Stay warm and insulated this Winter. Here are 8 packable, lightweight and insulated options to keep out the cold so you can stay active. Check out ActiveJunky.com for more 8 more puffy picks.

Marmot Greenland Baffled Down Jacket – M

If you live for long winter climbs and like sipping in cold mountain air for breakfast, you’re going to want to make the Marmot Greenland Baffled Down Jacket your best friend. It has 800-fill high quality goose down which offers the maximum warmth for the minimum weight. It also features a baffled construction for the best control of the down, an attached hood with a drawcord hood muff for adjustability and an inside water bottle pocket warmed by your body’s heat.

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Outdoor Research Virtuoso Down Jacket -W

When you are making camp after a long day in the backcountry, nothing will feel better than slipping on the Virtuoso down jacket and warming your hands on the fire. It has a high loft 650 down fill and a ripstop polyester shell with 30D Pertex to keep you dry and shiver-free. It also features a fully adjustable hood, a double separating front zipper with an internal stormflap and a brushed tricot lined collar. Plus, it has elastic cuffs and a dawcord hem to keep in the warmth.

Get Cash Back on the Outdoor Research Virtuoso Down Jacket

Columbia Hexaholic Down Jacket – M

Hexagons are used all over the natural world (like turtle shells and honeycombs) because they are very strong, so Columbia instituted hexagon strength in the quilting of their 700-fill down jacket to make it extra durable. The jacket also features their Omni-Heat technology, a system that reflects your own heat back towards you. It also includes underarm ventilation, an adjustable storm hood and extra-deep pockets for more protection. This jacket it perfect for exploring mountain towns on extra chilly days.

Get Cash Back on the Columbia Hexaholic Down Jacket

Patagonia Down Sweater Full-zip Hoody Jacket – W

Alpine climbing and mountaineering are not for the weak of body or spirit. They are hard enough as it is, so fight cold with this extra warm fullzip hoody jacket. It has an 800 goose down fill and a DWR coated recycled polyester shell. You can also stuff the jacket into one of its internal pockets for easy storage. Plus, the luscious colors like the deep chocolate are definitely crave-worthy.

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MontBell Alpine Light Down Parka – M

This jacket is fit for the backcountry because it’s stuffed with 800-fill power goose down so it has a good warmth to weight ratio. It’s also highly lofted, which adds even more lightweight warmth. The result is a jacket that weighs less than a pound and packs down to a grapefruit-size ball. The 30-denier Ballistic Nylon shell will keep you warm in the face of icy drafts and the 2-way fixed adjustable hood and elastic sealed cuffs fend off chills. It also features two zippered hand warmer pockets and a micro-fleece lined collar.

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North Face Catalyst Down Jacket – W

This light jacket is the perfect mountaineering asset. Just right as a midlayer, it’s stuffed with 800-fill high quality goose down and packs down small. Its Pertex exterior fabric has a DWR coating for weather resistance and it’s harness and pack compatible. It also has elastic bound cuffs and a hem cinch-cord.

Get Cash Back on the North Face Catalyst Down Jacket

Rab Infinity Down Jacket – M

When the freezing wind is whipping and each step is a struggle, you can still focus on the summit when you are snuggled in this ultra-warm jacket. It is filled with luxurious 850-fill high-quality goose down and it has a Pertex outer shell to stop wind in its tracks. Other features are a down filled lycra edged hood that keeps your head snug and elastic cuffs to seal out the cold. Plus, it’s highly packable and no sweat to bring along, because believe us, when you need a jacket like this, you’ll really need it.

Get Cash Back on the Rab Infinity Down Jacket

Marmot Ama Dablam Down Jacket – W

Whether you are on an epic mountain trek, or just on belay after a winter climb, this 800-fill power goose down jacket will keep you protected from the cold. It’s extra light, has an adjustable down filled hood and can stuff inside one of its own pockets. It also has zippered hand warmer pockets and a feature that Marmot calls Angel-Wing Movement, which means that you have a full range of motion in the arms so that the jacket doesn’t ride up.

Get Cash Back on the Marmot Ama Dablam Down Jacket

Check out 8 more of our puffy picks on ActiveJunky.com

Few movies you’re better off watching from home. A new film created by Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to deprive big screen viewers a unique opportunity to interact online with a captivating central character.

Bear 71 follows the tragic life of a female grizzly radio tagged and monitored electronically from 2001 to 2009 in the Canadian Rockies’ Banff National Park. Through motion activated still and live action cameras the filmmakers successfully documented her interactions with other animals and human visitors to tell the story of wildlife management from the sympathetic perspective of the bear.

A 20-minute documentary Bear 71 takes viewers on a guided journey through her home range. Narrated in her own words the mother grizzly details the challenges she must face as she tries to evade both contact and harassment among the millions of humans that cross her path every year. Global positioning satellite telemetry creates a detailed map of her movements that allow park rangers to follow her wherever she goes. And viewers online can track the course of her existence right up to the moment of her sudden and most untimely death.

Unfortunately it’s the same technology used to create this film that ultimately derives its outcome. Human intervention made possible through machines and electronic gadgets drives Bear 71 and her cubs into an environment that runs contrary to a million years of evolution.

“It’s hard to say where the wired world ends and the wild one begins,” she mourns. “What’s the first rule of survival? Don’t do what comes naturally.”

Bear 71 is a graphic depiction of the glaring contrast between human civilization and the untamed wilderness. With state of the art social media and web-based interactivity the film’s video game-like quality might even serve as a subtle reminder of what we stand to loose should we fail to protect the natural world, the great open prairies of Canada. A virtual experience may one day be all that remains.

Despite the new first rule of survival a grizzly bear will always do what comes naturally. “The thing is you can take the grizzly out of the prairie, but you can’t take the prairie out of the grizzly,” said Bear 71. “If you take us by surprise we don’t look around for a tree to climb. We take what’s coming, head on.”

And in a direct confrontation with humanity, that’s a fight she simply will not win.

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The Joy Trip Project Adventure Media Review is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia

Jason Hobbs, like many of us, owns a pocket knife. But unlike you and me, Hobbs has within the week plunged his miniature blade into the muscular chest of an aggressive mountain lion. I guess when you turn around to see a gigantic cat dragging your six-year-old son by his face into the underbrush you have to use what you’ve got.

Here’s how it went down:

Hobbs and Kristi Harris took their son, River, on a family vacation to Big Bend National Park over the weekend. They’d hoped to go camping but opted out after bumping into another family on the trail who informed them that they were being harassed by an aggressive mountain lion. Instead, they decided to rent a room.

On a walkway, en route to their room near the main lodge, the mountain lion attacked. River was in front of his mother, with Hobbs in the lead. In a flash of fur and fangs the big cat sprinted around Harris and pounced on the child. Harris grabbed her son’s hand but the cat prevailed, pulling River to the ground and out of her grasp with a jerk of its powerful neck. It then clamped its fangs onto the boy’s face and began dragging him away.

At this point Hobbs pulled out his pocket knife and *insert heroic music here* jumped into the fray, plunging his blade into the animal’s chest, causing it to let go. The animal then fled the scene.

River survived the incident. He required 17 stitches to close the wounds on his face and will most likely be left with a hell of a manly scar to show for his troubles. When reporters asked him if the attack hurt, the six-year-old victim replied with a show of true Texas grit that would make his father proud:

“No, not that bad.”

[Via: MyFoxNewsAustin.com]

1. Shit Cyclists Say. Favorite line: “I’d totally be a Pro if I didn’t have to work.”

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2. Shit Skiers Say. Favorite line: “Bro!!!!!!!”

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3. Shit Climbers Say. Favorite line: “This route is not my style.”

