Climbers are a notoriously picky bunch to shop for, so keep it simple this holiday season. The editors at Climbing have been testing non-stop in 2024, and we’ve highlighted the best new gear that your hard-earned money can buy. We’ve field tested everything on the list below—from cushy socks and comfortable hardshells to innovative belay devices and ropes—and can confidently say these will earn the appreciation of the climber in your life.

Best Gifts Under $75

Camp Nano 22 Rack Pack ($40)

The Nano 22 is billed as the lightest “fully functional” carabiner in the world, and we wholeheartedly agree. There are certainly lighter carabiners out there—but they are typically much smaller and therefore a nightmare to handle when pumped or while wearing gloves. The Nano 22, meanwhile, has a surprisingly deep basket for its featherlight weight (22 grams), enabling us to clip them in a hurry when pumping out on long multi-pitches. These carabiners live on our alpine draws and cam slings when we’re shaving grams.

Arc’teryx Merino Wool Grotto Mid Sock ($30)

All but the least-kempt climbers in your life wear socks and, unlike spoiled children, will be thrilled to receive a fresh set. The Merino Wool Grotto Mid is among our favorites from Arc’teryx: its soft and comfortable Merino wool is blended with nylon for added durability over years of use, and it’s lightly cushioned for long approaches. Whether you’re hiking to the crag, cold-weather rock climbing, or powering up an ice pillar, the Grotto Mid provides a snug, slip-free fit.

Gifts Under $150

Edelrid Pinch ($120 USD/$170 CAD at the link below)

Edelrid’s new assisted-braking belay device, the Pinch, made waves earlier this year with its ability to attach directly to the belay loop—no carabiner required. (To open the Pinch, you must press a small, tilting button while the device is simultaneously rotated 90 degrees from your body.) Climbing testers were initially skeptical of the Pinch’s ability to stay locked while belaying, but after four months of steady testing, we are now confidently catching airy whippers and belaying on big walls without the added weight or clutter of an extra locker. The Pinch feeds rope just as smoothly as other popular assisted-braking devices, and offers a smoother lower and rappel thanks to a beefy handle. An anti-panic feature—which locks the Pinch if lowering too quickly—can be disarmed if preferred.

Petzl Sirocco ($130)

The beloved Sirocco helmet is redesigned for 2024 and—somehow—is even better than before. Petzl has swapped its magnetic chin buckle for a plastic one (greater security), a bulbous forehead for a slimmed down silhouette (greater field of vision), and a better ventilation layout to encourage airflow while limiting the sand and dirt and ice that inevitably falls into big forehead vents while climbing adventurous terrain. Despite these extra features the Sirocco retains its 160-gram weight in S/M, making it our favorite ultralight helmet on the market.

Black Diamond Ultralight Ice Screw ($85-$90)

With instant bite, smooth boring, and easy-action handles, there is no need to run it out while climbing with BD’s Ultralight Ice Screws. The aggressive geometry on the steel teeth gives it a bulldog bite when placed on vertical ice, and the aluminum shaft—an ample 2cm in diameter—let us re-use most screw-holes on popular climbs that resembled Swiss cheese. Add in a snappy, fold-out plastic handle, and these things practically spin themselves in. BD has shaved 45 percent off the weight by pairing aluminum and steel—encouraging us to bring a couple more up that crux pitch.

Petzl Swift RL Headlamp ($140)

The Swift RL is a brilliant headlamp for those needing long-lasting support on their nocturnal adventures. Whether you’re sessioning crispy crimps by moonlight, accepting benightment on Epinephrine, or foregoing bivy gear in Patagonia, the Swift RL’s 1100 lumens and max burn time of 100 hours will surely outlast whatever sufferfest you’ve imposed on yourself. The rechargeable Swift RL is efficient in more ways than one: its 100 grams comes with a “Reactive Lighting” sensor that examines the ambient light and adjusts its brightness accordingly.

Gifts Under $300

Scarpa Arpia V ($169)

Designed for intermediate climbers, the Arpia V is both moderately downturned and asymmetrical, and gets especially high marks in both comfort and edging performance. It’s a supportive shoe, thanks to its full-length midsole and outsole, and should be attractive to heavier climbers who need stiff, supportive shoes while standing on small edges. That said, the Arpia V still has enough shape and toe-box sensitivity (thanks to the asymmetry and downturn) to let you curl into incut edges and feel small deviations underfoot. All in all, the Arpia V is an excellent shoe for intermediate climbers looking for something that will perform equally well on face climbs in the gym or outside.

Mammut 9.5mm Alpine Core Protect Rope ($290 in 60m)

Climbing-rope security has come a long way since the days of stiff hemp cords, and Mammut has taken their ropes to a new level with the Alpine Core Protect: a 9.5mm single rope that has a second sheathe woven with burly Aramid fibers. This rope handles and catches falls just as smoothly and softly as any of Mammut’s other 9.5mm ropes, but in the event of a dangerous fall over a sharp rock edge—as often found in mountainous environments—this Aramid-infused sheath will drastically increase its cut-resistance. We’ve spent five months beating the crap out of this rope—including on Minotaur Direct (5.11+; 500m) in the Bugaboos, Mt. MacDonald’s Northwest Ridge (5.8; 900m), and Buddha Nature Direct (WI 5; 120m)—and have noticed zero premature wear. The Alpine Core Protect also comes in 8.0mm half ropes, if wandery routes are your thing.

Patagonia M10 Storm Pants ($279)

The new M10 Storm Pants is this year’s best climbing-apparel innovation. Ice climbers, alpinists, and backcountry rock climbers who need the weather-proof security of hardshell pants have historically had to sacrifice a significant amount of comfort and mobility, since run-of-the-mill hardshell pants stem and lunge about as well as a pair of suit trousers. Such a sacrifice is no longer necessary thanks to the M10, which fuses the mobility-first design of jujitsu pants with various , who has tested prototypes since 2019.

The M10 pants have a generously gusseted crotch—yes, you can do the splits in them—an elastic waistband and cuffs, a thigh pocket, a diagonal zipped fly, and little else. Coming it at just 240 grams in medium, the M10s are surely the lightest fully-waterproof pants we’ve ever worn, and have served us well while battling up ice pillars running with water and racing electrical storms in the rugged Purcell Mountains. Bonus: the M10 series also includes a . We’ve been digging the latter for its unrestricted arm mobility and low-key profile while tucked into a harness.

La Sportiva Mandala ($209)

La Sportiva’s No Edge technology is about as close to the term “divisive” as climbing technology gets: While the majority of climbing shoes have a defined, 90-degree intersection where the sole and rand meet in front of your toes, the shoes in the No Edge line have a rounded front, which La Sportiva achieved by wrapping the sole up around the toe so that it becomes toe-scumming patch on the top of the shoe. This design sacrifices some precision-edging performance, but it maximizes smedging—the ability to smear over edges and into divots—and allows you to extend on the tip of your toe like a ballerina.

