Archive for August, 2009

The Naturist’s Survival Tips

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Gavin McInnes, co-founder of Vice Magazine, is shooting some wilderness survival videos for Teva. I learned a lot about Forest Myths in the first installment. It’s odd to see McInnes shilling for Teva in this video since he reportedly split with Vice in 2007 because of the magazine’s decision to work with Viacom. He went on to create Street Carnage (NSFW), and now he’s making outdoor videos for a sandal company. Odd, but funny.

via National Geographic Adventure

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Teenage Hiker Lost in Alaska…Again

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

A 19-year-old seasonal worker came up from Chicago looking forward to some adventure in Alaska when he took a job just outside Denali National Park. Last week Don Carroll struck off with a friend to find Chris McCandless’s ‘Magic Bus’ from the book Into the Wild. The two stashed their food and water before a river crossing and planned to pick it up on their way back. Well, they found the bus but got lost before they could reclaim the food and water bag. They survived by drinking river water and eating berries until a helicopter plucked them from the Alaskan wilds. But it gets better. In June this same kid headed into the front country around Mount Healy in Denali National Park by himself wearing jeans and a hoody. He got lost, soaked in the rain, and then (of course) text messaged rangers clues to his whereabouts. They found him and sent a high-altitude rescue chopper

If police see me (hiking) in the woods, they’re going to arrest me,” a rueful Carroll said during a cell phone interview Tuesday.

“The chief ranger said he’s not going to come looking for me anymore,” Carroll said.

Though Carroll has done plenty of hiking that didn’t end in rescue, his employer has suggested that he wind down his Alaskan adventures and do a bit of community service.

via Backpacker

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Burton Private Stock Collection with R. Crumb Graphics

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Burton rolled out their Private Stock Collection for the 2010 winter with graphics from iconic and bizarre cartoonist R. Crumb. If you haven’t seen the documentary Crumb, check it out; the guy’s had such a fascinating and brutal life. The graphic for the 2010 Burton Private Stock Board features Fritz the Cat. Fritz starred in the first animated feature film in the U.S. to receive an X rating. It’s also still the highest grossing X-rated animated feature film of all time, but I suspect that Fritz the Cat falls into a pretty small category for theater releases.

Burton couldn’t have made a better choice for their oversexed boards. Every year they draw fire for their Playboy model boards, but this year they reached into the twisted. It’s easier to argue that board graphics are ‘art’ when you’re looking at groping cats rather than naked women.

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Search Still on for Missing American Hiker in Costa Rica

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

The rescue operation for a 28-year-old American doctoral student from Chicago is still running through Costa Rica. David Gimelfarb walked into the jungle at 10am on Tuesday, August 11th after signing a guestbook at Rincon National Park. His searchers have posted a list of hikers who also signed in on that day in the hope that they can track down the people who entered the jungle about the same time as him. They’re trying to narrow the search grid, so if you have any friend who were in Costa Rica, take a quick look at the guest list on Facebook and see if they’re on it.

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Austria Will Require Ski Helmets this Winter

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Vail made the move to put all of their employees in helmets, but so far no American resorts have required that every child on their hill ski with a helmet. It’s easier to get away with mandates like this in Europe where the country can pass a law and then individual resorts don’t need to worry about losing customers because of different helmet-use rules. This winter everyone under the age of 15 in Italy and Austria will be required to wear helmets while skiing. Adults are still allowed to wear only headbands that won’t mess up their hair. As goes Europe so goes America? Probably not; we still don’t even require motorcycle helmets.

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