Outer Edge magazine is Australia's version of the popular Outside mag here in the States. It's a wonderful publication released bi-monthly with some fantastic articles that any outdoor enthusiast would love. I've been fortunate enough to contribute to OE for the past few years and I've enjoyed working with them immensely.

When the latest issue hit the newsstand there was a lot of discussion in the mainstream media surrounding the culture of doping that has risen around the sport of cycling, in no small part thanks to the evolving Lance Armstrong story. An article in Outer Edge entitled "Excess Baggage" brought that story to the forefront further by sharing the tale of Dean Jones, a professional rider with a ten year career on the European circuit. Dean's story is a compelling one as he gives us a glimpse of what it is like behind the scenes and how he watched his cycling dreams crumble around him. The entire story will play out in three parts with the next part coming in the May issue of the magazine.

Now, 4 Corners – Australia's most respected investigative television news program – has picked up the story as well and is running with it. Their coverage is helping to bring more attention to the OE story and the impact of doping on cycling in general, as well as the role that organized crime plays in the whole sordid affair.

With all of this extra attention being given to the subject, the editors at OE have published my opinion piece from the latest issue online as well. You can read the entire article for a limited time online by clicking here. In this story, I share some of my personal perspectives on the subject and how it could potentially be combatted.

I'm a big fan of cycling and I respect the riders a great deal. But I'd also like to see the sport cleaned up and have everyone riding on an even playing field. I think we have a ways to go before that actually happens, but I do think we're heading in the right direction.

A few weeks back I wrote about an impressive new film called The Alaskan Way that is set to make its debut at adventure film festivals this spring. That film takes a look at the risks and rewards of outdoor adventure centered around heli-skiing in the Alaskan backcountry. Ben Clark, the filmmaker behind the project, is a veteran of 15 Himalayan expeditions including a successful summit of Everest. In continuing of his exploration of the themes explored in that film, Ben has written an insightful and thoughtful piece for the Osprey Packs Blog entitled "Looking Back is Moving Forward" in which he shares some of his harrowing experiences during his climbing career and the decision he made to step away from those dangerous pursuits when he finally felt like he was cheating the odds.

At the beginning of the article Ben puts his obsession with climbing into perspective by telling us the impact the sport had on his life between the ages of 20 and 32. It became an all consuming passion that drove him quite literally to new heights as he scaled and then skied back down a number of big mountains. It was more than just something that he did in his spare time. It was a way of life and he went to great lengths to chase his high altitude dreams.

But the more he pursued his passion the more often it put him into a position of high risk. Ben shares stories of hanging precariously from a rock face in a remote valley in China where one wrong move would have sent him plummeting to his death. He also talks about huddling on a ledge in the Himalaya for five days while he and his teammates waited for a storm to pass. As those incidences became more frequent, it forced him to reevaluate his goals and the level of risk he was willing to accept. All of that came to a head on a climb last year during which he decided it was time to "press pause" to consider what was important to him in his life at this point.

This article puts readers directly into the mind of a mountaineer and gives good insights into what they thing about when weighing the risks of the things they do. I think you'll finding a fascinating read to say the least.

Click here to read it in its entirety.

There is a new editorial published at Explorers Web this morning that I'm sure many of you will find very interesting. The article is entitled "Exploration Clubs - What Future for a Tradition in Decline" and it is written by CuChullaine O’Reilly, one of the founders of the Long Riders Guild. In the story, CuChullaine takes a good hard look at the current state of exploration and the role that clubs such as the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club play in it. What he finds is that these once important institutions have become relics of the past, seemingly more focused on raising funds rather than promoting the importance of exploration in the 21st century.

The editorial offers some scathing commentary not on the current state of exploration itself, but the state of the RGS, EC and similar organizations. O'Reilly says that being a member of those institutions was once a badge of honor that had to be earned, but that now days many people are admitted who have only a superficial connection to true exploration or are simply armchair explorers who want to rub elbows with those who are actually continuing to push the envelope. In contrast, he points to his Long Riders Guild, which has no fancy headquarters, no membership dues and no regular meetings. Members are invited to join after completing a ride of 1000 miles (1600 km) or more and the group stays in touch and organized via the Internet.

Cuchullaine goes on to talk about a new age of "citizen-explorers" who no longer belong to such clubs but instead stay connected, and engage with, like-minded people through a variety of technologies that allow us to collaborate like never before. These tools open up the possibilities for exploration and adventure to everyone, not just a privileged few as in ages past. He sees this movement creating a new renaissance of exploration and I tend to agree with him. We've seen this in action many times in recent years, with men and women organizing small, grassroots expeditions that accomplish amazing things.




O'Reilly was also kind enough to name a few online resources that are helping to promote this movement, citing my blog as one of those resources. He also mentioned ExWeb as well, and if you're a regular reader of this blog you know how much I respect the work they do. Cuchullaine gives a nice tip of the hat to Mikael Strandberg for his efforts in this area as well. Mikael is also someone that I've cited here on numerous occasions and is an explorer that I admire quite a bit. I'm honored to be mentioned with prominently in the story and listed with these others.

The editorial is a good one and I urge everyone to read it. While I'm sure many will see it as a harsh critique of the RGS and Explorers Club, I choose to view it as a recognition of the democratization of exploration. In this new age, anyone with the desire and determination can carry the torch of exploration into the 21st century and beyond, and I think that is a great message to share.

Thanks to Cuchullaine for bringing this message to the community and for mentioning my small role in it.