Expedition Denali is history in the making, another first for the books and a step in the direction of changing the world we live in. This National Outdoor Leadership School expedition will take nine mountaineers to the top of Mount McKinley this June, making them the first all-African-American group to summit Denali. Of course, reaching the top of North America’s largest peak is not the ultimate endeavor; Expedition Denali’s most significant objective is to inspire people of all colors to experience the outdoors. This statement from Expedition Denali’s Kickstarter Campaign gets to the root of the ascent:

By 2019, it is estimated that minority children will become the majority in the U.S. These kids will become the leaders of this country and the world, and a staggering majority of them don’t feel the outdoors is a place for them.

In an effort to connect as many people as possible and inspire diversity in the outdoors, a documentary film will be made telling the story of the summit. Here’s just part of what the film itself will capture, from Kickstarter:

This group of climbers will do more than climb a mountain. At an elevation of 20,320 feet, extreme altitude and harsh weather aren’t the only barriers Expedition Denali is determined to break through. On the 100th anniversary of the first Denali summit, Expedition Denali is a symbolic step forward, encouraging people of color—and particularly African American youth—to participate in and become inspired by the vastness and beauty of nature.

The good news is that Expedition Denali, with support from The North Face, REI, and the Foundation for Youth Investment, has actually exceeded its Kickstarter Campaign Pledge, thanks to donations from people all over the world. Of course, we can all help by spreading the word about what an amazing, inspiring and world-changing expedition this is. Be sure to follow Expedition Denali on Facebook for updates, news and information and to share the updates that inspire you.

Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture, Outdoor Activities, adventure, causes climb, diversity, Expedition Denali, Foundation for Youth Investment, kickstarter, NOLS, North America, outdoors, rei, summit, The North Face

Holy hotness Sweetgrass! They boys at Sweetgrass Productions just dropped the teaser for their latest film: Solitaire. Watch. Love. And get ready, it’s premiering in Denver on September 15.

Osprey Adventure Envoys, adventure, travel ski, sweetgrass productions, video

A year ago to the day I stood on the bridge in downtown Missoula trying to get a good photo of kayakers surfing the standing wave. Now I’m deciphering the best method for getting up on surfboard without the dozens of spectators thinking I’m a joke.

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Osprey Adventure Envoys, Outdoor Activities brennens wave, missoula, Montana, river, surfing

Officially the 2nd annual Access Fund sponsored Adopt-a-crag at Falling Rock Climbing Area was a wet, but huge success.  Teaming up together the Black Hills Climbers Coalition, North Central Section of the American Alpine Club, Access Fund, and the National Forest Service tackled cleaning up the Falling Rock Climbing area just outside of Rapid City, South Dakota. The dreary morning started out with an envoy of climbers tramping through Falling Rock Canyon polishing up the crag for litter. Participants helped clean up everything from cigarette butts, old sneakers, various beverage containers, bike tires, rubbermade tubs, a couch and even a few old computers that some idiots decided to launch off the cliffs above.

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Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture, causes Access Fund, american alpine club, clean up your crag, Climbing, South Dakota

Clouds on the horizon promise severe precipitation. I can’t imagine anyone will actually want to load up their bike and go camping this weekend, but my girlfriend, Staj, and I decide to go anyway. It’s been five months since we’ve lived on our bicycles, camping every night and thus monotony of sleeping in a comfortable bed protected from the elements has gotten to us.

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Bike, Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture Bike, camping, cycling, oregon, portland

Mountainfilm Tour 2011 Elks Theater, April 1-2

By: Markus Jobman, Osprey Adventure Envoy Team

Once in a while you need to step back, pause and re-boot. Look at the world around you and the everyday life that each of us lives. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day craziness. We get busy with careers, friends, obligations and adventures — and sometimes we forget to just stop and see what is going on and really enjoy what is around us.

This past weekend we took a break. We attended Mountainfilm on Tour. It is a celebration of what is around us: life, adventure, nature, mountains and the thrill of enjoying it. We attended the tour in our home town of Rapid City. For the third year in a row, Mountainfilm’s tour event acted as a fundraiser for the Rapid City Urban Orchard Project, an organization that works with the Department of Parks and Recreation to plant apple trees in green spaces throughout the city and organizes volunteers to care for them after they are planted.

