That’s why today’s trail bikes feel so at home there. They don’t limit you to a specific style of trail, a specific scale of ride or a specific pace. Trail, all-mountain and enduro have bled into each other like music genres. Now, nearly every bike you see is a two-wheeled version of “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus. Can’t nobody tell you nothing.

Travel, geo and spec are working together in ways they never have before, so reading those tea leaves isn’t as simple as it used to be. We believe that has made this crazy little project more valuable than it’s ever been. So, we invite you to come dive down the rabbit hole, and enjoy the images, videos, stories and reviews that make up the 2020 Bible of Bike Tests.

This article originally appeared on Bikemag.com and was republished with permission.

But now is a better time than ever to digital detox for your mental health and overall wellness. With Google searches for “smartphone addiction” always on the rise, the habit-forming nature of social media platforms likened to cigarettes, these past few years have been touted by many health and wellness experts as a great time for a tech diet.

Major companies—even within the tech sector—are starting to recognize our reliance on devices isn’t healthy, and specific retreats and programs to counterbalance culture are cropping up globally, like London’s It’s Time to Log Off, and major hotels like Westin Paris and Mandarin Oriental New York pioneering some truly innovative—albeit a bit pricey—digital detox experiences.

We all need ways to disconnect from technology and reconnect with ourselves, sans a 24-7 revolving feed of everyone else’s lives.

What if the next trip you took doubled as a way to unplug from all that digital chatter and actually spend time outside, uninterrupted by the constant dinging of your iPhone or emails looming in your inbox?

If that sounds as glorious to you as it does to us, then let this list of off-the-grid destinations inspire your next “MindCation.”

PREVENTION

Studies with female soccer players (who are at a higher risk of ACL tears than men in field sports) show that preseason training helped prevent injury, up to a 30-50 percent improvement. But there’s a catch: Although the stats favor men in sports like soccer, both men and women have an equal statistical chance for tearing ACLs while skiing, making preseason training important for everyone.

“It is not just your leg muscles, quads and hamstrings that you need to work, but it’s your core strengthening that makes a huge difference,” says physiotherapist Barb Clemes. “If you watch Bode Miller’s famous save, you can see him keeping the core so stable he could bring his ski back onto the snow.”

You will likely never make a save like Bode (no matter how many ab workouts), but the video is a great example of how movement can up your chances of avoiding injury.

“Strength, balance, agility, proprioception and biomechanics are all good things to work on,” notes Clemes, also noting the benefit for your neuromuscular connections. “Keeping your legs aligned and not dropping your knees inside of your big toe is crucial. When you start to drop your knees inside they are winding up the ACL, and it just needs a little force to tear.”

Another simple precaution is to stay hydrated. With dehydration, your reactions slow down considerably. Equipment advances are often a less obvious factor: some gear modifications that improve performance can lead to more injury. Since the advent of shaped skis, ACL injuries have skyrocketed. There are some companies working on the compromise. More on that later.

Of course, some crashes are just going to happen and there is nothing you can do.

SURGERY OR NO SURGERY – What to Do if You Tear Your ACL 

So now you have a torn ACL. Some people are copers and others are non-copers. Physiology and joint shape have a lot to do with someone who can ski without an ACL, and someone who can’t even walk down the street. But even those who can cope will eventually have some pain.

“A third of people who are what we call a mesomorphic or strong, not super stretchy and also have good alignment, can cope,” says Dr. Mark Heard, the renowned orthopaedic surgeon who works on many of the country’s top athletes. “It’s tough, because they tend to, every couple of years, tweak their knee again and then the next thing you know, they’re 50 and very arthritic.”

Dr. Heard tore his ACL while backcountry skiing a few years ago and had to go through the same recovery process as his paitents.

“I hit a tree, caught the tip under the snow and twisted it slow. I heard it pop. I knew it, but I didn’t,” Heard says. “I myself, was in denial.”

Dr. Heard was not a coper and was faced with the same three options of other ‘non-copers.’ That is: to modify his lifestyle, to brace his knee, or to fix it with surgery to prevent repeat injury.

Because of Heard’s active lifestyle, he decided to fix his knee. He did what he suggests to all his patients (who aren’t pro athletes that need to get fixed ASAP). He waited months and got his knee back as strong as he could. He did so by cycling.

“We will do ACL acute, for say a National Ski Team member, but they wrestle with stiffness,” Heard says. “The best practice is to let your knee settle down first and get your swelling down and range of motion back and your leg as strong as possible.”

Location matters as well. Consider a specialized center rather than a place that only does a few ACLs a year. In a year, Dr. Heard and his team perform a quarter of Alberta’s ACL surgeries, which is around 700, nearly 250 of which he performs.

There are a few options for a graft. The first is using a piece of your hamstring from the same knee, or the other knee. The second is using a patellar tendon or your quadriceps tendon. And the fourth graft option is to use donated human tissue or “allograft.” Deciding which to use depends on the patient’s age, and if they’ve had the surgery before.

“The ACL does try and heal but does so poorly, so we often augment what you have in there with a graft,” Heard adds. “So we save everything you’ve got. But the graft is your new ACL. The tendons grafts, over three years they turn back into ligaments (because the ACL is actually a ligament and the collagen is different). If you look at the collagen with an electron microscope after three years, it slowly becomes a ligament.”

The full healing process takes some time and varies with each patient.

