‘Tis the season to celebrate two wheels! May is National Bike Month, and there was no better way to kick it off than with the The Bike New York event this past weekend, supported by sponsor and dear friends of ours, Eastern Mountain Sports and the NYC Department of Transportation.

New York commuters and individuals from around the world came to Pier 36 to check out the latest trends and to prep themselves with gear for their ride in the 35th Annual Five Boro Bike Tour in which the cyclists overrun the streets of New York and visit the cities that make up the surrounding areas of the Big Apple. Over 30,000 riders participated in the Sunday ride!

Take a minute to check out some photos and highlights from the trip above.

**We would like to highlight the third picture on the right, this here is Randy. Randy had never heard of Osprey and as a native of New York. Randy spends all her time commuting on her bike, getting from point A to point B throughout the city. Randy had a pack with little support for her back and the necessary things she carried on her commute. Randy told our sales rep, George (in photo) “if you can fit all the things I carry, including the old pack, in this Momentum 34, I will buy it on the spot.” Well, truth be told, George did so, and Randy was welcomed to the Osprey family with open arms!

Bike, Osprey Culture, Packing in the Streets, Retail Promotions, Uncategorized Bike, bikemonth, BikeNY, citylife, commuting, family, Ospreyfans, Randy, stories

If you are in the Big Apple May 3rd and 4th, don’t miss the chance to attend the Bike Expo New York as there will be more than 60 vendors attending, one of them being yours truly, Osprey Packs! This event is great for road bike aficionados, and we’ll be showcasing and selling our recently redesigned line of hydration packs.

Over 50,000 spectators are expected to attend and admission is free and open to the general public. Hours of the show will be from Friday, May 3rd from 10 a.m. -8 p.m. as well as on Saturday, May 19th 9 a.m.-7 p.m., so come after work and check out the product tonight or head over first thing tomorrow. The event takes place at the Pier 36, 299 South Street, Basketball City, New York, NY.

Want to know a little bit more about what to expect? Here’s the rundown from last year’s awesome Expo:

In keeping with its mission to provide free bicycle education in New York City, Bike New York held several of its signature Learn to Ride classes throughout the event. Garnering more than 43,000 attendees, Bike Expo New York 2012 presented by Eastern Mountain Sports was the most attended inaugural consumer bike expo in the country.  BE NY carried an unmistakable New York flair with street signs, carpeted bike lanes and even a massive Verrazano Bridge suspended from the ceiling.

We hope to see you this year!

Bike, Events, Outdoor Activities, Product, Retail Promotions, Uncategorized Big Apple, Osprey, Osprey Hydration, Osprey Hydraulics, Osprey Packs, road biking, Roadies

The Sea Otter Classic proved to be bigger than ever this year as the 22-year-old event brought together racers, fans and bike companies from around the globe to start the spring season with four days of festivities, races and all things bike. The attendance was staggering this year; it’s grown exponentially since 1991, when only about half a thousand gathered around the course, to nearly 65,000 people attending, all in the name of love for our two-wheeled friend, the bicycle.

This year, there were a variety of races from road races to downhill mountain biking. Sea Otter serves as the first race to kick off the season as top pros in North America and from around the world flock to Sea Otter. However, all of the events are also open to amateurs so if you want to race your bike, you have the chance!

One of the greatest things about Sea Otter is that it is open to the general public, which allows everyone to check out and demo different bike product for the upcoming season from a wide range of vendors. Osprey teamed up with Cambria Bike shop for a four-day sale of Osprey Hydration packs and demos.
Osprey mascot Talon also made an appearance at the event as he cheered on our Osprey athlete Macky Franklin and even had a photo shoot with the Sea Otter himself!

Start planning your trip here for next year as everyone is welcome!

Photo via Alex Strickland

Bike, Brand Team posts, Events, Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, Product, Uncategorized Bike, biking, Laguna Seca, mountain biking, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Hydraulics, Osprey Mascot, road biking, Sea Otter Classic, Sea Otter Classic 2013

Looking for great views and an aesthetic ski tour? Then Heartstrings is for you.

Like most skiers and climbers, I had skied various routes on Mt. Joffre, Matier, Slalok. I had heard of the Heartstrings in many conversations over the years… but only in regards to exiting the bigger objectives.

I had personally always just skied by the Heartstrings, for one reason or another. It always just seemed like…. “Oh look, there’s Heartstrings.” After years of passing by, the big rockwalls lured me in and I finally skied it. The snow was variable, but the views were perfect. Fun Ski! It would be great to hit that zone in powder. Next time.