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4. Shit Mountain Bikers Say. Favorite line: “I’m so stoked.”

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5. Shit Surfers Say. Favorite line: “Sometimes I just feel like a pelican out there.”

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So, what did these guys miss? Share some of your favorite (or least favorite) lines with us.

For companies in the Outdoor Industry day-to-day operations that protect and preserve the environment naturally make good sense. So-called green business practices are meant to be sustainable, using a minimum amount energy and mostly renewable resources to create the products and services that drive our economy.

And for Andrew Winston it’s become abundantly clear that despite any political and social ideology that espouses the virtues of capitalism above all else green technology in commercial manufacturing and production is the best way to for businesses of every variety to assure their long-term profitability and prosperity. Having begun his career as a traditional business consultant Winston said he started taking a closer look into how business and the environment might work together.

Winston:

So I went back to school for an environmental management degree and decided that I wanted to marry business and the environment and figure out how to combine my business background and what was just an interest and passion about resource use, what the foundations of business really are, which is stuff and material and how we’re using too much of it. So it came from a place of practicality and profitability almost, even more than traditional quote tree hugging. That was just about business can’t survive like this. And that means our society can’t.

The author of two books Green to Gold and Green Recovery Andrew Winston was the keynote speaker at the biannual breakfast meeting of the Outdoor Industry Association at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City Utah. There he shared with an audience of true believers his view on the importance of sustainability in business and why in the long run really there is no alternative.

JTP:

One of the things I find fascinating about your conversation is that you talk about issues, especially issues that you describe as “TINA Issues” And that stands for “There Is No alternative”. What are a few examples of these TINA issues? And what do they mean when it comes to reducing sustainability costs?

Winston:

Tina I’m really using in the broadest since. In dealing with climate change, dealing with biodiversity loss, dealing with waste, there is no alternative. We don’t have a choice any more for a lot of reasons and the forces driving that include just increased resource cost and reduced resource availability as the number of people on the planet who are getting richer grows. There’s just not enough stuff. That’s sort of the obvious one. But there’s also transparency, the technology driven demand for knowing what’s in everything. And so this just opens up companies and they have to start talking about what they’re doing. And that means they actually have to start changing what they’re doing. You can’t be transparent about a process that they you don’t want to be a transparent about. So it means that you start changing products, what’s in it? Who made it? Where was it made? Were they paid a living wage? These things start being open to the world. So there is no choice. You can’t compete in a world where your customers, especially big business customers won’t put your products on the shelf if they don’t have the data, if they don’t know how it was made.

JTP:

And you refer to certain technologies that allow consumers to very quickly and easily determine how much of an impact these particular products have. But you also said that we’re a point right now where green will always be small because people aren’t prepared to pay for something that is just green. If that’s the case, at what point do we shift our thinking to such a way that we will go to a sustainable product as opposed to something that’s just green.

Winston:

Well, let me clarify that. What I said was the number people who pay more just for green with remain small. And that’s partly out of just ability to. Not everybody can afford to buy organic food or a more expensive car that has the hybrid or electric engine. So there has to be a more complete value story told by products and that might mean that we develop products that don’t have trade-offs, that don’t cost more. That’s what you see companies starting to do. What is becoming a vast majority of people is those that do want it all, those who are conflicted about it, that care about where their products came from and who made them and want for the same price and quality the greener more sustainable option. And so that is growing to nearly everybody. So that is another one of those TINA things. You can’t not play in this arena if you’re a company putting out a product or a service, because everybody is going to be looking for those dimensions. And it’s a tiebreaker in so many ways. And so I think the difference between green and sustainable is a semantic one in a lot of ways. You know I think sustainable encompasses probably a little more social issues, labor, than what people usually mean by green. By people use them pretty much interchangeably a lot of the time.

JTP:

And I think that some people in the business community shy away from green because it sounds like its expensive. It sounds like it’s irrelevant to their bottom-line. But you make the point that green is actually good business. Exactly how do we as business people determine that green makes good sense from a production standpoint and also from a retail sales standpoint?

Winston:

At its core, the most simplistic view green is about doing more with less. As one CEO said to me, without getting into climate change or taking a stand on it he said, “Isn’t better to produce less carbon than more?” It just costs less. Anything that isn’t used in a product, any thing that’s pollution is waste. That’s expense. This is really basic stuff in a lot of ways. Getting lean to save money and save it quickly, in things like…We’re discovering the inefficiencies in our system, in our buildings in our distribution are vast and we’re finding massive savings and very quick paybacks. And that’s just straight business value. That’s even including all the softer intangible value that does matter to the value of business, employee loyalty, customer loyalty, walking the talk, doing the right thing, these things that attract, especially the next generation, of workers and consumers and enable you to tell stories about where your products come from. So it’s good business because it’s getting incredibly expensive to not do this. I think that’s become very clear to companies. And again, going back to just resource prices, just the inputs. As I mentioned in my talk, Coca-Cola had spent $800 million more last year on corn for their products because the cost of everything is basically going up, fundamentally going up. So if you don’t figure out how to do things with far less stuff you’re just going to get priced out. It’s going to be too expensive for you to operate.

JTP:

You describe the importance of companies becoming lean, smart, creative and engaged. And through the course of all that you’re also recommending exercising just good business practices. It sounds to me like you’re pretty optimistic with some degree of recovery. Is that accurate in my assumption?

Winston:

Optimism is a tough one. I made that my New Year’s resolution this, was to be optimistic. I think you need to be optimistic in the longer run. I think the short run is harder. I mean we’re heading in the wrong direction on most metrics. But you don’t hear a large company in the world any more completely dismissing sustainability because again, they’re seeing their input prices rise. They’re hearing the questions from their customers, from their employees. There is no alternative, right? There’s no choice. The number of companies that I think see how deep the change needs to be or how fast things are going to change I think that number is still very small. So I’m optimistic in the long run yes, that we’re going to get this and we’re going to get it, right? And the world’s moving to a green technology. I mean the electrical grid will be mostly renewable based at some point. It’s a matter of how fast. You know? The economics on that will win out and it will be cheaper. Fundamentally it’s already getting cheaper in many areas to use solar or to use wind or do these kinds of things. So that’s going to be the cheaper option. It’s just a matter of is it fast enough to stave off some of the worst problems we may face.

JTP:

You started your conversation with the issues of politicizing the green economy and green issues. This is a question that just occurs to me but I’m curious to know if you can speak to this with regard to the production of fossil fuels and having fossil fuels be the core if not the basis of our entire economy. Is it possible to make a shift to a more green-based sustainable system and forgo our petroleum-based system in a quick and easy manner?

Winston:

Well like I said, we will get there. The economics are already starting to win out because again I’m fairly simplistic about economic on things like this. Renewable energy has zero variable cost. Meaning, once you’ve got it on your house, on your building, get the wind farm up, it doesn’t cost anything to get fuel. That’s not true of fossil fuels. You’ve got to dig it out, you have to mine it, you got to refine it. Over time, zero cost will win. There’s upfront costs. There’s technology. We have to bring down the cost as we get to scale. But that’s happening very, very quickly. The cost of solar is down two-thirds or so in the last four or five years. I mean it is coming down very quickly. The quick and easy part is where the political stuff comes in. The industries that are still fossil fuel-based, the industries that are producing those, they have a lot of power and they’re sitting on a lot of assets. There’s also two different questions here. There’s the electric grid and there’s mobile sources, you know cars. And those are two very different conversations. You know coal is the issue on the grid and oil is the issue on mobile sources. They have very different challenges and economic models and reasons for moving away from them at whatever pace. I think we’ll move away from coal fairly quickly. Natural gas is turning into a pretty viable and good solution as an interim fuel. And then we’ll get to mostly renewables on the grid. It’s going to take some time, but we’re going that way there are countries like Germany that have said, we’re going to be 100 percent renewable and they’re going there, fast.

