Just Back: Mountainfilm in Telluride

If you’re anything like me you enjoy watching independent documentary films and hanging out in laid-back mountain towns—like Telluride, Colorado, where I recently spent a string of days filming Outside Television’s coverage of Mountainfilm alongside my co-host, Lynsey Dyer. Admittedly it’s the most anticipated weekend of my year filled with inspired conversations, chance encounters (like sharing a gondola ride with famed environmentalist Bill McKibben) and of course, groundbreaking films.

Oscar Buzz For Mountainfilm Documentary

One of the greatest parts about hosting Outside Television’s coverage of Mountainfilm is being exposed to the festival’s endless catalog of groundbreaking documentaries. Films like Gasland, a documentary from last year’s festival by director Josh Fox about the harmful effects of natural gas drilling that was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Now Playing: Mountainfilm

Ever flip through your television channels only to discover that nothing is on? It happens to me all the time: I’ll click through the listings until I finally succumb to yet another predictable piece of programming. Fortunately you can avoid this endless cycle by planning ahead, so consider this your primer for the week. Enjoy watching dynamic independent documentary films? Care to have your mind stimulated by some of the world’s greatest artists, activists and athletes?

Five Essential Travel Apps For iPad

I’ll admit it. My online life has become significantly more enjoyable since the iPad entered my household. Magazines and newspapers are now alive with interactivity, photographs and video are suddenly a breeze to share and planning for my next adventure has become easier than ever. Indeed, the iPad is a robust and dynamic device, if of course you have the right applications at your fingertips. Travelers listen up: If a trip to the Apple store is in your near future—and perhaps, a vacation shortly thereafter—then check out these apps to help get you on your way.

Celebrating the South Pole

It was 99 years ago today when British explorer Robert F. Scott arrived the South Pole to discover that Roald Amundsen and his team of Norwegians had beaten him there one month earlier. The ill-fated Terra Nova expedition arrived the pole on January 18, 1912, a trek that saw Scott and his team perish on their return journey. And while it was widely thought that Scott and Amundsen had raced to be the first explorers to the pole, others tried to quash the popular theory in the name of science.