Tim Wenger

Matador Network — On a backcountry ski expedition in Kyrgyzstan, the author discovers that the mountains can provide common ground across cultures.

Matador Network — The travel industry, and airlines in particular, have heavily relied on carbon offsets to at least give the appearance of effectively countering a flyer’s emissions. But pulling carbon straight from the air and storing it underground as rock is emerging as a way for the travel industry – and society at large – to correct some of our past climate-harming sins. As a traveler, you have a role to play in bringing this technology forward. Air travel is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for approximately 2 to 3 percent of total global CO₂ emissions. It’s true that flying has become more energy efficient through better design and engineering — more than twice as efficient per passenger since 1990. But that has not kept up with the growing demand for air travel, which quadrupled between 1990 and 2019. Aviation emitted about half a billion tons of CO₂ in 1990, compared to about 1 billion in 2019. In September 2021, the Swiss firm Climeworks inaugurated its carbon sequestration plant, Orca, near a geothermal power plant in Iceland. Orca uses renewable energy to extract CO₂ directly from the air, which is then stored underground in basalt rock formations where it mineralizes and becomes permanently trapped. The plant was the largest such operation when it opened. The result is the opposite of what happens when you hop onto a plane and fly across the world. Rather than emissions going into the atmosphere, they’re coming out – and that makes CO₂ removal through direct air capture a potentially major way to make flying, and travel more broadly, less impactful on the environment. Reported on the potential for direct air capture (DAC) to help mitigate emissions from air travel. There are strong arguments both for and against DAC, and I spoke with people on both sides for this story.

Lonely Planet — Writer Tim Wenger came to Oaxaca in search of mezcal and mole. Thanks to an off-hand recommendation, he ended up deep in the mountains and gained a whole new...

Matador Network — OUTLIER: COMMON, a new film from Dani Reyes-Acosta, advocates for underserved voices in the backcountry ski and snowboard community. What Dani Reyes-Acosta and her co-stars Vanessa Chavarriaga and Nina Aragon are doing in the forthcoming film OUTLIER: COMMON is charting a new path for unheard voices in the backcountry community. Regardless of where the film is viewed, one would be heartless to watch these three skiers and activists go about this journey without feeling empathy and, ultimately, pride in what they’re doing. This pride and empathy is the key to unlocking broad systemic change – in how society addresses massively complicated issues, in how humans interact with each other, and yes, even in whom we’re sharing the slopes with on a powder day.

Matador Network — Sustainable travel initiatives in Breckenridge, Colorado, including volunteer trail workdays, a plastic bag ban, and green lodging properties.

Matador Network — The writer embarks on a life-changing trip with Northern Escape Heli-Skiing in Terrace, British Columbia, and notes what to expect.

Matador Network — Northern British Columbia offers outdoor adventure and First Nations culture, including kayaking, hiking, fishing, and historical tours.

Matador Network — A dedicated snowboarder traces the sport back to its Turkish roots on a visit to Kaya Palazzo Ski & Mountain Resort.