National Parks

Adventure Media Review, Climbing, Film Review, National Parks, Reel Rock Film Tour, Yosemite / 26.06.2014

It would be pretty much impossible to tell the story of Yosemite rock climbing in a single documentary. So from the outset of his latest project Sender Films producer Nick Rosen didn’t bother to try. Instead his forthcoming movie Valley Uprising will focus on the overriding themes that thread their way through the lives and times of three generations of big wall alpinists who set the pace of vertical ascents that the rest of the world would follow. In a comprehensive view of these pivotal eras that span...

Adventure Activism, Camping, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Special Events, Yosemite / 13.06.2014

In the fading light of a late spring evening, gospel singer Sista Monica Parker sat humming on a bench at the Yellow Pines Campground in Yosemite National Park. There she waited patiently for others to gather. Quiet at first, her melodic voice gained strength as she swayed to the rhythm of a hymn perhaps not heard in the Valley for more than a century. The sound slowly swelled into a powerful chorus that echoed off the granite walls of El Capitan and Half Dome. Even the birds fell...

Adventure Activism, Camping, Diversity, Environmental Justice, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Yosemite / 09.06.2014

  The outdoor industry has enjoyed a long history of diversity across a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds. Over the weekend a group of African-American outdoor enthusiasts made the long journey from the Presidio in San Francisco to Yosemite Valley in order retrace the path the Buffalo Soldiers took in 1903 to take up their duty station as defenders of the first National Parks. The enduring legacy of their efforts more than 100 years ago is reflected in the faces of those who love the outdoors...

Adventure Activism, Climbing, Diversity, Expedition Denali, Life Out Loud, National Parks / 24.02.2014

[caption id="attachment_458571" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Photo by Hudson Henry[/caption] On June 24,2013 Adina Scott made a satellite phone dispatch from 17,200 feet on Mount McKinley in Denali National Park. As part of the climbing team Expedition Denali, she and the 18 others had already spent a total of 16 days on the mountain and nearly a week camped at 14,200 feet. Now, they were making a valiant push toward the top. Speaking under clear skies, she was suddenly within striking distance of the highest peak in North America, a mountain...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Cool on Kickstarter, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Film Review, National Geographic, National Parks / 07.02.2014

At the heart of every great adventure there is a love story. And for National Geographic Young Explorer Juan Martinez, the long journey from the streets of Los Angeles to the craggy peaks of the Grand Tetons took a romantic turn on the day he met National Park Ranger Vanessa Torres. Both dedicated to introducing a new generation of American citizens to outdoor recreation Juan and Vanessa have begun a life together in service to the wild places they cherish as well as members of their community whose...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Breaking News, Environmental Journalism, Film preview, National Monuments, National Parks / 15.10.2013

"This is our home. It's where we raised our family. And like other national parks we've worked in it's a place we've worked hard to help people understand, enjoy and feel some ownership of. So it's very hard to make efforts to keep people out when we've worked our whole lives to get people in." ~ Anonymous ranger For nearly 100 years, national park rangers have dedicated their lives to protecting America's most precious places and the millions of people within their boundaries. But when Congress closed the national...