“Of course it’s always fun to purchase the newest and most technical gear on the market. But it’s equally important to invest in gear that is really meant to last. When we buy gear that is guaranteed for longevity, it’s not only allowing our adventure fund to continue to grow, but it’s healthier for the environment as well. As outdoor adventures, we are also called to be outdoor advocates. Our job is not only to enjoy playing among the mountains, shredding it’s peaks and riding it’s hills, but to protect it, too. When we buy gear and articles that can last us for generations of adventures, we are ultimately saving our oceans, our animals, and our planet.”
“You’re a proficient backcountry skier, with experience in snow safety, rescue techniques, and the etiquette needed to travel through avalanche terrain—but you seek to climb the peaks that surround your current lines. Here, in the Northwest, “volcano season” has arrived. With a more consolidated snow pack, spring is a great time of year to try a new activity in the mountains. Graduating from ski touring to ski mountaineering requires the prerequisite gear. In addition to your beacon, shovel, probe, here’s a quick look at what else you’ll need and why.”
“The Lighter Pack Club is not about gaining membership, rather it’s is about gaining a new perspective on how hard you can push your body without hurting your body. When you cut your weight in half, you are doubling the amount of joy that backpacking can bring. You’re creating a system that allows you the space to breathe. I really didn’t leave anything behind by downsizing. I still had all I needed, my gear packed smaller and I was no less prepared. The Wonderland Trail wasn’t the longest amount of time I had spent in the wild, but it was the most freeing I had felt in a long while. After 3 rolls of film, 23,000 ft of elevation gained, 126 mini snickers and 100 miles, we walked out of the woods weightless. And it wasn’t just the lighter pack. We had tasted the weightless, wild freedom of walking through the woods. Somewhere between the old pines and the lingering pink skies at dawn, we had lost the weight of the world.”
“As outdoor adventurers, limit pushers, tree climbers, pow hunters and summit hikers, we know we can’t plan for everything that happens when we’re out on expedition. We simply can prepare for the unexpected. Just about the only plan we can follow is the trail. When we leave control behind and let the sweet chaos of the adventure take over, we get the opportunity to find a heightened awareness for nature and all aspects of its wild and unpredictable beauty. Good gear allows us to be a little braver and hit the trail no matter the weather forecast. Therm-a-Rest sleeping bags have the technology to provide us with easier dreaming.”
“Learning to slow ourselves down in the outdoor community is a fine art, one that, like any good craft, takes time. It’s so easy to want to be the best, to want to push our physical selves for optimal athleticism, wanting to be the strongest and the fastest, but sometimes it’s even more important to take our sweet time, soaking up the world around us. Taking time to slow down, is not only beneficial for our muscles and bones but our minds as well. When we learn to be patient, when we learn to wait, when we learn to slow down we see more and we ultimately can gain a better experience and a better perspective. Allowing us to better connect with the world we’re playing in, instead of just running right through it”.