Well, the NY Marathon came and went and the bomb did disappoint and missed my mark of 3.30 by more than a minute per mile.  A few things here, I didn't reach the start line until 12 minutes after the 'gun' but I don't think this should matter as we all had timing chips.  Regardless, pretty disappointed in this, but the experience was incredible, already applied for next year.  As you recall, it was Nevada Day the 31st, just before the race on the 1st.  I did my requisite shot of whiskey, had 5 vodka sodas, and 2 beers and got in at 1.30a to wake up at 5.30 to get to the start.  However, I did get an extra hour of sleep for daylight savings.  I approached the race as I would normally approach a long run, so I didn't change anything, including alcohol consumption.  Had I skipped the booze and went to bed early, I don't think it would've mattered, not going to use that as a rationalization.  All in all, a good time, I just didn't expect to be running shoulder to shoulder at mile 20, it was pretty exhausting dodging people.

The Gilt Groupe is an estrogen focused shopping site for private sales, i.e. you have to be a member in order to enjoy the significant savings.  Started by a pair of pretty hawt Harvard grads and now CEO'd by a pretty high powered business veteran, the company seems to be going in the right direction.  The addition of a travel private sale vertical and now mens - Gilt Man rounds out the offering.  I haven't bought a thing on the site, nor really looked at it, but Gilt Man does focus on higher end fashion brands like D&G, Black Fleece, Y-3.  However, Gilt Man has a significant number of private sales with outdoor brands - Mountain Smith, Kaenon, Cloudveil, The North Face.  Alas, you have to be a member to access this crap, but I'm in a good mood, I'll 'invite' anyone who wants - realize I get $25 for everyone I refer, I think, but it's free for you.  However, any referral fees I get, I'll buy something at Gilt and offer it as a prize for a future giveaway on GetOutdoors.  Who says I don't give?  You can email me at ebomb(at)getoutdoors.com.  Enjoy, read more here.

Welcome to Gilt Man

Gilt Man grants you exclusive access to curated sales of designer gear and gadgets, at up to 70% off.

    Members Only

      Membership is free but limited to referrals. Invite a friend and receive $25 after his first order has shipped -- because friends should always give you credit.
    Latest and Greatest

      Our team is always selecting new styles from top brands at the deepest possible discount. Each sale lasts about 36 hours before a new sale starts.
    * Instant Gratification

      Don't like snooty store clerks? Neither do we. Hassle-free shopping means you choose something you like and we send it right to your door.

Yes, I'm running the NY Marathon this weekend.  Still at odds over what to do since it falls on 1 November, 31 October as you recall is Nevada Day.  I usually put on my shi*kickers and head over to the West Village to ... doh, not like that.  Anyway, I think I have a shot at 3.30, but I have to go to a few Halloween parties so it is very dependent on my alcohol consumption.  But enough about me.  Back in the day, when kids had more leeway and responsibility, and weren't necessarily the object of exploitation and manipulation, they did some pretty cool stuff.  Like run the NY Marathon.  A full decade in age younger than when I ran my first, here's more about the first generation of young runners via the NY Times.

Paul ran without parental supervision across five bridges and five boroughs — watched by relatives standing on sidewalks — to finish the race in a startling 3 hours 31 seconds. He is the youngest marathoner recorded in the marathon’s 40-year history but not the only child to become infatuated with a distance many adults find torturous, even life-altering.

Scott Black was exhilarated in 1979 as a 9-year-old. “People were holding out their hands, cheering me on,” Black, 39, said. “I remember there being TV cameras on me, a blimp for a portion of the race. I remember the crowds going crazy.”

A recent trip to my parents' home to unload my gear after a trip made it very apparent that I have bags and bags of gear and no real reason to use it anymore, even tho I just unloaded a ton of stuff on the Sherps.  Apart from a quick 3 week jaunt in the mountains this summer, my last major climb was in 2004, and that was Denali, which I consider expedition-lite.  I have bags of underwear, socks, jackets, packs, bags, etc.  The sad thing is, I'm still wearing the exact same Patagonia Capilene top and tights I've had since Everest 1999.  In fact, on that trip, I brought tons of undies/socks/apparel choices and basically wore the same stuff everyday.  I washed my outfit instead of cracking open brand new stuff and ended up giving all my stuff to the Sherps.  Since, I've worn this same outfit on every trip - I'm weird like that.  Honestly, while TNF keeps giving me this crap and my parents are relentlessly decked out in the latest gear, there is no place to put this crap.  I could care less, gear is gear - my kingdom for someone who can make the perfect glove.  Enter Aether Apparel.  Aether is much like the Isaora post before, beautiful website, buy direct, trop cher clothes - outdoor clothes with a bit more style than a huge TNF logo on the chest.  No reviews yet on the gear since I rarely review non-TNF stuff, but stuff looks pretty good.  Here's a bit about the founders and why this was created.

