Boulder Boulders: “A Fine Line” gets a grip. Photo: Courtesy of “A Fine Line”
Fresh Climbing Porn
From alpine Colorado to remote Idaho to the Deep South, “A Fine Line” follows a group of visionary boulderers as they pursue the best (and worst) rock in America. A new cinematic offering by Josh Fowler and Andrew Kornylak, the film is a visual meditation on the bouldering life. What does it take to give all of yourself to the sport, to pioneer new rock, to find what’s next? Will you find choss or climbing gold? It’s a fine line.
$20, 50 minutes; hdclimbingvideos.com/products/fine-line
Afros in the Outdoors
The hard fact is, you don’t see enough African-Americans enjoying the outdoors—whether it’s biking, hiking, skiing, climbing or camping. Forty-year-old Rue Mapp noticed this as a child growing up in California when she was participating in Girl Scouts and Outward Bound. “I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me,” she says. Two years ago, the mother of three decided to do something about it. She founded OutdoorAfro.com as a way to connect African-Americans with natural spaces and each other through outdoor recreation. The social media site has since attracted more than 7,000 members, and earned Mapp an invitation to the White House to help shape the Obama administration’s Great Outdoors and Let’s Move campaigns. An avid birder and cyclist herself, Mapp doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but takes pride in helping like-minded Afros find one another. “It’s great to see other African Americans experiencing nature and using the site to share their amazing photos, blogs and videos.” Learn more at OutdoorAfro.com or join the conversation on facebook.com/OutdoorAfro
Ride the Rapture
If the Mayans are correct, we’ll all be history on December 12, 2012. In order to ensure we can still slay powder, even after the collapse of civilization, the founders of Boulder-based Folsom Custom Skis created The Rapture (152-122-140 at 196 cm and 191 cm, 150-120-138 at 186 cm and 181 cm). The bombproof ski features an all-new design integrating a rocker/camber hybrid profile that functions beautifully in the pow while keeping you comfortable in variable or hard pack conditions. Like all Folsom skis, The Rapture will be custom built per individual with custom flex and camber profiles, as well as custom graphics. Get your order in now, before it’s too late: Starting at $1,200; folsomskis.com
Zip Across The Butte
New this season at Crested Butte, guests can swing above the snow-dusted trees on a zipline canopy tour—the first at a Colorado ski resort, and one of the only winter canopy tour operations in the state. CB’s set-up features five zip lines ranging from 200 to 300 feet and three suspended bridges. Children of all ages are encouraged to give it a try, but participants must be between 70 and 250 pounds in order to fit inside the harnesses. Expect to spend about an hour-and-a-half exploring the treetops with your guide.
$59, includes all equipment; skicb.com.
One App to Rule Them All
Your buds are sure to ditch you on a powder day if you can’t keep up, but thanks to SNOCRU, you can at least see where they are, and what they are up to, on the mountain. The new Mac app, available in the Apple App Store, gives you all the usual ski/snowboard resort stats you want at the touch of your finger, as well as a function to show you the nearest bar, ATM or pizza joint. But the highlight is a real-time map that shows you exactly where other SNOCRU friends are at the resort, making it easy to meet up on those blower days.
snocru.com
61,000
The amount of pristine Colorado land that would achieve protected status under the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, a bill proposed by Senator Mark Udall designed to boost tourism and recreation in southwestern Colorado. For more information or to comment, go to: markudall.senate.gov/?p=form&id=37
