Category: Mental Health

Are you an experienced climber who wants to help out aspiring alpinists get more comfortable in the mountains? Or a novice mountaineer that needs a bit of assistance to take your climbing game to the next level? Then you’ll want to apply to Tincup Whiskey and the American Alpine Club‘s second annual Partner In Adventure Grant, which opens for applications today.

The grant is meant to provide one person and their friend up to $1,000 to support “safe recreation” and help the “greater guiding community” take on new challenges and push people to gain the proficiency to achieve their lofty climbing goals. This inclusive chance is ideal for anyone who wants to further their outdoor education while spending time with a friend or partner.

Last year the grant gave out $20,000 to 20 partners, who pitched course ideas like avalanche training, ski mountaineering, wilderness first responder, climbing development, … Read more

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Let’s get something straight: The hottest ticket in motorcycling through the COVID era has been “ADV” or “adventure bikes,” with sales skyrocketing. An ADV bike is kinda sorta a street bike you can ride on dirt roads. They lean toward on-road comfort, with some off-road capability. A BMW GS might be the best poster child of the breed—or the newly updated Kawasaki KLR 650. If you know anything about bikes you know these are comfortable machines for the long haul but, unless you’re super talented, can become a major handful when you hit technical off-roading. The enemy is weight, typically cresting at 440 to 500 pounds. The 289-pound 2022 Honda 450 RL is decidedly not that ADV trendy machine then.

The Honda 450 RL is a barely street legal dirt bike fine tuned for bombing fire roads and more technical tracks than the average rider would ever tackle with a … Read more

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You’ve been pairing sake with your spicy tuna rolls for years and adding Japanese whisky to your rotation as of late since its booming popularity, but there’s one Japanese liquor that still remains mostly undiscovered stateside: shochu. This spirit is so beloved in Japan that it’s known as the country’s native spirit and even trumps sake in popularity.

You could think of shochu as a relative of vodka, albeit a distant one. This centuries-old spirit boasts a robust flavor profile, and some expressions, like Saiten from iichiko, a leading maker of premium shochu with U.S. distribution, have a bit of a umami flavor that pairs nicely with savory, rich dishes and citrus cocktails, too.

In a nutshell, shochu is a clear, white spirit that’s distilled from vegetables and grains like barley, sweet potato, and rice, explains Tetsuro … Read more

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The overlanding world’s most innovative companies and leaders gathered this past weekend in Flagstaff, AZ at Overland Expo West, the second of three such events this year. Attendees test drove Ford Broncos and Harley-Davidsons, learned about motorcycle packing and survival skills, lusted after 4×4 display vehicles, and gawked at the latest gear for outfitting their rigs.

Over the weekend, we scoured the massive showgrounds, which was packed with 400 exhibitors, and looked for the best new and noteworthy products. From compact cooking systems to lightweight self-recovery gear to the most outrageous truck camper you’ll ever see, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite finds below.

The Coolest New Gear from Overland Expo West

1. Omnia Stovetop Oven

For most people, one of the major downsides of prolonged van or … Read more

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If you’ve visited a natural wine bar in your neighborhood or held up a bottle of cloudy bubbles in the “naked wine” section at the liquor store, you’ve probably thought: “What’s the deal with pét-nat wine?”

Short for pétillant naturel, which means “naturally bubbly” in French, pét-nat is a centuries-old way of making bubbles—so ancient it predates Champagne. While pét-nat has been around for a long time, it’s enjoying a resurgence as part of the broader natural wine trend that’s appealing to wine drinkers who are more conscientious about what they’re consuming, including wines that haven’t been tinkered with much.

Really, you could think of pét-nat as the quirky, funky cousin of Champagne. The bubbles are a bit more frothy and, with pét-nat, you might think of your favorite sour beer, if that beer had a bit of a creamy texture, says Bob Smith, certified specialist of wine and … Read more

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Any running is good running. Whether it’s training for a marathon, taking a light jog, or doing sprints, the health benefits of kicking into higher gear are huge. So how do you best optimize them? Most people have their pre-run regimen down—specifically what they’ll be eating before a run or competition. This is important, of course, but what you eat after a run is equally vital for recovery. The average post-run routine generally goes something like this: stumble through the door, sweat a bit, sit down, head for the shower. What’s missing here is the refueling stage. You need to recoup what you drained.

Depending on your goals—i.e. training for a marathon or just logging more consistent weekly miles—what you eat after a run should aim to refuel, rebuild, and rehydrate to aid the recovery process and maximize the training effect. The focus of post-run nutrition should be on replenishing … Read more

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With giant holds bolted to 45-degree walls, today’s gyms are a far cry from yesteryear, back when indoor rock climbing mimicked outdoor terrain. Gone are the gray rock-shaped holds, replaced with bright neon blobs, triangles, boxes, and various geometric shapes and sizes. Climbing shoemaker Five Ten’s solution to these indoor-specific holds is to design a shoe specifically made for ascending artificial terrain. They also want to drive maximum power out of it—especially on holds with smooth sides. That’s why its new Hiangle Pro lacks an inside edge; this way, it hugs giant shapes like a palm over a basketball rather than skimming and scraping off them.

