Chester Marler's writings about the places and natural history along the East Slope of the Cascades are refreshing because they are not about rushing through this domain but immersing yourself in it. Here Marler takes time to really smell the flowers--or rather the trees of the alpine and subalpine zones.
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 Justin Schwartz, was 13-years-old and hiking in Yosemite, when he was bitten by the same specie of rattlers that we have in our neck of the woods -- a Northern Pacific rattlesnake. Read his story and learn an easy way to keep yourself safe in snake country.
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 How many times have you rolled into a trailhead parking lot, and hit the trail without so much as a glance toward the kiosk at the beginning? We are all guilty--especially at trailheads we use frequently. How many times do we really need to be reminded of staying on the trail, not cutting switchbacks, taking only pictures…? It all leaves us thinking that if we wanted to be under the thumb of regulations we could have stayed in town!
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 It's a time of year when you can cross-country ski and/or hike on Chelan Butte. This is an interesting place to visit in spring because of the diversity of options offered. There's snow on the road which sticks around longer than you might guess because of the north-facing exposure. And yet there are ridge hikes to enjoy that are mainly snow free. See our route information and map.
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 Two years ago, I was forced to abandon my non-committal attitude about the future and consider colleges. After weeks of perusing college guides, I narrowed down the list of possibilities based on a few factors that were non-negotiable: I wanted a small school with a curriculum that was academically rigorous, a small town, an international outlook…and I needed to be able to ski.
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 Marc Dilley has been working hard at taking exceptional photos this winter. Here, he explains how he risked drowning to capture this shot. Obviously getting great photos isn’t just about being in the right spot at the right time, whipping out the camera, pointing, and shooting.
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 How quickly have we opened our mouths and inserted a foot. Right after professing in Coolest Products – 1 that we rarely see things at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show that really knock our socks off, we saw something that promises to do just that. Topo! Explorer, an Internet map website being launched by National Geographic in April, rates as the coolest thing we saw at the show this year. We previewed a beta version of the website... ...
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 "What’s the coolest thing you saw?" That’s the ubiquitous question when we return from the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show in Salt Lake City. At the show, over 2,000 skiing, climbing, hiking, snowshoeing, and clothing manufacturers arrive to display their goods and gadgets. ...
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 Many boards billed as ‘backcountry’ skis are burdensome beasts that are only marginally lighter than resort skis. If you’re looking for skis that will primarily be powered uphill by human-powered quads, a light ski has its virtues. Here's what to look for in a light ski and some models we tested in Utah.
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 Another ice photo by Marc Dilley called, 'Nitro. He took this along the banks of Wenatchee near Cashmere just as the orange rays of the sun hit the bank. There was a lot of dynamic range in the scene so he blended two Camera RAW exposures together in PhotoShop....
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