Author: Daniel

A Commencement Speech for Climbers

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Climbing gear in a car

May is almost up, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the month watching high school and college graduations go by: either in-person, or on social media. Caps, gowns and sashes flashed by in a blur— and the requisite binge drinking which soothes the thought of the future from the fresh graduate’s mind sloshed a veneer of fun over the whole thing.

Under the jubilation: the common, slinking, cultural understanding that the degree is going to be more of a burden than a boon, at least for the first half-decade or so. Student loans, a lack of experience and an eminently poor job market all linger on the sides of the millennial consciousness.

“I Just Graduated, Now What?” is the question du jour.

No one I know, except the engineers, is excited about graduation. Even they are subdued, but then again: they are engineers.

Life looks hard from the commencement stage.

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Dean Potter 1972-2015

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Professional athlete Dean Potter died last night in a BASE jumping accident in Yosemite National Park.

Potter was well-known in the extreme sports community for his daring and seeming invulnerability to catching the wrong side of the term “calculated risk.” Alongside the likes of Alex Honnold, Potter was one of five athletes who had their Clif Bar sponsorship revoked because the brand was afraid that these athletes were going to kill themselves.

Half a year later, Dean Potter is dead.

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Ski Video Sunday— Candide Thovex “Few Words”

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few words full film

With spring officially here, it’s undeniable: ski season is winding down. For the ski bum, this means less time spent on the mountain and more time dreaming about what has been done this year, and what can be done next winter.

This hour-long documentary about freeskiing pioneer Candide Thovex premiered in 2012, but it’s just recently been posted on Quiksilver’s Youtube channel in its entirety. “Few Words” is one of those films that will get you excited and dreaming about what you can do, despite the slush on your local ski mountain.

Bit of history: Candide Thovex was featured in our inaugural Ski Video Sunday post, which included his recent GoPro video “One of Those Days 2.” The Vail Film Festival, which just concluded here in town, also showed another Ski Video Sunday selection, “The Unrideables: Alaska Range.” They must be readers.

Have a great week everyone!

A brief history of Sigma Alpha Epsilon being terrible people

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Graffiti on the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house at University of Oklahoma

By now, if you spend any amount of time on the internet, you’ve seen (or at least heard about) this video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members at the University of Oklahoma chanting a remarkably racist song (on a bus full of their dates, no less).

First off, holy shit. For those who have claimed that institutional racism does not exist in America, there is your proof. Those young men, bolstered by the status, prestige and social connections they make through their fraternity, will go on to become our future judges and politicians.

Look at positions of power in the U.S., and more often than not, you will find fraternity men.

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Ski Video Sunday: Scenes from the Burton U.S. Open

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Burton US Open 2015 Vail

The Burton U.S. Open just wrapped up in Vail last night.

I attended some of the events, but for the most part found that I would rather be on the mountain instead of standing around watching other people have fun. The riders threw down some incredible stuff though. Below are a few highlights, although my personal highlight of the event was riding Chair 6 over the Golden Peak Terrain Park and getting to watch dozens of the world’s best snowboarders playing together. That was cool.

These videos are pretty cool too I guess.

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