An Outward Bound base of operations in Washington State will be reopened according to the Northwest Outward Bound School Board of Directors. I’m glad to hear this good news, as I spent many a day there when working for OB, and like many instructors, still consider it my other home. This just in..
“On Monday, several members of the Washington Advisory Council (Steve Smith, Josh Cole, Dave Betts, Wyatt Southworth-Thomas, Julie Weis) drove to Portland to present a few options for the potential reopening of the Mazama basecamp. The following has been released from the board of directors of the Northwest Outward Bound School:
“The Northwest Outward Bound School Board of Directors has enthusiastically committed to reopening the Washington Program and the Mazama Basecamp for the 2013 season. How robust this programming will be has not yet been determined, but
OB student rappels in the North Cascade Wilderness
Northwest Outward Bound School Board, staff, and volunteers look forward to offering powerful programs in a spectacular setting. Reviving the program has taken the effort, commitment, and dedication of dozens of people on the Washington Advisory Council and the Friends of Mazama group, and moving from this decision to program implementation will take the support of many more people. For this to come to fruition, we need to raise a significant amount of funding, and we accept gifts through our website (www.nwobs.org) or at 31520 E. Woodard Street, Troutdale, OR, 97060. Your contribution toward this effort will make it a reality. We wish to thank all of those who have given time, energy, and funds to get us to this place and to all of those who will offer support in the coming months.”
Mountain Spirit Institute Offers Upcoming Programs and Special Events
Mountain Spirit Institute of the Dartmouth Lake Sunapee Region and Queenstown New Zealand area, is offering programs this summer and fall in New Hampshire, based on its mission to “help people reconnect with the environment, each other and a deeper connection to one’s self”.
The first program, on July 22nd , is an Adventure Educator’s Sharing Symposium open to teachers, students and outdoor educators who would like to share, learn and apply best practices of group processing and facilitation, especially with a holistic approach. There is no charge, as MSI is offering this as a public service.
Mountain Spirit will also be offering a Reconnection with Nature Hike on July 24th where there will be hiking to a local mountaintop, and participants will have a chance to relax with a short meditation and powerful nature reading. Again, there is no charge, as MSI is offering this as a public service.
On July 28th there will be a one-day Solo retreat starting at eight in the morning with a basic orientation and safety talk. Participants will then be shown their own “solo spot” where they will spend the day with minimal gear and distractions. There is a nominal program fee for this event. There will also be an Overnight Solo on August 24th and 25th where participants spend the night under a tarp in a beautiful local setting. The goal for Solo’s are to reconnect, unplug, contemplate and be present in nature with few distractions with the safety net of experienced facilitators and guides. Solos will also be offered as an on-demand basis.
Lama Miller
Mountain Spirit Institute is collaborating with Lama Willa Miller of the Wonderwell Refuge, in Springfield NH on an outdoor adventure program called Mindfulness in the Mountains. The Natural Dharma Fellowship has a retreat center, where the program will be based for the weekend of Oct 12-14th.
MSI will offer again its MSI Film Series, one of which will be Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. This remarkable film follows two men, one an Australian and other an American truck driver, on their amazing path to recovering their health through juicing and healthy lifestyle choices . There will be some testimonials and discussion after the film. They do what their website calls a “reboot of your body”.
Rock Climbing will be offered to parent/children pairs, as well as families up to four, on the local crags in the region by appointment.
Mountain Spirit Institute is an insured non-profit educational organization started in 1998. Their first program was a cultural immersion trip to Peru. All of the summer and fall programs will be facilitated and managed by internationally recognized guides and facilitators. For more information on any of these programs or on Mountain Spirit Institute, visit their website at www.mtnspirit.org or call 603-763-2668
Although I’ve had a backlog of ideas and material for MSI’s blog, and have even shot some footage for video posts (stay tuned), our family has been busy with a major move of late. Nevertheless, it’s time to start writing again. Plus, we have some upcoming programs that may be of interest!:
Adventure Educator’s Symposium July 22: Share,learn and apply best practices of processing & facilitation. Open to students, teachers and outdoor educators. No charge.
Reconnecting with Nature HikeJuly 24: Hike to a mountain-top, relax with a short meditation and a powerful reading.
Getting Outside! Nature Deficit Disorder July 25, 7pm: How do you view nature? Do you find it hard to get nature time? Technology got ya?
Solo July 28: 1 day retreat in a beautiful setting to unplug.
SoloOvernight Aug 25/6: Saturday morning head out to a private spot, supervised retreat, minimal gear.
Mindfulness in the MountainsOct 13/14: Co-sponsored with Natural Dharma Fellowship, come explore the adventure within through Rock Climbing / Hike / Kayak.
Rock Climbing as Metaphor for Life: By appt. For families up to four.
Stay tuned for more info or to contact us, and please visit us at mtnspirit.org Cheers,
R. Richards
Mountaineer and Filmmaker Dave Breashers presents Rivers of Ice, Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya
Before and After Shots..Not Good.
The Greater Himalaya has the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar ice sheets, providing vital fresh water for almost every major system of Asia. Over the past five years, Breashears and the team of his nonprofit organization, GlacierWorks, has conducted ten photographic expeditions to the region, to study and document the effects of climate change on this delicate landscape.
