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Tour de France 2009 Kicks off Tomorrow: Course Overview

heidiswift — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:21:28 -0700

Expect Suspense: Course Overview

This year’s course covers 3445 kilometers, visits a total of six nations (Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, and Italy) and includes a team time trial for the first time since 2005.

Tour organizers have done their best to put together a course that will leave us on the edge of our seats until the final mountain stage on Saturday, July 25th. Instead of the usual prologue, things kick off with a full length TT (15.5k) that features almost 7 miles of climbing. The challenging first stage should begin to separate the men from the boys right off the bat.

Watch for Cavendish to come out swinging in the first week when the roads are relatively flat and his legs are fresh – Columbia-HTC will be eager to strike with early stage wins so that they can focus on supporting team leader and GC-contender Kim Kirchen as the tour hits the first of the mountain stages,

In Stage 7, the race heads into the Pyrenees mountains of Spain for three days where the race for the overall lead will begin to take shape. After returning to France, racers will enjoy a few more flat stages during week two before heading back into the mountains – the Alps this time - for a Stage 15 mountain-top finish in Verbier, followed by two more days of mountainous terrain.

The Alps will finish what the Pyrenees started. For the first time in history, Tour organizers have left the final, decisive mountaintop finish until Stage 20, the penultimate day ahead of the finish in Paris. The infamous Mt Ventoux claimed British cyclist Tom Simpsons life in 1967 and is considered one of the most legendary climbs in the history of the Tour.

Tour de France 2009 Preview

Heidi Swift — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:04:22 -0700

Team Columbia-HTC Prepares to Attack the 2009 Tour de France

The roster is stacked, long training miles are banked and the boys of Team Columbia-HTC are headed to Paris. Poised to continue the impressive winning streak that has characterized their 2009 season, they’ll ride into the Tour de France boasting 49 wins (including 6 National Championship titles) already this year – the most of any team in professional cycling.

With a new co-sponsor added early this week (HTC, a designer of mobile phones), the pre-Tour excitement has reached a fever pitch. A new co-sponsor means new kits (team uniforms) so keep your eyes out for a fresh look just in time for the big show. They’ll reveal their updated spandex super-hero outfits in Monaco on July 3rd, the day before things kick off on Stage One.

Last year, the team managed to pull off a stunning debut Tour de France performance with 5 individual stage wins and 4 days in the yellow jersey as well as a host of other honors. And we’re expecting them to go just as big for 2009.

The fastest man in the world?

Worried about whether you’ll be able to recognize the team in their new gear? Don’t be. If world-class sprinter and human land-rocket Mark Cavendish has anything to say about it, Team Columbia-HTC should be hard to miss during the opening stages.

Cavendish, whom many believe is the fastest man on a bike right now, won a remarkable four stages in last year’s Tour de France – and you can believe he has his sights set on a repeat. Having nabbed two stages of the Giro d’Italia this May (and a host of other major wins), the Englishman from Isle of Man looks primed to light things up when the finish line approaches – but in a field stacked with talented sprinters, he’s going to have his work cut out for him.

2009 Tour Route

GreatOutdoors-Staff — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:33:15 -0700

Source: le Tour de France

Skiing the Dakobed Traverse --'Tools or Toys'

gordys — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:51:01 -0700

Oh man, this sucks! I haven't thrown a full load on my back in years, and now I'm paying the price in mental anguish that feels totally terminal. I keep shifting my pack, in which I've tossed out all but the lightest essentials, to minimize the slicing into my shoulders. With some 7 miles of bare White River Trail before us it's unavoidable--my skis and boots are strapped onto my five day load for full effect. It's counter intuitive. As a habit I resist carrying ski gear. By design they're meant to be on my feet - not the back, and to do so I might as well throw in a couple of rocks for good measure. Focusing on the end game, I endure the pain knowing that the traveling gain will be justified. In fact, that's the point of our venture into the Dakobed Range. Skis, like a rope - ice axe - foot crampons make traverses possible when otherwise it might not be. They provide lateral and vertical leverage; allowing distance to flow unconstrained along the mountain spine. Marcel Kurz, who pioneered the Chamonix-to-Zermatt Haute Route in 1911, wrote, "In the high mountains the ski ceases to be a plaything. Circumstances make it a tool--the most useful aid to the winter mountaineer--but a simple tool intended to make traveling easier--something which we put on or take off like crampons and which is only a means to an end."

Bend's Pole Pedal Paddle Prepares for Yet Another Appearance

Serena Bishop — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:16:16 -0700

The daffodils are starting to show off their color and neglected bikes are making their way out of garages, sheds and basements. Swarms of brightly colored boats navigate to and fro along the Deschutes River; paddlers uncertain of their balance and ability. Skate ski sessions end with down hill bike rides and nervous captains work diligently to fill the empty the slots on their team roosters.

