Aug 16 – 23

The Weekly Digest

A handful of pieces pulled from across the index — one from each publication, ranked for substance over noise.

01
The Storm Skiing Journal·Aug 22·ski

How Did the U.S. Forest Service Lose 75 Ski Areas?

A substantial investigative piece examining how the U.S. Forest Service oversaw the decline of 75 ski areas across the American West, drawing on archival research spanning decades of newspaper articles, master plans, and government records to document skiing's post-WWII evolution.

“If you’re unwilling to contribute $392 to the U.S. economy for one day of skiing at Beaver Creek, then the terrorists will win” - President George W. Bush Share Over several months in 2026, The Storm examined hundreds of newspaper articles, ski area master development plans, U.S. Forest Service reports, and other archives documenting the evolution of lift-served skiing across the American West – and, in particular, Colorado – since the end of World War II. This fossil record of a mostly pre-internet culture captures the facts and sentiments of skiing’s past unfiltered by nostalgia or selectiv

02
Climbing Zine·Aug 18·climb

Icons In Danger and Desert Medicine by Birch Malotky

A reflective personal essay about climbing at Joshua Tree National Park on Valentine's Day, capturing the sensory experience and emotional weight of a final night in a place of refuge.

Joshua Tree National Park is a refuge. I don’t know if I’d decided this by then, sitting folded into the crook of Cyclops Rock, but I felt it. The stone bench was smooth, from water and wind and hands and feet and seats, narrow enough to let our legs dangle over the edge, leaning back into the rock behind us. It was Valentine’s Day. It was our last night here. It was windless. Source

03
Next Adventure·Aug 20·travel

The Animals We Still Are

A reflective essay exploring identity and purpose through the lens of a cross-country journey, using vivid sensory details and observations about American landscapes and culture.

What happens when an identity outlives its original purpose? The Walmart Meal Plan consists of $.79 mustard, a loaf of bread, pre-sliced cold cuts & cheese, a Monster Energy drink, yogurt, and Lu Petit Ecolier cookies. The shadow of the wind turbine on I-80 swoops past the pickup truck like a plane, but instead of disappearing into the horizon of the setting sun, it loops back around and over us again. Iowa is a bosom of green that’s welcoming with hospitality; the kind of place that has interstate rest stops with water spigots and educational displays about grassland health. Deeper into South

04
Backcountry Magazine·Aug 20·ski

In the Deep

A feature exploring DPS ski company's decade-long partnership with military and NATO forces, following Mike Cannon's travels to remote regions to understand soldier demands and how innovation shapes high-performance ski design. Well-reported angle on an unconventional intersection of sport and military application.

Feature produced in association with DPS A decade into DPS’s relationship with the American military and NATO allies, making skis has never carried more weight for the ski brand. Leading up the operation is Mike Cannon, who gets a point of view into a world which few civilians ever see when he travels to mountainous and arctic regions around the globe. The experiences have given him a unique understanding of what soldiers demand from their skis and how DPS can meet those demands through innovation, design and in-house manufacturing. It’s not enough to survive; 10th group soldiers must learn to

05
Semi Rad·Aug 20·run

Is This Not Circular Logic?

A personal essay about running 30+ miles on an indoor track during poor air quality, using the absurdity of lap-counting as a meditation on endurance, obsession, and environmental constraint.

I ran 300 laps on the indoor track at the gym in our neighborhood, each one one-tenth of a mile, clockwise. This was a couple Fridays ago, when the air quality index was 110, which is technically “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” according to the EPA. At least I think it was 300 laps. It was probably more, because I ran until my watch hit 30.06 miles, and the gym says the track is 0.1 mile per lap, but my watch often recorded something a little short of 0.1 mile per lap, and I wasn’t going to try to keep count of my laps for five hours. The wildfire smoke moved into town the last week of July,

06
The Trek·Aug 22·hike

10. Stone and Storm

A vividly rendered narrative of weathering a severe lightning storm while camping in the Wind Range, capturing both the technical danger and the narrator's calm perspective.

The walls of my tent flashed white, all color consumed by the lightning. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, te-KRABOOM! The rain stayed constant, the wind steady. Neither was a concern. The only concern I had, that any of us had, was the lightning. Another flash. The little world inside my tent was flooded in white light. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight-GRAH-BA-BOOM! Getting closer. We had set up on a high knoll overlooking the northern edge of the Winds, ... The post 10. Stone and Storm appeared first on The Trek .