JTP:

You said that the economics will win out. At the end of the day what can we most look forward to in this most successful paradigm?

Winston:

It’s an interesting question because what we often do or forget to do in sustainability discussions is paint the picture of a better world. It’s easy to get into the doom and gloom and say, “if we don’t do this” we’re going to have all these problems, quality of life is going to drop. But to remind people, every time we’ve cleaned the air, for example, that’s been kind of the clearest kind of set of regulations around the world for the last 40 years, people get healthier. There’re few dying of asthma and coughing. We sort of forget, we take for granted almost how much healthier we are when we clean the environment. When we produce things using methods that’s much cleaner, that there’s a healthier better life ahead of us that is longer lasting, that is easier to live, that is cheaper. This is the part that is harder to convince people of. It’s actually cheaper. I now have solar panels on my house. They will take a while to pay off, but they will pay off for many, many years and I will get energy for free. Every day that it’s sunny that’s cheaper. It’s a better an inexpensive way of living. We don’t often paint a picture of how much better our life will be in the future, in a cleaner more stable, not reliant upon fuel from a dangerous part of the world kind of way. That’s a better life

Andrew Winston is an international authority on sustainable business practices. You can learn more about his work and finding the gold in green online at AndrewWinston.com

Music this week by Jake Shimabukuro

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia. Check their latest conservation and new media initiatives on their blog the cleanestline.com. Additional support is also provided by the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. Discover new technologies, products and services for your next great adventure all under one big tent. Visit Outdoor Retailer.com

Thanks for listening. But you know I want hear from you. So please drop me a note with your questions comments and criticism to info@joytripproject.com. Until next time take care.

From Obie: ( Well at least the second landing was soft.)

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From Roscoe: (Just a little more speed.)

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From P. Coltrane: (Even the best laid plans ….)

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Photo Via: Orin Zebest, Flikr

Are you a liberal-minded newshound who is sick of hearing from pollsters predicting which candidate-of-the-week will sweep the next key state in the Republican presidential primary race? Perhaps the results from the 2012 Colorado College State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll will make you a little more optimistic about the state of conservative thinking in this country.

The majority of the 2,400 voters polled in six western states (AZ, CO, NM, UT, WY, MT) identified as being politically conservative, with 38% claiming to be part of the Tea Party. Among other things, the poll results, which were released today, reveal that 92 percent of these voters who also consider themselves to be “sportsmen” believe that public lands are an “essential part” of the economies of their respective states. Nearly two-thirds of those polled also opposed allowing private companies to develop public lands when it would limit the public’s enjoyment of or access to these lands.

While it may not come as a surprise to discover that people who identify as sportsmen (primarily hunters and fishermen) would recognize the economic and societal value associated with access to public lands and conservation, it is interesting to note that when it comes to protecting the great outdoors, this mostly conservative-leaning segment tends to sound almost liberal in its beliefs.

Will the fight to protect America’s great outdoors be the bridge issue that links liberals and conservatives in 2012? Probably not. But it’s good to know that we can all at least agree on something.

Here are some factoids from the poll:

• 85% of sportsmen in the West say that “even with state budget problems, we should still find money to protect and maintain” their state’s “land, water and wildlife;” 81% say the same about state parks.

• 75% consider cuts to funding for state parks, protection of natural areas and water quality as a serious problem

• 75% say that we can protect land and water and have a strong economy at the same time.

• 92% agree that “Our national parks, forests, monuments, and wildlife areas are an essential part of their state’s economy.”

• By a 20 point margin, sportsmen are more likely to view environmental laws more as “important safeguards to protect private property owners, public health and taxpayers from toxic pollution and costly clean-ups” (56%) than to view them as “burdensome regulations that tie up industry in red tape, hurt them too much financially, and cost jobs” (36%).

• 75% consider cuts to funding for state parks, protection of natural areas and water quality as a serious problem.

• 68% say that their state should maintain protections for land, air and water in the state rather than reduce them in an effort to create jobs as quickly as possible.

• 62% say that environmental regulations have a positive impact on opportunities to hunt and fish in their state; a solid majority says the same about opportunities for outdoor recreation (56%).  Majorities of sportsmen also ascribe positive benefits to environmental regulations for the natural beauty of their state (78% positive impact), public safety (70% positive impact), their quality of life (69% positive impact), and public health (60% positive impact).

• 65% agree that “We should NOT allow private companies to develop our public lands when their doing so would limit the public’s enjoyment of – or access to – these lands.”

• 62% support the EPA “continuing to implement the Clean Air Act by updating the standards for air quality, including for smog, dust, and emissions from power plants, factories and cars,” with 43% strongly in support.  Just over one-third (36%) oppose this.

Mental Jive Turkey Helmet Cover

Animal? Human? We’re not sure but this little number tops our weird list. It features a lycra shell with “Fun Spun” non-pilling polyester fleece. It also will fit any size helmet and is compatible with all goggle straps and clips.

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686 Snaggletooth Baselayer

Is there anything better than having a little snaggletooth peering out of the stripes of your baselayer? We think not! Long underwear hasn’t been this exciting since…well, ever. This top by 686 is odor resistant (so you’ll just look like a monster, not smell like one) and moisture wicking for performance and style. But be warned, according to most other websites, the Snaggletooth Base Layer sells out very quickly so get your paws on one before they’re gone.

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Get Cash Back on the 686 Snaggletooth Baselayer Bottom

Volcom Factor V. Co-logical Jacket – W

This jacket gives off the kind of retro-cool vibe that only the extra confident can rock, because we’re not going to lie – it looks like something a female Napoleon Dynamite would wear. That being said, it keeps you dry and warm with Volcom’s V- Science recycled polyester. It also has a breathable liner to keep you from feeling like a wet puppy. Plus, it has all the right details like a suede chin guard, cuffs that wrap your thumb and a hood that provides good peripheral vision.

Get Cash Back on the Volcom Factor V. Co–logical Jacket

Pirate Edition Beard Head

Now you can have that mustache you’ve been dreaming about growing since peach fuzz popped up on your face! Twirl-able, scruffy and unique this is the perfect accessory if you want to look downright crazy. We’re going to be honest, it probably won’t help you pick up the ladies, but if you’re going for weird the mustache balaclava will definitely help you along. We don’t sell them but you can pick the pirate edition from Beard Head.

Check out the Pirate Edition Beard Head

Icelantic Shaman Ski

It would seem counterintuitive to rock a ski that copies a turtle’s body shape, but Icelantic created the Shaman to mimic the diamond-shaped shovel and tapered design of a turtle. The 160mm tip is one of the biggest powder skis around and it has incredible floatation and stability. We predict that soon you’ll be making the little shelled reptile your spirit animal – hey, stranger things have happened.

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OneBallJay Mad Bunny Wax

If you can’t crush your obsession with rabbits you may want to talk to a shrink. In the meantime, you can indulge it and snag OneBallJay’s Mad Bunny Wax to give your board a good rub down. You can either apply it manually on or use it as a hot wax. Either way we have a feeling it’s going to make you really, really hoppy.

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Armada Rumble Mitten

Hi, yes, we just wanted to let you know that Ronald McDonald called and he wants his mittens back. All kidding aside, these babies will keep you unfailingly warm. This boxing style mitt has Thinsulate insulation and a microfleece liner that wicks moisture to banish cold. It also has a waterproof lining to keep you dry and comfortable. Bonus? If anyone makes fun of the aggressive color scheme you can just pop them in the face – you probably won’t feel a thing.

