MediaMix

Swim Competition LIVE

January 8, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Recreational swimming can be traced back to prehistoric times. It became a competitive activity starting in 1830s England, and today, competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports.

In competitive swimming, the goal is to break personal or world records while beating competitors in an event. There are varied distance individual events in competition, including the butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, and individual medley as well as freestyle or medley relay (teams of four swimmers), and each swim stroke requires specific technique with rules governing the acceptable form. There are also regulations concerning athlete’s swimsuits, caps, jewelry, and injury tape and competition pool requirements. The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fédération Internationale de Natation (“International Swimming Federation”), aka ‘FINA’, and there are a large number of recognized national federations throughout the world.

Training for competitive swimming requires many hours working out in the pool (usually twice a day, 6 days a week) and outside the pool (serious gym time lifting weights, running, yoga, pilates, etc). Prior to a competition, athletes typically decrease their training workload in order to rest their bodies.

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The TYR Pro Swim Series is one of the most competitive events series on the USA Swimming calendar, attracting between 400-600 of the world’s top swimmers, including USA Swimming National Team members, National Junior Team members and top-50, world-ranked swimmers.

Watch LIVE as Olympians and Olympic hopefuls compete in the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville (January 16 -19, 2020), a 3.5-day long-course event, starting Thursday, January 16 at 3pm EST and continuing until Sunday, January 19 at 10pm EST. Check out event webcast schedule → here

Programming Notes: Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes, breaks in competition, or technical interruptions in the live broadcast. Please check back for live action updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

If you miss a live stream broadcast of the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville event, you can watch video recordings of previous days’ competition by selecting from ‘Event Posts’ located in right top corner of media player.

If you missed watching live as the best swimmers in Europe and overseas race sprint distances at the 2019 International Swimmeet in Italy, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts (top right corner) located on the media player below ↓

WATCH 2019 Artistic Swimming Canadian Championships

Can’t swim? Why Not Learn Now? Find inspiration and information on where and how you can learn this life saving skill and have fun doing it!

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Shooting Stars

January 3, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

First Astrophotograph is John W. Draper's Moon Daguerreotype, taken on March 26, 1840 from the rooftop observatory at New York University. — Moon daguerreotype by J.W. Draper (1840), PD

Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851), inventor of the daguerreotype photographic process, was the first to attempt to photograph an astronomical object in 1839. It was unsuccessful because telescope tracking errors during the long exposure time caused the moon to appear in the image as a fuzzy, indistinct spot. A year later, John William Draper (1811-1882) was the first to successfully take an ‘astrophotograph’ – a detailed photo of a full moon taken from the rooftop observatory of New York University on March 23, 1840, using a 5-inch (13 cm) reflecting telescope and 20 minute long exposure. Later 19th century advances in technology allowed photographing of celestial objects that revolutionized astronomical research at the time by recording images of stars invisible to the human eye.Night photography offers a chance to capture and document inspiring scenes few people have the opportunity to experience due to artificial light and air glow pollution.Night photography offers a chance to capture and document inspiring scenes few people have the opportunity to experience due to artificial light and air glow pollution.

Photographing astronomical objects and large areas of the night sky (“astrophotography”) has become a popular hobby among amateur astronomers and photographers around the world as images can be obtained with the most basic film and digital cameras, plus only a tripod for some of the simpler photos such as ‘star trails’ (individual stars show as streaks across the image as in this article feature photo by Andrew Preble CC0). Getting the best shots, however, does take some know-how.

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Night photography offers a chance to capture and document inspiring scenes few people have the opportunity to experience due to artificial light and air glow pollution. A live stream presentation ‘Under the Night Skies’ on Wednesday, January 22, 4-6pm EST will highlight Imma Photography’s current project to raise awareness about the importance of nature conservation and protecting the night sky from light pollution, while focusing on a selection of night images captured in areas of the US, including Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah.

