Posts Tagged ‘Mountain Spirit’
21/12/2009
Interactive Avalanche Education Online
From Backcountry Magazine,
By Lance Riek
Fracture Zone- Avalanche
Whether you’re just beginning to learn about avalanches, or you want to clean out the summer cobwebs, the American Avalanche Association online tutorial is the place to start,” says Doug Abromeit, director of the National Avalanche Center.
The interactive avalanche awareness tutorial, developed by the Sawtooth Avalanche Center forecaster Chris Lundy, is now online at avalanche.org The click-through, online tutorial covers the basics of indentifying unstable snow and avy terrain, how to travel safely, and how to perform a rescue. There are guidelines for avalanche class organization and progression, and a list of course providers and locations.
Care to dig deeper? The U.S. Forest Service website fsavalanche.org, provides information on analyzing stability, performing stability tests, and decision-making to stay safe in avalanche country.
Editor’s Note: Backcountry Magazine is a long-standing publication which we recommend because of its focus on human-powered skiing rather than lift-served, the latter which is…way passé. I’ve been reading the magazine for years.
Mountain Spirit Institute Founder R. Richards is certified Avalanche Level II training and a certified Level II backcountry ski guide with PSIA-I. Some of his training was under the legendary Alan Bard, in Bishop California, and Richards has taken the AMGA Ski Guides Course among other trainings. He’s a 20+ year “individual member” of the American Mountain Guides Association.
Image: From How Stuff Works, courtesy NOAA
Tags:American Avalanche Association, American Mountain Guides Association, Backcountry Magazine, Chris Lundy, Dexter R. Richards, Doug Abromeit, fsavalanche.org, Interactive Avalanche Education Online, Mountain Spirit, National Avalanche Center, R. Richards, Randy Richards, Sawtooth Avalanche Center, U.S. Forest Service, USFS
Posted in Climb/Ski/Mntneering | Leave a Comment »
16/12/2009
Mt. Everest, Dramas and Ticklists..And, Another Way
By R. Richards
Drama in the Mountains
I probably would have had the opportunity when mountain guiding for Alpine Ascents International, to eventually guide on Mt. Everest. Had I the interest to do so, or stayed with the company, that opportunity might have arisen. But I moved away from the classical “guiding life” to return back to my experiential education roots, and started Mountain Spirit Institute.
There seem to be a few **main types of characters in the mountains. The tribe with which I’m most comfortable is the Outward Bound experiential group of students and instructors, who are willing to step out of their comfort zones, “stretch” and allow the place and experience to change them.
Then there’s the N.O.L.S. (National Outdoor Leadership School) student or graduate who tends to be more pragmatic in wanting an experience in just the mountain skills with a touch of “expedition behavior” mixed in and important “leave no trace”.
Then there’s a third group, usually professionals, but not always, who want to tick off another peak, whether it’s one of the seven summits, or Mt. Rainier. They want to say they’ve done it. They’re more interested in the trophy than the experience. (more…)
Tags:Alpine Ascents International, best practices, Communication, Ethics and Guiding, Expedition behavior, Expeditions, Experiential Education, Health in the mountains, High Crimes, Kurt Hahn, Michael Kodas, mountain crimes, Mountain Spirit, Mt. Everest, NOLS, Outward Bound, Willie Prittie
Posted in Books, Climb/Ski/Mntneering, Environment, Experiential Education, Focus on MSI People, Holistic Living, Inner Work, Leadership, Peru, Power of Place, Room For Improvement, Spiritual, Traveling | 2 Comments »
16/12/2009
Punyma Taha from Bhutan was a vendor recently at the 17th Vermont International Festival in Burlington, Vermont, USA. She shares a bit about her life in the USA and how she came to live in Vermont. Her booth was next to our Mountain Spirit Institute booth, and we had chatted a bit, so when we asked her if she would be willing to be interviewed for this blog, she gladly accepted the offer.
Tags:Bhutan refugees, Burlington Vermont, Mountain Spirit, Randall Richards, Randy Richards, U.S. Immigration, Vermont International Festival
Posted in 1- Video Posts, Fair Trade, Mountain People, MSI News | Leave a Comment »
10/12/2009
by Bob Stremba, PhD
MSI Board Member
TV- Not all it's cracked up to be
A couple of weeks ago I stumbled onto the Simple Living Network and was reminded about what’s important in life. I don’t think it’s Thanksgiving day football games on a bazillion inch widescreen flatscreen high def LCD 1080p 120 megahertz TiVo Wifi iPod-enabled TV. What’s important, I’m convinced, is authentic connections to self, others and the environment, and that happens to be what Mountain Spirit Institute (MSI) is all about.