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“Adding environmental education to The Lorax movie website is important because this is the message of the book and it should be honored. Dr. Seuss wanted people to be inspired by The Lorax to help the environment,” Mr. Well wrote in the petition. “Currently, the movie website, trailer, and story summary have no mention of helping our planet! This is a missed opportunity. There are big problems in our natural world and we need more and more people helping out.”

I for one can’t wait to see this film. A sucker for cartoons there’s nothing I love better than to have my favorites brought to life on the big screen. First published in 1971 “The Lorax” is a cautionary tale that illustrates what will happen when the interests of commerce are elevated above the protection of the natural world. The 4th-graders’ observation makes me wonder if there may indeed be a dilution of the story’s clear and profound environmental message. We must speak for the trees.

I recall in 1988 “The Lorax” was banned by the school district of Laytonville, California because it “criminalized the forestry industry”. Apparently members of that community feared local children were being manipulated into believing that their parents’ livelihood was derived through evil means. This bit of ACLU history is perhaps a precursor to the recent declarations by Republican activists that the latest Muppet Movie is in fact a piece of communist propaganda to demonize capitalism and the right to earn a buck.

If nothing else all of this hullabaloo demonstrates the absurdity of anything taken to extremes. Though Dr. Seuss advocated the preservation of trees in his book, it’s likely he would have favored a sustainable practice of planting and extraction, thoughtfully cultivating supply to meet reasonable demand. That’s just good business.

And while corporate zealots and eco-fascists might accuse each other of cause-celeb fanaticism, when it comes to entertaining and educating children it’s better to let them have their cartoons like this one that teach the consequences of our actions. “The Lorax” isn’t about assigning blame or imposing job-killing regulations to protect the environment. In the end the book demonstrates how through personal responsibility we can each work to set things right even when they go horribly wrong. And that’s a good lesson to be learned for 4^th graders and adults alike. ~ JEM

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The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia

From Jakob: (Maintenance fail.)

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From Sean: (Is pole dancing next the next extreme winter sport?)

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From Ziggy: (You should him see crash on the mountain, it’s even more epic.)

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Injuries are a fact of life for outdoor athletes. Breaks, bruises, sprains – you name it, come Monday morning there’s a fair chance that someone in our Active Junky office will come in ruffed up. When it happens to you, there is nothing to do but grin and bear it until you are ready to get back on the mountain. However, there is one thing that is very difficult – nay impossible – to fix with a splint: your brain. Wearing a helmet on the mountain is a must these days, but that doesn’t mean that you have to endure the bulky, heavy buckets that first came on the market. Helmets today are light, sleek, aerodynamic and will help you protect your most important asset while you shred that pow.

Giro Shiv Helmet

This helmet is popular among pro athletes for its simple, clean shape and excellent temperature regulation. It features vents that pull air in and push hot air out so your head never overheats. Plus, the Shiv’s impact absorbing foam liner is fused with the outer hard shell so it’s less bulky.

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R.E.D. Theory Helmet

If you refuse to don a brain bucket because of your oddly shaped head, this is the helmet for you. Its Air Band 270 + Fit System lets you pump up the inner padding so it molds to your head for the perfect fit. It also has a DryRide liner that wicks moisture and venting so that your head doesn’t feel like a steam room.

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Bern Carbon Watts Fiber Knit Helmet

This carbon fiber helmet is so light (12.2 ounces) that you won’t even remember it’s there. It also has vents in the back for excellent airflow and breathability, which coupled with its weight, make it a perfect asset in the backcountry. This four-season helmet also has a removable, warm knit liner you can ditch come summer.

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Smith Allure Helmet – W

This 11.5 ounce helmet, according to Smith, is the lightest helmet that passes regulation but doesn’t sacrifice protection in the process. It also has a climate control feature where you can choose the amount of airflow through the helmet, and its fleece tricot lining means that you never have to deal with brain freeze.

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Pro-Tec Riot Audio Force Helmet

This lightweight helmet is the newest from Pro-Tec and features an in-mold shell with an EPS impact liner made to take big punches. It also features a wind shield for a gapless fit between goggles and helmet and a one-piece washable liner. In case of emergency, it also has rescue reflectors that can aid in getting you help.

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Smith Variant Brim Helmet

This sleek helmet will make you forget about the bubble-headed monster buckets from days past. It has a high tech ventilation system (with 22 vents!) that helps circulate air and release heat so that your goggles don’t fog.  It also has a system that lets you customize the fit with the turn of a dial so you never have to deal with your helmet flopping around or digging into your head.

Get Cash Back on the Smith Variant Brim

Salomon Patrol Custom Air Helmet

Salomon fused a polycarbonate shell with an EPS cap directly in the mold so that the helmet is lighter and better prepared for impacts. It also features a ventilation system that lets you adjust the helmet to three different temperature settings. If you have hard-to-fit head, this is another helmet that lets you customize its shape with an air pump.

Get Cash Back on the Salomon Patrol Custom Air Helmet

[Via: AP]

[Photo Via: TaxBrackets.org]

When you’re skiing you want you eyes focused solely on the prize – shredding the nastiest lines, stomping moguls and feeling like you’re flying. However, when your vision is clouded by fog or muddled by flat light your chances of killing it on the mountain fall to zero. Plus, your sensitive little peepers are vulnerable to other dangers.  For example, we know that sun reflects off the snow with such intensity that it can fry your mug into bacon, so imagine what it does to exposed eyeballs!

To keep you safe and seeing clearly, we’ve put together a list of the best goggles on the market. They will all shield you from the sun, ward off fog and have a list of features so high-tech you’ll have to see out of them to believe.

The Smith I/OS

This sleek goggle comes with two performance mirror lenses – one for bright sun and one for low light so that you can get you fix no matter what the weather is. It also features a quick adjustment system for the perfect fit fast and an ultra wide silicone back strap so that it doesn’t budge. Plus, the dual layer face foam is moisture wicking to keep you dry and fog free.

Get Cash Back on the Smith I/OS

 The POC Lobes

This James Bond worthy goggle has a unique spherical lens that prevents optical distortion. Whether you’re fighting international criminals or just ripping up pow, the POC Lobe provides a huge range of vision so that you always know what’s going on. The polycarbonate and cellulose proportional lenses also banish fogging for good, even at high speeds.

Get Cash Back on the Poc Lobes

The Dragon Mace

If you’ve always felt akin to the Ninja turtles, you can rock the hell out of this radioactive goggle in Vice Mind Melt Green. It also has an extra wide anti-fog lens and triple layer face foam for a ring-free après. If you have a big head, you will appreciate the Dragon Mace’s larger fit.

Get Cash Back on the Dragon Mace

The Electric EG2

The Electric EG2 has an extra wide polycarbonate lens for an unencumbered view and an ergonomic design for a natural fit. It also features an anti-fog and anti-scratch coating to keep your vision clean no you matter how tangled you get in the trees and underbrush. The anti-reflective technology also protects you from harsh rays.

Get Cash Back on the Electric EG2

The Scott Aura – Women’s

If your view is foggier than the Bay Area during the summer, you need to take immediate action and get this crystal clear goggle optimized for female faces. It has Scott’s NoFog lens treatment and an air control system that ventilates so that you never have to deal with cloudy vision. It also has a spherical double lens and hypoallergenic face foam.

Get Cash Back on the Scott Aura

The Spy Bias

If you are a person with a slightly smaller noggin, you want to get your hands on the Spy Bias.  It has it all with a flexible polyurethane frame fitted with spherical dual lenses featuring anti-scratch and anti-fog protection. It also has a ventilation system to fight fog and face foam with moisture wicking fleece.

