America’s 63 national parks and 433 NPS-managed sites should remain fully “open and accessible” to visitors, despite the recent staffing cuts, according to Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum’s .

Burgum’s mandate included another order: before reducing operating hours or closing visitor services like trails and campgrounds, national parklands must first consult with the NPS director and the assistant secretary for U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

The statement has sparked a debate within the NPS and the advocacy groups in its orbit. Proponents say that the order provides a roadmap for the Department of the Interior to ramp up staffing at the NPS sites so that the general public can enjoy them.

But critics say that the move forces understaffed parklands to proceed with services and open infrastructure despite a lack of manpower.

鈥淭he way that it’s written is hugely problematic,鈥� Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淵ou can’t wait for a political appointee in Washington D.C. to get back to you on a closure you need to make right now.鈥�

Brengel referenced Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where the Kilauea volcano has been erupting on and off since December 2024. It鈥檚 currently on again and spewing lava. 鈥淧ark superintendents need to be nimble in order to keep visitors safe,鈥� Brengel said.

NPCA is one of several non-profit organizations that have sounded the alarm about the feasibility of implementing the order. 鈥淚t sets up a situation that could be highly dangerous for park visitors,鈥� Brengel said.

But Rachel Pawlitz, public affairs chief for the National Park Service, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the order is a win for the parks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not unusual for the staffing needs to fluctuate,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his order spells out a process that will allow us to coordinate closely with leadership in the Interior Department to meet the evolving needs of our visitors, adapting as needed, to ensure visitor satisfaction.鈥�

In Section 4 of the memo, Burgum orders the Interior Department to “take action to ensure that NPS is properly staffed to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit.”

Another group praising Burgum’s order is The American Bus Association, a trade group representing coach and tour bus companies.听鈥淥verall, this action by the Department of the Interior underscores a commitment to keeping national parks open, accessible, and welcoming,” the group wrote in a statement. “For tour operators who rely on predictable access to NPS-managed sites, the order offers much-needed clarity and assurance, ensuring their ability to deliver high-quality travel experiences in partnership with the nation鈥檚 public lands.鈥�

The order comes on the heels of a challenging two months for the NPS. Starting in February, the Trump Administration began enacting mass layoffs, firings, and hiring freezes across the agency. More than 1,000 NPS employees were cut, and another 700 took buyouts. Since then, the NPS has been quietly hiring back some workers and also bringing on thousands of seasonal employees for the busy spring and summer months.

Several NPS sites, including California鈥檚 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Yosemite National Park, have had to cancel programs and scale back on opening hours. Arches National Park in Utah hiking area on March 23 due to staffing shortages. A park spokesperson told听国产吃瓜黑料 that the move to close Fiery Furnace was due to safety.

“The Fiery Furnace is a labyrinth, and one sprained ankle can trigger a rescue,” Karen Henker, a spokesperson for Arches National Park, said. “And that鈥檚 five hours and ten staff people to carry someone out.”

On Thursday, April 10, Arches National Park announced on its website that to hikers on April 15. Ranger-guided tours will resume on May 4.

A National Park Service ranger speaking anonymously to 国产吃瓜黑料 expressed concern that reopening some closed areas could damage the parks. 鈥淪ure we can keep everything open,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut who wants to recreate in a park with broken down facilities and no maintenance and no search and rescue?鈥�

Bill Wade, the executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, a non-profit group that advocates for NPS employees, said that the order puts park superintendents in a difficult situation. Under the Organic Act of 1916, NPS employees are to protect the nation鈥檚 parks and monuments while also providing for public enjoyment now and for future generations.

Wade, who was superintendent at Shenandoah National Park for ten years, said the order places the needs of the public ahead of conserving park resources.

“The law gives priority to protecting the resources, so if you are a superintendent, you must be able to do this, even if you have limited resources, before you put them toward keeping the trails open, keeping the visitor centers open, keeping the public restrooms clean, those sorts of things,” Wade said.

He added, 鈥淚 hate to say it, but I’m glad I’m not a superintendent right now.鈥�

The post The Feds Have Ordered National Parks to Remain 鈥淥pen and Accessible.鈥� Is That a Good Thing? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

American ultrarunner has set a bold goal for 2025: ascend Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen faster than anyone in history. Andrews, 34, who has set speed records on 26,781-foot Manaslu and 22,837-foot Aconcagua, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he鈥檚 going to attempt the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for ascending Everest via the South Col route this May.

鈥淚n mountaineering, it鈥檚 almost like Everest has gotten a bad reputation鈥攖oo crowded, too commercial, people doing it for the wrong reasons,鈥� Andrews told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淏ut when it comes to mountain running records, it represents the ultimate progression.鈥�

In May, Andrews will depart Nepal鈥檚 Everest Base Camp and ascend the Khumbu Icefall, the Western Cwm, Lhotse Face, past the South Col and on to the 29,032-foot summit. The total distance is 9.3 miles, with an elevation gain of 11,434 feet.

There are several speed records on Everest. Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa鈥檚 2003 ascent of Everest as the fastest at 10 hours, 56 minutes, 46 seconds. Lhakpa Gelu ascended the peak with supplemental oxygen. In 1998 Kaji Sherpa ascended the peak from Base Camp in 20 hours and 24 minutes, without the use of oxygen. In 2017, Catalan ultrarunner Kilian Jornet set a speed record of 26 hours for ascending the peak in true alpine style, without using oxygen or fixed ropes.

Andrews said he is targeting Kaji Sherpa鈥檚 record.

The tradeoff of going in May鈥攁nd following the main route used by commercial climbing parties鈥攊s that Andrews will have to potentially deal with traffic jams. Climbers form bottlenecks on the Nepal side. Andrews said he expects crowding on the peak in 2025.

鈥淲hen the previous record was set, there were definitely fewer people on the mountain,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淏ut there weren鈥檛 any of those $10,000 espresso machines at Base Camp either, so there are pluses and minuses.鈥�

Andrews said his primary strategy for his Everest FKT attempt is to try and avoid the masses. 鈥淭he nice thing about Everest is that there鈥檚 a lot of groupthink, he said. 鈥淭he big climbing companies send all their teams up in the same couple of days.鈥�

He believes there鈥檚 wiggle room to start his climb before or after the biggest wave of climbers, even within a tight weather window, to make on-the-fly decisions that will help him avoid the route鈥檚 most notorious pinch points.

Andrews鈥� FKT attempt will be a solo ascent, backed by a significant support team on the mountain. 鈥淚t takes a village,鈥� he said. For logistics, including permitting, he鈥檚 working with Dawa Steven Sherpa, the CEO of Nepali guiding company Asian Trekking. The two worked together for Andrew鈥檚 FKT on Manaslu in September 2024. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the critical piece behind the scenes,鈥� Andrews told 国产吃瓜黑料.

On the lower sections of the route, Andrews will run with his good friend and climbing partner Chris Fisher. Fisher will also accompany Andrews through the Khumbu Icefall, considered one of the most dangerous sections of the South Col route. 鈥淗e鈥檚 my support person and my pacer,鈥� said Andrews.

Above the Khumbu Icefall, Andrews does not plan to spend a night at higher camps, but he will stash food, water, and gear in strategic locations along the route.

Andrews told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the peak鈥檚 upper-most section, from Camp 4 to the summit, will be the key to his attempt. 鈥淭he last 800 meters could take me four hours or it could take me 12 hours,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淭hat will likely make or break the route.鈥�

In preparation for the climb, Andrews has been using a hypoxic generator at home to simulate the effects of extreme altitude while training.

