Sommaire pour December 2018 de Outside

Early in my career as an editor, before I came to Outside, I worked on a story about retail politics with the writer S. C. Gwynne. This was in the mid-2000s, and Gwynne was reporting on how the George W. Bush presidential campaign had used a novel approach to identify likely supporters and win reelection. In the old days, locating your base was a matter of analyzing past voter files and understanding where people stood on a particular issue—gun rights, abortion, or health care. But to target its base in the 2004 election, the Bush campaign took a deep dive into consumer data. GMC drivers, Dr Pepper drinkers, and History Channel viewers, it discovered, were much more likely to support Republicans; Volvo drivers, Fanta drinkers, and Food Network viewers were predominantly…

“I WANT YOU TO let yourself get angry,” William Lent tells me. It’s a steamy July morning in New York City, and Lent, a psychotherapist, is trotting along beside me on the eastern edge of Central Park. For the previous hour, he listened as I narrated a problem I’m having—typical therapy stuff. We began the session in the air-conditioned comfort of his Upper West Side office, then headed out for a jog. As we labor through the humidity, I search for the words to articulate my struggle, but Lent has something else in mind. “I want you to run at whatever pace feels right and just let it out,” he says before giving me a demonstration. “I hate it!” he screams, to the evident distress of a nearby squirrel. This…

THE YEAR IN ADVENTURE FITNESS, GEAR, AND SPORTS WAS SHAPED BY BOLD VISIONARIES WITH WORLD-CHANGING DREAMS—AND THE MOJO TO MAKE THEM REAL Alex Honnold CLIMBER ON TOP OF THE WORLD He was already the poster boy of adventure sports coming into 2018, thanks to his free-solo climbs—alone, with no ropes—of massive rock walls. Over the past half-dozen years, his calm embrace of extraordinary risk has garnered a steady flow of mainstream media coverage (60 Minutes, The Economist, The New Yorker) and attracted big-ticket sponsors (BMW, Citibank, Squarespace) while leaving elite climbers dumbfounded. All that was before the October release of Free Solo, a film that marks the end of his transformation from an unknown dirt bag living in a van to a bonafide superstar who, well, still lives in a…

THE JET SET Mountain Collective pass holders should book their two free days at Niseko, Japan, in January or February to best experience the resort’s legendary powder. Refuel with crab ramen at Hangzone 308 Restaurant and Café between waist-deep runs and trips to local hot springs. DEER VALLEY, UTAH THE LOCAL: Sue Anderson, Deer Valley’s avalanche-mitigation supervisor ON MOUNTAIN: “People sometimes call Deer Valley ‘Bambi basin,’ but when they get here, they’re surprised by how much expert terrain the mountain has. And the resort has a limit on ticket sales, so even the busy spots never get too crowded. After skiing, Edgar’s Beer and Spirits in Snow Park Lodge features live music on the deck and turkey chili on its nachos. If you keep an eye out, you can snag…

I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE SCARED,” says Jesse Itzler to the people sitting on the sunbaked terrace outside the soaring lodge at Utah’s Snowbasin Resort. “You should be.” Nervous laughter percolates through the crowd, most of us giddy with prerace jitters, craft beer, and the effects of the 6,450-foot elevation. “You should have butterflies—that’s the sign of a good event,” says Itzler, who turns 50 today. He wears an ensemble that looks plucked from a casting call for the movie White Men Can’t Jump: capacious basketball shorts, outsize Hoka running shoes, and a headband restraining his curly hair. He lives in Atlanta these days but has retained his New York accent (Roslyn, exit 37 on the Long Island Expressway), as well as his aura of street-smart moxie. Itzler wheels…

SKIERS LOVE TO bitch. In the 1970s, racers whined about hot doggers. Mountain-town locals have forever complained about Herbs, Joeys, SPOREs (stupid person on rental equipment), and gapers. Internationally, Italian skiers hate on the Austrians, who hate on the French, who hate on the Brits. Alpine skiers groused telemark skiing right out of existence. And all skiers bitch about snowboarders—who throw their cigarette butts in the snow and bitch right back. Lately, though, the complaints have coalesced around a central theme—the multimillion-dollar buyouts of a slew of famed and much adored resorts. From Crested Butte to Park City to Whistler Blackcomb (all recently bought by longtime powerhouse Vail Resorts), and on to Squaw, Mammoth, and Deer Valley (all recently acquired by newcomer Alterra Mountain Company), the kinds of resorts that…

The 11-ounce Misc. Goods Co. Ivory Ceramic flask ($92) is slim enough to stow in your pocket, but its leather, brass, and cork closure begs to be shown off. Topo Designs’ organic cotton Field shirt ($89) is the Swiss Army knife of utility layers, ready for yard duty, a long hike, or an evening on the town. FOR THE SUN SEEKER The A. Oboz M-Trail Low shoes ($120) perform all day from city to trail, with breathable uppers and cushioned, supportive EVA midsoles and inserts for extra energy return. B. Seea’s Lido One Piece suit ($125) has just the right mix of breathability, compression, and stay-put style. The C. Hydro Flask Unbound Soft Cooler 22 pack ($275) keeps 24 cans cold for up to 48 hours. Waterproof zippers prevent leakage,…

YOU MAY HAVE noticed that cannabidiol, or CBD for short, has quickly become a booming industry. According to Hemp Business Journal, the market is poised to hit $1.9 billion by 2022, a 400 percent increase from 2017. With research suggesting that the extract, a nonpsychoactive component of cannabis and hemp, can reduce pain, inflammation, and anxiety, you can now find it in everything from lip balm to cooking oil. Not surprisingly, some hard-training athletes, including ultrarunners and professional football players, are fans of the stuff. There’s some debate when it comes to recommended dosage, but most experts agree that ten milligrams is a good place to start. If you’re looking to ease your way into the supplement, here’s a sampling of CBD-fortified provisions. A. Livity Foods Everhemp bar The energy-bar…

One day three years ago, I went for a run around Green Lake, a favorite route near my home in Seattle. It was early September, just after Labor Day, one of those bronzed afternoons when the thermometer still says summer but the school buses and quickened pulse of the city suggest otherwise. As I circled the lake, it was hard not to think about the end of things—of long days, cloudless skies, and freedom. At one point during that three-mile loop, something jabbed me in the left calf. I spun around, ready to swat an unleashed dog. There was no dog. I staggered home. “A calf tear,” pronounced the sports-medicine doctor, bored by the mundane case before him. Take several weeks off from running, he said. Do some physical therapy.…