On May 22, during a violent storm of rain, hail, and freezing temperatures. The Chinese government responded on Wednesday on ultra races in the country, as well as “newly popular sport activities that involve high risk,” likeÌęwingsuit flying. As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)Ìęhas only just begun its investigation, it’s unclear which outdoor sports the latter category will include, but the details will be important. Depending on the length and range of the ban, the decision could stifleÌęthe growth of outdoor adventure sports in China, which have exploded over the past decade, especially among the growing Chinese middle class. Ultrarunners across the globe are worried about the future of the sport in the country.Ìę“There is something truly special about moving through the world under your own power,” says ultrarunner Mike Wardian, who has competed in several events in China.Ìę“I am so sad for the athletes and their families and the race organizers who won’t be able to compete in this way.”

I’ve been covering Ìęfor years, and for those familiar with the Chinese ultrarunning scene, the tragedy wasn’t all that shocking.ÌęThere is an enormous range of quality, safety standards, and planning at Chinese races, and many outdoor athletes there are still learning to manage weather risk in the mountains more cautiously. The government response hasn’t been surprising, either: the CCPÌętends to respond to civic tragedies with blunt, outright bans rather than nuanced reform, and that’s exactly what they’ve done this week.

The Chinese central government in Beijing is often unaware of unregulated booms occurring in distant provinces—in this case, running—until something bad happens. Then the Party cracks down.ÌęPolitical scientists use the wonky term “”Ìęto describe this dynamic of in China, but I’ve always thought an ancient Chinese proverb does the job better: “Heaven is high, and the emperor is far away.” Though the Chinese running boom had been expanding for decades across distant mountains with the enthusiastic support of local officials, the central government wasn’t always aware of the growth or its potential dangers. Until now.

But what about China’s runners, who number in the tens of millions? Will races and other outdoor sports ever come back for them? Here, the CCP faces a more complicated problem. Since China Ìębut not its political systemÌęin the 1970s, the CCP has maintained an informal agreement with its citizens:Ìęin exchange for continued one-party authoritarian rule, Chinese people have been allowed greater immediate personal freedoms in areas of civic life like recreation, which have been widely explored. “Sports give you self-confidence. They make you healthier. They make you happier,” 53-year-old Chinese runnerÌęYu YanÌętold me a few years ago after finishing an ultra.

Banning something like a popular outdoor sport, however, crosses this line of personal freedom, which makes this response from the CCP so unnerving. Such violations have been under PresidentÌęXi Jinping. ForÌęultrarunners and organizers in China,Ìęseeing a similar intrusion into a hobby like running is especially troubling. Most in the Chinese ultra sceneÌęwould agree that outdoor adventure sports need to be made safer in China, but permanently banning the sport—which has provided a space for individualism, adventure, and freedom in people’s daily lives—would be a shame. “Running is a way of spreading enthusiasm, solidarity, and ability among people,” said one runnerÌęwho worried about the government’s coming response to the tragedy. “I think a better way to deal with it is for organizers to improve infrastructure and various measures of safety.”

A ban would also endanger the income that commercial racing has provided to many Chinese athletes who have fled the harsh Soviet . “I have a friend who’s got a wife, two small kids, and parents. He left the sports system to make money racing,” Qi Min, a top Chinese runner, once told me. If commercial racing disappears, runners trained inÌęsports academies with little other educationÌęwon’t have the same avenues to make a living. Given these realities and the popularity of running in the country,ÌęCCP leaders will likely feel public pressure to allow ultra events again, andÌęafter a while, local officials may lobby to bring back races for all the fanfare they bringÌęto their cities.

It would be a mistake, however, to frame all questions surrounding the oversight of adventure sports as being unique to China. Regulation of adventure sports has always been suspect to many outdoor athletes, and even infrastructure that makes races safer can be viewed with skepticism. “With this sport becoming more mainstream, with more people than ever getting involved, the risks are greater and we are more likely to see adverse outcomes,” Nathan Montague, a British ultrarunner who’s raced in China, told me. “So both race directors and organizers have a greater degree of responsibility to negate these risks and protect these individuals from themselves. But ultimately, the duty of responsibility needs to be taken by the athlete.”

When I reported on the top-flight medical team that provided support to the Ultra Gobi, another premier event in China, some athletes viewed the extra support as a luxury, even a bit overblown. Ultras can’t ever fully guarantee safety, some pointed out, and athletes can’t ever be entirely free without being allowed to take risks. “I really love that in the U.S. most races don’t have requirements,” Wardian says. “The race might suggest stuff, but it’s up to you. It’s a free country, and it’s your choice.” He added that diversity in race regulation is probably a good thing. “Europe is more strict with mandatory kits and certifications. I like both, it’s just different.”

In any case, an outright ban will likely be self-defeating. In the absence of formal races, Chinese athletes will keep venturing into the mountains,Ìębut with even less oversight. One can only hope that the CCP will acknowledge this reality and devise more thoughtful reforms than bans. “It is impossible to remove risk in the mountains,” Wardian says. “They don’t ban surfing if someoneÌędrowns.”

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On Saturday,Ìę during the fourth annual Yellow River Stone Forest Park 100K, aÌęrace held in Gansu, China. The weather turned bad about 15 miles in and more than 6,000 feet above sea level, after the leading runners left the second checkpoint and started an exposed 3,000-foot climb. Suddenly, the route was hammered with a messÌęof freezing rain and hail, and temperatures plummeted to nearÌęfreezing at higher elevations.

“At the bottom of the mountain there was already wind and rain, and the higher you climbed the bigger the rain and wind got,” blogged Zhang Xiaotao, a racer who survived the storm. “Halfway up, the rain started to mix with hail and kept smashing into my face, and my eyes started getting obscured and blurry. A few places, you couldn’t make out the route clearly.” Another racer he came across on the trail, he wrote, “had begun to shake all over his body.”

Runners found themselves stranded between the second and third checkpoints without warm clothes. Many tried to use space blankets (which they were required to carry),Ìęand some were able to shelter in a cave, but dozens fell on the treacherous terrain or lost their blankets in the wind and passed out from exposure. Some survived long enough for help to arrive, but 21 did not.Ìę, a 1,200-person search and rescue operation was launched for allÌę172 of the race participants, but local authorities couldn’t save everyone.Ìę

One of the victims was Liang Jing, a top Chinese ultrarunner. I got to know him in 2018,Ìęwhile reporting a story on the medical team at the 248-mile Ultra Gobi in western China, a raceÌęthat he won. He was among the toughest athletes I’d ever seen. One night, temperatures fell into the twenties, and when I woke up in my tent the next morning, my water bottle was frozen solid. As I found outÌęlater, LiangÌękept running through it all. He was too tired to pack away his yellow sleeping bag, so he wedged it through the loops of his backpack, above his waist, and for the rest of his run, the ends flopped behind him like deflated wings. A day later, we were sharing beers and talking about his adventure.Ìę

For a runner like Liang to lose his life, conditions must have been truly horrendous. But among those familiar with the Chinese endurance-racing scene, a tragedy like this isn’t seen as especially surprising. I’ve written about China for the past ten years, includingÌę, and in the aftermath of the Gansu disaster, most of the WeChat messages I received from China expressed sadness, not shock. Over the past decade, tens of millions of people—perhaps even hundreds of millions, depending on which Chinese running expert you ask—have taken up the sport. I’ve heard estimates that as many as 3,000 long-distance races are held annually in China, ranging from shoddy events sponsored by local governments toÌęUltra Trail du Mont Blanc–branded competitions.

Because there aren’t enough experienced organizers to run all these races safely, responsible preparation and oversight—including contingency planning for bad weather—is absent at many events. “I think what is happening is that there is a lot of enthusiasm for mountain sports, and now the demand is outstripping the supply of expertise,” said one organizer, who asked not to be named, given the likely coming crackdown on races.

One reason why races outpace resources in China is politics. Party officials, who are often called cadres in China, are promoted based on economic development in their region, and large cultural projects—including recreational events—earn them bonus points from higher-ups. As a result, marathons and ultra races have become a favorite pursuit for many officials. (At the Gansu race, the mayor of the city hosting the eventÌęshot off the starting pistol.) They bring tourism and media coverage, and cadres can highlight them on their rĂ©sumĂ©s. Politicians see other countries hosting competitions and, not to be outdone, organize their own, sometimes one-upping each other by increasing race distances and elevation gains. Every county in China now seems to host a race, and organizers from the country’s entrepreneurial class have risen quickly to chase after government and sponsor contracts.Ìę

This has led to a dramatic range of quality at trail-running competitions. The Ultra Gobi thatÌęI covered had regular medical checkpoints staffed by doctors, and both foreign and Chinese athletes were impressed by the race support and organization. There were still blind spots when it came toÌęsafety, but medical help wouldn’t have been far away had someone becomeÌęhypothermic on the trail. This hasn’t been the case at other events, however. In my reporting, I’ve often heard stories of participants becoming hopelessly lost at high elevations, without any volunteers, medical support, or guidance to be had. Any sudden change in weather could have spelled disaster in suchÌęsituations.

When I asked organizers about the potential for something like this to occur, they frequently told me the question was when, not if, a tragedy would happen. Getting lost isn’t uncommon in ultras around the world, nor is bad weather, and the tragedy in ChinaÌę whether ultra running has grown too extreme in general. But races in China often lack basic preparation.

Both foreign and Chinese organizers brought up these issues in the aftermath of last weekend’s race, pointing out that runnersÌę to carry sleeping bags and warm clothes, whichÌęsome other competitions insist on. “Some events only focus on financial results and are unwilling to make investments in safety,” saidÌę posted last weekend by Paopao Wang, a popular Chinese running app. “Some companies who undertake [these races] are completely unprepared in their ability to organize high-risk sports and spend the necessary resources.”Ìę

Such inconsistency in quality and planning is typical for developing countries that are growing adventure sports to appeal to a growing middle class, but China’s progress has been especially uneven. Wei Jun, a former sports bureaucrat who now organizes private races, told me a few years ago that only about 10 percent of organizers survive the business, andÌęthat new ones—many with no experience—replace them immediately. “So you have races that are run very well. Others are disastrous,” he said.

On top of that, as Chinese athletes have honed their endurance, respect for unpredictable weather hasn’t always caught up, and organizers often fail to set boundaries in the mountains. “It’s a crash course in mountain culture,” said the organizer who asked not to be named.Ìę“What is happening is that you have this natural let’s-get-it-doneÌęattitude, but people refuse to believe that weather will change.” He added thatÌęin the 1970s, when mountain sports were growing in Korea, tragic accidents were common there, too.Ìę

Several race organizers told me on WeChat that they hope the Gansu disaster will serve as a wake-up call. Whether the Chinese government will react thoughtfully is another question. When a civic tragedy strikes, authorities tend to respond bluntly, often by shutting down an enterprise entirely rather than reforming it. Once, when I worked at a Chinese high school, someone drowned in the campus pool, and the administration responded by banning swimming and removing the pool. In the aftermath of last weekend’s events, authorities may take a similar approach, eliminating races rather than making them safer withÌęinvestment and alpine education for organizers.

