This set of 4 dvds from The History Channel really lets you know that your job “isn’t really that bad after all.” The set features 16 heart-pounding episodes that showcase a variety of jobs and missions that had a high risk factor.
I am in the process of watching these, and there is so much material it’s actually taking me a while to get through it all. From lumberjacks in remote forests to truckers on a road made of ice, the series takes interviews from those who were there and combines that with archive footage as well as footage from today. The WWII episodes seem especially packed with great footage.
I’m enjoying this series. Every job so far has a outdoor or adventure theme to it. Not that I’m recommending you send your resume in, but it at least makes for something to get your blood moving during the cold winter ahead.
The Selk’Bag One is perhaps the most innovative thing in Sleeping Bag design I’ve seen since the mummy came round. Seriously folks, this is a sweet piece of gear. Now before I tell you all about the amazing things you can do with the Selk’Bag, you might want to watch this euro-psychadelic video for a visual. (this video is much better on shrooms I’m assuming)
While writing this review I pondered about how to go about describing it. Yeah, I could say that it is really cool and innovative because you don’t have to sleep in a straight-legged position, and you can tuck your arms and legs wherever you want. And I could rant about the tough material on the foot-bottom and how fun it is to walk around with your sleeping bag on. But I thought I’d spare you and just do a top 10.
10. Sleeping very comfortably for once in the outdoors
9. Jog in place
8. Chill by the fire (but not too close people, no human torches here)
7. Human torch!!! (that’s a joke)
6. Rap (I can see this as the next big trend in hip-hop)
5. Wear a mask and scare the shit out of your camping partners
4. Pretend to be a Bear (not during Bear season)
3. Pretend to be a Yeti (not during Yeti season)
2. Sweet Dance Moves
1. All I gots to say is “You and me baby, aint nothin but mammals”
The Selk’Bag 1 is not designed for really cold weather (rated at 32-54 degrees F). This would be an excellent 3 season bag though. For $169 you can be the coolest camper in the campground. Available from Lippi.
Don’t know what to get that trendsetting outdoor enthusiast on your list this year? This holiday season we’re going to throw out some suggestions of really cool stuff to get your outdoorzy loved one….
Gift Idea #1 - Jimi Wallet (15% off for Outdoorzy members)
You’ve heard me rave about the Jimi in other blog posts. It is to wallets what microwaves were to cooking. This little diddy will hold a few credit cards, an id, an insurance card, a few bills, and a picture of your fake girlfriend; but not much more. The theory behind the Jimi Wallet is to simplify your life. I’ve joined the movement and think this is an EXCELLENT stocking stuffer or gift for the man or woman in your life who needs organize their wallet. It also makes you seem like a trendsetter when you pull it out.
And since we’re Jimi-ambassadors the company has decided to give us a 15% discount during the holidays!
Just enter “outdoorzy” into the coupon code field during checkout and you get 15% off your entire Jimi order!
So get on over to Jimi now and get the gift that keeps on giving. $14.95 each before discount.
Okay, it may not literally weigh a ton, but it is definitely the best haul we’ve ever given away and perhaps rivals any other gear haul you’ve seen given away before.
Here’s how it works. Your part is easy. Just drop by the Gearzy Awards page and vote for your favorite gear manufacturer that has been nominated for 11 different categories. Then drop your email address in so we can contact you later and you’re done!
We’ll pick a winner randomly in January and they will get a great prize pack of outdoor gear. Below you’ll see a list of just a few of the brands that have provided gear for our giveaway. And there should be even more to come…
You’ll notice I changed the category “Mountain of the Week”" to the way more catchy “Peak of the Week.” Thanks for the suggestion Gonz. If you’d like to go back and see previous selections, just follow this link to Peak of the Week. And please comment on any of these posts to make a suggestion for a peak you’d like to see. I normally pool general data about the mountain along with info from Wikipeda and other mountaineering and geography sources.
Chimborazo
20,565 ft
Chimborazo is a huge pyramidal volcano located in Ecuador, South America. It has been in the sites of many climbers working their way up through their mountaineering dream list.
This bad boy gets extra points for not only being a popular climb but also for topping out at over 20,000 feet. That makes it an excellent training climb for larger Himalayan peaks.
An interesting fact about Chimborazo is that it’s summit is the furthest point from the center of the earth.
Mountaineering
As Ecuador’s highest mountain, Chimborazo is a very popular climb and can be climbed year round with the best seasons being December-January and July-August.
Routes
The easiest (Grade: PD) and most climbed routes are the Normal and the Whymper route. Both are western ridge routes starting at the Whymper hut and leading via the Ventemilla summit to the main (Whymper) summit. There are several other less used and more challenging routes on the other mountains faces and ridges leading to one of Chimborazo’s summits: Main (Whymper, Ecuador), Politecnico (Central), N. Martinez (Eastern). The mountain is contained on the IGM (Instituto Geografico Militar) 1:50000 Map Chimborazo (CT-ÑIV-C1).[2]
Refugios
There are two functioning Huts, the Carrel Hut (4,850 m) and the nearby Whymper Hut (5,000 m). The Carrel Hut can be reached by car from Riobamba, Ambato or Guaranda. On the north-west side there is the now defunct Zurita hut (4,900 m) which served as base for the Pogyos route.[10]
It’s a tough thing to make the decision to turn back without a summit on any mountain. I’ve done it myself, less than a few hundred yards from my goal. The decision can come about for several reasons; weather, altitude sickness, exhaustion, too late in the day, unsafe rock, navigational errors, etc. For Ann Curry and her team it was a combination of physical exhaustion and altitude sickness. I guess it just stops being fun when you’re throwing up and have a throbbing headache.
