See Burton’s latest terrain park in the POV video pro rider Stephan Maurer shot for us The Burton Stash at Jackson Hole takes terrain parks to a whole new level. We toured their Stash in Killington a few years back and were super excited to hit the snow in their latest project. The natural surroundings blend beautifully with Stash’s features—and there are a lot of them. With four different runs and over 54 features in all, it’s a serious ride that’s perfect for the skilled boarder At over 13 acres Stash has something to offer everyone. The trails—Antelope Flats, Deer Flats, Ashley Ridge and Campground—are all packed with log slides, jumps, pillows, and even a vertical wall ride suspended in mid air. From the Dancefloor to the Rollercoaster all the runs’ features mesh seamlessly into the hillside and offer a truly challenging, fun riding experience. We spent some time exploring Stash’s runs with some of Burton’s riders and got to see the ins and outs with pro guidance. Stephan Maurer was kind enough to don a helmet cam and show us how to tear it up on some of the hottest features, check out the video below. photography by Adam Moran

Original post:
The Stash at Jackson Hole

Climb every mountain and ski any path with the world’s first GPS-enabled goggles For backcountry trailblazers, Recon Instruments ‘ new Transcend goggles introduce advanced technology for carving your own path while providing essential protection from sun and snow. The GPS-enabled goggles “require minimal interaction” yet boast an impressive amount of features, including a full-color micro LCD display, Google Maps overlay, real-time statistics (speed, altitude, vertical, run-counter, temperature and more), and keep a log of averages, maximums and minimums for each run over the entire day. Vancouver-based Recon fitted the goggles with lenses from Boulder, CO-based Zeal Optics, who created two versions—polarized ($400) or for an even greater sun shield, polarized and photochromic ($500). Both styles are PC and Mac adaptable and through a micro USB port you can easily upload your stats at the end of the day. The goggles weigh just around nine ounces, last six to eight hours through a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and sell online from both Recon Instruments and Zeal Optics .

View original post here:
Transcend Goggles

Help support one man’s epic expedition to combat meningitis While some run or walk for a cause, Mark Jobling will drive a team of huskies 155 miles across the frozen Arctic Lapland to help in the fight against the life-threatening disease meningitis. His charitable tack has already brought results in fact, inspiring Woolrich to recently donate one of their classic Arctic parkas—a coat filled with super-warm down and kitted out with essential features to fight the elements, such as a HydroGuard water-resistant finish and hand-warming pockets. Jobling, currently in training, will put the gear to use come 26 March 2011. The goal of his efforts is to raise at least

Tackle slopes with carbon fiber skis designed for ice and versatility Ski magazines typically depict stylish athletes gliding effortlessly down tufts of powder, but those who live on the U.S.’ East Coast (dubbed the Ice Coast ) know a different reality. Growing up on the slopes of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, skiers Ben Callaghan and Joel Nashett understand the challenges of conquering less-than-ideal conditions and designed Avant Skis —high-performance skis shaped for what the conditions are, not what we’d like them to be. “The big trend now is to have super crazy wide skis, which is great when there is waist deep powder, but for the East and even 90% of the conditions out West, they are kind of overkill sometimes,” Callaghan explained in a recent interview. Designed using their own extensive experience skiing, the Hartford, CT-based label have created three variations of their Aviator model. The Ace is 181 centimeters of carbon composite, making it much lighter and more responsive than fiberglass models, and its striking reflective strips heighten visibility, where the slightly shorter Bomber (165 centimeters) allows for tighter turns and its thick steel edges are perfect for pushing maneuvers to their limit, hitting rails and rocks. For women, the Wasp is the same length as the Bomber, offering the same sturdy construction and steel edges suitable for ice and rocks. All three models sell online for $800 each, but the innovative duo plan to open a full-service shop with a ski factory and R&D center open for tours in the future. Explains Nashett in an interview with New York ski blog Harvey Road , “I think that if people could come to a ski resort to ski and to watch how skis are made, or even get their hands dirty working on their own boards, it would be a must-do item on a travel itinerary.”

Go here to see the original:
Avant Skis

How an iconic Canadian parka company is taking their handmade parkas in a new direction Nothing quite signifies cold like the image of a bundled-up kid with arms splayed to the sides. For those who’d rather minimize the bulk and unnatural limb positions, Canada Goose is in the midst of reinventing their typically function-over-fashion parka with more street-ready style. When the brand recently invited Cool Hunting on a tour of its factory in Toronto, we went along to learn all about their iconic parkas. Canada Goose’s appeal rests on two pertinent facts—the jackets are made entirely on Canadian soil by Canadian hands and the quality is irrefutable—a process we saw first-hand on Canada Goose’s factory floor. Starting in the design room, cutting patterns are developed and prototypes are stored. The jackets are cut out of Canada Goose’s proprietary blend of Arctic-Tech fabric, in one of their several heritage colors. They’re then stitched by hand and filled with different combinations of goose and duck down, using an ingenious device invented by former Canada Goose owner David Reiss that measures down by volume instead of weight. After finishing touches, quilting and trimming with coyote fur, the jackets are packaged, and shipped all over the globe from one of Canada Goose’s eight factories. Each jacket features Canada Goose’s signature design features, implemented for function in an Arctic environment—reflective tape, coyote fur, and grab loops on the neck and shoulders. Their parkas are standard wear among everyone who has to work in extreme temperatures, from Hollywood grips who stay on set all night to the champion dog-musher Lance Mackey , whose custom-designed parka has extra water bottle pockets on the interior and an extra-large ruff. Their reputation for quality—as well as their luxury prices—have made the jacket something of a status symbol among those in colder climes. Along with the police officers and park rangers whom the parka was originally intended for, Canada Goose also includes club bouncers among its fans, and its street appeal spread from there. With that in mind, Canada Goose has started developing different branches for this year, including jackets by acclaimed Japanese menswear designer Yuki Matsuda (pictured below) and a new Hybridge line, which we previously featured for its distinct gender-specific insulation. Prices range from $400 for the Hybridge line to several thousand for the Yuki Matsuda collection. Canada Goose parkas sell online or at select locations .