With the new Mandala, the No Edge tech is paired with its most supportive shoe yet, making it an attractive choice for boulderers and sport climbers alike. Tester Matt Samet wore his extensively on a 15-degree overhanging 5.14 project in the Flatirons, while editor Anthony Walsh trusted them while onsighting 30-meter 5.11 and 5.12 limestone routes around Canmore. As Walsh put it: “I wouldn’t reach for these shoes for razor-thin edging (hello, !) or Font-style sloper problems (the !), but for everything else, they are in rotation. It’s what the La Sportiva Genius should have been.”

Gifts $300+

Coros Apex 2 Pro Watch ($449)

The Coros Apex 2 Pro is a GPS sports watch that gives mountain athletes of all kinds the ability to accurately track their training and performances. It features a touch screen made of sapphire glass and three low-profile buttons. It’s got all the bells and whistles, including geo-location data from five satellites systems, a topographic map, heart rate data, a barometric altimeter, a 3D compass, a thermometer, an oximeter, and music storage—plus specific activity tracking including the “Indoor Climbing” mode. The Coros Apex 2 Pro takes all the and brings it to a new level with an increased battery life (now 21 days with stress monitoring, and 66 hours with full GPS tracking) and a slightly larger watch face. Climbers who struggle with either over- or under-doing it in the gym will benefit from the insight and accountability this watch can offer.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT BY MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT
Mountain Equipment Oreus Jacket ($449.95)

Endorsed by leading alpinists, the Oreus jacket from Mountain Equipment delivers superior warmth, functionality, and durability in challenging environments. This versatile jacket is crafted with innovative Aetherm Precision Insulation for down-like performance with the durability and weather resistance of synthetic fill. Between warmth, quick-drying performance, low weight, and pack size, it’s perfect for alpine climbing, ski touring, hill-walking and more as an outer layer, warm mid-layer, or lightweight belay jacket.

Black Diamond Hydra Ice Tool ($310)

Ice climbing tools have come so far since the medieval days of straight-shafted instruments that it can be difficult to wade through all the modern-day options. Most ice tools have a balanced swing weight, comfortable grip, and aggressively shaped shaft to minimize pump and bruised knuckles. So where does a would-be consumer go from there? We’d point them toward Black Diamond’s all-new Hydra, which is quickly becoming our favorite tool of all time.

One of our favorite things about the Hydra is how customizable you can make it depending on your objective. Its innovative head weights are the real headline here: Black Diamond sank the weights into the head itself, rather than bolting them onto the pick, simultaneously providing a more balanced swing weight and a lower profile. Thanks to this recessed head, ice climbers can opt for simple 5-gram “spacers” if they’re climbing warm, wet ice and don’t need the extra heft. Or, if swinging into bullet-hard ice in Canada, as we did on the north-facing Stanley Headwall last winter, drop in two 40-gram headweights to let the Hydras do the work. We’ve also been going hybrid—one light spacer, one heavy weight—to achieve that Goldilocks-swing at medium altitudes.

Head weights aside, the Hydra comes with a suit of tools that would make a mechanic jealous, including a long “Alpine” spike for snow plunging, a “Micro” spike, a full-size alpine hammer, micro hammer, adze, and handle spacers. And don’t get us started on their razor-sharp picks


The post The Best Gifts for the Climber in Your Life appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

“Running on empty” is a common idiom that can be used to describe a number of scenarios where someone is worn out or unmotivated. For runners that are underfueling, it can be quite literal. Whether you are knowingly or unknowingly underfueling, there are important factors to know about your caloric and nutritional needs.Ìę

Despite the prevailing myth that weight loss boils down to a simple calories in, calories out formula, a variety of lifestyle factors and their ensuing hormonal responses affect the ways our bodies respond to exercise and food. In an effort to maximize weight loss, many people (particularly women) eat as little as possible. “High-performing female athletes are at a high risk of underfueling,” says , MS, RDN, CSSD, and national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “This can take place without them even knowing.” There can also be such a focus on creating this calorie deficit that it can be easy to forget what calories actually do: fuel our bodies.

Your body responds to extreme caloric restriction by doing whatever it can to ensure your survival, mostly by conserving energy and putting calories toward its most basic functions. To do this, the body resorts to burning fewer calories. While in this survival mode your body produces more of the stress hormone cortisol, according to . And according to the Hormone Health Network, high levels of cortisol can cause changes to your sex drive and menstrual cycle and might even be linked to anxiety and depression.Ìę

If you’re not eating enough food, it’s also likely that you have some sort of . According to the Micronutrient Information Center of Oregon State University, vitamin D, calcium, potassium, dietary fiber, and are commonly underconsumed in the U.S. Like eating too few calories, symptoms of micronutrient deficiency include fatigue, reduced immunity, lack of concentration, memory troubles, and mood fluctuations.Ìę

This impacts your training in several ways. When the body feels it must prioritize essential functions (like regulating breathing, body temperature, and blood pressure), it doesn’t feel that it’s safe to put resources toward things like rebuilding muscle tissue, which is the process that enables it to build strength. Training sessions, therefore, become harder when we’re underfed. Though you may feel like you’re performing with all you’ve got, you’re actually working at a severe energy disadvantage.

Without enough fuel, you can’t perform at your best. “When energy and intake is too low, it really cannot support the demands of health and high-level performance,” says Ansari. For endurance athletes, it means running out of gas more quickly while racing or out on training runs. Even if you manage to push through a workout made difficult by a lack of fuel, your muscles can’t rebuild, and your body may even resort to using the protein from your muscles themselves.

Runners that chronically underfuel and overtrain are at risk of developing Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The syndrome is characterized by impaired metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, and cardiovascular health.

So, how do you know if you’re eating enough for your activity level? The list below of common symptoms should give you a better idea.

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5 Signs You Aren’t Eating Enough

1. You’re Constantly Tired

Food is energy. As mentioned above, if you’re not eating enough calories, your body is going to use the ones it does have to support vital functions. This means there aren’t any left to do the things you love. If you’re dragging your feet at the gym every day or while out on a run, chances are you could benefit from more food.

2. You’ve Hit a Training Plateau

Have you been working out with greater intensity but aren’t seeing any results? Do you see, as Ansari describes, “decreased performance in the weight room, out on the track or trails,” or feeling like you’re bonking or hitting the wall? Your body could be in starvation mode, fighting to preserve as many calories as it can.

If you’ve hit a ceiling in your weight training and haven’t seen an increase in months, it’s likely that you need to eat more, both to fuel your training and to repair your muscles.