REHABBING YOUR KNEE

Everyone is almost guaranteed one week on the couch. Then the first three months are linear. At three to six months you start agility and plyometrics. At six to nine months you can do sports-specific drills. The highest rate of re-injuries or graft failures happen at five to nine months if one tries to return to full speed too early. It is recommended that you don’t go back to normal for at least a year. And it’s critical to know that recovery can at times be more of a mental battle than a physical one.

“I was definitely nervous my first year,” Heard admits. “By the second year I stopped thinking about my knees. I ski like I used to.”

Two years is typically the magic number, but as the return to sport guru, Matt Jordan Ph.D., CSCS will attest, everyone is different and has different goals. Telling someone to wait two years could have other adverse effects. That is where Jordan comes in. He helps Olympians and other athletes return to sport by studying every aspect of the process.

“A big focus of our research is to develop these testing methodologies and training methodologies,” Jordan says. “There are three stages: return to health, return to sport, and then return to performance.”

Some athletes oscillate in their process. They feel able to jump as high on both legs, but may likely be compensating — and thus adding more stress to the other leg.

“The reality is that your body now sort of reverts back toward some of the habits and compensation strategies that you would’ve had before, and you’ll end up kind of going backwards a little bit,” Jordan notes. “So what we try to do is have a very, very progressive and monitored return to sport process — and that’s where a lot of our research is focused, to develop these diagnostic testing tools that we can use that can pinpoint these deficits.”

One thing is for sure, you will never be the same after surgery. You might end up being able to ski harder and train your body to move more properly, or you could find yourself taking a step back. However, you are not alone. Many people tear their ACLs. It’s better to look at it as an odd rite of passage rather than the end of the world.

Hooked at an early age, he started racing bikes at age 8, and then began freestyle BMX at the age of 13. He got his first real BMX bike for Christmas in 1994—from the same local bike shop in New Jersey that he currently owns—and he’s been shredding the park and the streets ever since.

In October of 2016, Cranmer suffered a devastating spinal injury in Las Vegas while filming a session with his friends. He sustained a cerebral hemorrhage, several facial fractures, and damaged his C4 and C5 vertebrae. He wasn’t expected to ever walk again.

Since then, Cranmer has teamed up with the Road 2 Recovery Foundation—an organization that helps injured athletes get back to doing what they love the most. And with boatloads of dedication, drive, and passion, Cranmer has gotten himself back on his feet.

With his wildly popular YouTube channel (which currently has over 1.5 million subscribers) Cranmer and his buddies document everything from silly shenanigans to Scotty getting back on the bike and back to his passion.

If you’re looking for a truly inspirational story to stoke you out in the latter half of the workweek, well, we’ve got just what you need. Press play and experience the Scotty Cranmer story.

You can also donate to the Road2Recovery Foundation and help athletes like Cranmer get back in the saddle.

You might think that beekeeping is all about harvesting honey. But for many American beekeepers, selling honey is a tiny source of income compared to the real moneymaker: renting bee colonies to California almond growers. The state’s Central Valley is home to 80 percent of the world’s almond supply, according to The Guardian. Driven by skyrocketing demand (Americans consume more almonds on average than any other country), the farmland devoted to almonds in California has ballooned from 200,000 acres in 2000 to over 1.5 million acres today. All those trees need to be pollinated by bees in order to get a crop. But commercial beekeepers who bring their hives to California are seeing their insects die in staggering numbers.

A survey cited in the article shows that commercial beekeepers lost 50 billion bees during the winter of 2018-19. That’s a loss of over one third of all commercial bee colonies in just a single season.

Although various theories have been batted around since bees first started dying off in the early 2000s, environmentalists have zeroed in on one clear culprit: monocultures and pesticide use in American almond farming. Bees thrive in areas with lots of different plant life, but when they’re placed in almond orchards, they face a strict monoculture where only almond trees grow. On top of that, almond growers heavily douse their trees with pesticides—they get more chemicals than any other crop in California, according to documents cited by The Guardian. The pesticides can kill the bees or weaken their immune systems, making them more susceptible to disease.

Dennis Arp, a beekeeper that McGivney spoke with, reported that it’s not unusual for 30 percent or more of his bees to die in a typical year.

“Bees are exposed to all kinds of diseases in California,” Arp said. “There can be hundreds of thousands of hives from multiple beekeepers in one staging area. It is like letting your bees go into a singles bar and then they have unprotected sex.”

A new California law that tracks where hives are placed and when pesticides are sprayed might help spare bees from the worst chemical exposure, but it’s clear that serious change is needed to address the issue. And it starts with the way almonds are grown. To that end, the nonprofit Xerces Society has started the Bee Better certification program. As part of the program, growers agree to plant a mix of wildflowers and other plants in their groves to create a more natural, healthy habitat for bees. Food products that use produce from these farms get a special Bee Better seal (Häagen Dasz ice cream was the first brand to use the certification).

But the most effective solution is to grow almonds as nature intended—without pesticides and harmful chemicals. McGivney spoke with Glenn Anderson, an 81-year-old organic almond grower in California. Besides not using pesticides, he also allows other plants to grow beneath his almond trees. Although his yields are smaller than conventional almond groves, he believes his almonds taste better. It’s certainly much healthier for the bees.

“We have the opposite of colony collapse at my farm,” he said. “My beekeeper brings weak hives down that he wants to recharge on my property.”

Check out the full article here.