For clothing, Andrews is planning both a “warm weather” and “cold weather” kit. 鈥淚 think the most important thing will be layering and having a setup where I can move comfortably and never get too hot or too cold,鈥� he said. Andrews worked with sponsor La Sportiva on a modular system to easily add and subtract layers as temperatures shift. The small, custom backpack he鈥檒l use to carry the essentials was made in the USA by FSP Outdoors.

He hopes that his attempt will inspire people to do hard things. 鈥淲hether that’s climbing a mountain, running a marathon, starting a business, asking out the girl at the coffee shop, whatever that is, I hope that what I’m doing can inspire a handful of people to do something hard, because it’s tremendously rewarding and fulfilling,鈥� Andrews said

He also hopes that it will encourage other high-level mountain athletes to come to the Himalayas to try to break speed records. 鈥淚 think that’s what’s exciting about sport,鈥� said Andrews, 鈥渢he continued competition across generations.鈥�

As for risk, Andrews recognizes the life-or-death stakes. but he doesn鈥檛 think that speed records lure climbers into taking unnecessary risks. 鈥淧eople who are realistically in a position to attempt something like a speed record on an 8000-meter peak understand there will always be risk and danger when you鈥檙e competing in the mountains,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always something that you have to weigh carefully.鈥�

Before he became a high-altitude mountain runner, Andrews was a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier for the marathon (in 2016 and 2020), and a world champion ultrarunner. He splits his time between Flagstaff, Arizona, and Quito, Ecuador, where he trains extensively at 16,000 feet and above.

His first major mountain speed record was in 2021 on 19,347-foot , Ecuador鈥檚 second highest summit, in 1:36:35. Andrews has since set FKTs on 19,340-foot , Africa鈥檚 tallest mountain, in 6:37:57, and Argentina鈥檚 22,838-foot , the highest peak outside of Asia, in 11:24:46.

Andrews鈥� perhaps greatest accomplishment yet came when he set a new in 2024. It was his first record on one of the world鈥檚 8000ers鈥攖he 14 peaks that stand at 8,000 metres (26,247 feet) and above.

鈥淭hat was the moment when running Everest became real for me,鈥� Andrews said.

The post Tyler Andrews to Attempt Everest Speed Record appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Alex Wild, 35, has been a park ranger for 15 years, working seasonal National Park Service positions for five of the last six years. Then, in 2024, Wild landed his dream job as an interpretive ranger at California鈥檚 Devil鈥檚 Postpile National Monument. He was still within the 12-month probationary period that all NPS workers undergo when they start a new position when the Trump Administration began slashing NPS jobs on February 14. Like thousands of other federal workers, Wild was told that afternoon that he鈥檇 been let go.

鈥淚 was the one who interacted with the park鈥檚 visitors, who handed out the badges for the Junior Ranger program, who coordinated visits from churches and other community groups,鈥� Wild told 国产吃瓜黑料. He was also the park鈥檚 only EMT, and the first responder for emergencies, assisting in multiple incidents every week.

Like many cut NPS staffers, Wild to express his sadness. 鈥淢y heart is broken for all of the other people who lost their jobs and their housing,鈥� he wrote on Instagram. 鈥淢y heart is broken for the parks and landscapes that will be damaged. And my heart is broken for my country.鈥�

Wild is one of an estimated 5,000 employees working for public lands who have lost their jobs since February 14. About 1,000 of these were with the National Park Service鈥攁nother reportedly took buyouts and went into early retirement. The rest were with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

 

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In the days since the massive layoffs, media outlets and the public have sought to understand how these cuts will impact specific National Parks. After all, the busy spring and summer travel seasons are on the horizon, and in just a few weeks millions of Americans will descend on America鈥檚 parklands and campgrounds for their vacations.

Most NPS site have yet to publish details on which jobs have been lost amid the culling, and the NPS’s national office has not distributed a list of fired employees.听国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the NPS national office to inquire about specific jobs that were terminated, but the agency didn’t respond. 听鈥淭he National Park Service is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management. We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks,鈥� read a statement released by the NPS on February 27.

Instead, the public has pieced together information via , , and crowdsourced information. This lack of details has caused headaches with the non-profit groups that work with the NPS and other agencies to assist with trail projects and fundraising.

鈥淭here hasn鈥檛 been any transparency from the administration about the layoffs or deferred resignations. The public is in the dark,鈥� said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of governmental affairs for the National Park Conservation Association. 鈥淭hankfully, many park rangers and staff who were laid off are speaking out and we are learning more about the positions lost. It should concern the public that maintenance technicians, wildlife biologists, interpreters, archeologists, ecologists who test water safety, fishery biologists, and EMTs were fired.鈥�

Amid the lack of information, social media posts like the one Wild published have helped media outlets and the general public get a sense of just how sweeping and damaging the cuts have been to the agency. This month, a non-profit group called the (ANPR) has shared crowdsourced information about how many layoffs have occurred at each park. The information was compiled by a seasonal ranger who has asked to remain anonymous. The ranger has maintained a detailed spreadsheet with the number of jobs lost at all 433 NPS sites, including the 63 national parks.

Bill Wade, the executive director of the ANPR, called the list “unofficial,” but said that the information has come from reliable sources.

“These numbers come from existing employees at national parks, or from friends groups that know what is going on at the park,” he told 翱耻迟蝉颈诲别.听Wade said that social media posts like the one Wild published have also helped his group tally the layoffs.

As of Friday, February 28, the group had charted 759 firings. 国产吃瓜黑料 was able to view the spreadsheet, and see how the layoffs impacted each national park. According to the ANPR鈥檚 data, these are the number of employees lost at each park:

• Acadia National Park: 8
• Arches National Park: 3
• Badlands National Park: 1
• Big Bend National Park: 5
• Biscayne National Park: 3
• Blue Ridge Parkway: 1
• Bryce Canyon National Park: 2
• Capitol Reef National Park: 1
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park: 14
• Channel Islands National Park: 6
• Congaree National Park: 1
• Crater Lake National Park: 1
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park: 4
• Death Valley National Park: 6
• Denali National Park and Reserve: 4
• Dry Tortugas National Park: 1
• Everglades National Park: 15
• Glacier National Park: 2
• Grand Canyon National Park: 10
• Grand Teton National Park: 4
• Great Basin National Park: 5
• Great Sand Dunes: 2
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 12
• Haleakala National Park: 7
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: 7
• Isle Royale National Park: 1
• Joshua Tree National Park: 6
• Kenai Fjords National Park: 1
• Lassen Volcanic National Park: 1
• Mammoth Cave National Park: 15
• Mesa Verde National Park: 2
• Mount Rainier National Park: 10
• National Capital Parks-East: 6
• American Samoa: 5
• North Cascades National Park: 6
• Olympic National Park: 5
• Petrified Forest National Park: 5
• Pinnacles National Park: 2
• Redwood National Park: 6
• Rocky Mountain National Park: 12
• Saguaro National Park: 2
• Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park: 10
• Shenandoah National Park: 15
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2
• Virgin Islands National Park: 2
• Wrangell-St Elias: 1
• Yellowstone National Park: 7
• Yosemite National Park: 9
• Zion National Park: 11

 

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Other areas managed by the NPS have suffered major cuts as well, according to the ANPR data. Lake Mead National Recreation area in Arizona lost 13 staffers, including an aquatic ecologist who tests water safety. Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey lost 11 staffers. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area lost 12, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area lost 10. The NPS鈥檚 Historic Preservation Training Center, a group that helps restore and maintain historic structures, let 34 people go.

