Ski Resorts Put The Ban On Burton Snowboards

A few days ago, I touched base on a controversy surrounding two new lines of Burton snowboards.  The two lines of snowboards feature characterizations of mutilation and a graphic tribute to Playboy magazines of the past.  These two lines of boards have sparked an outcry in the outdoors and political communities.  Protests have been ongoing at Burton headquarters in Burlington, Vermont throughout this past week, and now comes news that some ski resorts are banning the new boards for their ‘inappropriate ‘ graphics.

Smuggler’s Notch, a well-known Vermont ski resort, has put a ban in place to forbid it’s employees from using any boards from the new Burton lines.  Vail Resorts, who oversee five sperate ski resorts in Colorado and one in California, has also followed suit in banning the boards from being used by resort employees.

While this is not a full-scale ban of the Burton boards on these slopes, it does represent the first time that a board manufacturer has been banned for the graphics of it’s boards by resort officials.  All resorts involved suggest that the latest information on the banning of the Burton boards should not be looked upon as their dislike of the product line.  All officials are suggesting that this same ban does not only apply to Burton, but to all companies who put out a product that could be suggestive or involve inappropriate content to it’s family-based business ethics.

Burton, who manufactures the snowboards, along with a full line of outdoor recreational equipment and gear, stands by their decision to market these boards and will not be pulling them from sale any time soon.  They suggest that these boards represent ‘freedom of expression’ and are only two lines, out of many, that the manufacturer markets publicly.

It will be interesting to see where this controversy goes.  On one hand, these graphical boards will definitely be construed as controversial in a family atmosphere.  On the other hand, Burton snowboards have been one of the top brands of boards on the market for a long time.  Only time will tell if these boards will get the acceptance of the public, or be banned in the USA.

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An Adventurist Editorial: The Stephen Fossett Debates

We should have all seen this one coming from a mile away–

Going into days 5 and 6 for the ongoing search of legendary adventurer Steven Fossett, people are starting to take their focus off of the search and more onto the debates surrounding these types of events when they occur–

First it began with how great of an adventurer Steven Fossett is.  Over the past few days this focus has slowly moved to the motives of a “Risk-Taker” and if Stephen Fossett’s family should be charged for the search currently taking place.

Both of these items are highly debatable and both of them generally always surround a high profile search, especially if the person involved was also a part of anything that has a certain risk-factor to it or has been the focus of media attention in the past.

Personally, I began taking notice of these debates around December of last year when three climbers became lost on Mt. Hood.  The ensuing search, that garnered massive media coverage, soon became a debate for a cause. 

It may be the cause of the general media’s focus to always provide something new to a highly viewed (and rated) story.  Running out of new leads, they hop back on the bus and get everyone involved in raging debates that once again spark interest to previous stories of the same general nature.

Two questions always emerge:  Should the families of the person being searched for have to pay for this service?  And secondly–the risk involved.  How could they do this to their families and loved ones?  What is it about risk that triggers these people to always endanger their lives? Read more

The Adventurist Launches a New Column on Topix

I have been very, very busy for the last couple of weeks.  Some of you may have noticed a slight drop-off in the articles put up on here, but I have actually been pretty good about at least getting something up everyday.  I have a few projects going that I would like to take a few minutes to tell you about.

Adventure-X

First off, I announced a week or so ago that I have become an editor over at Topix.  I am in charge of updating the Mountain Climbing, Extreme Sports, and Outdoors Recreation areas over at Topix.  As an Editor over there, I thought it would be nice to add a little personal touch, so I have began a weekly column called Adventure-X in the Outdoor Recreation Area of Topix. 

This column will be a weekly feature over at Topix.  I have a lot of very neat ideas that I am going to try to do with this as we explore the outdoor world and some of the issues of today.  The first column, Adventure-X:  Defining Ourselves Through What We Do, has already been posted.  I will be adding a link at the Top of The Adventurist called “Adventure-X” that will explain a bit more about this project, as well as take you to the weekly column.  At this time, this is a Topix exclusive, with possible syndication in the future to other media outlets.  It will not be a feature on The Adventurist, but I will definately put up the links to the pieces as I put them up.