First, Why Injury Prevention?

Injuries are practically inevitable for runners of every level. It’s intimidating for newcomers trying to get to the start line and can thwart professionals at the Olympic level. Thing is, we don’t really understand the mechanism of injuries, says Brett Holts, VP of Nike Running Footwear. The industry largely looks to motion control. Foot strike and pronation have always been deemed the culprit of pain and injury: Heel striking and overpronating (foot rolling inward) was deemed unfavorable, but we don’t know for certain if there’s a causal relationship between these movement patterns and injury.

While metrics are important, sometimes it’s qualitative data that pays dividends for runners. Nike turned to athletes and asked what feels good—what kind of shoe keeps their feet happy. The overwhelming majority said cushioning, so that’s where they pivoted.

React Infinity Run: The Specs

Starting from the bottom, the Infinity Run has a rocker sole—a feature runners loved from the Vaporfly. That sloped design rolls you onto your forefoot for a smooth stride, slowing the rate of impact. The shoe’s 9mm heel-toe drop helps keep you on your toes more, too. Underfoot, you have a wide midsole that creates a more stable platform for your feet.

The midsole is made from a fine-tuned version of React foam, the same stuff used in the Zoom Fly 3 and the plush Air Zoom Vomero (though different from the ultralight, ultra-bouncy ZoomX foam used in the Next%). React delivers a good balance between shock absorption and energy return (it’s Nike’s most complete foam, Holt says), so the shoe cushions impact forces but also feels firm and springy underfoot.

Fluid geometry, informed through algorithms from athlete data, is incorporated to mitigate pressure points. You’ll see and feel it in various ways: Deeper cuts and grooves in the heel absorb the landing forces so they don’t ricochet up your legs, while tighter, shallower patterns toward the toe aid responsiveness to get you through the toe-off transition.

A TPU clip aligns the shoe to sit directly on the foam, so you get a more locked-in feel where your foot is cradled in the foam system. Together, these elements create a shoe that feels stable and comfortable without being clunky—a good pick for moderate distances and paces. In addition, a revised Flyknit upper promises better durability, and the rubber outsole should hold up through 500-600 miles before mechanical compression starts to degrade the shoe (other iterations were about 300 miles). But how does it hold up in real life?

Approximately 16,000 miles were logged in the prototype to find out, making this Nike’s most tested running shoe to date.

Where Research Comes Into Play

Nike turned to the British Columbia Sports Medicine Research Foundation (BCSMRF) to conduct an independent study. Researchers compared the Infinity Run with Nike’s Structure 22 on 226 runners. Half the athletes completed a 12-week training program with either shoe, logging a total of 60,000 miles. Researchers had athletes log injuries (defined as missing three consecutive workouts due to pain). The results showed that the Infinity Run reduced injures (knee, foot, shin, and calf) by 52 percent compared to the Structure 22.

That’s especially notable because the Infinity Run wasn’t up against a lean, light speed shoe—it was compared to a traditional “motion control” stability shoe. These kinds of shoes, which often feature a layer of firm foam in the midsole to counter overpronation, are marketed as a way to improve your running form and reduce injury. Some shoe companies are beginning to move away from this kind of support feature, and the Infinity Run is a good example of the alternative thinking: It doesn’t interfere with your stride by pushing firm foam into your feet. Instead, it provides a confident platform and promotes your natural gait.

The BCSMRF study indicates that pared-down stability and comfort might be all you really need to reduce injuries—though it never hurts to have the shoe look this good.

[Available now for Nike members, and on Jan. 16 for the general public, $160; nike.com]

After losing in the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Tennessee Titans, Brady was asked by reporters about his future plans, saying that it was “probably unlikely” he would retire. Based on his Instagram post, it appears that Brady isn’t close to finishing things yet.

Even though he’ll be 43 when the 2020 NFL season starts, the quarterback previously said that he hoped to play until he was 45 years old, telling ESPN in 2017 that “45 is a pretty good number right now.” One reason Brady has been so confident in playing past 40 is due to his TB12 training program, which he developed with his personal trainer Alex Guerrero.

Here’s a look at Brady’s post:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU! After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades. Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that’s not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!! I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way. Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt). And for that, we’ve been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won’t show – the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about. In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 8, 2020 at 5:50am PST

What makes Brady’s plans even more intriguing than usual is that he has absolute freedom to decide what to do next: For the first time in his 20-year career, Brady will be an unrestricted free agent in March. The Patriots can’t keep Brady with the franchise tag, which means he either could return to the Patriots on a new contract—if the team wants him; all signs have pointed to that being an option—or sign with a new team.

After winning six Super Bowl championships with the franchise, it would be a major shock to see Brady in another uniform. It wouldn’t be unprecedented though. Iconic quarterbacks like San Francisco 49ers star Joe Montana, Baltimore Colts legend Johnny Unitas, Jets icon Joe Namath, and Indianapolis Colts star Peyton Manning all finished their careers on different teams to mixed results. Montana ended his career with the Kansas City Chiefs; Unitas with the San Diego Chargers; Namath with the Los Angeles Rams; and Manning with the Denver Broncos, where he won a Super Bowl before retiring.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft told NBC Sports that it’s his “hope and prayer” that Brady will return to the team or retire. With retirement looking like an unlikely option, it’ll be up to the two sides to see if they can work out a deal.

