Hey Stokers!
Another week, another ridiculous amount of adventure to sift through on the internet. Weāve got Redbull Rampage in our hands as we speak, Tommy Caldwell in Yosemite, big-mountain skiing, and a crew of runners ditching their phones and watches for five days in the Balkans.
Closer to home, last weekend, I took some high school friends out on the Moab Daily and saw a couple yard sales on Whites rapid! Here you can see a smooth line
Here is some of the action, my buddy Jeff puts his son in front and hits the waves! Nothing quite like a little river time to keep the stoke alive!
Enjoy this weekās sends, and get out there!
šµāāļø 3 flips, 3 Rampage wins!
š Virgin, Utah
Robin Goomes has done it again! Yesterday, the Kiwi freerider claimed her third consecutive Red Bull Rampage victory, throwing down a run of beauty with, count them, THREE backflips. The progression in womenās freeride mountain biking is off the charts, and Goomes is leading the charge.
Donāt miss the menās competition this Saturday!
šæ The race is on: speed skiing
š The Tetons, Wyoming
Watch how a whole new kind of competition takes shape in the Teton backcountry: FKTs for skiing down couloirs. Jackson Hole ski duo, Jim Ryan and Madison Rose Ostergren take on the steep, exposed Ellingwood Couloir on the Middle Teton, aiming to set a Strava speed record. Itās a fascinating mix of ski mountaineering and then letting everything go over serious exposure in one of Americaās most spectacular mountain ranges.
ā± 10 minutes
š§ When Tommy Caldwell texts, you say yes!
š Yosemite NP, California
Imagine getting a text from climbing legend Tommy Caldwell asking if you want to climb in Yosemite. Even if you havenāt climbed in two months, thereās only one answer. What follows is a 14-hour car-to-car adventure on Quarter Dome, featuring a 5.12 crux, ridiculously sandbagged pitches, ill-fitting climbing shoes, and Tommy casually cruising the hard stuff. A brilliant, unplanned climbing film that captures the pure joy of getting out on a big wall with a good partner.
ā± 12 minutes
šāāļø 5 days, 3 countries, 0 screens
š Peaks of the Balkans Trail ā Albania, Kosovo & Montenegro
What happens when you take a bunch of trail runners, strip away their phones, GPS watches, and Strava, and send them into the mountains for five days? An Arcāteryx crew finds out on the spectacular Peaks of the Balkans trail, navigating with paper maps, relying on locals, and rediscovering the joy of moving through the mountains without measuring every step. Beautifully filmed, refreshingly different, and a reminder that sometimes the best adventures are the ones you donāt track.
ā± 13 minutes
ā·ļø Big Lines in the Russian Caucasus
š Arkhyz, Russia
Big-mountain freeriding with Thibaud Duchosal and friends venture into the mountains around Arkhyz, Russia, hunting steep lines and deep snow in spectacular, unfamiliar terrain. This segment from Laurent Jametās ski film RISE is a reminder of just how much incredible skiing terrain is out there waiting to be explored.
ā± 12 minutes
ā” Bonus News
š Where sheep outnumber people ā In Scotlandās remote Shetland Islands, a sea kayaking company is turning its tours into rescue missions, paddling stranded sheep back to safer, level ground.
šļø Who should pay to keep the Maroon Bells open? ā With federal funding stretched thin, the U.S. Forest Service is looking to hand management of Colorado's iconic Maroon Bells to local authorities. The proposal could mean higher visitor fees.
šµ Arizona about to get a new national park! ā Chiricahua National Monument, famous for its otherworldly, 27-million-year-old rock spires, is one presidential signature away from becoming Americaās newest national park.
š¦ Saving the bearded vulture ā Fewer than 400 bearded vultures remain in southern Africa, and conservationist Shannon Hoffman is fighting to save these remarkable birds, which mate for life and typically raise just one chick a year. From rappelling into remote cliffside nests to hand-raising chicks with a vulture puppet, Hoffman is giving them a fighting chance.
š“āāļø Around the world in 75 days? ā Sarah Ruggins only started cycling in 2023, but sheās already smashed records crossing Britain and Europe. Now the Canadian ultra-endurance cyclist wants to ride around the entire planet in just 75 days, averaging roughly 400 km (250 miles) per day and beating the menās outright world record.
š§ Long Reads & Watches
ā¦.take your time with these onesā¦
š„¾ 200 Miles Through Alaskaās Contested Wilderness
Adventurers Robert Lester and Ben Kaden set out on a 200-mile journey along the proposed Ambler Road corridor, deep in Alaskaās pristine Brooks Range.
The road is expected to open one of Americaās wildest landscapes to large-scale mining, and the debate over its future has become fiercely political.
Rather than getting lost in the rhetoric, they go see the place for themselves, exploring whatās at stake for the wilderness, wildlife, and people who call this region home.
Try out reading, itās fun!
š https://www.republic.land/a-long-long-walk-down-the-ambler-road/
š§ A Different Kind of Summit: Trango Tower
Four climbing buddies from Sheffield take on one of the worldās most spectacular granite towers, nearly 6,300 meters above sea level. Jim Pope recounts the grueling approach, heavy loads, splitter cracks, freezing bivouacs, and the struggle between personal climbing ambitions and simply reaching the summit together. A beautifully honest account of a big Himalayan adventure, and a reminder that sometimes the best part of climbing isnāt how you get to the top, but who you share it with.
š§āāļø Metanoia: The Climb That Changed Jeff Lowe
Jeff Loweās legendary climbing film Metanoia is finally on YouTube. It begins with his extraordinary solo new route on the Eigerās North Face and becomes something much bigger: a film about transformation, creativity, climbing, and mortality as Lowe looks back on the ascent that changed his life while confronting the progressive loss of his own physical abilities.
A powerful piece of mountaineering history and a must see for any climber.
ā± 1hr 12m
šæ Remembering Juliette Willmann: A Life Beyond Competition
French freeride skier Juliette Willmann tragically lost her life in an avalanche in the Andes this week. We look back at her beautiful film RISE, which follows her transition from the Freeride World Tour to big-mountain skiing, chasing remote summits, steep lines, and unforgettable images.
Through candid reflections on her fears, challenges, and ambitions, the film offers an intimate portrait of a skier finding her own path in the mountains. A moving tribute to a life cut far too short.
ā± 20 minutes
Guess whatā¦. this is the end of the newsletter!
š„ Stay Stoked. Stay Wild.