Epic Snow Envelopes West

For those living west of the 105th parallel and north of 36 degrees, which comprises more or less the entire western portion of the U.S. above Phoenix, you just got snow. As for the east coast? Here it comes. The National Forecast from weather.com com says,
"National Forecast Cold marches east; more rain/snow ahead Colder temperatures reach the East Coast today; another system begins to develop over the Plains."

For many, this recent storm that swept easterly across the country has resulted in snow days from school, hazardous highway driving, and sore muscles from unceasing shovel sessions in the drive. Then there are those snow-hounds that live for these storms. When not at the mountain, they spend their time reopening their bookmarked NOAA radar and freshly waxing boards in anticipation of epic snow.

At Verde, we fall somewhere in between I think. For us, this recent, abounding snowfall represents not only fresh pow, but also a sign of healthy snowpack that translates into springtime meltdown madness. New snow is also a fantastic reason to get out and shred, and capture everything on our GoPro Helmet Hero.

OR Winter Market Highlight Wrap-Up

Outdoor Retailer Winter 2008, for five days, saturated the City of Salt Lake with excitement for the outdoors, and lined the streets with industry folks in a few-blocks radius of the trade hall. In general, the show was a big success with no shortage of surprises and great events. Certainly ranking high was a visit by the "Naked Cowboy" to the Mion booth, which was partially powered by bike. Although he didn't do much pedaling, he did a great job posing for cameras.

Other noteworthy events included GoPro's candid, yet always popular, daily camera giveaway. Nicholas Woodman, along with the rest of the GoPro crew, drew colossal crowds hoping for a Helment Hero and captivated them with speeches and free beer. "Are you fired up?!", and "GoPro, GoPro, GoPro" resounded across the halls of the Salt Palace each day at 3:00.

And we can't overlook Osprey's ReSource Jeopardy, which was a big hit thanks to pro-
gameshow hosts Timmy "Trabeck" O'Niel and Allison Gannet. Free beer and pint glasses to punctual participants also enticed show-goers. Still, many came to support conservation groups with a 20-dollar donation that also provided them with a brand-new Osprey ReSource bag.

Client Events at OR. Be There!

Attending Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008? Looking for some exciting events, swanky shindigs, or fabulous festivities to fill up your schedule at the show? Then check out our client's list of events with daily happenings and gatherings at OR. From free beer, to sweet swag, to Jeopardy-themes, there is surely something that demands your presence.

Ouray Ice Festival 2008 Offers Up Frigid Fun

The 2008 Ouray Ice Festival concluded this Sunday after several days of climbing, camaraderie and cold. The days were packed with comps and clinics, while at night, the New Belgium beer flowed like wine for slide shows and late-night parties. And of course there was a good showing of vendors, with Osprey and La Sportiva representing from the Verde PR retinue. We consider the Ice Fest in Ouray a local event, since it occurs just over the hill from Durango, and look forward to its arrival each year. Just wanted to share a few photos I took with my GoPro camera for those that couldn't make it this year. Check out more upcoming events for La Sportiva here.
The event was a big success, with some great weather (clear and cold: appropriate for ice climbing), and lots of folks coming to test out top quality boots from La Sportiva and packs from Osprey.

Locals and climbers from afar flocking to the Ouray Ice Park.





The Sportiva Demo Fleet.




Slacklinin' above Box Canyon. The pros making it look easy.

Mountainfilm Guest Blogger of the Week

It's only the second week of the Mountainfilm in Telluride guest blog series, and already it's a staple for my Friday mornings. This Friday, January 18, Jonathan Browning is the guest.

Jonathan is a filmmaker, comedian and actor, in addition to being a damn, nice guy. You should check out his website: www.jonathanbrowning.com. What's the work day for if not to cruise MySpace under the auspices of "networking"? Jonathan has a MySpace page where I passed a good half hour watching his comedy routines. His involvement with Mountainfilm began when his film, The Job showed at the festival.

