Alex shares what he likes about his role at head of Thompson Island Outward Bound Center just outside of Boston, MA. USA.
The center is located on a beautiful island reachable by shuttle boat for students and the public. Go check it out, meanwhile here’s what Alex has to say about TIOBC.
Archive for the ‘1- Video Posts’ Category
Thompson Island Outward Bound
10/02/2012Getting Out – Seeing the World
06/02/2012Rachael Umbriano is Taking a Big Bite Out of Life
I met Rachael at a recent wilderness emergency medicine refresher course in North Conway, NH where we were both participants. Rachael just finished a year-long stint studying in Italy and traveling to 40 countries in her spare time while in Europe. A rock climber and go-getter, Rachael has some cool ambitions – see her vid below.
Learn how getting out of the U.S. for an extended period can shift your perspective. The Aussie’s and Kiwi’s call it an O.E. (overseas expedition). Most Americans, due to our work and study schedules, plus our limited work reciprocity with other countries only take short visits abroad. Rachael doesn’t fit that stereotype.
Snow Safety on Mt. Washington
04/02/2012Helping to keep Climbers, Skiers and Hikers Safer on Mt. Washington, NH, USA
Chris Josen of the US Forest Service is one of a small group of avalanche forecasters and safety personnel on Mount Washington’s east side, where Tuckerman’s Ravine sees thousands of backcountry skiers per season. Not all come well equipped or knowledgeable about how to safely travel in the winter snow-scape. Learn more about what Chris does on Mt. Washington, the highs and lows, and what motivates him.
SOLO, After All These Years
03/02/2012Dr. Frank Hubbell started SOLO, (Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities) in the mid-’70’s and is still going strong. I was recently at SOLO’s base in New Hampshire, renewing my Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician qualifications and thought I’d share some footage of the place that many outdoor professionals know so well. SOLO offers a wide variety of programs. I met some interesting folks attending this re-cert, and will post an interview or two here in the coming days.
From their website: SOLO took root in the early 1970s and grew out of the vision of its founders Frank Hubbell and Lee Frizzell (husband and wife). As Frank recalls, pre-hospital care 
was in its infancy, and an organized EMS system didn’t exist yet in New Hampshire. The concept of providing emergency care to the sick and injured revolved around what is today referred to as the “Golden Hour.” “As skiers, climbers, and EMTs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, we would respond to the call for injured hikers and climbers,” Frank remembers. “It very quickly became apparent that the skills that we had learned as “street EMTs” did not work in the wilderness environment. We had to learn how to provide care outside the golden hour. But, that information was not available—we had to learn it through experience.” Frank’s frustration with the lack of an appropriate “wilderness” standard led to the creation of one of the first, if not the first, wilderness emergency medicine courses in the country. By 1975, a basic “Mountain/Woods First Aid” course was taken on the road by Frank, and taught to the few folks who could see its value.. Read more..
In addition to SOLO, there are also a number of organizations offering Wilderness First Responder and EMT trainings. I’ll probably cover a few of them in this blog at some point
A “Modest” Kiwi Environmental Centre
14/01/2012Check out the South Coast Environmental Society, and stay tuned for the video, “Welcome to the Food Forest”. There are tons of volunteer opportunities as well.
YOUR FOOD SUPPLY #31: A Modest Kiwi Environmental Centre Note: (This video series started in 2010, while listening to the audio version of the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, when Amanda and I were driving across the U.S. and were seeing the effects of industrial farming in real time while listening to the book. Here’s that first entry Your Food Supply #1 To see the whole series, click on the category “Your Food Supply” in the category section of this blog on the right of your screen.