An Article on Topia Road

Besides the Adventure-X column, I also have an article getting ready to be featured over at Topia Road.  Topia Road is a new online magazine specializing in snowboarding and skiing.  Pat Moore, the Editor, is a two-time National Champion in NASTAR Snowboard Racing and has been ranked Number 1 in the country for his age group.

My article, Skiing the World’s Highest Peak, should be up on their site anytime now.  This article takes a look at the history of skiing and snowboarding on Mt. Everest.

It is a pleasure to be working with these guys and I am wishing them continued success on this project.  Stop on over and check them out.

Adventure Sports Weekly

As if this weren’t enough, I will also have an article in this week’s Adventure Sports Weekly.  The new issue should be out tomorrow.

My article, So You Want to be an Adventure Racer, takes a look at what is expected and what could be done to get yourself involved in these amazing Adventure Races.

If you haven’t checked out Adventure Sports Weekly yet, I highly reccomend this Online Sports Magazine.  Editor Wina Sturgeon is an internationally known sports writer.  She has covered the Olympics for Sports Illustrated as well as worked with many other publications.  It is a pleasure to be working with her on this project and I wish her continued success.

The Adventurist All Over the Place

So now you know what has been going on–I have been busy, but it has been alot of fun.  I have been working with some very talented people and definately moving forward.  Hope you check out my items around the Net, and thanks for your continued support.

Jason A. Hendricks, Editor

This Week in Adventure Sports Weekly–08/22/07

The new issue of Adventure Sports Weekly has been released.  One thing I truly do like about this new magazine is that it is so varied…there is something there for everyone.

This week, Adventure Sports Weekly takes us to the XTERRA Mountain Championships Off-road Triathalon–one of the biggest events of it’s kind in the world.  There were roughly 600 participants at this years event, which is also a qualifier for the World Championships held in Hawaii–this is a pretty good read and involves a first-person account of the event from one of it’s participants..Jeff Harrison.

Next we get an inside look at the youngest PRO Skater in the world, Nyjah Houston.  At 11 years old, he already is riding on the Pro Circuit and has all the usual sponsors to foot the bill.  Many of you will probably recognize Nyjah from the recent X Games–his waist-length dreads are hard to miss.  Greg Baerg from Lat34 fame is credited with the article–and actually had a chance to speak with the young Nyjah about his future and his present..quite entertaining and I am sure we will be hearing much, much more out of this youngster in the years to come.

Next up comes Adventure Sports Weekly’s Climbing Editor Patrick Welsh.  His weekly column dealing with his personal climbing experience–He is a climbing expert working with Black Diamond, has become an Adventure Sports Weekly staple and highly entertaining at that.

This week’s column, “Hanging by a Thread“, takes a look at the unpredictable nature of climbing…His title says it all.  Scary, but many of us know where he is coming from.

Probably the most entertaining piece in this weeks issue happens to cover a sport that gets little coverage in the press…haha…The Roller Derby!

Some of us who grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s may remember the Roller Derby being on TV weekly.  That was the hayday..but this sport has started a new growth spurt in recent times.

This article comes to us from Jen Phillon, a member of the Death Dealers Roller Derby team and gives an account of a recent night at the Derby and the amazing comeback that ensued.  Great Piece that brought back alot of fun memmories.

Overall, I think this may be the strongest issue I have read to date.  Covers a lot of different things.  As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the process of writing some material myself for Adventure Sports Weekly..so we can all look forward to that in the future…Go check it out and tell me what you think.

The Adventurist: What Exactly Defines ‘Adventure’?

That is one tough question.  We all know the word.  Many of us say life is an adventure–but what does it mean?  Is it the risk involved?  Going someplace few others have gone, or is it in doing something you fear?

I recently had the opportunity to discuss this topic with a fellow reader.  His idea of Adventure was something that usually involved apparent risk and took place out of doors.  I know this is a very basic definition, but we will get back to that in just a few minutes.

Adventure Sports, Adventure Travel, Adventure Books, Adventure of a Lifetime, I think all of these describe a unique opportunity to take a look at what exactly Adventure means.