07
Trail Waves·Aug 21·run

The Brand Behind Trail Running’s Ice Bandana Boom

An investigative piece exploring the prevalence of cooling bandanas among elite trail runners at Western States 100, examining how a simple gear choice has become a widespread strategy in ultramarathon racing.

Original image: Wikipedia. Modified by author. What if I told you there was something that 70-plus-percent of the Western States field — including eight out of the top 10 men and seven out of the top 10 women — had in common? It’s not their shoe choice, gender, or country of origin. It’s not nutrition, pacing, or pre-Western States experience. It’s not even how they got in, since much of the top 10 was comprised of automatic entries rather than lottery luck. It’s much simpler than that. In a race where 100-plus-degree temperatures are the norm and topical cooling has become a studied strategy

08
Trail Runner/Triathlete's Blog·Aug 21·general

Keystone Habits, And Building A Curious Life

A reflective essay exploring how individual choices and repeated habits crystallize into identity and lifestyle, using running and writing as examples. Well-written with genuine voice and philosophical depth, though the snippet cuts off before full development.

I’ve often wondered if there is a specific moment when a series of choices becomes a lifestyle. The first decision is usually planted by curiosity. Given enough courage, it blossoms into a leap of faith. The second reaches for confirmation. Somewhere after that, repetition quietly carves a deeper channel until identity begins to flow in a new direction. I’ll go for a run becomes I don’t really feel like myself unless I can run . I’ll write down my thoughts becomes I notice the world like a writer. I’ll help becomes compassion, becomes instinct. Repeated choices become habits. Habits become cha

09
Trail Runner Nation Podcast·Aug 21·run

Sophie Grant: The Adventure That Changed Everything | EP 795

A podcast episode featuring ultrarunner Sophie Grant discussing how a 2,000-kilometer Via Alpina traverse helped her rediscover joy and uncertainty in running after years of competitive success and personal struggles with infertility.

Sophie Grant had reached a point where even the hardest ultramarathons no longer carried the uncertainty they once did, and after years of infertility and IVF, she realized she had also lost some of her joy in running and trust in her own body. The Via Alpina changed that, taking her roughly 2,000 kilometers across the Alps and forcing her to approach each day without knowing exactly what the next one would bring. She and photographer Zoe Salt talk about the physical and logistical realities of nearly a month on the trail, including relentless fueling, strength training, bad patches, storms, f

10
Trail Runner Nation·Aug 21·run

Sophie Grant: The Adventure That Changed Everything | EP 795

A podcast episode featuring ultrarunner Sophie Grant discussing how a 2,000-kilometer Via Alpina traverse helped her rediscover joy and uncertainty in running after years of competitive success and personal struggles with infertility.

Sophie Grant had reached a point where even the hardest ultramarathons no longer carried the uncertainty they once did, and after years of infertility and IVF, she realized she had also lost some of her joy in running and trust in her own body. The Via Alpina changed that, taking her roughly 2,000 kilometers across the Alps and forcing her to approach each day without knowing exactly what the next one would bring. She and photographer Zoe Salt talk about the physical and logistical realities of nearly a month on the trail, including relentless fueling, strength training, bad patches, storms, f

11
Running Sucks·Aug 21·run

Camille Herron: Ultra’s Tallest Poppy

A profile of ultrarunner Camille Herron examining her record-breaking 2024 season, public controversy with sponsor Lululemon, and personal health diagnoses that have left her reconsidering her place in the sport.

2024 was one heck of a year for one of the greatest ultrarunners in history. I’m talking about Camille Herron. In March 2024, Camille broke a dozen world records 1 by running 560 miles over 6 days in California’s Coachella Valley as part of the Lululemon Further spectacle. Later that year, Lululemon dropped her as an athlete 2 following a bizarre Wikipedia-editing controversy, and she was later diagnosed with ADHD and autism 3 . Now, essentially retired from the sport that gave her so much, Camille Herron is in a state of flux. With multiple lawsuits in progress as she attempts to clear her na

12
Wes Siler's Newsletter·Aug 20·conservation

Cutting Through Disinformation Around The Roadless Rule Rescission

A debunking piece that cuts through inflammatory headlines and misinformation surrounding the Roadless Rule rescission, explaining what the rule actually is and providing context from its origins in 2000 under Clinton.