3. You Aren’t Regular

Only about five percent of Americans consume enough fiber each day, according to national consumption surveys. If you are under-eating, the chances of your body getting enough fiber grow slimmer, which can easily lead to constipation. Another factor to consider is dehydration, which also contributes to slower bowels.Ìę

4. Your Brain Feels Foggy

Ansari, who works mostly with runners in high school and college, mentions that poor concentration in school is a symptom of underfueling. You may also feel that at work or even have trouble staying mentally alert during a workout. Your brain relies on proper nutrition to function, as well as the rest of your body.Ìę

5. You Can’t Sleep, Even Though You’re Tired

Appropriate food intake allows for improved blood sugar control. The combination of consuming too few calories and over-exercising leaves your liver depleted of the glycogen stores it needs to keep your blood sugar stable, forcing your body to release stress hormones that eventually lead to the production of new glucose. When stress hormones are high, we have trouble falling–and staying–asleep.

“Someone who is limiting carbs and/or overall calories may experience some sleep challenges,” says Ansari. “Carbohydrates help to make tryptophan, an amino acid that increases sleepiness, more available to the brain.”Ìę

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Adding Fuel to Your Tank

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all on how many calories your body needs, particularly since your energy expenditure varies every day. The USDA Dietary Guidelines estimate that adult women need anywhere from 1,600 to 2,400 calories a day. However, this baseline estimate doesn’t include the additional calories needed for intense exercise, as their definition of an active lifestyle for their purpose is “physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day
in addition to the activities of independent living.”Ìę

While there are many bodyweight calculators available that can tell you what your ideal weight (and thus ideal calorie intake) should be for your age, gender, and height, both fail to consider things like frame size and muscle mass. Ansari recommends connecting with a registered dietitian to really figure out how to meet your needs.Ìę

There are other simple steps you can take to start benefiting your nutrition, like adding more whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, to your diet. This is especially important if you suspect you have a nutrient deficiency. An RD can help you determine if you need additional interventions like supplements or vitamins.Ìę

You can use these rules to get started, but listening to your body and looking for the above clues–hunger, fatigue, weight loss, fitness plateaus, etc.—will serve as much more reliable indicators of your needs.

“I have worked with athletes who had been underfueling and experienced symptoms of RED-S,” says Ansari. “After focusing on an eating pattern that stressed the importance of nutrition adequacy and timing nutrition appropriately around training, we were able to improve their pace, energy, and the athlete was able to say that they felt stronger than ever before.”

The post Are You Eating Enough? Here Are 5 Signs You Might Not Be. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

It’s Halloween, which means there’s an abundance of candy laying around. I have some sitting on my counter right now, in fact, for guests to munch on—only after I ate all the Almond Joys out of the bowl.

Most people would assume that there’s no Venn diagram where candy and running overlap, but “most people” wouldn’t know that ultrarunning GOAT occasionally munches on Pear-flavored jelly beans during races. She’s a candy fiend, also vocal about her affection for Mike and Ikes, Dots, and Sour Patch Kids. Leadville Trail 100 champ Clare Gallagher buys her mid-run Sour Patch Kids in bulk. But it’s not just ultrarunners who dip into the candy jar. Two-time Olympian and Boston Marathon champ Des Linden has also been known to snack on sweets before a race—let’s not talk about the time she startled the world when she absolutely mutilated—I mean, ate a Kit-Kat
in a totally
normal
way


Suffice it to say, there are those who swear that popping a few gummy bears during a long run gives them the same energy boost as a gel. While I’ve tested how it feels to I’ve never packed candy in my running vest. To me, it seems too far-fetched that sweet treats can help our running practice, but let’s look at the facts.

This review is based on my own personal taste and experience running on the roads. If Halloween candy is your jam, I highly recommend you test this fueling strategy out for yourself on whatever running surfaces you enjoy

Is All Sugar Created Equally?

American College of Sports Medicine recommends runners consume 30-60 grams of carbs per hour for any run lasting longer than 90 minutes. Popular gels Gu and ±áĂŒłŸČč both contain 100 calories and 22g of carbs, which isn’t too far off from many candies in my Halloween bucket.

Matthew Kadey, MS, is a Canada-based nutrition registered dietitian and author of Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sports+șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű. He’s also an avid endurance athlete himself.

“Certainly the various types of candy can serve as an effective fuel source for exercise,” he says. “The sugar content can provide the same fast energy source as engineered sports products like gels. Besides, candy is typically much more enjoyable to eat and can help deal with palate fatigue. I think most of us will look more forward to stuffing in a fistful of gummy bears than sucking back a gel.”

Straight from the expert’s mouth. Candy = fuel, right? However, Kadey has some warnings to heed.

“The sugar content of candy varies widely, so you need to know how much you are getting,” he says. “Some candy will provide fewer carb calories than gels, so you need more to get the amount of simple carbs to have a performance benefit. Some candy may provide a dose of carbs that could be problematic to untrained guts that may lead to gastro issues.”

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He adds that many products are also lower in sodium compared to sports nutrition products, so you need to make sure you’re getting those electrolytes somewhere else. And if you are going to eat candy on your run, he recommends feasting on candy that’s mostly pure carbs (sugar) like gummy bears, Twizzlers, and Sour Patch Kids.

, CPT and certified running coach based in Utah, agrees that sometimes gels and candy aren’t all that different.

“Your body’s preferred energy source is carbohydrates, and when you’re exercising and your body is under that kind of stress, it’s going to be looking for the most easily accessible fuel source, which is going to be simple carbs or sugars,” he says. “I love using candy in training, but in racing, having to eat something like four, five, or six pieces of candy in order to get the same amount of sugar or carbs from one gel is just not going to be convenient and easy.”

He adds that you’re also taking a risk that the additives in candy might mess with your stomach.

“In addition, some gels have a glucose and fructose mix which maximizes the amount of carbohydrates that your body can process.”

Below, I did a nutritional breakdown of a few fan-favorites, as well as my honest thoughts on how they tasted/performed during my long runs.

*Note: I’m not in an aggressive training block, therefore all “long” runs I tested these candies on ranged from 6-12 miles on the roads.

±áĂŒłŸČč

• Calories: 100
• Carbs: 22g
• Sugars: 13g
• Sodium: 105mg

GU Energy Gels

• 100 calories
• Carbs: 22g
• Sugars: 7g
• Sodium: 60mg

Swedish Fish

• 110 calories
• Servings: 5 pieces
• Carbs: 27g
• Sugars: 23g
• Sodium: 25mg

Swedish Fish are delicious, but I didn’t love the fact that I had to eat about six pieces to reach 30g of carbs. I want my fuel to be low volume, and it took me a bit to get through this school of snacks. Plus, I found they got stuck in my molars so my tongue was doing backflips for the rest of the run to get stuff unstuck. Maybe most of the candy was left behind in my teeth, because I didn’t feel as energized as I wanted to with these. One bonus: they’re coated in wax, so you can put them directly into your vest pocket without them gumming up and getting melty.

