Throughout the past several years of bouncing in and out of career paths, I’ve acquired a growing passion for entrepreneurship.  What seems to be a glamorous pursuit is often a mix of doubt, excitement and determination.  Deep into this brain dance, one confronts a variety of decisions that feels like grooming for leadership while gamboling your sanity. My involvement with entrepreneurism is a perpetual education of myself, inward and out. A huge part of me is drawn to such endeavors because of my love of extreme sports. Being immersed in the mountains, whether by foot, skis or wheels, has fueled my eagerness to take risks and to keep going in the heat of adversity.  Starting s a business or a trek in the wilderness are closely related, and the unknown is daunting, though the process is enlightening.  Whatever the outcome, one thing remains constant: We are a community that shares the pain, success, and devotion of the experience.

With my adoration to both communities, I would like to share several local entrepreneurs’ projects that are as impactful as they are innovative. Please support these Kickstarter campaigns by either sharing or contributing to their exciting ventures:

Mountain Devil-Women’s Ski & Snowboard Outerwear

Their goal is to create women’s technical ski/snowboard clothing with a relaxed fit to accommodate a wider range of body types.

Support Mountain Devil here.

Moksha (film) – AndShesDopeToo

Moksha is a film that highlights three Nepali women who have dedicated themselves to spreading the joy that mountain biking can bring to women across the Himalayas.

Support Moksha here.

World’s First Lay & Play Wireless Charging Dock With Speaker

The Lunchbox speaker instantly connects to ANY phone WITHOUT syncing/pairing! NO Bluetooth. NO WiFi. NO wires. Simply lay & play!

Support Lunchbox here.

What would inspire a person to precariously balance themselves and walk along a piece of webbing extended hundreds of feet above gorges, waterfalls, and tall towers?  This short video, created by ZEAL Optics Ambassador Chris Morgan, explores briefly explores the motivations behind two avid highliners, Anthony and Corbin, as they practice their sport in Kenton Park, Portland, Oregon.

You can see more of Chris’s work on his website, www.twosherpas.com or on Instagram at @chris_twosherpas.  Anthony & Corbin are on Instagram at @arobslacks and @chundafalls.

Packing food for an outdoor excursion can be a daunting task.  Often times meal planning becomes a last minute thought, and people simply “grab something” and hit the road.  Instead of feeling overwhelmed with what to eat for the duration of your trip, try following these 4 steps to find the right foods to fit your journey.

HOW TO PACK FOOD FOR A TRIP

Narrow down your food options by focusing on these four critical details: storage/weight, refrigeration, duration of trip, and cooking device.  By asking yourself what resources you have available, you will get a better understanding of the right type of foods to pack.

The above chart organizes the four meal planning factors that will have the biggest influence on the types of foods to pack for an adventure.

For example, if you have limited storage space, weight concerns, no refrigeration, cooking with a JetBoil, and your trip lasts for 3 days; you will need lightweight, caloric dense, one pot meals with non-perishable foods. As another example, if you have endless storage space, with refrigeration, and no weight concerns for the entire trip; that means that you can essentially pack anything that pairs with your cooking device.

Think of the first example as an ultralight backpacking meal, and the second example as a meal that you would make if you had an RV.  In both situations you need nutritious food that supports your outdoor activities, but in the first example you have a lot of limitations that prevent you from packing many items, especially fresh and perishable ingredients.  Knowing your limitations allows you to eliminate foods that don’t fit your criteria so you can easily focus on the right types of foods to pack.

BACKCOUNTRY NUTRITION

The next step in outdoor meal planning is familiarizing yourself with the diet that you need.  Being active requires more calories and a different type of nutrition than if you were spending the day indoors.  For this reason, I recommend having a look at the Adventure Dining Guide nutritional overview.  The tips listed in this link will help you determine the amount of pack weight you should allocate to food, as well as the types of foods you will need to support a backcountry diet.

BEST LIGHTWEIGHT FOODS

After familiarizing yourself with your trip limitations based on the meal planning chart, you can then narrow down the type of foods to bring.  If your trip has a lot of limitations the best foods are going to be lightweight, high caloric density, and non-perishable.  Examples of good foods to pack in this situation are: peanut butter, canned tuna, hard cheese, dehydrated meals, dried fruits, whole wheat crackers, beef jerky, olive oil, mixed nuts, couscous, salami, dark chocolate, oatmeal, and sun dried tomatoes.  This is just a sample of backcountry staples, check out Backpacker for a more in depth and detailed shopping list.

