Better than any movie, cheaper than Broadway

If you don't live in the northern hemisphere, or like me, have just not been lucky enough to catch the Northern Lights, check out this time-lapse photography series. Apparently Yellowknife, Canada has so much solar activity, it is forecast like surf reports.


-Connie

Heart of Steel Comp videos and pictures

One of the routes used in last Saturday's Heart of Steel Bouldering Comp at the Boston Rock Gym was still up last night. We had a good look at the NEMO Climbing holds used in the Men's Final, Problem #2 as a foothold for the big dyno move in the beginning. Check out the competition video and official photography from the event.



-Connie

How to pitch a tent

This video from Backpacker Magazine was just passed along to us. They use our Losi 3P to demonstrate some good basic tips for setting up your tent.


-Connie

Banff Mountain Film Festival coming soon to a location near you!

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is one of NEMO's favorite events that we attend every year. We never fail to be inspired by the awesome/spectacular/death-defying/beautiful/crazy adventure films we see. Check here for local showings.


This year, I got word from one my Canadian sources that NEMO tents make an appearance in the film The Last Frontier — Papua New Guinea, by Trip Jennings.

The Epicocity crew travelled to Papua New Guinea to document the island of New Britain’s pristine water, habitat, and intact indigenous culture through an exploratory caving and kayaking expedition. The expedition was the first of its kind in New Britain and likely the last before logging and agricultural production change the island forever.

Here’s a different cut of the trip from National Geographic that also has the tents (NEMO tents at 4:45).

-Connie

Worst Possible Conditions

The temperature had dipped down to around 4 degrees with a wind-chill well below zero last night. My new Morpho AR had yet to be field tested and I had been eagerly awaiting the perfect opportunity to break it out. Mandy and I were at the end of this excruciating cleanse diet that has lasted for 2 weeks and left me craving carbs and most of all beer!

The combination of brutal weather and the potential to celebrate the end of this hellacious diet made for a perfect excuse for a winter camping trip and S’mores. We packed up our gear and headed to our campsite. I pushed away most of clutter and started to set up the tent with ease. Just as promised in a matter of seconds our tent was up. Due to the conditions of our site, the ground was far too hard for staking, so I had to use a specially designed system to handle our environment. Luna came along for the expedition and helped stave away any wildlife whilst we set up camp. One thing that I will need to pick up is a PawPrint so that she will be allowed in the tent for future excursions.

After setting up base camp we stoked a fire. The beer flowed like wine that night for me and Mandy’s wine flowed like beer! The trees were so frozen that I was unable to cut any branches to make proper S’Mores sticks. I had to fashion some out of kabob skewers and ski poles which actually worked quite well. The end result was pure bliss. Winter camping has always been one of my favorite activities, especially when you can do it from the comfort of your living room.

Thanks NEMO,
Sam, Mandy and Luna

Base Camp

Mandy

Sam

Mount Washington 101

At 6,288 feet, there are thousands of peaks taller than Mt. Washington. But as many New Englanders know, a winter hike up Mt. Washington is no easy feat. The highest winds ever recorded (231 mph/ 372 kph) were on the top of this peak, and it's rare to get to the summit without experiencing some of Washington's legendary weather. This makes Mt. Washington a favorite location for NEMO employees to test out our prototypes.The NYTimes has an interesting audio slide show and article about the basics of hiking up this mountain in the winter (i.e., no cotton).


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One good piece advice learned: turn your water bottle upside down so that the water freezes from the bottom and up, and you'll still be able to drink it.

Update: Coincidentally, National Geographic also has an article and photo gallery up about the "Everest of the East Coast" in their February 2009 issue.

-Bill

January Beach Cleanup Scheduled

NEMO's next monthly beach cleanup at Jenness Beach will be Friday, Jan 30th at around low tide. We welcome all helping hands (dogs too) so please email journey@nemoequipment.com if you're interested in coming.

-Connie

Heart of Steel Bouldering Comp

I want to get the buzz out about a bouldering comp going on next weekend, January 24th, at Boston Rock Gym in Woburn, MA. Check out our earlier post about the sweet NEMO climbing holds, a few of which will find their way onto the routes of Saturday's contest. NEMO is a sponsor and some lucky climber will walk away with a brand new tent. Other great prizes are up for grabs and I hear there is a pretty unconventional finals round that will be especially enjoyable for all spectators.


FYI, Ladies Night every Tuesday at BRG is the best deal in town.

-Suzanne

Crayon Physics

Cam sent a link to a great (and semi-educational) game called Crayon Physics. I think it's worth sharing. Watch the video!



Here is another video that shows one of the more creative solutions.



-Connie