Programming Note: Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes or technical interruptions in the live broadcast. Please check back for live action updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

Get how-to tips on night sky photography technique from National Parks photographer Chris Nicholson in this video presentation: “Shooting Stars: How to Photograph Night Skies”. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the media player below ↓

Matt Hill joins Chris Nicholson in this step-by-step guide to ‘painting with light, including live demos, in the video presentation: ‘Illuminating the Night: Everything You Want to Know About Light Painting. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the media player below ↓

Watch “Understanding Astrophotography with Christopher Witt and Todd Vorenkamp” video presentation, and you’ll be shooting stars in no time. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the media player below ↓

Information/Resources:
Photography Tips to Capture the Night Sky by Andy Porter, the National Forest Foundation (May 27, 2016)
10 Things: How to Photograph a Meteor Shower, NASA
Wikipedia: Astrophotography

Travel, sports and outdoor photography tips from the pros

Find the best locations and experience the night sky teeming with glittering stars

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your photography inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

The star trails feature photo is courtesy of Andrew Preble/Unsplash CC0

Pro Photo Tips

January 2, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Ever look at a photo and wonder –‘why can’t I do that!?!’ Well, absolutely you can. Here’s an opportunity to learn from professional photographers and improve your camera skills.

This FREE To WATCH live stream program series, Pro Photo Tips, is filled with ‘how-to’ information and helpful advice for the amateur photographer. If you miss a live stream broadcast or want to watch a program again, just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player.

But, First Things First — If you are a beginner, or don’t remember how to work that expensive camera you bought a few years ago, start with some basics.

Lighting Basics Made Easy is a great beginner talk that takes some of the mystery out of lighting with a discussion of the different types of light and their properties, including color temperature, specularity and intensity. If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch. Click/tap the “Watch Again’ button on the media player below ↓

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Smartphone Photography: Tips on how to use mobile phones to create images that go beyond regular travel snapshots. National Geographic photographer, Ira Block, talks about mobile phone photography, and photos he took on recent trips to South East Asia and Morocco. If you missed the live stream broadcast on January 7, 2020, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

Want to come home with vacation photos you can be proud of? Whether your interests are a casual record of a family holiday, or a serious visual exploration of a place far from home, these practical tips and visual inspiration will help you maximize the quality and quantity of your photographs as well as add to the fun of a travel experience. If you missed the live stream broadcast of Travel Photographing: Pre-Trip Planning and Preparation there’s still time to watch a video recording of the presentation. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

At the Photography Workshop: Sports 102, photographer Marc Farb gives us the inside scoop on how to make images more impactful from capture to final print, whether shooting a professional sports event or the local little league. If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

We all enjoy capturing a special moment with a photo to share while exploring new places, and travel photography has been popular since the invention of hand-held cameras in the late 19th century because it combines two passions — travel and photography. David H. Wells, an award-winning internationally travelled publication photographer and veteran photo educator, brings four decades of experience in photography around the globe in this 90 minute presentation, Tools of Travel Photography.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of Tools of Travel Photography, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

You can expertly mat and mount your photos — saving time and money while having fun, too! If you missed the live stream broadcast of DIY Matting and Mounting for Photographers, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below to learn valuable mat cutting techniques, including how to properly measure and calculate border sizes, cut single and double mats, and t-hinge mount photos into finished mats.

MORE TO WATCH – FREE & On-Demand

Pros give advice on how to take great photos of the night sky in a FREE To WATCH, info-video series → Shooting Stars

Professional photographers share their work, inspiration and creative ideas in a series of free-to-watch live stream broadcasts and video presentations → Inspired Photography

Photographers tell their inspiring stories in this On2In2™ collection of short video documentaries → → Watch: Photography

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your photos with us, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

Feature photo courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Figure Skating LIVE

January 1, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Figure skaters compete at local, regional, national, and international competitions at different levels from beginner up to the Olympic (senior) level, and disciplines, including singles (men and women), pair skating and ice dancing. Skaters typically perform two programs in competition (short and long) that include elements such as spins, jumps, spirals and lifts.

The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates international figure skating judging and competitions, including the Winter Olympic Games and World Championships. The current ISU judging system requires a competitive program to have a set number of elements, and awards points separately for each skating element performed. The sum of these points is called the total element score (TES).

The score received for an element is based on the element base value and the grade of execution (GOE). A technical specialist determines base value of an element by verifying the specific movements and positions of the element. A panel of judges determines GOE marks based on the quality of the element and how well the skater executed the element. Then, things start to get a bit more complicated as the GOE value from the twelve judges is processed using a computerized random selection of nine judges, discarding the high and low value, and averaging the remaining seven. The average GOE value is then added to (or subtracted from) the element base value to determine the TES. OK, still with me?

