Every fall, ski resorts put away their summer toys and begin working away to get the resort ready for the winter season. The Active Junky media team is proud to announce a new video series: "The Road to Opening Day" featuring Keystone Resort. This week we checked in with Ski Patrol to find out what they are doing to get ready for their November 4th Opening Day.

The Active Junky team went up to Arapahoe Basin this morning and had a quick chat with the Director of Marketing, Leigh Hierholzer, about the snowmaking progress and the still-undeclared opening date. Check out some video of the mountain and you'll see we aren't far away from skiing in Colorado!

Barefoot running shoes are notorious for looking kooky. But those who are converted can't get enough of them, and ignore funny looks as they pad around in shoes with fingers. However, Merrell is making it possible to keep your dignity intact, and even look stylish out on the trail in barefoot runners.

The right gear turns experiences into adventures. The wrong equipment stands between the adventurer and their objectives. QUICK FIX, from Active Junky's editors, shoots the gap with better ways to reach higher and farther. With gear being tested every day of the year, now you've got a reliable new product resource on the trail, water, mountain and road. Welcome to QUICK FIX.

Sometimes you will see an incredibly lean but muscular young man with wild hair and tiny running shorts flying through the streets of Boulder in a fit of extreme passion, but don't be alarmed. Roberto Mandje is a professional, who (when you get him sitting) talks with the swagger and ease that comes from being an Olympic level athlete. Alongside many other running achievements, he competed in the 2004 Olympics at the age of 22 in the 1500-meter race. He came in 12th in the first heat and 36th overall, and although he said he didn't have the race he would have liked, he's excited to do it again. "I'm still young enough, and I'm fitter and stronger and have progressed enough to where London next year is looking very realistic."

Owners of Newton's new coveted shoes are seemingly intoxicated with love for the brand. When asked what they think of the shoes their eyes light up and enormous grins spread over their faces. "Amazing," "perfect," "game-changing" and "revolutionary" are usually the first words that slip from their lips. One runner even called running in a traditional shoe after wearing Newton's "depressing." Even our own testers have been sipping the Newton Kool-Aid. One AJ tester (who is now rarely ever seen wearing anything else) said, "I can't imagine running without them." What could have possibly gone into the creation of a shoe so revered?

Airblaster loves to have fun. Their products are goofy, but incredibly functional. Take for example, the Ninja Suit.

Imagine an endless stretch of white, a waterless ocean made of coarse crystalline salt, crisp horizons in all directions without a single sign of life, a single other soul, just the salty white earth reaching endlessly to greet the blue of sky above the Bolivian altiplano. Not even a cactus breaks the line where they meet, not even a distant peak gives an indication of direction, just pure, interminable salt.

Every serious skier knows the importance of a strong quiver. Most skiers can get away with a big mountain or all mountain ski for the season, but true powder hounds love to have that serious fat ski sitting in the garage, just waiting for an epic deep-snow day. We have compiled the best of the best from the Freeskier, Powder, Skiing, Ski, and On The Snow buyer's guides to bring you this comprehensive look at the 2012 hard goods.

Every serious skier knows the importance of a strong quiver. Most skiers can get away with a big mountain or all mountain ski for the season, but true powder hounds love to have that serious fat ski sitting in the garage, just waiting for an epic deep-snow day. Now more than ever, women's skis are designed specifically for them, not just as shorter, softer versions of the mens model. We have compiled the best of the best from the Freeskier, Powder, Skiing, Ski, and On The Snow buyer's guides to bring you this comprehensive look at the 2012 hard goods.