The North Face

Dec 23 | My Day "Living the Dream"

By Renan Ozturk

My quintessential day here in Boulder Colorado. For most of the last 6 years I've been a traveling vagabond following my passion for art and climbing. This existence involved sleeping outside in wild places, hitching rides, having very little belongings, a drained bank account and some gourmet dumpster diving for food. I climbed everyday and lived my dream. These days I'm a domesticated man. By most people's standards I'm still living in the ghetto with my 1988 beater car and trailer-like house. Each day I find time to escape to the nearby rock spires and bag a summit. Making this creative short I realized that I still live my dream everyday...! and some making of...

Dec 20 | BAck To The Roots: Indian Creek 5.13a F.A. of M.D.M.C.P. 09

By Cedar Wright

Man was it great to get back down to Indian Creek over Thanks Giving!! Indian Creek has always been one of my favorite climbing areas, and it felt like coming home as I rolled Beef Basin with my good friend Nick Martino. Over the years I've been lucky to put up some classic First Ascents in the Creek that buck the trend of the straight in splitter and offer up more complex esoteric climbing. My most recent foray into the unknown continued with this trend. Nick and I were lucky to establish our new route over a few days and headed back to Boulder psyched on our little dose of adventure. We both lead the crux pitch, and I managed to onsight the wild twenty five foot roof on the third pitch by the skin of my teeth. We named the route the "Micah Dash Memorial Choss Pile" in honor of our good friend Micah Dash who was lost in the mountains of China this year. I think he would have appreciated the tongue-in-cheek name, which as it turns out is not a choss pile at all!! Micah loved the creek and was always good for a laugh and a quality shit talking session around the fire. Well...Enjoy everyone. Happy Holidays!! Cedar Wright.

Dec 16 | Copenhangen update - Dec 16

By The North Face

The North Face Director of Sustainability, Letitia Webster reports from Copenhagen.

Latest update:As the Bella Center overflows and pressure builds, a focus on the human side of climate change comes to the forefront.

In a panel discussion today led by Fmr Irish President Mary Robinson, a deeper look into how the current dialogue and potential policy will effect the human rights of indigenous cultures and developing nations played out to a packed house. According to the WHO over 150k people die due to impacts of climate change annually, these are already compromised people who are living of the land day-to-day.

Moreover, with heavy debates on adaption financing, it is these groups that need it the most, who will see their livelihood's challenged. Why does this matter?

Because it will create global unrest and security issues for the US. And, many of these people live in places where we all love to explore. These are often the communities that support your backpacking trip in Nepal, in the Andes or in Africa, these are the families of the guides, and Sherpas who will be the hardest hit.

Developing strong policies around mitigation will help slow emissions, but could bring unintended consequences such as encouraging biofuels, which in theory is great. However, it can create land scarcity for food production and could drive up the price of food. Hydropower, another great option also has unintended consequences if not considered appropriately. It can divert water resources from entire communities, lead to decreased fish populations, and contribute to loss of flood plains.. all of these unintended consequences strike the lowest income and subsistence living communities around the world.

As we negotiate the nuances of a National & Global climate change policy we must also ensure the communities where we explore and depend upon are considered.

Benjamin Franklin said, "we must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately."

With two days left, tension and anxiety is building here. Demonstrations and riots are increasing and frustration abounds. A lot of excitement was placed on "Hopenhagen" for the world and powers to be to put aside politics and short term issues to develop a long-term global framework that can deliver strong emission targets, and respectful financing options.

We could play the what if game very easily, especially from the US perspective, as in, IF we had come to the table with political will and backing, everyone here agrees we would be making much more progress then we are.

So where do we go from here? If you care about this issue, call your Senator, email your Senator, and have your friends contact their Senators, especially those in swing states, to let them know you want strong action from the US. Will the framework be perfect? No. But as the global leader and the largest polluter, we have the responsibility to step up.

Today Al Gore announced his goal to have a climate Change Bill passed in the US by the 40th anniversary of Earth Day 2010. And US leaders such as Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator John Kerry are here rallying the troops and trying to keep the "hope" alive.