The most important thing to remember is to pack foods that keep up with you.  If you have a busy and active adventure agenda, you very likely will not have a lot of time to commit to cooking.  Plan ahead by packing quick snacks, such as energy bars, in easy to reach pockets.  This way you have food readily accessible when you stop for breaks.  Also plan on bringing meals that don’t take a lot of time and effort to prepare.  For example, to reconstitute a dehydrated meal all you have to do is add water.  Or you can make a quick cooking pasta, such as couscous, and simply top with dehydrated fruits and nuts for a hearty dinner.  There are many great meals that you can make in the backcountry, and once you know the type of foods that best fit your expedition, you can easily plan for your big adventure.

AT HOME EXPERIMENTATION

The final step to meal planning for a backcountry trip is to practice at home.  Familiarizing yourself with how long foods take to cook, how they taste and how easily they can be prepared will help you prepare for the trip.  If you’re using a stove in the backcountry for the first time, or trying a never before attempted recipe, you will come across a lot more challenges in an already difficult environment.  Practicing at home gives you the opportunity to master your meal so your backcountry cooking experience is easy and successful.

Skateboarding at Trailside Skate Park in Park City, Utah.

In April, my friends at Vitality Films in Grand Junction, CO, set out on a mission to do as many sports as possible in one day within the 20-mile radius of Colorado’s Grand Valley. They managed 7 – from skiing at 10,000ft in the morning to biking the desert in the afternoon and paddleboarding a lake by sundown.

Check out the full adventure at www.GrandDayCO.com. #GrandDayCO

Tori Sowul is a force of energy!  She is a passionate outdoors woman who spends a great deal of time ripping along Utah’s mountain bike trails. In addition to being a ski and bike enthusiast, Tori is also co-founder of spreadstoke.com!

As you can imagine, Tori is a busy woman with a hectic schedule, which is exactly why she shared a recipe for her homemade energy goo.  She often needs a boost of energy when she’s out on the trail, and this recipe has just that.  There are both simple and complex carbs for quick and sustained energy, along with a vitamins to support tired muscles.  And, the best part about Tori’s Goo is that it can be made at home using common, inexpensive ingredients.

Here’s how to make Tori’s Goo (makes 15 servings):

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp Honey
• 3/4 tsp Black Molasses
• 1 tbsp Peanut Butter
• 1 cup Cooked Quinoa
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/2 tsp Ground Coffee

Instructions:

1. Combine ingredients. Mix everything together.
2. Put 2 tbsp. goo into individual serving plastic bags. *Make sure you use a reliable container to hold the goo, otherwise you will have a big sticky mess to deal with.
3. Consume goo on the trail for simple backcountry energy. Store goo in refrigerator when waiting to be used, to ensure food safety

For more trail friendly recipes visit: http://www.adventurediningguide.com/recipes

For those of us who haven’t found the perfect soul mate with whom to share fine vistas while celebrating the accomplishments of Saint Valentine, I wrote a little love letter. My thought was that I’d rather focus on the things that bring me giddy joy rather than grudgingly celebrating “Singles Awareness Day.” So for those Spreading Stokesters out there, I present this Valentine.

XOXO Love, 
Lexi 

Last winter Justin ‘Trauma’ Lichter and his partner Shawn ‘Pepper’ Forry completed the first winter thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.  For those unfamiliar with the “PCT” it is a 2650 mile trail from Canada to Mexico that cuts through 3 US states including Washington, Oregon and California.  This diverse trail crosses deserts, mountain ranges, deep forests, glaciers and volcanic peaks, and is considered one of the most difficult hikes in the world….in the summer!

For the western US states the winter of 2014-15 was very mild compared to normal winters.  Many areas reported record low snowpack, which might lead one to believe that this would be a great year to attempt a winter thru hike on the PCT.  However, it turns out the lack of snowfall and unpredictable weather patterns were a major challenge that almost forced Trauma and Pepper to abandon their expedition.  Not too long after starting in Washington, Trauma and Pepper found themselves caught in an unexpected storm that left them debilitated with frostbite.  Later on the trail they had to ditch their ski touring setup (due to lack of snowpack) and rely on snowshoe travel, which takes more time and burns more calories.  Thru hiking in the winter is filled with challenges, especially when it comes to food.

