Eurobike

When: September 1 to 4

What: Once a year, Friedrichshafen turns into a Mecca for bikers. Industry, trade and the press come together at the world’s leading trade fair for cycling. This is where decisions are made regarding which technologies, which trends and which styles are on their way. Don’t miss this opportunity to visit the Osprey stand (B5 – 401) and to get a first preview of upcoming bike packs including hydration, active everyday and performance.

Where: Friedrichshafen, Germany

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Bike, Conservation, Events, Music Festivals Bike, Events, festivals, film, music, outdoor, travel

I’ve been wanting to do one of the National Ultra Endurance (NUE) MTB100 marathon races for a few years, and although the Wilderness 101 didn’t fit great into my racing season with Untamed New England (a 3-day, non-stop adventure race) a few weeks away, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do this killer course. A course considered by many to be the toughest technically and physically on the NUE circuit.

The Wilderness 101 takes place outside State College (home of Penn State) in Rothrock State Park and surrounding state lands. The 160 km course is mountainous and extremely rocky. There would not be fast flowy single-track here like we are accustomed to in Ontario; instead it would be a maze of gnarly rocky single-track interconnected by old coal mine trails, fire roads and the occasional paved state park road.

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Osprey Culture, adventure adventure, biking, endurance, Events, hydration, mountain biking, outdoors, racing

Thousands will trek to western North Carolina’s high country this week for the 3rd annual Music on the Mountaintop festival. The festival is all about sweet tunes, good folks and giving some love to mother nature — and Osprey will be on hand to be a part of it all! We’ll have lots of great gear, demos and swag… And local retailer, Footsloggers in Boone, is offering 20% off any Osprey pack in celebration of Music on the Mountaintop. Swing by our booth and give us a high-five!

More about the event from The Mountain Xpress:

The event bills itself as a “one of a kind, ecologically driven, large-scale music festival, offering first class entertainment, featuring several national acts, creating an eclectic blend of acoustic funk, folk, Americana and bluegrass, and most importantly, providing educational awareness on current environmental issues.”

Among this year’s headliners are local mainstays like Toubab Krewe, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band and Snake Oil Medicine Show, in addition to national acts like Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Keller Williams, Sam Bush and Acoustic Syndicate.

And while music is the driving force behind the festival, preserving the environment is a top priority of organizers. Alongside solar-powered stages, patrons will find the Green Village, where a variety of local non-profits — including N.C. Green Power, Appalachian Voices, ASU Energy Center, High Country Conservancy, Dogwood Alliance and Habitat for Humanity — will be on hand to provide information and educational materials. There will also be a river clean up, a food drive to benefit the Hunger Coalition, low-impact shuttles and a requirement that all vendors use only compostable materials. Additionally, a portion of proceeds will go to benefit Appalachian Voices, a Boone-based environmental non-profit.

Tickets and more information can be found at http://www.musiconthemountaintop.com

Events, Osprey Culture, causes appalachia, causes, Conservation, entertainment, Events, music, north carolina, travel

Ongoing Events

Conservation Alliance Sale

WHAT: Tons of Conservation Alliance member companies have sweet gear up for sale, with part or all of the proceeds benefiting the Alliance. At the Osprey booth, you’ll find our hot, new hydration packs — the Viper + Verve 7s — up for grabs. $25 will get you a sweet new pack and all proceeds will benefit the Conservation Alliance. You can check out the full list of offerings over on the Conservation Alliance site.

WHERE: All over!

Help Save Elephants! And Win Gear!

WHAT: Elephants are being killed by poachers at a rate of 10 percent per year. With just 470,000 elephants left in the world, it means that in just a few years we might lose our wild elephant populations. So, this winter, the Epicocity Project is embarking on a forensic biology expedition to the remote jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo with the goal of saving wild elephants from the illegal ivory trade.

Take Action right here at OR!

1. Become a Fan of the Elephant Ivory Project on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/elephantivoryproject

2. Donate to the cause! Every little bit helps, and every single dollar goes directly to our cause — whether it’s $5 or $50.

WHERE: Swing by the Osprey booth # 5010 and drop off your donation and a business card in the box:

WHEN: If you need some extra incentives to take action, we’ve got some sweet gear up for grabs. On Day 3, August 5, we’ll pick 3 lucky people to win two awesome prize packages, including two Osprey Packs Raptor 6 Hydration Packs, a tent from Sierra Designs, a SPOT Messenger unite, Mountain Khakis, an Adventure Medical Kits First Aid Kit and some snacks from AlpineAire! So c’mon! Save some elephants today!