We must remain positive and understand that no matter what emerges on Friday, this has raised the global consciousness and especially the US one.

 

Dec 16 | Vertical Carnival The Album

By Cedar Wright

If you have been following the Vertical Carnival blog for long, you probably realize that I make most of the music for the short films that Renan and I bring you every week.  On my rest days from Climbing, I produce the music on my computer fusing together live and electronic instruments, along with my funky vocal stylings.  After years of creating this music mostly for short videos, I've compiled 20 songs into Vertical Carnival The Album, which is available HERE!!!  

Dec 16 | SPECIAL REPORT: Live from Copenhagen

By The North Face

 

The North Face Director of Sustainability, Letitia Webster, reports from Copenhagen, exclusively for Backpacker Magazine.

COPENHAGEN: DECEMBER 14, 2009

The conference is a lesson in chaos theory. There are literally hundreds of things going on at once, including a 60,000-person demonstration that shut the city down, including the metro for several hours. A mix between a tradeshow, sustainability conference, and a policy/government wonkfest, there are opportunities to learn and share constantly. Two highlights from my first day on Saturday included a session on REDD and a panel with National Wildlife Federation President, Larry Schweiger. Full Report here.

 

Dec 15 | TNF/WIRED magazine event in the big apple

By Renan Ozturk

Jimmy Chin and I just finished the WIRED magazine photo and video clinic in NYC. We laid out what is like to produce authentic media from expeditions that keeps us fired up as athletes and also satisfies the brand and production objectives. It was the first time I've been to the city since an elementary school field trip...I felt such a wave a creative energy from the constant movement and visual stimulus. Quite different than the our usual Himalayan glacier style environment. Eventually I'd like to mix this city footage within a mountain film, the contrast could be quite powerful. All the best, Renan

Dec 12 | Athlete Summit, another snippet

By Renan Ozturk

A stunning story by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa combined with a live DJ boat party, an action sports photo shoot and an impromptu late night In & Out burger run.

Dec 10 | Copenhagen

By The North Face

Changes in the world’s climate continue to affect us all. It means shorter ski seasons and continued drought and decimation in the areas we all love to explore. The North Face believes a strong policy on climate change is necessary, and we will use our global brand strength to help in this effort.

It was discouraging to see the recent news that the Senate will not take up proposed climate legislation until spring of 2010. The United Nations Climate Change Conference is happening now in Copenhagen, and while the likelihood of a binding international agreement is small, it would be an extremely positive step forward for the U.S. to take a leadership role in affecting real change to worldwide policy.

This will not deter The North Face from our belief that a strong policy is necessary. Nor will it deter us from inspiring you help play an integral part in the passing of a strong domestic and international climate change policy. There is too much at stake.

A strong policy on climate change is extremely important not only from a business perspective but also so we can continue to hike, bike, run, ski, and climb the places we love. But we cannot do it alone. Join in the effort to affect real, meaningful change. We encourage you to contact your appropriate legislator and tell them why you believe a strong climate change policy is important.

Dec 08 | Snippet of the Summit

By Renan Ozturk

we are currently live in the middle of the 2009 athlete summit, here is a little glimpse of the action!

Dec 07 | The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships Dec 5

By The North Face

A crisp, beautiful day graced The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships which took place this past Saturday, December 5, 2009, in the Marin Headlands, just outside of San Francisco, California.

In its third year, the  Endurance Challenge is a nationwide series featuring four course lengths - 10K, Half Marathon, 50K and 50-Mile – designed to push people to run farther than they ever have. The winners of the 50 Mile at the Championships take home $10,000.

50 Mile Championship Results
Men
1. Uli Steidl - 06:33:30
2. Geoff Roes - 06:40:51
3. Chris Lundstrom - 06:48:08

Women
1. Caitlin Smith - 07:38:08
2. Joelle Vaught - 07:53:39
3. Tracy Garneau - 08:02:17

Full results are available at www.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge. If you missed the play by play by iRunFar - the unofficial Twitterer of the event (he is the only lucky one that had cell reception), feel free to check it out at www.twitter.com/iRunFar