Last winter was heaven for local winter sports enthusiasts. And this season has been off to a great start, with unusually cold and snowy conditions providing ample opportunities for skiing, snowboarding, sledding, snowball fights, snowmen and assorted backcountry adventures. We’re celebrating today, Dec. 21 – the first official day of winter – by culling together some of our favorite photos and videos from the last couple years of snowy escapades.
Tag: Outdoors
Showing 85-95 of 95 results
A change in the weather? Long-range forecasts call for dry, mild winter
Both the National Weather Service and the WNC-based Ray’s Weather Center are predicting a drier, milder winter than normal this year. But that certainly hasn’t been the case so far. This is shaping up to be one of the coldest Decembers in Asheville’s recorded history. And we’ve already doubled the average snowfall for the month, with forecasters calling for more on Christmas Eve.
Getting high: Hiking the Black Mountain Crest Trail
It’s been a beautiful weekend to get outside and enjoy the Western North Carolina mountains. These photos were taken on a recent hiking trip along the Black Mountain Crest Trail, which winds its way northward from Mount Mitchell along one of the highest ridges in the Appalachians. In addition to Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 feet), the 12 mile trail ascends Mount Craig (6,663 feet), Cattail Peak (6,675 feet) and Big Tom (6,580 feet) before dropping down to Bowlen’s Creek in Burnsville.
The life of clouds: Craggy Garden sunrise, a video by revpictures
Time-lapse video shots looking down from Craggy Gardens on oceanic clouds depict their energy and feel as they roil and flow up against the mountainsides and sometimes over the ridges. Audio track by Dep.
Wild root wannabe
Not long ago, I checked my inbox and found an invitation from Wildroots—a sprouting of free-spirited earth lovers who do the best they can to live off the grid. The group was offering a wilderness camping-and-education excursion focused on wild edibles and medicines. Local experts Natalie Bogwalker and Frank Cook would be the guides. The […]
Outdoors: This outdoor life
Not all Gen-Xers take years to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Tobias Miller, now 36, has known since high school that he wanted to work outdoors. As South District maintenance-worker supervisor for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Miller got his wish. He’s responsible for the entire North Carolina side […]
Outdoors: Women on the wall
Ten minutes into my first climb, my left hamstrings are singing and my right buttock’s cramping, but I’m not about to stop: My motto is, “I can’t leave here tonight until I clean that line.” Enter the cave: Participants at ClimbMax’s women-only night look on as Courtney Johnson navigates the cave like Spider-Woman. Photo by […]
Outdoors: The Practical Fly
I was in seventh grade when I caught my first trout on a fly, using a royal coachman. Lee Wulff, the warrior god of modern fly-fishing, improved on this classic pattern, substituting hair for wings and tail (to make it more buoyant, durable and easier to see in rough water) and dubbing it the royal […]
Outdoors: Moving on up
Rumbling Bald Mountain features cliffs of metamorphic gneiss rock with beautiful marbled faces and exceptional botanical diversity. Located 30 miles east of Asheville in Chimney Rock State Park, it draws hikers, sightseers and climbers. Its overhanging boulders, “splitter” cracks and technical face climbs make it a favored destination for local climbers. The bald is also […]
Outdoors: Second chances
Last month, a 15-year-old named Alex celebrated his graduation from Camp Woodson in Swannanoa. I was there to hear him speak, along with a crowd of fellow graduates, employees, court counselors and staff from the Swannanoa Valley Youth Development Center, where the camp’s offices are. In a soft voice, Alex said, “I am a man […]
On second thought…
It seemed like a good idea at the time, taking the kids winter camping for their dad’s birthday. I figured he would really appreciate waking up in the woods on his special day. All wrapped up: Six layers of clothing, and nine-month-old Wyatt Hinker might be a happy winter camper. Photo by Bettina Freese He […]