We are Palmer West and Jonah Smith, and up until recently we were just two film producers in Los Angeles making the kinds of movies we wanted to see. We created Aether because we felt there was a gap in the market. As outdoor sport enthusiasts, we found our shopping options were often limited when looking for new gear. We could either go to the obvious performance-driven clothing lines, thus sacrificing design and style, or shop the more aesthetically pleasing lines and sacrifice performance. Being in our mid-thirties, we are no longer comfortable with the youth-oriented brands that made us look like teenagers on the ski slopes. To us, design and function should be equal.

500.  It's a pretty big number.  I can remember the day I wrote my first post, I was a mere sprout.  I thought my 500th post would be something more substantial, racy, controversial, perverted, but I guess I have to settle on writing about a coat.  Isaora has harnessed NASA technology into a cold weather coat.

We live for the edges—the cleanest lines, the most innovative fabrics, the most challenging ride. We’re independent adventure-seekers, equally at home on concrete or snow, constantly on the move, forward-looking and mercurial. At once youthful and sophisticated, taking equal delight in both journey and destination. Global citizens, ready to jet off to Hokkaido or Valdez at a moment’s notice. We’ve left behind our anti- establishment aspirations; we live where the forces of nature meet the forces of fashion.

Whether you leave two tracks in the snow or one, whether you confront the elements on Alaska’s Chugach steeps or a driving rainstorm in Manhattan, ISAORA provides style, performance, and protection wherever your adventure takes you.

And… At ISAORA we take our ecological footprint seriously and are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact. We believe everyone should do their part, and we like people who are doing theirs.

The Cloud jacket has phase change materials that NASA developed for space suits, basically a type of cotton that changes properties depending on the temperature, close knit when cold, open knit when warm.  Gimmicky?  I guess so, but the founders seem to be pretty core snowboarders, so give a shot.  The hit to your pocketbook is inherent.

Pretty old, the first episode aired 19 April, but I'm just watching this.  Hardman Bear Grylls gets dropped off in the Arctic Circle, but this time not alone, this time with Will Ferrell.  So funny, quotes like, 'I really don't like camping' and 'is this the helicopter to Cancun?' are definitely amusing, and he eats the Twinkie, but while providing the laugh lines, he's fairly proficient.

Is extreme adventure really harder on the stomach than comedy? That's what Will Ferrell and Bear Grylls are going to prove as Man vs. Wild returns on the Discovery Channel on Tuesday, June 2. The special episode is tied to Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy adventure Land of the Lost, which stars Ferrell and hits movie theaters on June 5.

In this first joint extreme adventure special, Grylls guides Ferrell through the paces of real life survival in the ice-bound mountain and glacier ranges in the far north of Sweden. As usual, Grylls is armed with only the most basic survival equipment, while Ferrell is equipped with his infectious sense of humor.

A good read here.  Kenya is one of the more developed countries in Africa and whilst that may make the nation more economically potent, in terms of the environment, Kenya suffers.  What is the cost of hydro-electric power, better sanitation and water sources, increased cleanliness standards?  Is the environment exploitable for these reasons?  Read more here and decide for yourself via the BBC.

Mau forest is Kenya's largest water tower - it stores rain during the wet seasons and pumps it out during the dry months.

But during the past 15 years, more than 100,000 hectares - one quarter of the protected forest reserve - have been settled and cleared.

Tearing out the trees at the heart of Kenya has triggered a cascade of drought and despair in the surrounding valleys.

The rivers that flow from the forest are drying up.

Every breath you take,

Every cake you bake,

Every move you make,

Every beer you snake,

I'll be watching you.

Thus spake Sting.  Fitness isn't easy, that's why most are at least 10% overweight.  Doesn't matter where you live, what you do, you're most likely overweight to some degree.  Enter the FitBit, pretty neato looking, but basically a pedometer.  Started up by CNET gents, you can read more about this toy here, and something about one of their co-founders, a young man who seems to have eluded the concept of his product, but then again, it's only a head shot.

James Park is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for creating great products and companies. Fitbit is the 3rd startup that he has founded. Previously, James was a Director of Product Development at CNET Networks, where he led product management, engineering and design for Webshots. Before CNET, James was a co-founder of Windup Labs, which was acquired by CNET in 2005 and prior to Windup Labs, he was the co-founder and CTO of Epesi Technologies. James also worked at Morgan Stanley, where he helped develop trading strategies and software for a quantitative trading fund. James never quite finished his computer science degree at Harvard College.

Pretty scary video here, but a good tutorial for what to do and what not to do.  Besides the dood who gets buried, pretty systematic, all in all, a job well done.

Avalanche Skier POV Helmet Cam Burial & Rescue in Haines, Alaska from Chappy on Vimeo.

Not exactly what my dirty mind wanted, or expected.  Easier clicked on than explained.