Spring update

It's been an action-packed last few months here at Teasdale HQ, leaving precious little time for bloggerating. But rest assured that all is well, though future posts may be "skinnier" than the epics I was posting for a while there. 

Anyone interested in seeing my latest story from British Columbia's fanged and furry Flathead Valley should head on over to Sierra magazine's website (or buy the current issue, May/June 2011, at your neighborhood newsstand, assuming you still have one). 

www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201105/flathead-guardians.aspx

A friend and I biked and packrafted the valley, then climbed a mountain at the river's headwaters that was threatened with mountaintop-removal mining and slept bare on its summit (you can read more about that adventure here: aaronteasdale.blogspot.com/2010/02/flathead-celebration.html).

My sons and I are also featured in the current (May) issue of Outside magazine, in their guide to fatherhood. In it, I dispense what they call "essential advice for adventurous fathers." Which I guess means that if you're an adventurous father you'd better read it. Or you could just take your kids into the woods. That's my essential advice: get out there, as often as possible.

The article and images also live online here:

http://outsideonline.com/adventure/travel-ga-201106-kids-adventure-travel-sidwcmdev_156151.html

They also feature my son Jonah stepping over a crack in river ice on his Nordic skis here:

http://outsideonline.com/adventure/travel-ga-201106-giving-kids-freedom-sidwcmdev_156154.html

The funny thing is that the caption reads "Thankfully, Dad scored him some trustworthy gear" when those were actually beater skis I grabbed at Play It Again Sports for a song. The bindings ripped out of 'em multiple times. But Jonah skied those skis all over the mountains of Montana and Idaho for years. Now he's got bigger, fancier skis. I'll miss those little, old beaters. 

There are some good stories from the last few months that I hope to tell here, but I can't make any guarantees. Freelancing is keeping me busy, which is a good thing — articles and photo shoots pay more than blog posts. Plus, if it comes down to spending time with my kids or writing a blog post, well, I think you can guess what's going to win.

Anyway, here are a few images from recent months and adventures. Rode bikes through the wilder reaches of Vietnam with my father (a war veteran making his first return), skied into the backcountry of Glacier Park while assisting on a wolverine study, and went to ski mountaineering camp in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Great trips all. I hope you had a great winter and are getting outside as much as humanly possible this spring...