For more information on the area, pick up “Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis” by John Baldwin and head to page 125. Good luck.

Words: Mike Traslin

Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, Uncategorized Heartstrings, mountain, ski, Snow

Crystal Mountain, Washington is one of those iconic ski areas that many skiers would wish to call home. Its got it all – steeps, trees, airs, accessibility to a big city (Seattle), and best of all for us last weekend – POWDER!

25 KEEN Rippin Chix students and five coaches, including free skiing champions such as Kasha Rigby, Karen Reader, Susan Medville and Molly Baker all converged to Crystal February 9th and 10th for a steeps camp run by founder and Osprey Ambassador Alison Gannett.

Gals attended from all over and ranged in age from 14 to 59. Goals varied from overcoming past tumbles, to building confidence and skills, to learning Alison’s five fun ways to catch air. Four ability groups formed, with the “lower” group working introduction skills for steeps and the upper group charging out the gate demanding to “jump off more stuff.”

The hardest part about running Rippin Chix is always my worry that gals will push it too far and too fast. I have always believed that the best way to jump off a cliff is to learn how to jump a snowball on the groomer. Once the skills are solid, then the terrain can be pushed, and always on stuff with lots of runout room should things not go as planned. Crystal Mtn is perfect for this, with lots of fun north-facing powder bowls and zillions of chutes that fan out into big aprons. Luckily I had nothing to worry about, as these gals were fast learners and keen students.

Big smiles abounded on Sunday as we organized a group introduction and shared what everyone’s favorite skill was from Saturday. While I have adored my PSIA and race coaching training, I’ve never connected with terms like “functional tension,” and instead teach gals things like “squeeze the thong,” get rid of your velcro butt or tyrannosaurus arms and instead focus on “pouring the wine” and smushing the grapes.

Sad to say, we had quite a few flurries and clouds that prevented much video for this particular camp, so I’m going to attach the video from this year’s KEEN Rippin Chix Steeps Camp at Silverton Mtn, Colorado:

Powder Video of KEEN Rippin Chix Steep Camp at Silverton Mtn 2013

Next up on the powder seeking agenda? The Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Festival located in the heart of the legendary Selkirk Mountains at Whitewater resort near Nelson British Columbia, Canada. See you there?!

Events, Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, Uncategorized, adventure, causes, photos, travel, video KEEN, learn, lesson, mountain, powder, Rippin Chix, Snow

Two nights ago it was so cold that a giant pack rat froze to death in the middle of our barn. 2013 has been frigid and snowy here at Holy Terror Farm in Paonia, Colorado. In between feeding and watering chickens, dogs and cats, we are harvesting carrots and cilantro, and sneaking in as many types of skiing as possible.

For the sake of saving our snow, in 2001, I willingly gave up heliskiing (even free trips) and in 2005 I sold my snowmobile. 2010 was my first year ever without a ski pass, getting just one step closer to the all-human-powered skiing dream. Now that Crested Butte seems like a distant dream, I have new skiing challenges, not as gnarly but potentially more fulfilling.

Skiing here in the peach fruit-belt of Colorado, nestled down low at a mere 6,000 feet is better than many would think. Our farm borders the Grand Mesa, home to Powderhorn Resort and backs up to the West Elk Mountains on the backside of CB. Most days I find myself clicking into my Rando Race skis and tromping off into the mountain lion-infested surrounding BLM lands; adventure skiing at its best! I credit my two Akbash livestock guardian dogs for keeping me alive these past three years.

On low snow days, I opt for nordic skiing – either classic up Stevens Gulch, or skate up toward Electric Lodge. Always an ass-kicker for getting in shape or turning the most benign hill into a double black on the descent!

The original fat skis were most likely invented by the Chinese in the Altai over 3,000 years ago. My friend Nils was so enamored by these skis and this utilitarian system that he is now designing, manufacturing and selling a version of these in North America.

I’ve yet to ski on these gorgeous fatties, but I did order the ones that can fit on all types of boots, just like they use in Asia – that way I can use them for hunting, hauling water, and back-40 adventure epics. I can use them with my ski boots, my irrigation boots, or have my mom use them for ski-shoeing in her KEEN hikers.

I’m not sure I’ll be hucking big cliffs in these babies quite yet, but there is something so appealingly primal about this style that grabs me. The built-in skins are a super bonus, and glide downhill almost like a regular ski.