While it’s likely he’ll return to the Patriots, here are some places Brady could land—other than New England (which we still think is the top option):

Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers seem ready to move on from Philip Rivers, who is also a free agent this offseason. While Brady is older than Rivers by a bit, the team is about to move into a multi-billion dollar new stadium that they’ll share with the Rams, a team filled with young stars like Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, and Jared Goff. The Chargers have not had much star power or a consistent fan base since moving to Los Angeles from San Diego, and adding Brady would certainly put fans in the seats—and make the Chargers and absolute must-watch team in 2020. On top of that, the team has strong offensive talent with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler, and Hunter Henry on the roster.

Indianapolis Colts: Even though it’s not as high-profile as a city as LA, the Colts could be an interesting landing spot. Brady’s former backup Jacoby Brissett had an uneven season, and after Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired, adding Brady would give the team a massive jolt of excitement. On top of that, the Colts have a large amount of cap space ($96 million) and could try and blow Brady out of the water with a big-money deal to finish his career.

Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders: With the Raiders franchise moving from Oakland to Las Vegas and needing to build a mostly new fanbase (die-hard fans from Oakland likely will travel a bit for the team), adding someone like Brady would generate an enormous amount of buzz for head coach Jon Gruden. Quarterback Derek Carr hasn’t played to the level of the big contract extension he signed a couple years ago, and that could leave the door open for a move to try and get Brady.

Tennessee Titans: Would Brady go to the team that just beat him in the playoffs to potentially end his Patriots career? Stranger things have happened in sports. Brady’s former teammate Mike Vrabel is now head coach in Tennessee, and with the team seemingly moving on from former No.2-pick Marcus Mariota, the Titans could try and sway Brady with a short-term contract. The Titans have one of the best running backs in the NFL with Derrick Henry and that could make Tennessee a less pressure-packed situation for Brady to land.

Wild Card Option – Cleveland Browns: This would hinge on one major decision: If the Browns hire Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as head coach; the team reportedly is interested. The team fired Freddie Kitchens, and while they picked quarterback Baker Mayfield with the top-overall pick in 2018, he regressed in 2019 and didn’t handle the Browns’ playoff expectations very well (the team finished with a losing record.) Brady has loved playing for McDaniels over the years and if he heads to Cleveland, he could try and woo Brady.

COVER STORY: It's Mark Wahlberg's World—We're Just Living in It

Netflix released a long thread on Twitter teasing out 29 movie projects coming in 2020, and while the company still has some it hasn’t revealed yet, there are a number you should get excited about.

Check out the thread below for the full list of movies coming:

Another year of movies is ahead of us! We’ve mentioned a lot of these films already, but here’s a handy list of all the films coming to Netflix this year…so far. (thread)

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020

Here’s a spotlight on some of the Netflix films you should keep an eye on in 2020:

Spenser Confidential – March 6, 2020: Mark Wahlberg stars in this film from his frequent collaborator Peter Berg, who he’s worked with multiple times on movies like Mile 22, Patriots Day, Deepwater Horizon, and Lone Survivor. Based on the book Wonderland by Ace Atkins, Wahlberg will be playing Detective Spenser—his first name is not revealed in the book series—an ex-cop who gets pulled into solving a case alongside Winston Duke’s Hawk, an up-and-coming MMA fighter. Along with Wahlberg and Duke, the film stars rapper Post Malone, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Bokeem Woodbine, Cassie Ventura, Donald Cerrone, and Marc Maron. The film is scheduled for a March 6, 2020 release.

Out of the Fire – 2020 Release: Chris Hemsworth trades in Thor’s hammer for this new action film to play Tyler Rake, a mercenary on the black market who is tasked with saving the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. Directed by stuntman and stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave, who worked on Marvel films like Avengers: Endgame, Deadpool 2, Thor: Ragnarok, and Captain America: Civil War, the film also stars David Harbour (Stranger Things) in a key role. Harbour will be making his own Marvel Cinematic Universe debut when he stars in Black Widow in May, and it’s possible he could interact with Hemsworth’s Thor in future films. This “action-packed” film was written by Joe Russo, half of the Russo Brothers directing duo who handled the Avengers saga for Marvel.

Eurovision – 2020 Release: If you’ve never watched the Eurovision Song Contest, now is the time to learn about it. In this new comedy from Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin, Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams reunite from that film to star as Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdottir, aspiring musicians who get chosen to represent their country at the mega-competition. The film was co-written by Ferrell and also stars Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens and Demi Lovato. Ferrell even went to the finals of the 2018 Eurovision competition to do some research, talking with contestants and taking in the atmosphere.

Da 5 Bloods – 2020 Release: Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman is teaming up with director Spike Lee for this war drama that follows four African American Vietnam veterans years after the war. The group returns to Vietnam to search for the missing remains of their squad leader and the added bonus of possibly uncovering buried treasure. Along with the Boseman, the film stars Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Giancarlo Esposito and Norm Lewis. This isn’t the first time Lee has taken on a war film: He directed the 2008 World War II drama Miracle at St. Anna.

Here are a couple more films to keep an eye on, including ones from Mindhunter director David Fincher, actor Armie Hammer, and comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Ed Helms:

Mank – Directed by David Fincher

MANK: From director David Fincher, the story centers around the writing of CITIZEN KANE. Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance, and Lily Collins star.