Dave Breashears
Breashears presents at the Boston Museum of Science on April 12, but alas, tickets are sold out. Nevertheless we thought it was worth the post here. You might try to try the climber’s move and squeeze in somewhere.
Retracing the steps of pioneering alpine photographers and explorers George Mallory, Vittorio Sella and others, Breashears and the team have captured high-definition photographs that match those of the earliest expeditions. By comparing this contemporary imagery with the historic photographs, Breashears and his team are discovering staggering changes to the region—changes with potentially devastating consequences.
There is debate in the scientific community about the rate and extent to which Himalayan glaciers are shrinking. Nevertheless, scientists agree that there is a trend of melting beyond what is expected to occur naturally. Although future impacts of glacial melt cannot be known, any disruption to the water supply will inevitably present challenges to the millions of people living downstream.
Breashears plans on sharing his work in a blend of first-person story telling and imagery.
More info: Mount Washington Observatory
Thursday, April 12, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm Museum of Science, Boston
By R. Richards,
Lama* Willa Miller, head of a Tibetan sect of Buddhism, based in Cambridge Mass, continues the interview on the new Wonderwell Refuge, the importance of being in nature, as well as her own early influences and experiences being in the wilderness with her father in Idaho. We also talked about Richard Louv’s concept of Nature Deficit Disorder, a term the author coined in his book, The Last Child in the Woods.
The early teachings of Buddhism emphasized the refuge of wilderness, the mountain top, the cave. Lama Miller sees this as a return to the traditional ways of Buddhism by encouraging her visitors to the refuge, to get out on mindfulness walks in nature. See Part I here. *(Lama: A title given in Tibetan Buddhism to a venerated spiritual master, a monk/priest of high rank) Mountain Spirit Institute is planning a collaborative effort with The Wonderwell Refuge to offer a Mindfulness in the Mountains retreat in the fall of 2012.
The meditation hall at Wonderwell Refuge, Springfield, New Hampshire
Lama Willa Miller, the spiritual leader of a Natural Dharma Fellowship branch in Massachusetts, talks about a new refuge center, and the importance of mindfulness in the mountains. Part 1
Lama Willa Miller
By R. Richards Mountain Spirit Institute
The Dartmouth Lake Sunapee region of New Hampshire, USA has the good fortune of seeing a new Tibetan Buddhist Refuge open in the tiny town of Springfield. After a recent open house, we learned about what Lama Willa Miller, the leader of the Cambridge Mass based branch of The Natural Dharma Fellowship, has in mind for the new retreat center called Wonderwell, as well as the link between Buddhism and the mountains. Learn more, check out this first in series of interviews we conducted on location. See Part II
Mountain Spirit Institute names Ken Wylie to Board of Directors
Ken Wylie
Ken Wylie, a veteran certified mountain guide from Cochrane Alberta, Canada with years as an experiential educator and program manager at Canadian universities as well as Outward Bound Canada and the Outward Bound USA, has recently been named to the board of directors at Mountain Spirit Institute based in the U.S. and New Zealand. In addition to helping guide the U.S. organization, Wylie has plans to launch a Mountain Spirit Institute Canada where he will create mountain programs based on the mission statement. Mr. Wylie and founder Randall Richards along with fellow board members are in discussions about also collaborating on mountain programs in the U.S, New Zealand and possibly the Alps.
Says Wylie, “I am drawn to Mountain Spirit Institute because of the organization’s vision. MSI has the vision for the 21st century in my estimation, and is what I have been searching for in my career.” Adds Wylie, “The mountains are an experience that can change people’s lives, but are more often than not just another consumable, another peak to check off the list. What people need now more than ever, is to connect and MSI helps them do that.” (more…)
backcountry skiing Big Cottonwood's USA Canyon, behind The Canyons, site of the proposed "SkiLink"
Once again, the Wasatch mountains outside of Salt Lake City, Utah are being threatened by ski resort expansion under the guise of a transportation solution. I spent many years in the Wasatch, and during my absence, Dick Bass has managed to put not only a chairlift in Mineral Basin on the back side of Snowbird, (read “DogBird”, the name coined by mountain guide Dennis Turville) but a crazy tunnel (locals call it the Bass Hole) complete with magic carpet conveyer belt-type rig, under Hidden Peak to allow intermediate skiers access to the once pristine back bowl, Then there’s cat skiing somewhere near Ruth’s pass above Alta, and not to mention the insanity of helicopter skiing on national forest lands.
This proposed development would severely impact the backcountry ski experience and wilderness qualities of the beautiful Wasatch mountains. If you’re a Utah resident, or even a visitor to the Wasatch and you’ve had just about enough encroachment in one range, visit SaveOurCanyons’ website here to chime in and see what you can do to help give your two cents worth.
A sane backcountry skier points out where the proposed SkiLink would go, obliterating acres and acres of pristine backcountry ski terrain and wilderness area.
It saves trees and the presentation is amazing, and great images. I’m quite impressed with Black Diamond’s reach-out with their new online catalog. Check it out.
A Panorama from the new Black Diamond online catalog. Hmm..worth the price of admission.
Mountain Spirit's Blog 