Twizzlers

• 120 calories
• Servings: 3 pieces
• Carbs: 27g
• Sugars: 14g
• Sodium: 70mg

Twizzlers are another easy, seemingly unmeltable candy I can stick in my running vest. I had no problem chowing down on three strands of these, and they weren’t overly sweet, so I didn’t get that parched feeling after too much sugar. Plus, they have a decent amount of sodium, so a win for Twizzlers! Pro tip: I held all three in my hand and chomped down at the same time like one Twizzler banana.

Sour Patch Kids

• 110 calories
• Servings: 12 pieces
• Carbs: 27g
• Sugars: 24g
• Sodium: 25mg

Speaking of parched, I should have known Sour Patch Kids were going to be an issue. I’m not a sour-inclined person, so I was puckering up while mowing through 12 pieces. Plus, the little granules of sugar stuck to my sweaty fingers and got me all sticky, which I wasn’t a fan of. I definitely reaped the sugar buzz rewards, though, and felt great on my run.

Three Musketeers Fun Size

• 130 calories
• Servings: 2 bars
• Carbs: 23g
• Sugars: 20g
• Sodium: 55mg
• Fat: 4g

I was so hoping some kind of chocolate would work for me, but fun size Three Musketeers didn’t provide much fun to my run. While the carb and sugar count line up with a gel, the chocolate itself didn’t sit well with my stomach. I got a cramp shortly after and felt some churning and burning. They were the easiest to eat, however, being perfect bite-sized pieces.

Starburst

• 120 calories
• 6 pieces
• Carbs: 24g
• Sugars: 16g
• Fat: 2.5g

First and foremost—I only eat pink Starburst. Don’t ask me to trade for your yellow or red, I’m not interested. Secondly, these little squares were not great running fuel. You only have to eat six for 24g of carbs and 16g of sugar, but they’re hard. It took me forever to get through just one because I wanted to chew it really well—hello, eating something hard and running is a recipe for a disaster.

Mini Twix

• 150 calories
• Servings: 3 pieces
• Carbs: 20g
• Sugars: 15g
• Sodium: 60mg
• Fat: 7g

Talk about scary—have you ever had Mini Twix bars melt in your running vest? Well, I did. It might’ve been due to the day’s heat, which is a factor out of my control, but each of these Mini Twix bars melted through their wrappers, so chocolate got all over my fingers. If they hadn’t melted, however, they would have been decent fuel. I enjoyed the layers of cookies over the nougat in the Three Musketeers, but still got some digestive distress.

Branch’s Mellowcreme Pumpkins

• 120 calories
• Servings: 4 pieces
• Carbs: 30g
• Sugars: 24g
• Sodium: 70mg

Full disclosure, I’m obsessed with this Halloween-specific candy. And I loved it even more out on my long run. Initially, I went to the store looking for Candy Corn, but stumbled upon these classic pumpkins instead. I only needed to eat four pieces to get all the carbs, calories, and sugar I need. And they’re delicious.

A Bittersweet Conclusion

There are a lot of reasons to eat Halloween candy, but in my opinion, for the purpose of fueling runs isn’t the best one. There are so many products out there that replicate exactly what we need, while candy just slightly misses the mark. As both experts in this article point out, candy isn’t always easy to consume, the volume isn’t ideal, and depending on the type, you’re not always going to get the right sugar and carb content that digests properly.

If I was going to continue using candy on my long runs, I’d opt for Mellowcreme Pumpkins (which, you’d be hard-pressed to find during a spring marathon training block) or Twizzlers. Both were easy enough to eat, gentle on my stomach, and gave me a heck of a sugar rush.

The post Can You Replace Running Gels with Halloween Candy? appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Move over Amazon Prime Day: is here and the beloved retailer isn’t playing around. Whether you’re getting a head start on holiday shopping or looking to upgrade your ski gear this season, this year’s sale has some seriously good finds at even better prices.

In fact, some of our favorite skis of the year are deeply discounted during this limited-time sale. This includes our sister site SKI Mag’s pick for the best all-mountain ski, the for 40 percent off right now. With deals like this, you don’t have to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday in hopes of scoring the best savings for winter gear. Instead, check out our favorite skis at irresistible prices that you can shop right now.

At a Glance

• ($450 $750)
• Ìę($1,025 $1,349)
• ($450 $800)

When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s mission to get more people outside. Learn more.

Salomon Stance 96 Skis (2024) for $450 ($750)

SKI Mag’s pick for the from their , the is a chameleon, and steeply discounted right now. The unisex ski impressed testers with its “supreme versatility” across terrain and snow conditions. “This ski eases into a turn but settles in and holds strong,” one tester shared. “The tip lets the ski play over bumps and it feels like the ski has full suspension.”

Another reviewer wrote, “This model has life both for the person wanting to upgrade into a metal-laminate ski and the skilled skier who loves to find out how far they can tip a ski over on edge.”

Read the full review here:

Stöckli Montero AR Skis for $1,025 ($1,349)

Named one of the , the impressed our testers in the carving and hard-snow integrity categories. “The Montero AR is very much your ‘I want to make a good turn’ ski,” said one reviewer. “It’s super fun to lay over and have complete confidence in, and, in a departure from the Laser series, it’s a bit more capable elsewhere on the mountain.”

Read the full review here:

Nordica Enforcer 94 Skis for $450 ($800)

A past winner of the , the is a heavy hitter across flotation, crud performance, and balance of skills/versatility. Built with two sheets of metal and Nordica’s proprietary wood core blend, the ski has a strategically engineered rocker profile, a redesigned tip shape, and a modified construction. “I think the 94 is a great do-it-all for someone looking to split time evenly between groomed terrain and variable snow off-piste,” wrote one tester. “The skis demand some attention but aren’t too burly to beat you up for being out of position. “

Read the full review here:

The post Score Our Favorite Skis for 40 Percent Off During Evo’s Anniversary Sale appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Kilian Jornet is many things: greatest ultra-trail runner of all-time. Greatest sub-ultra trail runner of all time. Father. Husband. Founder of an environmental nonprofit. Founder of an outdoor footwear and apparel company.

He’s also an enigma.

Jornet eschews the commercialization of a sport that he’s helped to grow. He loves the freedom of exploration but also the rigor of science. He’s intensely introverted yet is the most popular and public trail runner ever.

