Men's Journal

Baseball is over, so unglue yourself from your television set and explore the potential of the great outdoors. Get your first powder of the season at Colorado’s Copper Mountain, trade the snow for suds at San Diego’s Beer Week, or build your own adventure while Orienteering through California’s oak woodlands.

By Diane Kahng and John Cookson

Copper Mountain’s 5th Annual Lift Off event, Nov 6-8

Summit County, CO

Pack up your powder gear and head West for the opening of Copper Mountain’s fresh tracks in Summit County, CO. This weekend, they’ll be hosting the 5th Annual Lift Off extravaganza, featuring lives bands, new ski and snowboard films, and the opportunity to try out the latest gear from Salomon and Burton at the Lift Off Demo Center. Those who come will also ride the lucky Lift Off Chair and some will walk away from prizes including Beeline passes, lift tickets, rental vouchers, tickets to one of the featured concerts, and maybe even four round trip airline tickets from Frontier. Come hang out at après parties in The Village and ride the three trails opening at Copper. All proceeds will benefit Team Summit. 2-day lift tickets start from $116, so grab a friend and start packing.

Bear in mind that Copper also has Woodward at Copper, a 19,400 square foot indoor training facility for skiers and riders alike where you can hone your park and pipe tricks.

Travel and Accommodations

Fly into Denver International airport then take the Colorado Mountain Express to the mountain. There are some real steals for lodging that include a lift ticket and free skiing for the kids, very worth your time to check out.

San Diego Beer Week, Nov 6-15

San Diego, CA

Men’s Journal recently ranked San Diego as the #1 beer city in the United States, and now you have 10 days to get our there and see why. Kick back this weekend with a craft beers in both hands and meet the local brewers, sample some tasty food, enjoy the live bands, and learn from local chefs who will teach you a thing or two about cooking with beer. There will be happy hours, draft specials, barrel tasting, beer and cheese, and decadent beer deserts such as Chocolate Truffle Loaf Cake made with Rogue Chocolate Stout finished with Chocolate Ganache Frosting ($6). Over 80 brews made right in San Diego will be showcased, so go out and show a little love for the host of the event, the San Diego Brewers Guild.

Tickets are on sale for individual sessions. You can find them and and all other events here.

Travel and Accommodations

Jet into San Diego International Airport and stay for all 10 days if possible. With the whole city excited about this event, you should be able to score a lodging bargain. The city is pretty accessible, so it’s even possible to hop on a bicycle and pedal around the beautiful streets of San Diego.

Orienteering the Oak Woodlands, Nov 7-8

Hollister, CA

With GPS, digital maps, and automated directions almost standard in smart phones and cars these days it’s easy to find where you’re going. Too easy. Which makes us pine for the days when man commanded the terrain by map and compass, rambling across forest and plain.

Combining the workout of long-distance running, the technical difficulty of hiking, and the challenge of navigating by map and compass, Orienteering is a thrilling hybrid for those seeking a new adventure. The object of this sport is to run to a series of points marked on a topographical map, choosing routes that will get you to all of the markers and get back to the finish in the shortest amount of time. Not as easy as it sounds as the shortest route in distance, because of hills and obstacles, may take the longest amount of time. So much depends on the path you choose.

There are over a hundred Orienteering clubs scattered across the country. Check out the United States Orienteering Federation (USOF) for the club in your area, and ask about upcoming meets. This weekend, for example, the Bay Area Orienteering Club is hosting a meet at California’s Pacheco State Park, a short drive southeast of San Jose. The park’s oak woodland topography should be a rewarding run for both novice and expert.

The meet is the start of the nine-day Golden Gate Getaway Festival, which includes mid-week sprint training camps and culminates with the North American Sprint Series on November 13–15.

Travel and Accommodation

No orienteering needed to get there: The location of the park and nearby lodging can be found on this map. Pickup your materials on Friday evening from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Motel 6 at the junction of Highways 33 and 152, east of Pacheco Park.