This appears to be happening already. An investigation by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the same body that investigates high-profile corruption cases and purges officials, is already looking into Gansu. Yesterday, in a sign that the dominoes have begun to fall, one of the largest state-run organizers, XTrail, canceled a major race at Kansas Lake in Xinjiang’s Altai Mountains, and local governments have already begun calling off marathons.

Reform is desperately needed, but a harsh crackdown would be a huge hit to the burgeoning community of endurance athletes in China. Within the country’s authoritarian system, running has blossomed into a cherished space for individualism, freedom, and risk-taking, and it’s also brought competitors together from across the world. At the Ultra Gobi, a day after the top finishers had slept off their exhaustion, I found myself chatting with Liang and Zhao Jiaju, the second-place finisher, in a hotel courtyard. LaterÌęsome of the foreign runners joined the conversation, and I helped translate. The group swapped stories from the race, laughing with their competition and sampling cheap Chinese beer. It felt like a meaningful moment—Chinese athletes are often rendered faceless to their Western competitors. Endurance events in China have the potential to create countless similar moments, but not if organizers can’t be trusted to prevent reckless tragedy.

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On the third day of theÌę, a 250-mile race in the vast Chinese desert in late September, elite British ultrarunner was hallucinating.ÌęHe’d gone more than a 130 miles, and a stretch of dirt road in an empty valley had suddenly became a parking lot jammed with cars, perhaps on a highwayÌęor a rental lot at an airport. Someone—an attendant maybe—informed him he had to return his car. But it was far away in the distance, so MontagueÌęasked whether the attendant could return it for him. HeÌęgrew more confused. The keys were no longer in his pocket, and hadn’t he given them to the attendant? Then the parking lot disappeared, and Montague again found himself in the remote desert, with the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau looming in the distance.

The previous night had been rough as well. After making his way down from the race’s high point at an elevation of over 13,000 feet, Montague arrived at a rest station shivering uncontrollably.ÌęI was reporting at the Ultra Gobi, andÌęIÌęslept in media tentsÌęat the rest stations, doubling up on sleeping bags and gauging the temperature, which could dip into the low teens at night after hitting daytimeÌętemperatures as high as 70 degrees, with plastic water bottles. When Montague arrived, the bottleÌęnext to my pillow had frozen solid. One of the doctors stationed at the rest point woke me, asking to borrow the extra bag. Montague was becomingÌęhypothermic, and James Poole, another British runner who arrived shortly after, was also at risk. The race leaders had been hallucinating as well when they’d come through a few hours before.

That nightÌęthe two young British doctors,ÌęRosemary Hartley and Nico Swetenham, made a rule. Anyone with a core body temperature below 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit, which they later lowered to 95,Ìęwouldn’t be allowed back onto the course. Inside the rest tent, Montague and Poole recovered in their bags and draped themselves in jun dayi—enormous, Mao-style green fur coats used by the Chinese army, which volunteers kept at the rest station. Their core temperaturesÌęrecovered in a few hours, and the doctors let them go.

After a few days on the course, it was hard to imagine the event runningÌęsafely without the doctors provided by , a British group founded in 2009 that provides medical services to remote adventure events all over the world. Xingzhi Exploring, the Chinese race organizer of the Ultra Gobi, had been required by the local government to hire a medical team. It was a large investment—just under $18,000—and not one that most races make, which speaks to the moment in which ultraracing now finds itself: for the most part, it’s still up to race organizers to decide how much medical support to provide, even as the sport has grown increasingly mainstream. Whether they should even have such standards, and how far they should go, areÌęunresolved questions.

“I mean, it’s not really good for you,” the American ultrarunner Mike Wardian told me once, describing any race longer than 100 miles.

In a space where pushing limits is often the point, it’s not clear how much medical support ultra organizers ought to provide. During competitions, ultrarunners experience (and assume the liability and risks for)Ìęa wide range of medical challenges, ranging from blisters to hypothermia and heatstroke. In recent years, races have occasionally even seenÌędeaths. Karl Hoagland, the publisher of UltraRunningÌęmagazine, has been tracking ultra-raceÌęcompletions for a few decades and, according to his database, about 30,000 runners finishedÌęultras in 2008. Last year, that number reached 110,000. With the uptick in participation, and more novices getting involved, questions surrounding standards of medical care—which there’s no global organization to set—are being asked more frequently.

“I don’t believe there is a standard. The sport is growing up, and regulations for various aspects of race production are starting to come more front of mind. But who is the institute to put these regulations into place?” saysÌęlongtime ultrarunnerÌęKrissy Moehl, who recently directed her first race in 17 years. “The medical piece is one of the discussions.”

Hoagland agrees. “I don’t know of any formal standards of medical care for ultras,” he says, addingÌęthat the sport’s core values emphasize independent adventure, somethingÌęthat medical care should be careful not to spoil. In races, runners are expected to self-regulate, deciding when to rest, eat, or seek help—sometimes from other racers. “The ‘nanny state’ regulates our daily lives to a great extent,” Hoagland says,Ìę“and ultras are a break from that. Trying to bring proactive, overinformed, and intrusive medical oversight to ultras is not practical or prudent, and it detracts from the sport.”

Most athletes I spoke toÌęagreed with that sentiment, though with caveats. Montague feels the sweet spot fallsÌęsomewhere in between allowing athletes toÌęmake decisions on their own until they enter a state where they may not be ableÌęto do so by themselves. And that’s where good medical supervision should take over, he says,Ìęproviding a kind of safety backup that doesn’t cheat the experience of subjecting oneself to pain.

“As ultrarunners, we’re exploring our limitations. But on any given day, these can be transient,” Montague says. Exile Medics tries to manage this line delicately by being respectful of runners’ desire to push themselves, while helping them avoid unreasonable risks. By nowÌęthe organization has had ten years of experience managing medical care with this balance in mindÌęat races all around the world—China, Namibia, Costa Rica, Sweden, Sierra Leone—averaging about 25 to 30 races per year. Brett Rocos, the founder and director of Exile Medics, says, “Our experience means that we can tell between an exhausted, emotionally drained athlete and a person with genuine illness.” Still, the medicsÌędo their best to let athletes makeÌędecisions about potential risk themselves, acceptingÌęthat even as medical professionals they can’t control all the dangers and makingÌęsure runners know that. If a runner is hard-set on continuing despiteÌęmedical issues, Exile Medics often lets them go, provided the ailment isn’t extreme, like hypothermia.

At the Ultra Gobi, Exile Medics navigated that lineÌęwell. LaterÌęMontague told me he might have gone back out prematurely that night if Exile Medics hadn’t kept him inside—a doctor’s order he now appreciates. But the team also let the athletes push themselves. After the race, I spent a lot of time interviewing runners about their hallucinations—conversations, I admit, that I found comically entertaining in some cases. Seemingly everyone—across all races, nationalities, and sexes—left reality at some point. Rocks turned into animals, abstract art appeared in the skies, family members showed upÌęout of nowhere, bushes transformed into giraffes. The visions frequently bordered on the magical, a kind of acid trip without the drug, and participants told me they deeply valued those experiences, untethered from the mundaneness of reality.

On the other hand, a race with such extremes felt, at times, like it was bordering on dangerous. , a participantÌęat previous Ultra Gobis, remarked that while most desert races felt like social walks with friends, the Ultra Gobi was a gauntlet. But with a trained medical team on the course, almost 80 percent of the runners completed the race.

Hoagland told me he expects the growth in ultrarunning to continue. And with it, pressure for race organizers to provide more medical supervision will likely also increase. But for a sport that pushes its athletes to extremes, expecting races to be held responsible for every health riskÌęis probably unreasonable. “With this sport becoming more mainstream, and more people than ever involved, the risks are greater,” Montague says. “So both race directors and organizers have a greater degree of responsibility to negate these risks, to protect these individuals from themselves. But ultimately, the duty of responsibility needs to be taken by the athlete.”

The Ultra Gobi, at least, seemed to strike the right balance. Before everyone departed, the Exile Medics staff shared beers on the rooftop of a local hotel with some of the athletes. The mood was jovial. Runners swapped stories of hallucinations and pain, recounting them now with laughter and awe. Around the table, athletes and medics alike shared a sense of accomplishment. I heard no regrets. On their walks to bathroom breaks, most participants were limping, but they would recover soon enough.

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Hiking with Jessie, my significant other, means flushing birds by pishing so we can look at their jizz. I learned what this means the old-fashioned way in 2012, without Google, on our first hike together. It means moving very slowly.

I am not a birder, though I’ve learned a lot since dating one. At the University of New Mexico, Jessie researches, writes, and reads about birds. She even writes about researching and reading about birds. Those who surround her also watch birds, and they in turn surround me, throwing around lingo I don’t understand. “I can only contribute the occasional ‘I saw a bird once,’” Vince Ortega, a nonbirding fiancĂ©e of Jessie’s former lab mate, once told me in solidarity.

My greatest birding accomplishment remains spotting a pack of endemic fowl crashing through underbrush in Borneo, making loud, chicken-like noises. I spotted them because I didn’t have binoculars and was limited to looking only at the ground. Jessie gave me a pat on the back and said, “Good boyfriend.” Then she went back to looking at them. I was thrilled.

Such victories come sparingly when every bird soaring above you looks like a raven. When you’re in love with a birder, it’s usually best to just stand back and watch them.

I do this mostly by tagging along with Jessie’s lab in the field—or at a bar where they gather after their lab meeting on Fridays. It’s a strange scene at 5 p.m., a nerdy collection of biologists ordering IPAs at a fratty bar with sticky floors. Birdwatchers frequently find tranquility in places many consider unsavory—remote desert puddles, drainage ditches, or garbage piles—where they see attractive habitats for themselves and avifauna. Here, at dusk before hoards of patrons arrive, we have a balcony overlooking the Sandias all to ourselves. You can gaze across the valley for wildlife—merlins, lesser goldfinches, and Cooper’s hawks that dive-bomb packs of clumsy, idiotic doves.

These identifications thrill birdwatchers, and they have taxonomies for fellow birders as well. Once, after taking a professor’s recruiting call when she was applying to grad school, Jessie made an observation that confused me.

â€Àá’m so glad he’s a birder,” she said

“Aren’t all ornithologists birders?” I asked.

Dumb question. Jessie explained that, for some ornithologists, a bird is merely a vessel by which to study more exciting aspects of evolution, ecology, or conservation. Such ornithologists were a mystifying subspecies; they would finish a day of fieldwork outdoors, often in exotic locations, and then not return to look at the birds for fun. The horror. I was lucky not to be dating one of those people.

So who are the ideal birding companions? They are, I’ve found, often old and retired. Madi Baumann, who’s married to Matt, a savant of New Mexico birds in his early thirties, verified as much. “Something that took some getting used to was how many random phone calls he would get from older men that I knew nothing about.” They turned out to be innocent birders calling Matt to report sightings, plan trips, or get tips. But they were also unexpectedly useful assets—bullpen relief for nonbirding partners wishing to sleep later than 5 a.m. Other birders claim conversion is inevitable. On one trip, Jessie and I met a couple from Texas. Only the groom was a birder when they married; five years later, the bride had taken up birding and renounced Christianity for atheism. She said the two events were related.