The cuts have impacted a wide swath of jobs, from custodians and trail maintenance crews, to visitor center workers and听 fee collectors, as well as scientists and teachers. “We’ve been told that interpretive rangers and people who do education for kids and school groups were hit the hardest,” Wade said. “And people who are involved in collecting fees.”

Aubry Andreas, 29, was working as a visual information specialist at Rocky Mountain National Park when she became one of the park鈥檚 12 probationary employees fired on February 14.

Andres oversaw all of the park鈥檚 printed materials, which in 2023 was the fifth-most visited NPS site with 4 million visitors. Among her tasks were creating the annual visitor’s guide, maintaining the official park map and the area maps that get handed out to visitors, and helping with park signage.

At the time of her termination, Aubry was leading an initiative to develop a new accessibility guide to Rocky Mountain,听both for people with physical limitations as well as cognitive considerations. She was also redesigning the park鈥檚 junior ranger book using money from a grant.

鈥淭he crazy thing is, I鈥檓 the only Visual Information Specialist there,鈥� Andreas told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淣ow that I’m gone, all that work will either have to get dropped鈥攚hich obviously is going to impact visitors鈥攐r it’s going to get placed onto other people who already have their own full breadth of duties and responsibilities to carry out.鈥�

A group of former and current NPS workers plan to hold protests at more than 100 sites managed by the agency. The group is calling itself 鈥�.鈥�

Other Agencies Feel the Cuts

Thousands of employees with other agencies overseeing public land have also lost their jobs throughout February. estimates that the National Forest Service lost 3,400 positions. Throughout February, laid-off employees from these agencies have also posted about their plights online.

The day before she lost her job with the U.S. Forest Service, Arianna Knight, the Wilderness Trails Supervisor for the Yellowstone Ranger District in Montana, was working late. She traversed the backcountry adjacent to Yellowstone National Park by snowmobile, doing routine maintenance on one of her district鈥檚 ten public rental cabins. When Knight, 29, returned to the office, she received an ominous text from her boss. 鈥淭here were whisperings of the terminations starting,鈥� Knight told 国产吃瓜黑料.

At home that evening, Knight checked the /fednews page on Reddit and learned that probationary employees听were going to be fired. Since stepping into a management role earlier in the year, she had been given that designation.

鈥淚 went into the office the next day knowing it was a lost cause,鈥� Knight said.

Losing Knight will have a dramatic impact on the Yellowstone Ranger District. In 2024 her maintenance team鈥攕he managed between two and eight workers鈥攃leared 4,062 trees that had fallen across trails near Yellowstone. Knight believes her ranger district won’t have the manpower in 2025 to do the same job. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough support available from nonprofits and volunteers, and they’re not specialized enough to do the type of work that we do,” she said.

Nate Stickler, 25, who was a trails crew leader in Colorado鈥檚 San Juan National Forest, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he was two months away from finishing his probationary period when the cuts came down. The San Juan trails crew is comprised of seasonal workers, mostly novices, and volunteers. At the start of the season, it was Stickler鈥檚 job to train the crew, on everything from how to use a radio for communications in the backcountry to how to use a chainsaw.

鈥淭his is absolutely going to affect people鈥檚 experience of our public lands,鈥� Stickler said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that people will speak up and contact their congress person before the situation gets completely out of control.鈥�

Wild contends that by opting to fire people on probationary status, the federal government will lose some of its best public land managers. 鈥淭hese are the people who鈥檇 just gotten promotions,鈥� he said. 鈥淥r who鈥檇 performed so well in seasonal roles that they were offered permanent positions.鈥�

Sam Oseroff, 34, is one. In 2024 he was hired by the Middle Fork Ranger District in Willamette National Forest as a seasonal employee. After several months, the NFS offered him a permanent job as a forestry technician, starting in January, 2025.

鈥淚t was bad timing,鈥� Osteroff said. Doubly so because he鈥檇 just purchased a house鈥攁 decision he鈥檇 made after getting the offer for permanent work.

When Osteroff was let go, he was in the midst of replacing rotted beams on the roof of a shelter in one of the district鈥檚 campgrounds. He鈥檚 not sure who will take over the project, or how the rest of the maintenance that happens during winter is going to get finished. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a hot springs, a couple dozen trailheads, and about 15 campgrounds,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd only two people left to take care of them.鈥�

He’s also worried about the portion of the national forest closest to Eugene, Oregon, where unhoused people sometimes set up temporary camps, leaving behind garbage and human waste. 鈥淚n the fall, we filled a pickup truck and 26-foot trailer full of gross stuff from a campsite we found along Salomon Creek,” he said.

Knight said what鈥檚 happening is a devastating loss. 鈥淣ot only was my career taken from me in a way that can’t be replaced, but an entire industry is being dismantled,鈥� she said.

The post Here鈥檚 How Many Employees Each National Park Is Losing appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Bestselling author Jon Krakauer is hitting back at a vocal online critic.

On Thursday, February 6, Krakauer, 70, that he will publish an and about his bestselling book Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster.

The purpose of the project, Krakauer told 国产吃瓜黑料, was to refute what he calls 鈥渆gregious allegations” made by a . In 2024, Tracy, a California lawyer, recorded a series of his own videos to YouTube that called into question multiple elements of Krakauer鈥檚 book.

鈥淚 believe standing up for the truth is a moral imperative, even when doing so takes a personal toll and is likely to fail,鈥� Krakauer told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚f you watch my videos, or read the text versions, I鈥檓 pretty sure you will see why I took the trouble to post them.鈥�

In his Instagram post announcing the project, Krakauer called Tracy鈥檚 videos 鈥渂ullshit鈥� and an 鈥渋rresponsible misrepresentation of what happened on Everest in 1996.鈥�

In a statement provided to 国产吃瓜黑料, Tracy refuted the claim. He said that Krakauer鈥檚 video series simply creates 鈥渕ore confusion鈥� around the Mount Everest disaster. 鈥淜rakauer has already agreed to make numerous revisions to his book and this undermines the claim that my videos are bullshit,鈥� he wrote.

Into Thin Air is Krakauer鈥檚 first-person account of the deadly 1996 climbing season on Everest, when 12 people died on the mountain, the most in a single season up to that date. Krakauer joined a guided ascent while reporting a story for 国产吃瓜黑料 about the growth of commercial expeditions to the peak. He climbed Everest with the guiding company 国产吃瓜黑料 Consultants, which was led by New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall, and he reached the summit on May 10.

But a storm battered the peak shortly after Krakauer and others began their descent, and in the ensuing melee eight climbers and guides, including Hall, perished. Krakauer and others were able to safely descend.

Krakauer鈥檚 account ran in 国产吃瓜黑料 in September 1996, and the first edition of the book was published in April听1997.

The book garnered international acclaim upon its release, and it hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list. In 1998 it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the General Nonfiction category. The book was adapted as a TV movie in 1997, and it became the basis for the 2015 Hollywood film Everest.

But Krakauer鈥檚 account was also subject to criticism and pushback upon the book’s release. In 1997, a Russian climber named Anatoli Boukreev, who was also on Everest in May 1996, co-authored his own version of events in a book titled 听And over the years, other writers and Internet commenters have sought to debunk elements of the story.

