prAna blog

Watch Steph Davis Tonight On NatGeo’s The Great American Manhunt!

andre@prana — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:00:36 +0000

prAna Ambassador Steph Davis makes a guest appearance on tonight’s episode of the National Geographic Channels ‘The Great American Manhut’. The episode is called ‘The Daredevil’ which is fitting. We won’t spoil the plot for you so be sure to tune in to your local provider!

CSI fans – we know how much you love a dead body and the scientific hunt to track down a killer – well in a sensational new twist on the forensic game, an upcoming reality challenge show on National Geographic will be testing the skills and techniques of CSI in the real world.

The Great American Manhunt sets three real-world experts a weekly challenge: to chase down a living, breathing, mystery target at large, somewhere among the entire population of the country. With no shortcuts (no access to DNA, dental records or ID databases) a street-wise cop, a forensic scientist and a forensic psychologist access the very latest technology to help identify their quarry. The challenge is to work out just what marks them out from the crowd and – if they’re successful – their true identity.

Using just the clues on and inside the target’s body (including the clothes on their backs) they use super-cool science and their own remarkable skills to take on the ultimate forensic challenge. On the way they follow leads and chase down dead ends as a complex web of clues takes them across 50 States. The science is awesome, the chase every bit as challenging as the TV dramas we all love and, as the experts eventually discover, the mysterious targets turn out to be awesome and extraordinary individuals. If you like CSI you’ll love The Great American Manhunt – real world forensics like you’ve never seen before.

CrossPosted from Writer Forensics Blog

Check out the teaser for ta previous episode…

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On The Circuit | Official Trailer (video)

andre@prana — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:00:09 +0000

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America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2012

andre@prana — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:00:04 +0000

The U.S. Most Endangered Rivers ~via American Rivers (AmericanRivers.org)

We all need clean water. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Fresh water is crucial to every living thing on our planet. Most of our drinking water comes from rivers. And rivers and streams also give us places to fish, boat and swim – not to mention homes for wildlife.

Today, American Rivers sounded the alarm for clean water and healthy rivers with its annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report.

American Rivers named the Potomac, which flows through our nation’s capital, the #1 Most Endangered River in the country because of pollution, and the fact that essential clean water protections are under attack in Congress.

As ‘the nation’s river,’ the Potomac is emblematic of what’s at stake for rivers and public health nationwide.

Take action today – stand up for clean water! Help protect America’s #1 Most Endangered River and rivers nationwide.

In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson called the Potomac “a national disgrace” because the river was a cesspool of sewage and industrial chemicals. President Johnson’s remark was one of many catalysts for the Clean Water Act of 1972, which started the resurgence of the Potomac and rivers across the country.

This year, 2012, marks the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. We’ve made great progress — thanks to the tireless work of so many, the Potomac and thousands of other water bodies are cleaner and healthier. But now clean water safeguards are under attack in Congress, leaving drinking water supplies and places where we fish, boat, and swim at risk.

Today, it’s time for Americans to stand up for their health, their environment and their communities by protecting clean water. When you take action you will help save America’s #1 Most Endangered River, and you will help ensure clean water in rivers nationwide.

Want to learn more about America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2012?

The following ten rivers made the list this year:

1. Potomac River (Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Washington D.C.)

• Threat: Pollution; Clean Water Act rollbacks

• At risk: Clean water and public health

2. Green River (Wyoming, Utah, Colorado)

• Threat: Water withdrawals

• At risk: Recreation opportunities; fish and wildlife habitat

3. Chattahoochee River (Georgia)

• Threat: New dams and reservoirs

• At risk: Clean water and healthy fisheries

4. Missouri River (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming)

• Threat: Outdated flood management

• At risk: Public safety

5. Hoback River (Wyoming)

• Threat: Natural gas development

• At risk: Clean water and public health

6. Grand River (Ohio)

• Threat: Natural gas development

• At risk: Clean water and public health

7. South Fork Skykomish River (Washington)

• Threat: New dam

• At risk: Recreation and wilderness

8. Crystal River (Colorado)

• Threat: Dams and water diversions

• At risk: Fish, wildlife, and recreation

9. Coal River (West Virginia)

• Threat: Mountaintop removal coal mining

• At risk: Clean water and public health

10. Kansas River (Kansas)

• Threat: Sand and gravel dredging

• At risk: Clean water and wildlife habitat

Learn more about all of America’s Most Endangered Rivers and find out how you can get involved at http://www.americanrivers.org!