The program components score (PCS) awards points for holistic aspects of a program or other nuances that are not rewarded in the TES judging, including skating skills, transitions, performance execution, choreography, and interpretation (exception: compulsory dance has no choreography or transition marks). Finally, the sum of the TES + PCS is the total score for a competition segment (TSS). A skater’s final placement is determined by the total of their scores in all segments of a competition. No ordinal ranking (i.e. judge’s preference ranking) is used to determine the final results. Got that? Me neither, and we haven’t even gotten to the jumping which can really make a viewer’s head spin. In fact, it’s probably the most confounding scoring in sports. Now, let’s get to the jumps — always exciting to watch.

There are many types of jumps in figure skating, and they are distinguished by the way the skater takes off and lands as well as by the number of rotations that are completed while the skater is in the air. However, there are only six jumps that count as jump elements in figure skating competition. All six are landed on one foot on the back outside edge of the skate blade, but there are different take-offs. The two categories of jumps are toe jumps and edge jumps. Toe jumps are launched by tapping the toe pick (large, jagged teeth on the front of the blade) of one skate into the ice, and include: Toe Loops, Flips and Lutzes. Edge jumps use no toe assist, and include: Salchows, Loops and Axels. A jump combination is a set of jumps, each jump taking off from the landing edge of the previous jump, and there are no steps, turns, or change of edge between jumps. Jump sequences are sets of jumps that may be linked by non-listed jumps or hops.

As with most competitive sports, there’s often some drama as a result of judging and scoring controversies. Ashley Wagner, three-time US national champion, 2016 world silver medalist, and Olympic team bronze medalist, did not make the 2018 US Winter Olympic Team, finishing 4th at the 2018 US Figure Skating Championships as her PCS scores (the highly subjective score awarded for interpretation aspects and the like) were surprisingly low. In fact, her PCS scores were lower in these US Championships than they had been with international judges at recent 2018 Grand Prix events. It’s unclear what exactly went wrong for Wagner because she did not fall or make a major mistake during her programs, and she’s been criticized for expressing her anger at the judge’s scoring. Regardless, she’s now learning to deal with the heartbreak, and deciding what to do next. (Ashley tells her story in the short video documentary, Showpony, below)

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From 10 to 19 January 2020, Innsbruck will host the Winter World Masters Games – the world’s biggest winter sports festival for 30+ year old competitors. More than 3,000 athletes are expected to take part in this major international tournament, supported by 700 volunteers and the local population, in a shared celebration of sport with many unforgettable moments.

At the 2020 Winter World Masters Games, the figure skating competitions will be divided into the following events: Men’s Singles, Ladies’ Singles, Pair Skating, Ice Dance and Synchronised Skating. And, a livestream broadcast of the events are Free 2 Watch starting January 13 at 2am EST and continuing thru till January 19. Check out the daily schedule → Here

If you miss a live stream broadcast during the week of competition, you can watch video recordings of previous day’s events by clicking on “Event Posts” icon, located on media player, top right corner.

The competition was intense and the figure skating — fantastic at the 2019 Winter Universiade, an international student and youth winter sport competition. If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media players below ↓

Feature photo “Queen Yuna” is courtesy of Flickr user, Song Joo Chea, CC BY-ND 2.0

Hallelujah

December 16, 2019 By Zola Zeester

“Many different hallelujahs exist.” — Leonard Cohen (1934 – 2016)

It was a cold, early December day walking the streets of the Strasbourg Christmas Markets when my friends and I stumbled upon the 2,000 year old St. Thomas Church and decided to take a look inside. The interior was stunningly beautiful, welcoming and warm, and stagehands were busy setting up while a small choir began rehearsing. We decided to take a seat in the pews and watch. Then, a lovely performance of Hallelujah filled the church and touched us all with its powerful message.

Written by Canadian singer-songwriter, Leonard Cohen, after years of torturous writing sessions and 80 draft versions, Hallelujah has been covered and performed by over 300 singers since its first release in 1984 on Cohen’s album Various Positions, using a mix of different lyrics and a variety of interpretations and tones ranging from the melancholic, inspirational to joyous. [Recommended reading: The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah”]* Here are just two of the 300+ versions, both with the power to inspire and move you to tears.

Information/Resources:

St. Thomas Church Strasbourg Église Saint-Thomas (nicknamed the ‘Protestant Cathedral’ and ‘Die Late Dame’ (the Old Lady) is a historical building in Strasbourg, France, and has been the city’s primary Lutheran church since the Strasbourg Cathedral became Catholic after annexation of the city by France in 1681. St. Thomas today is an impressive example of Alsatian Gothic architecture, and contains the Maréchal de Saxe, a masterpiece of 18th-century baroque funerary art.