The common perception of mountaineering is that it is all about the summit. Contrary to that though, many seasoned climbers will tell you that although the summit is an achievement and a great place to reflect on the journey, it isn’t the most important piece. The journey itself and often the bonds you build with your partners are the true summit. Finding out more about yourself, your physical limits, being in a beautiful place, an alien landscape, and being part of a team are what are truly important. The summit is nice, don’t get me wrong. Looking down from that perch and thinking about all it took to get there as well as all it takes to get back down is a place of great reflection. When I’m up there I feel like a bird gliding above the world. Ann and her team should know they already accomplished more than most by just attempting Kilimanjaro. And that’s bragging rights enough.
I saw on NBC tonight that Ann Curry, a Today Show host is attempting Kilimanjaro. She is at 15,000 feet now and her team is making that tough decision whether to make their summit bid tomorrow. The team has had issues with altitude sickness and fatigue during their Kilimanjaro struggle. In some of the videos you can see how tired she is. Her slurred speech was the first sign of altitude sickness. If they go for it they’ll be at Crater Camp next. I went through there and it’s a VERY cold place. Good luck to her.
Ann Curry appears to be very physically fit. It’s just a testament to how difficult this mountain can be. Ann is raising awareness for climate change. The glaciers on Kili have been an important barometer for climate change. 85% of the glaciers are gone today. When I climbed in 2005 we crossed very little snow. Arrow glacier is fading particularly fast. It’s a sad reminder that we need to take action in our everyday lives and try to curb greenhouse gases. As of now scientists aren’t sure how much of global warming is attributed to man. But it can’t hurt to cut back on your driving, turn that thermostat down, recycle, and ride your bike more.
Last week I posted a gear review for a Merrell rain jacket. We all know Merrell for their shoes, but now that they’rebeefing up the Merrell apparel line people are stopping to take a look.
The Flux jacket makes for a great toasty layer when it’s chilly out. Throw on a quick dry under shirt, the Flux, and a shell and you’re ready for any of the nasty conditions mother nature can throw at you.
The Flux also works especially well for the techie members of the family. It boasts an inner and outer pocket for that new PDA or MP3 player you’ve got on the list to Santa this year.
Last but not least this jacket actually looks good enough to wear out to get drinks with the in-laws or the boss. It has a tailored design so it sweeps in to hug your body and keep you warm while looking fashionable at the same time.
Despite it’s ridiculously hard to pronounce name, this peak is a stunning beauty. It typifies everything people stereotype for mountain topography. Long snowy slopes, a craggy upper section and a pointy summit.
Uncompahgre is a Ute Indian word that has several connotations that relate to water. “dirty water” “rocks that make water red”
Ever since I caught images of this mountain I have wanted to get up onto it’s slopes. I’ve heard it is one of the more beautiful mountains to climb in the area with a great class II approach to the summit. From a distance the pictures make it look like you would need to do alot of scrambling, but according to 14ers.com that isn’t necessary.
Uncompahgre peak has a broad summit plateau, rising about 1,500 ft (500 m) above the broad surrounding alpine basins. The south, east and west sides are not particularly steep, but the north face boasts a 700 ft (210 m) cliff. Like all peaks in the San Juan Mountains, Uncompahgre is of volcanic origin, but is not a volcano. The rock is of poor quality for climbing, precluding an ascent of the north face.
The most popular route for climbing Uncompahgre Peak is Uncompahgre National Forest Service Trail Number 239, which starts from the end of the Nellie Creek Road, east-southeast of the peak. The Nellie Creek Road is a four wheel drive road accessed from the Henson Creek Road, about 4 miles west of Lake City. The trail to the summit is a strenuous hike rising 2,919 ft (890 m) in elevation in about 3.5 mi (6 km). It accesses the summit in a winding ascent, starting from the east, passing over a south-trending ridge, and finishing on the west slopes of the summit plateau.[2]
This set of 4 dvds from The History Channel really lets you know that your job “isn’t really that bad after all.” The set features 16 heart-pounding episodes that showcase a variety of jobs and missions that had a high risk factor.
While writing this review I pondered about how to go about describing it. Yeah, I could say that it is really cool and innovative because you don’t have to sleep in a straight-legged position, and you can tuck your arms and legs wherever you want. And I could rant about the tough material on the foot-bottom and how fun it is to walk around with your sleeping bag on. But I thought I’d spare you and just do a top 10.
Okay, it may not literally weigh a ton, but it is definitely the best haul we’ve ever given away and perhaps rivals any other gear haul you’ve seen given away before.
Chimborazo is a huge pyramidal volcano located in Ecuador, South America. It has been in the sites of many climbers working their way up through their mountaineering dream list.
Despite it’s ridiculously hard to pronounce name, this peak is a stunning beauty. It typifies everything people stereotype for mountain topography. Long snowy slopes, a craggy upper section and a pointy summit.