Get Cash Back on the Spy Bias

The Anon Comrade

Anon’s Comrade is made to fit people more akin jolly-green giant than average human. It is ultra high tech with a spherical lens that mimics the curvature of the human eye for a crystal clear view in all directions. It also has venting around the entire perimeter for fog-free vision and a hard shell coating for scratch resistance.

Get Cash Back on the Anon Comrade

The Oakley Airbrake

In life it’s always good to have options. Oakley has embraced this sentiment wholeheartedly with their Airbrake, which features two lenses for different lights. They also have Switchlock technology that allows you to quickly and easily change them out. Plus the dual lenses filter out all UV and they have a thermal layer between them to banish fog.

Get Cash Back on the Oakley Airbrake

Bicycling while clutching a guitar or banjo can be an awkward experience. Your balance gets thrown off by the weight of the instrument while its awkward shape impedes navigation. So what’s a pedal-prone musician to do? One option that works well is to get a soft case that can be worn as a backpack. But for those looking for a more universal solution—one that will enable them to haul everything from amps to drums to boxes of fanfare on their bikes—there is a new product called Axrak.

Axrak is a multi-purpose bicycle rack originally designed to hall your ax. (Not the ax you used to build your cabin but the one you use to rock its foundation while huddled around its wood-burning stove.)

I discovered Axrak by way of Facebook thanks to the folks at FAR from EARTH Films, who made the videos imbedded in this post. The videos, which were posted this week, direct interested parties to the company’s website, axrak.com. Unfortunately, the site does not seem to be online just yet. Hopefully it will be up and running soon though because this looks like a cool product.

For now, folks interested in ordering Axrak should contact Harvey Swanson at Harvswans@gmail.com.

Another video of the Axrak in action:

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Apocalypse Later, Surf Now” is a dark, gritty short featuring a group of surfers that choose to ride waves as the world around them erupts in a futuristic battle. There is no dialogue, but massive and strange-looking machines (alien vehicles???) loom in the distance while cool jets blow each other out of the sky, giving the impression that a war over the fate of earth is happening just above a good break. It’s like Terminator meets Point Break meets Cloverfield—all squeezed into just over two minutes.

Leading fitness experts agree. The key to good health is a proper diet and plenty of exercise. Climbing guide Steve Richert knows this to be true better than most. A type-1 diabetic, he aims to demonstrate the power of an active lifestyle in not only managing his disease but to boost his athletic abilities to peak performance. With his wife Stefanie, co-founders of the non-profit Living Vertical, Steve is hitting the road for a full year to climb across North America in a diabetes awareness program he calls Project 365.

“My philosophy is diabetes is what you make of it,” Steve said in a recent interview. “It doesn’t have to be a disability and it doesn’t have to debilitate you.”

Climbing became a part of Steve’s life around the same time he was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999. Although he doesn’t recall the exact month the plan is to turn the date, his diagnosis day or “diaversary”, into a new milestone with special significance.

“I have a hard enough time managing a couple of birthdays and a wedding anniversary–but we have decided to begin Project 365 on January 16th 2012, on my 13th “diaversary”,” Steve wrote in his blog. “365 days later, upon successful completion of our project, I will celebrate!”

A blood sugar disorder, diabetes includes a range of symptoms that vary as the body’s insulin levels rise and fall.

“If your blood sugar gets too high it can cause you to become lethargic and less aware of your surroundings. It blunts your senses,” Steve said. “And if your blood sugar drops too low, that’s much more of an immediate danger where you can go unconscious or have seizures.

It’s basically a balancing act. Diabetics have to manually control their blood sugar through constant monitoring and periodic injections of insulin. Steve, 29, also diligently works at keeping his body in shape through climbing and he maintains a stable metabolism through a diet that emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and as little animal protein as possible.

“There are a lot of variables in managing this. There are a lot of ups and downs. And I have those to a point,” Steve said. “But it’s never been debilitating for me because I’m very strict about the diet.”

With his symptoms in check Steve has been able to press the boundaries of his climbing. For the past five years he’s worked as a climbing guide in the Shawangunk Mountains, also known as the Gunks, near his home in New York. He and Stefanie have traveled extensively to climb, sending routs in areas like Zion, Squamish, Devil’s Tower and Yosemite Valley. And over the next year they’ll drive across the U.S. to drop in on all the popular climbing spots they can while continuing to show that diabetes need not get in the way of an active life.

“I want to push myself,” Steve said. “Part of the goal is I want to see if I dedicate a year to living this lifestyle how much my climbing can improve.”

Currently climbing between 5.8 and 5.12 Steve said he hopes to put in at least a vertical mile every month, incorporating some kind of alpine skill every day.

“We’re going to be doing some mountaineering, some bouldering, some gym climbing. We’re going to be doing some aid climbing,” he said. “While there’re many activities that can be called climbing the basic challenges remain the same. And to overcome any challenge you have to figure out a way to make it yours. You have to normalize it. You have to make it part of your life. And once you do that it grows from there.”

Steve wants people to realize that whether they’re managing a disease like diabetes or setting a climbing goal the key to success is dedication. With a keen since of awareness for the critical details involved he believes it’s possible to accomplish just about anything given enough time, patience and persistence. Climbing is a metaphor that illustrates all life’s challenges. So over the next year he and Stefanie will put it to the test and see what they can accomplish on the upward path of living vertically. Their journey begins officially on January 16, 2012. Follow along on their blog http://www.livingvertical.org ~

Wenger Footwear Boar Heated Boot (M)

If your feet are constantly loosing circulation and turning a sickly blue when you spend more than a couple hours outside, you need a serious boot that will bring your poor feet back to life. This high-tech baby features a lithium battery powered heating unit that sends waves of heat beneath the ball of your foot for up to nine hours. It’s also constructed with waterproof full grain nubuck and has a tough leather outsole to keep wet snow outside your boot where it belongs.

Earn cash back on the Wenger Footwear Boar Heated Boot

Baffin Snogoose Winter Boot (W)

With a style reminiscent of moon boots, the Baffin Snogoose is designed for the seriously active snow go-er. It has a waterproof nylon upper and a light polyester lining that is both quick drying and removable, and like Columbia’s Omni Heat, it has an aluminum membrane that reflects heat back into the boot. It also has moisture wicking properties and is breathable for extra comfort while you’re in motion. Yet just because this boot is light and ready for action does not mean that it’s not warm – it’s rated to -40° F.

Earn Cash Back on the Baffin Snogoose Winter Boot

Sorel Caribou Boot (M)

Active Junkies have relied on Sorel to keep their feet warm and dry since 1962, and they still sport the reputation of the best snowboot money can buy. The Caribu Boot has fully sealed seems to keep out slush and snow, and a strong, soft and waterproof leather upper. It also features a 9mm felted wool inner boot that traps the heat your feet generate, and a rubber outsole with their AreoTrac bottom to keep you from slipping and sliding.

Earn Cash Back on the Sorel Caribou Boot

The North Face Shellista Lace Boot (W)

The women’s specific boot will keep you warm and looking smart. Not only is it designed with style in mind it has very warm (and eco-friendly) PermaLoft insulation that hugs the feet to stave off drafts, and a waterproof suede upper anatomically designed for the perfect fit. Plus the sturdy rubber compound outsole is sure to keep your feet dry and happy.

Earn Cash Back on the North Face Shellista Lace Boot

Salomon Tundra Boot (M)

When the tempertures plunge, there comes a point when it’s hard to tell how cold it really is, because below 10°F, it all feels the same – freezing. Luckily, Salomon has a boot that can keep your feet warm even if you find yourself in -40° degree weather. The boot is lined with Areogels insulation –an incredibly high-preforming material that has been proven to keep feet warm for 50% longer than other comparable products. Plus, the protective and grippy rubber outsole is designed to take on slippery conditions.