When dating a birder, everything—from religious beliefs to daily habits—is affected by avifauna. Jessie refers to children as “offspring.” Homes become “nests.” Noteworthy hair becomes “plumage.” A few weeks ago, lounging on the couch, Jessie said she was roosting. On another occasion, she showed me videos of colorful birds doing bizarre, elaborate mating dances—one male in front of a creative lean-to he had built worthy of Andy Goldsworthy, decorated with purple flower petals. I looked around the house and then at myself, pasty and unremarkable, and pondered my underwhelming bank account as a freelance journalist. I wasn’t sure what Jessie was trying to suggest.

She is more straightforward, however, when relieving me of driving duties after I fail to stop for birds. Once, while leaving New Mexico’s remote Gila Wilderness in our 1997 Honda CRV with nearly 300,000 miles on it, Jessie spotted some birds and took the wheel—suddenly unworried about the engine overheating. She looked everywhere but the road, screeching to sudden halts when something fluttered nearby, while I improvised prayers in the seat. “I honestly don’t know how they stay on the road,” says Aaron Matins, a nonbirder dating Selina Bauernfeind, one of Jessie’s lab mates.

Birding by foot tends to be more relaxing. A few years ago in Thailand, I brought a Kindle along on hikes and strapped a foldout chair to my pack. When Jessie came upon mixed flocks (a group of birds with many species, which is very exciting), I’d settle in and get some reading done. Hiking loops work wonders; on that trip, I completed an eight-mile circle and linked up with Jessie after she’d gone less than one and a half. She had barely noticed my absence.

I hung back for a bit, lovesick and even a little envious, watching Jessie stumble onto gold mines of her own fascinations. She’d just moved to Beijing with me, and Thailand marked her first time birding in Old World tropics. Their canopies concealed thousands of unopened gifts; watching her find them, I sometimes felt disappointed a similar curiosity didn’t grab me the same way.

Increasingly, I find myself in awe of great birders—their recognition of songs and calls and the seemingly invisible details they use to identify the LBJs—the “little brown jobs” of drab gray and brown birds that all look the same. They value something intimate about the natural world in a way, I suspect, that even . Lately, I’ve found myself ditching the foldout chair for binoculars, and I’ve gotten better at making IDs. Last summer, I spotted Jessie her first pair of American three-toed woodpeckers, this time slightly off the ground on a log—a small improvement from the fowl I’d spotted in Borneo. And in April, according to the birding site , I recorded the third to arrive in Albuquerque, a feat I proudly recounted atÌęlab drinks.

A few weeks later, Jessie and I were driving back from a weekend of camping with her lab in Boone’s Draw, a sweltering ditch of forest patch in the eastern New Mexico desert that attracts desperate migrating birds. Aaron was driving, Selina in the passenger’s seat, and I sat next to Jessie in the back, napping and guzzling Gatorade to recover from near heatstroke. As we approached the Sandias, Aaron remarked that a recent hike with Selina had gone slower than expected, and I offered my condolences—six years of them now. Selina and Jessie laughed, but neither promised change. We weren’t hoping for it anyway.

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March was busy for Zhao Fan, the Chinese distributor for American running shoe company Altra. He had spent two weeks shepherding Lithuanian ultrarunner Gediminas Grinius around the country, along with American athletes Meredith Edwards and Jason Schlarb. UTMB, the prestigious ultra series, was hosting its first competition in China, in the Gaoligong Mountains, near the Myanmar border. Before the event, Grinius was giving talks around the country; afterward, Edwards and Schlarb would be attempting FKTs atop the Tibetan Plateau’s underexplored eastern edge, an area just beginning to develop adventure tourism. This was their third trip to China, and they gushed about the mountains they’d explored, but they were just as impressed by the growing enthusiasm for outdoor recreation in the country.

“I don’t want to sound greedy,” Schlarb told me, “but the China opportunity is really big.”

Exactly how big is an open question. “You ask five different people how big the outdoor market is now, you’ll get five different answers,” saidÌęRoger Zeng, who works for the China Outdoor Retail Association (CORA), a brand distributor that represents companies such as Patagonia and Backcountry Access. Sanfu, the Chinese equivalent to REI, estimates the current market to be around $15 billion, with most of the growth coming from running and skiing. But Zeng and other distributors are expecting Chinese hobbyists to pick up an even wider range of outdoor sports in the near future, especially as more of them continue traveling abroad. “Everyone is trying absolutely everything right now,” Zeng told me.

For outdoor brands, that should mean big opportunities in the coming years, but distributors say most foreign companies still have a long way to go. To capitalize on the incoming wave, they’ll need to do more than just translate an American branding campaign into Chinese and drop it into a Sanfu store. Over and over, distributors stressed the importance of tinkering with just about every aspect of a brand’s pricing, messaging, and advertising channels to fit the Chinese market.

At the Gaoligong race, I met up with Jack Lin, an industry vet by Chinese standards. In 2005, he opened a store selling outdoor gear in Shenzhen—a booming Chinese city only 40 years old. He sold imported products thereÌęand now distributes about 20 foreign brands in China, including names like Black Diamond and Vasque. Getting over the price hurdles is difficult. China heavily taxes imports, especially luxury products, and Lin has to sell foreign brands at higher costs than in the United States. Once, when visiting Seattle on vacation, Lin walked into a store selling outerwear by Arc’teryx—maker of one of the most expensive jackets in the West and famous in China—and had trouble concealing his laughter when he saw how much cheaper everything was. Chinese startups, he said, take advantage of those gaps. “In the beginning, domestic brands compete with cheap prices,” Lin told me, noting that Chinese brands often begin by copycatting established foreign designs. “When they get strong, they improve the product design, quality, and price points.”

Chinese consumers who still want foreign products have gotten more creative as well, buying directly from Amazon in America. They then ship the goods to China, circumventing the import and distribution system. Those who buy products online through Amazon are often attracted to brands Chinese consumers already know, like the North Face, Salomon, or Arc’teryx. That pushes aside knowledgeable distributors like Lin, who could otherwise educate consumers about brands that, though well-known in the United States, people in China haven’t heard of yet.

Zeng and Lin both told me that industry has been working with Amazon and the Chinese government to adjust tariff policies, but it’s still an uphill battle, and one they may not win. Lin sometimes wonderedÌęwhether traditional distributors were becoming antiquated in the country. Its online shopping craze dwarfed similar trends in the United States. In China, cash andÌęcredit cards are rarely used anymore; they’ve been replaced by Alibaba and WeChat’s mobile pay schemes, which are similar to Apple Pay (except everyone actually uses it).ÌęThese payment methods are now integrated into every aspect of Chinese life, especially online shopping. Marketing in China without fully understanding them is akin to attempting to promote products in America without knowing the inner workings of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Lin thought brands would be better off allowing their distributors to work on branding, ceding distribution to the biggest internet vendors in China, such as Taobao and Jingdong.

Brands also aren’t adapting their messaging as effectively as they could to Chinese audiences, many distributors told me. Foreign companies often wrongly assumeÌęthey can message ChineseÌęand U.S.Ìęconsumers the same way, or they’re unwilling to adapt their messaging to fit trends specific to the country. “The Bears Ears campaign obviously means nothing here, and I can’t do anything with politics,” Zeng told me. Instead, many distributors seeÌęforeign brands as waiting for cultural norms and expectations to shift in their direction—for #vanlife, say, or other fads of the Western outdoor industry, to emerge in China. “Opening stores and selling stuff isn’t too complicated,” Bremen Schmeltz, Patagonia’s Asia Pacific rep, wrote me from Ventura. “However, doing it in a way that represents Patagonia’s mission of using business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis can be a bit harder. As the Chinese customer evolves and looks for quality and ethos in their purchases, Patagonia should be there as an option for them.”

Zeng, however, believes those values are more present in China than brand HQs realize—they just haven’t been exploited effectively. “The brands and the government, I think, are both actually still behind where the consumers are,” Zeng said, noting that using environmental messaging to target China’s younger generation, who are growing increasingly conscious about such values, can work. In an authoritarian country, Patagonia still can’t market itself as a brand supporting political resistance, but Zeng believes thatÌęwith the right tweaks, a foreign brand’s message can work in China while still being consistent with its values from home. In addition to environmental awareness, Zeng hopes to frame Patagonia’s recycling message around frugality—an aspect of Chinese culture he thinks lies dormant beneath the new-wealth culture of glitz and glamour. He’s begun sending Patagonia’s sole in-country repair seamstress to do workshops around the country to promote the concept of reuse.”

For now, though, at the outset of the Chinese outdoor movement, promoting the apparel as a symbol of lifestyle probably makes the most sense. “People in China are starting to wear sporty winter jackets to walk their dogs,” Agnes Zhang, from Gore, told me. “It’s not just for hiking, like it used to be.”

Arc’teryx, one of the earliest and most successful outdoor brands to come to China, has become an emerging status symbol for łÙłÜłóČčŽÇ­­—newly minted millionaires with little regard for budget. When Arc’teryx comes up in conversation with distributors in China, you frequently get laughs, eye rolls, or expressions of wonder, and sometimes all three. “You watch a tuhao go into Sanfu, and the first thing they ask is, ‘Where’s the Bird?’” a former reporter for the Chinese edition of șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű told me, employing the shorthand that the Chinese use to refer to the Arc’teryx logo. And while few brands have yet been able to achieve the same success, the Bird has proven it’s a lucrative path for those who can.

Getting the Chinese adjustments right, however, requires investing effort on the ground and a lot of experimentation, and some brands allow their distributors more freedom than others. Altra is one of them. Zhao Fan caught the trail-running bug while living in Utah for two years, where he met the company’s founders, and he was passionate about his project. Attuned to cultural ticks—“It’s easy to meet non-Mormons in Utah, actually,” Fan told me, “you just go running in the Wasatch on Sundays”—he is determined to deftly adapt messages to Chinese audiences. Fan has organized demos and invested much time explaining zero drop and Altra’s wide-toe design to Chinese runners, and now he’s bringing elite foreign Altra runners around China to promote the sport. He’s still adjusting the messaging but is willing to try almost anything. At Gaoligong, I usually found Fan on his cellphone, sharing content across every U.S. and Chinese social media platform he could: Twitter, Instagram, Strava, Weibo, WeChat, and Chinese running apps Joy Run, Iranshao, and Zuiku. (Like many Chinese people, Fan uses a VPN to access Twitter and Instagram, which are blocked in China.) At competitions, his team set up next to trails and counted the shoes running past, nursing side beers while doing so. Hanging out with Fan meant being consumed by shoe gossip. His aggressiveness was paying off: After just two years in the country, more than 10 percent of runners at one of China’s biggest trail races last year were wearing Altras, second to only Salomon’s share.

