Feb

The Shorts — Zen and the Art of Skiing Powder

Zen and the Art of Skiing Powder

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134624046″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“With steely determination, I pointed my tips downhill and tried to power through the deep snow, but I was doomed,” remembers Julia Rosen. “I started to do the super slow splits as my skis drifted further and further apart under two piles of snow that felt like wet concrete. My feet stopped, but my body lurched forward and I was thrust into an unwelcome downward dog.” Anyone who’s skied powder remembers this fall. Anyone who, like Julia, learned to ski pow as an adult remembers it more clearly. But Julia did make it through the painful learning process—only to discover that, perhaps, the wisdom she had gained might just serve her in the horizontal world as well.

Music: Påte Filo by Malajube • Mountain Soul Fire by woodrowgerber • Risin’ Sun by Kelly Richey • Never Lost by The Cassettes • No Darkness by The Woodsmen

Music courtesy of Mevio’s Music Alley.

Jan

Starting Small

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/130838527″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Plastic bags. They clog drawers, landfills, coastlines and trailheads. Recycling them is confusing and inefficient. But what if there was a way to turn the trash into something of value? Enter Industrial Designer Will Wells. Today, we bring you our annual Year of Big Ideas. We talked to contributors and friends about their goals for the coming year. Here’s to going big, traveling to new places and trying something new. And here’s to making something that will inspire others, even if it’s small.

Happy 2014.

Music: Moonshine by Angie and the Car Wrecks • Shoot You Down by 202s • Please Don’t Ask Me to Explain It by The Walthall Tango • This Modern Love by Bloc Party • 41 South by John Berry • In a Cave by Tokyo Police Club

Music courtesy of Mevio’s Music Alley.

Dec

If You Build It

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/127767267″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Powerful ideas often demand that we leave the comfort of a safety net. We quit a nine to five. We take out a second mortgage on our house. Along the way, we can expect to be called a crazy one day and brilliant the next. In the late 1990’s, Jeff Pensiero had an idea–to build a backcountry ski lodge that catered to snowboarders. It was outlandish–targeting a market that barely existed—and yet perfect. But, like any dream, it took years of sweat, worry, right people-right time connections, and damn good perseverance to make it all look seamless. From the shores of Lake Tahoe to the world renowned slopes of Baldface Lodge, we bring you one snowboarder’s journey to create his dream.

Music: The Watchmaker by David Beard • What Would Wolves Do? by Les Savy Fav • Gone Home by Battery Life • Letters Home by emFRIK • Nathaniel by O’Death • Angels Make Contact by Matt Mays • This Modern Love by Bloc Party

Music provided by Mevio’s Music Alley.

Dec

The Shorts — Fighting with Our Feet

Fighting with Our Feet

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/124610990″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Significant life tumult propelled Nick Triolo to leave his home and move to Todos Santos, Baja earlier this year. As an ultra-runner, he instinctively explored the area on foot. As he settled into the town and its community, he became aware of a growing resistance to proposed mining in the area. And he knew he wanted to help. But how? It might have been easy for Nick to shrug off the feeling. Instead he thought big–he would organize a protest run across the 70-mile wide stretch of the Baja Peninsula–through the heart of where the mining was proposed. And he would run it in a day. Now, could he get anyone to join him?

See Nick’s photos from the run here and here. This story was adapted from Nick’s post on The Jasmine Dialogues

Special thanks to Montana Public Radio KUFM in Missoula and Sherie Newman for volunteering time to help with the recording.

Music: New Mexico by The Ukulele Hipster Kings • Baja Taxi by Brain Buckit • Walk the Whole Earth by Publish the Quest

Jacob Bain and Publish the Quest have been longtime friends of ours at the Diaries. Jacob travels and music were highlighted in A Brief Moment in a Beautiful Place, and Publish the Quest’s journey to Africa to collaborate with African musicians in Sodade. For the past few years, PTQ has been lucky enough to perform at festivals in Zimbabwe, Mail, Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. PTQ has carried recording equipment on their travels, and found amazing opportunities to connect with folks by sitting down and recording songs. They are working on a documentary, The Truth About 99 Cents, about what we get when we buy a song for 99 cents, and what we give.

Other music provided by Mevio’s Music Alley.

Oct

Tales of Terror Vol. 4

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/117889778″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Is there something out there? It’s a question that lurks in the back of my mind. Probably in yours too. It’s one of the very reasons why I love the outdoors: the unpredictability. Over the years, I’ve collected experiences. Moments, like bits of data, that, collectively guide my intuition. And yet. We’ve all had that moment where hairs stand up on the back of our neck. Was it heightened perception? Or did the wind just blow in just the right way? And if you convince yourself it was the wind, does some lump of doubt sit in your stomach? Because sometimes you just won’t believe something is out there. Until it’s right there.

Music: Restless Spirits (Underscore and Beat A) by David Beard • The Forest by Sam Haynes • Gradations by A Single Voice • Bombs and Bruises by Black Pistol Fire • Boogie Man Jam by Earl Clifton Radio

Music provided by Mevio’s Music Alley.