Earn Cash Back on the Salomon Tundra Boot

Asolo Mystic GTX Boot (W)

When the snowflakes start to fall and the wind howls, you’ll be glad that you have on the Asolo Mystic GTX boot. It’s the height of winter performance gear with a water-resistant polyester upper and a Gortex lining to guarantee that your feet stay dry. The boot is also insulated for warmth, and has an anatomical footbed that supports your feet no matter how far you choose to wander. Plus, the tough rubber outsole will make sure you don’t slip on you way there.

Earn Cash Back on the Asolo Mystic GTX Boot

The North Face McMurdo II (M)

It’s great to find a snowboot that keeps out winter, but when you find one that also cushions your feet like your favorite slippers, you know you’ve found a keeper. The North Face McMurdo II has a fleece lining for extra warmth and comfort, and Pirmaloft insulation to protect your feet from the cold. Plus the EVA molded footbed adds another level of comfort. Since your feet will stay oh-so toasty in these boots, they’ve also added an Agion antimicrobial footbed to prevent warm feet from turning into stinky feet.

Earn cash back on the North Face McMurdo II

Columbia Bugzip Omnitech Winter Boot (W)

This space-aged boot features Omni Heat technology, which means its lining is covered with small metallic dots that trap your body’s heat and reflect it back toward you. Columbia also knows that when you’re active you get sweaty, so it’s important for a boot to have some breathability. Their waterproof, yet breathable membrane locks out the cold stuff, but circulates air to keep feet dry at the same time. The boot is also has a faux fur lining for a soft, luxurious feel.

Earn Cash Back on the Columbia Bugzip Omnitech Winter Boot

Keen Alaska Boot (M)

In Alaska it’s cold –very, very cold. But like the brave people that live there, this boot knows how to fight winter weather and icy wet snow. The Keen Alaska boot has a full-grade leather upper stacked with their synthetic KEEN.WARM insulation. The tough rubber sole makes walking on ice safe again and prevents against slush attacks. The Thermal Heat Shield in the footbed takes the heat you generate and reflects it back into the boot so that your toes never go numb from the cold.

Earn Cash Back on the Keen Alaska Boot

Sorel Joan of Arctics (W)

Whether you’re tromping through the snowy wilderness or strutting through city streets, this beautiful classic will protect your from the elements. Active Junky testers loved the comfortable fit of these felt-lined boots, and the added warmth of the fur top. The herringbone heavy-duty rubber outsole fights slick ice, and the boot is unbelievably warm. Plus the felt lining is recycled, so these boots are a win-win for everyone.

Earn Cash Back on the Sorel Joan of Arctics

Photo Via: Alaskan Dude

When someone starts a Tumblr-blog dedicated to free porn, it’s bound to attract followers—even if the subject of said porn is cabins. Just. Plain. Cabins. (And awesome photos thereof.) Featuring over 20 pages of cool shots of shanties, lean-to’s, forts, tiny houses, barns and bone-fide cabins in iconic locations, the website Cabin Porn offers plenty that will help readers kill some time. Like the rustic dwellings it features, the site’s simplistic appeal is difficult to ignore—something the 13,000 people who have recommended it on Facebook would likely attest to. But going through the website this morning, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about many of the featured dwellings also feels a little contrived, like rimmed glasses on a guy with 20/20 vision.

Cabins, like porn, come in different grades of dirtiness. First, there are the soft-core B-porn cabins, which you might see advertised on late-night television. These design-focused dwellings, which are often found near ski resorts, may cost as much as a house and offer the same amenities. You could take your grandma into one without feeling too uncomfortable. On the other end of the spectrum are the filthy ramshackle cabins that have been lurking in the human condition forever but are now only being made visible to the general prudish public because of the internet. These are the hardcore backcountry hovels where mountain men and monks and criminals and army veterans too disturbed by the lives they’ve taken go to live off the grid in total solitude; cave-like places that reek of sweat and freedom where bleeding animal carcasses hang on the walls and splintered bones and the shattered remains of vodka bottles carpet the floors—the kind of nasty nests you don’t come upon in the woods and enter without first looking over your shoulder to make sure no one is around to walk in on you. Cabin Porn features dwellings that for the most part fall somewhere between these two extremes, often in the realm of an entirely new form of outdoor obscenity—the hipster cabin.

I don’t know what first gave it away—the fact that Cabin Porn begins with a note about its creators communally caring for some land in upstate New York; the images of cabin dwellers wearing thick-rimmed glasses, Goodwill-style vests and overalls that look straight out of the box or that the editor is this guy, Zach Klein, who co-founded and designed Vimeo and is now a heavy-hitting financial investor. It sounds like Klein is doing the right thing with his money, spending time outside and investing in companies he digs. And everybody should be encouraged to build a cabin to better enjoy the experience of the outdoors. Still, for some reason that the desire to build cabins could infect the Brooklyn-style hipster set and become trendy is unsettling.

The dwellings featured on Cabin Porn are not all obnoxious by any means. The images show, for the most part, pretty cool-looking places that anyone in their right minds would be happy to have access to. And the folks who built the hipster-style ones probably look just like you and me once you pull them out of their skinny jeans. Yet that thread—of well-financed yet purposely “rustic” cabins being celebrated by trendsters using professional-grade photography equipment—runs thick through the website, documenting the beginning of what seems to be an emerging fad that has the potential to become even more disturbing than Two Girls, One Cup.

With Cabin Porn, as with any other website that offers cheap thrills, just be careful what you click, otherwise you might stumble upon an image of something that would have been better left in the backcountry of the internet.

From Jimmy: I suppose this is hardcore.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Cliff: Well in all fairness he did stick the landing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Kurt: Well she almost got her hand in front of her ….

Click here to view the embedded video.

A new yoga video posted on YouTube inspires tens of thousands to pursue the practice. But it seems that many others find it sexually provocative, disrespectful of the female form and an affront to the principles of mindful movement. Personally I was more than a little shocked to discover that the 3 minute 29 second film produced by Equinox health clubs featuring Briohny Smyth could be construed as anything short of amazing. It just goes to show that when it comes to any exploration of the human condition there will always be room for controversy. And where many see passion many others see perversion.

You can draw your own conclusions on the virtues of this video. Having only just discovered it myself I found it to be utterly captivating. Smyth’s graceful execution of both basic and more advanced poses motivated my own practice this morning to help me realize what is possible with dedication to the discipline. But writers in the yoga world report that many don’t feel that way.

“I began seeing some fellow yoga teachers and practitioners posting about how they were “disgusted” and “appalled” by this video,” wrote columnist Jeannie Page on Elephant Journal. “They felt it was over-sexualized and exploitative to women, and that it belittled the practice of yoga.”

I suppose you could make the case that a woman basically in bra and panties is, to say mildly, inappropriate. But in the context of this artful portrayal of thought expressed in movement that is the essence of yoga I believe that perversion is in the mind of the beholder. We tend to perceive the worst in others when what we truly see perhaps are the limitations of ourselves. Smyth deserves a lot of credit for sharing her practice of yoga as a sincere expression of herself most vulnerable.

“When Equinox asked me to do this video, they gave me total freedom to express my Art, Yoga. In no way did I expect ‘controversy’!” she wrote on Facebook. “However, after spending most of my childhood in the music industry and struggling with Bulimia, I guess I should know by now that ‘Controversy’ is part of being Human.

“I respect the opinions of those who are disgusted and thankful for those who feel inspired. In all honesty, it felt damn good to be confident in my own skin.”

