How to Correct Jerks, Survive Mountain Towns, and Love New York

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté and Colin take on everything from trail etiquette to mountain-town elitism with a heavy dose of laughter, crankiness, and wisdom.

Special guest Katie Burrell (comedian, skier, and Weak Layers creator) joins the show to talk about mountain-town culture, toxic coolness, and how to actually find kind people to ski and bike with.

Episode Highlights

• Angry Rae Returns: Should you call out bad outdoor behavior or just let it go? Shawnté breaks down when to educate, when to ignore, and when to just walk away.
• The Enforcer: Colin lands his first official voiceover role. (Kind of.)
• Cool Kids Only? Katie Burrell joins to unpack mountain-town hierarchy, ski-bum gatekeeping, and how to find genuine, low-ego adventure partners.
• Urban Nature FTW: Shawnté makes the case for New York City as a legitimate outdoor town (yes, really).
• Tent Therapy: The eternal question: should you ditch your trusty Big Agnes for an ultralight Dyneema trekking-pole tent? Shawnté’s tent monologue might just convert you.

Click here for full Gear Abby Episode Companion including all of the bings (aka footnotes) and even more from this episode!

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