For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. I live what feels to me like a busy life that until recently was continually ramping up. By February of 2020, I had developed a habit of only checking the following week on my calendar. […]
Graham Zimmerman
Posted inOutside
A Climate Advocate Considers COVID-19
Let’s do what needs to be done. Let’s stay at home
I walked through the quiet airport and my footsteps rang through the nearly empty terminal. The usual hustle of travelers was absent. The emptiness was eerie. For the three weeks prior to my arrival at the Houston airport, I had been on assignment with my business partner deep in the Brazilian Amazon. We were working on […]
Posted inNews
Skinny Skis and Spandex
For ski mountaineers, going up makes going down all the more fun
A large group of men, women and enthusiastic kids stands around in spandex near the base of the Red Chair at Mt. Bachelor. They wear ultralight, oftentimes carbon fiber boots. Their skis are skinny and made more for uphill travel than downhill turns. It looks like the start of a skate skiing race, but they’re on […]
Posted inOutside
Monitoring Glaciers
Local alpinists advocate for more tracking of the glaciers around us
Dropping over the edge of the snow-filled mountain bowl, I feel the soft snow sliding under my skis as I accelerate. Leaning into my edges, I initiate turn after turn, controlling that acceleration—and in the process, spraying small waves of snow across the slope. My legs are engaged, and I feel their power pushing into […]
Posted inOutside
Optimism and the Climate
A mountaineer’s perspective on surviving a trek vs. surviving a climate crisis
As a professional mountain climber, I’m known to be somewhat of an optimist. In my profession, a healthy dose of optimism comes in handy. A pair of rose-colored glasses encourages me to imagine conditions getting “better,” “warmer” or “easier” in order to keep going when the going gets tough. Nonetheless, there are times when optimism […]
Posted inOutside
A First Ascent of Link Sar
Local alpinist recalls his team’s triumphant climb to the summit of a mountain in Pakistan’s Karakoram
For me, alpinism—the art of climbing in the alpine environment—is all about an equation that balances providing oneself with opportunities for success with defining success in a way that encourages survival. Alpine mountain climbing is a practice that distinctly lacks guarantees. I am, therefore, left with a wide variety of potential outcomes for which to […]