The exquisite skill of her practice notwithstanding, Smyth’s yoga is as much an expression of her strength in mind and heart. I believe we can all learn from her that balance and stability derived from the mat goes far beyond the life-affirming benefits of the body. Namaste

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Joy Trip Project Adventure Media Review is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia

Here’s a wild video to help kill two minutes of your workday. I won’t even pretend to say I understand what’s going on here other than the obvious—that this is pure, unbridled awesomeness. But if one of the commentators to the video can be believed, these folks are brothers performing a form of equilibristics  popularized by circuses.

When it comes to making adventure media not everyone should. Product manufacturers in particular tend to have a hard time separating the creative from the commercial. But this week Tennessee-based Jackson Kayak launched a new monthly video series that could become the model for sharing a company’s passion of outdoor recreation while promoting the products that make it possible.

JKTV is the latest in a long line of online productions from the first family of paddling. For decades Eric Jackson along with is wife Kristine, his daughter Emily and son Dane have inspired boaters on waterways throughout the country along the way boosting their company Jackson Kayak. Quick to pick up on emerging technology the Jacksons have always shared their adventures over the Internet.

“We have been doing YouTube videos for a long time,” said Eric “EJ” Jackson in a recent email exchange. “And it works really well for us getting the message out on new products, for branding, and yes, developing an audience.”

Traveling around the world both as competitors and explorers in kayaking the Jacksons are ambassadors of their sport. They’ve also worked at raising the level of enthusiasm among new paddlers and experts alike. Online videos are a big part of Jackson Kayak’s brand development strategy. And EJ said JKTV is the next step in bringing his company’s culture and character to a new group of viewers.

“JKTV was created to take advantage of our in-house capabilities with my son-in-law Nick Troutman and my son Dane,” he said. Their filming, editing, and media skills have developed well beyond the “home video” style YouTube stuff.”

It’s the production value of JKTV that makes this program truly worthwhile. With live-action shot on location at exotic paddling spots the show has the feel of a travel log. Extremely well edited and scored with just the right mix of music it’s a pleasure to watch despite plenty of product placements. Not to be confused for an infomercial JKTV is sparse on the sales pitch but rich in compelling content. The show offers a good combination of humor and practical instruction to inspire paddlers of all interests and abilities.

“It is all part of a broader picture being painted by Jackson Kayak, encompassing a variety of paddling styles (exploring, freestyle, river running, creeking, casual recreation, and kids),” EJ said. “A video magazine online is a big project, but will be a main tool for Jackson Kayak marketing going forward.”

Watch JKTV Episode 1 on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/embed/8UjjEpAJPL0

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Joy Trip Project Adventure Media Review is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia

When Rory O’Connor slid his kayak into the Gulf of Mexico for some fishing, the last thing he imagined he’d pull out of the water was an injured dog. But that’s exactly what happened to the unsuspecting fisherman, whose actions would soon reveal a story with a more bitter-sweet ending than the average fish tale.

O’Connor was looking for a prime fishing spot when he noticed a distressed dog swimming past his kayak. (The encounter was captured on O’Connor’s kayak-camera and can be viewed here.) Upon pulling the exhausted animal out of the water, the fisherman set out for shore. Back on land, he noticed the dog, named Barney, was injured. He gave it to his sister, who took it to a local veterinarian who in turn was able to identify Barney’s owner by the animal’s ID chip. The owner, however, was not able to reclaim Barney because she was dead, killed by an alleged drunk driver only a mile from where O’Connor found the dog swimming out to sea.

Barney’s owner had been taking him for a seaside walk when a vehicle swerved out of control and struck them both. Spooked, Barney ran off and at some point got into the water and started swimming.

O’Connor told MSNBC:

“The accident scene was about a mile from where I found Barney swimming. Our guess is that he was so freaked out and traumatized that he just wanted to get as far away from there as possible. And when he ran out of land, he took to the water. I feel lucky that I was there fishing, because there was no place for him to go and I don’t know if he could have made it much farther. He’s banged up, but fine. Our hearts go out to the family who lost their mother.”

MSNBC reports that Barney is now safe and recovering with his owner’s family.

[Via: MSNBC]

“I was a medievalist in a past life, which is a weird thing to be,” Angie said at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. “But before I took up fiction writing I taught medieval studies.”
You may remember from courses in English lit the classic travel stories known collectively as the Canterbury Tales. Written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century it’s a dark ages joy trip that follows the path of Christian pilgrims on their way from London to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent.

“And I think for people who haven’t read Chaucer they think it’s a classic text and that it must be serious and religious,” Angie said. “But Chaucer is a raunchy, bawdy, wild, wild text. And I always like the idea of how it might manifest, or turn into a contemporary novel, because he’s writing social satire of the whole breath of medieval society. And he uses the devise of a pilgrimage to bring together diverse groups that wouldn’t otherwise spend time together. So he has the fighters and prayers and workers and women and men and upper and lower, people who would normally never interact, but they’re together for the space of this pilgrimage. And so he’s able to satire the whole group. And so I thought where I live, what’s a pilgrimage? And it’s the back country ski-touring trek.”

Set in the fictional town of Coalton, somewhere in the Canadian Rockies Abdou tells in her book the many stories of mountain people. Drawn to a remote ski lodge by the last big snow dump of the year, these stereotypical nature lovers gather to offer up a bit of social satire on those who lead an active lifestyle.

“So you have the redneck snowmobiles and the pothead ski-bums and the snowshoeing hippies and they’re all…this developer guy who wants to cess out the territory and all the different groups from my town are headed back to the backcountry,” Angie said. “So I get to get them together and I put them in the same hut in the back country and see what happens!”

The tales are every bit as raunchy, bawdy and wild as anything Chaucer ever wrote. And in the classic style of the medieval poet Angie Abdou shares a comical story our own lives in adventure she calls The Canterbury Trail.

Music this week by Jake Shimabukuro

The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of our sponsor Patagonia. Discover their conservation and new media initiatives on their blog the Cleanestline.com. And special thanks to the Walton Works whose support underwrote travel expenses to Banff so I could bring back this and other great stories. Visit the Walton Works.com

Thanks for listening., But you know I want to hear from you. So please drop me a note with your questions, comments and criticisms to info@joytripproject.com.

On the second day of his expedition to explore the Antarctic wastelands around the South Pole, Mark Wood encountered a problem unique to today’s polar explorers: his iPod failed. The setback was at first only a minor inconvenience to Wood, who is attempting to be the first person in history to solo ski both the North and South poles consecutively. It was a minor inconvenience, that is, until he overheard the song “Wombling Merry Christmas” by the Wombles in the background while speaking with his family via satellite phone at Christmas. The catchy tune clawed its way into his head where it has remained his hated but only companion in the foreboding region ever since. Wood, who is still on expedition, reported that the tune is beginning to make him slightly crazy after spending weeks skiing to its rhythm.

The Wombles is a British pop band that features musicians dressed as characters from a popular children’s television show. The band is broken up now but was popular in the 1970′s. Its music lives on in the heads of polar explorers and as a cultural novelty in the UK. If nothing else, the band’s undeniably annoying music reveals the power insignificant things can have over the human psyche in extreme environments.

In other, possibly more relevant Mark Wood news, the explorer had an interesting surprise last week when, after 42 days alone on the ice, he randomly encountered a group of Norwegian kite surfers making their way back from the South Pole. The explorer does not note if they were annoying enough to help him shake the Wombles.