Making such headway, of course, means getting all the nuances right—the online shopping hurdles, the necessary message tweaks, generational targeting—and doing the extra legwork to make it happen. Even small mistakes could have real consequences. “Chinese like brighter colors,” Jack Lin told me at one point, talking about the importance of details, “but no green. A man with a green hat means his spouse has affairs with someone.”

Brands don’t always realize it, many people told me, but those tiny details matter, and ignoring them can mean lost opportunities. They seemed to be right: That weekend at Gaoligong, trail runners were covered in blinding neon outfits, but never anything resembling the color of a leaf.

The post Can American Brands Tap the Chinese Outdoor Market? appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

In Central China’sÌęXiaheÌęairport, a wall near baggage claim features a photograph of Zhagana, a Tibetan village high in the mountains of Gansu province. About 1,300 people live there, in a landscape straight out of Lord of the Rings—peaks of sheer rock tower above the village, conifers cover the hillsides, and a narrow stream runs below terraced fields. In summer, tour buses charge up from the nearby county seat and pause for photos at its best vista. Then they immediately descend. As flag-waving tour guides herd their flocks on and off buses, the lookout becomes a spectacle in itself. Chinese people refer to the routine in a self-deprecating jingle, which rhymes in Mandarin:

Ride the bus and sleep
Park the bus and pee
Get off the bus for pics
Return and remember nothing.

I’d first heard about Zhagana from a Tibetan friend who had once worked in the local tourist bureau. She had seen firsthand how these waves of visitors were changing the village from a quiet town to a thriving outdoor destination. The hoards coming off the buses represented the most visible part of the upsurge, but more significant to the town’s transformation, she said, were middle-class Chinese and a small but growing contingent of Westerners venturing into the surrounding backcountry to trek, camp, and hike. They had triggered a guesthouse boom, fueled by Chinese government subsidies, that was making Zhagana and other mountain towns across the plateau increasingly accessible. Local tourist offices were now using buzzwords like “ecotourism” to advertise their wild landscapes and lure this new demographic of traveler. “Tibet markets itself,” says my friend, who left her tourist bureau job to start her own business selling traditional Tibetan medicine. “Now everyone’s heard how beautiful Tibet is.”

The branding has worked. In 2016, 10 million Chinese tourists visited Zhagana’s greater prefecture—a 30 percent increase from the year before—crowding previously secluded mountain hideaways. “The growth is super-strong right now and really picking up, especially in areas outside of Lhasa and Central Tibet,” says Jed Weingarten, a photographer and ecotourism consultant who has worked with towns in eastern Tibet. TheÌęexplosion in tourismÌęwas changing the region, myÌęTibetan friend told me last summer, and she encouragedÌęme toÌęsee for myself.Ìę

When I visited Zhagana in June, a 14-year-old drove me on his motorbike to his family’s guesthouse. That night, the power cut out; within minutes, flashlights, candles, and moonlight replaced electricity. With the TV off, I asked the family’s patriarch, a man in his late sixties whom I’ll call Tenzin, how Zhagana had so suddenly become a mountain tourist destination. (The subjects of the story wished to remain anonymous due to sensitivity around talking to the foreign press about Tibetan politics.)

He explained that the Chinese government had begun to see outdoor tourism, among other development initiatives, as a promising political tool to integrate remote villages like Zhagana into the Chinese economy. This was particularly true in regions of the Tibetan Plateau outside Central Tibet, like Kham and Amdo, where Zhagana is located. The strategy represented a stark tactical shift away from decades of failed Chinese attempts at assimilating villages by force that started with Chairman Mao Zedong’s occupation of Tibet in the 1950s. “Before, everything we did was about communism,” Tenzin told me, referring to Mao’s disastrous policies through the 1970s. “Now it’s tourism.”

But first, there was a three-decade period of quiet in the 1980s, ’90s, and early aughts when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) adapted the country’s economy to capitalism. In Zhagana, villagers recovered from decades of failed experiments in communism, rebuilding their monasteries and dividing plots of land among families again. Harsher tactics returned, however, in 2008, as China prepared for its global beauty pageant in the Beijing Olympics. That March, China’s central news station broadcast news of riots in Lhasa, Central Tibet’s capital, where dubious arrests of local monks incited Tibetans to vandalize neighborhoods gentrified by Chinese migrants. Unrest spread across the plateau.

In Zhagana, a mob descended the mountain road to the county seat of Diebu, where they threw rocks at local government offices. Riot police responded with tear gas, villagers told me. For two weeks after that, police interrogated villagers, cellphones were checked, and phone service was cut off. Families with pictures of the Dalai Lama in their houses or on their phones or who had sent text messages deemed “suspicious” were liable for arrest. PLA soldiers and police increased foot patrols and roadblocks; though the village was never formally sealed, few dared leave their homes. Tenzin’s son, Norbu, who helped run the guesthouse, recalled more than 20 villagers being arrested and held in custody for up to four months. According to Tenzin, they often returned with bruises and had trouble sitting down.

But the CCP’s tactics of intimidation never won over Tibetans. Eventually, officials changed strategy and attempted to buy loyalty instead. In 2012, the Chinese government’s local tourist bureau began promoting the area to visitors, putting up posters like the one in the Xiahe airport. At the same time, they began offering generous loan packages and subsidies for families looking to start businesses. In 2013, Tenzin’s family accepted a blank check of more than RMB 20,000 (about $3,000) from the local government to build a guesthouse—one of the first in town.

During my visit, guesthouse construction was still in full swing, with the sounds of drills and jackhammers ringing out over the valley. One day on the patio, I caught Norbu, handsome and with an energetic smile, considering the dirt road leading down to Diebu, which was scheduled to be paved soon. Five years ago, he recalled, there wasn’t a single guesthouse in town. “Now, every family has one,” he says.

Later, he told me more about howÌęfast the village was changing. These days, electricity was more reliable. More guesthouses had Wi-Fi. Villagers were happy about the standard of living, and Norbu’s family was doing well; they had made all the money back from their initial investments, and they felt in control of their decisions. The terror that followed 2008 was largely over, though the memories still made Norbu shudder. Meanwhile, village traditions endured—the local monastery was full, and most families still had nomadic relatives herding yak on the high mountain grasslands. Tibetan was still the village’s first language.

But the CCP’s influence still loomed over the town and its new economy in subtle ways. I had hoped to camp with Tenzin’s grandson, a shepherd who moved between distant pastures tending sheep and yak, tethering himself to his family’s village as if in orbit around a host star. While he refused to market homestays for trekkers on overnight hikes as other nomads had begun doing, he extended a rare invitation to me to visit his pastures and sleep in his traditional, leaky black tent made of yak wool. I was thrilled. But as soon as I had packed, Tenzin vetoed the trip. It had snowed recently, and he worried that I might slip, that I wouldn’t be able to stomach raw yak milk, or that his son’s guard dog would attack me, unaccustomed to the smell of a foreigner. And if anything were to happen, their relationship with the local CCP tourist bureau, which certified tourist outfits like guesthouses, might be ruined.

Cultural norms were changing as well, Norbu told me. When I asked how, he grimaced. “Before, helping a neighbor with something wasn’t really a big deal,” he said. “Now, people ask for money.” There was an underlying assumption that helping with a neighbor’s renovations could be risky: Improvements to one business might take away customers from another. “We’re richer, but a lot has been lost,” he said.

Norbu also fretted about the erosion of the Tibetan language among young people. He taught the language in a local school, and fewer students were signing up for his classes. They were choosing to focus on Mandarin instead—a choice their parents almost always pushed for, seeing the Chinese market around them.

One day, three Chinese tourists from Lanzhou, the provincial capital seven hours away, checked into Tenzin’s guesthouse. At dinner among themselves, they began criticizing Tibetans as ungrateful for the favorable treatment they received in development money, including the type that had kick-started the guesthouse they were staying in. It was a common complaint among Chinese, who tended to view themselves as noble missionaries bringing modernity to an impoverished backwater of the country that, as they saw it, had forever been a part of China. Tibet’s transformation to a more urbanized society, they believed, was an honorable undertaking, and stories of Tibetan farmers turned guesthouse millionaires resembled the legends of Chinese boomtowns on the coast, worthy of celebration. But when I asked them how this transition could happen smoothly if all Tibetans didn’t aspire to CCP-scale development, there was a momentary silence. Finally, one tourist spoke up.

“Some Tibetans,” he said, frowning, “maybe they’re just happy tending sheep.”

That was an oversimplification, but it touched on the core of the problem. Tibetans tended to be far more skeptical than Chinese about the sacrifices required for CCP-scale economic development. This confounded party leaders; nearly everywhere else in the country, development had ensured political stability. “The extraordinary development of Tibet over the past 60 years points to an irrefutable truth,” said Xi Jinping, China’s president, . “Without the Communist Party, there would have been no new China, no new Tibet.”

In a different way, Western visitors often remained just as oblivious to Tibet’s complexities. It can be temptingÌęto view Chinese-fueled development as threatening a romanticized land full of peaceful nomads and monks shielded from modernity’s evils. But Tibetans like Norbu and Tenzin cautioned me against casting them as victims. Another Tibetan I knew had been in Lhasa for the riots. She had grown sick of fielding foreigners’ questions about it and rolled her eyes when the Tibetan independence movement was brought up. To her, “Free Tibet” had become a kind of hippy slogan performing a global wokeness; the West, by making Tibet an international symbol of victimhood, now fetishized even her people’s problems.

That narrative also conflicted with her own success as an entrepreneur: She had since migrated to a city and was making good money selling Tibetan jewelry. Another Tibetan guesthouse owner I knew, previously a small farmer, was now making more than RMB 1 million (about $150,000) each summer. And while the Chinese government had helped push the tourist market on Zhagana, Tenzin and Norbu stressed that it was ultimately up to the individual villagers to decide whether they wanted to engage with it. Left with the choice, Tenzin was proud that many families like his had willingly opened tourism businesses to better their lives. No one would soon forget the CCP’s political motives, but it was unfair to blame anyone for being pragmatic.

I thought about all of this as I wandered the mountains around Zhagana. Chinese and Western critiques often devolved into a shouting match when it came to Tibet, yet both felt rooted in different savior narratives. Tibetans themselves were often left in the middle, ignored like a child by two domineering parents whose arguments long ago ceased to be about the child. Meanwhile, most Tibetans I knew were operating despite all the shouting, improvising their way forward and making the best decisions they could in the face of an uncertain future. Tenzin and Norbu didn’t yet know what to make of all the changes in Zhagana and other mountain towns, but they were still the best guides through the backcountry. They welcomed every traveler, led them through the mountains, and told them where to explore next.

The post How to Manufacture an Ecotourism Paradise appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The post How Western States Stack Up As Public Lands Defenders appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

1. Forum Phi Architecture

Location: Aspen, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 21
Average salary*: $65,819
Vacation time: Unlimited vacation days after one year.
Perks: Forum Phridays team-building events: Take a Friday off to hit the slopes, go biking, or do a hut-to-hut trip. Also: Employees who recommend someone for recruitment get a $500 bonus after that new hire’s 90-day review.
What they say: “We have a Forum Phitness Club where staff get together and workout during lunch. It can take many forms—hiking, biking, climbing, gym, skiing. Our facilities are all around us in Aspen.”