Hallelujah – BBC Radio Soul Music – Series 20, a music and lyrical analysis (April 14, 2015), artists tell their personal stories of the song’s affect on their lives

The word ‘hallelujah’ is used in both Jewish and Christian prayer, and often spoken in modern English to express happiness that a thing hoped or waited for has happened.

*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book or music purchase you make via the links within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Feature photo is courtesy of Zac Durant/Unsplash CC0

Mer de Glace

December 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is categorized a “valley glacier”, a type of glacier that originates from mountain glaciers and flows down valleys, and located above the Chamonix valley within the Mont Blanc massif mountain range of the French Alps. Formed by the confluence of the Leschaux and Génant glaciers, the Mer de Glace is the longest and largest glacier in France, and one the biggest tourist attractions in the Chamonix valley as it’s accessible by the historic Montenvers Railway (Chemin de fer du Montenvers) and offers spectacular mountain views as well as tours, exhibits, and restaurant/hotel. However, the powerful beauty and recreational benefits of Mer de Glace were not always appreciated.

During the classical and medieval periods of European history, ice was deemed mysterious, evil and dangerous, and glaciers aroused intense fear as they were thought to be inhabited by demons that swallowed up unwary victims as well as whole villages. Consequently, glaciers were avoided, not explored, deepening myths and superstitions for many centuries. In 1690, fearful villagers of Chamonix took action against glacial evil by retaining the services of a bishop to exorcise the glaciers.

Two Englishmen on expedition to Chamonix in 1741, William Windham (1717-1761) an English landowner and Richard Pococke (1704-1765) a high ranking clergyman and anthropologist, disregarded the forewarning of evil lurking in glaciers, and climbed up the mountain for 3¾ hours with the aid of local guides and porters to carry wine (essential drink for 18th century adventure travelers) and provisions. It was a successful excursion as they returned safely and were able to provide the first written description of the glacier they called ‘Mer de Glace’. The achievement also marks the beginning of change in attitude as the phenomena of the Sea of Ice later attracted writers, adventurers, artists and photographers.

Crossing the Mer de Glace on foot (1902-1904) — Mer de Glace Crossing, Zurich Central Library collection, 1902 – 1904, Public Domain

Two hundred and seventy-five years later, the explorers of Mer de Glace are on skis. In the video Ice Call from PVS Company, pro skier, Sam Favret, takes you on a freestyle tour through the icy waves, trails, and tunnels of Mer de Glace.

Vallée Blanche

Mer de Glace is certainly skiable, and you don’t have to be a ski pro like Sam Favret or an expert to enjoy the unique backcountry experience via the iconic off-piste ski route, Vallée Blanche. But, there are risks. The surface of Mer de Glace is very rough with gradient drops, large hunks of ice, deep crevasses, and seracs, making it extremely dangerous without sufficient snowfall, good intermediate skills (in all types of terrains & snow conditions) and a local mountain guide.

The Vallée Blanche is accessible from Chamonix, France via a 20 minute ride on the Aiguille du Midi cable car to the mid-station Plan de l’Aiguille (2,317m), then a walk through a tunnel and down a precarious ridge to a small, level area— the starting point for the main Vallée Blanche runs. There are four: the classic “voie normale” (the normal way), and the more challenging, Le Vrai Vallee Blanche, the Petit Envers du Plan and Grand Envers du Plan.

For the most part, the voie normale follows the valley floor through dynamic terrain, beginning with a descent into a bowl toward a large rock outcrop known as Le Gros Rognon (The Big Rock) and continuing along the mountainside. The run can be nice and smooth in spots, but depending on weather conditions, there could be deep powder, crusty layers, and icy moguls to navigate. About 2/3 down, the Refuge du Requin is a popular place to take a break, and 250 meters from there is the start of Mer de Glace. If snow conditions are good, it’s possible to ski all the way down to Chamonix. If not, the run ends at Montenvers, thus requiring a steep climb up iron stairs (misery!) to a gondola that connects to the Montenvers Railway. At a leisurely pace, including lots of stops, sightseeing and long lift queues, the up/down round trip will take 4 – 6 hours, but don’t rush…..enjoy the ride and take in the views.

