I’ve used SaltStick electrolyte tablets for about a year now. With the slightly grainy/powdery texture similar to that of a SweetTart candy, they’re a nice electrolyte option for the gel- or gummy-block-averse. I’ve packed these in the pocket of my trail running pack to stay balanced while carrying just water in my hydration bladder. I’ve also used them to get a boost of electrolytes before a crossFit workout, when I’ve been sipping on too much coffee through the morning, or during travel on airplanes.  

What’s in them? In each serving (2 tablets), there are 100mg sodium, 30mg potassium, 10mg calcium, and 6mg magnesium with a natural stevia sweetener and no artificial colors. I personally cannot abide the watermelon flavor of SaltStick, but the salty-tart green apple hits just right. Find your favorite of eight flavors.  

These are marketed to help in heat-stress situations to prevent cramping, but if you’ve ever cramped in snow pants, you’ll recognize they’re useful anytime you’re sweating hard. Particularly useful on a wet or snowy outing, SaltStick packaging is waterproof. Pro tip: save the sample size package with zipper to refill from a bulk bottle to keep it pocket-friendly. Find SaltStick at your local Fleet Feet, REI or at Thefeed.com. (Lisa Laughlin)   

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For Ben and Kacey Deakins, owners of Solnix, running a local gear shop is just a way to tap into what they really love: the passionate outdoors community of Spokane. Have just one conversation with either of them, as we did one morning this fall, and you can sense their love for that community and how it translates to a great gear shop culture. 

The Deakins have been at the helm of Solnix, formerly known as Shred Sports, since December 2023. “Sol” means sun, “nix” means snow, and the cross-season nod in Latin isn’t just indicative of the gear options you can find in the shop; Ben and Kacey do all the sports in all the seasons, which has included teaching their five kids to snowboard on local mountains. It puts them in a prime position to curate and recommend top-of-the-line gear that will perform for their customers, like kids’ gear designed to expand as kids grow.  

Ben’s roots with the shop go back to the mid-90s, when he got a job as a teen at what was then called Sports Outlet. The shop sported a neon color scheme and discount gear that had been over-manufactured. Kacey, who he was dating at the time, drove him to his work shifts on Argonne from Deer Park, because he didn’t have a car. Ben left the shop for a career in the corporate world in the early 2000s but often still took shifts when he was back in town for seasonal stints. Even when he traveled for his full-time job, shop culture was on his radar; he stopped in at gear shops across the country to check out the offerings and chat with employees. “I like to talk about gear. That’s always been a part of my life,” says Ben. 

Josh, the shop manager at Solnix, walked in for the morning, and Ben paused our interview to introduce us. Josh gave a wave and headed to the back of the shop to get ready for the day.  

During his travels, Ben noticed that some shops had a far more welcoming atmosphere than others. In late 2022, when the opportunity arose for Ben to take the lead at Shred Sports, he knew the type of shop culture he wanted to continue.  

“The overwhelming trend when you go into another shop [can be that] you just don’t feel like you’re welcome. You’re not core enough, not wearing the right clothes, or maybe you don’t look like you have enough money, whatever that is. As the leader of the shop, I feel like overall the culture and the vibe of the shop is that anyone can walk through that door and be welcome. Our employees are valued and shown that they matter to the business,” he says.  

Ben’s oldest son, Rome, walked in for his shift. Ben paused our interview to put us on a first-name basis and told a story about buying snow gear for Rome that lasted through all five kids.  

Solnix is a family affair: Kacey works side by side with Ben, and most of their kids have pulled time behind the counter. It’s a metaphor for how rooted Solnix is in the local outdoors community. They treat other members of that community like family.  

To support that larger community, Ben and Kacey started an annual parking lot movie night each November, a kickoff to winter that raises funds for the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center (IPAC). They’ve continued the employee mountain party that the shop has historically hosted, a private event for employees of the four local mountains—ski patrol members and lifties alike—to gather at the shop for food, beer, prizes, and a special discount on brand-new gear, so even teen employees can have a shot at getting outfitted in the best brands. “I think that’s one of the real flagship events for the shop, where it’s just to give back,” says Ben. “It’s to show appreciation for them keeping the mountains open, and it’s a fun night.”  

