New Mexico’s senators are asking President Obama to consider designating two special areas in New Mexico — already managed by the BLM — for national monument status. The request would make the Rio Grande Gorge and adjacent Taos Plateau, and the Organ Mountains, national monuments. Both areas are already popular for hiking, and the Rio [ more... ]

Malibu, despite its place in the firmament of surfing, has some of the skankiest water this side of a Superfund site. In the 1990s, four surfers died of water-borne diseases and a fifth nearly succumbed from a viral infection. You would think that residents would agree the nasty Malibu lagoon needed to be cleaned, but [ more... ]

A thriving pack of coyotes living just a few miles from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and whose range is less than a third of a mile suggest that even large carnivores are just fine living right under the bootprint of a human-made landscape. The coyotes were studied as part of a project by Ohio State University [ more... ]

Searchers in Kings Canyon National Park, California, have turned up no sign of missing hiker Larry Conn, 53, who’s been out of touch since October 19. The Pacific Palisades man was on a solo backpacking trip and planned to return on October 22. Park officials thought his route would take him over Taboose Pass towards [ more... ]

Hang on a sec, I’m trying to keep a straight face. Oh heck, it’s impossible. A representative of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked the city of Irvine, California, to erect a memorial along the side of the road where hundreds of bass (the fish, not the instrument) were killed in a [ more... ]

Even when it blew up in the early 2000, pro cycling wasn’t the NFL or the NBA. Its community is relatively small, so small that, as in surfing or climbing or skiing, the “stars” can be met personally. Which is why even as Lance Armstrong constructed a firewall against other pros talking, there were always [ more... ]

It’s possible that climbers are putting a little too much faith in technology — not ropes and ice axes, but Diamox, a drug that was originally developed to treat glaucoma, epilepsy, hypertension, and more. Diamox has a useful side-effect: It enables climbers to cope better with the effects of high altitude. The problem is that [ more... ]

Two of Malibu’s finest ran to help a woman who’d climbed about 50 feet up a cliff and found herself stranded. They managed to reach her, but were only capable of reinforcing unfair Southern California lifeguard stereotypes. The two became stranded and had to sit on the cliff with the woman while waiting for someone [ more... ]

The U.S. Forest Service announced the acceptance of Arapahoe Basin ski area’s 2012 master plan upgrades, including lift-served skiing in the Beavers backcountry area. The areas of expansion include proposed intermediate and expert terrain and side- and backcountry that would get a whole lot safer with more rigorous avalanche controls along with lift service. The [ more... ]

I remember reading a retrospective review of Philip K Dick’s work, and it made the fantastic point that as fans of his work grow older and move into more influential roles, Dick’s stature as a writer would rise. As BMX riders grow older, I look forward to more of these kinds of videos. Then again, I have no idea how old the guy is who made this particular video, but I’m sure that won’t inhibit your enjoyment of it at all.

via All Hail the Black Market