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020

Rebecca

REBECCA: Director Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel (adapted by Hitchcock in 1940) follows a newly-married young woman (Lily James) who finds herself battling the shadow of her husband’s (Armie Hammer) dead first wife, the mysterious Rebecca.

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020

Jingle Jangle

JINGLE JANGLE: From writer/director David E. Talbert, a holiday musical tale of an embattled toymaker, his precocious granddaughter, and a magical invention. Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key and Madelen Mills star.

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020

Coffee & Kareem

COFFEE & KAREEM: A Detroit cop reluctantly teams with his girlfriend’s 11 year-old son to clear his name and take down the city’s most ruthless criminal. Ed Helms and Taraji P. Henson star.

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020

Check out more movies and TV shows to stream here:

Emergency responders were able to rescue five skiers, and two skiers were killed in the slides, as reported by the Shoshone Sheriff’s Department. Silver Mountain has stated in press releases that all skiers have been accounted for.

The slides occurred in the Wardner Peak zone of the mountain, which has some of the mountain’s steepest expert terrain, much of which was closed Tuesday.

The Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning January 7, the morning before the slide, rating the avy danger as “high” due to recent heavy snow combined with wind.

Earlier this season, in December, an inbounds avalanche at Steamboat Springs, buried one skier who was safely recovered. Eight people were partially buried. A small, inbounds avalanche at Copper Mountain occurred the same weekend, partially burying multiple people who were able to self extricate. Last January, an inbounds avalanche on Taos’ Kachina Peak killed two skiers, 26-year-old Matthew Zonghetti, of Massachusetts, and 22-year-old Corey Borg-Massanari, of Colorado, who were buried in more than six feet of snow.

UPDATE: One more skier has been reported missing by the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office. Approximately 30 search and rescue personnel has responded. As of Thursday morning, the search continues as responders probe search the debris fields.

This article originally appeared on Powder.com and was republished with permission.

But don’t be fooled: These aren’t the lined pants of yesteryear.

Dad’s were warm, yes, but bulky. The newest iterations forgo denim, opting for tough-but-flexible nylon to ensure you stay dry. And, of course, the soft lining inside these pants will keep you comfortable on every winter adventure, from hiking trails to walking the dog.

Here are our favorite styles to buy right now. Aside from weather-proof exteriors and toasty interiors, they’ve got smart details that make a world of a difference in the outdoors—like boot hooks to keep wind and debris from creeping up your ankles, and trimmed calves to keep branches from snagging excess material during climbs and rock scrambles. Best of all, these look sharp enough to wear while running errands or grabbing a bite at your favorite gastropub.

Best Lined Pants for Backcountry: Testa Softshell Pant by Beyond Clothing

These heavy, water-repellent pants are built for rough use, with a polyester fleece lining and zippered pockets that safeguard your gear. When the temps drop, you’ll appreciate the roomy cut, which will accommodate a base layer.

[$135; beyondclothing.com]

From the world’s new adventure frontiers to its best places to stay, here are our top travel awards, and your ticket to get out there.

The Best Place to Do It All: Deplar Farm, Iceland

This 28,000-square-foot lodge, with room for 34 guests, is like a high-end base camp for every adrenaline sport known to man: backcountry skiing on treeless peaks, fat-tire biking across empty plains, hiking via helicopter, sea kayaking across fjords, surfing the North Atlantic. Of course, it’s not all type-2 fun at this former sheep farm. The lodge, in the remote Fljót Valley, also happens to have one of the best spas in Iceland, with saunas, steam rooms, and flotation tanks. There’s even an outdoor geothermal pool with a swim-up bar for nighttime aurora borealis viewing. Plus, starting this year, the company’s in-house creative director (who shot this image) is offering a weeklong photo workshop to perfect your Instagram game. Of course, you’ll have a hard time taking anything but an epic shot here—#nofilter for sure. — Ryan Krogh

As reported by For the Win Outdoors, on Sunday, surfers at the popular Black’s Beach in San Diego got an exciting visit from a curious juvenile gray whale, casually grazing only a few yards from shore. The young whale meanders through the clear, shallow water as the group of surfers paddles around it.

Daina Buchner captured the amazing drone footage. “As for the surfers’ reactions, most of them looked curious and in disbelief,” Buchner told For The Win Outdoors. “Mostly they were trying to stay out of the whale’s way, but sometimes the whale was obscured by the water and that’s when the surfers were surfing next to it.”

The roughly 20-foot whale appears to have no ill intent and shows a bit of curiosity as it quietly navigates between the group. At the 53-second mark, a wave even crashes directly over it (seemingly unfazed) as surfers traverse left and right on the same wave.

This remarkable footage comes during the time of year when gray whales make their annual migration from Alaska to the warmer waters off of Baja California to give birth, reports the OC Register. It’s not too uncommon for them to take a mellow breather near shore along the way.

And from the looks of it, this young gray whale picked an epic spot with emerald-green water to take a little SoCal stopover on an arduous journey.

That is, until 2018, when my paddling partner got me into an Alpacka Gnarwhal—and I’ll never go back.

The trip was too good to pass up. Four days in a remote canyon in Chiapas, Mexico, paddling class 3+ whitewater for 50 miles. Warm water, stunning scenery, and complete solitude.

I bought plane tickets that night and started packing my gear soon after—Astral PFD, Werner paddle, and Teva sandals. Staying optimistic I even brought my Canon DSLR, knowing the photos would be great if I could keep it dry.

