Built For The Mountain Life

Craig Childs in High Country News

MK Ambassador and highly-acclaimed author Craig Childs has written the cover story for the current issue of the High Country News, an nonprofit independent biweekly news magazine that reports on the West's natural resources, public lands and changing communities.  Craig's article, entitled Pillaging the Past, explores the fine line that separates archaeology from grave- and site-robbing in the American Southwest. 

Check out the article, and subscribe to HCN.  This is one of the last true resources for the important issues facing the American West.

Craig Childs lives in Crawford, Colorado on the beautiful western slope.  He spends most of his time in the desert with his family and his pen and paper.

Pro Golfer Wesley Horne Joins MK Ambassador Team

We're excited to announce that Wesley Horne, professional golfer on the European Challenge Tour and the NGA Hooters Tour, is our newest MK ambassador.  His strong work ethic and determination are admirable and are also reflected in his stong finishes.  He'll be representing MK on golf courses around the US, Europe and Africa.  Wesley graduated from NC State and his been playing professionally since then.

We're excited to have Wesley out on the course representing MK and we look forward to tracking his progress throughout the summer.  Good luck Wesley!  We're sure that our Lake Lodge Twills will be perfect for you, and hopefully they'll bring you good luck as well.

MK at Western Collegiate Stihl Challenge

The versatility and strength of Mountain Khakis' pants was put to the test two weeks ago at the Western Collegiate Challenge in Missoula, Montana.  This is a major timbersports competition in the west, and Adrian Flygt, a member of the Colorado State University Logging Sports Team, won the competition as a major underdog.  Adrian has only been competing for 2 years now, and he beat men from Idaho and Montana who have had a saw in their hands nearly their entire lives.  Adrian will travel to Columbus, Georgia for the World Collegiate Championships in June.

Adrian and the rest of the CSU Logging Team wear Mountain Khakis for practice and for competitions.  They love the pants for their comfort and durability, and several team members have noted that they can wear the pants straight from practice to dinner or to the library without looking like they just came out of the timber yard.  Glad we can help out y'all, keep up the good work.

ESPN wrote an article on Adrian's victory.

Is There Time for the Outdoors?

Today's email newsletter from the Outdoor Industry featured a brief article on the latest LeisureTRAK report.  The report found that 48 percent of Americans say computer activities have cut into the time they spend outdoors.  Thirty-eight percent say TV and videos have cut into their outside time.  And only 46 percent of Gen Y believes we should be connected with nature.

On a brighter note, the report found that 66% of Americans believe we should be connected with nature, over half the population has taken steps to eat better and increase activities in the past year, and 55% of parents say their children play outside on a daily basis.

We believe the above "brighter" percentages should be much higher.  Mountain Khakis and Mountain Sprouts want to remind everyone of the importance of playing outside.  Good for the mind and body.  Whether it's a daily walk or your weekend mountain bike ride, make it a goal to get outside more, and take the kids with you.  Video games, television and computers are not connecting people to nature, but rather disconnecting them.  Plug Into Nature!

-source: Outdoor Industry WebNews

Local Snake River Brewing Brings Home the Gold(s)

Congratulations to our friends and local brewers over at Snake River Brewing.  They once again returned victorious from the 7th bi-annual World Beer Cup with four medals.  The WBC is the "Olympics of Beer" and is the largest international beer competition that recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the world today.  The fact that the fellas wear MK over at the brewery clearly had a positive effect on the quality of the beer.  Nice work everyone!

Snake River Pale Ale >> GOLD Medal; Zonker Stout >> GOLD Medal; Rock Chuck Rye >> GOLD Medal; On Belay IPA >> SILVER Medal

Dispatch from Everest: 1 American Removed

MK Ambassador Mike Tayloe checks in from Nepal:

24 April 2008  Kathmandu, Nepal

So, yesterday the news filtered down that 1 American has been removed from his Everest expedition for having a "Free Tibet" flag in his expedition gear, just days ahead of a planned ascent by Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic torch .  He was a part of the Eco-Everest Team.

