1995
The inaugural issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors, a quarterly insert in C-ville Weekly. BRO’s first editor John Blackburn uses the term “ecosports” in his letter from the editor
Nearly 100 mostly costumed runners toe the line for the first annual Blue Ridge Burn 10K in Charlottesville’s Walnut Creek Park
The first Lord of the Fork Race is held on the class V Russell Fork
1996
BRO’s first motto makes its appearance on the cover: Spend your money on sports—we’re free
The first 7,600 acres of DuPont State Recreational Forest are purchased by the state of North Carolina
1997
Canaan Valley’s White Grass Ski Touring Center is featured for the first time in the pages of BRO
1998
BRO becomes a monthly
BRO publishes its first swimming hole issue
1999
The region’s first 100-mile bike race launches: the Shenandoah Mountain 100
Professional mountain biker Sue Haywood becomes the first female mountain biker to be sponsored by West Virginia
2000
The region’s first 24 hour mountain bike races launches: 24 Hours of Snowshoe
The Priest and Three Ridges are designated as wilderness
The Barefoot Sisters, Susan and Lucy Letcher, hike the A.T. barefoot; the next year, they turn around and thru-hike the A.T. southbound
North Carolina unanimously votes to invoke eminent domain to acquire Triple Falls, thereby securing the final part of DuPont State Recreation Area
2001
Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine opens its southern edition office in Asheville, N.C.
The hemlock woolly adelgid is first observed in the Smokies after already decimating hemlock populations in Shenandoah. The adelgid will go on to wipe out nearly all hemlocks in Appalachia
Bridge Day is cancelled for the first time due to post-9/11 security concerns
Big Sandy River in W.Va. is named one of the country’s most endangered rivers Report after a 250-million gallon chemical spill, 20 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill
2002
Kristen Eddy becomes first woman to win an Iron-distance event overall, besting men and women at Odyssey Off-Road Iron Triathlon
BRO highlights naked adventures, including nude 5Ks and naked paddling events
2003
Blue Ridge Outdoors names its first Southeastern Athletes of the Year. Among them are road cyclist George Hincapie, mountain biker Sue Haywood, paddler Chris Hipgrave, triathlete Allison Hardy, runner Keith Dowling, and ultrarunner Anne Riddle Lundblad.
BRO publishes its first Best of the Blue Ridge Awards
Will Harlan completes a 72-mile run of Appalachian Trail through the Smokies to raise awareness for air pollution. It plays an important role in North Carolina’s lawsuit against TVA coal-fired power plants, forcing 14 power plants to install pollution-control devices. Will Harlan later sets the unsupported record running the A.T. across the Smokies
Cave Dog sets the South Beyond 6,000 speed record
Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber, is found hiding out in Nantahala National Forest
Congaree National Park becomes South Carolina’s first national park
Earthquakes rock the Blue Ridge near Richmond
2004
Lee Barry, 81, becomes the oldest person to thru-hike the A.T.
Blue Ridge Outdoors publishes its first (and only) April Fool’s edition
Bon Jovi sponsors elite West Virginia mountain biking team
BRO publishes “Old School,” one of its most popular stories, about grown-up Jay Hardwig returning to fifth grade P.E. class for the Presidential Fitness Test
Tour de Georgia attracts the world’s top cyclists to Brasstown Bald, including Lance Armstrong
Tennessee’s Buffalo Mountain becomes the South’s first major wind farm
Blake DeMaso becomes the new owner of BRO
Rick and Liz Weber purchase their first parcel of land in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky and begin developing Muir Valley, a climbing area that is now home to over 400 different climbs
2004
The 500th mountain is flattened, razed, and destroyed by mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia
Leanna Joyner hikes the A.T. in a red skirt; later, she becomes voice for the trail by working for Appalachian Trail Conservancy
2006
BRO adopts “Go Outside and Play” motto
U.S. National Whitewater Center opens in Charlotte, N.C., one of only two artificial whitewater courses on the East Coast
2007
BRO gives away a brand new Nissan vehicle loaded down with gear to a lucky reader
2008
BRO publishes “In Search of Bigfoot,” which becomes our most popular story of the year
National Park Service makes it legal to carry weapons on trails
Double amputee Scott Rigsby completes Kona Ironman
2009
BRO profiles The Last American Man—primitive living legend Eustace Conway, who is now featured in the History Channel’s Mountain Men series
Asheville’s Andrew Holcombe paddles the infamous class V stretch of the Green River Narrows in 4 minutes and 18 seconds, a Green Race record
Pisgah hosts the East’s first mountain bike stage race
Rapid Transit paddling videography crew releases The Eddy Feeling
BRO highlights the natural fitness movement, introduced by Erwan LeCorre, the world’s fittest man
Matt Kirk sets the unsupported speed records on both the Benton Mackaye Trail and the Bartram Trail
BRO owner Blake DeMaso launches a sister publication in Colorado called Elevation Outdoors
BRO partners up to host the first Festy Experience on Devils Backbone Brewing Company property in Roseland, Va.
