As a kid, I was the wallflower sitting in the corner of the classroom. Well, for the brief period of time I wasn’t living on a boat being home schooled…. Okay, on to my point, I’m not naturally outgoing, I have to work at it. That said, few things make me more uncomfortable than dressing up in a costume. Seriously, …
First hike of spring: Mount Wire via The Living Room, Salt Lake City
I’m not in Florida anymore. Standing atop a retired beacon tower at the summit of Mount Wire, my view spanned from the Wasatch Range across Salt Lake City west to the Oquirrh Mountains. Then the realization hit me, this is my new home. Our hike up started at a trailhead located on the east side of the University of Utah …
Photo essay: Brighton Ski Resort, Utah
Utah’s Brighton Ski Resort attracts a laid-back mix of snowboarders and skiers. It was the first mountain in Utah to allow snowboarders and caters to them to this day, so no snobbery here. It also features terrain for all abilities, offers child-care for families, and night skiing is available in the park and pipe areas. I enjoyed watching all of …
Seven new outdoor products that have my attention
Outdoor recreation manufacturers converged on Salt Lake City recently for the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market (ORWM). They brought their newest and best products, some never seen on store shelves, to entice retail-store buyers. They also brought killer swag, costumes, elaborate booths, food, and a number of epic after-hours parties. The Active Explorer crew attended to get a look at the …
Learning to ski: Dress for success on the slopes
No one learns well when distracted by shivering and numb fingers. Clothes can make a difference between enjoying the experience and being miserable. This post is a companion article to my Learning to Ski post published a couple of weeks ago. Frankly, the original post got too long so I had to chop this section out. However, clothing is a …
Learning to ski: Three days of fun at Brighton’s Snow Sports School
I do not participate in any sport with ambulances at the bottom of the hill. ~Erma Bombeck This quote pretty much sums up why I avoided learning to ski until well into my 40s. Eventually I ran out of stupid things to do to my body, and I needed something to do in the winter, so it was time to …
Coffee Craving: The Rose Estb in Salt Lake City
Frosty morning air made me walk a little faster toward The Rose Estb (I’m following their lead by abbreviating Establishment), a coffee spot I’d been hearing about for months. I was so chilled and under-caffeinated I started imagining the flavor of what I hoped would be a primo cup of java from a block away. The Rose Estb is located …
Five reasons to hike Utah’s Lake Blanche Trail
At over 8,800 feet, my lungs were objecting to the continued uphill trek toward Lake Blanche in Utah’s Wasatch Range. Okay, I’ll tell it like it was – I was huffing and puffing like a 3-pack-a-day-smoker. I’d been working out, and did some extensive hiking at altitude over the summer, but none of that helped. Feeling a bit humbled, I …