Looking for some suggestions for gift ideas for your favorite outdoor enthusiast? Outside magazine has you covered with the latest edition of their Gear of the Year list. This time out, it's the best gear for Winter 2014 with suggestions on what to buy for the season ahead.

Some of the items that make the list include Eddie Bauer's new Neoteric Polartech shell, skis from both Rossignol and DPS, a snowboard from Burton, running shoes from New Balance and a backpack from Millet, amongst other things.

If you're looking forward to winter and may need some new gear for your snowy endeavors, Outside has you covered. Most of the gear is available now and should represent some of the best new items available as we head into the months ahead.

It is hard to believe that it is snowboarding and ski season already. Where did this year go? Most of the major resorts will be opening in the next few weeks and snow has been plentiful already across the western U.S. It appears that we should be in for an excellent season. That is, unless you just don't like playing in the snow, which means you're probably not looking forward to the arrival of winter at all. But like I always say, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear. This list will help remedy that. 

Yesterday's wonderful snowboarding video was so well received that I thought another one was in order. Today we have pro snowboarder Eric Jackson shredding some steep lines in the backcountry in one of those scenes that is great to look at but I wouldn't want to try it myself. I'll leave these antics to the experts while I work on mastering the bunny-hill. If this doesn't get you stoked for winter, I don't know what will.

ERIC JACKSON - FULL PART from Friday on Vimeo.

The adventure in snowboarding and skiing these days is found in the backcountry. That's exactly what compels pro-boarder Jeremy Jones to head to the mountains to find new places to ply his craft. In the video below, Jeremy talks about what drives him to visit these remote places and what has enabled him to do so in recent years. But it will be the stunning visuals that will stick with you. Jeremy runs some seriously steep vertical and carves narrow runs in the backcountry. Pretty amazing stuff and a long way from the groomed slopes most of us stick to.

There aren't many expeditions that you can go on that allow you to ski, snowboard, climb and surf, but that is exactly what the Wegge brothers got when they visited remote Bear Island off the Svalbard coast. The video below is a teaser for an upcoming film of their adventure, which judging from these two minutes of footage looks like it was filled will all kinds of interesting activities.

Thanks to my friends at the Adventure Journal for sharing this one.

BEAR ISLAND TEASER from weggebros on Vimeo.

December doesn't just mean that the holidays are right around the corner. It also is a time to reflect on the year that has just passed and take stock of events that have transpired. Over the course of the next few weeks, I'm sure we'll see plenty of articles detailing the "best of 2013" or the "top ten" something or other from the past 12 months. Take for example this article from Outside magazine which shares their picks for the ten best adventure films that were released this year, each of which look like they'll be of interest to outdoor enthusiasts.

A number of the films on the list were ones that I've written about here on the Adventure Blog while others are completely new to me. For instance, I covered The Sufferfest, a film about Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright's "worst trip ever" few weeks back, and I've covered The Last Great Climb as it happened and when the trailer hit back in the summer. Most have us have probably at least seen the trailer for Blackfish as well. It was the film that was released this past summer that take a hard look at how captivity impacts the lives of killer whales.

A few of the films are ones that I haven't seen yet. Those include The Crash Reel, which follows snowboarders Shaun White and Kevin Pearce as they prepare for the 2010 Olympics. Just days before the games Pearce suffered an accident in the half pipe, suffering brain damage in the process. I'm also excited to see Maidentrip, which follows Laura Dekker on her attempt to sail solo around the globe a few years back. But perhaps the most intriguing film to me is Keeper of the Mountains, which is a movie about Miss Elizabeth Hawley, the Grand Dame of the Himalaya, and the keeper of all the records pertaining to climbs that take place in the big mountains. Catch the trailer for that film below.

If you're looking for some great adventure films to watch in the days ahead, Outside's list is a perfect place to get some ideas on where to start.

With winter just around the corner I know many of you are looking forward to breaking out the ski and snowboards so you can hit the slopes. To get you ready, checkout this beautifully shot video that features pro snowboarders Travis Rice, Chris Davenport, John Jackson and Lynsey Dyer as they head out into the backcountry in search of the perfect line. Honestly, snowboarding videos don't get much better than this.