(The view from atop Mary's Peak the day after Thanksgiving. The fog was as thick as gravy [pun intended])

"Alis volat propriis"-the motto of Oregon, which translates roughly to "we don't tan in summer, we rust!" Yes, Oregon gets enough rain to justify keeping an ark in the garage. Thats Oregon. And the Beaver State sure loves beards and flannel and of course, beer. Portland has more microbreweries than any city in the world, including any of those found in Germany or Belgium, who are also apparently fond of the stuff.

But Oregon is more than IPAs and lumberjacks. Its also got some solid mountains, snow, climbing, surf, world class whitewater and loads of public land (almost half of the total land area in the state is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM). Viva socialism!

The outdoor recreation opportunities in the Beer State are endless. The past 72 hours for this author have included 6-10 foot surf (with sea lions for company), a last-minute hike of 4,000 foot high Mary's Peak (highest in the Coastal Range-bigger ones lie just east in the Cascades), and a split lip sustained from mountain biking in one the many nearby forests. Just for good measure, there was also plenty of quality beer (may I suggest Bridgeport's IPA and Ebenezer Winter?). Click below to continue

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Thankfully, Oregon's brief moment on the surfing map has ended. The 2009 Nelscott Reef Tow-in Classic has wrapped up after lucking into some solid surf. Known more for cold waters, sideways rain, surly locals, and hungry sharks, Oregon's coast is recognized once a year for its big wave surf.

In 1995, Nelscott Pioneer John Forse braved the monstrous surf he had observed breaking a half mile offshore for years. Using a zodiac to reach the lineup, Forse pioneered what is now considered the most consistent break on the Pacific big wave contest circuit. Hosting its 5th annual event in Lincoln City, the Nelscott contest has not missed a year due to lack of surf, protest by organized sasquatches, or the spotted owl. While certainly not the biggest wave on the Tow-in scene, Nelscott Reef is no pushover at 20-30 feet, excluding the 20 foot logs that commonly float in Oregon's lineups and wait patiently to chop a surfer in half.

This year was no different. Sets of 30+ foot waves steamrolled into the lineup through what was a foggy morning, a common theme on the Oregon coast. Much of the day remained perfect with no wind, however, a sadly uncommon theme on the Oregon coast. Even the sharks stayed away, most likely looking for less psychotic prey elsewhere. (click for more and video)

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Lets face it: adventure sports ain't cheap. The free market has even found a way to make hiking expensive. Gear for everything from skiing to climbing demands large chunks of paycheck and stores such as EMS and REI don't help, unless there are store-closing sales. Enter Backcountry.com .

A few years ago, a friend introduced Backcountry's steepandcheap.com , which features one gear deal at a time. The site lists a single skiing, climbing, hiking, etc. product at a massive reduction in price until the item sells out. Then, a new deal is listed. This means several deals daily and a massively distracted work force hungry for a steal. The site has even added a widget that alerts users to each deal as it launches and web browser toolbars nationwide are littered with buttons for the backcountry family of sites for quick access.

Next up was whiskeymilitia.com , the punk younger brother of steepandcheap that caters more to the snowboard-surf-skate crowd and also offers streetwear deals. After scoring a few deals from these sites, one becomes hopelessly addicted and finds themselves buying gear that they don't even really need. I still haven't gotten into rock climbing yet, but that pair of Five Ten shoes from a steepandcheap session two years are great surprisingly great for bowling.

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I'm not sure which was worse: Rusty's decision to try their hand in the snowboarding business or my decision to try my hand at Rusty's new bindings. Less than two days and two mid-sized kickers later, and the Rusty bindings were toast. And so was my ankle. Whoops-a-daisy. After the binding frames exploded like a grapefruit in a microwave, I was left with a sprained ankle and more than half a day left on my lift ticket. Not exactly what I look for in a binding.

That was ten years ago. Since then I've returned a pair of Airwalk bindings and pawned off a pair of Burnt bindings (the sales lady said they "love them in Austria" and I was 17) on eBay. These failures have led to a commitment problem when it comes to bindings. But it was my fault: I was too determined to own "something different (and find a deal)," and I finally bought some Burton Freestyles. While relatively inexpensive and no-frills, the Freestyles and I made happy memories for several years until parting ways this winter. There was someone else. After Christmas, I finally gave in to the daily barrage of emails from backcountry.com and bought something from on of their never-ending sales: the Burton Cartels. The colors were hot and I jumped at Winterfresh.

To the right of the Freestyles, the Customs, and the Missions and to the left of the Triads, the CO2s, and the C60s, Burton's Cartels are mid-range price wise. And part of why I pulled the trigger on them is that I was able to get a low-range price on them ($109). So I screwed 'em on, and here's what I found:

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Today's economy: source of anguish or ski-season opportunity?

When I returned from working as a researcher in Central America a few months ago, I did not have any immediate prospects for employment-now that my most recent project was complete. So I got to work on becoming an independent consultant, which now fills some of my time. As my own boss, I am ineligible for a government unemployment insurance handout, but as someone working from project to project, I am sort of unemployed. At least during the gaps between projects. Gaps=sort of unemployed. Sort of unemployed=free time.

So recently, I decided it was time to start collecting unemployment benefits. Not the kind the government makes you light yourself on fire and jump through hoops for, but the kind that the much-more-generous Mother Nature offers, without any interviews, paperwork, or stigma. With word from the weatherman of impending powder, I headed over to a friend's on Tuesday night for a strategic jump on Wednesday morning's goods.

