… The movie, photographed in high-definition video by Erich Roland, is an undeniably impressive visual spectacle that follows the sport from Wyoming to France, British Columbia, Iceland and Alaska. Like that of its sister sport, surfing, extreme skiing has a history of one feat topping another as techniques are developed and challenges devised.
The worldwide search for the highest wave is paralleled by the search for the steepest, wildest, most dangerous slopes and for perfect snow. Perfection is to be found, according to the movie, in the extreme-skiing mecca of Valdez, Alaska, where the white stuff has the texture of velvet.
“Steep†arbitrarily begins its history with a lone descent of Bill Briggs in 1971 on Grand Teton mountain in Wyoming. His accomplishment, witnessed by no one but attested to by aerial photographs of his ski tracks, was all the more remarkable because he was born without a hip joint, and multiple surgeries had left him with a limp.
Since then a widening search for adventure has sparked the popularity of what is called big mountain skiing, two of whose hubs, visited by the movie, are Chamonix, in the French Alps, and Valdez. The sport’s popularity has been spread by video, with Greg Stump’s 1988 film, “The Blizzard of Aahhh’s,†cited as a seminal work. …
… Whether I go solo or with others, I’m taking the Stick Pic with me every time. I consider it to be even more versatile than my Joby Gorilla Pod because you can do Les Stroud-style videos of yourself as well as still shots. …
The Portuguese group IMOCOM presented its latest project in Argentina, a Hilton branded hotel in Bariloche (Patagonia) that was introduced as “eco friendly“. According to the company’s CEO, Hugo Canessa, the broad term refers to the hotel layout, which will blend with the mountain it’s located in to reduce visual impact, and the fact that during the building process and later in its operational phase, the hotel will have efficient use of energy and water and “proper management of soil and drainage.”
Besides the green talk, neighbors are concerned about the impact the building will have in this beautiful area. The fact that the hotel is placed in a mountain, is going to get water from the pristine Nahuel Huapi lake, and is surely disposing water nearby, are causes for worry.
Green or greenwashing? Keep reading for more info and pictures. …
Bart Smith completed over 37 million steps this morning, plus nearly 100,000 photographs in his 16-year shooting trek of all the National Scenic Trails (NTS). No other person can boast this astounding photo/hiking feat, covering over 16,500 miles and 34 states. …
Appalachian Trail (AT) – 2,175 miles
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) – 2,650 miles
Florida Trail (FT) – 1,400 miles
Ice Age Trail (IAT) – 1,000 miles
Natchez Trace Trail (NTT) – 500 miles
Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT) – 990 miles
North Country Trail (NCT) – 4,600 miles
Continental Divide Trail (CDT) – 3,100 miles
To celebrate, Smith flies immediately to Washington, D.C., where he will join the 40th National Trail System Anniversary festivities.
Fears of road construction ruining our #8 trek in the world have been somewhat exaggerated.
Hikers are concerned when they see articles like this:
… Late last year, the Australian tour operator Peregrine Adventures, which has organised trips to Nepal for more than 30 years, abandoned the “classic” Annapurna Circuit, which stretches for 300 kilometres and reaches altitudes of more than 5000 metres.
“We’ve dropped that trip altogether because of the road,” operations director Tietse Stelma says. “Ten years ago it was such a beautiful trek going up into the mountains with the Annapurnas in front of you. Now you have more and more traffic on the road and building activity – when you go on a trek, you don’t want to hear that.” …
Death Valley: The name is forbidding and gloomy. Yet here in the valley, much of it below sea level, you can find colorful badlands, snow-covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes, rugged canyons, and the hottest driest spot in North America.
Appalachian Trail (AT) – 2,175 miles
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