Great Gear Giveaway

At the show, you can answer Leave No Trace-related questions to get entered in the Great Gear Giveaway — and your chance to win some great gear! Subaru, Backpacker and Leave No Trace will be giving away product Day 1 through Day 3 at 4pm each day. Osprey’s thrown 1 Veer recycled shoulder bag and 1 Manta 20 hydration pack into the mix!

Wednesday

Keep It Wild: Take Action for Conservation!

WHAT: We all know that if we want to get wild, we’ve got to protect our playground. So visit eight member company booths to take action on behalf of a Conservation Alliance grantee. Take action at all eight booths, have your Keep It Wild passport stamped and be entered to win a fabulous prize package! We’ll be hosting the good folks from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance! Click here for details.

WHERE: All over!

WHEN: All day Wednesday, August 4th

The Uphill Challenge

WHAT: Take part in this true test of athletic ability, lung power, gusto and fortitude! Every half-hour, M.C. Elinor Fish, Trail Runner’s managing editor, kicks off another duel between two athletes on treadmills set at a 10-percent incline. The athlete covering the most mileage in 15 minutes is declared the winner of each pairing. At 4:15 p.m., the male and female athletes logging the day’s greatest distance will be declared the 2010 King and Queen of the Mountains! We’ve got Helix daypacks up for grabs for all participants!

WHERE: The Salt Palace

WHEN: All day Wednesday, August 4

Thursday August 5

American Alpine Club Happy Hour

WHAT: Osprey hosts the American Alpine Club Happy Hour. Enjoy a gin and tonic and keep a commemorative rocks glass. Enter to win a climbing pack and schwag from Osprey and the AAC.

WHERE: Osprey Packs Booth # 5010

WHEN: Thursday, August 5, 4:30pm – 6pm

Conservation, Events, Product, Retail Promotions Conservation, contests, Events, giveaways, ORSM 2010, Outdoor Retailer, Product

I’m new to this. This, being the film world. Two years ago was my first time at MountainFilm in Telluride. I was there as a judge for the Charlie Fowler Award, which meant I got to have seats reserved, intense philosophical and conceptual conversations after every viewing, catch food in-between flicks, and do it all over again the next day. Last weekend was no different, except for the seats. This time, I stood in line. The only film I got into early was my own—Waypoint Namibia, and I sat in the back and watched a festival cut of the film Chris Alstrin shot and we worked on creating exactly one year ago to the date of the viewing at Telluride.

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Events, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Culture Events, Majka Burhardt, mountainfilm, telluride

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! We’re hoping that you get out and play this weekend and appreciate some of your favorite wild places and the wildlife that live there.

We’re spending our Memorial Day weekend in our beautiful backyard — Telluride for Mountainfilm. Currently in its 32nd year, the Mountainfilm Festival is a four-day, six-senses experience of art, adventure, culture and the environment. It attracts filmmakers, photographers, conservationists, mountaineers and explorers from around the world. The theme for this year’s festival is “Extinction.” It’s amazing to get so many people that are so passionate about important causes together in one place and we’re excited to connect with amazing people and organizations like Chris Jordan, Tim DeChristopher, Timmy O’Neill, Sweetgrass Productions and iLCP

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Events, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Culture Colorado, Conservation, endangered, epicocity project, Events, extinction, inspiration, Majka Burhardt, mountainfilm, telluride, Timmy O'Neill

Today is Endangered Species Day, and tomorrow is the International Day of Biodiversity, so do something to celebrate our incredible community of species. And while you’re at it, do something to protect it.

From Mountainfilm:

What exactly is biodiversity? The International League of Conservation Photographers put together this great multimedia piece that showcases what biodiversity is and why it’s important. Watching it, you’ll quickly realize that biodiversity is something that affects all of us… and that’s why we have a duty to do something to ensure its protection.