Both our sources from base camp and the Kathmandu news reported that during a search of one of the expedition's gear they located the flag...precisely the reason the military is there.  As of now, just the single member was escorted down to Kathmandu instead of the entire expedition permit being revoked...a surprise from we'd been told.  So it still remains serious up there and I guess the military is doing what they said...unreal!!

Take care and be safe...Namaste

Tayloe and Kristin

MK Ambassador featured on Cartoon Network

Lauren Burress, MK Ambassador and ripping young kayaker, has been featured on Cartoon Network's series Props, which highlights the achievements and talents of 20 of America's most talented kids.  Click the link above to watch her segment.  A vote will take place in the summer and top 6 kids will win something big.  We'll be sure to remind you all when it's time to vote.  Congrats Lauren, keep up the good work.

www.laurenburress.com

The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro

Our friend Steve Casimiro, West Coast Editor over at National Geographic Adventure is running a fairly new blog, The Adventure Life.  The blog features everything from trip reports to digital photography tips and gear reviews.  Recently Casimiro posted a good article on the dangers of BPA in water bottles, namely Nalgene, and Nalgene's recent decision to pull the contaminated bottles from the shelves.  Check out The Adventure Life today.

Earth Day Thoughts

Happy Earth Day!  I'd first like to point out the efforts going on by hundreds of companies and organizations around the world who donate through 1% For The Planet.  This is a great cause and every year thousands of local, regional and national non-profits are benefiting from these generous donations.

Second, here are some alarming numbers taken from Deep Economy, a book by Bill McKibben about the wealth of communities and the durable future:

Imperial Challenge - Breckenridge, CO

There is no better way to wrap up an epic season than to compete in an epic local race.  On Saturday I raced in the Imperial Challenge.  The race starts in the Town of Breckenridge; you ride your bike 6.3 miles up a dirt road to the base of the ski area.  Then you pick up your skis, which are staged there for you, for a skin to the summit of Peak 8, a 3000 vertical foot slog.  At the top you ski back down to the base, the finish line and the beer.  Needless to say it is a great transition between the ski season and the biking season.

I did not beat my personal best this year, however I was able to finish 5th in my age group.  My weakness this year was definitely the biking portion.  Like the rest of the Rocky Mountains, the snow has not stopped, so my bike has stayed strapped to the ceiling of my garage.  I chose to do the ski part on my Nordic skis.  They are fast and light for the long climb.  I believe I make up enough time on the way up to sacrifice the time lost trying to ski down a double diamond run on two-inch wide skis.  So that concludes my winter - it doesn't mean the skis are packed away - but I am now ready for the upcoming climbing, biking and hiking season. 

MK Ambassador Hunter Mortensen is truly Built For The Mountain Life, and thus finds his Mountain Khakis to be perfect for his lifestlye.

Getreeled.com - New Social Network for Fishing

Online social networks are all the rage these days, as we're all aware of Facebook and Myspace.  But with the popularity of these websites we're beginning to see more specific networks spring up.  Enter getreeled.com, North America's largest and newest social network for fishing.

Getreeled.com was started by Ben Kelly, a hobby fisherman and internet marketer from Toronto, Canada.  The site contains the standard profile for each person, as well as groups, forums, contests, photos, videos and more.  Topics range from general fly fishing to smallmouth bass to fishing jokes.  Getreeled.com has seen tremendous success in it's first month of existence, with over 30,000 visitors and 2300 members.  If you're looking for specific tips or fishing reports, getreeled.com is the perfect place to find them.

Katabatic Consulting departs Everest Base Camp

We received word from MK Ambassadors Kristin Peterson and Mike Tayloe of Katabatic Consulting that they've departed base camp, arrived back in Namche and fulfilled all of their goals.  They were there to assist Dr. Luanne Freer with the Everest ER base camp clinic.  The tasks included: setting up the solar system to power the medical equipment, assessing the medical equipment and recommending further equipment for the following seasons and training the sherpas in rescue techniques.  Several of the sherpas had taken Kristin's wilderness medical course in January and were dialed in from that.

