06/06/2009 by mtnspirit
Autralia's TravelSmart Program
If you’re looking for some of the most concise, easy to read travel tips and up-to-date travel advisories and advice read on. Included with my wife’s Aussie passport, is a travel brochure supplied by the Australian government. We all know Aussie’s and Kiwi’s are known for their Overseas Expeditions (OE) often lasting years. What better place to go for fine-tuned info. I picked up the brochure this morning, and scanned such titles as travel health, insurances (exciting topic), reciprocal health care agreements, the law, and tips on each region. A visit to their website shows the brochure (with assistance of Lonely Planet) in its entirety under different links for each topic on travel advisories and tips. It’s well organized and concise, from a country who’s citizens know travel.
Tags: Australian Governement, Mountain Spirit, Travel Insurance, Travel Tips, Travelling abroad, TravelSmart
Posted in Books, Health, Traveling | 4 Comments »
06/06/2009 by mtnspirit
“Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Abraham Lincoln
Posted in Quotes, This Just In Department | Leave a Comment »
05/06/2009 by mtnspirit
Near The Sunshine Route-Bergshrund Mt. Hood
I was a senior staff trainer at Outward Bound for their Instructor’s Alpine Courses on Mt. Hood. We were finalising a week of training with a successful summit climb. But on the ascent, there was one of those moments, when learning from experience could have been painful but wasn’t, because the outcome was positive. We were climbing the Snow Dome, on Mt. Hood’s northwest side, on the final approach to the Sunshine Route. I had been leading and training staff on this route for a few years prior, so was relatively familiar with the route, crevasses and bivy sites.
Site not far from snowbridge collapse
We set out from high camp on the snow dome early on a cloudless sunny day, a crisp snap in the spring air, crampons crunched the snow underfoot. I decided to let the trainees lead out on ropes of four, with one trainer per rope team. There were three rope teams, and my team was in the back, with taking up the final position. It was easy ground, and once we got to the base of the steeper terrain at the start of the Sunshine route, we’d rearrange the order.
Before setting off, we first decided who would lead out. I then briefed him on the route, which generally followed the crest of the snow dome, but Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bergshrund, Dexter Randy Richards, Glacial recession, Glacier Travel, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, Mt. Hood, Outdoor leadership, Outward Bound, Pacific Crest Outward Bound, Route finding, routefinding, Snow bridge collapse, Snow Dome, Staff Training, Sunshine Route
Posted in Climb/Ski/Mntneering, Conservation, Environment, Glaciology, Leadership | 1 Comment »
04/06/2009 by mtnspirit
MSI VP Bob Stremba
MSI Board Member Attends “Kids Outdoors” Conference
Mountain Spirit Institute board member Bob Stremba of Fort Lewis College’s Outdoor Pursuits, Durango, Colorado, recently attended a conference aimed at addressing initiatives of getting children outside more in the natural world. This “No Child Left Indoors” initiative has a strong advocate with Colorado Lt. Governor O’Brien who is currently soliciting suggestions in writing Colorado Kids‘ Outdoor Bill of Rights.
Stremba shared his findings at this week’s Mountain Institute staff meeting and asked what others in MSI thought about developing curriculum that can be replicated and offered throughout the USA to schools, summer camps and community recreation programs. Said Stremba, “Colorado residents in communities throughout the state are giving feedback on this exciting intiative. He added, “There are about 8 to 10 sites in Colorado working on this, and there will likely be partial government funding for such programs.” Those at the meeting agreed this direction is a good fit for Mountain Spirit.
- Revenge of Gaia
Founder Randy Richards said Mountain Spirit’s core values focus on body mind and spirit, spiritual experiential education, (or a term coined here “espiriential” education), learning from indigenous wisdom, environmental education, sustainability, social responsibility and service. He added, MSI was founded on just the values for which the ‘Kids in the Woods’ iniative is striving.”
Sustainable Communities Programs Director and MSI board member Brenda Dowst mentioned that she has noticed programs “popping up all over” her region in Nova Scotia, and said that including the Indian nation people to teach about giving back, the earth, about appreciation and understanding of the earth would be vital to such education.
She also refered to James Lovelock’s book, Revenge of Gaia, where he warns of the perils of ignoring nature and that our survival of a species, in its present numbers, is in question. She added her reason for bringing up the book in the meeting was that it could serve as a touchstone for moving such programs forward.