Since our trip to the Mexico jungle I’ve integrated packrafts into my boating quiver, recognizing their utility not just for remote canyons, but also for low-flow rivers, car road trips, high alpine backpacking, and spontaneous adventures on any trip.

Packrafts vary in size—most compress to the size of a tent and weigh under 10 lbs. While hull speed is admittedly terrible and tracking in the wind can be a challenge, the low weight (and low bulk) opens up a realm of possibilities.

Here are six reasons why your next adventure should be in a packraft.

They Are Great for Both Beginner and Advanced Paddlers

Packrafts are forgiving—they bounce of rocks, float over shallow obstacles, and don’t require leaning technique (which has a steep learning curve). This makes packrafts great for new paddlers, keeping you safe and helping you have more fun while learning whitewater.

On the flip-side, packrafts are also great for experts because they open up a world of new possibilities. No other whitewater boats can be lugged on a backpacking trip, or easily stuffed in the back of your car… or checked on a plane.

They are Great for Multi-Sport Outings

Packrafts, despite their small size, can haul a lot of gear. Multiple large dry bags can be stuffed inside the raft itself, leaving your deck space open for a backpack, or climbing gear, or bike, or pair of skis. Dreaming of a high mountain traverse with a river exit? Packrafts make that possible.

They Are Extremely Portable

Packrafts (as implied a few times already) are amazingly portable. Most whitewater kayaks weigh 40+ pounds, are 6- to 8-feet long, and are difficult to ship anywhere. Some extreme paddling enthusiasts will carry rigid kayaks multiple miles to get to better water, but for most, the are prohibitively big to travel with.

Packrafts unlock a lot of paddling potential that is otherwise out of the question—they can take you places that no other boats can.

They Are Durable

Despite my biggest concerns, packrafts are amazingly tough. The river we paddled in Mexico had more than 100 sets of whitewater, many of which were riddled with sharp rocks and a shallow bottom. This wasn’t a problem at all for our Gnarwhal boats. I was (and still am) in awe of their durability in challenging settings, with powerful water against razor-sharp edges.

They Are Typically Within Budget

Packrafts range in price from $600 for an ultralight boat to $2,500 for an expedition machine. The boats we used are right in the middle at $1,500. For everything that they allow you to do, the price tag is more than worth it.

They Fit in the Trunk of Your Car… Easily

Packrafts are typically packed by deflating and rolling them, compressing to a small roll, 8 inches in diameter and 2-feet long, give or take. This is smaller than most duffel bags. You can fit a couple packrafts, paddles, and life jackets in the trunk of your car, and still have ample room for everything else. This means that even the weekends you don’t plan to paddle, you’re still prepared to paddle.

All Photos by Andy Cochrane.

British adventurer Leo Houlding and his team took on the extra set of risks, recently climbing Mount Roraima. The remote tepui on the triple Brazil-Venezuela-Guyana border, is the chain’s highest flat-topped plateau (at 9,220 feet) in a land of dramatic topography. Surrounded by dozens of 1,000-foot waterfalls, Mount Roraima has captivated writers and travelers alike since Sir Walter Raleigh described it in 1596 following his search for El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. Home to the planet’s tallest waterfall (Angel Falls), the region also inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 classic The Lost World, as well as Disney-Pixar’s more contemporary 2009 film Up. Over 10 days on the nearly 2,000-foot wall, Houlding’s team climbed a first free ascent while dealing with the hostile critters, as well as torrential downpours and scary, committing climbing. They topped out on December 4.

“There were a lot of hazards,” trip leader Houlding said after returning home to the Lake District in England. “When you climb, you’re reaching above your hand and deep into a crack where bugs and spiders and birds and scorpions hang out. You can’t look — you just have to do it. There are all sorts of creepy crawlers up there.

“The higher we got there was still a lot of stuff in the cracks, particularly scorpions. There are really small ones that are quite bad and can make you vomit blood. The bigger ones — which we didn’t see — look really vicious, but their sting isn’t as bad.”

“Like any big wall climbed on-sight, pushing into the unknown is challenging,” Houlding’s partner Wilson Cutbirth said after returning home to Flagstaff, Ariz., where he shares a house with a group of dirtbag climbers. “Being in the middle of the rainforest, one minute it will be sunny, and the next it will be a tropical rainstorm making it especially challenging when hiking loads and sleeping on the ground.”

Once on the wall, however, the rock stayed dry because it was so steep. Their line of ascent follows the first four pitches of the 1973 aid line established by Hamish MacInnes, Don Whillans and Joe Brown before the team broke into new territory for 10 new pitches to establish a climb rated 5.12+ R/X.

“New routing on an overhanging wall is as real as it gets,” continued Houlding. “You’re pushing into danger with a lot of unknowns. The quartzite is super hard but there were quite a few big things that were loose.”

After 15 days approaching the wall through 30 miles of jungle and setting up basecamp, the team spent half a dozen nights at a portaledge camp low on the face and then four nights at a portaledge camp high on the rock. The trip comprised of Houlding, 39, Anna Taylor, 21, Waldo Etherton, 32, and Cutbirth, 29. The feat added up to nearly 2,000 pounds of gear — which was dropped from the sky by parachute. In addition, two local Amerindians, Troy Henry and James Edward joined the team to the summit. “They are the first Guyanese people to climb Roraima,” Houlding said. “They’ve become quite famous.”