"A quick word on the political mess:  As you know the Chinese government closed the North side of Everest to climbing and asked the Nepali government to do the same for the South Side...they did not close the climbing but they did enact a series of restrictions; no summit attempts until after May 10, restrictions on when and to what elevation climbers could go until then, no email dispatches and/or pictures, no videos, no SAT phone calls until after May 10.  The Nepali government is very serious about these regulations and everyone is on pins and needles.   Pictures will be available after May 10th."

Danger Lurks in Colorado Campgrounds

Folks who plan on camping in Colorado this summer might want to be aware of the trees surrounding them.  The Forest Service is announcing that trees weakened by the pine beetle epidemic threaten to fall down or blow over at any time.  This might sounds absurd, but I don't think you want to take any chances of having a 60-foot tall tree crash down on you or your camp.

Several campgrounds around the state will also be closed in order to clear out dangerous beetle kill.  The White River National Forest, Arapaho-Roosevelt NF and Medicine Bow-Routt NF are expected to announce closures.  Some of your favorite areas might soon be lacking vegetation and shade, which is a bummer, but better safe than sorry.  There's plenty of places in the forest to camp where you'll find all the trees and shade you could need.

Here in northwest Wyoming, we haven't been hit quite as hard as Colorado or even areas of Idaho, potentially due to the colder temperatures up here and longer, harsher winters.  In BC, projections say 78 percent of the pine forests will be killed by 2015.  This bodes the question, is global warming at fault for the beetle epidemic?

Fun in the Sun - Closing Day at Grand Targhee

Grand Targhee, a local Wyoming ski resort, celebrated closing day on Sunday April 13th with sunny skies, warm temps and lots of debauchery.  Saturday featured the Cardboard Box Derby, which saw over 40 vessels cruise down the slopes, with hundreds of people lined up to watch.  Perfect closing weekend to an amazing season.

Start off the day with lap out back

End of the day snowball fight

Spring Skiing in MKs

This may be the first I have ever seen of MK Alpine Utility pants worn while hiking and then skiing. Maybe the new trend for next winter...

MK Ambassador Steve Romeo is able to wear his MKs to work, and then keep them on for a few laps on the King.  Check out Steve's website, TetonAT.

Spring Cleaning in St. Louis

My wife and I spent Saturday morning working with the wonderful folks from Trailnet and Missouri River Relief cleaning up a creek just north of St. Louis near where it empties into the currently massive Mississippi River.  The river is running about a foot above flood stage right now so we weren't able to access the immediate mouth area of the tributary, but we found plenty of trash further up.  Our team of nine gathered just under a half ton (three trailer loads) of refuse in about three hours of back-breaking  work, and altogether the 100 or so volunteers removed 4 tons from the watershed.  My MK Alpine Utility Pants not only put up with the chilly wind, mud, briars and rusty metal trash but also garnered me a few compliments as well!  I'm pretty beat and sore now, but it was a great way to help out the highly pressured, yet still beautiful, natural world right here in the St. Louis metro area.

MK Ambassador Brian Dean is an orthopedic surgery resident in St. Louis and tries to get outside every chance he gets.  Soon Brian hopes to have his own practice, caring for outdoor athletes, among others.

Flooded Out

MK Ambassador Zach Matthews posted a trip report on his website.  A tough night camping in Georgia, to say the least.  Hit the link below to read about the flood and view the pictures.

Itinerant Angler

MK Ambassador in Outside Magazine

MK Ambassador Kristin Peterson, co-owner and founder of Katabatic Consulting, made it into the most recent edition of Outside Magazine, in their 'Best Jobs' feature.  Currently, Kristin is at Everest Base Camp (EBC), assisting Dr. Luanne Freer with with Everest Base Camp Medical Clinic.  The team has arrived at EBC and has the clinic set up.  They've already treated 8 patients, and the masses are beginning to arrive.  Looks this climbing season will go off as usual, despite recent word of setbacks and closures.  Check the Everest ER website for dispatches from base camp.