These incongruences are perhaps no better exemplified than through his current quest. While most of the top ultra-trail runners from around the world have descended upon Chamonix, France, for the this week, Jornet, too, is in the area. On August 24, he essentially ran a handful of miles along the backside of the UTMB course in Switzerland. He came even closer—much closer—shortly thereafter.

But, and I’m sorry to disappoint you, Jornet is not here to race UTMB. He’s two weeks into an even bigger vision quest: link all 82 4,000-meter peaks in the Alps. He’s calling it the Alpine Connections project.

Of course, he hasn’t officially stated he’s trying to link all 82. He’s simply trying to “explore his physical, technical, and mental limits while connecting 4,000-meter peaks in the Alps.” But if you know Jornet, one of the most anti-spray runners in this spray era, you know he wants to tag them all—in record time.

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Ueli Steck, the legendary “Swiss Machine,” currently holds that record of 62 days. While most who have attempted this mind-blowing feat drove from one mountain to the next, Steck linked them via bike.

That’s the style Jornet chose, too. For environmental reasons. For the aesthetic of self-powered adventure. But like so many of the defining moments of his career, he has a camera crew following, in cars. (Since some of his outings on foot are point-to-point, it’s also not clear if his crew is transporting his bike from the start to the finish for him.) And he’s posting his progress on and , along with updates on the NNormal .

With just 30 peaks to go, the most imposing mountain left on his list is none other than Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in Western Europe at 15,766 feet. It happens to be the massif around which UTMB circumvents.

What inspired Jornet—who lives on a farm in Åndalsnes, Norway, with his Swedish wife and elite runner Emelie Tina Forsberg and their two young daughters—to test himself so close yet so far from UTMB? We spoke with him earlier this summer to find out.

But First, What the Heck Is the Alpine Connections Project?

On August 10, Jornet outsprinted Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago down the finishing chute to win Sierre-Zinal by one and a half seconds. His time of two hours, 25 minutes, and 34.8 seconds bested his own course record by just one second. It was Jornet’s 10th win at what many consider the most prestigious and competitive mountain running race in the world.

At just 19.3 miles with more than 7,200 feet of climbing, most of which is packed into the first 6 miles, it’s a test of VO2max more than anything. Jornet averaged 7:21 minute per mile pace—no, not grade adjusted pace—on the net-uphill alpine trail route with pitches up to 33 percent grade.

Apparently, it was just the tune-up he needed for weeks of 15 to 20 hour days climbing technical alpine routes and stringing them all together by foot and two wheels. He departed from Pontresina, Switzerland, to commence the Alpine Connections project just three days later on August 13. It’s the logical continuation of his (Re)discovering the Pyrenees project from last October, when Jornet linked all 177 peaks over 3,000-meters in the Pyrenees in eight days.

Alpine Connections is the Pyrenees project with the dial turned all the way up and then some. Over the first week of technical alpine climbing, running, and biking, he logged more than 91 hours with 330 miles and nearly 108,000 feet of gain.

How is he fitting in such big days, you may be wondering? Why, by hardly sleeping. Over the first three days he slept an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes a night. He bumped it up slightly to an average of 4 hours and 49 minutes on days four through seven.

In case that doesn’t sound challenging enough, the weather hasn’t made it any easier.

“As it had been raining (and snowing on the summits) the entire afternoon and night before, I left solo at 6:15 in the morning and had another relatively ‘short’ (8:40) day of climbing to make the most out of the conditions,” Jornet wrote on on August 18, five days into the project. “Still, I am used to this ‘Norwegian’ weather that feels just like home, so I managed to summit DĂŒrrenhorn (4034m), Hohberghorn (4218m), Stecknadelhorn (4239m) and Nadelhorn (4327m).”

Jornet was greeted by snow, rain, and copious amounts of fog while traversing glaciated peaks for much of that first week. Nonetheless, over the first week he had already submitted 51 of the 4,000-meter peaks over 825K (512 miles) of running, climbing, and biking and more than 52,000 meters (170,600 feet) of gain.

In his most recent update, Jornet shared that he took a full day off due to the weather. He used the time to try and refuel, rehydrate, and to heal the skin on his hands and feet.

Exclusive Kilian Jornet InterviewÌę

Jornet, 36, has long been able to subvert the processes and platforms on which he’s made his name. After building up his cachet by traveling to—and usually winning—the most prestigious trail races and mountain projects around the world, he announced several years ago that he would minimize airplane travel to a couple of times a year. A Salomon athlete for over a decade, he left the brand to take what he’d learned and start his own. And after winning UTMB four times, he along with 2023 runner-up Zach Miller proposed a boycott of the race last year until the organization cleans up some of its , including rampant global growth and its partnership with the car company Dacia.

We sat down with Jornet in person to unpack his relationship with the sport and himself.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

RUN: You say you’re in the best shape of your life. How did you get here?

Kilian Jornet: Training has been good and especially it’s been consistent. We had amazing weather this winter on the west coast of Norway with super good ice climbing and mountain climbing conditions. Blue sky, super cold for like two months, so we could climb a lot. This spring it was warmer here, which is surprising. We had some good dry trails.

I’m also doing less. When I go to races, there’s a lot of stuff you need to do. I’m an introvert, so being with people takes a lot of energy. After a race, I need to recover physically but also mentally because it takes a lot of energy. So I’m embracing less, which means I can train better.

And I’m doing things I like, like spending my time on NNormal or science projects and that’s giving me positive vibes and making me feel energized.

I think having stability in life, having a routine, makes training easier than racing. I can train better for a longer time. And then I can be more focused when I come to races.

Do you think “dad strength” is real?

No, it takes a lot of energy. But you also feel like you can get into a routine. I can train while the kids are at kindergarten, and then take the weekends easy. So maybe it helps to organize things. Normally I was training when I wanted to and now I can’t. But you get into a routine and that might help. I’m more efficient and I train better.

 

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Before it was like, ‘Oh I have all the days, so I just go out for many, many hours. And I do what I want to. I go to that summit, or that other.’ Now it’s like, ‘Oh no, I have these hours, I have this goal, I want to train this way.’ I still have days where I say, ‘OK, today is a mountain day, and so I go do whatever I want to do.’ But there are some other days where I know, ‘OK, I have this time to train, so I do this session.’

You love the science behind training, and you love just playing in the mountains. How do you strike that balance?

I studied sports science in school, so I probably was already nerdy when I was young. When I was like 16 or 17 years old, I was already doing tests. So it’s always been there in an observatory way. Like ‘I want to try this, and see what it implies. How can I analyze that from a science point of view?’ Not taking science and then applying it to me. It’s always been there in more of an exploratory way than a prescriptive way.

So you view science similarly to how you view the mountains: as an avenue for exploration?

Yeah, it’s a bit the same. When you go to a race, like I have gone to Zegama 12 times. That’s not a lot of exploration. But going to the mountains and doing projects there, it’s much more about exploring things and then seeing what’s happening.