*All salaries listed are averages for exempt employees.

2. GroundFloor Media

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:
Number of Employees: 18
Average salary: $93,300
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Annual Outward Bound and other offsite team-building events.
What they say: “Every Thursday at 3:30 we have our weekly Beer Club, and everyone—including clients and agency partners/friends—is invited. We feature beers from a different brewery, or of a different style, and learn from our graphic designer/beer geek.”

3. Avid4 șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 20
Average salary:ÌęNot provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTOÌę
Perks: Annual paid month-long sabbatical to travel, in addition to an annual all-expense-paid trip to Moab to hike, bike, and climb in the desert.
What they say: “We actively build partnerships with and recruit through numerous organizations that are resources to help us grow a diverse staff population, including: Summer Search, Latino Outdoors, Be Visible, Outdoor Afro, and SW Conservation Corps.”

4. WhippleWood CPAs

Location: Littleton, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 25
Average salary: $87,800
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO available after one year.
Perks: Hero Awards—$110 rewarded to someone on staff who is deemed to have given 110 percent. Also: they have a “Zen Room” on the premises and employees are encouraged to attend “Board Meetings”—“firm-wide breaks to ride longboards in parking lots.”
What they say: “This year we closed the office to race go-karts during tax season.”

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5. Shine United, LLC

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
What they do:
Number of employees: 42
Average salary:ÌęNot provided
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Summer Fridays (partial work days from Memorial Day through Labor Day).
What they say: “Games! Whether at lunch, afternoon, or early evening, playing a game in the common area is a great way to de-stress and spend some quality time with your coworkers.”

6. Pax8

Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 85
Average salary: $88,579
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: “Three-tap kegerator with bi-weekly voting on what new local brews we should stock it with.”
What they say: “No assholes. No matter how high up the chain you are, if you’re no fun to work with, you don’t last long.”

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7. Room 214

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 33
Average salary: $65,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: In-office culture of giving back to the community, including pro-bono work, volunteer events, and fundraising for nonprofits.
What they say: “Fun events, including Movie Wednesdays in a conference room, or an afternoon running club, or Barre-and-brew nights.”

8. Ergodyne

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
What they do:
Number of employees: 50
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO.
Perks: Yoga offered twice a week for stress relief and refocusing.
What they say: “Company social hours are planned monthly and sometimes happen naturally. We gather away from our desks, enjoy a cold beer, glass of wine, or turn on the margarita mixer and enjoy some not-necessarily-work-related conversation.”

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9. Power Digital Marketing

Location: San Diego, California
What they do:
Number of employees: 43
Average salary: $77,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Pet-friendly office. Plus: in-office ping-pong table.
What they say: “There is not a day at Power Digital where there are not at least two to three dogs running around.”

10. Young and Laramore, Inc.

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 48
Average salary: $83,000
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Annual week off between Christmas and New Year’s.
What they say: “We have a company ‘quiet room’ for meditation, prayer, or other mental health breaks during the day.”

11. Charles Cunniffe Architects

Location: Aspen, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 19
Average salary:ÌęNot provided
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: On Friday mornings, CCA provides a healthy breakfast by Whole Foods so that folks can eat and enjoy the TECH talk before going into their workday.
What they say: “Stand-up desks and our company bike (for errands and cruising) keep us moving throughout the workday.”

12. Peak Design

Location: San Francisco, California
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 25
Average salary: $100,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: “Winter hours” policy lets employees spend the bulk of winter months in Tahoe, “allowing them to access the gnarliest pow-pow available.” And PD’s “work from anywhere” policy encourages employees to work from wherever they feel happiest.
What they say: “People are encouraged to take any trip or adventure they can dream up, regardless of time of year or length of trip. We want our employees to pursue experiences that will make them happy and help them lead exciting and fulfilling lives.”

13. Natural Habitat șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűs

Location: Louisville, Colorado
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 56
Average salary:ÌęNot provided
Vacation time: 18 PTO after one year.
Perks: Company ski house in Summit County, Colorado, for employees and their families and friends to use throughout the ski season.
What they say: “[We have] paid travel via ‘site inspection’ trips around the world, joining our nature adventures to experience our product. Site inspection does not count towards PTO and each employee is given a handsome annual travel budget that covers most expenses.”

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14. Pellucid Analytics

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 21
Average salary: $190,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Periodic company outings and teams—bubble soccer, bowling, go-karting, indoor soccer team, tennis team, gym group.
What they say: Carbs be damned! On “High Calorie Fridays,” employees gorge on cupcakes, donuts, pastries, and other high calorie treats.

15. Hailey Sault

Location: Duluth, Minnesota
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 20
Average salary: $69,391
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Jigsaw puzzle area; employees take turns choosing playlists for in-office music; dogs are allowed; beer (or wine, juice, or water) and bingo on Friday afternoons.
What they say: “We have a life coach for goals.”

16. SportRx

Location: San Diego, California
What they do:
Number of employees: 20
Average salary: $83,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: They regularly send employees on trips to such destinations as Rio, Park City, Mammoth, Mt. Hood, Daytona, and Big Bear to test products.
What they say: “We have massive Nerf gun fights. It gets everyone up and moving, which promotes creativity and bonding.”

17. GeoEX

Location: San Francisco, California
What they do:ÌęșÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű travel
Number of employees: 56
Average salary: $69,000
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Subsidized employee wellness, including healthy snacks, yoga classes, outdoor fitness classes, and meditation-based stress reduction classes.
What they say: “We have a Cocktail Cart that makes the rounds in the office from time to time, plus an employee curated kegerator.”

18. Bluetent

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 49
Average salary: $71,916
Vacation time: 12 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Bluetent sponsors a weekly HIIT class led by a private instructor and tailored to individual skill levels, as well as a Friday morning yoga class.
What they say: “Flexible time is encouraged to use as needed, such as to walk the dogs, pick up children, take a hike, go for a run, mountain or road bike, fly fish, ski, or snowboard.”

19. MyRounding

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 31
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Free Ecopasses (unlimited light rail/bus pass) to all full-time employees.
What they say: Annual Halloween costume contest and lunch. “Halloween is a big deal here.”

20. Southwest Michigan First

Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 19
Average salary: $96,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Professional certifications are fully funded, including books, certification fee, prep classes, and paid time off to study.
What they say: “This year, we celebrated ‘40 days of kindness’ leading up to Easter. Each of us drew the name of a team member and secretly did four nice things for them over 40 days. At the end, we celebrated with a team lunch and guessed who our secret person was.”

21. Geocaching HQ

Location: Seattle, Washington
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 74
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Makers and builders are allowed to use 10 percent of their time to work on projects that excite and challenge them. “Some even end up on our product roadmap.”
What they say: “We give employeesÌęthe choice of either unlimited reimbursement for ski and snowboarding lift tickets or $250 towards outdoor activities. The Pacific Northwest is beautiful and we want to encourage our people to get out and enjoy it!”

22. Mathys+Potestio

Location: Portland, Oregon
What they do:
Number of employees: 18
Average salary: $70,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.Ìę
Perks: Annual “summer fun days”—two days of events (i.e. river rafting, wine tasting, trips to the mountains, and picnics) to encourage staff bonding during work hours.
What they say: Cook-offs are big. “We have had contests for salsa, guacamole, and other office-wide events built around food and drink.”

23. Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte

Location: Crested Butte, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 16
Average salary: $52,884
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Free ski pass to Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
What they say: “We’re allowed to come into work late on powder days.”

24. The Trade Desk

Location: Ventura, California
What they do:
Number of employees: 381
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Annual TTD Palooza: the entire company is flown in to Ventura, California, for a week-long retreat—think company-mandated fun built around battle-of-the-bands, karaoke, field trips, and workshops.
What they say: “Lunchtime surfing: We provide a storage area and spare surfboards/wet suits in our Ventura office and have regular surf outings.”

25. TeamSnap

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 112
Average salary: $78,500
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: A “culture of trust” is emphasized. “Everyone is trusted to do their jobs however they feel most capable.”
What they say: “One-minute workouts are a regular thing, where people in HQ take a break to do an exercise.”

26. Drake Cooper, Inc.

Location: Boise, Idaho
What they do:
Number of employees: 51
Average salary: $68,800
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Weekly Share the Love meetings to update staff and get feedback, a monthly chat with the CEO, and an annual offsite one-day planning session.
What they say: “Our office is located on downtown Boise’s primary bike path. We have office bikes and a silver medal from the League of American Bicyclists for our promotion of biking.” Plus, they know how to have a good time: “We randomly provide the team with fun treats like frozen fruit bars, cocktails, or pizza. Like Snow Day Pizza.”

27. Cloud Elements, Inc.

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 72
Average salary: $103,717
Vacation time: Unlimited vacation days
Perks: Company sponsored hike and ski days, catered lunches three days a week, and a training, education, and conference budget for employees to expand their learning.
What they say: “Our awesome team is rapidly building connections to the most popular cloud applications that your customers are using. We were named APEX Technology Startup of 2013!”

28. Revelry Agency

Location: Portland, Oregon
What they do:
Number of employees: 26
Average salary: $50,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Each employee is required to spend five days in the wilderness with their family; the company pays the cost of the outfitter.
What they say: “Reverly requires team members to commit 100 hours per year in support of LEAP wilderness therapy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.”

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29. FullContact

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 87
Average salary: $101,759
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Twelve weeks of 100 percent paid parental leave for primary care givers, three weeks 100 percent paid for secondary. Plus: all-company “Truancy Day” encourages employees to “play hooky and head to a local brewery to eat, drink, play, and connect!”
What they say: “They pay us $7,500 to go off of the grid and go on vacation!”

30. 303 Software

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 19
Average salary: $70,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: A $50 monthly cash bonus for employees who don’t use their allotted parking spots and bike/bus/walk to work instead, plus a partnership with a local bike shop that includes free maintenance.
What they say: “Every employee has the opportunity to take every other Friday off provided they work 80 hours in the 14 days leading up to it. We call it Flex Time.”

31. Sterling-Rice Group

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 106
Average salary: $107,633
Vacation time: 17 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Company-sponsored athletic and charity events, such as Bolder Boulder, the Ragnar Relay Race, and the B Strong Ride.
What they say: “Our wellness program, SRGThrive, looks at health through a holistic lens that encompasses the physical, financial, mental, and community aspects of health by providing resources in the workplace, such as yoga, massages, and stress-reduction sessions.”

32. EverCheck

Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
What they do:
Number of employees: 24
Average salary: $56,772
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks:ÌęWalking meetings. “If the meetings don’t require the use of technology, we take them outside and straight down to the beach that’s just a few blocks away.”
What they say: “We host regular lunch-and-learns. We cater in healthy lunches and one person shares with the team what their day-to-day looks like and how their work adds value to the company’s mission.”

