We’re hitting the home stretch in our What’s In Your Pack? contest; you’ve got a couple more days to submit! For our final photo feature we chose this one taken by Flickr user absolumn in Banff National Park. Looks like a beautiful day and spot for a relaxing afternoon!

We want to know what’s in your pack! We’re running our photo contest is running all month so there’s plenty of time to submit! We’ll be selecting one photo a week to feature here on our blog, and all weekly winners will score a Digi Stow! At the end of the month two people will win a Farpoint 70, perfect for packing on your next adventure. To take part, just upload your photos to our Flickr pool, tag with “whatsinyourpack” and be sure to write a description of just what’s hiding inside your pack.

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iLCP photographer Neil Osborne at Little Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho. © Emily Nuchols

From ConservationNEXT and Save Our Wild Salmon:

Sometimes you’ve got to get on the ground. Get dirty, muddy and immerse yourself in a story…

That’s exactly what International League of Conservation Photographers’ photographer Neil Osborne did to tell the story of Snake River salmon. Tripods in the Mud (TIM) is an initiative of the iLCP that helps partner professional photographers like Neil with conservation organizations for the creation of visual materials on a specific region or issue.

Snake River salmon swim more than 900 miles inland and climb almost 7,000 feet to reach their spawning grounds — the highest salmon spawning habitat on the planet , and the largest and wildest habitat left in the continental United States. These one of a kind salmon travel farther and higher than any other salmon on Earth.

So how do you make people care? And get them to act? Give them beautiful and provocative images to tell the story.

Save Our Wild Salmon and the International League of Conservation Photographers have joined forces to tell the story of the Snake River’s one of a kind salmon and the place they call home.

Conservation, Osprey Culture, causes adventure, Conservation, Conservation Alliance, outdoors, photos, rivers, salmon

by Sven Brunso

Sometimes the search for the endless winter requires nothing more than staying home. As a professional freeskier, I am continually seeking epic conditions. Most years that requires many long hours on planes, trains and cramped quarters riding in the back of a sub-compact driving on hairy mountain roads in whiteout conditions. The winter of 2009/2010 has required nothing more than sitting at home and watching the snow fall. The southern San Juan Mountains have had an epic winter. A deep, relatively stable snowpack that has been replenished every 5-7 days since early December. I have canceled numerous trips to other locations including the Northwest and the Alps because we quite simply, have the best snow on globe this season. Canada and the Northwest have been soggy, the Wasatch has been thin and dangerous and the Alps have been windy and on the low side of average for snow.

Instead of building frequent flier miles in route to meet photographers, I seem to be making trips to the airport to pick them up so they can surf my couch and shoot here in the backyard. Although I feel less exotic than years past, I do feel lucky to be able to stay home and let the action come to me. The San Juans are vast and only a handful of people venture out into the BC so the shooting is never rushed and the vibe is very relaxed. Just last week we had 2 epic shoots in just more than 12 hours. I did a night shoot with photographer Ben Eng off Coal Bank Pass and then hit the same general zone at sunrise the next morning while shooting with Scott DW Smith.

Shooting at night is a trip. The temperature plummets so goggles freeze quickly and trying to ski a line in near darkness with challenged vision is a unique experience. The darker it gets the better the photos, and the higher the danger for both the skier and shooter. The photographer has to not only guess where to focus but also guess when the skier is in the sweet spot. You get only one shot per pass so the success rate is low. However, when you hit it just right it feels like a huge accomplishment. Night shots are really unique and hard to capture so they are really fun if a bit contrived. Hiking out in the dark after a shoot is a different experience and reminds you of how important it is to remember a headlamp.

It is the time of year when road bikers in Durango start to emerge from hibernation. They battle narrow roads and cinders left from a big winter but they serve as a harbinger of things to come. Spring is in the air and it is time to move on to other mountains. Interior BC is on my calendar for April as is a month in Icleand and Norway in May. It is nice to dig out the passport and know that some unique destinations are penciled in on my ski calendar. It has been quite a year here in southwest Colorado and one that has allowed my to ski stellar conditions but sleep in my own bed each night. That cycle is good but my desire for some new scenery is calling me away from my comfort zone.

The time to move is now as I have grown restless here at home. The endless winter seems to be right here at home, but it is time to seek out some new ranges and new sights. My happiness is a result of the search and that is what keeps me smiling as I break out the bags to pack for my next adventure. A blank canvas on some far off mountain is awaiting my signature. And with that call I must go.

Osprey Athletes, Osprey Culture, Outdoor Activities adventure, mountains, outdoors, photos, skiing, winter

Here at Osprey, we love rivers! And we’re sure you’ve got your favorite river; a pristine, wild waterway where you love to play and celebrate the outdoors. Maybe it’s right down the road from your house, or it’s on the other side of the world, a river where you experienced your most memorable travel moment. It might even be a river watershed that you spend time volunteering to protect.

Well, the folks at Save Our Wild Salmon and Mountain Khakis want to see your favorite river.

Save Our Wild Salmon and Mountain Khakis love free-flowing rivers. Rivers are the lifeblood that connect our nation — flowing from mountains to the sea and crossing state and country borders.

Our favorite? We love the rugged Snake River. Its headwaters begin in the wildlands of Wyoming, fed by meltwater from the Tetons, and its waters flow through the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and the Palouse prairies of Eastern Washington before feeding into the mighty Columbia River.

But what makes the Snake River even more impressive? It is home to the legendary Snake River sockeye. Snake River sockeye have the most epic migration path of any salmon on Earth — swimming more than 900 miles inland and climbing 7,000 feet in elevation to spawn in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.

To show you just how much we love the Snake River and its salmon, and celebrate all the beautiful rivers to be found around the world, we’re giving away some sweet gear from Mountain Khakis!

Between April 1 and April 30, send us a photo of your favorite river. As a little incentive we’ll be featuring a photo on our blog each week and we’ll be giving away some cool Mountain Khakis schwag throughout the month!

On April 30, we’ll give away our grand prize — a pair of MK Snake River pants!

Entering is easy! To submit, upload your photo(s) to the Save Our Wild Salmon We Love Rivers Flickr Pool. Make sure your photo has a title and a description of why it’s your favorite river. We look forward to seeing your work and the rivers that you love!

To win you must be a U.S. resident or have a U.S shipping address. Sorry!

PHOTO courtesy Save Our Wild Salmon © Matt Leidecker

Conservation causes, Conservation, contest, outdoors, photos, rivers, save our wild salmon

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!

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