Connor walked in for his shift a bit before opening time, 9 a.m., and Ben again paused to introduce us, greeting him by first name like he did each employee.  

Solnix offers first responders and ski patrol members discounts year-round to help stoke the backbone of the outdoors industry they love. They’ve also continued the Out Cold event, an early December party (held Dec. 9 at Brickwest Brewing this year) that shows the “super cheesy” ‘90s snowboarding movie and offers attendees raffle prizes and free ski and board waxings, with funds donated to a local snowboard and ski nonprofit like IPAC or Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol. This year, it will be IPAC, which lost some of its funding from federal budget cuts.  

“I love Spokane,” says Ben. “We were born and raised in this area. And I know it gets a lot of shade, but it’s a great town. We have such abundant access to outdoor activities that there’s hardly a place around that could parallel it. I love the community, and I want people to do these sports, not just as a business.” 

Check out the Deakins’ curated gear and culture at Solnix at 4505 N. Division St. in Spokane. And don’t be surprised if you leave knowing a few names of the people working at the shop, supporting the outdoors industry we all love.  

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Stories connect us. That’s nothing new. But I’ve been thinking about the way stories connect us to place, specifically outdoor places, and the use of telling stories that are anchored in the natural world.  

When I’m outside, it usually starts with movement. Stories unravel as I walk with a friend on the trail, muscles at work. But stories also come to me at times of sitting: particularly around a fire (the oldest of storytelling places), or under a pine tree covered with snow, breaking for cold sandwiches after snowmobiling in the backcountry, feeling alive and alert just for existing in that remote, snow-bright place. 

Perhaps we’re at our most story-ready when we’re outside because we’re away from television and traffic, already looking to connect with something transcendent. Maybe we crave stories when we’re outside because the world feels bigger there, where the snow-muffled silence is both beautiful and hard to sit with, where we feel small on the face of a mountain. Maybe we go to these places to find stories, to sharpen the ones we know or are still discovering. To go into the wilds and come back with fresh-foraged tales.  

I have certain places that are story-anchored: an alpine lake and set of trails in the Cascades always bring up stories of past backpacking trips. If you’ve connected deeply enough with a place, I’ll bet you’ve cached the threadworks of stories there, too. I believe places can hold stories in a near-physical way, like how a familiar creek crossing or a wave of fireweed in bloom might trigger your story recall with their place-based cues. We could call these “story cairns.” Why follow them?  

The stories of the outdoors that we tell are bigger-than-us stories. They’re of-the-earth and environment stories. They’re stories that show we’re paying attention. And those stories are worth megaphoning these days. Grounding those tales on a set of skis, sleds or snowshoes makes them ring specific to our outdoors community.  

Each time we put together this magazine, we’re rounding up those stories that feel megaphone-worthy. Stories of celebration, mishaps and near-misses—all the things that amaze and surprise us when we go out into this complicated world.  

In this issue of Out There, we look back at the making of “Ski Flakes,” the regional ski videos that started at Schweitzer in the ‘90s, to consider how storytelling can both shape and preserve a culture. We share the adventure of an 89-year-old who bagged the last trail on his 100-hikes list, a story of perseverance. And, for the first time, we’ve included a handful of poems, a storytelling form that might be considered a journey in its reading.  

In each of them? A celebration of the ways you can get out there this winter in pursuit of the connections that make us human. 

• Lisa Laughlin, managing editor 

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Cover photo courtesy of Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce

Grant County’s only bike shop opened its doors in Moses Lake this summer, offering bike repairs, select sporting goods, and new and used bikes, including entry-level e-bikes. The shop is a welcome addition to the Central Washington community after the closing of Tri-State Outfitters following COVID. Shop co-founder Andrew Spark says he’s excited to serve all of the cyclists living in the Moses Lake area. While many cyclists travel to Wenatchee, Spokane or Beezley Hills in Ephrata to ride, having a home shop will help stoke the local cycling community by offering in-town bike maintenance and gear options. 