The day was great. The beauty of the east coast is that while many love to ski, most everybody is terrified of driving within a few hours of heavy snowfall. If four inches or more are in Wednesday's New England forecast, you can put your wampum on packed grocery stores after work on Tuesday, school closings announced by dinner, and normally-clogged roads as deserted as the parking lot at your local Bear Stearns by sundown. So on a midweek powder day, the ski mountains are crowd-free. This was no different on Wednesday and the conditions just improved as the day went on. January has been damn good to New England. We've already received more snow this season than we average for an entire winter, and the snowiest month-February-looms yet.

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The winter of 2008-2009 has been a news-worthy one so far. Unfortunately, winter sports incidents have made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A combination of heavy snowfall, thawing and warm temperatures, and general bad luck have caused a number of early-season fatalities.

-Yesterday, reports broke of a 31-year old climber being killed on Oregon's Mt. Hood after she was struck by falling ice and thrown down the mountain. The ice fall is blamed on thawing caused by warm weather.

-A German skier was killed when he was swallowed by an avalanche in Zermatt, Switzerland on January 20th.

-Last week brought news of the death of two climbers-both Britains-as they abseiled off their climbing route at Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. According to local guides, the pair were hit by debris from an avalanche. One of the men killed was the youngest Britain ever to climb Mt. Everest, when he summited at age 19 in 2006. The week before, two local guides were killed by falling ice in the same area.

-Also last week, a skier died of chest trauma at Beaver Creek in Colorado. And when eight snowmobilers were killed in BC at the end of 2008, the toll for snowsports-related deaths in North America for December rose to 17.

-Skiing-related fatalities have also occurred at Alta (UT), Whiteface (NY), Treetops (MI), Miledge Creek (BC), Jackson Hole (WY), Alice Mountain (BC), Val d'Isere (France), and Whitetail (PA). The causes of death included avalanche/ice fall, tree collision, heart attack, and hypothermia brought on by entrapment in a stream.

So why highlight all the bad news? As a reminder that the winter sports we love are inherently dangerous. Whether its by chest trauma or avalanche or in the mountains of British Columbia or the hills of Michigan, winter sports can prove deadly. And also because it is National Safety Awareness Week . What can be done to minimize the risk?

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Combining two words into one can be useful ('brunch,' 'spork,' 'beefalo'), hip ('bootylicious,' 'sexcapade,' 'stagflation'), and hilarious ('Viagravation,' animal hybrids such as 'grolar bear' and 'zonkey,' any scandal with the suffix '-gate' on it). But they can also be annoying ('Brangelina,' 'ginormous,' 'guesstimate,' 'jazzercize') and downright rage-inducing ('chillaxing,' 'fantabulous,' animal hybrids such as 'labradoodle'). So I didn't know what to think when Maine's Sunday River came up with their new "Chondola," a chair lift-gondola combo. But after checking out Sunday River's changes for this season-including the Chondola -I came away mostly impressed this weekend.

While the "Chondola" name falls into the annoying category, the lift itself undoubtedly belongs in the "useful" one. The new detachable lift consists of 6-person chairs with an 8 person gondola in place of every fifth chair. I had previously wondered why they should bother with what I saw as a poor-man's gondola but after hearing about the $7.2 million price tag and being a poor man, I guess I can see the rationale. I also understand the weight implications of having an all-gondola lift and the idea of providing an alternative to those with difficulty boarding a chair/inability to keep their pants on while riding the lift. Not to mention is it impossible to become suspended upside-down from a gondola with your pants down. In any case, the new lift cuts the ride time from a downright rage-inducing 20 minute ride(including changing lifts midway)from South Ridge Lodge to North Peak to just 7 minutes. And it puts you on your way to accessing 6 of the resort's 8 peaks. It also virtually reduces the Obama-inauguration-level crowd that once clogged the South Ridge area to something more reminiscent of an NRA meeting in San Francisco. One of four such hybrids in the country, Sunday River's snazzy new lift is one-of-a-kind in the northeast. Befitting of a one-of-a-kind mountain.

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This one has been going around for a while, but it never gets old. Ever.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

"Now it's getting boring so we play around."

I need to go to Norway and try this. Whew.

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Man loses pants skiing.

I had to. Having had some spectacular incidents on the lift while I was learning years ago, I should sympathize with this hapless clown, but instead I'm laughing. I'm sorry, but I just can't help it.

How is this even possible? How do you fall off the chair AND manage to lose your pants in the process?

It seems that the 48 year old guy-who has probably now changed his name and moved to the other side of the country-got into a lift chair which had not had its seat back lowered. After the lift took off up Vail's Blue Sky Basin, the guy fell through the gap and hung upside down from the chair for 15 minutes. In the process, he lost his pants and suffered windburn in some very unfortunate places.

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After a New Year's ski trip to Vermont, I am in the process of listing my camera, my old snowboard, my new snowboard, half my clothes, and my Bobby Orr rookie card on EBay. The debt incurred by paying for lift tickets for the trip has left me no choice. To finance the month of January, I will have to consider listing a couple of surfboards, a sibling or two, and a package of free hug coupons for sale. How did we get to this point?

I am old (young?) enough to recall $40 lift tickets. Lift ticket prices are climbing annually according to the formula of X+5+Y=current lift ticket price; where X=last year's price and Y=please add an additional 7 dollars if the mountain is a Vermont mountain geared towards yuppies and metro-area folk (no offense, but you've got more money than the rest of us, and certain mountains take advantage of this). So that leaves us at about a $76 average for an adult weekend pass to a large New England resort (with a loose definition of "large" and averaging only 8 resorts off the top of my head...hey, its a blog -not a research paper). According to this formula, that accounts for a nearly 88% increase in just 7 years. Wow.

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