While I’m not yet trading in my rocketed Armada VJJ’s, I’m thrilled with yet another sliding apparatus that I can incorporate into my everyday life, just like our wintery ancestors would have done. It is also wonderful to think that skiing can be made available to more income levels and can be done in the backyard. It brings me even closer to divorcing myself from the consumerism of today’s ski resorts.

Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, Southwest Colorado, Uncategorized, adventure, photos fat ski, ski, Snow

I’m not sure how the turns-all-year habit started, but I’m clearly hooked. 75 months (6 years) and counting. Summer or winter, the thrill of the chase is always there. Just like chasing pow in the winter, or nailing your dream line in safe avy conditions, finding the perfect corn cycle can be just as elusive.

Let’s just say this month we didn’t nail the corn cycle, but the adventure was worth it. Skiing 45 to 55 degree blue ice in the Washington Cascades is just one example.

Volcanos… now that is fun! Well, if you’re trying to qualify as a mountain goat. And then there was the massive frozen suncups – one foot high by one foot deep. Each turn was so bone-jarring, I thought my knees were going to explode, or at least it felt like they would. To top it off, the rest of my 1,500-foot run (Yah, I kept going) consisted of carving a few turns, then hockey stopping into 20 foot side slip segments. All that has to be good practice for something right? Like, say, the next time?

Osprey Athletes, Outdoor Activities, Uncategorized, adventure adventure, all year, pow, skiing, summer, turns, winter

Andrew McLean packed the Bear Tooth Theater for the annual Friends of the Chugach Avalanche Center fundraiser. This is the biggest event for the Friends, who provide weather stations, salary and gear for Southcentral Alaska avalanche forecasts. To over 400 fired up Alaskan skiers, Andrew told stories from ski adventures in the Wrangell St. Elias Mountains in Alaska. These are the most vast mountains in the U.S., and Andrew’s current ski obsession. Between slide shows-he gave another show for the Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center–we played in the hills above Anchorage.

During 45-minutes of  laughter, Andrew told of one expedition where “The Sex Troll” drug his kite, ready for any puff of wind, across the Bagley Icefield.

At a Chugach trailhead with the fat tire bikes loaded onto the Rice Rocket. Or is the Honda Rice Rocket loaded onto the fat tire bikes? Andrew had never ridden a fat bike, so I gave him the Alaska experience.

Some hazards on the ride into the Chugach. We counted 16 moose along 4 miles of trail.

We biked around Gray Lake below Ptarmigan Peak.

Along the way we noticed this iceflow up in the rocks on Ptarmigan Peak.

We came back the next day and climbed this beautiful route. It was 300 feet of rolling water ice 4.

Following Andrew’s lead up the steepest section. Thanks for coming up Andrew and supporting the Friends. And thanks for the mountain time!

Bike, Osprey Athletes, Uncategorized, adventure Alaska, Bike, Climbing, Joe Stock

Danny Uhlmann and I thought a couple pitches of ice climbing would be fun during our day off. The weather forecast seemed fine: no precip forecasted and low winds. We took the 9,000-foot Midi lift up from Chamonix to the alpine and trudged over to our route: the Chere Couloir on Mont Blanc du Tacul, a sub-peak of Mont Blanc. As we neared the route we realized the wind was funneling through the pass where the climb was located… Here’s what ensued.

The Chere follows a gully in the rock up the right side of the Triangle du Tacul.

Danny geared up, minus goggles. We led with our faces down, blind, climbing by feel. Our frozen sunglasses protected our eyes with a layer of ice.

At the top of the six-pitch route we exited the wind venturi — and the raging sandstorm subsided enough for a cup of mud.

Then we rappelled back into the blizzard.

And experienced a nice exfoliating facial for the boys.

Final rap down over the bergschrund. Let’s get out of here!

We ran back to the Midi station and zoomed down to the warm valley below. Next time we’ll bring goggles!

Osprey Athletes, Uncategorized Climbing, Joe Stock, mountaineering

In the fall just over two years ago, a team of four traveled to Tibet with the goal of making a first ski descent off of the 14th highest peak in the world, the 26,289-foot (8,013-meter) Mount Shishapangma.

The video of this experience (above) is beautiful in and of itself. The scenery — from the streets of Kathmandu to the slopes of Shishapangma — is striking, unique and utterly unlike the hustle and bustle of any city in the U.S. What can’t be seen in the film are the other sensory experiences of the adventure, from sounds to smells to tastes and touch.

Read more…

Uncategorized Kathmandu, mountain, peak, Shisapangma, ski, Tibet, travel tuesday, video