Tracy launched his YouTube channel in 2018 as a way to explore the mysterious 1924 disappearance of climbers George Mallory and Andrew 鈥淪andy鈥� Irvine on Mount Everest. But in April 2024, he published a video titled 鈥溾�� that generated 80,000 views. Tracy went on to record 17 total videos about the book, including ones titled 鈥淐orrecting the Record on Krakauer鈥檚 Statistics,鈥� and 鈥淩esponse to Jon Krakauer: The Subtle Art of Misdirection.鈥�

“Krakauer has admitted numerous substantial errors in his book and previous interviews,” Tracy wrote to听国产吃瓜黑料. Tracy sent听国产吃瓜黑料 a of mistakes he says are in the book. In Krakauer’s first video, he admits that Tracy’s sleuthing pointed out inaccuracies in the book, and that he intends to update future editions to address them.

But Krakauer’s videos also present point-by-point rebuttals to Tracy’s more serious assertions. The first video, titled “” addresses the impact that bottlenecks had on the ascent.

After Krakauer announced the YouTube series, a handful of prominent mountaineers and journalists voiced their support in the comments section on his Instagram page.

“Words matter. I鈥檓 glad you are defending yours but I鈥檓 sorry you have to,” wrote Melissa Arnot Reid.

“Jon, I truly believe that you did your very best to tackle this challenging story,” wrote climber Ed Viesturs, the first American to ascend the world’s 14 highest peaks. “You were meticulous in piecing together this complicated event and did your due diligence.”

Viesturs, 65, was also on Everest during the 1996 climbing season and helped rescue some of the survivors from the storm. “Into Thin Air is still the definitive account of the events on the Everest in the spring of 1996,” Viesturs added.

Others, however, are curious why Krakauer has chosen to acknowledge Tracy.

Scott Carney, an investigative journalist, told 国产吃瓜黑料,听鈥淏y Krakauer calling attention to this, he鈥檚 raising Tracy鈥檚 profile. It seems counterproductive.鈥�

But Krakauer told听国产吃瓜黑料 that sometimes journalists should address their online critics. “These days, people seem way too willing to surrender the online discourse to domineering [people] trying to gaslight us,” he said.

The post Jon Krakauer鈥檚 Latest Project: Defending 鈥業nto Thin Air鈥� from Online Critics appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

On Monday, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump to rename Alaska鈥檚 20,310-foot Denali, the highest peak in North America. The mountain鈥檚 name will revert to Mount McKinley, named for William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, who was assassinated on September 14, 1901.

The decree undoes the work of former President Barack Obama, who, in 2015 officially changed the name from Mount McKinley to Denali, the peak鈥檚 traditional name from the Koyukon Athabascan language, which is spoken by Alaska’s Native inhabitants. Denali translates as 鈥渢he high one鈥� or 鈥渢he great one.鈥�

The name change will take effect within 30 days. The name of Denali National Park and Preserve, where the mountain sits, will not change.

Policy wonks (and ) know that there has been infighting in Congress about the name of North America鈥檚 highest peak since at least 1975. That was the first year the state of Alaska petitioned to use the local name Denali instead of McKinley. Lawmakers from Ohio, McKinley鈥檚 home state, pushed back.

But how do the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on the mountain feel about Denali鈥檚 name change? We asked some of Denali鈥檚, er McKinley鈥檚, most prominent athletes, guides, and rangers.

Why Alaskans Prefer the Name Denali

The guides and mountaineers who spoke to 国产吃瓜黑料 for this story expressed dismay at the name change.

鈥淚t鈥檚 worth mentioning that the President suggested doing this about six years ago,鈥� says Mark Westman, an Alaska resident and former ranger on the mountain. 鈥淎nd he was told by Alaska’s two senators鈥攂oth of whom are Republicans and both who are still the current senators鈥攏ot to do that.鈥�

Indeed, on Monday, January 21, Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, : 鈥淥ur nation鈥檚 tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial.鈥�

Guides and climbers echoed Murkowski鈥檚 sentiment鈥攖he importance of the name Denali lies in its connection to Alaska鈥檚 precolonial听history, they said.

鈥淭he name Denali reflects a local cultural heritage here that predates the United States,鈥� Westman says. 鈥淭he name McKinley was an arbitrary name given for someone who had never even set foot here. He was from Ohio.鈥�

Conrad Anker, who began climbing in the Alaska Range in 1987, said he was overjoyed when the peak鈥檚 Indigenous name was officially restored in 2015. Changing the name back, he said, makes no sense to outdoor enthusiasts, local Alaskans, or the region鈥檚 Indigenous population.

鈥淚t was fitting to honor the people of Alaska with the rightful name,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 worth noting that the vast majority of peaks in the Himalayas have local names.”

Guide Melissa Arnot Reid, the first American woman to ascend and descend Everest without supplemental oxygen, said that precolonial names such as Denali enhance a visitor鈥檚 connection to a place. That鈥檚 why she encourages her climbing clients to refer to peaks and regions by traditional names.

鈥淒iscovering what the local people call a place, and why, enhances our connection to that place,鈥� she says.

Does Anyone Even Use the Name Mount McKinley?

Even before the 2015 name change, climbers and guides frequently used the peak’s Native name, guides told us. Westman, who first came to the peak in 1994, said that while the names were used interchangeably by locals back then, the preference was to call it Denali.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been a difference in the name Denali for, well, forever,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ative Alaskans were calling it Denali for thousands of years before anybody else came here. In the climbing community, it鈥檚 almost universal鈥擨 almost never hear anybody call it McKinley.鈥�

In the days following the announcement, many Alaskan residents appear to agree. On Tuesday, January 21, the group asked 1,816 adults in Alaska about the proposed name change. The survey found that 54 percent opposed it, while just 26 percent supported the change.

Ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers, the first person to hike and then ski the Seven Summits, pointed out that even Alaska鈥檚 political leaders have used the name Denali publicly for decades. 鈥淲ith Denali, the traditional name has been the choice not only of Alaskan Native people, but also of the entire state including its political leadership since at least 1975,鈥� she says.

Dave Hahn of RMI Mountain Guides, who has ascended the peak 25 times, said that the mountain is 鈥渂ig enough to handle however many names you want to throw at it.鈥�

But he stressed that Denali felt like it was always the appropriate title within the climbing community. 鈥淚 never felt that McKinley was wrong鈥攊t honored a president that was assassinated while in office,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I think that Denali is truer to where the mountain is, and who the people around the mountain are, recognizing that it鈥檚 an Alaskan mountain and not a Washington D.C. mountain.鈥�

Most People Will Still Say Denali

The sources who spoke to 国产吃瓜黑料 for this story agreed on one thing: they will continue to call the peak by its Native name going forward.

鈥淚 intend to continue to refer to the great mountain as Denali for as long as I鈥檓 alive, and I encourage every other climber to do the same,鈥� wrote author听Jon Krakauer听in an email. 鈥淭rump might be able to officially rename it, but he will never be able to force me to call it anything except Denali.鈥�

Ultrarunner Jack Kuenzle, who in 2023 set the fastest known time for ascending the peak, echoed the sentiment.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine anybody will be actually utilizing McKinley,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never heard it called that.鈥�

Keith Sidle, who teaches mountaineering courses with the Alaska Mountaineering School, said the only thing he expects to see change is how the mountain is named on maps and signs. Sidle said his climbing buddies are already saying online that they will continue to use the Native name.