Sun City Cycle & Sports also carries a curated line of disc golf supplies, including beginner- to pro-level discs. Why disc golf and bikes? Because the shop owners love both sports. Spark says the disc golf course at nearby Blue Heron Park is a hidden gem in the region. Sun City is also offering consignment for used bikes that are still in good shape and plans to carry skateboards soon to support the passionate local skatepark scene. Drop by the shop in downtown Moses Lake at 312 S. Division St. 

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Hurlen Patano and McBurney used a travel planning service called Kimkim, which set them up with in-country travel agents that are vetted and use Kimkim’s platform for communication. It fit their budget, which wasn’t extreme, and took all the stress out of trip planning in a foreign country. The travel agency planned all the transport, their connecting flights, and they never wasted a second in getting to the ski hill or getting stressed wondering if they were on the right path.  

They also worked with a company called Responsible Travel, which partnered them with an in-country Chilean guide who catered to their travel wants. Swimming? In winter? Sure, said the guide, and jumped in with them. They got an inside look at the local farmers’ market and food scene, and were able to communicate the want for an entry-level hike in Patagonia. Their guide hit the mark every time.  

The pair would also recommend finding a private van and a good driver for the trip from Santiago up into the mountains. While a bit more costly, they were able to get on the snow and ski for two hours on their first day while other skiers in shared vans had to stop for pick-ups all along the mountain.  

At Ski Portillo, it was important to pack your bag strategically before check-in so you could ski the same day you arrived. Hurlen Patano had her ski bag packing down to a science.  

McBurney used a service called Powder Quest in Argentina to schedule a tour that included six days of skiing with local guides. They visited three lift-served resorts, showed the group their favorite side-country ski spots, and took care of ordering food at each meal for a great experience. 

Ghezzi’s best travel tips are to make sure you have all the required paperwork to drive across the border if you plan on renting a vehicle. He used a rental company called Wicked South America. He also recommends asking about phone charging options or packing a portable charger, downloading maps to access offline before you go (Google Maps, HERE WeGo, or Maps.me), packing Ziploc bags for snacks on the mountain, and bringing a 10-foot extension cord with three outlets to charge multiple electronics while resting. (Lisa Laughlin) 

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Cover photo courtesy of Susan McBurney

As the closing day of ski season at Mount Bachelor neared in May of 2024, ski friends Rebecca Hurlen Patano and Susan McBurney booked their rooms for Ski Portillo, an iconic resort in Chile. The goal: get on skis during summer and experience legendary terrain in the Andes Mountains. The two packed their gear and left Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Wash., in mid-August.  

Both women are passionate, lifelong skiers in their early 60s who have hit many of the usual ski bum milestones, including 100+ day ski seasons. But neither had skied the Andes. When I spoke with them at my dining room table after their trip, there was one word they both used to describe the experience: the scale. The scale of the mountains was incomparable.  

McBurney and Hurlen Patano spent a week at Ski Portillo, a bright yellow lodge with wooden accents perched at 9,500 feet among some of the most dramatic mountains on earth. Highly sought by international skiers and World Cup athletes in training, Portillo is unique in its old-world style that makes the ski experience the main focus. There are zero televisions, and not much else to do other than ski and chat with others who booked some time in the middle of snowy nowhere. Which is precisely the point.  

“Portillo is magic. It’s skiers’ magic,” says Hurlen Patano, who brought a mini snow globe adorned with the Chilean flag and bottles of wine to her interview with me. She thinks of Ski Portillo as a magic snow globe of its own. 

McBurney, who had wanted to travel to Chile ever since learning our seasons were reversed as a grade-schooler, says she bawled when she first saw the mountains on the drive up from Santiago. The van driver pulled over while the women tried to explain they were happy tears. Despite a language barrier, he nodded; he understood how the impact of the mountains could hit the first time.  

The women soon found themselves skiing above treeline looking at glaciers in one of the most stunning mountain ranges in the ski world. They had fog on day one, but clear weather after that, and even caught a powder day. They skied into Tio Bob’s, a ski-in bar at the top of the world. They rode the unique and unnerving slingshot-style Roca Jack surface lift. They skied off-piste. They chewed cacao leaves to mitigate headaches from high altitude.  

