Emma Athena on Muck Rack

Emma Athena

Carbondale, Colorado
As seen in: Issuu, Substack, The Conversation, The Daily Beast, SB Nation, The Irish Times, Irish Independent, Outside Magazine, Irish Examiner, Women's Health and
Covers:  Adventure sports, environmental science, public lands politics
Independent writer + reporter + editor. Investigating a life well-lived. Se habla español. Outdoor geek. (she/ella)

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Emma Athena’s Biography

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I started writing with a mechanical pencil in my pink journal, and now I’m an award-winning journalist. You’ll find profiles of notable athletes and entrepreneurs, accounts of my own adventures in the mountains, and translations of reports from scientists in environmental fields within my work.

I am a freelance writer and Boulder Weekly’s Adventure editor. My work has been featured in numerous local, regional, and national publications, including but not limited to: 5280, Alpinist, Climbing, C…

Emma Athena’s Journalist Portfolio

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A Race Against Time - Elevation Outdoors Magazine

A Race Against Time - Elevation Outdoors Magazine

The Rocky Mountains' glaciers are melting faster than once feared. The author heads out to set a speed record…

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How Fukushima's surf culture was revived in the wake of disaster

How Fukushima's surf culture was revived in the wake of disaster

Shinji Murohara sits in the cluttered office of his surfboard factory at the edge of Odaka, a sleepy seaside …

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Take It Higher - Elevation Outdoors Magazine

Take It Higher - Elevation Outdoors Magazine

Mountain runner, musician, and speed scrambler Kyle Richardson is shattering records and speaking out about c…

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Echoes of Time

Echoes of Time

Colorado's 14 named glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates.

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Chalk Up, Responsibly

Chalk Up, Responsibly

It's not hard to be a good business and do some good in the world. Thats' the thought behind thisColorado cli…

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Denver Teen to Play Violin Solo in Great Russian Nutcracker

Denver Teen to Play Violin Solo in Great Russian Nutcracker

Seventeen-year-old Andrea Liu of Denver tapped for solo violin performance with Moscow Ballet on December 14.…

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Articles

Gear Guide 2024: Road Trip Edition

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By Emma Athena
| Boulder Weekly Verified
With summer upon us, nothing feels more iconic than a road trip. That’s why we’re chasing the open road — that sense of freedom found in dirt tracks, good music, spontaneous jumps in water — with the potential for adventure at each turn, and snacks galore. These innovative, eco-friendly and locally available products will help get you to each pit stop and beyond, whether you head further into the mountains, drive out to a lake or pop into that cool motel you pass on your drive.
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3-Season Sleeping Bags Reviews Archives

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By Adam Roy Verified, Chris Meehan, Eli Bernstein Verified, Emma Athena
| Backpacker Magazine Verified
Thanks to impressively lightweight materials and a crazy-high down fill, Sea to Summit’s Spark Pro Down is a fully-featured bag that weighs just over a pound. A 0°F down bag for under $200 has us resting warm into the fall. Go green—and save some green—on this eco-friendly sleeping bag. Stay warm through hiking season with these top picks.
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This is going to hurt

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By Emma Athena
| Boulder Weekly Verified
Local poet Jade Lascelles doesn’t shrink from what she describes as “the collapsed moment, the moment of a brutality.” She approaches it, tries to make sense of it — tentatively, of course, as a dancer might in listening to a foreign piece of music. But Lascelles is no masochist, only a realist and an artist. As she established in her first collection of prose poems, The Inevitable, violence is woven into our social fabric: It’s impossible to escape, no matter how hard we try.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Intern, at Boulder Weekly. Everything comes full circle :)

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

Memory, observation and listening... and then of course, my computer and the free voice recorder that comes on each iPhone.

What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?

This life isn't easy, but it's worth it.

Awards

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2017 - Columns

For my coverage of climbing and mountaineering over the course of 2016.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2018 - Special section

For Boulder Weekly's 2017 "Vote Guide"

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Association of Alternative Newsmedia

2017 - Beat reporting

Articles include: - From Rescue to Recovery. Search and rescue teams need saving too. - Fighting to Live, One Obstacle at a Time. How a Tough Mudder gave an accident survivor a way back to life. - Team USA, Ready to Wade: The 36th FIPS-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships. - The Mahon Warrior Way. Redefining "weekend warrior." - Record-Setting Raboutous. The ultimate rock-star family.

Society of Professional Journalists Award

2019 - Arts and Entertainment and Food: Enterprise Reporting

First place for my story, "SMiLE it's good for you."

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2019 - Columns

For my coverage of trail running over the course of 2018.

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North American Travel Journalists Association

2020 - Long-form Narrative/Personal Essay

Honorable Mention

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