Jonathan's post for Friday gave me goosebumps (in my sneak peak). I don't want to ruin the message, but it's a reminder that one person can instigate positive change.

The amazing thing about going through this process with Mountainfilm and the guest bloggers is how genuinely happy the guests are to post. Mountainfilm truly does have the power to change lives and inspire action. Jonathan Browning and the rest of the contributors are integral parts of that.

Sierra Designs and Ultimate Direction Become Newest Members of the Verde Family

Verde PR is proud to announce that it has become the agency of record for both Sierra Designs and Ultimate Direction, effective immediately. We share many of the same passions and core beliefs on performance, innovation and environment, which makes Verde team super excited to have both brands on board. Likewise, we are anxious to support Sierra Designs' new product innovations and a brand transformation that began in 2006.
At Winter OR, Sierra Designs will unveil a completely new performance apparel collection that we are anxious to check out. Verde will be supporting the company's rebranding efforts by highlighting new innovations and performance products, as well as an expansion of Sierra Designs Green Effect program commitment to cutting-edge, performance products made with sustainable materials. Check out the full press release for more details.

Sir Edmund Hillary Dies at Age 88

New Zealand, and much of the climbing community, suffered the loss of one of their most famous and greatest heroes today with the dead of Sir Edmund Hillary. He was, of course, one of the first known people to reach the summit of Mount Everest along with Sherpa Tenzng Norgay in 1953. He had several other significant accomplishments, among them was the first expedition to the south pole that included motor vehicles. He also accompanied Niel Armstrong on a flight expedition to the North Pole, which made him the first man to stand on both poles and the summit of Everest (via wikipedia). Here is an article about him from nzedge.com

Miōn Footwear Unveils Outdoor Retailer's First Human-Powered Booth at Winter Market 2008

Always exploring innovative ways to minimize its impact on the environment, Miōn Footwear announces it will utilize human power to generate the electricity needed for part of its trade show booth at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008, beginning Jan. 23 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Miōn is doing this via pedal-powered electricity generators provided by Windstream Power.

Miōn is inviting members of the media as well as visitors and exhibitors at the show to join its employees to help power the 20’ x 20’ booth.

“With some help, we will generate over 3,000 watts of electricity per day,” said Miōn General Manager Erik Burbank. “In addition to having a lot of fun, we think this project will expose people to a new and unique view of energy and its use.”

To participate, come to the Miōn booth, #32224. Everyone is welcome. Anyone who rides the bikes for a minimum of five minutes will be eligible to enter a daily prize drawing that will include a Riot whitewater kayak, two roundtrip airline tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S., GoPro’s new Helmet HERO helmet camera, Osprey ReSource courier bags, Julbo sunglasses, and other great raffle prizes. The prize drawing will be held in conjunction with a “hydration session” at the Miōn booth beginning at 5 p.m. the first three days of the show (Wednesday, Jan. 23, Thursday, Jan. 24 and Friday, Jan. 25).

All riders will experience the new Arantix mountain bikes from Delta 7 Sports of Payson, Utah. Arantix is the most advanced composite mountain bike frame in the world. The innovative new frame is manufactured using patented IsoTruss® technology. Visit www.delta7sports.com to learn more.

For additional information on Miōn, please visit www.mionfootwear.com.

Mountainfilm Welcomes Guest Bloggers

Beginning on Friday, January 11, Mountainfilm in Telluride welcomes a series of blog posts from the very people who make the festival the amazing experience it is. Filmmakers, climbers and adventurers have signed on to post a blog entry, keeping the world up to date with their latest endeavors. Guest entries will be posted every Friday through May.

Travel vicariously, get fired up, laugh, and be inspired into action by the Mountainfilm blog. Mountainfilm's mission is to educate and inspire audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining. The festival is the annual culmination of these goals. The blog serves as daily bread (or the Tuesday and Friday bread, as the case may be).

