How does Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to summit Mount Everest, use sound to “see” his next hold when rock climbing? What does it feel like to slackline between a pair of hot-air balloons floating thousands of feet above the earth? And how does Quannah Chasinghorse’s connection to traditional ways of experiencing the natural world help her balance her work as a model, conservationist, and indigenous right activist?

The answers to these questions and many other revelations from the leading edge of outdoor adventure come to life in 21 vibrant films on June 1 and 2  at the in Denver. A first-of-its-kind event, the ���ϳԹ��� Festival is a celebration of outdoor culture featuring live music, speakers like Diana Nyad and Jimmy Chin, three climbing walls, bouldering competitions, gear demos, a kids’ zone, yoga, and numerous interactive exhibits from popular outdoor and wellness brands. It takes place in downtown Denver’s Civic Center Park, with the film lineup screening across the street at the Denver Art Museum.

Curated by producers and editors from , the film program shines a light on emerging filmmakers and storytelling by athletes and adventurers from LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Latino, disabled, and other underrepresented communities. The films range in length from 7 to 90 minutes, with live panel discussions and filmmaker Q&A’s.

Watch the trailer for the ���ϳԹ��� Festival film program.

Here’s the don’t-miss lineup and trailers for the film program at the ���ϳԹ��� Festival on June 1-2, screening both days from 1p.m to 7 p.m.

For ticket, lineup, and other information, visit . ���ϳԹ���+ members receive exclusive access to VIP concert viewing, food and drink at a private hospitality tent, and other benefits at the festival.

Saturday, June 1

Feature Film: Wade in the Water

: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture reclaims the 1,000-year-old tradition of Black surfing. Braiding historical accounts with modern-day testimonials, the film dismantles the racial barriers of conventional surf culture, delves into the overlooked history of Black surfing’s legacy, and honors its current movement—inspiring the next generation of Black surfers. This showing includes a discussion with director David Mesfin.

Film Shorts: ���ϳԹ���

: In a sport known for its lack of diversity, Dennis Ranalter has defied the odds and risen to become an exceptional freeride skier recognized and respected around the world.

: Mountain biker Georgia Astle explores what can happen when you’re able to silence your thoughts and put matter over mind to achieve great things.

: Sid Gopinath and his father embark on a weeklong camping trip to explore Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. Along the way, they talk about Prabha’s immigration experience, how memories are made (and forgotten) over the course of a lifetime, and what it means to watch each other grow older.

: Walking on Clouds reveals the breathtaking and dizzying highline crossing between two hot air balloons above the city of Praia Grande, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

: With the right guides, a little push, and buoyant optimism, two teenage brothers from the Líl̓wat Nation realize a journey to ski Ts̓zil — a sacred mountain on their territory.

Film Shorts: Journeys

: Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada.

: For conservationist and angler Jr Rodriguez to become “like the pictures he saw in magazines,” he had to leave behind what he loved the most.

: Waterfall Hunters follows three Costa Ricans—Javier, Jimmy and Miguel—as they seek to find, document, and inspire others to preserve invaluable ecosystems and habitats in the Costa Rican jungle.

: Jamie Logan—a pioneering alpinist—has climbed some of the most dangerous climbs in the world, but nothing felt as life-threatening as admitting that, at age 69, she wanted to begin living as a woman.

Sunday, June 2

Feature Film: Ashima

One of the world’s youngest elite rock climbers, Ashima Shiraishi spent her formative years breaking numerous age-based climbing milestones, spurred on by her number one fan and coach, her father, Poppo, a retired Butoh dancer and avant-garde performer with no formal climbing experience. When these New Yorkers travel to South Africa to conquer a V14 boulder problem, father and daughter must face their interpersonal struggles in tandem with the challenging ascent. This showing includes a discussion with director Kenji Tsukamoto.

Film Shorts: Community

Breath of Gloster: Peyton Thomas created the Equitable Action Run Toward Health to give a voice to the community of Gloster, Mississippi, in a grassroots fight against the wood pellet biomass industry. Breath of Gloster illustrates the dangers that this industry poses to human health, and tells the story of a race that was about more than just miles.

: Over 100 million of us don’t have outdoor spaces close to where we live. So REI Co-op is partnering with community-led organizations like the Friends of Anacostia Park to help get more people ���ϳԹ��� in 5 minutes or less.

: In Alaska, the community comes together to create music with Yo-Yo Ma as a critical part of collective healing and radical hope for the future.

: In 2022, as several states across the country passed anti LGBTQ+ legislation, trans trail runner Perry Cohen refused to sit idly by. By forming a trail running team of trans men with an aim to compete in states passing hateful legislation, Perry and his team express the freedom to be themselves on and off the trail.

: This is a film about Atlanta-based artist Michi Meko, a postmodern cartographer and artist who lives within the parallels and meridians of two distinct worlds—the Urban and the Rural.

Film Shorts: Discovery

: Fueled by an unwavering love and responsibility for the land, Hän Gwich’in 20-year-old Quannah Chasinghorse and her mother Jody Potts-Joseph are taking a stand to defend their sacred homelands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

: This short chronicles Apayauq Reitan’s historic quest to become the first openly transgender woman to compete in the legendary Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska.