33. N2 Publishing

Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
What they do:
Number of employees: 228
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO after one year.
Perks:ÌęFree fitness classes on-site, free nutrition counseling, and a Care Team for emotional support.
What they say: “Each holiday season our company shuts down for two weeks so our team can spend uninterrupted time with loved ones. The weeks leading up to this end-of-year closing can be very busy, though, so we provide free massages to everyone during this time.”

34. Hanson Dodge

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
What they do:
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: $97,230
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO after one year
Perks: HD is a “puppy inclusive” workplace (a.k.a. dogs are allowed). “It’s not uncommon to find a pug or English bulldog roaming around the office.”
What they say: “The first Friday of every month is ‘Old Fashioned Friday’ where we end work early and the entire company participates in a cocktail party.”

35. Colorado Outward Bound School

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 34
Average salary: $53,911
Vacation time: 21 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Families are welcome at the office and basecamps, fostering a deep sense of community across generations.
What they say: “Course send-offs: When a course leaves base, all staff participate in a creative send-off with a quick costume change, reading, water balloons, noisemakers, or something else funky to send the crew on their way with a smile.”

36. Polar Field Services, Inc.

Location: Littleton, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 55
Average salary: $80,923
Vacation time: 12 days of PTO after one year
Perks: Daily organized stretching in headquarters and flex hours to allow exercise during work hours. Plus an office garden.
What they say: “Our mission statement is to provide our employees with unique jobs, impressing customers in cool places. Our primary work has been as a subcontractor to CH2M Polar Services whichÌęserves the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Arctic Research Program.”

37. Inntopia

Location: Stowe, Vermont
What they do:
Number of employees: 86
Average salary: $84,000
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Wellness benefits in the form of “money for gym memberships, ski passes, Fitbits, and subsidized vacations at top resorts around the world.”
What they say: “We encourage people to exercise during work hours. We have ski days, raft days, and golf trips. On powder days, work is optional.”

38. Procore Technologies

Location: Carpinteria, California
What they do:
Number of employees: 769
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited vacation days
Perks: “All Hands,” an all-inclusive getaway for the entire company put on every year.
What they say: “We have a snack wall employees are encouraged to use. In the same room there is a big screen TV equipped with video games.”

39. Evoke Entrada

Location: Santa Clara, Utah
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 81
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Company pays for advanced training, such as Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness Symposium, Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, etc.
What they say: “In the field, staff and clients participate daily in Mandatory Fun Time—games and activities that highlight different therapeutic aspects that could not otherwise be seen.”

40. Traeger Grills

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
What they do:
Number of employees: 143
Average salary: $86,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: “We have a full-time, professional culinary team that prepares world-class meals for the company throughout the week. Cooked on a Traeger, of course.”
What they say: “On site masseuses offer free 10-minute massages, periodically.”

How I Work

National Park Ranger Perri Spreiser

Elk sightings and waterfall hikes are all part of a day’s work.

41. Creative Alignments

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 23
Average salary:ÌęNot provided
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Flexible schedules, weekly lunches, and an annual volunteer day where “the whole company goes onsite at a local nonprofit to assist with their needs.”
What they say: “Every year we trek up to Eldora ski resort for a ski day. Team members choose to ski, snowshoe, or clink drinks and eat lunch after playing with snow.”

42. Allagash Brewing Company

Location: Portland, Maine
What they do:
Number of employees: 117
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 18 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Allagash allows a four-day work week for many departments.
What they say: “Employees can submit recipes and brew them for our Pilot Beer Program. Many of these go on to a larger brew production.”

43. VictorOps

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 75
Average salary: $90,493
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Super Job Keep It Up award bequeathed at each CEO-hosted company meeting (winner gets a trophy and a $100 gift card). Employees are also encouraged to give 1 percent of their time to charity through the GiveOps program.
What they say: “Our office is steps away from great running and hiking trails, and we offer in­-office massage sessions once a month.”

44. Spawn Ideas

Location: Anchorage, Alaska
What they do:
Number of employees: 38
Average salary: $77, 681
Vacation time: 12 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Commitment to being a family-friendly workplace: New parents can bring babies to work after family leave and until they crawl (“Who doesn’t want to hold a baby?”). Working parents and employees with aging parents (or even sick pets) get extra flexibility.
What they say: Spawn employees are “perpetual adventurers” in both work and play. “From organized rock climbing classes to ice fishing derbies, we share our love of the outdoors with one another.”

45. Wisetail

Location: Bozeman, Montana
What they do:
Number of employees: 37
Average salary: $54,800
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Weekly organic catered lunches and “random BBQ’s” for the staff to connect and build relationships. Plus: A “Be Well Stipend” offers $60 a month for every team member to spend on wellness “however they see fit.”
What they say: “We like to recognize and celebrate our team, whether it is their birthday or recognition from a client. Our team brainstorms a custom, creative gift or gathering for each person.”

46. Nuun

Location: Seattle, Washington
What they do:
Number of employees: 49
Average salary: $73,000
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Commuter benefits: Staff is incentivized to commute by any means other than a single-occupancy vehicle Ìę(i.e. bike, walk, run, bus, train, carpool).
What they say: “We ‘runch’ (run at lunch) together almost every day.”

47. Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc.

Location: Glenwood Springs, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 19
Average salary: $65,838
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Silly Hat Day! Chili Cook-offs! Bi-annual meetings with river rafting, skiing, and other outdoor activities! Also: Employee Appreciation Week with games, massages, prizes, food, and “a white elephant party”
What they say: “Work/Life Balance is a core value. Meaning that performance is assessed based on the contribution to the company and employees can work flexible hours (or from home) in order to maintain a work/life balance.”

48. Verified First

Location: Meridian, Idaho
What they do:
Number of employees: 66
Average salary: $70,000
Vacation time: 5 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Movie Day (“We closed the office at noon and rented out a movie theater for the rest of the day!”) and “Treat Yo Self” Day (free coffee, massages, lunch, and swag).
What they say: “We structure our work schedule so that those with kids can be off by 3:30 and have a better work/life balance.”

49. Nemo Design

Location: Portland, Oregon
What they do:
Number of employees: 42
Average salary: $79,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Skate Lunch (company pays for skate park rental for employees and friends to skate every Wednesday) and a company wake surfing boat. Because: “We can’t think of a better way to start or end the day than in the water.”
What they say: “Since 1999, Nemo has built a company culture that counters traditional advertising agency norms. In that time, we have grown from three founders to 41 full-time fun-loving, brand-building, skateboarding, marathon-running, turkey-bowling, bike-riding, split-boarding employees that care as much about each other as the work we put into the world.”

50. Powder7

Location: Golden, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 17
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 5 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: In addition to on-site foosball, a liberal pets-at-work policy, and “surprise powder ski days off,” employees get a month sabbatical after working five years.
What they say: “Employees have access to discounts from their first day of employment, including a fleet of shop skis to be used for free, whenever staff wants.”

51. Haberman

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
What they do:
Number of employees: 53
Average salary: $88,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: The Dude Ranch (“our organic company garden and CSA”), Dudestock (“our end of season family harvest party”), and the Fun Committee (which organizes an “Oscar party, beer-and-bingo, random happy hours, birthday celebrations, and much more!”)
What they say: “Staff members are able to leave the office at 12:30 on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day to enjoy our amazing summers!”

52. SummitCove Vacation Lodging

Location: Golden, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: $58,397
Vacation time: Not provided
Perks: Various team-building days, including: a company rafting trip, a Hike for MS team, Highway Clean Up day, and meal prep for cancer survivors.
What they say: “We sponsor up to three children of employees per year to participate in the Keystone Science Camp, a fantastic, outdoor based camp.”

53. Mondo Robot

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 33
Average salary: $92,000
Vacation time: 15 days of vacation after one year.
Perks: Full bar on the premises with 2 micro beers on tap. Plus, an annual company outing “where we rent a school bus and tour local breweries.”
What they say: “We provide a yearly $300 Wellness Benefit to be used toward any type of sports equipment, gym memberships, hiking permits, etc. People are encouraged to go on walks, bike rides, and hikes for their monthly one-on-one meetings with their managers. Regularly scheduled mountain and road bike rides happen at lunch and after work.”

54. Eagle Creek

Location: Carlsbad, California
What they do:
Number of employees: 56
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO after one year
Perks: Annual week-long horseshoe and cornhole tournament, on-site meditation room and yoga classes, and early-out Fridays.
What they say: “Our employees can attend more than 50 ‘Feed Your Mind’ classes per year. Topics vary from Leadership, Influencing, Time Management, and Presentation skills to more technical classes like Excel and Illustrator.” Plus: “You can bring your dog to work on Fridays!”

55. Ecology Project International

Location: Missoula, Montana
What they do:
Number of employees: 34
Average salary: $44,220
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Summer Float Lunches—inner tubes kept in the basement will appear at will on sunny summer afternoons for a river break in the middle of the workday.
What they say: “From our pro deals to our Commuter Challenge to the ability to take days off with no notice, EPI creates an office environment that encourages employees to be active and take full advantage of our incredible setting in Missoula.”

56. TDA_Boulder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees:Ìę29
Average salary: $92,000
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: One powder day per year “to go chase the unexpected storm,” ice cream truck visits on summer half-day Fridays, and TDA matches employees’ donations to their favorite charities.
What they say: “We encourage employees to be—and remain—active by sponsoring sports leagues, having weekly golf outings, and taking hikes.”

57. Workshop Digital

Location: Richmond, Virginia
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 27
Average salary: $49,869
Vacation time: Unlimited vacation days after one year.
Perks: Volunteer Fridays—paid time off to volunteer at a charity or nonprofit of employee’s choice.
What they say: “We encourage walking meetings as a practice to get teams outside—the James River and its park systems are literally in our backyard. We also provide unlimited vacation, which has resulted in some amazing trips: Three weeks paddling the Grand Canyon, hiking in Nicaragua, snorkeling in the U.S. Virgin Islands, exploring Japan, and many other trips promoting personal well-being and wellness.”

58. CampMinder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees: Ìę47
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Community service is a big deal: The company has donated backpacks and school supplies to an underserved Denver school, volunteered at Food Bank of the Rockies, and run a canned food drive.
What they say: “Through CampMinder’s affiliation with the outdoor industry, we are able to offer employees access to Experticity, a provider of pro deals, including steep discounts on over 300 outdoor brands.”

59. SlideBelts

Location: El Dorado Hills, California
What They Do:
Number of Employees: Ìę28
Average salary: $64,149
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: On-site basketball hoop, foosball, Netflix, ping-pong, and cornhole for employee use at lunchtime and breaks.
What they say: “There are countless things we do on a regular basis to promote fun, such as an annual Halloween costume contest, ice cream truck at the office, Pajama Day with a cereal potluck, unicorn frappuccino taste tests, weekly Fresh Kick Friday contests, and more.”