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Events, Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture, adventure, causes adventure, Adventure Chronicles, climate change, Climbing, Colorado, Conservation, Events, film, inspiration, Markus Jobman, mountain biking, mountaineering, mountainfilm, mountains, North Face, Osprey Packs, patagonia

It had to come to an end… the best season of powder skiing I have ever had at Valhalla Mountain Touring. Something like 80 of 90 days of the calendar winter with measurable precip. WOW… that just says to me, non-stop blower pow with no weak layers. I have never skied so much deep powder over 35 degrees in my life. So many new lines opened up at the lodge, and so many runs skied in the best conditions ever.

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Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture, travel backcountry, BC, Canada, evan stevens, skiing, squamish

The winter has been mind boggling in the interior of British Columbia. So good. Quit your job (or use all of your vacation time) and get up here now and ski your brains out, because hey, it’s going to be spring soon. As I write this, the cold smoke is piling up AGAIN, but I need to share some spectacular skiing from last week. A brief 2 days of sunny skies allowed us to explore some new zones in my backyard at Valhalla Mountain Touring, and what we discovered was one of the 5 best ski runs at my lodge. Check it out, we named it Fireball. Why? Because at the bottom of this mind boggling run, when we were reveling in the pure ecstasy of the moment, my buddy Tony busted out a flask of Fireball cinnamon whiskey. That is classy, and that is how ski runs get named.

Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture backcountry, BC, Canada, skiing, Snow, video

Chad… “Is that in Africa?” Is the most common question I have been getting when I say where I am going, or what I’m doing for the month of January.  Otherwise called J-term at Linfield College where I just finished my first semester of nursing school.

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Osprey Adventure Envoys, Osprey Culture, adventure, causes adventure, africa, chad, hospital, medical, travel

Unless you’ve been living in a deep, dark cave… You may have noticed that there is a lot of cool stuff going on out there. So, we thought it was high-time we started rounding up some of our faves each Friday. Every month, we’ll be choosing a theme that fits with the Osprey lifestyle. Since we’ve hit the ground running into 2011, we figured there was no better theme than “taking a leap”. So all month we’ll be highlighting people, organizations that are going for it — leaping, diving and running as fast as they can to live this life . Welcome to the Osprey Friday Round-Up!

Just a few months ago, our good friend Sara Close changed course and not in a small way. She said goodbye to friends and co-workers at Leave No Trace in landlocked Boulder, Colo. and got on a boat. In South Africa. When was the last time you took that kind of leap?

A firm believer that we all live in a little world with big stories to tell, Sara is continually seeking ways to expose the interconnectedness of the individual, the organization, and ultimately, the environment in which both exist. More than just about anything else, Sara believes in the potential for an individual to affect change in the world around them. And that’s exactly why she joined forces with 5Gyres. Their mission: conduct research and communicate about the global impact of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans and employ strategies to eliminate the accumulation of plastic pollution in the 5 subtropical gyres.

From Sara Close:

January 5th. Simon, Sarah, Megan and I are lined up on the starboard side of the boat, seated and slightly gangly-oriented over a load of sheets and lines, slack-jawed and staring at the sunset of our lives. Bright hues of magenta and orange reflect like an oil slick and run toward where we sit on the boat, refracted by the shadows of 100 seabirds fishing for delicacies in the evening light. It’s ocean for as far as we can see.

“You know, it’s funny,” Megan says, “that we’re sitting here staring out at the ocean when it’s all we’re going to see for the next 30 days.”

Insert irony, of the scene 180 degrees behind us – a mix of shipping containers, barges, oilrigs and merchant buildings. The exhaust from smoke stacks lining the harbour rises in to the sky and mingles with the approaching night. Smaller yachts and boats at anchor bob up and down in the harbour of Walvis Bay, Namibia. Slightly pink like alpenglow in the Rockies, dunes of the Kalahari Desert loom with authority behind the city.

Translation: it’s the last sight of land we’ll have for quite some time, and yet none of us can tear ourselves away from looking out over the endless ocean, brilliant sunset, and the impending adventure.

It’s really emotional, and I struggle in the moment to find words to adequately capture what I’m feeling… why I’m so excited to go see something so tragic… why I’d like to live on a boat for a month when I’m claustrophobic… and etcetera on with the how’s and why’s and I wonders. So far, I’ve just got Polaroid moments of feeling coming through – inspriation, creativity, exhilaration, discovery, humanity, cleansing, collecting.

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In writing this post, I learned that changing course quickly and drastically in sailing terms is a “jibe”. So, we’d like to give Ms. Close a resounding “Jibe-Ho!” from the Osprey family. Happy Friday! Get out there and take a leap!

Friday Round-up, Osprey Adventure Envoys, adventure, causes 5gyres, adventure, ocean, plastic, plastic pollution, sailing, sara close, travel