Take a deep breath everyone, the Roadless Rule is back in the news. Because non-profits need to capture the attention of an easily-distracted public that has a lot more important things to worry about in order to raise money, because publications that sell fear and lies need to scare you, and because it has a sexy name, that means there’s a lot of inflammatory headlines out there right now. Don’t worry, I’m here to cut through the bullshit so you’ll have one less thing keeping you up at night. What The Roadless Rule Is Back in the halcyon days of the year 2000, Bill Clinton’s United States For

13
Flylab·Aug 20·fish

Fly-tying Knowhow: Streamer Silhouettes

A technical deep-dive into the material science behind fly-tying streamer patterns, exploring how fiber diameter and packing density interact with other variables to determine a baitfish imitation's appearance and performance—moving beyond surface-level material preference.

By the J. Stockard Team Ask any fly tyer why they reach for craft fur over EP Fibers on a given baitfish pattern, and the answer usually comes back as a material preference: one looks more natural, one is more durable, one is easier to work with. That’s not wrong, but it bypasses the variables that determine what a streamer actually looks like (in hand and in the water). Fly silhouette isn’t simply determined by the synthetics in the package –t wo of the variables that matter most are fiber diameter and packing density, and how these characteristics interact with the stiffness, length and amou

15
Electric Cable Car·Aug 19·run

Meta Endurance’s UTMB Entry Numbers Are Way Off

An investigation into Meta Endurance's published UTMB 2026 entry numbers, which appear significantly lower than expected—6,124 total starters compared to over 10,700 in 2025, suggesting a dramatic 40% reduction in the field across all distances.

On Meta Endurance’s Instagram account : We went through every published entry list for UTMB Mont-Blanc 2026. Here’s who’s actually showing up in Chamonix. 6,124 entrants across the six individual races, from 97 countries. Even if you take into account that they didn’t include the PTL race (which only had a couple hundred starters last year) this number, if correct would me an overall reduction in field size by over 40% across all distances. In 2025 there were 10,772 starters according to my numbers pulled from the UTMB Live site. Further, I have access to a 2026 entry list for all races and it

16
Western Watersheds Project·Aug 19·conservation

The Trapper Who Should Know Better

Western Watersheds Project investigates the troubling history of a Wildlife Services employee who killed an endangered Mexican gray wolf in 2013 and questions why he remains in a position handling these protected animals despite the controversial incident.

Photo: USFWS We’ve been worried about Bill Nelson handling endangered Mexican gray wolves since at least 2013, when, while employed by Wildlife Services but while off duty, Bill Nelson killed a 40-pound female Mexican gray wolf he “ thought was a coyote .” At the time, and since, it seemed unfathomable that a “Wildlife Specialist” with a history of handling wolves would be allowed to claim mistaken identity. There was an investigation, but no charges were filed because of the McKittrick policy (which discourages prosecution when a shooter claims to have mistaken a protected animal for another

17
California Curated·Aug 19·travel

Inside a Collection of 117,000 Shells and the World’s Deadliest Snail

A tour of the remarkable 117,000-specimen shell collection at Occidental College, curated by biology professor Joseph Schulz, featuring extraordinary specimens like the deadly cone snail and elaborate spiny oysters from around the world.

Spiny oyster shells from the genus Spondylus in the Cosman Shell Collection at Occidental College. Their elaborate spines help protect the living animals and discourage predators. (Photo: Erik Olsen) Behind a nondescript door in the Bioscience Building at Occidental College is one of the more remarkable scientific collections in Los Angeles. The room, tucked beside the laboratory of biology professor Joseph Schulz , contains cabinet after cabinet filled with seashells. Schulz is the curator of the collection. There are nearly 117,000 specimens in all, collected from the Caribbean, Hawaii, the

18
Brent and Michael are Going Places·Aug 19·travel

What Travel Has Taught Me About Racism

A personal reflection on encountering casual racism while traveling in Europe, and how the experience complicated the author's assumptions about shared identity and geography.

For the audio version of this article, read by the author, go here. The last time I was in Europe, I had dinner with a white South African, and it wasn’t long before he started in on lazy black South Africans and the many crimes they commit. On one hand, there are some real problems in South Africa with crime and poverty . The legacy of apartheid is real and still very strong. But almost everything this guy said struck me as outrageously racist. And it always depresses me when a racist assumes I’m racist too because I happen to be white. It tells me that everyone in their circle talks the way