Watch the Wombles perform “Wombling Merry Christmas” here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

But the truth is for the brave of heart with the proper gear, camping during the winter can be an enchanting reality. Old mountaineers often share the sentiment, “There is no bad weather, only poorly dressed people.” With that in mind, we’ve collected some winter camping essentials to aid you in your journey into the wintery wide-open. With some good preparation and proper planning you can fight cold and enjoy your time safely and even comfortably. This is by no means a complete list of gear that you will need, but we’ve complied some warm winter camping essentials we think will help keep you toasty and comfortable during your excursions.

The North Face Assault 2 Tent

This 2-person 4-season winter tent is part of The North Face’s Summit Series that features high-tech athlete-tested gear. This tent, which was recommended by Backpacker Magazine, is constructed from Drywall fabric that is highly breathable and more tear resistant than any of their other previous tents to keep you dry and safe from the storm. It also comes with a removable vestibule when you need to pack light and a built in gear loft to keep you organized.

Get Cash Back on the North Face Assault 2 Tent

Rab Expedition 800 Sleeping Bag

A warm sleeping bag is essential because it will keep you happy and sleeping soundly when the weather howls outside. This Rab bag is made specifically for winter expeditions. It has an 800 goose down fill and a waterproof and breathable Pertex shell and lining. It also has a larger internal lining so you can wear your warmest clothes at night, and the internal draft collar will help you trap your own heat inside the bag.

Get Cash Back on the Rab Expedition 800 Sleeping Bag

Sierra Designs Pull-On Down Bootie Slippers

After a long day trekking in your boots, you are going to want to change into something drier and more forgiving. Down booties are an excellent source of warmth and are extremely comfortable (imagine walking on down clouds). These ones from Sierra Designs are made with 700 fill down and are tall enough to give your shins and the bottom of your legs some protection. They also have tough no-skid nylon soles and a DWR coating that resist stains and water.

Get Cash Back on the Sierra Designs Pull-On Bootie Slippers

Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 Tech Top and Bottom

This long underwear is made out of the only material you want next to your body when temps are plunging – Merino wool. This ultra-warm natural material traps heat but is also lightweight and breathable. It also wicks away moisture, reduces stench and dries quickly. This top and bottom are some of the warmest Icebreaker makes and  the first essential step to keeping you toasty in the iciest of conditions.

Get Cash Back on the Bodyfit 260 Tech Top

Get Cash Back on the Bodyfit 260 Legging

Kaenon Rhino Polarized Sunglasses

A good pair of shades is key when you are spending time in the snow since the sun reflects up and can burn your eyes – even when it’s a little cloudy. This lightweight pair of sunnies from Kaenon has 100% UV protection and crystal clear clarity. They also have nose pads buried in the bridge creating a slip resistant seal so you’ll be sure not to loose them. Even if they do come off your face and end up on the ground, they are impact resistant so you never have to fret over broken sunglasses.

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GoLite Demaree Canyon 800 Fill Down Jacket

The warmth from this 8o0 fill goose down puffy pullover will change the way you make camp in the winter. It fits underneath any shell and it’s so insulating that you can stop fighting to stay warm as the sun goes down and instead relax and enjoy nature. It’s also easy to pack as it weights just 95 g and packs down into a small stuff sack. It also has a water resistant and breathable Pertex shell and lining that fights condensation.

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Salomon Nytro WP Winter Boots

If you want a serious boot that will take on snow, ice and slush with guns blazing you want to invest in a pair of Salomon Nytros. They are made from fully waterproof leather to keep your feet completely dry, and they have a synthetic and micro fleece lining to keep you warm. They also have a supportive EVA molded midsole and a Winter Contragirp rubber outsole to keep you secure and upright on slick ice. They also have hooks so you can attach gaiters.

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GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless Vacuum Bottle

Nothing can quite warm the body and soul like a sip of hot tea or soup when you are traveling through ice and snow. This double layered stainless steel vacuum bottle will keep liquids and food steaming for up to eight hours. It also has a pour through stopper that keeps heat from escaping so that your liquid stays as hot as possible.

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Voile T Wood Shovel

A collapsible snow shovel can go a long way when you are trying to set up your camp, build a fire or dig your buddy out of a man-eating snowdrift. It can also save your life if you wind up in an avalanche. This Voile T Wood Shovel has a T handle and a telescoping shaft that makes it a no-brainer to pack. It also stores a steel blade that can cut through wood or steel and attach to the shovel for extra extension. Although there are many winter camping essentials, this is one thing that you really can’t forget to pack.

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Stoic Welder Gauntlet Mitt

Since your hands help you do things like heat water and set up tents, you are going to want them to be in the best condition possible. Stick with a mitt like this one by Stoic Welder. Backpacker Magazine recommended these gloves because of their wool lining and incredible warmth. They also have a completely waterproof barrier and a Talon finger design for unbeatable grip. Plus, their Permaloft filling and fully welded construction will be sure to keep your paws up for anything.

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Imagine this: You and some friends are enjoying the solitude of a remote snow shelter on Mount Rainier on a sunny New Year’s day when a helicopter appears in the distance. You watch it’s slow approach, wondering if perhaps a snowshoer has gone missing in the wilderness. But soon it’s hovering directly above you, the whirling blades blasting loose snow and scattering your gear. Before you have a chance to shake your fist in contempt, the chopper tears off toward the horizon, leaving in its wake something that looks like litter floating slowly down to your camp. Confused, you retrieve the object, a coffee cup, and notice that it bears a message:

“A ranger has been shot. Do not drive from Paradise without armed escort.”

Police wasted no time attempting to warn winter campers during the manhunt that ensued after a fatal shooting in Mount Rainier National Park on New Year’s day. Officers grabbed a stack of disposable coffee cups, inscribed each with a warning and instructions on how to remain safe, then flew around the park in a helicopter, dropping the communiques near campsites. Props to the police for such inventive thinking. Still, how scary would it be to be on the receiving end of that message while camping?

(Click here for photos of cups w/ messages at the Seattle Times)

Here’s what he had to say about it:

Snowshoeing is an awesome winter activity. It is even better when you combine it with camping, sledding and friends. In this 12min. exposure at least three people took a run down the hill with their headlamps on, and one of them ended up face first in the snow. The star trails from our rotating planet and the Mountain Hemlocks bathed in snow provide a frame for our winter wonderland. This image was made with a traditional 35mm film camera and was not manipulated from its original form.

Congrats, Erik! You just won an Ultima 65 Spotting Scope with Astromaster Tripod, courtesy of Celestron.

Want your own chance at winning? Submitting is easy! Just fill out this submission form and make sure to include a description of the photo you submit and the address of where you want your gear sent in the body of the message. Good luck!

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The Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of national groups representing human powered outdoor recreation, hosted a partnership summit in Golden, Colorado  earlier this month. Inspired in part by Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative, the summit’s goal is to increase public-private partnerships leading to greater stewardship, protection and enjoyment of public lands and waters.

An unprecedented meeting, the summit gave both sides of the land management issue a forum to discuss how to design partnerships for the future and improve the ones that exist. Over 150 people attended including members of the outdoor industry, human powered recreation community, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service, Army Corp of Engineers and Fish and Wildlife Service. The summit highlighted and studied successful partnerships taking place across the country, focusing on the ingredients for success.

“We knew it was going well when at 7:30am on the third day  the room was full and the energy level was high,” said Tom Flynn, Outdoor Alliance’s Grass-tops Advocacy Fellow.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), in a videotaped address, opened the Summit, praising the Outdoor Alliance for its success combining local efforts with federal initiatives. While Peter Metcalf, CEO/President of Black Diamond gave the keynote speech.

Millions of Americans are represented by the Outdoor Alliance, which includes the Access Fund, American Canoe Association, American Hiking Society, American Whitewater, International Mountain Bicycling Association, and Winter Wildlands Alliance.