鈥淚t鈥檚 changing a name on a piece of paper, it鈥檚 not changing the mountain,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o the people that it really matters to, it鈥檚 not changing anything.鈥�

The post Trump Just Renamed North America鈥檚 Highest Peak. These Climbers Will Still Call It 鈥淒enali.鈥� appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

If you grew up on any one of the Great Lakes, like I did, you may have heard of the sea lamprey鈥攁 vampiric creature that literally sucks the life out of a lake trout. As a kid, I thought they were a myth, a horror story that parents liked to tell kids on fishing trips. I wasn鈥檛 aware of the havoc this parasitic fish wrought on the entire region when it first wiggled its way from the Atlantic Ocean into the largest freshwater ecosystem on earth.

A new documentary, The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery, unpacks the ecological crisis created by the lamprey, and the extraordinary effort to contain it. 鈥淭he sea lamprey is what put invasive species on the map in the Great Lakes,鈥� says director Lindsey Haskin. 鈥淔or many people, it was the first time they become aware of the scale of damage that鈥檚 possible.鈥�

The Great Lakes鈥擮ntario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior鈥攕traddle the border between Canada and the U.S. Five million people fish them every year, reeling in tasty catches like yellow perch and walleye, and even coho salmon, which was introduced for sport fishing in the late 1960s. Recreational and commercial fishing in the Great Lakes region is a $7 billion industry. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie, my earliest outdoor memory is fishing with my dad from the Neff Road breakwall.

Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons narrates The Fish Thief. Simmons describes how sea lampreys worked their way into the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway to Lake Ontario. For most of history, Niagara Falls prevented them from spreading any further.

That changed in the early 1900s, with improvements to the Welland Canal, which bypasses Niagara Falls to create a shipping channel between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The first sea lamprey was found in Lake Erie in 1921. By 1938, sea lampreys had infiltrated the rest of the lakes, all the way to the farthest corners of Lake Superior.

Sea lampreys resemble eels with their long tubular shape. But their mouths are unmistakable: a suction cup lined with concentric circles of fangs, spiraling down to a toothed tongue. They latch onto other fish, create a wound with their razor-sharp teeth and tongue, and suck out blood and other fluids.

In the Atlantic Ocean, where sea lampreys have lived for more than 340 million years, they are mere parasites, attaching themselves most often to sharks and other sea mammals. But in the Great Lakes, very few fish are large enough to escape unscathed from a sea lamprey encounter. By the 1940s, the blood-suckers were killing their hosts鈥攍ake trout, lake whitefish, and ciscoes鈥攊n droves.

The region鈥檚 fishing industry began to collapse in the 1950s, paralyzing towns and Indigenous communities on every shoreline. By 1960, the annual Great Lakes catch, once around 15 million pounds of fish, had plummeted by 98 percent to a mere 300,000 pounds.

The Fish Thief, which has won awards on the environmental film festival circuit in North America and Europe, is the first to tell the story of the lamprey in its entirety, from the initial mystery of droves of dead fish, to the resulting ecological crisis, to the efforts to find a solution. It was eight years in the making.

Haskin, who grew up in the region, near Detroit, says they filmed in a variety of regions, 鈥渇rom the far east extremes of Lake Ontario all the way to Duluth, Minnesota, and down to Chicago.鈥�

What stood out most for Haskin about the project was the tenacity of the people involved devising a solution to the lakes鈥� ecological collapse. 鈥淭he original title for the film was Relentless, which applied to the sea lamprey, but also to the people that did battle with it,鈥� Haskin says. 鈥淭heir original ideas failed, but they just stuck to it and kept going and kept going and kept going and eventually found a solution that has been workable for almost 70 years now.鈥�

Part of the challenge was the cross-border cooperation required to study, test, and, eventually, implement processes to bring the ecosystem back into balance. It required federal government oversight, which most of the fishing industry, and many of the states and provinces bordering the Great Lakes, were hesitant at first to enlist. But eventually, they ran out of options. There was nothing left to do but trust that the government (and science) could find a solution. In 1955, the U.S. and Canada formed the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the first joint agency of its kind.

The commission confirmed that it was impossible to eradicate sea lampreys from the Great Lakes. But scientists could greatly reduce the invasive species鈥� numbers by attacking them during their larval stage, when they live as filter-feeders in lake tributaries. Some 6,000 compounds were tested to find the best 鈥渓ampricide,鈥� a pesticide capable of destroying lamprey larvae without significantly impacting other organisms, or causing long-term damage to the ecosystem.

Administering the pesticide to larvae in tributaries, as well as using barriers and traps to prohibit full-grown sea lampreys from making it out of the tributaries into the Great Lakes, cut the 鈥渧ampire fish鈥� population by 90 percent. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been working to keep sea lampreys at that benign level ever since.

The sea monster of my youth is real. The next time someone from back home brings up sea lampreys, I鈥檓 going to have a whole lot more to add to the story.

The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery is set to release on January 31, 2025 in the U.S. and Canada, where it will be available to stream, download, or rent on platforms including Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google/YouTube, and Tubi.

The post 鈥楾he Fish Thief鈥� Explores a Crisis in the Great Lakes Caused by the Sea Lamprey appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This past fall,听Connor Herson decided to take a four-month break from his studies at Stanford University to go rock climbing. Herson, 21, is pursuing a degree in engineering, but his studies have often butted up against his desire to climb the toughest ascents in the country.

For the past three years, balancing college and climbing has meant squeezing as much of the latter as possible into winter, spring, and summer breaks鈥攑lus the occasional weekend trip to Yosemite during the school year. At age 15, Herson became the youngest person to free climb the Nose route on El Capitan.

鈥淚鈥檝e always balanced school and climbing but it鈥檚 gotten a lot trickier as I鈥檝e gotten deeper into both worlds,鈥� Herson told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚 really wanted to see what I could do in a full season of Yosemite climbing.鈥�

Herson made the most of this most recent break from class. In November, he free climbed one of the hardest routes up 3,000-foot El Capitan听alongside famed American climber Tommy Caldwell. The ascent鈥攚hich only a handful of other climbers have done before as a free climb鈥攃emented Herson as Yosemite鈥檚 next great star.

鈥淐onnor is part of this super young generation that鈥檚 incredibly strong from having been brought up in modern-day climbing gyms,鈥� Caldwell told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 also an outlier among people his age in that he鈥檚 chosen to apply that strength and skill to big-wall climbing, which is so awesome to see.鈥�

On El Capitan, Herson and Caldwell free climbed a route known as the Heart, one of the most technically difficult lines up the granite behemoth. Of the Heart鈥檚 31 pitches, a whopping eight of them are at the 5.13 level. 听

The Heart was first free climbed in 2015 by Mason Earle and Brad Gobright, following five years of planning and attempts. Free climbing is a style that requires climbers to rely on ropes and equipment only for safety鈥攖hey cannot haul themselves up the route with gear. Other than Gobright, Earle, Caldwell, and Herson, the only other person to have successfully free climbed the Heart is Alex Honnold, in 2023.

Herson and Caldwell spent three days ascending the Heart, hauling their food, water, and portaledges听as they went. Herson told 国产吃瓜黑料 that free climbing on El Capitan with Caldwell was the realization of a lifelong dream.

鈥淗e was one of my heroes growing up,鈥� Herson said. 鈥淥f all the El Cap legends, no one stands out as much as Tommy Caldwell.鈥�

Herson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His parents were avid climbers, and they听brought Herson and his sister, Kara, to the local climbing gym from the time they were toddlers. Herson started participating in competitive climbing events in middle school, and holds three national titles in sport climbing at the youth and collegiate levels.

