Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey have been working with a host of international collaborators to present the most detailed map yet of Antarctica’s landmass. Bedmap2 reveals a landscape of mountain ranges and plains cut by gorges and valleys much deeper than previously seen. For instance the bed under the Byrd Glacier in Victoria Land [ more... ]

Several qualifying events for the Iditarod have been canceled this year leaving aspirational racers scrambling to find the necessary two 300-mile races before the big event. Sled dogs are bred to run in temps from -20F to 0F, but temps in Willow where many of the racers train have been in the 30s and 40s. [ more... ]

Am I the only one who wanted the bear to get the guy? Look, I understand there might be some value in research. And even more value in shooting compelling film that you can share that might serve to inspire people to protect polar bears. But this guy wasted a ton of one bear’s time. There’s not a lot to eat up there, and each year as pack ice retreats earlier, there’s less and less time for bears to hunt. The video is even titled, “Starving polar bear’s terrifying attack on Gordon Buchanan.” No matter how scared Gordon was, the bear is the one that’s much worse off.

The worst part of this situation (for me), is that one of the hosts on Good Morning America actually said exactly what I was thinking, “there’s not a lot to eat up there.”

I’m suggesting you go see the film Chasing Ice in spite of the fact that they started a petition on their site trying to get people to pledge to see the film. Ugh, talk about overuse of petitions. Even if you’re one of the insane people who doesn’t accept the science behind climate change (and virtually every credible scientist accepts it), you’ll find it’s a beautifully shot look at some of the most remote stretches of Earth. They even park two kids on a glacier for a month in the hope that they’ll be there to shoot a massive calving event, hilarious! The film is also a call to action of sorts, and James Balog does it in a way Al Gore was too polarizing to achieve. It’s a fantastic film shot in beautiful places. Go, see it.

Looking for some indoor stoke this weekend? Check out the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Tour dates and locations are listed on their site. Looking for an indoor kick in the ass this weekend? Check out Chasing Ice, the incredible film that relies on James Balog’s work photographing retreating glaciers. It’s an impressive and undeniable window that looks onto the human-caused destruction of our planet. Both are sponsored by National Geographic, which you’re sure to notice in the above video since it’s two minutes of trailer followed by five minutes of sponsorship reel.

The mayor of a small French town on a mid-Alps resort has proposed the removal of all the ski lifts to promote cross country skiing, mountain biking, and hiking. “There are lots of things to do in the mountains without having cables hanging over our heads. People will come, I have no fear of that,” [ more... ]

It’s amazing that people still believe global warming doesn’t exist. On some level I understand it. To look at what scientists across the world are saying and acknowledge it has profound meaning. Some people are still uncomfortable admitting that, yes, our choices and behavior have impacted the planet in such a tremendous and awful way, and one day we’ll be held accountable for it. Al Gore put together this piece to try to explain the way global warming is denied. But I think it misses something. The cigarette metaphor is apt. Perhaps too much so. Everyone now knows smoking will kill them. If you smoke, it’s unlikely you’ll die from a disease non-related to smoking. And yet people still smoke. Why should global warming be any different once we admit its power. It’s group think on a global scale.

Here’s a teaser for the latest JP Auclair ski film All.ICan made my Sherpas Cinema. This street segment is a small part of the film, and you couldn’t tell from this edit, but the film purports to be “a stunning exploratory essay that compares the challenges of big mountain skiing to the challenges of global climate change.” Let’s hope so. I’ve had enough of the hippie-inspired climate change stuff. It’s time to infuse saving the planet with getting rad.

via National Geographic Adventure

If you can see this, then you might need a Flash Player upgrade or you need to install Flash Player if it’s missing. Get Flash Player from Adobe. This error may appear if the URL path to the embedded object is broken or you have connectivity issue to the embedded object. Powered BY XVE Various [ more... ]

Last night I attended Al Gore’s latest presentation and the culmination of his latest event, 24 Hours of Reality. It began a day earlier, and a presentation was held hourly in every time zone around the world and streamed live to anyone who cared to watch. The goal of the talk is to rally the [ more... ]