First Up:
January 11, 2008 - Kenny Laubbacher (Invisible Children)Filmmaker/Activist talks about getting stopped by a tribal leader in Uganda while touring the countryside on motorcycles with Pete Wentz, from Fall Out Boy. Seriously, it's that good.

The Mountainfilm blog, aptly named, The Conversation, encourages you to comment. Something has you fired up? Something making you laugh? Do you have an opinion other than that of the blogger? Sign in and comment. An RSS feed is available.

Ads for the Earth Benefit Auction with the Conservation Alliance

Fourteen leading outdoor publications have donated ad space the Conservation Alliance. The Conservation Alliance will be auctioning this ad space off, starting at 30 percent of full value, and all proceeds will benefit the efforts to protect North America’s wild places.

The auction begins on January 14 and will run through the 18.

Visit their Online Auction site to place your bid and increase your brand visibility, all at the benefit of a great cause.

Thanks to the following publications for their generous donations to the Conservation Alliance:

Backpacker
Canoe & Kayak Magazine
Climbing
Mother Jones
National Geographic Advernturer
Outdoor Business
Outside
Paddler
Sierra
SNEWS
TrailRunner
Urban Climber
Waterkeeper
Wend

La Sportiva Out On The Ice Fest Circuit

And you thought ice was only good for cocktails.

It’s that wonderful season we all find so pleasin’- that ice climbing time of year!

That’s right, thanks to some frigid temperatures, the ice is in, ushering in the ice climbing festival circuit.

Ice climbing festivals promote the sport of ice climbing, and are equally appealing to neophytes and accomplished mixed climbers alike. The sport of ice and mixed climbing is also a community, check out some of the characters here.

On January 9, one of the biggies starts: Ouray. It promises to be another fantastic long weekend of comps, clinics, product demos, slide shows – and camaraderie. Leave thoughts of work and responsibility behind and head up to the winter wonderland that is Ouray. Rub elbows with the best climbers in the world and check out the finest new product for scaling waterfall ice and picking your way up mixed routes. Thousands of people go to this festival, offering the opportunity to check in with old friends and kindred spirits.

La Sportiva will be there with a host of other top climbing product manufacturers – plugging back in to the source and recharging their batteries so to speak. Of course, they’re bringing a fleet of demo boots and a top-notch roster of athletes to lead clinics and compete in the comps, including Rob Cordery-Cotter, Audrey Gariepy, Steve House, Guy Lacelle, William H. Mayo, Dale Remsberg, Paul Stein, and Maxime Turgeon. But really it’s just an excuse to get out there.

La Sportiva is psyched to be on the road this season– look for them at Bozeman, Canmore, Mountain Fest, Michigan, North Conway, and Smuggler’s Notch.

Epidemic Threatens Verde on Versteegen's First Day

News Flash! Verde PR officially welcomes Kris Versteegen as our newest account executive. His first day was January 1, 2008, from which he was peculiarly absent - something about the flu. (Funny enough, all Verde staffers had the flu the day after New Year's Eve. Epidemic...hmmm...curious?) Kris has hit the ground running and will be handling key accounts as well as working with Kristin on new business acquisition.

The office is buzzing with news of the hiring.

"Versteegen is a lean, mean fighting machine. But I still think I can take him in a cage fight," says company president, Kristin Carpenter-Ogden.

"The depth of experience he brings will enhance our agency. Who is he - like Dorian Gray - to have accomplished so much already?" - Mary Buchmayr

"Finally! Another guy - we are in desperate need of more testosterone around here," said George Patten (former-token-male)

"Who?" - newbie, Brook Sutton

In all honesty, everyone at Verde is thrilled to welcome such a capable, experienced and creative member to the team. With Kris joining Kristin and Claire Ninde as partners, the agency is looking forward to a strong 2008 - and beyond. Verde will continue its heritage of commitment to its clients, the media and the pursuit of sustainability in the outdoor industry.