60. RA Nelson

Location: Avon, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees: Ìę87
Average salary: $94,847
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: “We offer a yearly scholarship program for employee dependents from 1st grade through college and support physical and intellectual pursuits, including academics, athletics, and the arts.”
What they say: “We are unique in that most of our work is outside. Seventy-five percent of our staff are outside on the job site, in the mountains, overlooking rivers, every day. No one is micro-managed, and everyone has the flexibility to support their personal passions outside of work. We all choose to live in the mountains for a reason and the owners of the company respect, understand, and encourage that.”

61. Outward Bound California

Location: San Francisco, California
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 23
Average salary: $58,406
Vacation time: 19 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Free enrollment in Outward Bound course; opportunity to attend Outward Bound course events in the field and the backcountry; Community Day hikes.
What they say: “Staff strive to complete outdoor activities together outside of work. During the 2016-17 winter, we organized two OBCA ski days in the Lake Tahoe area. In July 2017, five of our administrative staff members, including our Executive Director, ran together in the San Francisco Marathon.”

62. Beach Cities Health District

Location: Redondo Beach, California
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 75
Average salary: $73,037
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Employee garden; family access to șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűPlex fitness facility (with rock wall, basketball court, ropes course, and “Toddler Town imaginary play center”); and “Mindfulness workshops to learn how to live in the present.”
What they say: “As part of our wellness challenges, departments have created outdoor activities (such as hiking, running, canoeing). We also have a community initiative called Free Fitness Weekends where employees can take advantage of free fitness classes that also take place outside (e.g., paddle board yoga, beach boot camp).” ÌęÌę

63. Zen Planner

Location: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees: Ìę91
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 18 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Weekly on-site fitness classes (yoga, pull-up progression workshop, bootcamp) taught by team members. Plus: “Dogs in the office every day.”
What they say: “We have a sabbatical program to encourage team members to dream big and live large—life is short and if we only get one shot at this, we want our team members to make the most of each minute.”

64. BSW Wealth Partners

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 21
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Mentorship program, on-site meditation and relaxation groups, and financial support for professional education and development
What they say: “We had four staff members running a half-marathon and one competing in an Ironman in one year. We all train together, provide encouragement, training/nutritional advice, and are extremely supportive in each other’s endeavors.”

65. First Descents

Location: Denver, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 18
Average salary: $54,800
Vacation time: 25 days of PTO after one year.
Perks:Ìę“We believe strongly in local community creation. Festive contests, family-style pot luck meals, and ping-pong tournaments abound!” Also: Pro deals with dozens of outdoor vendors.
What they say: “The ‘Out Living It’ mantra drives every facet of our organization—from strategic planning to staff retreats. To be a true leader in Outdoor Behavioral Health, our staff must embrace adventure and mindfulness as a part of their everyday lives.”

How I Work

Gear Designer Nancy Hoo

Meet the woman behind your favorite Arc’teryx trail running kit.

66. Buzz Franchise Brands

Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 35
Average salary: $81,608
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Monthly fun activities designed to get employees out of the office during work hours to unwind and bond: go-karting, adventure ropes courses, Top Golf, and happy hours
What they say: “Our office space includes a cafĂ©, phone booths for private calls, various conference rooms, ping-pong and pool tables, a workout room, bright colors, and more! We also host a Toys for Tots drive in during the holidays, and include our customers, asking them to leave toys on their porch during the week, so our technicians can pick them up.”

67. Backbone Media

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 44
Average salary: $65,836
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Staff has a fleet of eight cruiser bicycles to share and use for commuting around town.
What they say: “In the winter we have a powder day clause: Employees can go skiing in the morning as long as they get to the office by 1 p.m. and get all their work done. In the summer we go on weekly staff mountain bike rides, dubbed ‘Dirty Thursdays.’”

68. Greater Yellowstone Coalition

Location: Bozeman, Montana
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 26
Average salary: $57,400
Vacation time: 15 days after one year.
Perks: Outdoor “Culture Committee” excursions, generous paid time off benefits, customizable flex-time and telecommuting policies.
What they say: “We combine traditional meetings with hikes, walks, sitting around campfires, and Wiffle ball games. We also host a week-long cycle tour through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and staff are encouraged to participate by biking or assisting along the route.”

69. Wilderness șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű at Eagle Landing

Location: New Castle, Virginia
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 22
Average salary: $20,000
Vacation time: 5 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Employee-of-the-month bonuses, “Staff Happiness” days (“where we get to spend a work day doing something fun outside”), and regular campfire outings at New River Gorge.
What they say: “As a staff, we do a lot of team-building exercises and learn to how to work together as well as improve our communication.”

70. Carmichael Lynch

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 280
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 18 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: In 2016 alone, the agency logged more than 1,000 hours of volunteer work.
What they say: “We do our best to encourage healthy, active lifestyles and access to the outdoors through agency bikes, rooftop yoga, free local fitness classes, agency locker rooms with showers, a discounted on-site massage program, agency-sponsored intramural teams, and a treadmill desk.”

71. IDX Broker

Location: Eugene, Oregon
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 54
Average salary: $78,245
Vacation time: 15Ìędays of PTO after one year.
Perks: Catered gourmet lunches, on-site video game arcade, company-issued Nerf guns and ammo.
What they say: “IDX is a proud, active member of our vibrant community in Eugene. As we continue to build new relationships, we’ve also strengthened our partnership with McKenzie River Trust, which protects and cares for special land and rivers in Oregon.”

72. Cairn, Inc.

Location: Bend, Oregon
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 17
Average salary: $35,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO.
Perks: Office-sponsored gear closet; “4:00 Beer Fridays”; remote work policy that allows employees to work from home two days per week.
What they say: “Four times a year we gather up the team to get outside together for a group activity. We can be found participating in a trail clean up, fat-biking in the snow, or touring Central Oregon caves.”

73. Foundant Technologies

Location: Bozeman, Montana
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 59
Average salary: $64,000
Vacation time: Unlimited vacation.
Perks: $1,200 personal development perk for team members; free yoga at a studio within walking distance of headquarters; local trainers host fitness boot camps for team members.
What They Say: “Foundant has an unlimited time-off policy that can be used year-round. Some choose to take advantage of the great skiing Bozeman has to offer, others use it in the fall during hunting season, and others use it in the summer for all of the awesome hiking, fishing, and other recreational offerings. Part of our culture is to get out and enjoy Montana however works best for the team member.”

74. The Frontier Project

Location: Richmond, Virginia
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 33
Average salary: $67,399
Vacation time: Unlimited vacation days after one year.
Perks: Project Well—a monthly program designed to challenge employees to think differently about health/wellness, nutrition, sleep, financial well-being, community engagement, and professional development.
What They Say: “Many of our employees do creative work. As such, they’re encouraged to get out and do what they need to do in order to recharge.”

75. Voyageur Outward Bound School

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
What They Do:
Number of Employees: 37
Average salary: $55,000
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: A paid “Service Flex Day” enables team members to get involved in a cause of their choosing (i.e. helping at food shelf, Women’s March, Save the Boundary Waters, etc).
What They Say: “At Outward Bound, it’s less about work/life balance. Because our work is outside and often in the areas and places that our staff are passionate about, we work to have a work/life integration. We work to have an inspiring mission and constantly ask our staff what could be better—then ask them to help create that.”

76. Montana Wilderness Association

Location: Helena, Montana
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 23
Average salary: $47,551
Vacation time: 16 vacation days after one year.
Perks: A Commuter Health Challenge provides monetary incentives for green commuting or exercising. Also: “staff retreats in beautiful locations.”
What they say: “Staff are encouraged to spend fourÌęworkdays a year connecting with the wild places. ‘Trail Days’ lead to resiliency and improve our knowledge of the places we seek to protect. All staff are eligible to participate and people get paid to hike!”

77. Namaste Solar

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 157
Average salary: $71,147
Vacation time: 5 vacation days plus 15 flex days
Perks: Weekly road bike rides, periodic acupuncture and massage sessions, yoga classes, seasonal softball and bowling leagues.
What they say: “We have a solar array on our office building, and offer a substantial employee discount for residential solar on their homes.”

78. Digital Operative, Inc.

Location: San Diego, California
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 31
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO.
Perks: Game room with foosball, corn hole, musical instruments, “and board games!”; wellness room (equipped with yoga mats, neck rollers, kettle bells and “an essential oil diffuser”) includes a quiet space for meditation.
What they say: “We compete in Spartan races or mud runs together as a team and offer working remotely at any time to all employees to promote a healthy work/life balance.”

How I Work

Alpinist and Trauma Nurse Anna Pfaff

The fine art of balancing two high-adrenaline jobs.

79. Taptica

Location: San Francisco; New York City; Tel Aviv;ÌęLondon;ÌęTokyo;ÌęBeijing;ÌęSeoul
What theyÌędo:
Number of employees: 17
Average salary: $143,000
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Ping-pong tables, team-building “fun days,” unlimited bonuses, and in-office happy hours.
What they say: “We have an annual international company retreat: Open to all employees, all expenses paid.”

80. Ska Brewing Company

Location: Durango, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 72
Average salary: $53,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: “FREE BEER!” Also: Ska and Avery Brewing companies co-founded “BoulDurango,” a six-day road biking charity event challenging brewery employees to ride from Boulder to Durango or vice versa.
What they say: “Each employee receives two shift beers after they are done working their scheduled shift. This encourages employees to hang out at the brewery with their co-workers outside of working hours.”

81. SheerID

Location: Portland, Oregon
What they do:
Number of employees: 38
Average salary: $104,908
Vacation time: 15 daysÌęafter one year
Perks: Fund-raising and planting trees for the McKenzie River Trust; flexible work schedules; “achievement celebrations” when goals are reached.
What they say: “Whether it’s happy hour, holiday parties, spontaneous lunch BBQs, retirement parties, days at the lake, hiking, rock climbing, or kids movie nights, SheerID loves taking an afternoon off and getting the team together for a good time.”

82. Tendril

Location: Boulder, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 111
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO
Perks: On-site masseuse twice a month; zero waste initiative that involves recycling and composting with the aim of creating zero waste.
What they say: “A standing initiative at Tendril is to turn as many one-on-one meetings as possible into walking meetings. We also offer a commuting challenge with prizes in the summer to encourage people to walk and bike to work.”

83. New Belgium Brewing

Location: Fort Collins, Colorado;ÌęAsheville, North Carolina
What they do:
Number of employees: 783
Average salary: $86,300
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Local Grants Program “serves and connects with the communities where we sell our beer. Since 1991, we’ve donated $8 million.” Also: one hour of PTO for every two hours volunteered.
What they say: “There are regular opportunities to join a running or cycling club, and coworkers are encouraged to bike to work by being given a bicycle on their one-year anniversary and by having on-site showers and covered bike parking.”

84. Apto

Location: Denver, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 83
Average salary: $84,574
Vacation time: Not provided
Perks: “Powder days” policy lets employees take day off at last minute in winter and on beautiful off-season days, too
What they say: “We hold Monthly Town Halls where employees submit anonymous questions and leadership answer them honestly and thoroughly. It creates a culture of transparency, trust, and accountability.”

