aid industry is projected to reach $112.7 billion by 2025. We tested dozens of products promising a better night’s rest. Here’s what made it onto our bedside table. A. Oura tracker $299 and up The Oura ring uses a variety of sensors to measure resting heart rate, the amount and efficiency of sleep you’re getting, and how long it takes you to drift off every night. These metrics are bundled together into sleep and recovery scores in the corresponding app, which also displays time spent in various sleep stages, such as deep sleep and…

Some of us are cynics and have a low opinion of humanity—that people are mostly bad and innately selfish. Yet research supports the opposite view. It was survival of the friendliest, not the fittest, that caused Homo sapiens to rise to where we are today. This is the proposition that Rutger Bregman laid out in his 2020 bestseller Humankind: A Hopeful History. Bregman found study after study that debunked the cynical view, which he says has been influenced by bad science and misanthropic philosophers. The long arc of history points to our benevolence and cooperation as a species, and the real science is only now catching up and changing researchers’ views on subjects from economics to psychology. Bregman has written four other books but is perhaps best known for a…

When Carolyn Su discovered the online running community while scrolling on Instagram, 16 years after she’d first laced up her shoes, she was all in. But as the 37-year-old stay-at-home mom devoured content and connected with other runners, she noticed something. In a sport that was supposed to be open to everyone, most people looked the same—and not like her. The tipping point came in 2018. Sitting at a running event surrounded by white people, she wondered: If the stories told on panels, in the media, and on social channels were intended to be representative of all runners, why couldn’t she relate to them? She felt like an outsider, and not for the first time. As a Taiwanese American growing up in Texas, she experienced a constant pressure to prove…

“Why Cortez?” This was the puzzled response I got from friends back in 2019, after I explained what must have sounded like a harebrained scheme to liberate myself from a mortgage and a full-time university teaching job. I was going to cash out my overpriced home in Flagstaff, Arizona, and buy a much cheaper one 260 miles away in Cortez, Colorado. “But do you know anyone there?” came the inevitable follow-up question. “No,” I replied. That seemed like a minor detail to be sorted out later. Besides its affordability, what drew me to Cortez was the millions of acres of public lands surrounding a town of just 8,700 people. Tucked into the state’s remote southwestern corner, Cortez is flanked to the east and the north by the sprawling San Juan…

A. Arc’teryx Alpha SL Anorak $375 Hot climates, fast and light missions, and mountains that rarely see precipitation call for wispy raingear. This tissue-thin pullover fits the bill, with minimalist features like a single chest pocket and streamlined hood adjustment. The ripstop nylon feels tolerable in oppressive temperatures but is durable, thanks to liquid-crystal polymer fibers that Arc’teryx developed for its backpacks. That plus the three-layer design proved protective enough to withstand a multi-day deluge. 7 oz (men’s, pictured) / 6 oz (women’s) B. Eddie Bauer BC Dura 3L $279 Light and supple enough for warm-weather hiking, this buttery shell also withstood wintry conditions. A contoured cut and stretch-woven nylon allow for freedom of movement, which we appreciated while scrambling up a fourteener. The hood fits over a helmet, and…

LAST OCTOBER, a half-dozen runners were cruising along tan dirt trails in California’s Joshua Tree National Park. As they ran, some of them focused on the cool morning breeze blowing against their eyelids. Others noticed the interplay between the rhythm of their feet on the ground and the rate of their breathing. The miles passed like this, quiet and thoughtful, during the hourlong exercise. It was all part of the Center for Inner Peace, a roving running retreat created by sunglasses and apparel maker District Vision. Afterward, the participants may have bantered about The Tibetan Book of the Dead or Beyond Jogging, a seminal book published in the 1970s. Perhaps there was skinny-dipping, or a workshop on holistic nutrition. The Center for Inner Peace is just one of many recent…

SKIPPING ROPE IS more than child’s play. The multi-joint movement can improve power, agility, and reaction time, according to Buddy Lee, a former U.S. Olympic wrestler and a leading jump-rope expert. It also demands coordination between upper and lower body and engages numerous muscles in both areas. Here, Lee shares his tips for choosing the right rope and perfecting your form, along with a ten-minute workout specifically geared toward outdoor enthusiasts. Do it five times a week for serious gains. ROPE SELECTION Look for one long enough that the tops of the handles reach your shoulders (if you’re a beginner), armpits (intermediate), or lower chest (advanced) when you stand at the midpoint and pull the rope taut. CORRECT FORM (1) Stand upright with a relaxed upper body, eyes forward. (2)…

Back in the 1990s, Jimmy Chin was living the dirtbag dream. His home was an old Subaru Loyale, and he spent his days scaling Yosemite’s sheer rock faces and skiing the couloirs outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was also frequently the only person of color on expeditions. It’s an understatement to say that he’s accomplished a lot since then—racking up first ascents of summits around the world, producing a stunning portfolio of adventure photography, and, in 2019, winning an Academy Award for codirecting the documentary Free Solo. Chin’s experience in the outdoor community has largely been a positive one, but he’s well aware that not everybody can say the same. So it wasn’t a hard sell when the North Face asked Chin, who has been sponsored by the company for…

In November, when Chloe Maxmin of Maine won a seat in the state senate, she became that body’s youngest member. She’d already earned a similar distinction once before. For the previous two years, Maxim, now 28, was the state’s youngest female representative. Her focus all along? To shift the way politicians talk about climate change. Maxmin grew up in the small town of Nobleboro and got involved with grassroots climate organizing at the age of 12. By the time she graduated from Harvard, she’d become disillusioned with federal government. “It felt so hopeless to me,” she says. “No matter how many people protested Keystone XL, Obama still approved it.” So in 2018, when a state house seat opened up in her district, she jumped at the chance to run. Maxmin…

ODDS ARE, if you live in the United States, you don’t follow professional cycling. Even if you do tune in to the Tour de France once a year, it’s unlikely you’ve heard of criterium, a spectator-friendly variation of road racing that takes place over multiple laps on a closed course. You probably didn’t know that although the format isn’t represented in the Olympic Games or on the UCI WorldTour calendar, most road races in this country are crits, and the discipline has developed its own distinctive style and vibrant scene here, which includes the premier USA Crits Series. All of this is too bad, because it means you almost certainly don’t know that crits are, in fact, a helluva lot of fun to watch. “It’s the most intense hour and…