Kids make history but veterans lead the way in Skateboard Big Air at X Games Los Angeles

The Summer X Games in Los Angeles got off to a rousing start on Thursday (June 28) when the veterans showed the kids what it takes to score big in Skateboard Big Air.

True, both 15-year-old Mitchie Brusco and 12-year-old Tom Schaar landed the first 900s in X Games skateboarding history. But the top qualifying scores came from veterans like Brazilians Rony Gomes and Edgard Pereira, as well as Australian Jake Brown.

See how they did it and get pumped for Friday’s (June 29) Big Air final.

Is skateboarding turning into something like women’s gymnastics, where the youngest competitors tend to be the best? Read the story in the Los Angeles and get the lowdown.

X Games will be held June 28-July 1. Check out this viewing guide to watching on TV, the web and even Facebook. Here’s a complete competition schedule.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

You want rising stars? The Summer X Games has plenty of really young guns

Tom Schaar, 12, of Malibu, Calif., practices for the X Games (Ariana van den Akker / Los Angeles Times)

There are young stars and then there are REALLY young stars.

This weekend’s Summer X Games in Los Angeles has some really young stars: Jagger Eaton, 11, Tom Schaar, 12, and Trey Wood, 11. The trio (also friends) will compete on the MegaRamp in the Skateboard Big Air event beginning Thursday.

Is skateboarding turning into something like women’s gymnastics, where the youngest competitors tend to be the best? Read the story in the Los Angeles and get the lowdown.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

Adam Taylor to compete in X Games skateboard vert after recovering from brain injury

Adam Taylor

Talk about not ever giving up.

Sidelined by a traumatic brain injury for more than six months, pro skateboarder Adam Taylor has been OK’d by his doctor to compete in Skateboard Vert this week at X Games Los Angeles.

Taylor was injured in October of 2010 during vert practice at the Dew Tour’s season finale in Las Vegas and again while snowboarding last January.

There ARE limits. Taylor, who won silver last year in Big Air, won’t compete in that event. “Riding the MegaRamp is just, you know, heavy duty skateboarding. I don’t want to push it,” he told ESPN. Read more.

X Games will be held June 28-July 1. Check out this viewing guide to watching on TV, the web and even Facebook. Here’s a complete competition schedule.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

Bode Miller gets in the slow lane (and loves it)

Bode Miller loves spending time with his daughter.

When it comes to ski racing on the World Cup circuit, few people are faster than Bode Miller.

But the American racer in recent years has found one person who can slow him down every time — his 4-year-old daughter Neesyn Dacey.

Read about Miller’s simple summer fun with his daughter and his plans for skiing into the future, including what he thinks about another Olympic bid, in this New York Times story.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

Want to BASE jump off a 1,000-foot cliff in Moab? See how easy (and exciting) it is to do

Check out this amazing story and video by the New York Times on tandem base jumping in Moab (Chris Hunter for The New York Times)

Are you kidding?

It’s wild enough to try BASE jumping off a 1,000-foot cliff. But to do it as a complete novice? Who does that? Turns out ANYONE can, as this tremendous video shows.

So journey with us to Castle Valley in Utah, where guide Mario Richard makes a living (and creates thrills that will fill up multiple lifetimes) flinging himself and clients off cliffs.

Watch the video and read the New York Times story here.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

Sarah Burke will be posthumously inducted into Canada’s Olympic Hall of Fame

Sarah Burke

It’s only fitting.

Even though Sarah Burke never competed in the Olympics, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced on June 12 that the late freestyle ski superstar would be inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in the “Builders” category.

Burke, who died in January at age 29 after a training accident in Utah, was instrumental in efforts to include ski halfpipe and slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Sochi.

Read more.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

Ride the Rockies send thousands of bike riders rolling through Colorado for more than 400 miles

DAY 1

It’s hard to believe, but the Denver Post’s 27th annual Ride the Rockies started rolling on Sunday, with some 2,500 people traveling 79 miles from Gunnison to Hotchkiss. Except for some strong wind, the riders enjoyed the day (Read more).

While it’s too late to ride this year, now is a great time to think about riding this Colorado tradition next year. See where they are riding by checking out the route map and following the ride on Twitter or its blog. Want to ride next year? Learn more about Ride The Rockies. We think once you see the video above, a thrilling “Day One” descent, you’ll be hooked.

DAY 2

It was a day this rider dreaded. It was a day when “attitude adjustment” saved the day. Read and look at the wonderful photos from Day 2 of Ride The Rockies.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

X Games Los Angeles is sooner than you think

Are you ready for X Games Los Angeles?

Ready or not, there are plenty of ways to watch the 21 hours of coverage promised by ESPN for the event that runs from June 28-July 1. And there’s music, too: Linkin Park will play during the event. Find out when and how to get tickets.

Find out how to buy tickets for event’s kick-off party, a charity event that will feature an appearance by Tony Hawk, among many others. Learn more.

Check out this viewing guide to watching on TV, the web and even Facebook. Here’s a complete competition schedule.

And we can’t resist pointing out this cool promo video, which mixes live action and animation.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

Outside Magazine delivers the best gear in Summer Buyer’s Guide for 2012

The Scott Contessa Spark RC

We have heard more than a few people say that warm weather has arrived too quickly this year. For the record, we respectfully disagree. We’re ready to hike, backpack and hit the trails on our bike.

You need new gear to do that, of course. That’s why you need to visit Outside Magazine’s “Summer 2012 Buyer’s Guide,” which the mag says includes “315 field-tested products, including 170 killer deals for under $150.” Among the products you’ll find:

• 3 best women’s mountain bikes
• 9 Bouldering Essentials
• 8 Women’s Running Essentials
• 14 top items that earn Gear of the Year

There’s much more, of course, so visit the entire Summer Buyer’s Guide.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.

A wild, wet weekend of action at Teva Mountain Games in Vail kicks off the summer season

Slack lining competition over the weekend (Teva Mountain Games)

The Teva Mountain Games lit up Vail over the weekend with its usual brand of adrenalin-soaked competition.

Some of the competition is REALLY wild. On Sunday, for instance, the “8 Ball Competition” featured kayakers paddling down Gore Creek as fast as possible while other kayakers rammed them and submerged them. It made for a great competition and also produced some scary moments. Read what happened.

The Denver Post wrote a story about how more of these events might end up soon in the Olympics.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.