For many long stretches, the PCT is a desolate trail that cuts through uninhabited wilderness.  Trauma and Pepper often went weeks without seeing another person.  Many small towns with re-supply stations along the PCT close for the winter, which meant Trauma and Pepper had to be meticulous with their meal planning.  Cold weather and minimal pack space greatly limited the types of food Trauma and Pepper could eat.  According to Trauma, “our breaks were centered around eating. Any time we stopped we would spend that time ingesting calories. And if we took a break we couldn’t sit still very long because of the cold, so we had to keep moving.”  The most efficient calories came from conveniently stored nutrition bars.  The guys rotated between Lara Bar, Pro Bar and Kind Bar and ate 10 bars each per day, receiving 1/3 of their daily calories from bars.

Cooking at night proved to be another serious challenge.  Often times Trauma and Pepper had to melt snow for the next days water supply, since they frequently did not have a running water supply available.  Due to the terrible snowpack there was often “sugary” snow, which does not hold much water content and takes up to 2 hours to boil down for the next days needed water supply.  After a long day of hard work, the guys were often hungry, tired and ready to sleep, but had to commit an extra two hours of work to melt water.  This left little time for cooking dinner.  Trauma and Pepper relied on quick one-pot calorie dense-meals such as, Top Ramen, Knorr Sides, angel hair pasta, cheese, beef jerky, instant mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, or any combination of these.  Trauma was especially a fan of the instant mashed potatoes because they can be made without bringing the water to a boil, which saved time and fuel.

Snacks were another essential in their backcountry pantry.  While dinner was cooking or snow was melting, Trauma would often snack on chocolate chips, Justin’s Hazelnut Butter, and Justin’s single serving almond butters.  The single serving packets were especially handy because they were easy to ingest and provided quick calories to his tired body.

In addition to making food, getting supplies was often another daunting task.  Trauma and Pepper had to hike miles off the trail to find open grocery stores or to access post offices with re-supply boxes that they had mailed to themselves before they embarked on their journey.  One much appreciated surprise came from a ‘trail angel’ who hiked miles to leave an anonymous supply box at a remote location.  Even though they were often isolated, the support from the PCT trail community was received throughout Trauma and Pepper’s trip.

After an astonishingly fast 132 days Trauma and Pepper reached the US/Mexico boarder to complete the first successful winter thru hike of the PCT.  As they signed the book at the end they were greeted by friends, family, and a champagne celebration to end their historic journey.

Check out the Adventure Dining Guide episode to learn more about Trauma’s PCT cooking challenges.

Dogs are awesome. Mutts are even better. We adopted Lucy, our cattle dog mix, after finding her wandering the foothills above our house where she had been heartlessly abandoned in the middle of winter. She was surviving on mice and voles she caught by pouncing through the snow like a fox, so it took several months before she realized the bowls of dog food we fed her weren’t a passing phase. She still terrorizes rodents of all sorts, but now simply for the sport of it.

Six years later, she’s a solid member of our pack, and we can’t imagine our lives without her. She may have given up living off of rodents, but she still enjoys chasing anything with four legs — the bigger the better it seems. She’s seen more of the Western U.S. than most people. She’s been there as my daughters have grown up from young girls to young women. She’s chased us down untracked powder.  She’s explored the depths of mountain ranges. She has curled up next to me under a tarp in the rain. She’s an “adventure dog” through and through, and she embodies the “explore more” attitude with her limitless energy. As a good friend once said, “everything’s better when you do it with a dog” and that is the truth! Here’s to all the great mutts out there who spend their days living the lives others dream of. In my next life I can only hope I come back as a heeler mutt living along the Wasatch Range. It’s a pretty great life.

Chris Morgan
www.twosherpas.com
insta: @chris_twosherpas

Photo credit: Richard Tilton (@richardtilton)

Just outside the city of Hong Kong you have access to acres and acres of country side. While many people – especially those who only view HK from the outside – see it as a concrete jungle, if you look hard enough you can find magical spots like this. Although the Sai Wan Rock Pools are now pretty well known and can draw quite a crowd, everyone that goes are just trying to have as much fun as possible.