He and his family also regularly traveled to Yosemite on weekends, and they took vacations to classic crags all across the U.S. Herson learned to trad climb (short for 鈥渢raditional鈥�) on these trips, placing his own gear for protection on the rock. His parents also introduced him to big-wall climbing鈥攎ulti-pitch routes that cover thousands of vertical听feet. Herson was just 12 years old when he first climbed Yosemite鈥檚 2,000-foot Half Dome alongside his dad, Jim, who is a robotics engineer.

“My parents give me a lot of support with life in general and in climbing,” Herson told Climbing in 2022. “They have made a lot of sacrifices. There are times when we go to crags which might not have the best routes for them.”

Herson鈥檚 classes in engineering at Stanford don鈥檛 leave him as much time as he鈥檇 like to devote to big-wall climbing. He prepared for what he called his “gap quarter” this fall in Yosemite by cramming in a weekend of climbing there with Alex Honnold in May. Among other projects, the two completed the second free ascent of a route called New Leaf. Afterward, Herson had to hurry back to school for a midterm exam.

鈥淏eing in physical shape is one thing,鈥� Herson said. 鈥淏ut more for me is the mental stress of school assignments or just anything school-related.鈥�

He added, 鈥淓ven if I’m not overtly thinking about that while climbing, it’s in the back of my mind.鈥�

Herson spent the spent the past two summers in Canada’s climbing capital of Squamish, British Columbia, a world-renowned destination with multiple big walls. By the time he roped up with Caldwell for the Heart, Herson was already in very elite company, having ticked off all of the hardest single-pitch trad climbs in both Squamish and Yosemite, including Squamish鈥檚 iconic Cobra Crack. His preparations paid off on El Capitan.

鈥淗e was the most solid person I’ve ever seen climbing up there,鈥� Caldwell said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 also very level-headed and safe鈥攍ike he wore a helmet all the time.鈥�

Caldwell also started climbing big walls in Yosemite as a teenager with his dad. But that was 30 years ago, when rock climbing听was much more of a fringe sport. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just so much more advanced than I was,鈥� Caldwell said.

Still, some things never change. Big-wall climbing comes with logistical challenges, particularly how to haul your food and supplies up the route. Herson was eager to learn Caldwell鈥檚 best practices. 鈥淭here are a lot of small tactical strategies that he’s such a master at,鈥� Herson said. 鈥淚t was so cool to be able to climb with him and leverage that, and just learn so much from him.鈥�

One of Herson鈥檚 biggest takeaways from the experience is that even Caldwell struggles on El Cap. 鈥淗e doesn’t struggle that much, but when he does, and it was something I struggled on too, it鈥檚 just really validating,鈥� said Herson.

Herson plans to resume his studies at Stanford in January, following the holiday break. In the meantime, he鈥檒l continue climbing in Yosemite until the snow starts to fall. After the Heart, Herson told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he would like to try every free-climbing route on El Capitan. 鈥淣ot all in one season or anything,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust slowly working away at trying all of them.鈥�

鈥淭he combination of challenges on El Cap, of placing your own protection to keep it safe while at the same time pulling moves that are close to your limit, really speaks to me,鈥� he added.

 

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Caldwell can鈥檛 help but wonder what Herson would be able to accomplish in Yosemite if he pursued climbing full-time. 鈥淯p on the ledge [on El Cap], we mostly discussed how many semesters to take off from Stanford to climb,” Caldwell said. “As a parent, I鈥檓 in this weird position because I鈥檓 sure his parents don鈥檛 want him to drop out of school.”

Caldwell added, “But I鈥檓 also like, you could change climbing forever.鈥�

The post Connor Herson Took a Break from Stanford to Climb One of Yosemite鈥檚 Hardest Routes appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Alex Honnold’s latest climbing project has taken him back to Yosemite National Park.

Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning 2018 climbing film Free Solo has spent the last few weeks attempting to free climb El Capitan’s famed route The Nose, the 2,900-foot vertical climb that is among the most famous routes in American rock听climbing.

You might be wondering:听Hasn’t Alex Honnold already climbed The Nose? He has, maybe 50 times by his estimation. Honnold actually set the speed record on the route with Tommy Caldwell (1 hour, 58 minutes, 7 seconds) in 2018. But Honnold has never free climbed the route鈥攁 style that allows climbers to use ropes and climbing gear for protection but not to aid the ascent.

Since Lynn Hill first freed the Nose in 1993, about 15 other climbers have ascended it in this style, including Caldwell. Honnold has been working on the endeavor for one month now, climbing with a variety of different partners. He caused a big reaction on Instagram on November 29 when he posted photos of his attempt to free climb the Nose with the actor Jared Leto.

国产吃瓜黑料 caught up with Honnold in Yosemite while he was hunkered down in his van with his family, waiting out a storm. He opened up about his latest project, why he roped up with a Hollywood heartthrob, and why the Nose remains the greatest big-wall climb in the world.

OUTSIDE: What was the catalyst for you to attempt to free the Nose? It鈥檚 been done more than a dozen times before so it鈥檚 obviously not a world first. Is this personal?
Honnold: It gets done and it’s certainly doable, but it’s still a very significant thing in climbing. The Nose means a lot to me personally. It鈥檚 been there throughout my entire climbing life. It was my first El Cap route; I aid climbed it in 2005 or 2006. I started working on the speed record with Hans Florine in 2012, and then working on the speed record again with Tommy 听years later. The Nose is part of big linkups I鈥檝e done like the Triple Crown.

It鈥檚 been this yardstick against which I can measure my own progress as a climber, starting from just the aspiration of climbing the Nose, and then trying to climb it faster, and then trying to climb it free. There鈥檚 always something hard you can do on the Nose.

 

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It’s also sort of unfinished business. I made some preliminary attempts to free it the same season that Tommy and I were working on the speed record. I thought it would make sense to try to work on a free climb at the same time. But it turns out they’re mutually exclusive goals because the style of climbing is so different [speed climbing the Nose involves aid climbing, among other tactics]. It’s too hard to train for both at the same time. So I focused on the speed record. This season, I鈥檓 re-focusing on free climbing it.

You鈥檝e been posting photos to Instagram of some of the people you鈥檝e crossed paths with on the Nose while attempting to free climb it. There鈥檚 a lot of them. How do you manage that?
It was particularly crowded this fall season. I think there are more climbers now and the level of climbers is rising over time. People are just more able to do things like that. Which I think is great.

There鈥檚 definitely been some complaining about overcrowding on walls in Yosemite. It’s hard for me to say because I always have positive interactions with everybody on the wall. Climbers I encounter say, 鈥極h my God, can I take a selfie?鈥� And they’re all really nice. It’s all听really chill and fun. But I don’t know if that’s the experience that everybody has.

I think the key is clear communication, for passing parties, rappelling through parties, whatever. Just being like, 鈥楬ey, how are you guys doing? What are you planning to do? Here鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing. How is that going to impact you? How can we work together to make sure that nobody is held up by the things that we’re each trying to do?鈥�

In my experience on the Nose, everybody is up there having the big adventure of their life. And generally everybody wants to have a good time up there.

How do you prepare to free climb the Nose?
The main way I鈥檝e been practicing is by rappelling it, and I did that mostly with Brette Harrington. She was also working on free climbing the Nose. Brette and I rappelled it together maybe like a half-dozen times. You rappel the whole wall, stopping to work on the key pitches as you go down.