The Fateful Retreat of Mer de Glace

Valley glaciers like Mer de Glace are relentlessly moving, flowing, growing, shrinking and deforming as a result of weather (temperature and snowfall) and stresses caused by the massive weight. As a result, they are appreciable indicators of climate change.

After a significant cold period in Europe during the late 19^th century, Mer de Glace was so large that it reached as far as Chamonix in 1850. Today, it’s hardly visible from Chamonix as the lower end of the glacier (the ‘snout’) has been shrinking during the last 30 years at a rate of about 4-5 meters (13-16 feet) a year. There is concern the retreat will not stop as Mer de Glace is an important fresh water source for the region as well as a tourist destination, and Christian Vincent, a French glaciologist with the Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique (LGGE) and Institut de Recherche pour le Development (IRD), has warned it may shrink as much as 1.2 -1.4 kilometers (about ¾ of a mile) by the year 2040.

Resources/Information:
Wikipedia (Mer de Glace, Mont Blanc massif, Glacier, Richard Pococke, William Windham, Sr., French Alps, Chamonix, Chemin de fer du Montenvers, Aiguille du Midi, Little Ice Age)
The Annals of Mont Blanc – A Monograph by Charles Edward Mathews (1900)
Because It’s There – A Celebration of Mountaineering from 200 BC to Today (William Windham..from an Account of the Glaciers or Ice Alps in Savoy, in Two Letters) edited and translated by Alan S. Weber (2003)
Celebration of the Franco-English Friendship in Chamonix (1936), summitpost.org
Spiritual History of Ice: Romanticism, Science & Imagination by Eric G. Wilson
Chamonix visitor information: findtransfers.com (see also; chamonix.com, chamonix.net, ski-chamonix.net)
“Climate Change on Mont Blanc: The Vanishing Mer de Glace” by Helena Fouquet (2015), bloomberg.com
Mont Blanc: Glacier in Danger of Collapse, BBC News (September 25, 2019) – Italian authorities have closed roads and evacuated mountain huts after experts warned that part of a glacier on Mont Blanc could collapse.

There are more bold backcountry runs, big jumps and tricks to see on the “Downhill Runs” video channel and explore at Skiing China

Filmakers traveled to Alaska to explore Exit Glacier, but along with stunningly beautiful mountain views and amazing blue ice, they saw melting. FREE 2 WATCH → Glacier Exit

Feature photo is a still shot from the video “Ice Call” by PVS Company
Mer de Glace photo by Detroit Publishing Co. (1890-1900), US Library of Congress Prints & Photographs, Public Domain
Chamonix Valley Map sourced from chamonix.net
Crossing the Mer de Glace on foot, photo taken about 1902-1904, Zurich Central Library, Public Domain

The Power of a Bike

December 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The people, experiences and emotions involved in a bicycle’s search for new purpose are eloquently told in “The Bicycle“, a short film by Chris McCoy & Adam Neustadter.

Bikes from Santa, and a little sister’s smile (Zeester family photo)

I was 8 years old, my sister was 5, when Santa Claus surprised us with two shiny and new bikes under the Christmas tree. Our first ride! It was exciting for the entire family. Mother and Dad took us both out early the next day and taught us how to ride. I remember being a little nervous about getting on a big bike, but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of it, and then I wanted to go fast and ride forever. What a thrill to ride all day long —cruising the hood in search of solo adventures, going to the library to hang out, testing my racing skills against any challenger (bikers, dogs & cars), visiting neighbors, and finding new friends. Many years later, my mother revealed the bikes were not exactly “new”. Dad had found rusty old, beat up bicycles, and spent weekends repairing and restoring them in my grandparent’s home cellar. That, of course, made a special gift and cherished ‘first bike’ memories even more dear.

“As a kid I had a dream – I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got the bike, I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I lived for that bike.” —- John Lennon

[su_dropcap]A[/su_dropcap] kid with a bicycle is empowered with the ability to travel and explore, building confidence and independence, and learning valuable lessons and lifelong skills with each ride. However, many children are not able to enjoy the benefits of bike riding as there are obstacles, financial as well as safety issues that have resulted in a shocking decline in the number of children who ride bikes or walk to school in the US (48% in 1969 to 13% in 2009). Addressing these problems are community and global organizations dedicated to making bicycles accessible to every child and creating bike-friendly cities and neighborhoods, offering ‘build & earn a bike’ programs, bicycle give-aways, mechanic, repair and safety classes, group touring and activities as well as citizen advocacy projects for walk & bike safe streets. You can participate in efforts to get kids on bikes by donating time, money and/or used bikes. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that can make a big difference in the world.

