by: Chris

Sport is often visualized in strictly competitive terms, competitors in the eternal lock for glorious victory creating the obvious division among winners and losers. Some sports, however, have no losers. Over the last 15 years or so, we’ve seen the fruition of a different breed of sport, one in which participation, not victory, was the ultimate goal.

Alternative sports. Many of these came from humble beginnings and had been around for decades, but had remained out of the spotlight until a common bond pushed them to the forefront. Tear-inducing speed, insane drops and monumental challenges against nature became the new yard stick by which sport was measured. These sports were all about being out there and challenging one’s inhibitions and self, as opposed to taking on other competitors.

We all know the score. That fresh douse of powder inducing momentary blindness, the shocking chill of river keeping you alert through the tightest line, crackling jagged rock adhering to your fingertips enough to propel that last glorious lunge—these are the small moments that carry vital consequence and translate into huge memories. These moments turned sport from a game played for a shiny trophy into a way of life. Here at VIR we plan to keep you in the thick of it, at the crux of conquest—so you can be out there, even when you’re stuck here. We’re aiming to provide an extension of that unspoken community that we all share.

We’ll get rolling with reviews of product and places to keep you up to date on where to go and what to bring, war stories from our own time in the field, takes on events that define our sport, pertinent news and info and anything else that we can think of to keep you involved in the world of alternative sports. We’re all about inclusion, so we’re going at it from a mortal standpoint, with coverage focused on things that actually affect your life, rather than all pro action and exotic locales reached only with a 7 figure bank account or variety of sponsorships. Like we said, that’s what this game is all about—getting out there and doing it, and a little extra knowledge can only help.

One quick item to clear our conscience—Extreme—from here on this overused moniker is gone. Back in the 90’s things were qualitatively measured according to what degree of “extreme” they reached. Even then, that got played out pretty quickly and became more ironic then cool. Fast forward 10-15 years, and extreme is worn like a pair of long johns used while tackling Everest. It doesn’t matter what other term we throw down—alternative, adventure, outdoor—extreme, and more importantly Xtreme, are not going to rear their head on these pages.

With the semantics out of the way, time to move forward. Since winter’s around the corner, we’ll be kicking off with a focus on snowboarding/skiing and a look at what to expect for the ’08 season and where find your greatest ride. We’ll be putting out a series of articles to give you the prime info you need to plan out that epic winter you’ve dreamt about all summer. So keep your eyes peeled for our latest and greatest, and continue to get outside and live it.