There are two hard pitches: Changing Corners and the Great Roof. I mean, there are a lot of other pitches that are challenging in their own ways, but those two pitches are so much harder than the rest that they’re kind of the only two that matter.

I鈥檓 doing a variation on the Changing Corners which has never actually been done, which has a long and storied history of various people checking it out, but never quite committing to it. I did it on top rope years ago, so I know that it goes, but nobody’s quite done it that way yet.

Tommy gave me a lot of grief for it. Changing Corners is super historic, because that’s the way Lynn Hill did it. And there are iconic photos of her on it. There are iconic photos of Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden, when they did the second and third ascents. Everyone’s grown up seeing these cool images of the Changing Corners. So Tommy was like, What are you doing going around it? You’re ruining a classic! You鈥檙e destroying the Nose!

But then he belayed me on it [last week], and after watching me on it, he was like, Okay, you’re not destroying a classic. Because basically [the variation] is still very high quality, it’s still quite hard, and it looks pretty. It鈥檚 also really sharp granite that鈥檚 so far split open every one of my fingertips.

Has your perspective on the Nose changed at all since you鈥檝e started trying to free climb it? Has it taught you anything new in these past four weeks?
It鈥檚 more that my perspective on it hasn’t changed, and that it hasn鈥檛 changed all that much in the not quite 20 years since I first climbed it. The thing with El Cap is that despite all the things that I’ve done on it over the years, you still look at the wall and you still think, Man, that is impossibly big and looks so hard. It鈥檚 just still so inspiring.

El Cap is still the most magnificent wall on Earth , and the Nose is still the most striking line up it, and when it really comes down to it, is still quite hard to climb. It always commands respect.

Okay so then how does Jared Leto fit into all this?
He鈥檚 always wanted to climb El Cap, and we were both in the Valley and it just kind of worked out. He鈥檚 been wanting to climb it in a day, but hasn鈥檛 had the time to get that kind of fitness. I was planning on going up wall-style [spending multiple days and nights camping on the wall] to try to free the Nose. I texted him, half-joking, Why don’t you join us? We can camp together. He texted back, 鈥榃ait, like actually, can I come?鈥�

 

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We’ve been climbing together for almost ten years, just very sporadically. It started when he first got into rock climbing, which I think was 2015, and decided to make a little film project about it. He hired Renan Ozturk to film him going rock climbing around the West. One day Renan鈥攈e鈥檚 a friend鈥攖exted me, 鈥楬ey, would you go solo Matthes Crest with Jared?鈥� I was in Yosemite climbing anyway and was like, 鈥楥ool, an active rest day.鈥�

At the time, Jared was training to be the Joker in a movie and was super fit for it. He was really muscular. And he had green hair. We had a great day climbing. Since then, we’ve climbed in the same places a few times. I took him up one of the Flatirons in Boulder once, because he was in Denver for a concert, things like that.

He was great on the Nose. It was awesome. He top-roped like ten of the 31 pitches and jugged the rest. It was pretty impressive. Nick Ehman, who was the third person climbing with us, commented, 鈥楯ared doesn’t get scared.鈥� There鈥檚 all these weird things on the Nose, like lower outs and swings, and one part where he was basically dangling on a rope in mid-air at the very top of El Cap. It just does not bother him at all.

Want more of听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别鈥檚听news stories?听

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If, like most people, you live your life outside the small community of elite ski mountaineers, you may have never heard the name Greg Hill. Born far from big mountains in Quebec, Canada, Hill moved west to Revelstoke, British Columbia, with dreams of becoming a heli-skiing guide. After years of watching the Selkirk Mountains change with a warming climate, he gave up mechanized travel in the mountains seeking a greener approach.

In 2010, when Hill was 35, he climbed and skied more than two million vertical feet. His 2019 film, ElectricGreg, documented his quest to climb and ski 100 peaks without burning any fossil fuels. Hill鈥檚 most recent achievements, like setting the FKT of the Rogers Pass to Bugaboos Ski Traverse, are near his Revelstoke home.

In October, Hill published a memoir, titled I Could Die At Any Moment. The book, written with Hill鈥檚 rare blend of humility and audacity, was ten years in the making. It explores his compulsive drive to reach maximum potential, even in the face of life-threatening听risk.

国产吃瓜黑料 caught up with Hill to discuss risk, reward, and an unexpected insight that came from writing his story.

OUTSIDE: The book鈥檚 title is pretty dark, but then the cover shows you and a climbing partner looking overjoyed atop a mountain. Is this contrast intentional?

Absolutely. It鈥檚 a juxtaposition. The photo is me and my buddy Chris Rubens on top of Bugaboo Spire in British Columbia. The Bugaboos are like the Patagonia of Canada鈥攖hese incredible granite spires. It was a dream of mine to climb that peak. It was just a moment of pure exhilaration at having finally accomplished that climb. The idea with the cover is that, yes, we all know we can die, so let’s live this life to the fullest.

There鈥檚 inherent risk anytime you enter the alpine. I don鈥檛 let myself get weighed down by the darkness, but at the same time it鈥檚 important not to forget that you鈥檙e going to die鈥攖hat we鈥檙e all going to die. There’s this cheesy saying that every day is a gift, that it鈥檚 a present. By really embracing the fact that we die, it allows us to fully embrace the fact that we’re alive and to go for it.

You’ve led a life full of accomplishments in the mountains. Why did you decide to record it in a memoir?

I鈥檝e always wanted to write a book. I have journal entries about it from the time I was 18. I鈥檓 48 now and I guess I finally felt like I had enough maturity鈥攊t takes a certain maturity to be ready to speak about things that are hard to speak about鈥攁nd I wanted the book to be as open and vulnerable as possible.

After the kids were born, I started leaving a letter on my computer desktop for Tracey [my wife] to find if I were to die in the mountains, because if you’re a risk taker there’s consequences if things mess up, and I’ve always understood that. I wanted my kids to have something to help them understand why I would risk it all, even though I knew the consequences. And the same goes for my wife and my friends.

Thankfully, I’ve lasted this long. My kids are now 17 and 19, and they know me really well, which is awesome. The book was basically an extension of the idea to leave something behind that tried to explain what I do and why. There are lots of people that lose friends and family to adventure. I feel like if there鈥檚 a way to somehow explain why we do it, then I should try.

How does the mental load of writing a book compare to that of pushing your limits in ski mountaineering?听

Anytime you鈥檙e doing something that has value and is challenging to you, there’s going to be doubts, there’s going to be fears. Overcoming them and moving forward is kind of the biggest challenge. For months, I was so scared that I’d finally written this thing, that I was putting it out there. And now it鈥檚 like, okay I did it, here we go! Having big goals and dreams鈥攂e it a physical or mental challenge鈥攁nd finally accomplishing them is so rewarding.

Could you tell us a little about the added features loaded in the ebook that hardcover readers will miss?

I have all this footage of me doing all these different things in the mountains. I felt like if I could use it properly, it would add another dimension to reading by creating this emotional layer that brings you deeper into the story. I鈥檝e embedded more than a dozen videos into the ebook. They are raw, unedited moments that bring you straight into my mountain experience.

Like after the avalanche in Pakistan when I broke my leg, you can see me talking into the camera about my thoughts on risk and reward and whether it’s worth it. It’s almost like breaking down the fourth wall and really getting to know the protagonist by seeing me sitting there crying and dealing with the consequences of risk.

What accomplishments are you most proud of, and is there anything in your career that you regret?

I鈥檓 most proud of my kids. I mean, I love all these things I鈥檝e accomplished, the personal challenges and stuff, but it became very clear that they are the most important things that I’ve created in this life.