Now that you’re launched NNormal, do you feel additional pressure to go and perform at key races to boost brand visibility?Ìę

I would say the opposite. Because now, with NNormal I’m part of it. I decide what I want to do. Now it’s really like, ‘Yeah, I want to do the race because I’m training well and I’m in shape and I want to do a nice race that I feel connected to somehow.’ Or I want to do this project in the mountains because it’s what I feel I want to do, and I don’t feel any kind of pressure. I know that it helps NNormal, of course, if I’m showing up. But not even racing, like we saw it last year with the project in the Pyrenees.

It was a last-minute thing, like I decided literally two weeks before that. Now that they analyze the press and social media and all that, that project had more exposure than when I did UTMB. So, it’s not only about racing and showing up and things. It’s more like, if you want to do something deeply, you will probably do it better. And if you do something in a good state of mind, probably you will get more inspired and do things that push me further than to set up a calendar and say, ‘OK, I’ll do that, that, that, that.’

Because I know that it’s somehow comfortable. But to break this routine into things like even if it’s races that I want to push the effort or to do big projects that require a lot of energy, I think that needs to be in this space where I have the tranquility of knowing that I don’t have any pressure to do one thing or another.

Your versatility is mindblowing. Do you consciously sacrifice optimal performance at any particular race or objective to prioritize being able to do it all?

Yeah. Last year, for example, I was injured but the plan was to do a project at Everest, a link up there, and then to try and do some short and long races, and then to do a project in the mountains and a ski project.

Long term, I want this versatility. And then I know that if I want to perform on this project, well, I need to have specificity. So the specificity is in the short term. Like I say I know that to get in very good shape for a specific race or project,Ìę specific adaptations don’t take more than six to eight weeks. So the last six to eight weeks before a race or a project, if my training is specific I know that I can perform the best.

But yeah, I can do specificity multiple times in a year and do different kinds of projects. And at the end, I think that’s what keeps me so motivated. Because if I was only racing, I wouldn’t like it. And ifÌę I was doing just things in the mountains, probably then I would get slower and my capacities in the mountains will decrease, too.

Have your athletic goals shifted over time?

I used to be much more competition-centered at the beginning because then I was doing ski mountaineering season in the winter and dry running season in the summer. That was very structured for many years. And I think that also gave me all the base and fundamentals and the knowledge and all that to be able to do other things. It was many years just focused on training.

Then I started to put some projects on steeper skiing or mountaineering,Ìę but around this calendar. Like two racing seasons. And then at some point, they became more like separate things.

Where do you see your career going?

I don’t know actually, because I feel that I’m still in good shape. I’m still performing and I’m still improving things. So yeah, I still really like racing and like pushing myself inÌę training. So I don’t know how long that will last, but as far as I see that I am happy pushing and racing, I will keep doing it.

And then I will stop doing international races, but I will still do local races because that’s fun. And then projects in the mountains, I will do that hopefully all the time I can. But of course professionally, there will be a moment that it will not be able to sustain my life. Then I think I will still do running and mountaineering for all my life as a pleasure.

You famously were a disciple of a fat adaptation nutrition strategy. Has that evolved at all?

I have shifted my nutrition in the day-to-day a lot over the years. When I was young, I couldn’t afford much, so I was just buying pasta or a big package of rice and tomato sauce. My nutrition was not very varied. As the years have gone on, I’ve taken more care of that. We have a big garden so we get a lot of veggies from there. We try to eat a lot more foods that are fermented and this kind of thing. And I feel like performance-wise that has helped a lot.

In competitions, I’m eating much, much more now. But in training I’m not eating anything during training. Only if I do a very specific session, where I’ll take gels or something like that. But will only happen about one time every month. If it’s a four hour session, I can take a gel every 30 minutes. If I’m doing two uphill thresholds and then maybe some flat, I’ll take a gel between the uphill and the flat on the recovery. That’s very targeted for specific sessions.

In winter, I have a half a liter bottle and it doesn’t matter how long, if it’s eight hours, I take that. In summer, I don’t take anything. And I think that’s helping me in a way because I am developingÌę some metabolic adaptations. If you have a better metabolism, it’s much more open, so then you don’t really need to train your gut for having much more intake because your metabolism is more flexible on switching from fat to carbs. So you don’t need to train the gut.

Someone who has a worse metabolism and let’s say wants to take 120 grams of carbs an hour in a race, they probably need a long gut training to be able to do that, even if he’s eating and I’m not eating during training. And then it’s just because the logistics are hard. If you’re in the mountains, you don’t want to have to carry a bunch of stuff.

The point is supplements and gels are great for racing, but for daily consumption the chemicals are not good.

Given the state of affairs with UTMB, do you think you’ll ever go back?

Yeah, it’s a race I like. I like the volunteers, I have lived in Chamonix for many years. I love many things about the race. I don’t like many things, but I’ve talked with the race organizers and I have a good relationship with them. Many times we agree that we just disagree. I’m not doing it this year because I have another project. But I think it’s good to disagree on things to build together, and I hope in the future there is change on some things that I don’t agree, like some things on the corporation side, like in the race acquisition or some vision with the impact of their entity when it comes to sponsorships, or their impact on the land.

So it’s things like that that we’re not on the same page. But we can discuss, and it’s good. But it’s a race I might go back to in the future, and I would love to do in the future.

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This year’s is right around the corner—which means some of the best athletes in the trail-running universe will be meeting up in Chamonix, France, to test their mettle on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

With this year, athletes will have more to fight for than ever. And you can get a front seat to the action without leaving home. Here’s how to watch the 2024 UTMB World Series Finals, including the 50K championship, OCC, the 100K championship, CCC, and the grand finale 100-mile championship, the 106-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), from August 29-September 1.

Catch the Action Live

What started as a stand-alone race has transformed into a weeklong festival of alphabet soup acronyms. There are eight total races during the week from August 26-September 1, but the three races that make up the official UTMB World Series Final—the OCC, CCC, and UTMB—will all be brought to you via drones, bike and runner follow cams, and non-stop commentary.

Last year, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű and UTMB World Series to make it easier to stream the UTMB’s top trail-running events. This year, the partnership continues—which means you can watch 10 of the series’s best events live on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű TV.

The championships racing action starts on Thursday, August 29 with the OCC as runners start from Orsiùres, Switzerland (and race the final third of the loop to Chamonix). The action continues straight into Friday morning with the start of CCC in Courmayeur, Italy (which sends runners along two thirds of the loop to Chamonix), and culminates with the crùme de la crùme, the full-loop UTMB, which kicks off in downtown Chamonix that evening at 6 P.M. local time. The 106-mile race with roughly 32,800 feet of climbing and descending is a time-honored test piece for lifelong ultrarunners, up-and-coming rookies, and elite-level pros alike. For many, it’s the most anticipated trail race of the year.