A Restored Mountain Hut Getaway with Good Energy
11/01/2012A New Zealand Farmer Does Good by Following His Passion
Tom O'Brien of High Country Walks
Tom O’Brien, owner of Blackmore Farm and founder of High Country Walks has followed his passion by offering up a little hut on the back side of his 5000 acre farm. Called the Chinaman’s Hut, it was restored some years ago, by local volunteers, Tom and his father. The hut is situated on the rolling mountains of the Slate Range, just south of the Remarkables Mountains, on the border of Otago and Southland. Tom took the afternoon to show me his farm, the backcountry and the Chinaman’s Hut. below is a short piece on the hut, and a chat with Tom about his philosophy and passion of sharing this part of the world with others.We’re in hopes, here at Mountain Spirit Institute of collaborating with Tom by running some programs on the Slate Range and Blackmore Farm. We chatted about providing Solo’s and other types of programs.
Thanks for the time you took to show me around Tom!
Note: I’ve met one of the volunteers who helped restore the Chinaman’s Hut, a neighbor of ours here in Kingston named Dusty, who I’ll see if I can get on tape in the next few days. He has an interesting story to tell of not only this restoration project by many others.
How do You Move?
29/11/2011
Andrew Lees - Moves!
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films….. = a trip of a lifetime.
MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
Spring Skiing in New Zealand’s Backcountry
16/10/2011
The View of Kingston/Lake Wakatipu From Above
“Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” Walt Whitman
The other day, as the spring corn was coming onto the scene, I finally decided to investigate the moderate ridgetops of our valley here in the Wakatipu Basin in Kingston, New Zealand. The skiing wasn’t the steepest, and the “peaks” aren’t the sharpest in the Southern Alps, but the snow was damn perfect. After all, the first ski hut in New Zealand was just down the road on the Nevis Road. There must have been a reason for that being the first NZ ski field.
What I found after a two hour hike to snowline, were broad snowfields of cornsnow with some minor peaks along the ridge. Evidently this is where a snowmobile/heli-ski operation brought people up last season. I could see them lifting off, just across the road, and thought, “If they’re headed up there, must be something to it.” We live in Kingston, a sleepy little town, home of spectacular scenery, rock climbing, dramatic walks, a long pebble beach at the south end of the second largest lake in New Zealand, and home to an eclectic community that hasn’t been discovered by Queenstown yet. Oh I almost forgot to I mention the Kingston Flyer steam train, which is now up and running, after a number of years in receivership. Look closely at the image on right, the clouds of smoke are from the steam train’s maiden test run, and from the fires it started along side the tracks.
A long, fun day. Rising at 4:40 I hit the DOC trailhead by 5:30, and got back to the car around 18:30 I was a little tired, but jazzed. Fortunately there were freezing temperature up high, so by 10am, there was perfect corn on the northern aspects. I took some pix and video, so decided just to blend them into a movie for the day…Enjoy.
The Story of the Splitboard, from Utah
15/10/2011I couldn’t resist a great story.
Wally has always had the spirit of adventure and lightheartedness with his business building bindings, skis and boards. Good on ya Wally.
Good on ya Cowboy Kobernik for being tenacious with your idea.
NZ: Where Does the Snow Go?
14/08/2011
A few days after the storm, the snow will melt to the 500-900m level, leaving the lakeside green and lush as if no storm had ever passed this way.
The South Island at 300m does have snowstorms, – we’re in the middle of one now, see the video shot a few moments ago. But in a few days, a week at the most, this scene will probably be a distant memory. There will be green grass and sunny days – like a schizo change from dug-in to hanging out. It’s a little like the western Washington’s winters.
Last month however, we had a good storm, that sent cars skidding off the Queenstown lakeside road and as well as points south to Lumsden. The road in both directions was closed for 24hrs due to the storm, with travelers stuck at our local Kingston store/cafe, reminiscent of a treacherous day I’d had on I-80 west of Laramie, Wyoming, where I ended up waiting it out in a truckstop near Elk Mountain or Rawlins. Maybe this storm will be the same.
I was geared up, mentally, when the last one hit. I was digging in for the long haul and getting wood in near the stove, keeping ahead of the accumulation by shoveling and keep the van cleared off. It was reminding me of New Hampshire, or when I lived in Albion Basin in Alta, Utah. But then it all changed. I was all dressed up and ready for winter, and it all melted, but it didn’t in adjacent higher elevations..
There will be good skiing up high, that’s for sure.
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