WEBPAGE: robinleevisuals.com
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/robinleevisuals
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/robintlee

So sit back, relax, enjoy some cliff jumping action to some cheesy music and even its it not sunny and warm where you are now, it is somewhere, so book your tickets now!

Cream cheese in the backcountry??? Absolutely!!!  Richard Orth from BAKpocket Products is a college student who knows what it takes to enjoy luxury camping on a college budget.  In this episode he makes his restaurant inspired Pesto Tortellini and shares a few tips on saving money in the backcountry. 

What do you do when you want to go camping or backpacking and there is a fire ban in effect? On this episode you will learn how to prepare “Fire Ban Tacos”, a no-cook alternative to camping without a fire.

Friday April 17th, my college ultimate frisbee team, Spiral Jetty, packed our bags and headed to sectionals in Boise, Idaho.  Leaving Salt Lake City during rush hour slowed down the start of our road trip, but good friends and silly music made the time pass faster.  About 1.5 hours into the road trip, my car got a dreaded call from our fellow teammates.  12 girls left Salt Lake City and 1/3 of them were in a roll-over car crash outside of Burley, Idaho.

The next hour was spent playing phone tag with different teammates trying to figure out what had happened, if those in the crash were okay, and how we were going get them home or on to Boise.  2 of our girls were taken by ambulance to the hospital because they were going into shock.  Luckily our coaches were 10 minutes behind those in the accident and able to help those in the crash get their stuff and help get the rest to the hospital.  The rest of the night was spent in the hospital, waiting for news on how our teammates were.  All 4 girls in the crash and the one boy (on the men’s team) were cleared with no major injuries, just bumped and bruised.

While waiting in the hospital, our team had to make our biggest decision of the season, do we continue onto Boise and play at sectionals with 8 girls or do we turn around and head back to Salt Lake?  When one of the girls in the crash heard that there was even the slightest possibility that we weren’t going to play she told us that we had to at least try. If we didn’t, those in the crash would feel like it was their fault and would make everything worse than it already was.  With that in mind, our team made the decision to continue on to Boise to play in sectionals.

Saturday April 18th was Day 1 of Sectionals, with Game 1 featuring Whitman vs. Spiral Jetty.  Whitman is a team that goes to nationals, Spiral Jetty is still a developing program.  Whitman brought 27 girls to sectionals, and after the crash, Spiral Jetty had 8.  With this in mind, our goal for the weekend was to build chemistry between our players and to have fun.  Our motto of the weekend was dropping knowledge bombs.  No one expected us to go score 7 points against Whitman.

Game 2, Idaho vs. Spiral Jetty.  Spiral Jetty (SJU) won on universe point 8-7.

Game 3, Spiral Jetty vs. Montana State.  SJU won 9-3.

Game 4, Spiral Jetty vs. Montana.  SJU lost 4-7.

Saturday night was spent team bonding in the hotel, with lots of chocolate.  We played truth or dare games and never have I ever.  We may be in college, but I secretly think we are all 12 yrs old.

Sunday April 19th, Day 2 of Sectionals, Game 1, Spiral Jetty vs. Boise State.  After some mix-up with when games where supposed to start, we ended up playing Boise State for our last pool play game.  We lost 9-8.

Game 2, Boise State vs. Spiral Jetty.  The first game in our bracket play was against the team that we just lost to in our last game in pool play.  SJU pulled together and won against Boise State, 8-6.

Game 3, Montana vs. Spiral Jetty.  By game 3 of Sunday and game 7 of the weekend we were down to 6 players due to injuries, we didn’t have enough players to continue on to play our last game.  SJU had to forfeit the game to go to regionals against Montana.

After a very teary-eyed prop circle, Spiral Jetty started the road trip back to Salt Lake City.

Turns out that a car crash couldn’t stop us.  SJU went 3-3 that weekend, placing 3rd at Big Sky sectionals.  This team came together after a terrifying experience, kicking ass when no one thought we could.

Learn how to make an Australian camp bread called “Damper” from free ski legend Keri Herman.

This is the constant struggle I face.

Being comfortable isn’t a bad thing, right? But is adventure more important? They feel mutually exclusive.

I see more and more of my friends and people I meet at the crag saying they’re moving into their van or truck. They’re installing a bed and just going for it.

[Cue the feelings of jealousy as I head back to my 9-5 job in a cubicle.]

