StokedAF!
Early season fresh pow, insane MTB lines, the best of the outdoor internet, and a stuck fairy! This week’s newsletter will keep you entertained.
This week in Moab has been spectacular. The rock is dry enough, the temps are warm enough, the desert is our oyster! I found this cute little guy out hiking the other evening. He´s a Midget faded rattlesnake, which is an interesting species of rattler only found in the Green and Colorado river basins.
As always, StokedAF is here to sift through the endless scroll of the outdoor internet and bring you the good stuff. Most of these stories are fresh from the past couple of weeks, with a few gems too good to pass up.
Enjoy the sends!
Nico in Moab
🚵 MTB line of the year? You decide!
📍 Worldwide | ⏱️ 2 min clips
From terrifyingly narrow wooden bridges and massive, high-consequence drops to buttery-smooth forest runs where riders seem to defy gravity, the contenders for Pinkbike’s 2026 Line of the Year are absolutely ridiculous. Some demand nerves of steel, others showcase pure flow and style. Watch the entries, pick your favorite, and cast your vote. Which one gets your heart racing?
Go here to see the entries and vote:
This line has got my vote!
🎿 282 months of skiing, zero months off
📍 Colorado, USA | ⏱️ 10 min
Doug Evans has skied every single month for more than 23 years. No, he hasn’t been flying to the Southern Hemisphere every summer. He’s been finding snow right at home in Colorado, from deep winter powder to lonely patches clinging to the mountains through the hottest months. Continuum isn’t really about keeping a streak alive. It’s a beautifully filmed love letter to skiing, wild places, and the quiet satisfaction of building your life around something you love.
❄️ October pow up on Hood with Hank? Yes!
📍 Mount Hood, Oregon, USA | ⏱️ 5 mins
Hank Stowers is back with his weekly ski adventures, and apparently winter didn’t get the memo that it’s still October. Fresh powder on Oregon’s Mount Hood means it’s time to dust off the skis and get after it. While the rest of us are still thinking about fall, Hank’s already out there reminding everyone that ski season doesn’t have to wait for December.
🧗 Hazel Findlay on motherhood, hard trad, and an E10
📍 North Wales, UK | ⏱️ 5 mins
Twenty months after becoming a mum, British climbing legend Hazel Findlay is back chasing hard trad. Her latest objective? Yma O Hyd, a formidable E10 route in North Wales. But between broken sleep, nighttime breastfeeding, injuries, and the demands of raising a daughter, finding the energy to climb at her limit is a challenge in itself. A refreshingly candid look at what it takes to pursue ambitious climbing goals when life has changed completely.
🗞️ Bonus News
🥾 Survey finds nearly half of all hikers hit the trail high AF. A survey of 1,008 American hikers found that 44% have hit the trail under the influence of something, including 35% who’ve hiked on cannabis and 15% on magic mushrooms. One in five who hike under the influence admit to taking risks they wouldn’t have taken sober.
🎿 Chile’s Valle Nevado won’t stop skiing! After more than 24 feet of snowfall, the resort above Santiago, Chile has extended its season all the way to December 1, setting a new record of 154 operating days! That’s five months of skiing, and the first time in the resort’s 38-year history that lifts will spin into December.
🐻 Grizzly bear deaths set records for third straight year in Greater Yellowstone, with at least 82 deaths reported by early November. About two-thirds of documented deaths were human-caused, including livestock conflicts, accidents, and illegal killings. Wildlife managers say the population remains stable, but the numbers raise uncomfortable questions about coexistence.
🦩 Turkey is drying up, and its lakes are disappearing! A staggering 88% of Turkey is at risk of desertification, and 186 of its 240 lakes have already dried up. A startling glimpse of a local environmental crisis that’s part of a much bigger global problem. Even its bird-rich wetlands are under threat.
🧚 Crack climber dressed as a fairy for Halloween gets stuck in an Indian Creek crack! Utah based photographer Kylie Fly got her hand hopelessly wedged in a crack and spent two hours there. The escape plan? Chisel away enough rock to free her hand. Bad trick, no treat. Check it out below.
🧠 Long Reads & Watches
….take your time with these ones
🎿 The last best ski town? They have a snowbus!
📍 Whitefish, Montana, USA | ⏱️ 9 min
What makes a ski town special? The mountain, the powder, the terrain, or a bus that takes kiddos to the mountain? Just ask anyone who’s grown up in one, and they’ll give you the answer. Professional skier and Whitefish native Maggie Voisin returns to her roots alongside her father, Truby, to celebrate the mountain, family traditions, and tight-knit community that shaped her. The Last Best Ski Town is an ode to Northwest Montana ski culture.
🧗 Watch this bouldering love letter!
📍 Utah, USA | ⏱️ 19 mins
Eight V8 boulder problems in a single day? That’s the challenge Sienna Kopf set herself in Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon, including her first ascent of the intimidating highball Blue Steel. The circuit celebrates the technical mastery, mental commitment, and sheer joy of climbing in the canyons of SLC. Forget competitions and podiums. Sometimes the best climbing challenges are the ones you invent for yourself.
🚵 The man who built a mountain bike empire, twice
📍 Andorra | ⏱️ 12 min
Imagine building one of the most influential mountain bike brands in the world, getting pushed out of your own company, and then starting all over again. That’s the story of Max Commencal, who helped revolutionize mountain biking with Sunn before launching his namesake brand in 2000. Fast-forward to 2026, and Commencal’s Supreme DH V5.2 is dominating the downhill World Cup circuit. This film from EliMTB Studios traces the ambition, setbacks, and relentless innovation behind one of mountain biking’s biggest success stories.
🛶 The difficult (and overly dramatic) life of a modern-day explorer
📍 Sangha River, Central African Republic | ⏱️ 39 min
Can you really make a living as an explorer in the 21st century? Ash Dykes is giving it everything he’s got, tackling dangerous expeditions and documenting them for the small screen. His latest mission: kayaking 800 kilometers through the Congo River Basin. In this first episode, he offers a candid look at the sacrifices and uncertainty of pursuing adventure as a career. Of course, this is Ash Dykes, so every lost bag, border crossing, and logistical hiccup gets the full Hollywood treatment. But beneath the over-the-top drama is a fascinating look at someone trying to make exploration his life’s work.
🌍 Destination Unknown:
South Korea’s Climbing Paradise
South Korea might not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a climbing trip, but perhaps it should be! With more than 70% of the country covered in mountains, there’s an incredible variety of rock, from towering granite walls and splitter cracks to steep limestone sport routes and spectacular sea cliffs.
The adventurous climbers behind The Crag Journal spent five weeks exploring the country and came away blown away by the quality of the climbing, the hospitality, and how easily they could reach most crags by public transport.
Their beautifully photographed guide takes you from the multipitch classics of Seoraksan and Bukhansan to the steep limestone of Seonunsan and the coastal cliffs near Busan. Add ancient temples, delicious food, and gorgeous mountain scenery, and you’ve got a destination that deserves a spot on your climbing bucket list.
Explore South Korea’s climbing destinations – The Crag Journal
Thanks for scrolling! Catch you next week