Outside's Winter Buyer's Guide now live

When I wrote the post about my first article in Outside Buyer's Guide, a review of winter packs, the review was not live. It is now published online if you want to link right to it.

What's SUP?

A couple weekends ago I tried stand up paddleboarding. It's the second time I've given the sport a try and the first time I've done it in the surf. We rented a board for the weekend and headed to Tofino, on Vancouver Island's west coast. The surf was eight feet and falling throughout the weekend. I managed to find a fairly sheltered beach brake to get my surfing legs.

Josie Boulding, my wife, a photographer and videographer, caught one of my early attempts and I turned it into a little video. I swear, by the time the weekend was over I was getting some great rides. And check out that sunset ride - it looks even better after a couple beer.

Not sure if I'm ready to make the $1500 initial investment, but I can see why it's thought to be the fastest growing paddle sport in North America, according to a recent article in SNEWS, an online news service for outdoor retail shops. By Christmas there will be three magazines dedicated to the sport.

I'm in Outside's Buyers Guide

My first major assignment for Outside Magazine is on store shelves now. I reviewed winter packs for Outside's Winter Buyer's Guide. It was a fun assignment that I combined with some other great assignments skiing in B.C.'s interior last winter. I called in 20 or so winter packs and beat them up heli-skiing, heli-assisted touring, ski touring out of a lodge, on day tours, and on the lifts at resorts like Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Lake Louise and Mount Washington Alpine Resort.

I visited Icefall Lodge for Skiing Magazine (pictured, above and to right. That's me in the green jacket), Mica Heliskiing for Backcountry and Selkirk Tangiers for Backcountry, testing packs while skiing at each. It was an awesome winter.

While this was the first large piece of writing I've done for Outside I have penned a few shorter pieces that appeared in the monthly magazine over the last year or so.

My planets aligned in Westworld BC

In the fall issue of Westworld BC, the publication for members of the CAA or AAA in British Columbia, I have an article about some of the star parties and other celestial events this fall across the province, part of the UN's International Year of Astronomy. Not that there's much night sky to see these days. The monsoon has arrived on Vancouver Island. We haven't seen stars in a week. Hopefully we'll be whitewater paddling soon.

When the stars do part I'll be looking out for Jupiter, which has been close to earth all year. Watch for it in the south sky (hint: it's the one not blinking. Planets don't twinkle.) If no other night this fall is clear I hope October 27th is. That's International Astronomy Day.

Ryan
ryan.stuart@shaw.ca

Landing Pad in Skiing Mag

My article about the Landing Pad touched down in the pages of Skiing Magazine's October issue. Click here to view the article. It's a cool new product from a University of British Columbia engineering student/former snowboarder, Aaron Coret. Basically it's an inflatable bounc-a-rama to cushion landings in terrain park jumps. It will be built in the same factory as Bounc-a-rama too. They're planning a road trip for the pad this winter, so watch for it near you.