We see a lot of great photos throughout the week. So, we thought it was high time we started rounding up some of our faves each week and highlighting one on Friday to inspire weekend adventures. We call it the Osprey Round Up.

It’s Friday and the sun is shining in Colorado. Our friends up at 5Point Film Festival took a few hours off to raft on the Crystal River near Carbondale with local guides from Elk Mountain Expeditions. “We’re pumped to be stoked,” Sarah Kuck told us. We hope you all are too.

Happy Friday!

Events, Friday Round-up 5Point Film Festival, Carbondale, Colorado, Crystal River, rafting, rivers

Osprey athlete Kim Havell sent this video to us this morning and it’s a perfect mental health break to kickstart your day. This beautiful short from Fisher Creative captures the beauty and the reality of ski attempts in the high Himalaya — in this case on the 14th highest peak in the world — without the use of any oxygen and with no one else on the mountain with them at the end.

Kim, and the rest of the team, was attempting to complete a first descent on the mountain, but not the first descent. The peak has been skied before… they were just hoping to ski a new route from the top. The crew turned around just shy of the final summit push because of a sick teammate and other factors. Take a few minutes, grab your cup and enjoy.

Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, adventure, travel, video Fisher Creative, himalaya, kim havell, mountaineering, ski

Loving this video from our Bike Blog. Now if this doesn’t make you want to explore the world by bike, I don’t know what will…

via Reveal the Path:

A visually stunning adventure by bike: Reveal the Path explores the world’s playgrounds in Europe’s snow capped mountains, Scotland’s lush valleys, Alaska’s rugged coastal beaches and Morocco’s high desert landscapes. Ride along and get lost in the wonders of the world… Enjoy the authentic locals living modest yet seemingly fulfilling lives, leading us to question what it means to live an inspired life – however humble or extravagant. Filmed across four continents and featuring Tour Divide race legends, Matthew Lee & Kurt Refsnider, this immersive film is sure to ignite the dream in you.

Bike, Outdoor Activities, travel, video bike blog, osprey bike, Reveal the Path, travel by bike

Last fall I sat on my deck with a world map searching for a new mountain range to ski. I settled on the Caucus Mountains in The Republic of Georgia.

The exciting part of planning ski trips to a place like Georgia is that you feel like a pioneer exploring a place that is fresh, new and unknown. However, the unknown while exciting, can quickly morph into anxiety when there is less than copious data on the places I was interested in going. Even the internet left me wanting more information on skiing in Georgia.

After hours of combing over bits and pieces of info via Google, I decided that I would stake my claim in Guduari. I knew that Gudauri had some infrastructure and was just 2 hours from the capital city of Tbilisi which had daily flights from Munich. Photographer Scott DW Smith and I put together a plan of attack, dropped some cash for plane tickets and headed east.

Read more…

Osprey Athletes, photos, travel backcountry ski, Georgia, heli ski, ski

Teaching mountain biking skills seems so straightforward… I’ve been teaching women during my Rippin Chix Camps with Osprey Packs since 2003. Watching the confidence build and the fears fade changes women’s lives, and not only in skiing, biking and surfing. It permeates into family, jobs and dealing with whatever life throws your way. At Red Rocks Rendezvous, Jeff Fox, the bike marketing manager for Osprey, and myself were in charge of teaching men’s and women’s mountain bike camps. Most of these participants are climbers, looking to do something in addition to all the amazing rock climbing camps at the event.

Read more…

Bike, Events, Osprey Athletes, travel Alison Gannett, Hydration Packs, KEEN Rippin Chix, mountain biking, mtn biking, Osprey Packs, Red Rocks Rendezvous, Rippin Chix

Backpackers at Sand Point at Olympic National Park. Photo: Bryan Bell

We see a lot of great photos throughout the week. So, we thought it was high time we started rounding up some of our faves each week and highlighting one on Friday to inspire weekend adventures. We call it the Osprey Round Up.

We are big advocates of visiting National Parks all the time, but even more so when it’s free. National Parks Week is April 21 to April 29 and admission to all parks is free, so take this opportunity to get outside.

Happy Friday!

Events, Outdoor Activities, travel National Parks, National Parks Week, Olympic National Park

We waste a lot of batteries. But, there are some small ways through which we can cumulatively make a positive change. It can be as simple as switching one habit in our household as often as possible. With the present evils of global climate change, oil and gas dependency, plastic waste issues, the water and sanitation crises, and more it is good when we are handed simple solutions to immediate problems.

Read more…

Osprey Athletes expedition gear, gear review, solar power

2012 5Point Film Festival from 5Point Film Festival on Vimeo.

Since the 5Point Film Festival launched five years ago, the event has welcomed and honored many of the world’s most celebrated adventurers. Founded as a community that aims to stoke the passion for adventure through film, art and live performances, the festival has become a place to gather around the proverbial fire and tell stories of journeys past and those on the horizon.

“The depth of storytelling at this year’s festival is phenomenal — the audience is in for quite a ride,” Justin Clifton, 5Point executive director, said. “From the desert floor of the Grand Canyon to the heights of Saser Kangri II to the remote waters in the heart of Africa to the untold stories of human passion, 5Point is offering up an amazing collection of films in 2012.”
Read more…

Events, Osprey Culture, film festivals, video 5Point Film Festival, Carbondale, Colorado, film, film festival, Timmy O'Neill

The Osprey Packs Intro Rock Climbing Course at the Red Rock Rendezvous

It’s always hard to write about rock climbing when you are ripping powder in a new bowl, or to write about skiing when you are latticing hand jams up granite. This year, I put myself on spring break to do both activities, type about neither, and then come home to the poodle and the computer.

I’ve spent countless season shifts in Red Rocks. For the past fifteen years it’s been the place to either jump-start or wrap up the year’s era of rock climbing. Spring has always been my favorite time. It’s when the green grass pokes through the sandy soil and softens the desert for the moment before you step on a barrel cactus. Spring is when the edges hurt your fingers because you’ve let them grow soft in your ice climbing gloves, when last year’s warm up is the biggest send of the current day, and when the sun feels exactly like thing you’ve been pining for all winter long.

Read more…

Events, Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, photos, travel Red Rock Rendezvous, Red Rocks, Rock Climbing, spring

We see a lot of great photos throughout the week. So, we thought it was high-time we started rounding up some of our faves each week and highlighting one on Friday to inspire weekend adventures. We call it the Osprey Round Up.

Ken Lucas posted this great shot of him tearing it up with his Kode in some fresh, spring powder. He captured the photo at Tailgate Alaska, a winter sport festival at Thompson Pass in Valdez, Alaska.

For those of you who still have it, enjoy that spring snow. Happy Friday!

Friday Round-up, photos Alaska, kite skiing, ski, Tailgate Alaska