Made with a seamless 3D forefoot wrap of sticky rubber that tapers from 3.5 to 2.1 millimeters underfoot, the soft inside of this shoe smears over holds. At the same time, the thin-rubber underfoot feels every nook and cranny. This increases balance and power … Read more

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While your shoes are important, foot comfort actually starts with the sock; it’s the layer that actually touches the skin, after all. Fit, cut, cushioning, and thickness all matter, but the sock’s material will have the biggest effect on its overall performance. And for that, there’s a clear winner: Wool is the most versatile and popular sock fabric for its insulating, sweat-wicking, and antimicrobial properties. It’s basically a super ingredient that’s often blended with synthetic fibers like nylon, elastane, and polyester. Wool socks will keep you warm in cold conditions and cool in hot weather, and they’re ideal for moving moisture from your foot. That means you can go for days without stinking up wool socks, even if you sweat profusely.

Whether you’re trekking through loamy trails, leveling up at the gym, or just looking to enhance your … Read more

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The winter holidays fall during one of the busiest times of year on the sports calendar, so the sports fans in your life might be in a particularly athletic mood when it comes to gifts. Of course, a good sports-related gift doesn’t depend on the schedule—it’s timeless. Ideally, it’ll be something the recipient can cherish and maybe even pass down to future generations.

That’s a tall order, but don’t stress: There are plenty of great gifts out there to please even the most hardcore fan. Here, we’ve rounded up 11 picks that make great options for gifting this season.

The Best Gifts for Sports Fans in 2021

1. Uncommon Goods Ticket Stub Diary

Before digital tickets (and before cell phones with cameras in them), the best way to prove … Read more

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A slew of water protection measures emerging to combat droughts suggests a shifting current.

We’re poised for real transformation, from investments in better, more equitable water infrastructure to the biggest river protection and restoration proposals in history,” says Tom Kiernan, the president of American Rivers, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. “This could be the year for historic wins.”

One notable effort is U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s plan to breach four dams on the lower Snake River in Washington state. Simpson’s proposal is a serious stab at resolving the Northwest’s “salmon wars,” as the Republican representative from Idaho calls them. When the four dams in question were built in the 1960s and ’70s they flooded 14,400 acres and decimated salmon and steelhead populations that migrate from the ocean to spawning habitats in the wilds of Idaho.

Simpson hopes to bundle his $33.5 billion proposal into President Joe Biden’s infrastructure … Read more

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A funny thing happened when the pandemic hit and the economy went into a free fall. Cars didn’t stop selling—especially fast ones. Turns out contemplating mortality meant, for many of us, enjoying the visceral pleasures available to us while we still could. For some, that meant going out and buying the 2021 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye Widebody.

After driving one, I tip my dopamine-soaked cap to those buyers. On an emotional scale of 1 to 10, the fastest mass-produced sedan in the world is somewhere in near-earth orbit. Jeff Bezos unloaded much more than the $90,050 sticker price on our test car to get there.

Dodge Hellcat reimagined

The Hellcat at hand represents another chapter in an ongoing story. When Dodge unleashed the “Hellcat” name back in 2014 with the first iteration of its 6.2-liter, V-8-powered supercharged monster, it was part of a bid to leave boring cars behind, ceding … Read more

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Smack in the Pacific, thousands of miles from the nearest landmass, the Hawaiian Archipelago is as isolated as it gets. It’s the world capital of endemism—with one of the highest numbers of species existing nowhere else on Earth. There are more endangered species per square mile here than anywhere else, making the islands of Hawaii one of the planet’s most unique—and uniquely vulnerable—ecosystems.

Prior to human influence, new plants and animals carried by wind and water were incredibly rare here. A single new species made this commute every 50,000 years or so. Today, invasive species arrive in Hawaii once every 18 days. Most of the species on the island today co-evolved over millennia, creating a diverse and stable balance. Add in one dominant species though, leave it unchecked, and Hawaii’s delicate ecosystem is in trouble.

Environmental imbalance can be tough to … Read more

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The return of fall means many different things. For some, it means that their yards will soon have a blanket of yellow, orange, and brown leaves. It means the temperatures are growing colder and the days are getting shorter. It also means the return of one of the most seasonally specific beers: the pumpkin ale. They hit the store shelves in September (sometimes appearing in the midst of the August heat). Then they’re gone like a ghostly phantom in the night by Thanksgiving.

If it seems like pumpkin beer is a rather recent phenomenon, it’s not. When European settlers first came to North America, wheat and barley were hard-to-come-by ingredients. If you had any, you were more likely to make bread than alcohol. In place of grains and malt, native pumpkins became an important ingredient in beer. There’s even a recipe that dates back to 1771 for ‘pompion’ ale. In … Read more

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