In addition to Portillo, the friends skied at the Valle Nevado resort out of Santiago. They soaked in hot springs in the chilly Atacama Desert at 8,000 feet. They enjoyed pisco sours, the national drink. They listened to the music of many languages in the hot tub after a day on skis. They were surprised by a flock of Andean condors during a hike in Patagonia. They found generous people, excellent food, and a community connected by a love of skiing. Both women said they woke up this summer thinking again about Ski Portillo. 

“Looking at the Andes, being in the Andes, is a great experience that seeps into our body and mind,” says Hurlen Patano. “Just looking at the rock formations, colors, and glaciers and the extreme steepness. It was life changing and mesmerizing. And we got to ski it!”  

McBurney continued on solo after Chile for six days of skiing in the Argentine Patagonia near Bariloche. There she found more tree skiing, lower elevations, and smaller resorts. She gelled with a group of seven strangers and two local guides for a highlight experience. “It felt more culturally connected to me, as a ski destination,” she says. Her group visited three lift-served resorts and their guides showed them their favorite backcountry ski spots. 

McBurney thought that maybe once she went on her dream trip, she’d be satiated. But she found the opposite to be true.  “There’s something about that country and its stunning diversity and the styles of food from north to south,” she says. “I will go back.”   

While Japan is also on Hurlen Patano’s ski list, the pair loved the opportunity the Andes presented to ski in an incredible place while the Inland Northwest sweated through a heat wave. What skier wouldn’t?  

Lisa Laughlin is the managing editor of Out There Venture. This fall, she will be running the trails in Riverside State Park, looking forward to the changing brush and calling geese.  

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When you live a few hundred miles from the ocean, it’s smart to track the source of your seafood. When the vendor is at your local farmers’ market and goes by the name “Captain Rob,” you’re probably on the right track.  

Rob Davis is quick to tell you why his seafood is unique to the Spokane area. Everything is wild-caught and frozen at the peak of freshness (never frozen twice, never thawed). He works with fishermen who practice responsible harvesting. And he knows the waters.  

Davis began fishing when he was seven, pursued his captain’s license, and has since fished all over the world, including on a 160-foot crab boat in the Bering Sea. He lives in Deer Park, Wash., but travels back often to fish the wild waters off Alaska. This is the second year Captain Rob has brought seafood to a local consumer market.  

“I didn’t expect it to be so satisfying talking to people and educating our customers about our beautiful and delicious seafood,” says Davis. While Davis’ seafood offerings vary each week, you can find Pacific halibut, black cod, rockfish, wild Alaskan king salmon, crab clusters and—occasionally—fresh crab legs.  

Seafood offers athletes a great recovery meal with inflammation-reducing omega-3 fatty acids and high-quality protein. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals that support the immune system. 

 Local farmers markets end in October, but you can find Captain Rob’s wild seafood at the new Scale House Market year-round. Follow Captain Rob’s Wild Seafood on Facebook for flash deals and weekly offerings.

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Cover photo courtesy of Spokane Riverkeepers

Last summer, the Spokane Riverkeeper tested the Spokane River for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals”) as part of a national study with the Waterkeeper Alliance. They found significant hazardous levels of PFAS in the Spokane River and have pinpointed at least one likely source: land-applied biosolids.  

Land-applied biosolids refer to treated sewage sludge that is spread on land as fertilizer. Innovative upcycling, perhaps, but it is being done without testing for PFAS compounds, which accumulate in our environment. Additionally, the effectiveness of PFAS filtration at our city’s water reclamation facility, which dumps treated sewer water into the Spokane River, has not been evaluated.  

When the Spokane Riverkeeper collected water samples downstream of the Spokane Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility, they found concentrations of four types of PFAS that exceeded the EPA’s level to safely ingest water, fish or shellfish.  

PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in everyday products such as waterproof rain jackets, pesticides, ski wax and firefighting foam since the 1950s. Health impacts from PFAS have been linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, hormone disruption and more. The national Waterkeeper Alliance writes that PFAS chemicals are present in at least 45% of tap water in the United States today.  