See more here:
Canada Goose Factory Tour

Utah natives’ debut collection introduces their own twist to classic outerwear If you’ve ever wondered what fashion critics mean exactly when they say clothes have “energy,” the new menswear label Highland from a trio of Utah-raised family friends might give you some idea. Drawing on their shared outdoorsy past, designer Lizzie Owens explains they not only turned to Arcteryx, seventies Patagonia and their dads’ closets but that “it involved ransacking my garage. I looked at a lot of backpacks and sleeping bags and tents—actual equipment.” The resulting debut collection (just hitting stores like Assembly , Steven Alan and No. 44 ) shows hints of such a resourceful process—climbing rope will be a trademark stand-in for pull-cords and emergency blankets feature prominently—without getting too weighed down by all the clever details. (See detail shots here .) While the light touch may seem unexpected from a designer best known for her work in costumes (she’s known for outfitting MGMT, The Killers, Chairlift and others), her skillful blending of influences suggests Owens intimately knows both sides of how clothes can obscure, protect and express the wearer’s personality. Of course formal training at RISD and years at TSE designing knitwear might have something to do with it; Highland at its core is what happens when artistic interpretation meets technical capabilities. This balance between construction and inspiration not only helps keep the clothes functional and minimalist, but lends a playfulness rarely seen in menswear. Blue (inspired by ’80s skiwear), red (“something I felt guys weren’t afraid of”) and mustard (“I’m obsessed with it. It’s so beautiful.”) punctuate an otherwise mostly black and grey palette and “pop on the inside is “for guys, like a little secret.” A boxier cut to shirting plays on an ’80s silhouette that’s recently been making a comeback. But simple plaids and checks in Japanese fabrics, cotton and wool neatly put a spin on cliched lumberjack references for a fresh look. Drop-crotch sweats in coveted loopwheeler fabric (made in Japan using an intensive process) are another example of Owens’ knack for integrating technical details with modern silhouettes. And waxwear pants with reinforced legs reference Carhartt’s classic carpenter pants, but with one key difference—the loop for a hammer is actually a non-functional piece of climbing rope. Check the Highland site for a complete list of stores or just head to Bastille to find Highland online. All images except for top photo by James Ryang

Continued here:
Highland Fall/Winter 2010

Start your next fire with an 1000°F electric wand Sick of grilled chicken tasting like lighter fluid, theater director Richard Looft made his first prototype by using a reversed vacuum to blow air onto a toaster filled with charcoal. When he saw that the coal was ready to use in just a few minutes, the concept for the Looftlighter was born. The resulting curling-iron-shaped device produces 1000

Take dinner outdoors with handmade cutlery cases, dead-stock fabric blankets and reusable sandwich bags While nothing beats a vintage picnic set for the kitsch value, when we head to the part to eat, we more often find ourselves tucking an old tablecloth into a tote and rifling through last night’s takeout bag for plastic cutlery. Below we highlight a few ways to class up your outdoor dining supplies with some favorite finds from Etsy. Sewn Natural sews vintage fabrics into blankets with a cotton flannel fill for a cushy and stylish spread. Handmade with a durable denim lining makes the price worth it and convenient straps keep it bundled for easy toting when on the go. Prices span $115 to $205 depending on the pattern. Gone are the days of brittle plastic disposable silverware and paper napkins floating away in the wind. NstarStudio offers handcrafted cases for carrying all your cutlery essentials. The urban picnic roll-up comes in a wide variety of colorways for $25. Finally a strategy for getting rid of plastic bags in the picnic basket. WasteNotSaks makes reusable sandwich bags with a cotton fabric exterior and a food-safe washable nylon interior. Each handmade sandwich and snack bag has a Velcro closure and sells for about $7.

Original post:
Modern Picnic Essentials

Minnesota’s family-friendly outdoor venue offers large-scale installations, art festivals and residency programs Open year round, Minnesota’s Franconia Sculpture Farm features a perpetually rotating cast of contemporary works from emerging American artists. The 20-acre wide outdoor park also offers an artist in residency program, where both interns or more established artists can utilize the space to create installations and sculptures. Construction on new projects takes place every year between April and November, and visitors are encouraged to probe and converse with the working artists. During the summer the park also hosts the 3-D Music Festival, inviting musicians to perform family-friendly shows and increasing the community’s exposure to different forms of art. Empowerment through exposure to the arts is one of the founding traditions of the park, and is kept alive today through programs for children and at-risk teens. Franconia has collaborated with the Minneapolis programs Kulture Klub and Projects Offstreets in the past, as well as Native American organizations such as Ain Dah Yung and Dream of Wild Health in order to promote teenage participation in the arts. Just 45 minutes northeast of the Twin Cities, the Franconia Sculpture Park is a must-see for art lovers, children and travelers alike. Some of their more popular events (such as the Kids Make Sculpture workshops or the Hot Metal Pour) recommend reservations, but the park is open to the public and always free of charge. photos by Josh Rubin

Go here to see the original:
Franconia Sculpture Farm