When you talk with people from places like Denmark, Greece, and the Virgin Islands, not to mention every corner of our own continent and our home state of Maine, you realize how many people are working through the same types of challenges.

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This February we are focusing on the role games can (and should) play in outdoor sport. Who doesn’t like to play games? A well-crafted game can change everything when it comes to learning something new or honing existing skills.

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February deserves more credit for the role it plays in our calendar. January might show up with a new year, but when February arrives it brings with it more daylight, more snow (at least in some places), and more opportunity to be outside. Winter shifts from its dark beginnings to its prime days of outdoor fun. February is like the July of winter, full of the season’s best promises.

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Even though Dick regularly leads epic mountain experiences, his goal is to help break down the everyday challenges of getting outside. We caught up with Dick in late December to find out more about what a life spent teaching and guiding in the mountains has shown him to be most important for aspiring outdoor leaders.

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We’ve probably all heard some version of Einstein’s famous quote “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” It’s a nice reminder that learning is a never-ending journey, and one that requires humility. Though at times I think this “knowledge paradox” can leave us feeling a bit overwhelmed. Maybe we’re trying to teach our first ski lesson, lead a winter hike to a new place, or answer an eager student’s question. In those moments it’s nice to have some confidence that we’re doing things the “right way”.

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Community has the power to remind us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Maybe you had a local rope tow, a town skating rink, or a gnarly sledding hill that highlighted your childhood winters. These are the types of community recreation spots that fill the need to get out into the winter air and share a space with others.

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Pandemics aside, this time of year creates plenty of challenges to getting outside and seeing others. I’m as compelled as the next person to hide away and wait for brighter, longer days. Each fall, however, when that urge to hibernate sets in, I consider myself profoundly lucky. The amazing people that joined me week after week through the harshest months of the year in Maine’s hinterlands gifted me an important lesson: community is an antidote to gloom.

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In a normal year, community outdoor programming during the winter months is an important way to help folks connect with each other and nature. This year it’s essential. Winter activity doesn’t have to be limited to skiing. Snowshoeing, fat biking, running, skating, and walking are all great winter activities, not to mention building snow forts and sledding.

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This idea that you can improve if you’re willing to put in the effort and not be deterred by failure is commonly known as having a “growth mindset”, and it’s a popular concept. I haven’t met anyone that thinks this mindset is a bad idea, but conceptually understanding it and actually developing it are two different things.

If having this powerful mindset is so helpful, why is it so hard to develop?

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Mindset is a crucial part of outdoor sport. Growth depends on both physical and mental fitness. Building a better mindset not only helps you to progress in your chosen outdoor pursuits, but it also allows you to navigate the struggles, disappointments, successes, and failures that come with outdoor experiences. Although we spend significant time talking about mindset, sometimes it’s hard to get a handle on concrete ways to improve your mental fitness and build a better outlook. Here are a few takes on bettering your mindset in outdoor sports; some tips, strategies, and ideas to help get you and your outdoor community thinking about a positive and effective mental state during your outside time.

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Trail awareness is understanding what’s happening with a certain trail and how it is forming our perception of that trail. Almost all of us have had the experience of using a trail and not giving it a second thought. What follows are some questions to get you to tune in the next time you’re out on your local trails. The idea here is not to judge or rank your trails, but rather, just observe, pay attention, and see what you can learn.

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When doubt creeps in we all appreciate seeing the trail marker or having a heads up about the hazards we might encounter. Reassurance can help us overcome the barriers that fear presents. Right now, it’s hard to feel that reassurance as schools go back in and we enter a new season. If there’s one thing that the outdoors and outdoor sport can teach us, though, it’s how to work with discomfort, fear, and exploring the unknown.

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In our typically-comfortable lives we don’t regularly experience what it’s like to try something that feels scary (in fact, we usually try to avoid it). Biking through the woods, paddling a rapid, or skiing down a hill can carry with it a sense of physical threat that brings on emotions we aren’t used to processing. This means fear, especially in a new environment, might actually present as something else we’re more familiar with such as agitation, feeling sick, or even indifference.

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We like to think of outdoor sports as being the kind of activities that get us outside playing as well. I’m guessing it’s rare though that many of us find ourselves paddling, skiing, or running around with the kind of joyful abandon this little girl was displaying. Why is that?

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Getting out for a bike ride, hike, or paddle doesn’t have to be strenuous or terrifying. In fact, we’ll often do more to improve at outdoor sport for ourselves and successfully engage others if we think about maximizing play. Head to the pump track, play tag in your kayak, or set up a silly obstacle course or scavenger hunt. It’s time to have some fun.

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Many of us think of the outdoors as a safe haven. It’s a place we can escape to, a place we can regain balance and find perspective. It’s comforting to think that the natural world is a place untainted by inequality, politics, and societal conflict.

Except, of course, that’s not true.

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The good news is that we still can get outside under the circumstances, keeping a few easy recommendations in mind. We’re navigating this “new” normal in the outdoors with you. We’ve been reading the research, staying up-to-date as guidelines change, and developing plans for how best to help you get outside.

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Since our world changed several weeks ago, like many of you, I haven’t been out doing the things I normally do. Outdoor sports might seem fundamentally okay in times like these, but there are good reasons not to go about our normal routine. Not to mention it’s springtime in the northeast, and a mix of mud, snow, and rain make it a challenging time to tread lightly in the outdoor spaces we love.

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We held our first community activity, and no one came... Over the course of the summer we had 1 or two people show up to a few of our activities and clinics. The first few months were slow, and our enthusiasm was dropping. We started to think, maybe no one in this town is interested or ever will be.  I wanted so dearly to have people participating in our activities though. I wanted this to work for my community, so we began to brainstorm. Our group began to talk about ways we could get the word out…

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