Diversity

#BlackLivesMatter, Adventure Film, Alaska, An American Ascent, Breaking News, Diversity, Film preview, Outdoors For All, The Adventure Gap / 02.07.2020

Thursday, July 9, 2020 will be the 56th Anniversary of Charles Madison Crenchaw’s historic summit of Denali. As the first Black person to reach the highest peak in North America this remarkable event is particularly significant because it occurred just seven days after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. Crenchaw’s climb of Denali personified the dream described a year earlier by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington. Through his skills as an alpinist and his strength of will, Crenchaw ascended...

1 Like
Commentary, Covid-19, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Essays, Outdoors For All, Private Land, Public Land, Wisconsin / 18.05.2020

Over the weekend I packed up the Jetta Wagon for a short Joy Trip. After almost two months of working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown I was eager for a long car ride to go someplace pretty. A good friend had recently purchased a piece of property on a lake with a series of hiking trails about an hour east of Madison. Loaded with my boots, hip wadders, a backpack and a fly rod I set out on the open road under a clear blue sky through...

0 Likes
Breaking News, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Healthy Living, Madison, Running, Uncategorized, Urban Parks / 08.05.2020

On a beautiful spring morning in Madison, Wisconsin a group of citizens gathered in protest. Outraged by the horrific murder of Ahmaud Arbery of Brunswick, Georgia on February 23rd of this year, they came together in solidarity to demand justice. Though they carried no signs nor shouted slogans, their message was clear. Along the pedestrian path on the shores of Lake Wingra they came to exercise a basic human right, to do the very thing for which Arbery was apparently killed: Jogging while Black. Organized by Aaron Perry,...

0 Likes
Alpinist, Climbing, Diversity, In Memoriam, Magazines, Podcast, ReThinkOutside / 29.04.2020

A few weeks ago I was asked to read aloud a story that I had written for Alpinist Magazine in 2018. The Force of The Soul is the premier edition of the new podcast series "Alpinist Out Loud". I am really grateful to my editor Katie Ives for encouraging me to write this profile of the late French climber Hugues Beauzile. It was nominated that year for the Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival award for Best Magazine Article. This compelling narrative of an incredibly driven and compassionate...

0 Likes
Commentary, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Essays, Nelson Institute, Outdoors For All, ReThinkOutside, The Adventure Gap / 24.04.2020

Through the  hive-mind of social media I was reminded this morning on LinkedIn that yesterday was my third work anniversary at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Nelson Institute For Environmental Studies. It just so happened at that moment I was deep in thought on a series of 12 sessions I am preparing for my summer class called Outdoors For All. Over the course of four weeks my students and I take a long look back in time at the racial disparities that separate those who spend time in...

0 Likes
Diversity, Fly Fishing, National Parks, Public Land, ReThinkOutside, Uncategorized / 09.04.2020

If you follow the Instagram feed of Christine Hill (@misschrisyface )you’ve probably been inspired to at least consider taking up fly fishing. An environmental lobbyist for the Sierra Club based in Washington D.C., she splits her time between the Halls of Congress and the mountain streams of Haines, Alaska. Along with her boyfriend, professional fishing guide Greg Schlachter, Hill hauls in enormous Coho, Chum, Kug and King salmon varieties with infectious joy and enthusiasm. With every shot she inspires her fans and followers to imagine themselves casting a fly...

0 Likes