There was nothing but 30 feet of air and rock below me when I slipped. The world spun by in slow motion. I did my best to tuck my arms and legs as I tumbled, pinballing against trees and boulders, but there was nothing I could do to slow my speed. Finally, I landed like […]
My first lap on Colorado’s Dirty Bismark Trail after the Marshall Fire tore through it on December 30, 2021, took place on a sun-soaked, windy morning, eerily similar to the day of the blaze. As I passed through the first trailhead gate, I was flooded with anxious anticipation mixed with fear of what I’d see—or […]
Until recently, I did not make the connection between a synthetic jacket and a barrel of crude oil. But now I know: the vast majority of polyester is petroleum-based plastic. Fifty-seven million tons—more than any other fiber in the world—were produced in 2020 alone, according to the Textile Exchange, an international consortium of manufacturers. Few […]
Marjana Tafader peers down at her feet, her coral-and-magenta-patterned hijab tucked neatly beneath her face mask. The young climber’s fingers dance as she reaches slowly and carefully upward with her left hand, seeking the next hold. “Strong, Marjana. You’ve got this,” her belayer, Alexis Krauss, a group mentor, says softly, her heavily inked arms taut […]