Filmmakers Matt Prycoft and Dan Howard of Cold House Media also joined the team.

“Roraima the most famous natural landmark in the country and it’s one of the most spectacular mountains in the world,” said Houlding. “It’s like Everest and El Cap.” Because the tepui is in an area that feels like time has stood still, “if a pterodactyl flew past, it wouldn’t look out of place.”

Houlding brought decades of expedition experience, while Taylor brought her hard lead climbing skills, Etherington brought rainforest canopy skills, and Cutbirth – Houlding’s frequent climbing partner — brought his big wall free-climbing skills.

Trip highlights included climbing over “some of the best rock ever,” said Cutbirth, who noted the age of the rock, some of the oldest in the world. “When the clouds cleared, we saw a land of tepuis and huge waterfalls all over.”

Though the quality of the climbing exceeded their expectations, the venomous snakes in the area forced them to reconsider their trip. “One day we found a pit viper below the portaledge,” continued Cutbirth. “That’s one of the most venomous snakes in the jungle. If it bit us and we were that far out, we might not have made it. Also, it was a daily occurrence to see spiders that locals said would make you vomit blood if they bit us. We’d find them in our portaledges.”

“Though everyone was on the same trip, we were on all our own journeys,” Houlding said. “Anna’s crux pitch was quite hard. The logistics was the hardest for me. People don’t realize how much success comes from planning.”

Once on the summit, the team was greeted with a helicopter that took most of the climbers out. Cutbirth, Houlding and Etherton stayed behind for the next two weeks to climb new objectives.

To read more about the trip, visit berghaus.com.

Below, we’ve got everything from pot-roast shredded beef tacos to cheesy potatoes that will delight each and every taste bud in your mouth. Best of all, considering the Crock-Pot does all of the work for you, we guarantee you’ll be cracking open that beer a few hours earlier than anticipated come Sunday (or at the very least, find the time to clean up your living room for guests).

Warning: After you’ve used your Crock-Pot as your go-to for hosting guests, there’s no turning back. We’ve got 35 simple slow-cooker meals every guy can make right here for you to put to use in the future.

And if you’re looking for more recipe inspiration specifically for Super Bowl Sunday, check out our 25 easy Super Bowl party recipes.

Named the Continuum after one of its heralded ski flicks, the new breed of hotel offers slope-side lodging with a twist: It marries your well-deserved bedding at day’s end with TGR’s street cred, athletes and film premieres, letting you mingle with the sport’s best at one of the sport’s best mountain resorts.

When we arrived on a Friday night in December, we sauntered straight into an après-ski scene for the ages: a movie premiere of Jeremy Jones’ Winterland and a raucous crowd taking it all in (some, heaven forbid, still in their ski boots). All three company-founding Jones brothers (Jeremy, Steve and Todd) were on hand drinking beers with guests, as well as Todd’s 13-year-old son Kai (signing posters, not drinking beer) — one of their most socially popular athletes with a cameo at the movie’s end.

And that’s exactly the atmosphere the filmmakers-turned-hoteliers were hoping to create in their latest venture.

“We’ve wanted to do an experiential-type hotel like this for years, a place where people can be a part of our whole vibe,” says Todd Jones. “We always wanted to have a place where people can come stay, hang out with athletes, see films and more, all at the base of one of the best ski resorts in the country.”

So far, it’s been all lights, camera and action. Since opening on Dec. 1, the hotel’s hosted a sold-out premiere of Fire on the Mountain, complete with a Grateful Dead cover band; the local debut of Winterland; and countless other events guests wouldn’t experience at a “normal” hotel. They’re also planning weeks where guests can ski and film with TGR athletes; join film workshop seminars; and even take part in TGR’s coveted WhiSKI Whiskey Series, a whiskey-tasting event which regularly sells out in New York City.

“We’re really just getting started with what we can do,” Jones adds. “So far the concept is going great … people are loving it.”

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Co-founder Steve Jones takes us inside the @continuumjh – TGR’s first branded hotel & bar experience. And he shares the details on our Fire On The Mountain showings and Deadlocks concerts this Wednesday and Thursday. Join us in Teton Village with @chrisbenchetler and the TGR crew! Tickets and booking info at the link in our bio. #tgrlivethedream

A post shared by Teton Gravity Research (@tetongravity) on Dec 10, 2019 at 5:24pm PST

The property’s developer is loving the marriage also. The site sits at the location of the old Inn at Jackson, which was purchased in 2017 by Molokai Hospitality. The company renovated all the rooms, added a heated pool and giant 40-person hot tub, and built a vibrant, millennial-friendly bar and lounge, complete with a band platform and giant movie screen above the bar. All this is located just a snowball’s throw from the base of the iconic Jackson tram, where TGR got its start.

“The Continuum was inspired by TGR’s love of life,” says Molokai principal David Gibson. “It lets us offer a perfect blend of comfort and functionality, while allowing guests to live out their dreams. It breaks people’s conception of a traditional lodging experience.”

The good thing about our very connected world is that news travels fast, and all around the world, millions of dollars have been raised in the last few days to go directly toward three of the places that can use the help most: Australia’s Red Cross, WIRES Wildlife Rescue and the NSW Rural Fire Service.

