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Bad Weather and Mudslides Can’t Stop Salomon’s Kilian Jornet

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Call it a punt—after the weather spoiler at the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, top  Salomon runners cruised over to join the Ultra SkyMarathon World Championships instead.  Salomon’s Kilian Jornet won the Ultra SkyMarathon World Championships by finishing the technically demanding 49.5 kilometer course in Northern Italy in 1st place with a time of six hours 19 minutes, ten minutes in front of teammate Miguel Herras.

Jornet’s entry in the Ultra SkyMarathon came at the last minute following the cancelation of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc race last week due to unfavorable weather and mud slides. Jornet, the 2008 and 2009 UTMB Champ, and several other top racers changed gears and entered the Ultra SkyMarathon in Italy the next day. Jornet was accompanied by some of the world’s finest ultra-runners including Miguel Hera, Thomas Lorblanchet, Geoff Roes and Karl Metxler.

The Ultra SkyMarathon features a 49.5 kilometer course with 7,600 meter ascent and descent over seven passes, reaching an altitude of 2,950 meters.

The UTMB race was unexpectedly restarted on Saturday morning with only three members (Julien Chorier, Samuel Bonaudo and Nerea Martinez) of Team Salomon competing.

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A-OK for OM at OR

Friday, July 30th, 2010

… And here we go! If you’ve been anywhere near the Outside Media office is the last month or two, you’d know that we’ve been working pretty hard to get ready for one of our biggest trade shows of the year, Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. And finally, the time has come to pack up and hit the road to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

Hilary will be mixing it up at the Salomon booth #30113W, where she will be giving media a sneak peek at the NEW Salomon XR Crossmax — Salomon enhances the world of Specialty Running with the launch of the perfect “door to trail” high-mileage training shoe. The XR provides the best of both running and trail running needs.
Comes in the “Guidance” style for pronators, and the “Neutral” style for neutral runners.

Salomon Sky 30 backpack — Salomon has expanded its pack line to include a variety of bags great for single-day or multi-day trips.

Anatomically shaped, the Sky 30 conveniently  caries gear in every season, with ski and snowshoe carriers for winter activity.

Amy will be hanging out with boys over at Klymit, (booth #38207 ) where they’ve been expanding Klymit’s NobleTec argon-gas-based insulation technology. This summer Klymit launches the Inertia X-Frame – a lightweight, inflatable camping frame  with body mapping technology. Klymit is also launching into watersports with the Klymit Kinetic Amphibian Vest. With NobleTek noble gas insulation technology, the Amphibian keeps paddlers insulated and warm even when wet.

Shane is spending the week with our new friends over at Easton Mountain Products, (booth #3009) where they will be introducing the Kilo™ Tent- Ultra-light tent that weighs 910 grams: Features a never-before-seen Carbon pole system that is 56% lighter than aluminum poles and Features the revolutionary AirLock™ Connection System that eliminates heavy full length shock cord. $399.99

EMP is also showing off its new CTR-80 Carbon Fiber and ATR-80 Aluminum Trekking Poles with new vibration control technology: Lightweight and Durable three-tier design featuring patent-pending Rock-Lock™ clamps and new Vi-Brake™ vibration dampening grip.
CTR-80 is 1.44 lbs $139.99, ATR-80 is 1.46lbs $99

Brady will be representing at the Ellington Handbags booth #146. New for Ellington this season are some great options that are attractive, yet functional bags ideal for the mountain lady with a city-like schedule. Each season is an opportunity for Ellington to introduce something new and exciting, whether it’s fresh colors, innovative silhouettes or unique fabrics. Stevie Hobo.

And don’t forget to stop by Suunto Booth #20015, and see Sammi. She’ll be hanging out with Apa Sherpa, showing off the new Suunto Core Extreme Edition Everest In honor of the legendary mountaineer and Suunto Ambassador, Apa Sherpa, Suunto is launching the limited edition wristop computer, the Suunto Core Extreme Edition Everest.  In celebration of his world-record 20th summit of Mt. Everest, this “Super Sherpa” watch reflects the mountaineer’s determination and strength. Suunto is producing only 8,848 models of the Extreme Edition Everest, in correlation with Mount Everest’s elevation of 8,848 meters.