Bend is preparing for its signature event, the Pole, Pedal, Paddle. Kicking off the start of summer and giving a final hurrah to ski season, Bend’s Annual Pole Pedal Paddle is an event that draws 2,800 competitors; teams, tandems and individuals skiing; skating, cycling, running, paddling and sprinting from Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort to Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater.

Preparation for the PPP can vary widely from intense months of endurance training to night before costume selection – and that is what makes it such a great event. Competitive athletes, families, friends, and the reluctant out-of-town uncle all come to get in on the fun. To be mildly prepared is a good thing, especially if undertaking the event alone. Following is a breakdown of what you will need to successfully complete the 6 stages for the Pole Pedal Paddle.

1. The Downhill Ski: To be competitive: Alpine skis with rear entry boots, your skate boots worn inside (for a speedy transition) and a current or former member of the US Alpine Ski Team To have fun: Snowboard or skis and the ability to ski down a Mt. Bachelor blue run To finish: Point your skis, snowboard or sled down hill and hope for the best

2. The Nordic Ski: To be competitive: Skate skis with fresh race wax and a competitive member of XC Oregon To have fun: Skate or Classic skies, at least one season of Nordic skiing under your belt and an intermediate level of mastery of those skinny skis To finish: The ability to make it up Screamer without passing out

Frisco Fresh – Backcountry Skiing

gordys — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:39:11 -0700

As I break out of the trees onto the frozen surface of Rainy Lake my spirit soars with the opening view. It feels good to be out. The muted light that display's eye catching shadows, shapes and lines is captivating, and super surreal. I'm encouraged to shift my up hill mode into touring casual. After a couple of storm cycles it's certain that epic powder stashes await throughout the high mountain reaches, but the perfect March temps and longer days have highlighted the buena vistas, and the call to slow the pace is in order.

From Chaco Canyon to Sky City

peterp — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:04:50 -0700

Even in early spring the New Mexico sun has me shedding layers as I work my way northwest up the sandy wash that defines Chaco Canyon. Here in the backcountry, a palpable sense of mystery and even spirituality permeates this storied landscape. There’s something about Chaco Canyon--and it’s spooky cluster of enormous kivas and great houses so skillfully constructed a millennia ago in a unique masonry style--that makes hiking here unique in the Southwest..

Video: Art Wolfe Previews Bolivia's Remote Altiplano

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:51:16 -0700

As part of his ongoing collaboration with GreatOutdoors.com, photographer Art Wolfe previews another segment from his award-winning PBS series, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. This time, Art takes us to Bolivia’s remote and rugged Altiplano.

Art Wolfe Photographs Bolivia’s Remote Altiplano

GreatOutdoors.com Staff — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:22:36 -0700

In this episode of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe, Art visits one of the earth’s most extreme environments—the high, rugged and remote Altiplano. More lunar than earthly in appearance, Bolivia’s high plain is a land lost in time. The Altiplano’s dazzling dreamscapes include the world’s largest salt flat, an island of golden cactus, scarlet-tinted lakes, twin volcanoes and surreal skies. See Art's video introduction to this program.

Backcountry Skiers – 'Do the VertFest'

gordys — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:25:03 -0700

Kick and Glide in the Canadian Rockies

peterp — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:45:18 -0800

It takes less than an hour to ski from historic Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on the north shore down to the south end of Bow Lake, but this is one easy round trip that can prove unforgettable. The snow-covered peaks forming the crest of the Canadian Rockies are lined up like brothers along the west shore of the lake, making a storybook backdrop to the mid-winter scene. The open, table-flat expanse of the frozen lake adds an airy, big-sky feel to the austere beauty of these iconic mountains. And, as our skis carry us quickly across the snowy surface of lake ice, the genuine solitude found here serves as the finishing touch to a winter outing in this spectacular corner of the Rockies.

Coffee with Art Wolfe, Part III

peterp — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:26:22 -0800

World renowned photographer Art Wolfe talks with GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield about the challenges, and the rewards, of the world-wide journeys he makes to produce his PBS Television program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolf. See the beginning of this interview with Art, and see more about Travels to the Edge, including photo galleries, on GreatOutdoors.com.

Coffee with Art Wolfe, Part I

peterp — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:24:07 -0800

World renowned photographer Art Wolfe talks with GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield about the challenges, and the rewards, of the world-wide journeys he makes to produce his PBS Television program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. See more of this interview with Art, and see more about Travels to the Edge, including photo galleries, on GreatOutdoors.com.

Coffee with Art Wolfe, Part II

peterp — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:14:46 -0800

World renowned photographer Art Wolfe talks with GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield about the challenges, and the rewards, of the world-wide journeys he makes to produce his PBS Television program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. See more of this interview with Art, and see more about Travels to the Edge, including photo galleries, on GreatOutdoors.com.

