The Olympics are officially underway — flags up, edges sharp, and the world once again watching people do unbelievable stunts on snow and ice. At the same time, the forecast out West is finally lighting up blue, with storms lining up like maybe — just maybe — winter might show up!
This week’s newsletter has epic lines, desert roof cracks, ice climbing, Patagonian dreams, and a few places you should probably already be!!
But before we get into it, want to let you know we’re holding it down out in Moab!
🪂 Balade entre amis — high-risk hijinks
📍 France
Let’s start off with these homies who make fooling around look wildly dangerous. The kind of plan that probably starts at the bar — “what if we just…?” — and somehow it escalated into lifting off and flying away. While it never stops feeling playful, they pull it off with smiles, precision, and just enough control to keep it from going sideways.
Youth of today, memories on lock!
📸 Watch:
🏂🏿 Fast Forward — the fast and steep cut
📍 Canada & Alaska
Long time shredder John Jackson has this edit chopped-up in a raw and personal way. POV from favorite zones, classic Primus blasting, and footage that will leave you wanting more!
Big mountain lines and a reminder that getting older doesn’t mean slowing down.
You can watch the whole film here.
🎥 Watch:
Length: 4 minutes
🌊 Luke: a Jedi on the river
📍 Eastern Canada
Luke Pomeroy is back, bouncing on waves in what he calls a strategic attempt to attract women. Reviews are mixed. The surfing? Committed. Self-awareness? Debatable.
A tongue-in-cheek edit that doesn’t take itself too seriously — and that’s exactly why it works.
🎥 Watch:
Length: 4 minutes
🧗 Angry Pirate Finish — Yuya sends 5.14b OW
📍 White Rim, Canyonlands, Utah
Endless roof cracks define the White Rim — and the route Black Mamba is one of the fiercest. The Angry Pirate Finish is the direct exit to that monster, and Japanese climber Yuya Kitahira makes it look controlled and then celebrates as he should! Endurance and exposure on a hidden, cracked ceiling in the desert.
🎥 Watch:
Length: 9 minutes
🥚 The Pablo Escobar of eggs
📍 Global — From Africa to the Arctic
For nearly four decades, Jeffrey Lendrum dangled from helicopters, scaled sea cliffs, and smuggled some of the rarest falcon eggs on earth strapped to his body. Why? Because in certain corners of the Middle East, elite falconry turns wild genetics into a high-stakes marketplace worth tens of thousands per egg. This short dives into the bizarre and dangerous world of wildlife trafficking — a story that feels part heist thriller, part conservation nightmare.
🎥 Watch:
Length: 5 minutes
🧊 Still sending at 50
📍 Alberta, Canada & The Dolomites, Italy
Ice doesn’t care how old you are — it only cares how well you swing. This film follows two powerhouse climbers pushing hard lines in Alberta and the Dolomites, proving that progression doesn’t expire at 40… or 50. Massive blue pillars, technical mixed terrain, and quiet moments beneath cathedral walls of ice frame a story about longevity, partnership, and refusing to taper ambition.
It’s not a comeback story. It’s a continuation. And the lines they’re choosing? Absolutely not mellow.
🎥 Watch:
Length: 10 minutes
⚡ Bonus News
🎿 Deltaform Mountain has seen its first confirmed ski descent. The technical line marks a notable milestone in modern Canadian Rockies ski mountaineering.
🏃♀️ A U.S. runner shattered the women’s speed record on Aconcagua. Fast ascents at nearly 7,000 meters demand ruthless pacing, deep fitness, and the ability to suffer efficiently.
🎿 The Winter Olympics ski jumping world is dealing with a bizarre suit-related scandal, where tiny equipment details may have influenced performance. When medals are decided by millimeters, even fabric becomes a competitive weapon.
🚴♂️ An extreme endurance cyclist attempting to ride to one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth has died during the mission. With temperatures dropping below -70°C, the environment proved once again that ambition and Arctic reality don’t always align.
🚵♂️ Weather shut down the Red Bull Hardline Tasmania final, with organizers cancelling the event and locking in Saturday’s seeding results as official. That means Asa Vermette’s absolutely outrageous heater of a run takes the win — and it’s well worth the watch.
A shame the race was cancelled, especially after you see the track they built!
🔗 Watch Asa’s run:
📚 Long Reads & Watches
🏔️ Cerro Torre — Replaying the dream
In December 2024, Colin Haley and Tyler Karow climbed the Southeast Ridge (Filo Sureste) of Cerro Torre — the modern hard classic of El Chaltén and a line Colin had previously tried three times without success. But this film isn’t just summit shots and drone flybys.
It’s the two of them sitting down after the fact, scrolling through photos and helmet-cam footage, reliving the weather window, the bivies, the teamwork — and yes, the Beethoven — that made the ascent finally click. Less hype reel, more intimate debrief. A rare look at how elite alpinists process the climb once the adrenaline fades.
🎥 Watch:
🧗 Can 3D Printing Save a Classic Boulder Problem?
If a V17 erodes… or someone chips holds off a beloved mini-classic… can technology step in? This deep dive explores whether 3D scanning and printing could preserve iconic boulders — or even restore damaged lines. It’s a fascinating tension between purity, preservation, and what climbing culture wants to protect.🎣 Fishing the National Park Ideal
Access, conservation, and recreation collide in America’s parks. This reported piece looks at who gets to fish protected waters — and how wildlife management, tradition, and modern pressure strain the balance.🛶 Without a paddle
A canoe film about snowboarding — and a snowboarding film about history.
Four riders retrace part of David Thompson’s route down the Columbia River during one of the coldest Januarys on record. A 140km winter paddle meets splitboards, frozen hands, and deep respect for the land and its past. Cold, slow, and quietly epic.
🌍 Suffering the FOMO?
(Pssst, this is where you should be right now!)
🚣 Futaleufú River
📍 Patagonia, Chile
Chile’s summer is in full swing, and the Futaleufú is running electric blue and powerful. Big-volume Class IV–V rapids, glacier-fed water, and jungle-lined canyon walls make this one of the most iconic whitewater destinations on the planet. Float sections if you’re mellow. Charge if you’re not. Either way, this is river season at its peak.
A great intro to this legendary river:
🧗 Climbing in the Wadis of Oman — Arabia’s hidden gem
📍 Al Hajar Mountains
February is prime season in Oman. Cool desert air, dry rock, and zero summer furnace. Deep in the Al Hajar Mountains, Wadi Nakhr delivers towering limestone walls, massive multi-pitch adventures, and routes that feel exploratory even when they’re established. Long approaches through canyon villages, immaculate white and orange rock, and the kind of exposure that makes you pause mid-pitch just to take it in.
No crowds. No scene. Just huge walls rising out of the desert and that quiet Middle Eastern alpine energy.
Start here:
Route database → www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/oman
Get a taste of the Middle East:
💥 Stay Stoked. Stay Wild.
Before you hit “Next”… Send this newsletter to your outdoor partner and even to that guy who you know shouldn’t be following you into the backcountry!!
See you on the next send!
❤️🔥 The StokedAF fam 🤘
This week’s banger is direct to you from Puscifer’s album that just dropped!
Maynard and his merry band of music makers, keeping it real, as always