In the media, Adventure is the thrilling..something exciting that perhaps you just don’t do everyday.  Is it about the risk involved?  Not neccessarily.  My grandmother use to say that Hurricane Andrew was an Adventure.  I am not sure about that, she obviously didn’t plan on being caught in the middle of a hurricane during her Florida vacation–yet, you can’t deny that there isn’t a fear factor there.

As defined, the noun Adventure is something that is an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature, and the verb: to risk or hazard, to venture.

I would go on to include:  Adventure is something that is an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature that involves apparent risks that may or may not be known at the time of the undertaking.

Quite essentially, in this very broad definition, Adventure can quite easily be anything we take part in.  There is no “Outdoors’ mentioned.  What could be one person’s adventure may very well be someone else’s everyday existence.  Changing a diaper, for me, would be a definate adventure..

Adventure Sports have become a popular term used to describe sports that offer up plenty of risk.   Mountain Climbing, Surfing, Mountain Biking, Sking, Skateboarding, ect.  In essence though, the risk can not be the only factor involved.  Pro Football and Basketball offer up risks as well, yet aren’t listed as an Adventure Sport.  One thing they do have in common though, they are pretty much all solo sports.  One person competing against another rather than a team on team sport.  There is also, if it might be slightly more so, bigger risk for injury.  There is that word “risk” again that ties back into the Adventure definition.

Risk.  Pro Football has risk as well though.  How many times have we seen a talented player carried off the field due to a spinal injury from making direct contact with his head into the gut of another player?  As such though, Pro Football is a team sport.

The Tour de France is considered an Adventure Sports event–yet, there are definately some team dynamics going on even if it is with a bicycle.  The Discovery Channel Team has won 8 of the last 9 tours, respectively.

Now you can begin to see where I am coming from.  I think every individual has an idea of what Adventure is–to them, personally–but I don’t really think it can be defined as a whole.  Everyone’s idea of adventure is different.

I recently drew some criticism for running a piece on BMX racing.  People familiar with this site have grown use to what I am doing.  They expect it—in a sense this site has become something less of an adventure and more of an expectation day to day.  They come because they know what they can expect.  You throw a new curveball in there and suddenly, they don’t know what to do or think, “Where’s the stuff I like?  Where is the climbing?”  It is funny sometimes, how just a small change can get people in an uproar.

“Promoting Education and Exploration Through Adventure”

This thought was developed as a basis in which to keep myself on track with a definate plan.  If you take each item individually, it leaves for a very broad world.  Educate, Explore, Adventure–all three of these items can basically mean anything.

With the BMX story that I mentioned earlier, it was a chance for me to break a cycle of sorts and offer something that I usually don’t offer.  BMX is a risk sport.  BMX is an individual sport.  Those of you that questioned my intentions saying it’s not “Adventure”, and don’t  hold true to my values, think again. 

My overall readers tend to be roughly my age and older.  I am 33.  They have moved on to bigger and better adventures from their childhood.  How many of us got our first beginnings in outdoor “Adventure” sports by riding around our BMX..climbing the trees and the hills around our houses, grabbing that skateboard and trying to bust out our first grind.  Many, many of us came from these simple beginnings–ones that now might not seem like much of an adventure as we grow older, but one that influenced the risks and adventures we take today. 

These events, these sports have been on a continous incline for the past 10-20 years.  This is where our future is and will be the influences for the coming adventures in the days ahead.  Those skateboarding rebels that blow by us on the sidewalks–could very well be that older rebel trying to make his first 8,000 meter peak in the days ahead.

BMX is an adventure.  Perhaps you don’t like it.  Perhaps you don’t like the big press that comes along with the new wave of adventure sports, but my intentions are that perhaps if you don’t know a whole lot about it, perhaps you will at least read it and learn a thing or two.  I am sure many of them don’t know that much about crampons, either.  They will read about your adventures here, and now I am giving you the chance to read about theirs as well.  There is plenty of room and plenty of excitement to go around.  Promoting Education and Exploration through Adventure still holds true.  Now we can all learn something.