Outdoor Retailer Wrap-Up

As I mentioned, I spent last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Outdoor Retailer convention in Salt Lake City checking out the latest and greatest gear that is in the works from our favorite gear manufacturers. OR is an interesting event to say the least. It is part-gear nirvana and part-networking meet-up, with a liberal dose of party thrown into the mix. The 3+ days that I spent there were a bit of a blur, as I hurried from one meeting to the next, waving at old friends and new from across the hall as I went.

Today, I'm suffering from Post OR Syndrome in part because for the time that I was there, I was steeped in adventure culture. Everyone is constantly talking about the latest gear, some big trip they have planned, or the peak they just bagged. The attendees, for the most part, are fit, athletic, and excited to be there and shae their experiences. While I was there, I spotted Conrad Anker, met Ueli Steck, and had nice long conversations with both Everest climber Ben Clark and adventure racer Mike Kloser. After a few days in that environment, it is rough to return to normal life where most people are just worried about the weather. (It'll be 105ºF here in Austin today by the way)

While I was at the show, I saw a host of really great gear coming from a bunch of different companies. Over the next few weeks, I'll likely be sharing some of the things I saw there with you so you can put them on your radar for the weeks ahead, when they'll actually be on sale. If you followed my Twitter feed while I was away, you probably already got a glimpse of some of them. Needless to say however, there was a lot of innovative gear on display, some of which we should all be genuinely excited about.

While I didn't have time to post OR updates to my blog while I was there, I did want to offer a couple of websites that have posted some information about what was on display. Check out the Adventure Journal for instance to see a nice overview of a number of products and Trailspace.com did an excellent job, as always, with their coverage as well. You'll find day-by-day updates from them by clicking here. Outside magazine also has their list of the best gear of the show here.

Today, I'm working on catching up on e-mail and getting my feet back under me, while also posting updates from the world of adventure. I'll have more to share from OR in the days ahead, but for now, all I'll say is that if you ever get a chance to go yourself, take the opportunity. It is a complete blast and well worth the trip.

Paddling The Zion Narrows

The Zion Narrows is a path that follows the Virgin River through 16-miles of spectacular canyon scenery in Zion National Park in Utah. At times, the canyon reaches as much as 2000 feet deep, with the river running just 20-30 feet in width. As you can imagine, it is an amazing place, and a popular hike for those with an adventurous spirit and a great pair of water shoes.

As you've no doubt heard, it was a banner year for snow fall in the western U.S., and because of that, rivers are high right now, and the whitewater is really flowing. Last weekend, a group of kayaker set out to take advantage of that, and went on a two-day, self supported paddle through the Zion Narrows. The result is the video below, shot entirely on helmet cam, which show off just how amazing the Narrows are. Fantastic stuff!

Are You "Durable?" If So, You Can Win A Trip From GearJunkie.com

Our friends over at GearJunkie.com are running another contest, and this time they're giving away an adventure trip to Utah that will include attending the Outdoor Retailer trade show this summer. That's right! You could win an all expense paid trip to Gear Nirvana, where all the latest outdoor products will be revealed for the first time.

The Gear Junkie, along with Cordura Brand Fabrics, is searching for "The Most Durable Person" to give the prize to, and if you think you are that person, or know someone who is, you can enter the contest by clicking here.  Simply use the form on that page to submit a quick story, photos, or a video and tell the GJ Crew why you or your friend/family member are among the outdoors’ “most durable” people. In this case, you are free to define "durable" in any way that you like, but be sure to get creative with your entry.

The contest will run through the month of May, with the best entries getting posted on GearJunkie.com over the next few weeks. A winner will be picked shortly after that, and that person will be traveling to Utah in August with their airfare, accommodations, OR attendance, and at least one adventure activity paid for.

Good luck and have fun with this!

The Rhino Relay Looks Fun!

The Rhino Relay, a new adventure race scheduled to take place in September in Utah, looks like it trying to do something new with the format that could appeal to a different crowd than the typical adventure racer.  The Rhino will indeed be a true relay, with up to six team members taking on various stages of the event where there skills best suit them. So, for example, you can have your best mountain bike rider cover that stage, then hand of the "baton" if you will to your trail runner, and so on. Stages will also include swimming, orienteering, and rappelling as well.

The event will be held on September 24th in Yuba State Park, located not far from Nephi, UT. Since it is still six months off, you still have time to find some partners to join you in the event. Check out the video below for more.

Looks like it could be a lot of fun!

Skiing Southern Utah's Backcountry

Looking for a little distraction while you're stranded in your office today, wishing you could be playing outside instead? Then look no further than the video below, which was put together by Inspired Media Concepts and drops the "Provo Bros." into the spectacular backcountry of Southern Utah for a little skiing and snowboarding. The video is beautifully shot and captures the fun very well. Especially when the boys use helmet cams, which capture the speed and fluidity of their adventure very well. After watching this, I want to dust off the snowboard.

Checkpoint Tracker National Championship Results Update

Last week I posted several stories about the recent Checkpoint Tracker National Championship adventure race that took place in Moab, Utah at the end of October. First, I reported on the results of the race, then linked to a race report that came to us courtesy of the Gear Junkie. In that report, GJ noted that there was a bit of controversy at the event involving two teams that crossed the finish line nearly two hours in front of everyone else, but then ended up being assessed time penalties that sent them spiraling down the leader board. Late last week, the Checkpoint Tracker Advisory Board posted a note to their blog explaining the situation in a bit more detail and offering some insights into the penalties.

