🔥 Intermission is over. Let's send!
A newsletter for people who’d rather be outside! ⚡
Well, hey there! Hola!
It’s been a minute…After nearly two months roaming around northern Spain with my family—climbing sea cliffs, hiking through the Picos de Europa, eating far too many pintxos, watching the World Cup, and spending way too much time at the edge of the ocean—I realized something: I really missed putting this newsletter together.
StokedAF is back.
I’ve got a backlog of incredible films, stories, and oddball outdoor news to catch up on, and I’m excited to get back into the rhythm of sharing the best adventure content I stumble across each week.
Thanks for sticking around while I was off making a few adventures of my own.
🧗 Climbing for the camera
📍Grand Capucin, French Alps
Being a professional climber sounds like freedom—until you realize every adventure has to become content. In FRAMED, pro climber Siebe Vanhee attempts to rope-solo, onsight the legendary 12-pitch Voie Petit (8a+) completely alone, juggling a selfy stick, sponsor obligations, and the mental weight of filming himself while rope soloing at 3,500 meters. A fascinating look at what happens when your dream job becomes... well, a job.
⏱️ 15 min
🚵 A poem for the mountains
📍Kyrgyzstan
A bike film steeped in towering mountains, forgotten mining roads, lonely yurts, and set to an old Kyrgyz poem narrated over stunning visuals. This Chris Burkard three minute creation shows us why we willingly suffer to spend time in wild places.
⏱️ 3 min
🧗 All gear on thin granite
📍Donner Summit, California
Jordan Cannon takes an already difficult sport climb and strips away the safety net. Same route, but instead of clipping bolts he protects it entirely with gear. The trad climbing film you will watch till the end.
⏱️ 8 min
🕺 Before it was cool
📍Peak District, England
Long before parkour, before ninja comps, before “movement culture,” there was Johnny Dawes dancing across gritstone. A strange mix of no hands climbing, dynos, and personal challenges, all set to George Michael. This week’s flashback.
⏱️ 3 min
🚲 The city is the terrain park
📍San Francisco, California
Former BMX legend Christian Rigal has traded pegs for pedals, using an eMTB to blur the line between mountain biking, street riding, trials, and urban freeride. San Francisco becomes one giant playground.
⏱️ 4 min
🚵 Fresh tracks in the Atacama
📍Atacama Desert, Chile
Tom van Steenbergen heads into the dry desert searching for untouched lines across one of the driest landscapes on Earth. Massive terrain, pumping and delivering salt water to the spines and jumps.
⏱️ 6 min
⚡ Bonus News
🥶 Imagine getting knocked off your paddle board in the Arctic... with your drysuit zipper wide open. That’s exactly how one solo attempt to paddle the Northwest Passage came to an abrupt end before a dramatic rescue.
🍺 Forget the highest peak, what’s the oldest bar in your state? Browse this list of saloons, taverns, and watering holes that have somehow survived wars, prohibition, and your uncle Dave.
⛰️ Colorado’s 14ers saw their lowest visitation in a decade last year, thanks in part to the closure of the Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway. Less traffic means a little more solitude—but it also means less funding and volunteer support for trail maintenance.
🐒 Scientists say a massive conflict has erupted among chimpanzees in Uganda, splitting one community into rival factions after decades of stability. Some researchers believe it’s the largest documented chimp conflict in centuries.
🦈 For the first time ever, researchers strapped cameras onto whale sharks and captured what it’s like to charge through clouds of krill with your mouth wide open. It’s oddly mesmerizing and a reminder that the world’s biggest fish is basically an oversized vacuum cleaner.
🧠 Long Reads & Watches
….take your time with these ones…
🏔️ The Rise and Fall of Nims Purja
📍Nepal
Few mountaineers have transformed high-altitude climbing like Nirmal “Nims” Purja. This obituary looks back at the former Gurkha and Special Boat Service soldier who later shattered records on the world’s 8,000-meter peaks and left behind one of the greatest legacies in high altitude alpinism.
🔗 https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/nirmal-purja-obituary-death-avalanche-dj9pffn0k
⏱️ 8 min read
🌊 Surfing the End of the World
📍Golfo de Penas, Chile
If you’re looking for pure cinematography, this is the film of the week. Patagonia Deep follows a surf expedition into one of the most remote corners of Chilean Patagonia. Almost no dialogue—just waves, glaciers, weather, and a reminder of why places like this deserve protecting.
⏱️ 28 min
🐟 Fishing the atolls
📍Palmyra Atoll, Pacific Ocean
The Trump administration wants to reopen some of the Pacific’s largest marine protected areas to commercial fishing. This beautifully reported interactive feature explains why many marine scientists argue those protected waters aren’t limiting the fishing industry—they’re helping sustain it by giving fish safe places to reproduce.
🔗 https://apps.npr.org/troubled-waters/
⏱️ 5 min read
💥 We leave you with a soundtrack for your next send!
Jamming in the wildflowers, The Skints are def bringing back the 90’s vibe!
If you enjoyed the newsletter please share with a friend
Stay stoked. Stay wild.
See you next week!
Nico