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Summer Sport Climbing Season: Ten Sleep Canyon

andre@prana — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:16:23 +0000

Ten Sleep Climbing Begins Early Thanks to Wyoming’s Warm Spring Weather

It’s been a bit of weird spring here in Wyoming this year; the weather’s been unseasonably warm and dry, meaning that my husband, prAna ambassador Kevin Wilkinson, and I have logged many more days of climbing outside than we anticipated we would. Having a couple of equally psyched climbing friends stay with us through April only encouraged us to climb like the fanatics we honestly are. All four of us had climbed ourselves into frazzled, flapper-ridden and muscularly worn-out specimens by the time they departed at the end of the month, much in need of some rest and recovery to recharge our bodies for the summer season that’s rolling towards us with unstoppable force, as always. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a good one…

Looking forward to the imminent arrival of prime climbing season in Ten Sleep Canyon, I feel a familiar sense of excitement. This year will mark a dozen summers for me spent captivated by the canyon’s climbing and overall summer ambiance and lifestyle. This summer, too, I have some scores to settle with a couple of longstanding foes – and I’m hoping my training and perseverance will finally pay off, resulting in settling these enduring battles of mine once and for all, allowing me to move on to different, possibly yet-to-be-bolted challenges that might await me once I can see beyond my hoary old adversaries.

The first adversary I want to slay is a climb that I first played on probably six years ago, but that I’ve never buckled down to finish, due to its location at a less-popular crag (harder to get partners to go there) as well as its less-than-fun style of climbing. It features holds that are just mean, plain and simple. This route’s long section of climbing on miniscule monos and dime-edges would never be classic in anyone’s book. The appeal for me? I think it’s kind of crazy that this piece of rock has these features and that they can be pieced together and made to work for climbing at all. It’s a balance-y, finger-shredding nightmare that I’d never recommend to anyone…but I’d still like to clip the anchors on it, regardless. I don’t know what it would be graded, either. I’d probably call it 13d, but who knows?

The second rival that needs elimination by yours truly is the 14a that I one-hung for what felt like 100 tries last summer – and while this is an exaggeration of the number of one hangs, it’s probably not an exaggeration of the times I’ve attempted this climb. Despite multiple one hangs and getting as close as I could to sending without actually sending, I had to leave it unfinished last summer. I’m hopeful that the distance in time plus the addition of more strength from training will help me send it this season. I have yet to try this route this year, but I do know that I feel much more excited about getting on it again right now than I did for the final month I spent trying to send it last summer – and honestly, I think I should have probably just left it for that month and had fun climbing other routes and sharing that fun time with friends.

That’s actually a lesson that I finally internalized and that has changed my climbing, too – that experience of not sending, coupled with my more recent nerve impingement and paralysis episode, both seem to have worked to my advantage, strangely enough. How? Well, they both hammered home the obvious but often hard to embrace truth that I should relax and enjoy and appreciate every day I get to rock climb, no matter what the outcome may be in terms of tangible results. Otherwise, it’s a total waste of time and pointless, too, since I truly believe the only real point of sport climbing hard and pushing my limits is for fun, for the of delight of operating my total being at its top potential level in the moment, and for sharing that experience with others who enjoy it, too.

I never want to forget this again, never want to be overtaken by the frustration of “failure” on a climb to the point where I’m not having fun rock climbing – because failures like these really are only a state of mind, and this kind of failure is always part of the process if you’re working toward a truly testing achievement for your being. If sending these two climbs were simple for me, they wouldn’t be hard climbs for me, and I wouldn’t have to put so much into them. And then, the sense of personal accomplishment if and when I do send them would most certainly be diminished. So while I most definitely want to achieve my big-project goals this summer, even more than that, I don’t want to lose sight of the greater point of climbing as I see it: to have fun with the process of pushing my personal limits and to share that fun with friends, send or fail.

~Alli Rainey, prAna Ambassador

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Enzo Oddo Shreds The Red (video)

andre@prana — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:29:14 +0000

Enzo Oddo and friends spent a month this spring on the steep, pumpy climbs in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. A few of the harder climbs sure got Enzo fired up, which helped fuel his redpoint of Pure Imagination, 5.14d. They soaked up the local culture and had some teenage fun – Southern Style. *Routes: Pure Imagination (5.14d), Lucifer (5.14c), Southern Smoke (5.14c), The Golden Ticket (5.14c/d), Forty Two Karats (5.14c)

More vids of Enzo crushing…

For more on Enzo visit http://www.prana.com/ambassadors/enzo-oddo

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