Suunto will also be launching its new fitness heart rate monitor. The Suunto M5 is the complete multi-sport fitness and recovery partner.
The Moves series training watch targets those looking for guidance for weight management and improved fitness. The M-series watch comes with a dual heart rate monitor to provide guidance, monitor activity, inspire, motivate and turn measured data into personal recommendations and training plans.  Sammi will also be telling people about the newly launched www.movescount.com social gathering and training manager site from Suunto.

Stop by the Suunto booth to see World 24hr Mountain Bike Champion and Leadville 100 Trail Women’s Champion, Rebecca Rusch.  She’ll be at the booth signing autographs and meeting fans on Tuesday at 11:00am.

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Posted in July 2010, Klymit, Rebecca Rusch, Salomon, Suunto, Uncategorized | No Comments »

What we’re doing this weekend…

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

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The North Platte is Where It’s At

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

I put up a post on the Flyfish Magazine blog about the new fly fishing show we’re working on called Trout TV.  I was recently asked by Bob Asbury from Columbia Country Television  to co-host it with my pal Rich Birdsell, owner of Northern Rockies Outfitters.  Rich and I are spending the summer and fall traveling around the west to find the most fancy-tickling rivers.  The series will start airing on 35 network affiliate channels in February.  You can read my entire blog post by clicking here.  It’s about the big bubbas I caught with Wyoming Fishing Guide Service on the North Platte in Wyoming last week.

Here are the pics!

crazy sky on the 14 hr drive to Casper, WY

What's the deal with the sky? Seriously.

Beautiful Chief Joseph Pass

Ryan Anderson, best guide evah

They only let me take pics of the little fish--the lunkers were saved for video.

Sponge Bob the producer/shooter

Happy me.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

BlueBird Guides Wraps Up the 2010 Spring Season

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Spring is backcountry skiing season in British Columbia, and Outside Media’s super-awesome client, BlueBird Guides, has been busy taking full advantage.  BBG is just now finishing up a great season taking people on unforgettable trip with plenty of sun and corn snow.

At the end of April, Greg hosted a trip to Fairy Meadows in British Columbia where professional skier Chris Davenport and writers from Skiing and Backcountry Magazines joined him. Though their attempt at a first descent was sidelined by poor conditions, it sounds like the crew had a pretty amazing trip.  You can check out a great slideshow on the Skiing Magazine website here. Here are some of the pics from the slideshow:

photo courtesy Jake Bogoch Skiing Mag

Photo courtesy Jake Bogoch, Skiing Magazine

Photo courtesy Jake Bogoch, Skiing Magazine

Check out what Greg Franson from BlueBird Guides says about his last few trips.

From BlueBird Guides Blog: A few trips back to back has finished the season for us.  We were out in the south coast range mid April and had killer conditions for ski mountaineering. We started out with 60 cms of storm snow and finished with spring like conditions and the best part is that we didn’t have to think about the buried surface hoar that has been plaguing us in interior all winter.

The last week of April we flew into the Great Cairn Hut seeking out a ski descent that we’ve had our eye on. We also brought along two magazine writers to document the trip. Unfortunately, the mountain conditions had deteriorated making any sort of attempt potentially unsafe. It may have been possible to have forced a descent but we decided that would have been in poor style and against my own instincts. Maybe next year. We did however, have a great week of ski descents in the Adamants and traversed over to the Fairy Meadows Hut.

The last trip we just completed was a women’s ski mountaineering workshop held in the Rockies. Five girls, myself and a writer from Backcountry Magazine made the trip on the Wapta. We had about 30-40 cms of storm snow that settled to about 15 cms overlying a solid crust layer.  Ski quality(and stability) was fair to good dependent upon elevation and aspect. Crevasse coverage is pretty good overall but there are a few hidden holes as well. There’s plenty of skiing to be had out there…

It was a great season-ender and thanks to everyone who was involved in trips this year.

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Posted in May 2010, Uncategorized, skiing | No Comments »

The Season Ender

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

A good grimace. March 2010.

It’s been 14-some-odd weeks, and I’m still kind of bobbing in the wake of the “season ender.”

I ended my ski season two months early this year because of the worst injury I’ve ever had.  At least I can check “riding in a ski patrol sled” off my bucket list.  It happened on the backside of The Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Yep, just like that, I tore my abdominal wall.  I was goofing around and popped a wee 180 off a little powder bump, and in the air I felt the left side of my abdomen rip.  When I landed, (no crash, no fall) all muscular hell broke loose and I tore my abdomen from left to right.  I hit the deck and my body froze up and went into shock in the fetal position.  I could feel something super hot and wet on my belly, and I was sure all my guts had spilled out onto the snow.  I had to look to make sure I wasn’t sliced wide open.  The hot, wet feeling was from blood gushing from the muscle tear, but of course it was only inside my core, and didn’t break the skin.  So I couldn’t see any guts.  But I could tell they had kind of come out of place because my belly instantly bulged out like a keg.

