We Discovered the 'Center Of The Outdoors Universe'

We’ve been around the world, to dozens of outdoors competitions, to expos and trade shows… but never before this past weekend, when we attended the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, Colo., had we seen what just might have been the actual Center Of The Outdoors Universe.

Seriously. The epiphany came when we were sitting atop Gerber Gear’s massive “Black Boar” van during a live broadcast interviewing an athlete.

Double vision! An immense crowd took over the river all weekend at the GoPro Games; photo by Rick Lohre

Less than 50 feet from our setup was a literal vortex of epic outdoors sports taking place in and above the crushing waters of Gore Creek, including kayakers playing in the rapids, SUP boarders paddling downstream, a slack-liner inching over a void, hundreds of spectators, an announcer, music, gear demos, a massive GoPro tent… and so much more, all framed below a blue Colorado sky and snowy Rocky Mountain peaks above.

(See more images from the “center of the universe” on page 2 of this post.)

High-lining and kayak freestyle co-existing, to the delight of the crowd

We were floored. We’d obtained a Nirvana of sorts there in the vortex, humming with good vibes at the Center Of The Outdoors Universe, happy to be there and no where else.

Check out our video on the Outdoor Center of the Universe. And here below are a few more shots from the scene. —Patrick Murphy