Outdoor Retailer Winter 2011

Snow, wind and semis made the trip to Salt Lake pretty exciting. Photo by Caroline Treadway.

Exactly twice a year, at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, you can hang with the raddest athletes in the outdoor industry AND check out the freshest new gear that hasn’t even hit the stores. This winter’s record breaking OR show had 18,000 plus attendees, featured over 800 brands and brought about $16 million to Salt Lake City, according to Devaki Murch, event contributor. Energy was really high, people are definitely buying and the brands seem to be really strong in all their new product,” Murch said. “It’s definitely on the upturn.”

But let’s start at the beginning, a harrowing drive from Boulder, Colorado to Salt Lake, on a snowy, blowy and desolate stretch of Interstate 80 through southern Wyoming. Luckily my copilot, Timmy O’Neill, is a pretty funny guy, and kept us both laughing while we skidded 80 mph into a complete whiteout, using semis as visual guard rails. Read the rest of the story at venturethere.com.

Paris 2007

A very short tree growing in Paris. Photo by Caroline Treadway.

I know, everyone loves Paris. It’s like saying you love chocolate. But since I ended up there by accident, I feel especially entitled to gush. After three frustrating weeks in Fountainebleau – I highly recommend NOT taking a European bouldering vacation just after knee surgery – I missed my plane home. That morning, I leisurely sipped cafe creme in Fountainebleau, while my flight was boarding. I caught a series of trains to Charles de Gaulle long after the plane had taken off, and arrived blinking at the reflection of the empty Delta kiosks in the shiny airport floors. There wasn’t an airline employee in sight. When I finally coerced a Delta operator to speak with me in English, the news wasn’t good. She said, a little rudely, that there were no seats as cheap as mine for a week, and if I wanted to fly home tomorrow, it would cost 2500 Euros, which, exchange rates aside, is like, crazy, especially when the only thing I had to get back for was making cookies and coffee at a cafe in Boulder.

Oahu: Top Three Trails

The Pu'u Manamana Trail on Oahu, photo by Caroline Treadway.

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Oahu to shoot a story on rock climbing for Deadpoint Magazine. In the 10 days our team spent on the island, there was little weather dry enough to climb, but it was perfect for hiking, especially if you don’t mind getting a little muddy. When traveling, I love to explore my immediate surroundings, whether it’s unfamiliar city streets or exciting natural landscapes. Learning the ins and outs of a new city, or the plants and animals in a place like Hawaii, orients me in space, gives me a new perspective on life and an understanding of the place I’ve landed.

With nearly 1 million people, Oahu is an island of extremes. There are crowded, touristy beaches like Waikiki, across the street from glitzy, high fashion stores that require a credit card swipe before entering, and wild, unpopulated areas like Kaena Point, a protected sanctuary for rare Monk seals and Albatross, that’s relatively deserted.

I consider myself a pretty good hiker. Coming from Colorado, where the typical climbing approach is an hour an a half hike up steep talus and loose scree, I was like, Hiking? Hawaii? No problem. Needless to say, we got our asses kicked. Island hikes can be steep, slippery, loose, treacherous, grueling, hot and buggy, but are always breathakingly beautiful.

Here’s my guide to Oahu’s top three must-hike trails. Check out the photo gallery and the rest of the story on venturethere.com

Orchid

Phalaenopsis orchid. Photo by Caroline Treadway.

First post of the year – happy 2011! I got this orchid for free at Whole Foods after some super high maintenance people lost it in the check out line…and then I used it as a model! Yeeeah.