Adventure
A day in the life of the Eldora Ski Patrol
The morning dawns clear and cold, the eastern sunrise kissing the peaks on the Continental Divide. Up at Eldora ski area, Travis Brock has...
Climbing fever
About two-thirds into the recent Oscar-nominated documentary Free Solo, Alex Honnold is balancing between two tiny rock nubs more than 1,000 feet above Yosemite’s...
Sandbagging drags us all down
I’m at the climbing gym and spot an enticing, new orange toprope route. The grade poll taped next to the first hold lists options...
Learning to let go
Bob Jamieson thinks he’s a regular guy. After a 30-foot fall shattered his ankle and broke some ribs, his back and a wrist three...
Nit nittay garabam: Man is man’s medicine
As I slid down the hillside, rocks and dirt and plants tumbling underneath me, I remember a scream so loud, it couldn’t possibly have...
Biking Vail Pass
When you first introduce yourself as someone born and raised in Colorado, people typically assume you’re an avid outdoors enthusiast, spending every free moment...
Healing in the national parks
Gil Schaenzle is tough. It’s not her demeanor; she laughs easily and speaks warmly about her family. But this is a woman who once...
A climber’s paradise
I’m swinging from the top of the tallest route at the brand-new Earth Treks Englewood facility, my camera in tow. Looking down at the...
It’s me or Ukiah
I took a wrong turn — a relative statement given that what I was following was hardly a navigable road. At the foot of my...
The Day of the Dead in Cusco, Peru
"Would you like to go to the cemetery this afternoon?”
The question, posed by Pavel, my Peruvian tour guide whom I’ve only just met outside...
A river runs through them
"Look at all those people!”
It was mid-July, and my family and I were picnicking on the banks of the Arkansas River, laughing as we...
Showing up to fear
The sound of heavy rockfall echoes off of the nearby mountains. Like gophers, heads pop out of tents searching for debris. The smell of...
