Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

  For a long time, mountain biking has been imitating skiing and snowboarding. Ski resorts were built for skiers and riders (mostly skiers), but mountain bikers eventually followed as the off-season demo. Parks, jumps and freestyle features have long been ingrained in snowboarding and have more recently exploded in mountain biking. Snowboarders began tackling cliffs, steep lines and all-out scary terrain decades ago, and more and more we see mountain bikers attempting some of the...

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You know that a destination has jumped the shark as a pinnacle of human challenge when the biggest problem facing it isn't so much the logistics of getting there, but the amount of garbage being left behind by the thousands that get there every year. According to the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism, 35,000 visitors and 80,000 local guides go to Mount Everest each year. And they leave more than just memories. After collecting eight metric...

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One of the aspects of Moab that's made it an unrivaled staple in the world of mountain biking is the vastness of its slickrock playgrounds. Unlike most other destinations, where you're boxed into a trail (not necessarily a bad thing, btw), in the slickrock expanses of Moab, you're free to play around, piece together your own flowy angles, tackle new obstacles, and reimagine what mountain biking is all about. Taking this free-form spirit to the...

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"Black Canyon is not a place for the beginning climber. Of the one hundred forty five climbs that are either found in Black Canyon Rock Climbs or are known by the Park Service; eight are rated at 5.8, and of these eight only four have good information available and see regular ascents. Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a full on adventure climbing area. Detailed climbing information for Black Canyon climbs is often difficult to...

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  The problem with breaking down on a bike is that you probably don't carry your 3-inch thick bicycle repair manual with you. And if it's anything more complicated than a flat tire or loose screw, many cyclists will be stumped. You do likely carry your cell phone with you, however, so a bicycle repair app could be a lifesaver. Offered on iPads, iPhones and Android phones, the Bike Repair app is designed to help...

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  In a move that essentially slaps New Zealand with a dueling glove, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has hired Pearl Izumi co-founder and former president of SUGOI Performance Apparel to help introduce the fabric to the outdoor sports industry. This puts them in direct competition with New Zealand, which is widely thought of as the leader in Merino wool, thanks in part to companies like Icebreakers, whose identity is very much intertwined with its heritage....

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  Note: Still picture, not the actual video   Ever wonder how you'd survive a whirlpool? Want to know what goes on inside the [deranged] minds of free soloers? Well, you should take a look at National Geographic's Fringe Elements video series. The series mixes professional interviews and basic tutorials to bring an edgy look at various sub-sports. Each video is a quick, four-minute look at a different activity such as splitboarding and ultra trail...

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Saddle. Set. Goooooooooo! And you thought the apex of an amusement roller coaster was scary.   Via Adventure Journal

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  So I came across some footage from this video a few weeks ago, but a couple of days ago, I found the official teaser. This clip shows a lot more of the freeride mountain biking action that they're getting into in "Where The Trail Ends" and watches even sicker than that first clip. The biking really is like bike mountaineering, Moab meets BC-style. There are some incredible lines and I can't wait to see...

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Photo: Grand Teton National Park/NPS It's mid-April and Easter weekend is this week. It's officially spring! One of my favorite ways to celebrate this fact is by visiting national park country and dropping the snowboard and winter shell for  hiking boots and shorts. Well, there isn't a better time to visit a local or not-so-local national park because it's National Park Week, meaning free entry at all of the country's national parks. The week started...

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