South Fork Fishing Report, Snake River, Idaho

MK Ambassador Bruce Smithhammer recently returned from Patagonia, and checks in with a brief report on the South Fork of the Snake River:

Good to quite good.  Lots of midge activity, and little black stoneflies are making an appearance, with skwalas just around the corner...

South Fork and Luna

S. Fork Rainbow

Ambassador Photography

Jonathan Willy hikes in Cali

Josh Fuller in Belize

Jari Kirkland ripping skins in CO

Olympic Protests Extinguish Flame, Fun

It's continually shocking to see hundreds and thousands of protesters showing up to block the procession of the Olympic torch relay across the world.  Most all of the protests are steming from human rights violations in China and against Tibet, and while the things that are going on in Western China are not okay by any means, it's a shame that the fall-out is seen all along the path of the Olympic Torch.  I understand that there is not a better worldwide stage to point out the violations of rights and freedom on China's part, but there must be a more productive method than to crash the party of every Olympic parade in every city across the world. 

The torch relay is meant to bring countries together and unite the world leading up to the Olympic Games, a festival of sport that brings out the pride and patriot in all nationalities, and gives the world a break from the dreary and depressing news of every day life.  Bringing to attention the Tibetan hardships that are taking place and the human rights violations throughout Western China is a good  and necessary thing.  But doing so at the expensive of every individual who attempts to enjoy the Olympic torch relay is not fair.  And now the news that San Francisco's mayor plans to partake in protests when the torch arrives in SF.  The Olympic Games will go on, despite all the protests, and likely none of this will sway the minds of China's goverment.  So is it worth it?

Lift-Service Skiing is Coming to an End

We've reached the final weekend of skiing at the Village here in Jackson, with the last day being Sunday April 6th.  That means that Saturday is the 33rd Annual Pole Pedal Paddle event, which includes a downhill ski, cross-country ski, bike ride and paddle down the Snake River.  This is a great event that benefits the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club.  Sunday, being the final day of the season, is a big party on and around the mountain, with locals celebrating the accomplishments of 600 inches of total snowfall. 

4 Dollar Make Me Holler!!

This is the first time I have ever personally seen a $4 on the gas price board (north of Jackson, WY).  If I drove a diesel, it would definitely be converted to biodiesel, probably about $1 ago.  The question still looms: how high does the price of gas need to get before people stop driving regularly?  With a gallon of (non-organic) milk costing more than $3  now, it won't be long before you start to see more people riding the bus, or better yet, the bike.

Elk Mountain Grand Traverse

The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse is a backcountry ski race from Crested Butte, Colorado to Aspen, up and over and through the Elk Mountains, over 40 miles long.  The race takes anywhere from 9 hours from the elite to over 14 hours for the slower teams.  Teams of two must race together, stick together, and carry approved backcountry safety gear, food, water and be independently prepared for a 24-hour bivouac. 

The 11th annual race was last weekend, and consisted of mostly skiiers from Colorado, although a handful of folks from the Jackson area were there to represent and have some fun.  Congratulations to MK Ambassador Jari Kirkland and her partner Rebecca Dussault (Olympic cross-country skiier) for finishing in first place in the Women's Division and 15th overall.  Jari is a super competitor and excels in endurance races, adventure races and triathlons.  We'll be sure to keep you updated on Jari as her events come up.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_8763623

Climbing Wall Summit 2008 - Boulder, CO

The 2008 Climbing Wall Summit in Boulder, CO will provide the climbing community with an outstanding professional development experience by gathering influential leaders, manufacturers, climbing wall owners, managers and staff all in one common place.  The Summit will provide a forum for learning from expert faculty and climbing peers through classes, clinics and workshops.  This year the Summit will be held May 1st through May 4th.  Mountain Khakis is excited to be a sponsor for this event, which is put on by the Climbing Wall Association.  We hope to see many of you there.  Check the CWA website for information on registration.