Filmmaker Warren Miller broke is back skiing last week, and he’s filed a post on his blog.

“This is the first time I’ve ever missed a day of skiing because of a ski injury. Why I don’t know, but it is probably because I have always been so cautious on my skis. Does it come from the early years of skiing without safety bindings and no insurance? Perhaps, but it came from somewhere.”

Am I the only one who could hear his voice in my head while I was reading that? The guy’s been around forever and you have to give him the respect for getting there first. Plus that scene in his movie where everyone keeps falling while off-loading at the top of the lift is hilarious-he should really get likeness royalties for all that crap Bob Saget promoted under the Funniest Videos name.

via Out There

Shaun Quincey is trying to be the first person to follow in his father’s footsteps. Back in 1977, his dad became the first guy to paddle from Australia to New Zealand on an unsupported trip undertaken completely under his own rowing power. Quincey Jr. is now doing the same trip, only heading west to east. It’s like his dad rowed across the Tasman Sea to start a new life, and then his kid was like, ‘Nah, I’ll head back east.’ Last night Quincey activated his emergency beacon after his boat capsized twice. He’s about halfway across the sea and one month into his trip. He lost his oars and some gear, but in the light of day decided to keep going. The rescue was called off, and now Quincey is back at the oars for another month. Best of luck, man.

A mountain in California was renamed Ballard Mountain after a former slave. John Ballard fled Kentucky for Los Angeles County about 13 years before Abe Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and now he has his own mountain. It’s the second renaming of the mountain, and I’m not even going to tell you what it was listed as on maps before they started calling it “Negrohead.” It might sound like California is ages behind, but Michigan still has a popular ski area called Indianhead. It would be interesting if they renamed that one Whitehead; I’ll admit that’s not a very appetizing name, but it is evocative of a ski hill.

The Snaz put together this documentary about guns in national parks. It views like a narcotic-induced dream projected inside Glen Beck’s skull.  ”A path marked by landmarks.”

Ketchum, Idaho is hosting its very own Marley in the Mountains Festival. What are the chances that a small mountain town would have so many people interested in Bob Marley? Crazy, I know. It runs February 26^th and 27^th and only costs $5. They also have this sweet poster available for free download.

Vice TV put up the first video in a five-part series on Heimo Korth, the subject of the book The Final Frontiersman. It’s a story of a man who moved to Alaska from Wisconsin when he was 19 years old, and is now the head of the last family grandfathered into living in the 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Jimmy Carter setup in 1980. Vice TV flew into Alaska and stayed a week for this documentary. If you like this VBS.tv series, you should definitely check out their stuff on North Korea. The Final Frontiersman was written by a Wisconsin man from my hometown, so my parents picked it up for me last time they visited. The book is fantastic, but I really enjoy the Vice video. Those sides of ribs in the movie are Flintstone size, and I like immensely that Heimo still has his Wisconsin accent. If they ever make a movie of Heimo’s life, I hope Bill Murray plays him.

via Cold Splinters

When I heard the news, I immediately thought of the scene in Fight Club where Tyler Durden splices random pornographic images one frame at a time into movies he shows at the theater. Not long enough to be noticed, but quick enough to leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth. The good news is that I don’t think Tim from Backcountry.com spliced in any inappropriate photos in his review of this Norrona jacket. You can now upload videos of yourself wearing Stoic jackets to hotdog eating contests or using a boat-anchor-sized cam to open a six-pack in one blow.

My friend Peter took his kayak down a ski hill in Upper Michigan and said something along the lines of, “The worst case scenario I imagined; it was ten times worse than that.” These guys in Ashville, North Carolina seem to have it figured out. In one part you can tell that they’re on a Frisbee golf course, which really made me laugh really hard. I guess you stick with what you know.

via Canoe and Kayak

A leaked Department of the Interior document (pdf) shows that the Obama Administration is considering extending National Monument status to 14 spots across the country. Reception to the news has been mixed. Environmentalists showed guarded optimism, while Utah politicians cried foul. Normal people seem to think it’s not a terrible idea, though normal people who like riding ATVs on some of the land that may become a national monument are upset they’d lose access.

Here’s a list of all 14 spots being considered:

San Rafael Swell (UT), Montana’s Northern Prairie (MT), Lesser Prairie Chicken Preserve (NM), Berryessa Snow Mountains (CA), Heart of the Great Basin (NV), Otero Mesa (NM), Northwest Sonoran Desert (AZ), Owyhee Desert (OR/NV), Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CA -expansion), Vermillion Basin (CO), Bodie Hills (CA), The Modoc Plateau (CA), Cedar Mesa (UT), and San Juan Islands (WA).

via The Adventure Life