Lakpa Rita Becomes First Sherpa to Top of Seven Summits

GreatOutdoors.com Staff — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:55:49 -0800

Acclaimed mountain guide Lakpa Rita Sherpa confirmed his place in Sherpa and mountaineering history on February 13th when he stood atop Mount Kilimanjaro and became the first Sherpa to climb the Seven Summits—the highest peaks on every continent. Africa’s highest peak was the last of the summits for the 43-year old Sherpa man, who has been climbing since 1984 and first climbed Mount Everest in 1990. He was joined on the five-day journey to the top of the snow-capped 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro by Leavenworth, Washington alpinist Joe Puryear, who has documented the venture at www.climbafrica.blogspot.com. Sherpa Adventure Gear (www.sherpaadventuregear.com), a Renton, Washington manufacturer of apparel for mountain sports, sponsored the climb of Kilimanjaro.

The experienced mountain guide found Kilimanjaro easy compared to other high altitude ascents, but “extremely beautiful and interesting,” Lakpa Rita Sherpa wrote in an e-mail. “The route we climbed was very convoluted with much back and forth and lots of up and down. However the descent was straight down.” He was surprised that “it was very, very crowded on the mountain,” noting he and Puryear passed over 200 people the morning they reached the summit. They arrived at dawn on February 13th after a four-hour climb from their final camp with weather that was very cold but clear. To celebrate at the summit, "we danced and sang a traditional song with our local partners," wrote Lakpa Rita Sherpa.

Sherpa Poised to be First Atop Seven Summits

GreatOutdoors.com Staff — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:10:58 -0800

Editor's Note, 2/14/2009: Lakpa was successful, climbing to Kilimanjaro's summit on Feb. 14, see details.

Lakpa Rita Sherpa left his home in Seattle on February 7th bound for Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in the hopes of doing what no Sherpa has done before—climb the Seven Summits—the highest peaks on every continent. The 43-year old climber, who has lived near Seattle for almost a decade, hopes to summit the 19,340-foot peak on February 13th. The six-day climb will be the last and perhaps easiest of the Seven Summits for the experienced mountain guide.

Art Wolfe Introduces Travels to the Edge

peterp — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:22:37 -0800

Noted photographer Art Wolfe offers GreatOutdoors.com users a personal introduction to his PBS program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. For more, see Coffee with Art Wolfe, the three part inteview with Art conducted by GreatOutoors.com editor Peter Potterfield.

Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe

GreatOutdoors.com Staff — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:06:25 -0800

Art Wolfe, an internationally acclaimed photographer, invites GreatOutdoors.com users to experience the world with him as he travels and photographs the world, from Patagonia to Madagascar, from Alaska to Antarctica, from Ethiopia to India to produce his PBS program, Travels to the Edge.

Art has already filmed 26 episodes of Travels to the Edge, and each episode is featured in a corresponding photo gallery on GreatOutdoors.com. The program can be seen on most PBS stations.

As Art travels the world to capture images of glaciers, deserts, rainforests and remote mountain peaks, he shares his knowledge about the world around him, and moves his viewers with his curiosity and enthusiasm for places, cultures and creatures great and small. In each episode Art teaches professional photographic techniques in such an intimate manner you'll feel as if you are right there with him.

See Art Wolfe's personal introduction of Travels to the Edge for GreatOutdoors.com users, and don't miss Coffee with Art Wolfe, an expansive three part interview with Art conducted by GreatOutdoors.com editor, Peter Potterfield.

Photo Galleries from Travels to the Edge episodes:

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman

Polly Evans — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:09:55 -0800

I’ve never been good with the cold, so it was with some nervousness that I set off for three months in Canada’s Yukon Territory, where winter temperatures drop to forty below and the sun rises for just a few hours each day. My mission was to learn to drive sled dogs.

“When you’re in a room of ten people, are you among the five who are too hot, or the five who are too cold,” Frank Turner asked me on my first morning. I was staying at his kennels, Muktuk (it’s the Inuit word for whale blubber), just outside Whitehorse. Frank is experienced with chilly weather; he’s competed in the thousand-mile Yukon Quest dogsledding race more than twenty times. I told him that I would be among the five who were cold. I didn’t like to add that, where nine of those people were perspiring, I would be the one reaching for an extra sweater.

Into the Yukon’s Kluane National Park

Polly Evans — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:57:57 -0800

The three of us stood stripped to our underwear and contemplated the rushing glacial stream. The water came to hip height—if we wanted to stay dry we’d have to undress still further—but wordlessly we agreed to cling to this one last vestige of propriety. And then, backpack waist straps unclipped in case of calamity and using each other’s bodies for support, we inched our way through the numbing torrents.