The amazing Big Mtn Ski Patrol came and whisked me up the backside and back down the front and into the ambulance.  In the hospital they confirmed a complete abdominal wall tear, and they said they probably could not stitch up the “pulled pork.”  I had an MRI that again confirmed the tear, and doctors put me on 12 weeks of bed rest with another 12 weeks of rehab.

Check out this pic (I have no dignity) of how my belly would fill up with blood and make me look like I was 6-months prego!

not really a bun in the oven...just a gross ski injury

I took a couple of days of bed rest, but strict doctor’s orders are not easy to follow.  Don’t judge–YOU couldn’t ever take 12 weeks of bed rest, I’ll bet.  I put on about 523 pounds since the accident because I haven’t been able to work out normally.  So I’m finally kind of getting back on track, and doing some low-level training with my new Suunto M4. (Launching in the US June 15th.)   Sudden twists or lifting heavy things makes the muscles re-tear, which is nasty, so I’m trying to be careful.

Really, I think it’s kind of good because I won’t really be able to row my fishing boat a lot this summer, so I’ll have to have someone else row me around while I fish.  Any takers?

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Posted in May 2010, Uncategorized, skiing | 4 Comments »

That’s “Mr. Goat” to You

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

When I got hired on at Outside Media I felt pretty comfortable right away. I can’t complain, the bosses and coworkers are exceptionally talented, funny and great to be around. But at first, I was just as nervous as I was on the first day of kindergarten. Outside Media hired me right before Thanksgiving and over the break, I went to visit my in-laws in North Dakota. The town (blinkandyou’llmissit), is a small farming community and is the bread and butter of this country. Pure family, God, American flags, corn-fed boys, all-American girls and dirt roads. I love visiting, but on this particular visit, I encountered Mr. Goat.

Mr. Goat was "this close" to head-butting the camera

Mr. Goat was the most vile, disgusting creature I’ve ever met and happened to be my brother-in-law’s family pet. I’m from Montana and have seen vile, but this goat was exceptional. Prior to our visit, Mr. Goat had quite a reputation in this community and was quickly approaching legendary status. In just the time we spent in NoDak, he chased cars like a dog, ran the three miles into town and entered the local saloon, head-butted the children, scared visitors (me), jumped onto sheds and ate cigarettes. Everyone knew the goat. “Oh yeah, that stinky thing was in town this morning roaming main street. Well, I heard he was at the vet’s the other day getting a leg cast because he came too close to a car he chased. You Betcha.” Yeah–this goat was amazing.

Mr. Goat herding the dog

To make matters worse, Mr. Goat continued to urinate on its own face to attract fellow lady goats (P.S.-no lady goats for miles). The urination on the face was it for me. Mr. Goat smelled so vile it was near impossible to be around it, plus it could suddenly take you out at the knees with a sideways head butt–so time spent around Mr. Goat was a bit risky. So, the family had to pass Mr. Goat along to the next family who didn’t mind a head-butting, garbage munching, piss-face of a goat.

Mr. Goat enjoying a light snack of cigs

His photo is on my computer background and always brings a chuckle to anyone who walks in.   You Betcha, that’s him with a cigarette in his mouth.  No one put the cig n his mouth–he trolls the town looking for butts to salvage on his own. Now that I’m fully comfortable here at OM, I reference Mr. Goat often and threaten to bring him in as an office pet if Hilary’s mule, Rosey Stone, comes near!

Holler for hilarious.

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Posted in April 2010, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

30 Resorts in 30 Days

Friday, March 26th, 2010

By OutsideAmy

Ever since I turned 30, I’ve been trying to redefine that number for myself… — Seth Warner

I hear your 30th birthday can be a tough one. But of course I wouldn’t know anything about that since I’m a few (not so few) years away. People who are 30 are not quite “grown-ups.” But they definitely do not fall under the “kid” category. I’m preparing myself now, so than when the big day shows up on the calendar, I’ll be ready to greet it with grace and dignity. At a crossroads of that proportion, you need to get creative in your coping tactics. So, maybe I’ll take a que from pro skier Seth Warner, who recently took to the road to explore 30 resorts in 30 days. On his blog, aptly named “30Resorts30Days,” Seth is documenting each day on the road, in parking lots and on snow.