Now that we know biosolids-linked PFAS are in our local waterways, the question becomes not how to get rid of these chemicals (they’re called “forever chemicals” for a reason), but how to stop contamination at the source. We’re looking to stem the bleeding, and the Spokane Riverkeeper is on triage. 

With movement toward federal-level rollbacks on drinking water regulations, it will be up to local organizations like the Spokane Riverkeeper, the Washington State Department of Ecology, Spokane County and the City of Spokane to call for regular PFAS testing and regulation to prevent our waterways from further mass contamination.  

The Spokane Riverkeeper will work with the Department of Health in coming months to create a consumption advisory for anglers, since eating contaminated fish is a significant way humans ingest PFAS chemicals. “Eating a single serving of contaminated freshwater fish can be the equivalent of drinking water contaminated with a high level of PFAS for a month (Barbo, et al, 2023).,” wrote Katelyn Scott, attorney and water protector of the Spokane Riverkeeper, on the organization’s online River Journal in June.  

Scott is committed to creating testing regulations for the local PFAS problem, pointing out that it is a matter of social justice when PFAS-related health issues will affect low-income and tribal subsistence fishing communities most. “When fish are no longer safe to eat, these groups bear the disproportionate burden of both health risks and the loss of access to traditional and affordable food sources,” writes Scott. 

Learn more about the issue and stay informed at Spokaneriverkeeper.com or Waterkeeper.org/pfas. You can also follow the Spokane Riverkeeper on social media. 

The post PFAS Chemicals Discovered in Spokane River  appeared first on Out There Venture.

I’ve had a good run of fortune in my outdoor adventures, but I got the call this summer that no spouse wants to get when their partner is in an endurance race. It was the sheriff, an hour into the Ironman 70.3 Boise, telling me that my husband had crashed on the bike course. He was down hard. 

I stepped into the terrible floating space of not knowing how bad the damage was for a few moments. We were fortunate; he had an obliterated collarbone, five broken ribs, and a partially collapsed lung. His Smith MIPS helmet had saved him from head or spine trauma. When I met him at the ER, two young kids in tow, he was smiling above a neck brace.  

The experience brought up a lot of thoughts for me about the risks and rewards that define the outdoor pursuits we love. Even when we’re trained, and competent, and are having a great day, accidents happen. It’s a risk we accept in varying degrees of awareness whenever we set out on the trail. 

Whether or not that risk is worth it is up to every athlete to decide (and a good conversation to have with one’s family). But what shone through for my family during this incident was the incredible humanity at the edges of the accident. When my husband crashed, an athlete behind him stopped her race to call 911. She held his hand until the paramedics came. Two spectators stepped onto the course to flag oncoming cyclists, who were bombing down Lucky Peak around the crash site. One of them put his jacket over my husband, who was shivering with shock. I wish I could reach across time and space to say thank you to those people who stepped in without hesitation to help.  

That community — call it the cycling community, the Ironman community, or our greater humanity — is what was left glimmering as we waded through the days of post-accident surgery, the long drive back to Spokane, and the rearranging of our life as my husband started healing. We were filled with gratitude. 

Are endurance sports and their unique communities worth the risks we take? In part, that’s the wrong question. The risks and rewards are tightly braided. Together, they make a complex strand that’s something we hold onto. A reason for living. Hard to parse.  

My husband is already shopping for another helmet, another triathlon suit, and eyeing his next Ironman race. And I’m surprised at how okay I am with that. While I’ll still spend a lot of time analyzing that risk-reward strand, I can see how the community is a lifeline.  

This issue of Out There Venture covers all sorts of fall adventures and ways to get out in our region doing the things you love. But at the core of all that content is how to connect with this outdoors community. With people who adventure to live, who share stories and gear recommendations, who work together to protect our public lands and waterways. My hope is that you find a way to lean in, find a shared love, and do some good with it. I think that’s part of what all this adventuring is about.  

Lisa Laughlin, managing editor   

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