5 Ways to Celebrate Endangered Species Day

1. TAKE ACTION – Tell the Secretary of the Interior to protect critical habitat for endangered polar bears and stop Shell Oil from off-shore drilling, or urge President Obama to save the West’s most iconic salmon species from extinction.
2. Update your Facebook profile pic – Show your support for endangered species with a photo of your favorite wildlife species. Both National Wildlife Federation and the Endangered Species Coalition have some species snaps to choose from. Let us know you did it by including @Endangered Species Coalition or @National Wildlife Federation in your status message.
3. Help spread the word via Twitter – Share an Endangered Species Day message or wildlife fact with your friends and family. Make sure to include #speciesday in your tweet.
4. Attend an Endangered Species Day event! Events are held across the country to highlight endangered species stories.
5. Get Outside! Take a hike on your favorite trail, climb your favorite pitch or shred up the last of that spring snow. What species live there? And what can you do to make sure that they will be there for future generations?

Happy Friday!

Conservation, Events, Osprey Culture action, biodiversity, causes, Conservation, endangered species, Events, outdoors, wildlife

What I learned at Trail Days:

1)      Beauty queens hate water balloons.

2)      Free wood and hot dogs offset any bad feelings about getting arrested.

3)     Drums and bonfires provide hours and hours and hours of night time entertainment.

3)      Yuengling beer is not Chinese.

4)      Southern hospitality is alive and well.

5)      Bikes built in the 21^st century do not exist in Damascus, VA

6)      Eat more meat, drink less coffee.

7)      Never let someone else assign you a trail name.

Not that any of these observations make a bit of sense to the casual reader.  Suffice it to say that #1 and #2 in no way apply directly to me (or anyone associated with Osprey Packs).  Trail Days 2010 is over.   We repaired dozens of packs, fit dozens of hikers, molded several hipbelts, all in the name of making the rest of our hiker friend’s journeys more comfortable.  In the process, we’ve learned a great deal about our packs and how they perform on a long trail.  That in turn gives us the information we need to build a better pack for you, no matter what your hiking demands.

See y’all at Trail Days 2011!!

Written by Gareth Martins, Director of Marketing

Events, Osprey Culture, Outdoor Activities, Product Appalachian Trail Days, AT, Events

Don’t have plans for Memorial Day Weekend yet? Then you might want to consider putting Mountainfilm on your list. The festival, being held May 28th-31st this year, recently announced some of the selected films that will be screening during the epic four days in Telluride, CO. We’re pretty excited about all of them, but here are a couple of our top picks (complete with trailers!).

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Events Events, film, film festival, mountainfilm

Here at Osprey, we’re revving up for an awesome spring and summer! Because we’re so excited to be a part of so many great events, we decided to kick off each month with a post highlighting a few of our favorites. Check it out!

Osprey's Sam Mix on the trail

Appalachian Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia — May 13 to 16

Each year hikers, former hikers and aspiring hikers of the Appalachian Trail converge to celebrate at Trail Days. Osprey will be on hand once again to welcome hikers and provide free gear repairs and free pack fittings.

New River Rendezvous in the New River Gorge, West Virginia — May 14 to 16

The Rendezvous is the annual fundraising gig for the New River Alliance of Climbers. It’s a fun and friendly 3-day celebration of climbers, climbing and the New River Gorge. Gather with friends, relax, compete, play, laugh and climb in the laid back atmosphere of Southern West Virginia. Osprey will be there to provide free pack demos and some sweet gear giveaways. And as always, watch out for that Timmy O’Neill!

12 Hours of Mesa Verde Mountain Bike Race in Cortez, Colorado — May 8

A grassroots 12-hour mountain bike relay race on a stellar network of single-track known as Phil’s World. The race course twists and turns through juniper trees, intermittent technical spots and fast descents — all in the shadow of Mesa Verde. All proceeds benefit Montezuma County Partners.

Mountain Film in Telluride, Colorado — May 28 to May 31

Currently in its 32nd year, the Mountainfilm Festival is a four-day, six-senses experience of art, adventure, culture and the environment. It attracts filmmakers, photographers, conservationists, mountaineers and explorers from around the world. The theme for this year’s festival is “Extinction.”

The spirit celebrated at the festival may be of a vital eco-system or a fragile one. It may be of an endangered culture or of one courageous soul. It may be of a grassroots sustainability movement or of the struggle of a species on the brink of extinction. In whichever case, it is always a spirit that is unique, important and eminently laudable.

For a taste of what will be playing at the festival, watch the trailer for 180º South featuring Timmy O’Neill and Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard.

Events adventure, Climbing, Events, film, hiking, mountain biking, outdoors