From Seth Warner’s blog, 30Resorts30days: “Ever since I turned 30, I’ve been trying to redefine that number for myself.  My life has always revolved around skiing since I can remember. It has ultimately determined where I have lived, what jobs I have taken and who my true friends are today. I’ve traveled all over the world to pursue my passion. Planning my next adventure, whether it’s just to our local hill for the day or a 10 day Euro trip filled with dragging bags on trains and stuffing skis in to mini cars, it is what has kept me going.

My latest endeavor, however, has been to figure out what I would do if I had exactly one month off of work.  Without having a ton of money to work with and an emphasis on connecting with old ski town friends, I’ve decided to ski 30 resorts in 30 days.

To add an entire new element to this personal quest, I got wind of news that Salomon was developing a new ski unlike anything that has come before. Being the gear junky that I am, I had to find out more.  It turns out Salomon is on a mission to have this ski tested in any and all conditions, which is exactly what it is constructed for. The success of this prototype will be putting it to the ultimate test and gathering extensive feedback along the way. Cue the light bulb above my head!”–Seth Warner

Maybe the boss-man will let me have a month off of work when my time comes for an experience like this. In the meantime, I suppose I’ll  have to be content checking out the amazing photos and stories from Seth’s epic journey each day.  Join me.

–Amy

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Posted in March 2010, Salomon, Uncategorized, skiing | 2 Comments »

Rebecca Rusch Is In Our House

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Rebecca Rusch, reigning three-time 24hour Solo World Champion mountain bike racer came to Missoula yesterday to host a fun benefit for local cyclists.  Missoula was the second stop in her Race Across The Sky Mountain Town Movie Tour, featuring the documentary about the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. This extremely difficult race is 100 miles long and starts in Leadville, Colorado at an elevation of more than 10,000 ft. With an out-and-back format, the racers climb to more than 12,000 ft in elevation. Oh yeah, Rebecca also happened to dominate and win the women’s title The film tour proceeds all  benefit each town’s local International Mountain Bike Association chapter, whose mission is to “create, enhance and preserve great trail experience for mountain bikers worldwide.”

Since Montana is enormous, we at Outside Media consider a 2.5 hour drive south to be “close” and we all eagerly attended.

“All the major US cities got a chance to see it and I wanted to bring the film back to where core cycling communities reside, which happens to be in mountain towns,” says Rebecca. Missoula was the perfect fit.

The festivities began at Big Sky Bikes, the Missoula Specialized dealer, with Rebecca hosting a pre-party chock-full of food from Bernices Bakery, Worden’s Deli, Le Petit Outre, Bitterroot Salsa, PBR, Red Bull and giveaways from her sponsors. From there, more than 100 Missoula cyclists pedaled their way downtown to the Roxy.  It quickly became apparent that both theaters in the venue, seating 150 people each, would be filled. With a pakced house, Rebecca and Bret George, representing Montana Mountain Bike Association, gave quick introductory talks about the film and how all the proceeds from ticket sales and raffles directly benefited the MMBA.

The film depicts the unique Leadville Trail 100 race and the history of how it all began. The Leadville Trail 100 began in 1994 and has grown into one of the top endurance races in the country, drawing attention from core cyclists from around the globe. World-class athletes like Rebecca Rusch, Lance Armstrong and Dave Wiens have brought the race to a global stage.  Unless your name rhymes with pants and you just won the Tour de France, you have to enter a lottery and cross your fingers and hope to gain entrance into the race.  The competitive setting has a cross-section of competitors with unique motivation, each  from a different background,  competing and pushing themselves to their own physical limits.

All in all, it was a great night! Rebecca got a chance to get out in Missoula and take a ride before the event.

“I can tell this community is really supportive of cycling. It is always a good sign when every car is giving you a wide berth on the road,” says Rebecca.

Rebecca was also featured in the The Missoulian, Missoula Independent, KECI and KPAX.

The Outside Media crew is headed down to Salt Lake next week to meet up with Rebecca again in Park City for the March 18th showing. We can’t wait. And if you get a chance–check out this inspirational film!

Holler if you want to arm wrestle Rebecca! I didn’t think so.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

RACE ACROSS THE SKY FILM IN MISSOULA

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

RATS Poster Missoula

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

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