Getting ski bums to do anything other than ski can be challenging. But Columbia Sportswear has stumbled upon a genius solution: offer the single-minded slacker the ability to ski or ride for three full months on someone else’s dime.  The winner of the Ski Bum Scholarship Program gets roundtrip airfare to Colorado, a plush condo for 90 days in Dillon, a season pass to eight resorts (Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper, Steamboat, Winter Park, and Arapahoe Basin), a four-wheel-drive rental to access the resorts, and a “generous” daily food stipend.  Just upload a video to YouTube proving you’re worthy. Ten finalists will be selected (each winning a $200 gift card), and one finalist will become the envy of the rest of the known ski and riding population. If you win that coveted honor, all you have to do is provide two updates a week via tweet, FB, or Instagram (or, as we call it, brag a lot) and try to not let your good fortune fool you into thinking that this will happen every ski season.

moots.com
Fall is everywhere—the cloud of cooler air in the morning, the trees ablaze with autumn’s earthly palate, and the days growing shorter. As much as we live in the moment, we also have to reign in our excitement for when the white stuff starts to fall.  Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based Moots Bikes shares our forward-thinking.  For the second winter season they’re offering a limited number of the FrosTi Snow Bike. These fat-tire rigs are for cyclists who really love the white stuff. Place an order for the $3,975 titanium frame with any authorized Moots dealer along with a $1,000 deposit by November 1, and you’ll have the bike by December 15. The super-fat bike frames come with a 170 mm rear spacing, a geo-designed rigid fork (which is suitable for 80 mm 29ers for when the weather warms), and a 30.9 seat post.  The 2012 frame ain’t cheap—and you will have to outfit the rest of the bike components. But it’s likely the only way you’ll be able to bike through the snow this winter—at least without constantly falling.
Expect a very limited run on all models, with four frame sizes, from 16 to 22 inches

www.snowpeak.com, 2.4 ounces
We seldom like it when people take something we love and mess with it—but in this instance, we applaud the move.  The Hozuki Lantern is an icon in Snow Peak’s camping boutique line, and the Mini is a smaller, perhaps wiser considering the price, alternative.  Named after the sacred plant that served as the design for the ancient Chinese paper lantern, this light includes an innovative “candle mode” that lets the LED flicker in response to sound or wind—you get that candle-lit ambience in your tent without, you know…burning down your tent.  The light has other settings as well, including high, low, stobe, and variable dim.  Fed by 3 AA batteries, it’ll burn for 70 hours (on low). Max lumens come in at 60—sufficient for reading or doing the dishes. Oh, and its only two inches tall.
In stores October 15

The frame of the already-popular Uzzi bike from Intense Cycles will undergo a full redesign for 2013 that will add six to seven inches of adjustable travel in the rear for both all-mountain free riding.  A new hydro-formed tubing will make the frame lighter, stronger, and more rigid, and a new, asymmetrical swing arm configuration will also allow higher front derailleur and tire clearance.  The pink color? We doubt it’ll be the only option…

 

Kali‘s new Maraka XC Helmet employs three technologies into one cross-country mountain bike lid, including a bumper fit for a snug, custom fit that also absorbs shock on impact (pictured right). We’re most excited about the composite fusion, which employs the use of softer foam for the touch points where you head meets the helmet. But our heads will likely appreciate the new venting technology, which reinforces the helmet’s venting architecture to make it much stronger against impact.