- Brenda Dowst
Colorado Kids Outdoors‘ statement of purpose states it “is a collaboration among organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors for whom the shared goal is increasing outdoor activity for children. The purpose of this effort is to create a comprehensive framework within the State of Colorado to support efforts of many diverse organizations to provide opportunities, environments and infrastructure for children throughout the State to spend significant quality time in the outdoors. The elements of this framework must include:
- Development and adoption of public policies at the state and local levels that reflects a very high priority for the goal of ensuring that all Colorado’s children, in particular minority and underserved children, have access to safe and healthy, structured and unstructured, outdoor experiences; (see resources below and.. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bob Stremba, Brenda Dowst, Colorado Kids Outdoors, Dexter R. Richards, Experiential Education, Fort Lewis College, James Lovelock, Kids Outdoors Bill of Rights, Mountain Spirit, No Child Left Behind, Outdoor Pursuits, Outdoor resources, Randy Richards, Revenge of Gaia, Susatainable Communities Espiritiential Education
Posted in Environment, Experiential Education, Holistic Living, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
25/05/2009 by mtnspirit
Fair Trade – Buying Instruments in Peru
Chromatic, Curved Zampona
I’m in cusco, and I found your website while searching for how to shop ethically while in Peru. I am particularly interested in musical instruments. Do you have any reccomendations or contacts you could share with me?
Thanks,
Ben E.
Dear Ben,
I will put you in touch with Guillermo Seminario, the musical director of Chimu Inka in Cusco.
There are a two things to consider when purchasing instruments in Peru, 1. Buying locally, and 2. quality:
First, regarding Fair Trade, the only thing to watch out for are guitars that may be manufactured in China, otherwise all other guitars, and all zampoñas and flutes will be either be made locally in the town or village, or on the coast such as Lima or Trujillo and shipped up to the mountain Gringo Trail towns in Peru.
Quena by Guillermo Seminario
Regarding quality, there are tourist grade instruments and professional grade which are calibrated at 440 hz (concert pitch) by the maker. And even with pro grade, it can be difficult to know you’re really getting concert pitch instruments unless you happen to carry an electronic tuner with you.
Guillermo Seminario, USA/Peru Music Exchange and Cusco Music Exchange Program Director for Mountain Spirit Institute, makes all his own flutes and zampoñas, and a cousin of his is in the charango manufacturing business on the coast.
I showed him a cheap version of a chromatic double row zampoña which I purchased in Bolivia, and he made a professional grade one, improving on the one I showed him. It’s top-notch and a real work horse, sound great, has a good tone and is made with spirit. It’s featured on our website’s fair trade page. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Fair Trade, Inbox, Music, Peru | 2 Comments »
23/05/2009 by mtnspirit
Christophe Pelet, Blogger extrodinaire in NZ's S.Alps
Christophe Pelet from France, shares images and word of New Zealand with heart.
A fellow traveler and volunteer hut warden at *French Ridge, *Frenchman (*coincidence? Maybe not) Christophe Pelet has become a good friend of ours. In fact he’s been hanging here in Auckland before he heads back to France. He’s been traveling New Zealand since late 2008 and been writing a great blog. But it’s in French so you’ll have to sharpen your French reading skills. He’s one of the best photographers I’ve seen, the images he creates through the lens of his camera are stunning and moving.
Author's niece and nephew with Christophe Pelet
So it’s worth a visit just for the photos. There’s tons of history and background on all sorts of New Zealand aspects, as well as good commentary on his *”Wwoof“ing experiences. *(World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms)
See Christophe’s Blog where his most recent entry is called “The Top of New Zealand.
Tags: adventure travel, Blogs in French, Christophe Pelet, Dexter R. Richards, ecospiritual psychology, Experiential Education, France, Holistic Living, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, New Zealand, Organic Farms, Peru, Randy Richards, Spiritual, Sunapee, Sustainability, travel photography, wwoof
Posted in New Zealand, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
23/05/2009 by mtnspirit
Suitcase or Backpack? How about both – A hybrid
Heading to High Camp, Huascaran, Peru
What you decide to take as your main travel luggage will depend mostly on what you’ll be doing. If you’re climbing Mt. Aconcogua or Mt. Huascaran Sur, you’ll be needing a “mule bag” full of climbing gear plus an expedition pack, which I usually carry on my back and wheel the mule bag around. If you’re vagabonding, with overnights in hostels or camping, a backpack is the way to go. If you’re doing a tour where you’ll mostly be in hotels, a hybrid bag is great.
Travel as lightly as you feel you can, My rule of thumb is lay out everything you think you want to bring and cut it by at least a third.
