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

Life in Action, by Peter Doucette

Climbers can, as a rule, break rules. We expand our youth, our shoulder stamina, and, most commonly, our seasons. How many people do you know who go crack climbing in shorts in January? Ice climbing in puff jackets in June? Sport climbing in bikinis February? Hyper-mobility and air travel lends itself to this, but so does the split personality of any excessive outdoorsy person.

I’m one of the worst offenders. To make it more interesting (read: personally challenging), I try to be prepared for any activity at any time. This works. Or it does until you have back surgery.

Two weeks ago, I packed up my rental apartment in North Conway, NH. I lovingly placed my monopoint crampons next to my leashless tools. I stuffed my ice climbing packs with every extra down/synthetic/wool/fleece layer I had.  I took my boots and filled them with screws, and then nestled them into duffles. In the beginning, I held up each piece of gear as if honoring it before mashing it into a temporary resting place. I mourned that I would not use it for more than a half dozen months. And then I got a shooting pain down my right leg, stood up with the help of the wall and a chair, limped to my bed, and laid down.

Read more…

Osprey Athletes ice climbing, Majka, Product, Rock Climbing, Surgery, Talon 11

Last week, Francisco measured the square footage of our apartment.

The total?    325.36.

That’s a small space. Even in New York City, where postage-stamp sized apartments are in abundance and the people who live in them become expert at storing the stuff they think they need but probably don’t in novel configurations–from the ceiling (seriously; our neighbor hangs his bikes this way), in vertical stacks on walls (books), and in hidden recesses (Murphy bed, anyone?) — there comes a time when you have to admit that the stuff you’ve accumulated needs to be given a ruthless once-over.

We have the same stuff anyone else does: books, piles of CDs that we’ve never transferred to iTunes, stacks of paper that we’re convinced we have to keep for one reason or another.

But we also have baggage. Lots and lots of baggage.

I just did a quick inventory and here’s what I came up with:

1. My daily use Baggallini bag. I’ve had this for about three years and it’s as new and sturdy as it was the day I bought it. It’s been with me to Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and plenty of points in between.
2. A Diesel courier bag. This is Francisco’s, picked up at a thrift shop. He’s had it for years and the only purpose it serves now is to hold some of that paper we’re convinced we need to keep.
3. A Leeds courier bag. This is also Francisco’s, company-issue gear he has to use when he leads educational tours for EF Smithsonian in New York and Puerto Rico. As I also lead tours occasionally, we probably have another one of these bags somewhere….
4. A no-brand gym bag,
5. A leather backpack,
6. A Canon camera gear bag,
7. A Kenneth Cole carry-on,
8. A Baggallini carry-on,
9. A North Face backpack,
10. Two  insulated day packs (one, a gift from a PR rep from the Marriott, another a take-away from the hospital where our daughter was born),
11. A couple of small handbags, made by weavers in Oaxaca,
12. A duffel for checked luggage, and
13. A suitcase for checked luggage (which currently serves as winter clothing storage)

I’m not great with numbers, but that’s roughly 1 bag for every 25 square feet of our apartment.

Did I mention that most of these bags are in a state of utter disrepair? The Kenneth Cole carry on is frayed around the edges and its fake leather hand grip is cracked. The straps of the North Face backpack are ripped and could probably be sewn if either of us took the time to do so. The Diesel courier bag is stained by a permanent marker. The suitcase, though not old, has been put through its paces, especially since our last full backpack–which we normally use for flights–was manhandled by baggage workers at JFK to the point of non-use.

It’s time to clean house. Literally. To deal with our baggage- to give away what’s still usable, to recycle or upcycle what’s not, and to get some new gear.

Today, we’re measuring ourselves for new gear, and we’ll be going all Osprey–not the brand smorgasboard we’ve had to date. We’ll be putting these new packs through the paces, too, giving them heavy use in our daily treks in and around New York City, as well as trips to South Carolina, Cuba, and plenty of other places.

Osprey Adventure Envoys, Product adventure, backpacks, bags, day packs, luggage, Osprey, Packs, Product, travel

You still have a couple more days to win an Osprey Talon 44! All you need to do to win is submit your photo(s) to the Mountainfilm Flickr Pool. Make sure your photo has a title and a description. The photo should represent Mountainfilm’s mission: educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining.

Every week leading up to the contest, Mountainfilm will feature a photo on their blog, The Conversation. This week, they chose a photo of Beartooth Mountain Highway (above).

From The Conversation:

We chose this photo of the Beartooth Highway because it represents a critical dilemma we face in preserving beautiful landscapes and yet making them accessible to everyone. As the highway provides access to Yellowstone and has been dubbed the most beautiful highway in America, it certainly must suffer from congestion and (relatively) heavy traffic during the high season. However, it is also critical that Americans, and people worldwide, have access to such an important part of our heritage and the ability to appreciate its beauty. Thus, the image pertains to both an issue that matters and an environment worth preserving.

We know you’re no stranger to inspiring and beautiful wild places, so dig through your photos and submit one today. You could win a sweet Osprey pack and because there’s no better way to be inspired by the Mountainfilm mission than actually being there, for the grand prize they’ll be giving away a VIP festival package including lodging!

Events Conservation, contest, inspiration, mountainfilm, mountains, photos, Product