I’m realizing more and more my biggest goal is to impact others and ideally empower them to live their dreams. Looking back on chapters of your life, there’s these things that made so much sense and were so important, but then as you grow and change, they鈥檙e not anymore.

There’s lots of unfinished things out there in the mountains for me, and I think I have to accept that and move onto what has more value now and is more important now. My latest goal is inspiring others to live life to the fullest.

As for insights, I talk about my weed addiction a little bit in the book. I feel like I want to be more available, to be a better person, especially for my wife. I haven鈥檛 smoked in three months, and I won’t until my 50th birthday, which is a year and a bit from now, just to really try to be as emotionally available as possible.

The post Extreme Skier Greg Hill Goes Deep on Risk and Adrenaline in His New Book appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This past summer, hikers on , 14,438-foot Mount Elbert, were met by a peculiar welcome committee.

Volunteers from Colorado Fourteeners Initiative handed out WAG bags near a padlocked receptacle marked 鈥渉uman waste pack-out bags only.鈥� On some days, a researcher from Penn State University stopped visitors to ask questions about鈥攜ou guessed it鈥攑oop.

Called Clean 14, the infrastructure was the latest in a multi-year research project undertaken by PACT Outdoors, a Colorado-based company that designs products for sustainable pooping in the backcountry. The project aims to improve the way that hikers and officials in Colorado, and potentially the rest of the U.S. West, handle solid human waste on public lands.

鈥淥ur stance is that if you give people better tools and processes they鈥檒l happily use them for the betterment of themselves and everybody else,鈥� PACT Outdoors co-founder Jake Thomas told 国产吃瓜黑料.

The problem with Colorado’s current poop protocol, Thomas said, isn鈥檛 ignorance. “People know you’re not supposed to poop in the outdoors and just leave it there,” he said.

Instead, he believes the current infrastructure and processes are to blame for the uncovered poop found alongside trails. PACT鈥檚 goal is to figure out what methods and products help people either bury their waste, or pack it out. This听process involves creating product prototypes, launching pilot programs, and researching behavior.

Thomas told听国产吃瓜黑料 that little research existed on the topic prior to PACT’s efforts.

鈥淪omebody once told me that the things most in need of innovation are the things people least want to talk about,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淎nd in this case it鈥檚 true. Human waste in the outdoors is a massively under-researched topic.鈥�

PACT conducted its first study shortly after its launch in September 2000. The company, which was founded by Thomas and Noah Schum, surveyed 25,000 customers of the now-defunct outdoor retail giant Moosejaw about their pooping habits. Seventy two percent admitted to improperly managing their poop while recreating outside. People’s understanding of the Leave No Trace principle of to bury their solid waste also varied widely.

鈥淲e realized we needed to simplify and standardize it,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淭here are kits for so many other things in the outdoors鈥攆irst aid, cooking, camping. Why not for pooping?鈥�

The company鈥檚 first product was a compact, portable, outdoor bathroom kit containing a small but durable shovel, wipes, and hand sanitizer. The kit also contained tablets of a fungal structure that speeds the decomposition of poop. Two years later, PACT Outdoors听unveiled a streamlined version of this kit called the PACT Lite, which came with an even smaller, more ergonomic shovel that stores the mycelium tablets and wipes in its handle.

In 2023, PACT Outdoors received grant funding from Colorado Tourism to hand out 3,500 PACT Lite kits at trailheads, ranger stations, and visitors centers across the state.

鈥淲e called it “Doo” Colorado Right,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淚t confirmed our belief that people will do the right thing if they have the right tool.鈥�

Rangers told PACT researchers that it’s difficult to talk to outdoor users about poop preparedness. But having a product to give to people changed the tone of the conversations, Thomas said. 鈥淪uddenly they’re engaged, they feel empowered,” he said. “They are a part of the solution. They’re not just somebody who’s being managed and regulated.鈥�

The positive response to “Doo” Colorado Right led to PACT Outdoors鈥� initiative on Mount Elbert. The program explored an even more unsavory topic: Picking up your own poop and packing it out via a WAG bag. The trails on fourteeners include significant stretches in the alpine, where there鈥檚 not enough soil to break down human waste. Many routes include long stretches of snow and rock, where waste will remain open to the elements. In these environments, Leave No Trace rules dictate that visitors pack their poop out.

To help communicate the WAG bag plan on Mount Elbert, PACT Outdoors borrowed from research done on pet owners. Creating physical infrastructure鈥攕pecifically, bag dispensers鈥攈elps dog owners pick up and dispose of their pet’s poop.

The company also gleaned insights from three years of interviews conducted with hikers. According to this research, hikers are less prone to pick up their poop if they have nowhere to put it. Human feces is considered a biohazard because it contains pathogens that cause disease. You’re not supposed to just toss it in the trash.

PACT鈥檚 solution was to build a kiosk at the Mount Elbert trailhead stocked with complimentary WAG bags, and a sanitary receptacle for disposing of them. A researcher from Penn State tracked results for 20 days and surveyed hikers on their general attitude toward WAG bags.

Thomas says the results, reported in , surprised PACT staffers. For 30 percent of the hikers, nature鈥檚 call aligned with the presence of a pit toilet. The other 70 percent had to do their business in the wild. Of those who pooped in the wild, 57 percent were in a place where they could bury it, and the other 43 percent used the complimentary WAG bag. 鈥淭he long-standing belief that people just aren鈥檛 going to pack out their poop didn鈥檛 hold up,” he said.

鈥淲e feel pretty confident from the study that we’ve not been giving people enough credit for what they’re willing to do if it’s properly introduced,” he added.

PACT Outdoors鈥� vision is to put a WAG bag kit kiosk and human waste receptacle on all 58 of Colorado鈥檚 Fourteeners. Each kit will be printed with instructions in big bold letters, as well as information to help drive greater adoption. There will also be humor: The backside of the outer packaging is called The Daily Dump, a mock newspaper. The kit will include an enzyme that deodorizes and dehydrates the poop, killing some of the pathogens and making it easier to pack out.

It’s an ambitious plan that could have a huge impact on some of the busiest trails in the state. The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative recorded 260,000 hiker use days on the peaks in 2023. Mount Elbert sees 15,000 hikers a year, most of them in a highly concentrated span of eight to ten weeks in the late summer. According to PACT, an estimated 1,650 people poop on the mountain each season, and many of them are unfamiliar with packing out their own poop. Currently, Rangers hike the peak with llamas to haul the feces back down.

Thomas points out that people are quick to understand the environmental impacts of human feces in the wild, for example as a water source contaminant. And we all grok the negative effect on both locals and tourists when someone slips in a pile of human poop at an otherwise iconic Colorado wilderness site. But far fewer people realize how expensive and resource-intensive the status quo waste management process is for the Forest Service and BLM. 鈥淒istricts or offices in high use areas have told us that it鈥檚 about half of their annual budget,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 huge.鈥�

The current protocol generally includes pumping and cleaning vault toilets and disposing of mishandled waste. Thomas and his colleagues think PACT Outdoors鈥� innovations will eliminate the cost of having to clean up rogue poop. Plus, fostering a pack-out-your-poop culture will alleviate usage on existing vault toilets, as well as reduce the need for building more of them听in the future.

鈥淭here’s a lot of steps that need to happen between now and then,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淏ut the first step, in our minds, was will people pack out in this type of environment? And we feel pretty confident that the answer is yes.鈥�

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