The Shorts — Spirit B
Spirit B
“In the early stages of my pregnancy, I was intrigued and ready for the changes that would take place,” says Chelsey Magness. “As an athlete, I expected body image and performance challenges. I expected exhaustion. I expected attachment issues to my newborn twins. I never expected what was actually to come.”
Chelsey and her husband Jason have built unique lives as professional adventure racers and partner acrobatics and slacklining instructors–among other things. When unimaginable tragedy struck their family, they came up with a unique way to move through their grief.
Find more of Chelsey’s writing about Max and Spirit at EnduranceMama.com, or take a workshop with Chelsey and Jason.
Music: Chasing Trains by Publish the Quest • Caterpillar by Little Glass Men • I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor by Chris Zabriskie • That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos by Chris Zabriskie • Holy Water by Denise Casey • Wild Wind by John Berry
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
Flyathlon
Flyathlon
There are a lot of serious problems in this world, but the solutions don’t always have to be serious. Fly-fisherman and trail-runner Andrew Todd channeled his concern for Colorado’s native trout and the watersheds that support them into the creation of a joyful, irreverent, event: The Flyathlon.
The rules:
- Run 10-miles
- Catch a fish
- Don’t be a jack-donkey
- No fish in your Camelbak that you brought from somewhere else.
Today, we join producer Cordelia Zars–and a group of Flyathletes–on Gunnison, Colorado’s Lake Fork River.
Learn more and register for a Flyathlon at flyathlon.com or check out Andrew’s non-profit at runningrivers.org
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Candy by Jahzzar • Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area by Doctor Turtle • Goodnight by Jahzzar • Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
The Shorts — The Amazement Meter
The Amazement Meter
Chronic depression and the deaths of a few close friends launched Tyler Dunning on a mission to visit all of the National Parks–to get his head and his heart straight.
He figured out how to support himself by writing for outdoor publications and coordinated logistics to make his way to 53 parks over the course of 8-years. Tyler was on a mission. Until, part way through his project, he lost interest.
“A pang of fear overtook me,” says Tyler, “I’d built an identity around this. I’d turned my outdoor hobby into a makeshift job and into a social expectation. But what happens when the thing you are most known for amongst your cohort—National Park exploration—is no longer rewarding?”
You can find more of Tyler’s work at: tylerdunning.com, or watch his short film about his journey to all the National Parks.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Original Scores by Amy Stolzenbach • Happy Little Dance by Ken Christianson • October Morning by Bradley Carter • Unoriginal Sin by Jason Tyler Burton
Tracks provided with permission from the artists.
Venture Out
Venture Out
“I was working this corporate job, and, every day, I looked out the window and thought, ‘Man, those mountains are so beautiful, I wish I was out there’,” remembers Perry Cohen.
Growing up, Perry was an outdoorsy kid–hiking and cross-country skiing in rural New Hampshire. He was thrilled when, as a teenager, he got to sign up for an Outward Bound course. But the experience left him disappointed. For the first time, he didn’t click with the group.
Perry reconnected strongly with the outdoors in his late thirties, as he transitioned from female to male. Being outside helped Perry have an appreciation for a body that he had felt alienated from. Looking out that window, he realized that he wanted to help other transgender folks get outside.
“I thought there must be some queer outdoor organization leading trips that I could go work for, but I didn’t find one. So, I got despondent for about twenty-four hours, and then I thought to myself, ‘I’ve led a corporate HR department, I understand how to run a business, maybe I should just start one’. And so I did.”
Learn more at ventureoutproject.com
Music: Tension Drums by Bradley Carter • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Red Rocks by Bradley Carter • Gotta Keep Moving by Publish the Quest • Then What?! by Publish the Quest • Shine by Publish the Quest • Monsoon Rains by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided with permission from the artists.
The Shorts — Unlearning Adventure Sports
Unlearning Adventure Sports
“I’m learning how to listen to that subconscious voice of caution,” says Carmen Kuntz. “Where I used to feed on the feeling of adrenaline and risk, I now have to avoid risk completely. After a mild traumatic brain injury it’s simple: I’m not allowed to hit my head ever again.”
When an overexcited friend tackled Carmen at a bar and thwacked her head hard on a wooden deck pillar, Carmen had just started to break into the world of competitive, freestyle whitewater kayaking. That moment changed everything. Rather than pointing her kayak into Class V whitewater, for the past four years, Carmen has had to confront a different kind of challenge: the balance between the risk of re-injuring her head and the risk of losing who she is.
You can find more of Carmen’s writing at her website: CarmeneKuntz.com
If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Sonic Roads by Cleod9 • Dark November by Wayne Kinos • Original Score by Cordelia Zars • This Song is About You by Ken Christianson • Islands by John Berry • Paranoia XXV by The F*cked up Beat • Afterglow by Cleod9
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