2010
BRO features stand-up paddleboarding on the cover for the first time.
Pat Keller notches the first descent of Linville Falls
Toby MacDermott, Will Lyons, Pat Keller, Dustin Marquart, Nate Elliott, Andrew Holcombe, and John Grace make a first descent of Upper Creek
2011
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declares the eastern mountain lion extinct
Jennifer Pharr Davis sets the fastest speed record for a supported thru-hike of the A.T. in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes
Roadside Crag closes in the Red River Gorge due to climber misuse
2012
The Appalachian Trail celebrates its 75th anniversary
BRO contributing editor and gonzo paddler Chris Gragtmans notches first descents of 75-foot Desoto Falls and 90-foot Noccalula Falls. His exclusive feature for Blue Ridge Outdoors becomes the year’s second most popular story
The year’s most popular story is “The Greenest Man in the Mountains,” a tribute to an old-time Appalachian mountain man who lives more organically and close to the land than even the most dedicated eco-village hippies
The Red River Gorge Climbing Coalition successfully purchases the Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve
YAMA Mountain Gear owner Gen Shimizu unicycles the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, covering 2,754 miles in 89 days with only one wheel
2013
Jess Daddio’s “Mountain Lion Mystery” becomes one of BRO’s most popular stories of all-time
Columbus Georgia opens its Columbus Whitewater Park on the Chattahoochee River
The Southeast experiences the wettest summer season to date with some states receiving over 45 inches of rainfall. Kayakers are stoked
Matt Kirk sets record for unsupported thru-hike of the A.T. in 58 days, 9 hours, and 38 minutes
Chris Gragtmans’s and Ashley Woodring’s story “How to Date a Kayaker” becomes our most shared story ever
Joanna Swanson and Bart Houck become the first thru-hikers of the Great Eastern Trail
2,600 acres burn in the Linville Gorge
Richmond-based runner Zoë Romano becomes the first person to run the entire Tour de France route
2014
Travel editor Jess Daddio launches her Live Outside and Play adventure
Over 130 acres burn at the Endless Wall climbing area in the New River Gorge
Canaan Valley resident John Logar wins the revered Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska
Bill Irwin, the first blind man to solo hike the A.T. (with his guide dog, Orient) in 1990, dies at age 73
Editor in chief Will Harlan publishes Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America, which highlights Southeastern conservation hero Carol Ruckdeschel and her fight to save Cumberland Island
Wilderness celebrates its 50th anniversary. Jess Daddio highlights wilderness in the September feature story, and BRO launches its Wilderness Hike Challenge, which has already attracted over 300 participants.
Asheville’s Natalie DeRatt earns a spot on the 2014-2015 USA Bobsled and Skeleton Team
Kentucky hosts its first ever 100 mile race, the Cloudsplitter Ultra, on the Pine Mountain Trail
The Holtwood Play Park opens in Pennsylvania, a win for Mid-Atlantic playboaters
2015
BRO launches a college ambassador program and an athlete team