Art Wolfe Previews the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

GreatOutdoors.com — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:44:45 -0800

Art Wolfe Photographs Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Refuge

GreatOutdoors.com Staff — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:16:42 -0800

In this episode of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe, Art visits the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Sometimes called America’s Serengeti, this is iconic wilderness. Art rafts down the icy Kongakut River to document America’s last pure and untamed wilderness. He chronicles the desolate, yet abundant beauty of the tundra and the rugged landscapes of the Brooks Range. He turns his lens on the delicate birds and animals for which the Refuge is a vital habitat and intersects the great Porcupine caribou herd on its annual migration to the coastal plain. See Art's video introduction to this program.

Today's Hero: Kassi Figueroa

2175forALS.com — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:35:00 -0800

Good Morning! Today our Hero is Kassi Figueroa and her mother. We are very grateful to Kassi for sending us herstory and enabling us to learn of her Lou Gehrig's Disease: After a decade of ALS facts in my head and statistics in my very DNA, you'd think I'd be able to dissect the disease in layman's terms in one short sentence. But I can't! Lou Gehrig's Disease is literally the WORST disease I've ever seen, and it's not an easy thing to describe to someone, because the very words give me anxiety. So...for those people who want a clean version, don't ask me. Because, although I wasn't the one lying in that bed for over a year, miserable in my own skin with my mind intact and WHOLE...I DID watch that person do it. She was my mother. My YOUNG, incredibly BRAVE, mother. She was 41 when she was diagnosed with ALS. My mom was always a busy person, but when she started suffering back pain and refused to sit in the car for long periods of time, we knew something was up. My mom had always been the first one to get excited about a road trip!! I made a trip up the Oregon Coast to Seaside and I asked my mom to drive up the coast and meet me. She told me her back could not handle that road trip and that it would start going in to spasms if she sat and the cramps were too bad to enjoy anything anymore. My parents started talking about getting some testing done to see what was going on regarding her muscles. I was 21, fresh out of the Navy and newly pregnant with my first child when my father took my mom up to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon for some neurological tests. We, or I...assumed it would be MS. That....I was prepared for.

Four Seasons Resort at Whistler

GreatOutdoors.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:47:35 -0800

As soon as you pull up to the Four Seasons Resort at Whistler you know you are in for an unusual experience. The skis and snowboards are whisked away to the ski concierge facility at the base of the Wizard lift, a five minute walk away, already waiting for your first run before you’ve even entered the stone and timbered lobby of the hotel. Inside, the huge spaces and dramatic artworks remind you that you are in Whistler’s iconic accommodation. But the big surprise is how comfortable it all feels, how easy going, without a trace of the stiffness you might find in an urban setting.

First Ride on the Peak 2 Peak at Whistler

GreatOutdoors.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:42:31 -0800

Car number six leaves the Roundhouse Lodge station on Whistler heading toward Blackcomb Mountain's Rendezvous Lodge at 11:12 a.m. on December 12, 2008, the opening day of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola

Peak 2 Peak Gondola Opens at Whistler

GreatOutdoors.com Staff — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:07:33 -0800

Even the near-blizzard conditions couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those gathered below the mammoth new Peak 2 Peak gondola station at Whistler Mountain’s Roundhouse Lodge on December 12. Red-coated Mounties, speechifying politicians, assorted VIPS and a noisy riot of skiers and boarders crowded around the elaborate stage to watch history unfold.

Today's Hero: Ben Byer

2175forALS.com — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:22:00 -0800

Today's Hero: Minna Mettin-Kekalainen

2175forALS.com — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:33:00 -0800

Good Morning!Today - Friday, November 28th - we bring you the story of Minna Mettin-Kekalainen. “I like to associate myself with people who don’t believe in limitations,” she said.*Embrace the day-and Be Well,Team 2175 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Paralysis no Limit for SkydiverDate Published, Nov. 24, 2008

Today's Hero: Patrick O'Brien

2175forALS.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:31:00 -0800

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Today's Hero: Pam

2175forALS.com — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:33:00 -0800

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Today, we celebrate Pam. Her story was sent to us by Michele - who learned of 2175 for ALS after her mother, the Director of a support group for PALS, handed her our flier. Michele wrote us at the beginning of September, eager to share stories with us – and we are grateful to be able to share them with you. We hope too to bring you Michele’s story in the days to come too. Thank you for sharing Michele, and giving others the chance to hear Pam’s story and learn of her selflessness and resolve! *Be Well, Team 2175 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Since our involvement with the ALS community, we have made some amazing friends which I would love to tell you about. The first here is from a woman named Pam - which my sister realized was one of her student’s Mothers from 9 years ago. One of the best Mothers in her 15 years of teaching. She is the inspiration behind our CarnivalforPals, a joy to be with, and if running could find a cure, you would run for days straight if you met her.