Each time it makes me question my decisions. It makes me wonder, “Why can’t I be the one that makes other people jealous?” “Why can’t I be the one that chases happiness and dreams rather than security and comfort?” Well, for one, security lets you have adventure. It’s a lot easier to enjoy yourself when you’re not worried about food and survival. When you know you can fill up the gas tank in the car you’re living out of. Security let’s you relax, knowing that you don’t have to figure out your next move.

But then, I come back to the question: At what cost?

We’re all at least a little bit worried about our future and our potential regrets. Simultaneously.

Then every once in a while, an opportunity arises for you to have it all. You can create a career for yourself and you can live a life full of adventure. Chasing fun around every corner. And then? Then the hard part. You have to do it. Your excuses are gone and you have no choice but to grab that opportunity and run with it.

You build yourself a home on wheels. You figure out the bare necessities that you truly need to be happy. You sell everything else and you hit the road. You go where the sun is shining, the beer is good and the stoke is high.

And you know what? It’s scarier than any super exposed, multi-pitch trad route you’ll ever climb.

But just like any fear, it’s oh so sweet when you overcome it. Or at least that’s my hope.

On April 25, 2015, Nepal was struck by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake. This disaster resulted in the destruction of large sections of the densely populated city of Kathmandu and the surrounding region. In addition to promoting mountain culture domestically, Wasatch Mountain Arts also supports mountain culture internationally. Thus, the Wasatch Mountain Arts Nepal Disaster Relief Fund will go directly to helping those affected by this tragedy. Although nothing can bring back those we lost today, we hope that this fund can help ease the burden and help those needing immediate assistance.

To make your contribution, click on the following link: http://igg.me/at/3OQPh-33-c0.

Contributions will go directly to current disaster relief efforts within Nepal.  

- The Wasatch Mountain Arts Team

Adventure Dining Guide heads into the Colorado backcountry with Summit County natives Jake Black and Tanner Banks.  Tanner explains how to start a healthy fire in the snow using an avalanche shovel, while Jake cooks up his Venison Hobo Hot Pockets.  This fun episode has some great pointers to help you get cooking during the winter.

To watch the full episode and learn the secrets to Jake and Tanner’s successful meal check out www.adventurediningguide.com.

Have you ever had somebody tell you that you couldn’t do something? It’s pretty frustrating. But can you imagine what it would feel like if your body told you that you couldn’t do the things you loved the most- like an occasion where you would have no say in the matter at all? Would you feel discouraged or would you feel more motivated than ever? This weeks Fresh Face of Instagram is Mimi Kvinge, who has an incredible story to tell. She’s an artist and an adventurer, but most of all, she’s a fighter who has overcome incredible odds.

If you follow her on Instagram @mimikvinge.creative you already know that her feed is stacked tall with incredible works of art. But would you believe it if I told you that she never considered art to be more than a hobby until about a year ago? From a very young age she took to skiing and developed a love for the outdoors. Then, when she was an adolescent, she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in her leg.  This ultimately took away her ability to be active and to pursue her passions in the outdoors.

As part of her treatment, a large part of her knee and hamstring was removed. Despite the fact that doctors were uncertain that she would regain full function of her leg again, she was able to make a full recovery. She credits that she was able to engage her body in “a real way” through her love for skiing and nature.

Mimi’s parents have always encouraged her and her brother to use their imagination and to be as creative as possible. It wasn’t until last year, after getting a huge response from a piece of art she posted onto one of her social feeds, that she considered doing art as more than just a hobby. Her artwork is experimental, and she’s constantly using new techniques to change the way it looks and feels. No matter what medium she uses, she almost exclusively showcases the beauty of the natural world. Her inspiration is derived from her love of nature and is intended to make people “feel the awe and respect for the natural world” that overwhelms her when she heads into the mountains.

“The mountains are my church, my gym, my therapy…”  –Mimi K

Mimi’s art speaks for itself, but it has a much more beautiful context when you know where it comes from. Social media allows you to connect with people who do inspiring things, but on occasion, it also allows you to connect with people who are inspiring by their very nature. Mimi Kvinge is one of those people.!

To see more of Mimi’s work, check out  www.mimikvinge.com or follow her on Instagram @mimikvinge.creative. You can also contact her directly if you’re interested in purchasing her incredible pieces!