OUT & ABOUT

OUTSKI

Free-heel fancy

Five years ago, Suzanne Pattinson of Spokane, a former alpine skier, gave up the security of locked-down heels to taste the free-heel-dom of cross country downhill.

This Friday through Sunday, the 26-year-old engineering consultant will be competing on the U.S. team through the gates and over the jumps at the World Cup Telemark Finals, at Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

“I tried telemarking because I wanted something different and new, and I love it,” she said. “It’s more challenging than alpine skiing; I feel like I’m more a part of the turn.”

The rub: “Most people who get into telemarking aren’t interested in racing. They like to get away from it all.”

Enter: While the World Cup is an invitational race, skiers of any level can enter the concurrent citizens’ races.

Call (208) 263-6028.

Details: First time a World Cup event has been in North America in three years. National teams from Norway, Canada, Czech Republic and France preregistered; more expected. Telemarking is not an Olympic sport, but an effort is under way to get it added to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

OUTSPEAK

Freedom to Roam

WHAT: Free slide show combining wilderness adventure, stunning landscape and wildlife photography to promote a conservation concept for linking existing wilderness with wildlife corridors to give bears, wolves and other species the space they need to survive.

WHO: Award-winning nature photographer Florian Schulz, author of “Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam,” 192 pages, $34.95 (Mountaineers-Books).

WHEN: 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

WHERE: Gonzaga University

DETAILS: Schulz, a native of Germany, has been fascinated by the region since age 10 when he read the novels of Jack London. He’s spent most of the last ten years photographing in the wilderness.

OUTLOOK

Best fishing times

The U.S. Naval Observatory lists peak fishing times in these lunar tables. To maximize results, be fishing at least one hour before and continue one hour after given times, which apply to all time zones.

(* indicates best days.)

Today through March 12

*Today

5:20 p.m. 5:35 a.m.

* Monday

6:15 p.m. 6:45 a.m.

* Tuesday

7:10 p.m. 7:40 a.m.

Wednesday

8:05 p.m. 8:30 a.m.

Thursday

8:55 p.m. 9:20 a.m.

Friday

9:40 p.m. 10:15 a.m.

Saturday

10:45 p.m. 10:40 a.m.

Sunday

11:10 p.m. 11:30 a.m.