85. Ascent360, Inc.

Location: Golden, Colorado
What theyÌędo:
Number of employees: 21
Average salary: $91,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Annual pool party picnic for employees and their families. Also, once-a-year Habitat for Humanity group build project
What they say: “We offer an annual company ski trip, Ragnar Trail Run, hump day hikes, and often employees take advantage of lunch time hikes/runs/bike rides around the area and use our in-office shower after.”

86. EPTDESIGN

Location: Laguna Beach, California; Pasadena, California
What theyÌędo:
Number of employees: 40
Average salary: $81,236
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Flexible work schedules. Also: Staff landscape architectural services for Habitat for Humanity, and design and construction drawings for low-income home projects in Orange County.
What they say: “In 2001, EPTDESIGN began our travel incentive program called TREK, which stands for 'Travel, Renewal, Exploration, Knowledge'Ìęand offers two employees per year an additional 40 hours and a $3,000 stipend to complete a study trip.”

87. Toad and Co

Location: Santa Barbara, California
What theyÌędo:
Number of employees: 55
Average salary:ÌęNot provided
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Loyalty program that rewards employees for years of service: “The rewards are meant to inspire active lifestyles and range from a custom surfboard to paid sabbaticals and even trips to Telluride and Nepal.”
What they say: “We have an on-line library of industry pro deals that keep our employees well equipped; each employee is also given an annual stipend to purchase Toad and Co product. We also have two stand up paddle boards at the office to get out on the water.”

88. BCF Agency

Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
What theyÌędo:Ìę
Number of employees: 42
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: Annual company lip-sync battle! Twice-a-year canned food drive! Office competitions! (“Our office competitions get pretty serious. Easter egg hunts, derby races, and piñata whacking are just a few.”)
What they say: “We strongly encourage an environment where the idea is king—where it doesn't matter who comes up with something or how ‘senior’ the person is. We passionately believe that the best ideas often come from the most unexpected places.”

89. Turner

Location: Denver, Colorado
What theyÌędo:
Number of employees: 40
Average salary: $81,812
Vacation time: 15 vacation days after one year.
Perks: “Recess” activities, organized group volunteer outings, and comp time.
What they say: “Employees are encouraged to engage in ‘sweat working platforms’ with clients and journalists. Our staff skis, cycles, and sails with journalists and clients; we also do yoga, spin, and barre classes on a regular basis with editors.”

90. Balihoo

Location: Boise, Idaho
What theyÌędo:Ìę
Number of employees: 33
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO.
Perks: Parking and gym stipend; bike room on premises; monthly chair massages.
What they say: “After five years, employees take a mandatory sabbatical with pay and bonus for two weeks.”

91. The Honest Kitchen

Location: San Diego, California
What they do:Ìę
Number of employees: 45
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 10 days of PTO after 90 days.
Perks: $60 a month toward fitness memberships and massages; discounts on pet insurance; organized charitable giving on a monthly basis through Pawlanthropy.
What they say: “Working with our dogs helps us get outside for brisk walks twice a day. Not only do we get to work with our best pals, but we have a more balanced work day.”

92. Red Frog Events

Location: Chicago, Illinois
What they do:
Number of employees: 67
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year.
Perks: Month-long, fully paid sabbatical after five years with company; catered family lunch every Monday; office bar and craft beer fridge.
What they say: “There are no required office hours for Red Froggers. Work schedules are very flexible, and every employee is allowed one work-from-home day per week.”

93. Deschutes Brewery, Inc.

Location: Bend, Oregon
What they do:
Number of employees: 526
Average salary: $79,781
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Employee stock ownership program. Plus: “Yoga in our private event space, a company bike share for off-site meetings and to get around our campus, and a horse shoe pit on-site.”
What they say: “We donate $1 per barrel of beer that we sell—$374,000 this year—to nonprofit organizations that support environmental, family service, youth, and arts programs within our distribution footprint.”

94. CCY Architects

Location: Basalt, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 33
Average salary: Not provided
Vacation time: 15Ìęvacation days
Perks: Annual wellness allowance of $850; annual education allowance for continuing education, conferences, and community leadership programs; Friday “Beer30” events—a weekly in-office happy hour.
What they say: “Collaboration is our day-to-day working style—our design studios are open (we’ve never had a private office at CCY)—and that approach carries over to our other working relationships.”

95. Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Location: Dillon, Colorado
What they do:
Number of employees: 68
Average salary: $69,875
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year
Perks: Access to ample pro deals for gear and apparel (both winter and summer); ski passes (allowing employees to ski nearly everywhere in Colorado for free); twice weekly yoga classes.
What they say: “We hold the occasional weekly staff meeting on the ski hill and encourage employees to ski or snowboard to and from. During ski season we encourage year-round staff to ski in order to understand the product we are offering.”

96. C1S Group, Inc.

Location: Dallas, Texas
What they do:
Number of employees: 27
Average salary: $89,767
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO after one year
Perks: Remote work policy allows employees to work from home twoÌędays per week; summer hours from Memorial Day to Labor Day; breakfast tacos every Friday.
What they say: “Everyone got a FitBit Blaze for Christmas and we had weekly step challenges during our Biggest Loser Competition to see who walked the most. Winners were posted in the kitchen and got a $20 gift card. Lots of good trash talking!”

97. Rustic Pathways

Location: Chardon, Ohio
What they do:
Number of employees: 76
Average salary: $54,234
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: “My Rustic Pathway” program helps employees chart a career path—“whether it is always with us or with another company…and that provides our team the opportunity to be the best version of themselves.”
What they say: “Cyclone Winston caused major damage to much of Fiji, and our community partners were hit hard. Following the storm, the RP Foundation (the philanthropic arm of Rustic Pathways) raised $35,000 and we were able to provide food and supplies to remote areas that had yet to receive aid.”

98. Infinite Energy

Location: Gainesville, Florida
What they do:
Number of employees: 318
Average salary: $91,748
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Half-mile walking trailÌęalong perimeter of company campus; cross-fit style fitness area complete with heavy ropes, kettle balls, and tires. Plus: “We also have a ping-pong table.”
What they say: “We have a casual dress code and host events including Olympic games, picnics, chess lessons, and chili cook-offs. We have an on-site gym, full-time personal trainer, and extensive wellness programs. And we even give away a total of $100,000 in prize money at our holiday party each year to 11 winners.”

99. EMC Research, Inc.

Location: Irving, Texas
What they do:
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: $73,865
Vacation time: 10 vacation days after one year.
Perks: Costco membership. Plus: in-office composting.
What they say: “March Madness competitions!”

100. DryCase

Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
What they do:
Number of employees: 20
Average salary: $30,000
Vacation time: 5 days of PTO after one year.
Perks: “Cookout Friday’s” (with a prize bequeathed to the “chef of the month”); mini basketball court in the back of the office; pool table. Plus: They like to party. “Anything we can celebrate, we do.”
What they say: “We have a skateboard-friendly warehouse/office space. Keeps the blood flowing and makes it easy to get around.”

The post The 100 Best Places to Work in 2017 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

On Sunday night, like a desert hurricane, winds heavier than 70 miles per hour whipped Napa Valley, California from the northeast. Then the fires began. Were they the work of an arsonist with a sick sense of timing? Or multiple snapped power lines? We still don’t know the cause, but by night’s end, flames from Ìęwere sweeping down from the hills of wine country and into Bay Area suburbs—Healdsburg, Redwood Valley, and Santa Rosa.Ìę

For twelve long hours, the Diablo winds howled. Flames leaped from brush to home, unbeknownst to sleeping families, utterly impossible for firefighters to control. The embers raining down were unquantifiable. “You don’t count the number of raindrops in a downpour,” says Mark Finney, a research forester with the National Forest Service. Every planter box, pine needle, garden, or roof touched by the blizzard of flames ignited. More than and overnight. Thousands of residents and visitors evacuated. At least . Six hundred and seventy others remain missing. With the winds forecast to return tonight, and increase again in severity this weekend, the disaster rages on.

Just how bad are the Napa fires? “These things aren’t unprecedented at all,” says Finney. True. But for now, these fires have few modern rivals.

Ìę

October 8, 1871

Day the Peshtigo Fire and the Great Michigan Fire killed 1,600 people and burned 3.8 million acres in Wisconsin and Michigan. That same day, the Great Chicago Fire killed 300 in the Windy City.

Ìę

1923

Year the Berkeley Hills Fire torched 584 buildings on the backside of the University of California Berkeley. Forty-one years later, Diablo-wind-fanned fires would blacken 83,000 acres in Napa Valley.Ìę

Ìę

$1.5 Billion

Total cost of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, whichÌękilled 25 and destroyed more than 3,000 homes, the most destructive fire in modern history

Ìę

3,500

Approximate number of structures lost in the 2017 Napa firestorm as of October 11, 2017

Ìę

42,166

Population increase in Napa County since 1980

Ìę

280

Increased number of trees on an average Californian acre when compared to 1910, when America started aggressively suppressing wildfires

Ìę

62 Million

Estimated number of trees killed by beetles and drought in 2016 alone

Ìę

89.7 inches

Rain that fell on Northern California from October to April. The record rainfall led to the bumper crop of the grass and brush now burning in the fires.

Ìę

106 degrees

Temperature recorded in San Francisco on September 1—the highest on record

Ìę

120 days

Length of time since Napa Valley’s last wetting rain. Meteorologists say the valley is in a flash drought.

Ìę

79 miles per hour

Peak winds measured Sunday night. The peak winds during the 1991 firestorm measured 23 miles per hour.Ìę

Ìę

16,000Ìę

Homes and businesses threatened by theÌęTubbsÌęFire, one of 17 currentlyÌęburningÌęin the state

Ìę

2

Number ofÌę severe wind events forecast for this weekend

Ìę

2 miles

Distance that 60 to 80 mile per hour gusts can throw embers

Ìę

7

Days before forecasters see a break in the weather

The post Napa’s Burning. Just How Bad Is It? appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

A backpackingÌęskillet, being only a skillet, is a piece of gear I always forget about until I'm about to whip up a backcountry meal. But then I pullÌęmyÌęÌęoutÌęand remember why I love it so much.Ìę

The eight-inch diameter is large enough to cook a hearty backcountryÌęmeal for two, yet small enough to fit in a backpacking pack.ÌęAnd at just seven ounces (without the separately sold lid), it won't weigh you down. I particularly love the two-inch-tall sides, which are higher than any other skillet I'veÌętested, andÌęlet me cook without making a mess. They also allow me toÌęboilÌęwater in a pinch.

After a recent camping trip, I was reminded of one of the skillet's best features:Ìęits ceramic non-stick surface. A quick scrub washedÌęaway the remains from four sausages (which, by the way, it cooked perfectly).Ìę

Other pots and pans I've owned were either too small or too heavy, and I tend to lose parts fromÌęthose complicated, nesting setups. I've found that the skillet is the only panÌęI need forÌębackcountry trips, as long as I don't want to boil pasta.

Like all greatÌęgear, theÌęCeramic Flex is also versatile. I gladly pack it along for car camping trips, and wouldn't be ashamed to use it at home, either.

The post How MSR Made the Best Camping Skillet, Ever appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.