Race Schedule

How to Watch

All three races, OCC, CCC, and UTMB, will be available to watch for free on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű TV. If you’re sleeping and miss the action live, no sweat. will also be able to watch on demand after the finish anytime, on any device.

While You Wait

Looking for some pre-race inspo? You can watch the best of the UTMB World Series on demand—including and the from earlier this year and the —on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű TV. Plus tune into for previews, analysis, and real-time coverage as our editors report live from the slopes of Mont Blanc.

There are two ways to watch UTMB live and on demand:

• On the web at
• Via the șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Watch app (, , and Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV)

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Every year since 2019, The editors ofÌęBackpacker have led a trip to Nepal, an annual pilgrimage that both pays homage to the region’s soaring peaks—and chips in as the country continually heals from the tragic . This fall, we’re going back, and we’re hoping to take you with us.

So, what does this part-service, part-adventure trip look like? First, we’ll meet up in Kathmandu. You’ll get to rub shoulders with editors and fellow Backpacker readers, explore the city, and eat some incredible local food. Then, we’ll spend about a week building classrooms for a school in the village of Kakani near Kathmandu. When the work is done, it’s time to play: We’ll head out on a nine-day, beneath the ice-encrusted Himalayan peaks in the Nar Phu valley. We’ll be accompanied by Nepali guides and porters, who provide us with unique local perspective on the natural landmarks, Buddhist monasteries, and historic communities we’ll pass along the way.

While some basic fitness is required, you don’t need any serious backpacking experience (or construction know-how) to join us—just a desire to help out, do some good, and experience the adventure of a lifetime. The trip is scheduled for October 12th to 31st, and there are only four spots left. Ìę

The post Want to Join Backpacker in Nepal? We’ve Only Got Four Spots Left. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

It was a slow kill in a very fast race. Nikki Hiltz, easily recognizable in a distinctive black leopard print Lululemon onesie amid a sea of ubiquitous fluorescent kits, sprung out from lane one with the gun and settled on the rail. A hard-charging Elle St. Pierre led the field through the first 300 meters in nearly 45 seconds flat—a blazing 4:01 minute per mile pace. Yet Hiltz, tucked in fourth, looked unfazed, their orange, pink, and black Puma spikes bouncing off the track with each stride.

It was the women’s 1500 meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field on June 30 in Eugene, Oregon. And Hiltz was waiting.

In the buildup to that race, the 29-year-old Hiltz had put in months of training, logging 70 miles a week at their high-altitude training base in Flagstaff, Arizona, along with routine strength work and numerous speed and double lactate threshold sessions on the track. Unlike in years past, however, Hiltz approached this race with another layer of preparation.

They got serious about prioritizing their mental health last December, when they sought out a sports psychologist.

“What’s going to set you apart [from your competitors] is your belief, your mindset, and your mental health,” Hiltz says. “The Olympics, the Olympic Trials, it’s a huge emotional thing. I want to cover all my bases so that I go in ready for anything.”

Every week, Hiltz met with a sports psychologist to dive into “everything you would possibly talk to a therapist about,” as they put it. From their upbringing in Aptos, California, where they found a love for track as a youth and also began to experiment with their gender identity at age six, to career hiccups, and coming out, twice.

Hiltz had previously come out as gay while in college. And in 2021, their gender identity .

“It’s been really helpful to unpack,” Hiltz says. “You bring it with you to the track. Whether or not it affects you during the race, it’s a part of you.”

The result? Hiltz has had their best year on the track yet. They won their first global medal—a silver in the 1500 meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championships on March 3 in Glasgow— and they made their first Olympic team in June by winning the 1500-meter finals in Eugene.

“I’ve found through working with her I can be more confrontational and assertive, and it doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to like me or make space for me,” Hiltz says. “That’s been really helpful when it comes to things like correcting people who get my pronouns wrong or things like that. That has translated to being more confident on the track. I can take up space here.”

RELATED: Ìę

Making Changes

Working on enhancing their mental health has been a game-changer, especially in comparison to their mindset three years ago. In March 2021, on Transgender Day of Visibility, Hiltz, whose sex was assigned as female at birth, took to social media to publicly address their gender identity.

“The best way I can explain my gender is as fluid. Sometimes I wake up feeling like a powerful queen and other days I wake up feeling as if I’m just a guy being a dude,” Hiltz wrote in an post.

Hiltz has expressed a desire to eventually have top surgery as well as hormone replacement therapy, the latter of which they will refrain from beginning until their competitive running career is over. As per official rules instituted by World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, athletes who were assigned female at birth are allowed to compete in women’s categories so long as they haven’t received hormone therapy.

The identity announcement on Instagram, which occurred two months before the Covid-delayed 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, was met with a mix of support and hostility. Hiltz was inundated with public comments and private direct messages.

The political climate toward transgender people in America at the time was less than accepting. On a national level, transgender inclusivity—particularly in sports—became a political linchpin. In 2021, Arkansas became the first state in the country to ban gender-affirming health care for minors. Another 154 anti-trans bills followed that year, with the number rising each year thereafter.

“It was a really hard time,” Hiltz says. “I wasn’t ready for that backlash. I did have a lot of love and support, but I wasn’t used to getting that much ugliness or hate. It really affected me later on that season.”

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When Hiltz lined up at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June 2021, they showed early promise, winning their semi-final heat. But they crumbled in the final, finishing in last place, over 12 seconds behind winner St. Pierre. Their long-term dream of running for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics was over. Hiltz later revealed that stress-induced sickness leading into the race had impacted their performance. They felt neither confident nor calm going into the competition. Simply showing up despite feeling scared and vulnerable, however, was necessary to display inclusivity in sports, Hiltz says.

Their career continued to transition. Hiltz, who had been sponsored by Adidas since 2018, didn’t re-sign with the brand after their contract expired at the end of 2021. Instead, Hiltz joined Lululemon in 2022 as a brand ambassador, describing the partnership as a gut decision.

“This was a brand that understood what I was trying to do on the track and reach all of my personal goals, but also knew that I was trying to grow the sport in other ways,” says Hiltz, who had relocated from San Diego to Flagstaff to train under Northern Arizona University track coach Mike Smith.

“It just felt right,” Hiltz says. “Mike Smith is a great guy, and I feel like we connected right away. It was definitely a leap of faith. I was looking at the big picture—that this was hopefully going to set me up for a good Olympic year in two years.”

