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Featured Article
Going Where The Weather Suits My Snow: Yankee Springs
January 16, 2012 - Three of us went to Yankee Springs yesterday, Sunday, for *5 hours* of nonstop ski challenge, fun and scenery. Perfect packed powder conditions. ...It was *so nice* to feel real winter underfoot. It was cold (25F) and sunny all day. Blue skies and face tans. That's the great thing about low-overhead events like the Potto Raid, or skiing "just pl...  > Read Article
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From the Desk of OYB HQ... Up North News
OYB has an eBay Store!
March 07, 2011 - I've launched an eBay store for OYB. I've had the Outyourbackdoor username there for a few years, which I've used to sell luggage, books, magazines and other goodies. Heck, Martha and I have been eBaying since it started and we together have 1000+ sales with a 100% rating since, like, 1994. But I've ramped things up there, with over 100 items...  > Read Article

Donate! Help the OYB cause...
March 06, 2011 - I've had several people recently ask how they can support the OYB cause. I've been relying on my offerings of great books'n'goodies that you can't hardly get anywhere else as being the best way. "Money for stuff" is the only way I can understand making a living. But I can accept that OYB *stuff* isn't right for everyone. Also, I don't want to ...  > Read Article

Let's See Your Comments!
December 01, 2010 - Each of our OYB articles is now followed by a brand new, easy to use "Reader Comments" section, hosted by the 3rd party provider, Disqus. If you have a reaction to the story or had a similar experience or a tip to pass on, please do! (No more tricky registering via my Forum.) The OYB Forum is probably disabled right now, but really you should fe...  > Read Article

OYB Wall Calendars?
November 30, 2010 - What if each year I started offering Wall Calendars in the various main OYB themes? That is, diverse, candid, indie presentations of... *outdoor activities (w/ XC ski come winter!) *DIY fun in Michigan *bike culture *traditional seasonal outdoor subsistence sport (hunt, fish, trap, bow, gun, dog, snare, atlatl, flint, osage, net) *XC ski ...  > Read Article

OYB 10---Print Window to Modern Folkways
September 02, 2010 - [$6 postpaid.] This biggest-ever issue of OYB is a great way to get a full-figured view of the OYB scene! (I thought I was out of stock, but I just found a couple dozen. What fun! First come, first served...) The OYB "catazeen" has to be the only magazine of authentic, informal, do-it-yourself, indy adventure and outdoor culture. It also gives d...
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Welcome to the HQ for Indie Michigan News, Stories, & Good Things to Buy!
April 27, 2010 - UpNorth is about the independent culture and adventure scenes in Michigan. 100% of your purchases goes to fund this outreach. It's a hard-to-find books/media shop, but it also actively promotes the indie Michigan scene. Hi! I'm Jeff Potter and I run this place. UpNorth is the love-child of the national local culture media empire, OYB (Out You...  > Read Article

Should OYB & Company go Non-Profit?
April 23, 2010 - That's what I'm wondering. This is an educational cause, after all. Sure, I sell some things, but that's to support the Indie Outdoor culture and heritage outreach. I've always thought to just keep the whole thing simple, but maybe going Non-Profit would make the OYB mission clearer to the public. ? I've always thought that folks knew when they bou...  > Read Article

Best Ski Culture DVD Ever! -- "The Cross Country Experience -- Bill Koch"
January 27, 2012 - I can't believe I haven't had any mention of this wonderful, potentially life-changing movie until now. Actually, I did post about it -- in a Comment to a Sled story years ago. Ha! Hardly the prominence it deserves! I should rep this flick. I'm its biggest fan. Well, until YOU watch it, that is! The fans of this flick stack up pretty deep over the ...  > Read Article

Potto Raid 2012 Report & Pics
January 24, 2012 - The 7th Annual Potto Raid resulted in a broken ski and some bumps'n'bruises, but it's still the funnest, most challenging and most scenic XC ski race that nobody knows about. It also has the best prizes to fees ratio. Well, it's unbeatable there since the fee is zero, but the prizes are just plain dandy: Quality microbrew sixers! ...And various...  > Read Article

Singletrack Fever: Skills to Return to our Roots
January 22, 2012 - [NOW WITH PICS! 1/23/12] Here's a story of mine that "Silent Sports" ran last winter. It's a doozy! With lots of pics. Here's a link to the story on their website (http://www.silentsports.net/crosscountryskiing/117241278.html), but there aren't any pics. I'll run the pics after the text. Singletrack Fever: Skills to Return to our Roots ...  > Read Article

The Skidaddle: a "Must-have" New Trail-Skiing Technique
January 21, 2012 - It's common when skiing hiking trails to encounter eroded uphills with obstacles where the stride and herringbone aren't the only tools you need. You need a special new trick that's not mentioned or taught anywhere but here. (Dang! Where do we keep coming up with these finds? Why, the Real World, and nowhere else!) You need a compact side scampe...  > Read Article

Get Cold to Stay Warm
January 20, 2012 - How to stay warm this time of year? It can be tough. But there seems to be a knack to it. The main feature of the knack, as far as I've learned it, is that the first 15 minutes can be real cold and painful ... and that's OK. The key being: don't give up! Don't think "I'm not cut out for this," or that you're dressed wrong. If you're dressed rig...  > Read Article

Open Letter to Backcountry Magazine
January 17, 2012 - I just saw an old post on the "Fun til Death" blog (http://funtildeath.blogspot.com -- great bumpersticker) that caught my fancy. --Among all the posts that also caught my fancy. (Fun blog!) He's a Kalamazoo guy who loves outdoor fun. He wrote to the editor of "Backcountry" magazine asking that they include the Midwest in their coverage since...  > Read Article

Heikki Lunta! Heikki Lunta! --Make it snow, make it snow!
January 11, 2012 - OK, this is getting silly. But it's all going to change tomorrow. Right? Right!!! It's time to pull out all the stops! What we need to make it a sure thing is for everybody to do the Heikki Lunta dance and to sing the song. The Heikki Lunta story is a great one that everybody should know. ...How the poor Yooper Heikki Lunta danced and sang...  > Read Article

Here's a Quote...
"We're all Mozart til we throw in the towel."
— Jack Saunders, his website