But you’ll need some trusty long underwear and possibly a down sweater or something like that if you’re headed to Lake Titicaca in July or August. The reason I mention this, before I answer the size of the luggage and type, is… The bulk of what you may take could be the insulation for the chilly nights in Cusco and Lake Titicaca.
Luggage is a personal preference. I prefer a backpack just because I like the freedom of it, and I have traveled that way for years. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Aconcogua, adventure travel, Dexter R. Richards, Huascaran, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, Peru, Randy Richards, Sunapee, The North Face, Travel Luggage, What's best travel bag
Posted in Peru, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
21/05/2009 by mtnspirit
Ida, The Missing Link
May 19, 2009—Meet “Ida,” the small “missing link” found in Germany that’s created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those who study human origins.
In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution.
Read the rest of this story at National Geographic’s website.
Tags: Ida, John Hurum, National Geographic
Posted in Archeology | Leave a Comment »
16/05/2009 by mtnspirit
From New Zealand to Utah, From Alaska to New Hampshire – Ice bergs to Honeycombs
It’s called calving, when a glacier’s edge dramatically breaks off. Many cruise ships take the tour along Alaska’s shores. From Seward and other harbors along the coast, one can sign on for a daily round-trip to get up close views.
Perito Mereno Glacier, Argentina
The dramatic Perito Mereno Glacier in Argentina’s Southern windswept Los Glaciares National Park has many visitors.and is possibly the most famous rivers of ice in the world because. It was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1981. Amanda and I stopped at Tasman Lake in New Zealand’s Mt. Cook National Park to see the floating ice bergs in the grey-green water thick with rock flower. We hiked up to the top of an old terminal moraine and saw the bergs as the sun was setting.
White Pine Lake, Utah
More than a few times, I’ve jumped into such frigid waters, after a run or back country mountain sleep, just to wake me up. While at University of Utah, when I was still learning about the mountains, I did an overnight up White Pine Canyon in the late fall and jumped into White Pine Lake near Snowbird. A few minutes later, it had a skim of ice on it. That’s chilly, but there were no icebergs or calving going on, just shivering.
Lake Tasman, Mt. Cook
The Tasman Glacier regularly claves ice bergs but the evening we were there it was calm and each iceberg gave us a show of *“petreflections” of various sizes and patterns.
When the ice goes out in Lake Sunapee, NH, the reader may be curious to know that there usually aren’t big ice bergs. Then again, I didn’t grow up on the west side of the lake, where the whole lot piles up on a windy afternoon leaving dramatic piles of ice, as if the town dump truck and just deposited its backlog for the winter. On the east side of the lake, we observe the ice gradually thinning from the spring melt, and as it thins, darkens to almost a black. It turn into “honeycomb ice” we call it, where its transformed from the meter-thick solid sheet that runs the whole lake, to fragile, loosely held together elongated splinters that fall apart when scooped up in your hand. Those of us that grew us as kids along the shore of a lake will know what I mean. Daily we watch the progression.
*Petreflections Galore
Official Ice Out day is declared when Artie Osborne can take his boat from the north tip at George’s Mills to Newbury, some 10-13 miles distant without obstruction. To my knowledge, he still makes the trip, and in the process, closes the informal town bets for the season. Go swim in an ice-berg filled lake sometime. It’s the right thing to do.
Author’s Note: Also see my earlier entry on largest iceberg breaks off of Tasman Glacier in 100 years.
*Petreflections: A term coined by Kathy Lowe. See her link above.
Tags: adventure travel, Alaska, Argentina, Arthur Osborne, Dexter R. Richards, ecospiritual psychology, Experiential Education, Georges Mills, Holistic Living, Ice Bergs, Kathy Lowe Bloch, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Los Glaciares National Park, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, Mt. Cook National Park, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, New Zealand, Newbury NH, Petroflections, Randy Richards, Sunapee NH, Sustainability, UNESCO, Utah, White Pine Canyon
Posted in Environment, Glaciology, New Zealand, Power of Place, South America, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
16/05/2009 by mtnspirit
Mountain Spirit expresses its condolences to the family, friends, and fellow staff at North Carolina Outward Bound, of Matthew Lizotte of Aspen, Colorado, 25, who died Sunday while leading a group up 11,411-foot Mount Tronador in Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park. Lizotte was a senior instructor for NCOBS and was one of three experienced instructors leading a semester course in Patagonia. To know more about the circumstances, Read the AP Article.
Tags: Aspen Colorado, Huapi National Park, Matthew Lizotte, Mt. Tronador, North Carolina Outward Bound School
Posted in Milestones | Leave a Comment »
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