Making Progress

With time, patience, renewed confidence, and hard work, Hiltz progressed. In February 2023, they became the first openly nonbinary U.S. national champion when they won the 1500 meters at the U.S. indoor championships. Two months later, Hiltz won the U.S. 1-mile road running championship, and then in June they completed a sweep of U.S. championship events by winning the 1500 at the U.S. outdoor championships.

Two weeks later, at the Monaco Diamond League meet, they finished a strong sixth place in the fastest women’s mile in history, crossing the line in 4:16.35 to break the American mile record that had stood for 38 years.

Although they missed making the 1500 meter finals at last summer’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hiltz has rebounded with a strong season so far in 2024. Not only did they win another indoor U.S. title in the 1500, they also brought home the silver medal in the event from the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Scotland in March.

They believe their newfound priority on their mental fitness this season has kept them mentally and emotionally sound more than ever—and racing to the top of the podium.

“It is hard work at times to prioritize this stuff, especially when you’re so busy, and life gets in the way, but I think it’s super important,” Hiltz says. “It’s unlocked something in me and allowed me to excel at the next level.”

For 100 consecutive days leading up to the Olympic Trials, they invested in a daily guided meditation practice using the app. Journaling also became a daily habit, writing clear goals as a way to manifest their ambitions. Hiltz has also maintained a list of inspirational and motivational words and quotes in the notes app on their smartphone, referring to it whenever they experience moments of doubt. This collective mental toolbox will continue to be part of their preparation leading into their Olympics Games debut.

Hiltz’ partner, , also an elite runner who competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at this year’s U.S. Olympic Trials, has seen positive results first-hand.

“They’ve done a great job of prioritizing their mental health during this Olympic build,” Gee says. “I’ve noticed meditation and working with a sports psychologist has contributed to their focus and resilience, which has led to confident performances this season.”

That digging deep over the final 100 to outsprint the field and break the tape in the women’s 1500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, a race many consider to be the deepest American field ever assembled, with four Olympians, three national champions, and seven sub-4 minute performers.

Hiltz not only ran the second-fastest time ever of any American in the women’s 1500, clocking a trials record of 3:55.33, they cemented a spot on Team USA, achieving a lifelong ambition. The result, a personal best for Hiltz, catapulted their ranking to in the women’s 1500. Currently, they have the in the world heading into the Olympic Games, just ahead of American teammates Emily Mackay andPierre.

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The Olympic Trials win, on the last day of Pride Month, was of particular significance for Hiltz. In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, they said they had dedicated the race to the LGBTQ+ community, commenting, “This is bigger than just me.”

“Nikki’s participation in the Paris Olympics as one of the few nonbinary athletes serves as an important moment for Queer representation in sports,” Gee says. “It underscores the fundamental right of transgender and nonbinary individuals to show up as their authentic selves and belong wherever they choose to be.”

Hiltz has leaned into advocating for the LGBTQ+ community in sports and beyond throughout their pro career. They founded the annual in 2020, through which they have donated $172,000 to the, an organization that provides crisis and suicide intervention for LGBTQ+ youth. The 2024 race on October 12 will fundraise for the nonprofit, an organization that offers health and wellness care to the transgender community.

“Something I always go back to is a motto I live by: ‘Be the person you needed when you were younger.’ That has really driven me,” Hiltz says. “It’s important because you’re making space for a young version of Nikki out there now.”

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Onto the World StageÌę

While Hiltz still gets inundated with comments about their trans and nonbinary identity—both positive and negative—prioritizing their mental health and establishing a routine of mental wellbeing practices has helped them face and overcome the negativity.

“I feel very at peace with myself,” Hiltz says. “It’s been so great to personally do the work to know that I belong, this is a legit thing, and trans people exist.”

The Olympics will serve as an even greater platform for Hiltz to promote inclusivity while competing on running’s biggest stage. Hiltz, who will participate in the women’s 1500 meters, beginning on August 6 in Paris, will be one of few nonbinary athletes across all sports who will compete in Paris.

“Now it’s the world that I have to race. That’s really exciting to me,” Hiltz says. “Everyone is just leveling up right now. I’m excited to be a part of that, and to just go out there and see what I can do.”

Their goal is to advance to the August 10 final to have an opportunity to race for a medal. They’ll face a deep field that will include world record holder and two-time reigning Olympic champion

“Nikki is a formidable competitor,” Gee says. “They are strong, fast, strategic, and confident. With their current form and mentality, I believe they are capable of making the 1500 Olympic final and finishing in the top half of that race.”

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Backpacking is work—fun work, but you still might want a drink when you’re done. A dehydrator isn’t just for meals; it allows for with unexpected ingredients that don’t compromise pack weight. Dehydrate berries and citrus for sunset sangria or limes for margaritas. Experiment with your favorite flavors or try this recipe on your next trip.

Backcountry Old Fashioned

Makes 2 servings

• A few drops of bitters
• 2 sugar cubes
• 4 orange slices
• 4 Bing cherries
• 100 mL bourbon

At home:

1. Add a few drops of bitters to two sugar cubes (enough to saturate but not disintegrate them).
2. Dehydrate the sugar cubes, orange slices, and cherries at 135°F.
3. Pack your cocktail ingredients with two 50-mL nips of bourbon.

At camp: Ìę

1. Divide the ingredients into two cups and add one serving of bourbon to each.
2. Stir vigorously until the sugar mix dissolves, and enjoy.

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This hearty combo tastes even better in the woods than it does in the diner. Whip it up over a campfire, and you’ll not only impress your buddies–you’ll have a no-pot meal with zero cleanup (eat right out of the bag!). The paper won’t ignite if you make sure it’s wet before cooking–here, bacon grease does the trick–but it might smoke a bit. Try it with these two techniques: one for the trailhead, one for the trail.

Car Camping

Ingredients:Ìę 4 thick bacon slices, 2 eggs, 1 brown paper lunch bag

• At home, pack eggs and bacon in a cooler.
• In camp, cook one serving per bag. Place the bacon inside the bag, wiping the insides generously with grease (the more you coat the bag, the better). Crack eggs on top of the bacon. Fold the bag down several times, then poke a three-foot stick (green pine won’t burn) through it so that the bag hangs at one end.
• Holding the stick’s other end, suspend the bag over hot coals (not flames), heating all sides evenly until done (seven to 10 minutes).

Backpacking

Ingredients: 4 frozen bacon slices, 2 eggs, 1 brown paper lunch bag

• At home, crack eggs into a bowl and beat. Pour into a Lexan bottle or zip-top bag and freeze. Wrap the bottle or bag with foil, then place in your pack with the bacon. Both will thaw in time for breakfast the next day.
• Cook over your campfire, using the method described above.

Tip: If you’re in an area where fires are banned but charcoal grills are permitted, these techniques work over those too.

Adapted from , by Richard Wiese ($19, Harper Collins).

Originally published in 2009; updated in January 2022

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