Here’s a short list of community & global bikes for kids programs and information on bike safety:

Austin Yellow Bike Project in Austin, TX

The Oasis Bike Workshop in Nashville, TN

Free Bikes for Kids (Minnesota, Utah, Georgia)

World Bicycle Relief

Safe Kids Worldwide (bike safety tips)

Kids Health – Bike Safety

More Information/Resources:
League of American Bicyclists – A non-profit organization that works to create safer roads, stronger communities, and a bicycle-friendly America through information, advocacy and promotion. Established National Bike Month in 1956 to showcase the benefits of biking and “encourage more folks to give biking a try”. [May is National Bike Month, May 14-18 is National Bike To Work Week, and May 18 is Bike To Work Day]

Smart Cycling – safety guide, tips and videos, League of American Bicyclists

I was 3 years old and life was becoming a drag, then my grandfather came to my rescue and built me a Tree Swing.

⇒ Join the conversation. Donna and Marie (@gabby) shared their ‘first bike’ memories with us on Zeester Media’s FB page. Please share your story with On2In2™ and any information that can help get more kids on bikes. To post a comment on this article or any other website page or post, you’ve got to first be logged-in (look for “Log In/Log Out” at top-right of this page). Not registered? We’d love to hear from you. It’s pretty quick & easy and free to register, just click/tap ⇒ here.

Feature photo of “My first bike, first ride” is courtesy of Zeester Media LLC, CC BY-NC-ND

Polar Bear

December 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Cinematographer Dom West and photographer Joshua Holko along with director, Abraham Joffe and crew trekked over 120 miles per day in Svalbard (a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean located about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole) to capture polar bears on film for the video documentary, Ghosts of the Arctic. It’s awesome.

Polar bears are marine mammals that have been around for a very long time, and for thousands of years, have been an important figure in the material, spiritual and cultural life of indigenous people throughout the Arctic region. A ‘sister species’ to the brown bear, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) evolved somewhere around 350,000 – 6 million years ago, and at some point, split off from the brown bear and moved North, during which time a series of evolutionary changes occurred allowing the polar bear to survive the harsh conditions of the Arctic. The polar bear of today has black skin covering a layer of fat up to 4.49 inches (11.4 centimeters) thick, small ears, a short tail, and fur made of dense, insulating underfur with top guard hairs of varying lengths that prevent heat loss, and paws and claws perfect for roaming around the Arctic and swimming.

Home for a polar bear is on the ice in the Arctic region, including Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway (60-80% are in Canada), and it feeds almost exclusively on the fat of ice-dependent seals. As sea ice advances and retreats each season, polar bears may journey thousands of miles to find food, and they rely on the ice to travel, hunt seals, breed, and sometimes den.

Prior to the 1970’s, polar bear populations were in decline as a result of unsustainable hunting and trapping that began as far back as the 1600s, but a 1973 international agreement that strictly regulates commercial hunting helped the population numbers improve. It’s estimated there are currently 22,000-31,000 polar bears in the world. In the 21st century, however, polar bears face additional threats including pollution, oil & gas exploration/development, shipping, human-bear interactions, and climate change as Arctic sea ice is disappearing at an alarming rate. If ice-free periods exceed a polar bear’s fasting ability of 220 days, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for polar bears to survive, especially in areas that lack an alternate food source.

In May 2006, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added the polar bear to its ‘Red List’ of the world’s most imperiled animals, predicting a 30% reduction in the polar bear population in the next 45 years.

BYU Polar Bear Research Video: Working with Polar Bears International, Brigham Young University Professor of Wildlife Sciences, Tom Smith, and his students are engaged in a multiyear study to monitor maternal polar bear den sites in Alaska and to determine how climate change is impacting these animals.

Information/Resources:
Polar Bear International (Polar Bears 101, Human Interaction, Tracking Map & FAQ)
Defenders of Wildlife – Basic Facts About Polar Bears
World Wide Fund For Nature – Polar Bear Status
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Red List of Threatened Species -Polar Bears
Conservation of Polar Bears in Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada
How a Production Team Broke Cameras and Braved -30° to Shoot Polar Bears in 4K, by Emily Buder, No Film School (August 2, 2017)

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from the Untitled Film Works video, Ghosts of the Arctic
Photo of Arctic polar bear is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels, CC0

Epic Skimo

December 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) involves climbing a mountain on skis or by carrying them and descending on skis using varied ski touring, Telemark, backcountry skiing and mountaineering techniques. A recreational as well as competitive sport, skimo requires a high level of physical ability and stamina along with technical know-how and skills. Enthusiasts enjoy the adventure, variety of terrain, extreme challenges, and pushing limits.

