Stories

16th September 2021

The team pushing the boundaries of visually impaired freeskiing

Visually impaired skier Mac Marcoux is a multi Winter Paralympics and World Championships gold medalist. Along with his guide Tristan Rodgers, he is now starting to redefine what is possible in visually impaired freeskiing. Our Editor Sam chatted with them on the cusp of a huge season.

11th March 2021

Community Organising For Outdoor Activism

Drawing on her involvement with POW UK, Daisy Maddinson reflects on the importance of community organising in outdoor activism.

3rd December 2020

Decisions loom for Europe’s ski resorts

European countries are engulfed in a debate about whether the risk of Covid infections is too high to reopen ski resorts as winter returns. Germany, France and Italy have pledged to keep slopes closed until at least the New Year, with Germany calling for a Europe-wide closure.

29th November 2020

What can we learn from the Coronavirus scandal in this mountain town?

How did one ski resort, Ischgl, become the epicentre of the European-wide lawsuit into the spread of coronavirus in 45 different countries?

Authors

Mac Marcoux

At just 15-years-old, Mac Marcoux was a Para-Alpine World Championships silver medalist. The Sault Ste. Marie born skier joined the team that season and finished his rookie World Cup year with a trio of podiums. In 2014, he made his Paralympic debut, and since then he has won five medals. Marcoux was the 2014 Para-Alpine Crystal Globe winner in both speed disciplines. He won his first of two overall Crystal Globes in 2018. In 2019/20, Marcoux and his guide Tristan Rodgers won eight gold medals en route to another Crystal Globe title. Mac is visually impaired, but that has not stopped him from dominating the skiing world while also hurtling down hills on his mountain bike in the offseason.

Sam Firman

Sam is the Adventure Uncovered Editor. He's a freelance writer interested in outdoor culture, geography and social issues. He recently moved from the UK to Vancouver, for more mountain time, and spends much of his spare time sliding on snow and climbing on rocks.

Børge Ousland

With solo expeditions to both the South- and the North Pole as well as solo crossings of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, from coast to coast, Børge Ousland has firmly established himself as the leading polar explorer of our time. He started his polar career by crossing Greenland in 1986, while working as a deep-sea diver in the North Sea. In 1993 he decided to challenge the great white silence as a full time explorer. Børge has managed to successfully complete his expeditions, as a result of thorough preparation with emphasis on training, teamwork and development of equipment and nutrition. While planning new outings to remote places, Børge Ousland makes his living giving lectures, guiding trips, writing books (11 so far) and contributing to films from the wilderness. He has received several international awards for his expeditions, books and films and is one of the few speakers represented by National Geographic Speakers Bureau; a part of the National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.

Skiing