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6 Tips to Help You Enjoy Technology in the Outdoors (Without Pissing Everyone Off)

Hey, we all enjoy our music, selfies, and mobile apps but, for the love of Yanni, please enjoy responsibly.

Choose Good Beats, Bro
Last weekend, I was skiing at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Now, generally, if I can hear your music from across the slopes while I’m ripping turns and blissfully gazing at my mountains, I hate you. Plain and simple. However, one fortunate (and smart) boarder made the wise choice of bumping Michael Jackson from his wireless speaker all the way down the mountain. People were smiling, singing along, and not the least bit miffed that he brought his speakers to the slopes.

Moral of the Story: If you’re gonna share your music with everyone, you better pick something universal.

Don’t Be a Phone Apps Douche Bag
There are a ton of phone apps out there for measuring your performance. Elevation gain, speed, lift time, distance, and calories are just a few of the elements various exercise and outdoor sports apps can roughly calculate.

As such, I recently talked to a mountain biker who said he literally blew past, and almost ran over his friends, because he was trying to beat a specific time on Strava.

Yep, this guy is a moron. And so are you if you let things like times on phone apps determine your integrity in the outdoors.

To Thine Own Selfie Be True
Ok, I’m as guilty as the next person. I like selfies and, I’ll admit, my obsession is part narcissism and part wanting to actually share my adventures with my social media family. However, I know when to selfie (Yep, it’s pretty much a verb now) and when to abstain.

Some appropriate times for selfies include:

– The chair lift while skiing (Note: Chair-lifts are long. Take your selfie early on to avoid holding things up toward the top).

– An easy section of the trail when you aren’t blocking anyone else’s way

– Before you start your mountain bike ride. Yes, I have actually seen people attempt to take selfies while in the midst of riding. It DID NOT end well.

Some inappropriate places to take selfies include:

– While skiing or boarding down a slope

– While bombing a rock garden

– Anytime there are others behind you who have to slow down or change their path simply because you desperately need to Instagram that shit.

Know When to Press Pause

If you’re about to tackle something challenging, like a difficult tree run on the slopes, or some Class 4 scrambling up the side of a mountain, press pause.

I actually have a friend who regularly climbs with music and claims that it puts him in “The Zone.” That’s fair. But he’s also smart about it. He never listens to music when he’s trad climbing and he never messes with technology when he’s lead-climbing a new route on sport. He stays in the present moment because, in the end, isn’t that what the outdoors are all about? Being present, moving dynamically, and standing in awe of nature.

Don’t Go Above Your Pay-grade for Footage

This tip takes the #1 slot because it happens so often. With smart phones and adventure cameras at the ready, outdoor enthusiasts are trying to get footage of anything and everything that they do just to receive likes on Facebook and views on Youtube. To each is own, but tackling something well above your skill level just because you want some awesome footage of the either “sick” or disastrous outcome isn’t the way to go. You’ve got plenty of time to work up to that double black diamond or backcountry skiing expedition, bro. Focus on getting better and enjoying yourself because, in the end, “likes” and views are temporary but injuries and death are, well, not.

 

 

 

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