In the mountains, you may find a ‘Netherworld’ … “where pain, grief, joy and exhilaration mix into moments of transcendent beauty”.*

In 2018, ski mountaineers, Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, completed the first ski descent of the 27,940-foot (8,516 m) Mount Lhotse, part of the Everest massif and the fourth-highest mountain in the world. An incredible accomplishment when you consider the extreme challenge of just climbing to the summit of Lhotse (less than 400 climbers have summited Mount Lhotse and at least 20 have died trying), and there have been about a dozen failed attempts to ski down. Video documentary, Lhotse, tells the story of Hilaree and Jim’s extraordinary climb up and ski descent with personal and expert commentary and mind-blowing photography of this “mini-miracle” skimo adventure.

In 2016, Aaron Rice set out to climb and ski 2.5 million vertical feet in the backcountry without using climbing assistance from motorized equipment (e.g., chair lifts, helicopters), challenging the world record of 2 million vertical feet set by Greg Hill in 2010. It’s an epic endurance test as Aaron must chase after snow around the world and ski more than 330 days in order to accomplish his record breaking goal. Watch this amazing journey in the short video 2.5 million, filmed, directed and edited by Tyler Wilkinson-Ray.

Video documentary Follow Through tells the story of skier Caroline Gleich’s motivation and determination to ski the 90 difficult and insanely dangerous ski mountaineering lines in the backcountry of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains first described by ski mountaineer Andrew McLean in his **1998 book “The Chuting Gallery: A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch Mountains”.

Information/Resources:

International Ski Mountaineering Federation – governing body for ski mountaineering competitions
United States Ski Mountaineering Association – sanctions and governs competitive ski mountaineering racing in US, and promotes recreational ski mountaineering. The USSMA website includes how-to information, resource links and videos.
*The Long Road To Lhotse by David Bunker, Tahoe Quarterly, Winter 2018-19

Avalanches are a powerful and deadly threat to ski mountaineers as well as anyone living or playing in snow-covered mountainous areas; therefore, no one should venture out in the backcountry unless up to speed on avalanche safety and accident prevention measures.

You should also watch Adventure Skiing (Free to Watch, On-Demand video documentaries) Adventure skiers travel the world, discovering great beauty and dangers in the mountain landscapes of Europe, Asia, North and South America, and the Middle East.

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Feature photo is courtesy of Robson Hatsukami Morgan/Unsplash, CC0

Telemark Skiing

December 15, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Telemark skiing (aka ‘teleskiing’), combines Alpine and Nordic skiing techniques, including cross-country, slalom and ski jumping, with special lightweight ski equipment for travelling both up and downhill. Introduced in the late 19th century by Norwegian farmer, Sondre Norheim, telemark skiing was primarily used as a mode of transportation through backcountry regions until a resurgence in the early 1970’s as an alternative backcountry skiing style. It’s now an international sport, officially recognized in 1995 by the Federation International de Ski (FIS) with competitions involving several race formats that combine elements of speed and rhythm with giant slalom gates, distance ski jumping, and skating from Nordic skiing.

WATCH On2In2™

It’s the 2019 FIS Telemark World Ski Championships! Live streaming from Rjukan, Norway (March 20-24). If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located top right corner of the media player below ↓

If you missed the live stream broadcast of 2018-19 Telemark World Cup Tour competition, you can watch video recordings of tour stops — just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media players below ↓

If you missed the live stream broadcasts of the 2018 FIS World Cup Telemark season, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition, just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

Information/Resources:

FIS Telemark (event list and results)
United States Telemark Ski Association
British Telemark Ski Team
The Ups and Downs of Telemark Skiing (And 5 Reasons Why You Should Give it a Try) by Tim Jones, Appalachian Mountain Club website (December 21, 2015)

It’s FREE To WATCH 2019 Alpine Ski Racing

Watch adventure skiers travel the world discovering great beauty and dangers in the backcountry— A Skier’s Journey, a video series by Vancouver filmmaker Jordan Manley

Feature photo ‘Mt Adams Descent’ by Flickr user, Bill Devlin, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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