Film Shorts: Resilience

: On October 5th, 2022, a group of para-cyclists and adaptive athletes set out to ride Utah’s White Rim Trail in a day with the hope of creating awareness around people with disabilities and growing a more inclusive cycling community.

: After surviving a near fatal cougar attack while cycling, Izzy Sederbaum overcame anxiety and anti-trans hate by rediscovering the joy of biking and promoting diversity and inclusion in the sport.

: A tale of resilience and grit, this short traces the aftermath of an attempted rescue on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington in 1982.

���ϳԹ��� is grateful to our partners at ,��, and  for their support in curating this lineup.

The post The Most Inspiring ���ϳԹ��� Films Right Now appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

As the cold settles in, we’re thinking about those places we know will have sun, blue skies, warm turquoise waters, and amazing adventures all winter long. Start dreaming and maybe scheming. We’ve made it easy for you by choosing the top 10 places to go, along with the best things to do there. See you on the beach.

Hike Coast-to-Coast in Costa Rica

Since Costa Rica became the spokesmodel for ecotourism in the 1990s, its natural treasures—the cloud forests of Monte Verde, the gently active Arenal volcano—have attracted millions of visitors every year. But you can still escape the crowds. a 174-mile trail stretching between the Caribbean and the Pacific, was completed in 2018 and showcases largely untrodden parts of the country, like the coffee-growing region of Tarrazú and the Indigenous territory of Nairi Awari.

Funded by the nonprofit Mar a Mar Association, the 16-stage route spans four provinces and half a dozen or more microclimates; borders protected areas; and passes through remote villages, Native lands, and more than 20 towns that receive little benefit from conventional tourism. Trekkers can eat with locals in their homes and sleep in family-run lodges, campsites, or boutique hotels set on farms with hot springs.

Expect to hike between four and twenty-four miles per stage, cross rivers, and do plenty of up and down—more than 70 percent of the route is hilly, with a peak elevation of upward of 19,000 feet. If you push the pace, you can complete the whole thing in 11 days. But if time permits, allot 16 days so you can tack on experiences like whitewater rafting the Pacuare River or visiting the Pacuare Nature Reserve’s turtle hatchery.

You could technically go it alone, but given the trail’s isolation, a guide is advisable. Five local outfitters, including Urri Trek and Ticos a Pata, operate group and individual trips, and their naturalist guides will school you in the unique flora and fauna, like purple tibouchina flowers, massive guanacaste trees, glasswing butterflies, and broad-billed hummingbirds. —Jen Murphy

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There’s a dish my grandmother used to cook, and my mom after her. We called it Grandma Helen’s Hash Brown Casserole, and you probably devoured some version of it if you grew up in the Midwest before “organic” was a thing.

Made with two pounds of frozen hash browns, two sticks of butter, a pint of sour cream, 12 ounces of cheddar cheese, half a box of cornflakes, and the obligatory can of cream of chicken soup, Grandma’s casserole was a staple at holidays, family reunions, and church potlucks. It was also so popular at memorial services that my Indiana in-laws still refer to it as Funeral Potatoes. Sure, it was an artery-clogging cholesterol bomb, but it soothed the soul like no kale salad ever could.

What does this have to do with outdoor gear, you ask? After 25 years of testing all sorts of tricked-out technical apparel, I have come to appreciate the simpler things in life. Like durability. Reliability. Ease of use. And comfort. On backpacking trips, I wear Lowa boots. My go-to pack is an Arc’teryx. My new bike is a titanium throwback. And the most frequently worn fleece in my closet is ($78).

Purchased around 2008 from Melanzana’s iconic storefront in Leadville, Colorado, this hoodie is a masterpiece of utilitarian restraint. It doesn’t have taped seams or laser-cut edges or water-proof zippers. There are no elastic cuffs to absorb moisture or hidden pockets that add weight. And the designers didn’t bother with body mapping or elaborate fabric blends that drive up the MSRP on other jackets.

This simplicity has been core to Melanzana’s ethos since the company was founded in 1994. So has a commitment to sewing every garment in Leadville. All this has earned the brand a cultlike following, and means that your hoodie will last a long time, because there’s little about it ever likely to fail.

What you get is a supersoft, loose-fitting pullover with a kangaroo pouch and a roomy drawstring hood. The lightweight Polartec fleece (current versions are made with 100 percent post-consumer waste) is not the warmest, but it does the job on cool mountain evenings—and makes a dreamy pillow in a pinch.

For mountaineering trips and ultralight sorties, I typically pack a more advanced puffy. But for close-to-home adventures, fly-fishing trips, and pub crawls, this hoodie is my favorite, the sartorial equivalent of comfort food minus the carbs. It’s not just the cozy feel I treasure. It’s also the years of memories: camping with my kids, casting flies on the Snake, and curling up with my Bernese mountain dog after a day on the trail (in fact, I think that’s some of his drool on one sleeve). All of which, like Grandma Helen’s cooking, makes this sweatshirt worth more than anything money can buy.

The post What Grandma’s Casserole and This Fleece Have in Common appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.