The two teams that were effected by the ruling of the advisory board were Osprey Packs and YogaSlackers. Both teams reportedly took an unauthorized route to reach three of the checkpoints on the course, and as a result, they were given six hour penalties – two hours for each checkpoint. The blog post states that the rules clearly give indications of when it is okay to acquire checkpoints out of order and the penalty for not adhering to those rules.

As I mentioned in the follow-up post on the race last week, I've sat in on some of these juries, and it is a difficult task to administer these time penalties. No one wants to see them impact the race in any real, meaningful way, but then again, the teams have to race fairly and adhere to the rules. It sounds like this was an honest mistake by everyone involved, it just happened to have a big impact on the final results. Also, as I wrote last week, it doesn't seem to have had a negative effect on the race either, as most of the athletes reported having a great time and enjoying the event immensely. That speaks volumes about the competitors and the race itself.

Adventure Journal Tells Us About Aron Ralston

With the feature length film  127 Hours opening today, it seems like a fitting time to revisit the story of Aron Ralston, the subject of Academy Award winner Danny Boyle's film. Ralson was the hiker who shot to fame (or infamy depending on your point of view) when he became trapped under a boulder in a remote Utah canyon and was forced to amputate part of his own arm in order to escape. The film will give us more details about that ordeal, and from early reports, it can be difficult to watch at times.

Today, Adventure Journal has posted an interesting profile of Ralston that should serve as a nice primer for those heading out to see the film this weekend. The article is, in my opinion, a fair and balanced look at Aron, who became a folk hero for some and was vilified by others.

The story offers insights into the Ralson's character, the making of the film and a lot more. As I read it, it helped to fill in some gaps about the story that I had forgotten, and it prepared me to go into the theater with a fresh look and an open mind. We've all heard the stories of Aron being reckless while in the wild, and the film will certainly display that, but as this profile points out, he also offers us an amazing tale that can be inspiring as well. It seems pretty clear that Ralson is not the same man that he was when he entered that canyon back in 2003.

Sure, we can point fingers at him for hiking alone without letting anyone know where he was. And for taking chances he shouldn't have taken. But his story is a compelling one, and we all can't help but wonder what we would have done in his place.

Personally, I can't wait to see the film. Check out the trailer below, and then get to the theater this weekend!

127 Hours Opens This Weekend

Academy Award winner Danny Boyle debuts his new film 127 Hours this weekend, and as most of you know by now, it tells the tale of Aron Ralston, who gained a measure of infamy when he managed to pin his arm under a boulder while hiking in the canyons of Utah back in 2003. The film looks amazing in every preview I've seen so far, and I'm looking forward to catching it as soon as I can, even though there are reports of people passing out from the scene in which Aron, played by James Franco, has to amputate his own arm.

If you're like me, and often wondered just exactly how Aron managed to get his arm pinned under that boulder, you may wan to watch the clip below, which comes to us courtesy of Outside Online. It shows exactly how the accident happened as Ralston scrambled down the walls of one of the canyons.

24-Hours of Moab Mountain Bike Race Is This Weekend

Earlier today I posted a video and mentioned how great the mountain biking is in Moab, Utah, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this weekend also marks the 15th annual 24-Hours of Moab mountain bike race, which has become one of the top endurance riding events of the year.

The event gets underway tomorrow and runs into Sunday, and will feature 550 individuals, two- and four-person teams. As the name implies, they ride for 24 hours straight in a true test of conditioning. Many riders will simply hope to finish, while others will try to rack up as many laps as they can in that time frame. 

The course features some tremendous drops to go along with the big climbs. Each lap features roughly 1360 feet of climbing as well as downhill sections that will have the riders hitting speeds in excess of 40 mph. That's scary enough during the daytime, but think about how fast that can be at night, after you've been riding for 12+ hours already. 

The weather is expected to be quite nice for the race, with temperatures hitting about 70ºF during the day and dropping into the 40's at night. Rain is out of the forecast as well, which means it should be a pleasant day for a ride. 

The 24-hours of Moab begins at noon local time tomorrow and will continue until noon on Sunday. 

Red Bull Rampage Finals Video

Our onslaught of videos to start the week continues with this one which captures some of the action that went down over the weekend at the Redbull Rampage, an epic freeride mountain bike competition that took place near Virgin, Utah.

The competitors bombed down the side of sandstone cliffs pulling off all kinds of tricks on their way to the finish line. There were spectacular drops, huge jumps, and some amazing riding on display. Looks like it was a great time, although I wouldn't last two minutes on that trail.

Thanks to the Outside Blog for the tip on this follow-up video to the one I posted last week that showed all the spectacular crashes.

Gravity Always Wins At The Red Bull Rampage

Ahh... gravity. She's a harsh mistress in many of the active sports that we all enjoy. Take for example mountain biking and the Red Bull Rampage which is set to go down tomorrow. It's a free riding competition that takes place near Zion National Park, outside of Virgin, Utah, on some of the really great trails in that area. Many of those trails are not for the faint of heart however, as the video below shows. It's a collection of some of the more spectacular crashes from past events that will leave you cringing.

Thanks to The Adventure Life for another great video. Lots of fun. Mostly because I'm not one of these guys.

Trailer for 127 Hours, the Aron Ralston Story, Hits The Web

The trailer for 127 Hours was released yesterday, giving us a glimpse of the film that will tell us the story of what it was like for Aron Ralston, the hiker who had his armed trapped beneath a boulder while hiking in the backcountry of Utah back in 2003.  Eventually he was forced to amputate it himself, which saved his life and vaulted him to the public spotlight. 


The film stars James Franco as Ralston and is directed by Academy Award Winner Danny Boyle, the director who brought us Slumdog Millionaire. The trailer looks beautiful and it serves it's purpose to tease us for more. It certainly isn't what I expected, but in a good way. What are your thoughts?