While our surf world is just a small drop in the overall bucket, many surfers are using their voices and platforms to raise money for the aforementioned groups. Paul Fisher started a fundraiser, and is also planning a special concert where 100% of the proceeds will be donated. Dead Kooks and Thomas Bexon raffled a few gorgeous surfboards, raising $65,000 and $35,000, respectively, for the cause. Shortboard Revolutionary Bob McTavish is raffling off a piece of surf history in the form of a beautiful 9’5″ that he shaped in 1966. Jake Paterson created a fire relief fundraiser of his own.

And then there’s the little-known Surf Core 2001—a tongue-in-cheek Instagrammer with a passion for pairing early-2000s surf imagery with hilarious captions—whose $50-a-pop fire relief T-shirt has taken off inside the pro-surf world, raising over $60,000 during the first day, with large portions of purchases coming from current and former pros themselves. Surf Core has been publicly thanking many of them via goofy archival photos and crude photoshop jobs on his Instagram stories—things like Kelly Slater as his 2000s video game avatar and Chippa Wilson posing next to a Monster logo. It’s offered a few laughs in an otherwise devastating situation—and more importantly it’s raised a bunch of cash for a worthy cause.

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A post shared by SURFCORE 2001 (@surfcore2001) on Jan 4, 2020 at 5:25pm PST

Click here to get in on the Surf Core 2001 T-Shirt while you can, or on any of the links above to donate to the relief effort.

This article originally appeared on Surfer.com and was republished with permission.

Now that he’s retired, Gronkowski hasn’t slacked on working out and training, although things are a bit different for him when he’s working out in the gym. After nine years in the league and going through multiple injuries and surgeries, Gronkowski has learned to adjust his training programs to help give his body what he needs for this stage of his life.

“A lot has changed,” Gronkowski tells Men’s Journal. “Now I focus on taking care of my body and recovering from all my injuries. It’s mainly all low impact and engaging in a lot of muscle groups. In the NFL it was a lot more free weights and heaving lifting. That really hurt my body and now I am doing everything I can to fix my injuries and become more healthy. What hasn’t changed is the mindset and intensity I bring to each workout.”

Despite being out of the NFL in 2019—who knows what 2020 could bring—Gronkowski has been as focused on his fitness as ever, and that’s one reason why he teamed with Amazon to create a storefront of his favorite pieces of fitness gear, tech, and nutrition items. Gronkowski joins actors and athletes like Chris Pratt, tennis star Serena Williams, and actress Gabrielle Union, who each have their own collections as well.

Gronkowski spoke with Men’s Journal about the essential workout gear he uses, how he’s been training after his NFL career, and what it was like playing with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.

Men’s Journal: What are your favorite workouts to do in your training?

Rob Gronkowski: ​I gravitate towards interval training, as I think it relates more to sports and how I want to train. I am not a long distance guy. I love to move from one station to the next and take a little break between each before going hard. Something like a series of four exercises that you go from one to the other, like a push sled to plyo jumps to bands to sprints. I’ll then take a little break and do it again.

Do you have a favorite or essential piece of gear that’s part of your training routine?

With everything I am doing for recovery now, I like the Theragun. Those things are awesome.

What are some of the fitness essentials from your collection that you’re most excited about for people to be able to use?

​There are a variety of products, from the big cardio machines to the smaller recovery products like the Theragun. For cardio, I love the Jacobs Ladder Gronk Edition and WaterRower Gronk Edition. Both of those products work your entire body and are low impact. My favorite new product is the inertia wave bands. They are better for you than battle ropes because they are low impact and make you engage so many muscles in your body.

You’re one of the most active guys out there, even after retiring from the NFL. What are some fitness and nutritional tips you follow that help you stay in such great shape?

It’s a lot of low impact and engaging a lot of muscle groups with products like the inertia wave bands. Then after the workout, it’s essential for me to take care of my body with massages and eating properly. ​I wish I would have known more about nutrition earlier in my career. I eat a lot cleaner now. I eat tons of fruits and vegetables now and other foods that reduce inflammation, like turmeric. It really makes a huge difference for me in how I’m feeling and my recovery.

What was it like to play with Tom Brady and win Super Bowl championships with one of the best quarterbacks of all time?

Tom is the man. He expects that you push yourself to become the best you can be and he demands it out of you. It was great playing alongside of him and learning how to be a professional athlete. The guy is a machine.

Why did you want to create and work on this collection?

My brothers and I have a lot of products in health and fitness. Amazon approached us to launch my store focused around health and fitness and my favorite products. We have our own Gronk Fitness Products line and Ice Shaker to name a few. You know me, I am all about fitness and taking care of my body. This was a cool project because I was able to mix all my brands that I am part of all together. Plus, it was a chance add some of the cool other fitness products I like to use.

What are you most excited about for people to see with this collection of essentials?

My family and I have been in the fitness industry for a long time. So we know what good products are and what works. So my Amazon storefront will be loaded with products that get the job done. Everything is fun with fitness—if you have the right mindset you will be able to better yourself and have fun with it.

Or which already-popular spots are enjoying a renaissance of sorts? Whether you want to travel across the country, take a Eurotrip, or fly to the opposite corner of the globe, consider these eight up-and-coming travel destinations you’re certain to adore. For this year’s promising locales, you can eat and drink your way through Perugia, Italy, and Champagne, France, or get your thrills at a far-flung adventure destination (and that’s not even the half of it).

These thriving cities and countries have been picked by four seasoned travel writers who are constantly on the go: Krystin Arneson, Lindsay Lambert Day, David Farley, and yours truly.