The Simple Living Network has its roots in a movement, which began in the 1970’s with publication of the book, Voluntary Simplicity, by Duane Elgin and Arnold Mitchell. Simple living, according to their website, is about living an examined life—one in which you have determined what is important, or “enough,” for you, discarding or minimizing the rest. Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich. So I recently cleaned out some closets, donated more clothes to the local thrift shop, and got rid of more clutter. More stuff brings more stress.
Weaving in Willoc, Peru
It struck me that Mountain Spirit Institute is doing today what voluntary simplicity launched over 30 years ago. The values at the heart of a simpler way of life are…
1. Material simplicity: Owning and buying things that promote activity, self-reliance, and involvement, rather than items that induce passivity and dependence.
2. Human scale: A preference for human-sized living and working environments, rather than institutions and living environments that are anonymous, incomprehensible, and artificial.
3. Self-Determination: Less dependence upon large, complex institutions whether in the private sector (the economy) or public sector (the political processes); a desire to assume greater control over one’s personal destiny and not lead a life so tied to installment payments, maintenance costs and the expectations of others.
Field/Lake near Chinchero, Peru
4. Ecological Awareness: The interconnectedness and interdependence of people and resources. This awareness often seems to extend beyond a concern for purely physical resources to include other human beings as well. A preference for living where there is ready access to nature.
5. Personal Growth: For many persons taking up a materially simple way of life, the primary reason is to clear away external clutter so as to be freer to explore the “inner life.” (more…)
Tags:Bob Stremba, Chinchero, Duane Elgin and Arnold Mitchell, Experiential Education, Fort Lewis College, Huaraz Peru, Mountain Spirit, Peru, Simple Living Network, Voluntary Simplicity
Posted in Books, Experiential Education, Holistic Living, Inner Work, Power of Place, South America, Spiritual, Sustainable Travel, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
09/12/2009
R. Richards interviews Women from Tibet, India at Vermont International Festival
These two wonderful woman, one from Tibet and the other, from India were fellow vendors at the Vermont International Festival. Click on the video below to learn more about them.
Tags:Immigration, India, Mountain Spirit, Tibet, Vermont International Festival
Posted in 1- Video Posts, Fair Trade, Inspirational People, Mountain People | Leave a Comment »
03/12/2009
Three Guys from the Andes putting up a Tipi in New Hampshire?
By Randall Richards
G. Seminario placing a pole
It’s not every day you see three Peruvians at a New Hampshire State Park setting up a tipi. But this is what happened at Mountain Spirit Institute’s SunFest, a holistic health and sustainability event held at Mount Sunapee last year.
Band leaders Guillermo Seminario, Wachi Taype and Mario Montalvo had just arrived from Peru the week before, for their first visit to the U.S.
The three were in the U.S under invitation from Mountain Spirit Institute to teach and perform Andean folklore music throughout Vermont and New Hampshire.
Three Peruvians lacing up a Tipi
I decided to press them into action to help me erect our tipi for the SunFest. The tipi would be used for classroom space and presentations by vendors and speakers invited to come to the SunFest.
I took the opportunity to get some shots of Guillermo, Wachi and Mario as they happily worked on putting up the tipi poles, fabric and the lacing pins. I kept asking them if they didn’t mind helping out, and they kept saying they were glad to learn about tipis. “It’s not something we ever thought we’d be doing,” said band director Guillermo Seminario, of Trujillo and Cusco, Peru.
Project complete
The group ended up playing Peruvian music at the SunFest as well as at other venues throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. While their tour was successful, (and they helped take the Tipi down after the SunFest), this turned out being their most unusual project during their stay, aside from playing in a few offbeat bars.
Tags:Chimu Inka, Dexter R. Richards, Mountain Spirit, Mt. Sunapee State Park, Peruvians in New Hampshire, Sunapee, Sunapee SunFest, Tipi
Posted in Focus on MSI People, MSI News | Leave a Comment »
30/11/2009
The Ripple Effect of One Couple’s Decision
By Randall Richards
Salatin Family Farm
Because William and Lucille Salatin decided to moved their young family to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and purchase a worn-out farm, they had the choice of how they were going to manage the farm.
Because they decided to “use nature as a pattern” in their farming practices, they established a way of farming that worked for them, the land, and the animals they raised.
Because they began using innovative ideas on how to farm sustainably in the early sixties, they knew what worked for them. (more…)
Tags:Food Inc, Fresh, Joel Salatin, Mountain Spirit, Polyface Farm, Sustainability, Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Living/Communities, William and Lucille Salatin
Posted in Animals, Conservation, Environment, Film/DVD, Health, Holistic Living, Leadership, Sustainable Living/Communities | 1 Comment »
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