Arizona [Off] Road Trip

From Cam's latest update on his overland travels last weeK:

 

Last Sunday morning we woke up early and headed to the “Back Road to Crown King,” a trail listed in our guide book as “difficult.” It might be difficult when dry…but it’s been raining and the trail was frequently interrupted by washouts, mud pits and slides. The normal tricky rock crawling sections were covered with mud as slippery as Teflon. The trail turned out to be VERY difficult, but incredibly beautiful. I’ve attached a couple shots from the route…these are the mild sections.

Somewhere along the way we blew both rear shocks and inverted the rear springs. The violent bouncing shifted the entire cap on the back of my truck 1.5 inches. We also took a good bit of paint and metal off the bottom of the truck and did some other minor damage... Our plan is to spend Thursday and Friday on the famous 100 mile White Rim Trail. More pictures to come!

 

 

-Cam

Let the Drooling Begin

NEMO's 2010 product line is officially live. We also updated the history and technology sections to give a more complete look into what makes us who we are. (Of course you get the best view of that right here on our blog.)

Ten completely new tent designs nearly double the tent line, an expanded sleeping pad line is going to change your perception of comfort while camping, and there are more new accessories than I can count on my fingers and toes and elbows.

One pesky thing to note is the red and white "out of stock" image on almost every page. 2010 product will be shipping in early March. In the meantime get our 2009 line at our retail dealers while it lasts.

-Suzanne

Windspeed Record Falls, Tucks Still Standing

Despite recent news about NH's loss of world's highest wind speed record and of course, the fall of the Old Man of the Mountain in 2003, the 'Shire has still plenty of adventure to explore.

Transworld Snowboarding put up a sweet feature on skiing Tuckerman's yesterday (albeit with the usual crowd of chuckleheads chiming in on the comment board about East Coast vs. West Coast). The truth is that the East Coast isn't blessed with the powder of the West Coast, so any opportunity to find it is a precious one. That's why you'll find hundreds of people making the trek up Tuckerman's in the spring.

In fact, the winter there seems a bit more mellow with the crowds. Suzanne and I hiked up there with a few friends a couple weeks ago on a moderate avy danger day, and came down the Sherbourne Trail.

In the spring, try escaping crowds by going up the Gulf of Slides instead. Check out this great site for more NH adventures.

-Connie

The Death Race

Tired of the same old, same old triathlons and adventure races? Looking for a new challenge – maybe something a little more character building? Something that pushes you mentally as well as physically? Something that you may not finish and possibly die while trying? Look no further, folks, the Death Race is here.


According to the website, www.youmaydie.com, The Death Race is "Survivor meets Jackass as participants…go head to head in a grueling 24-hour challenge.” Held in Pittsfield, VT, 2010 will be the 4th year the race has been held. If you’re interested, sign up now for 2011, 2010 is sold out. (The finish rate is 10% and only 30 have finished over the past 3 years.)

~Kate

If not snow, then surf

Despite the mid-Atlantic being hit by blizzard after blizzard, it's remained relatively snow-free up here (and in Vancouver, it seems). In fact, there have been seemingly more surfable days than ski-able days. New Hampshire Public Radio had a nice segment on this morning about the ideal winter surfing condition at Jenness, our local break.



Locals aren't the only ones going in the water. Word is that Tahitian surfing legend Raimana Van Bastolaer hit up Hampton last Friday with our buddy Ross from Cinnamon Rainbows. He was in town to promote the opening of Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D (featuring Kelly Slater) at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Photos below from Rich Beauchesne at seacoastonline.com.

-Connie

Ten Tilted Tents

NYC-based artist, Jason Polan, recently sent us this drawing. Despite never having spent a night in a NEMO tent, he felt compelled to document this fine looking line.

Original size is 8.5" x 11"
Itoya Finepoint System .6 ink pen on typing paper

Check out the work that is quickly making Jason famous including his Every Person in New York project and The Every Piece of Art in the Museum of Modern Art Book. 

One can only hope that Jason will bring the Taco Bell Drawing Club (TBDC) to Nashua.

-Suzanne

NEMO Office Dog Profile Part 5: Stryder

Age: 9 months
Breed: Chow/Shepherd Mix
Favorite Snack: Anything he can get off dishes in the dishwasher
Pet Peeves: That the most exciting things he finds to play with usually either get taken away or put in the trash
Favorite part of being at NEMO: Sitting beside his mom all day and going for walks in Mine Falls at lunch
First thing people notice: His black tongue and curly upright tail
Best known for: Being named after a Lord of the Rings character
Greatest Fears: Men and loud noises
Favorite command to disobey: "Bang!" (playing dead)
Wishes NEMO would make: Cosmo Air and Pillowtop in dog sizes
Aspirations: To catch a squirrel

Coming soon, to screen near you!

We are mighty mighty close to releasing our new 2010 website to the public. A couple more days, and you will get the inside scoop on our new products. As you can see from the teaser pic below, we're slated to have ten all new tents to choose from our lineup.

Our awesome graphics department has been working hard to update the look, make product info more accessible, and explain our technology better. New stock is slated to be available soon.

-Connie

Telefestivus

Telefest is coming to Sunday River in Newry, ME this weekend. I've been looking to learn something new, so I'm trading in my board for a pair of deep knee bending exercise skis on Saturday. If you are in the area this festival looks to be a great chance to either try telemark skiing for the first time, test out the latest gear, or perfect your turns with the PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) certified telemark ski school. Demo gear and clinics are free to anyone with a Sunday River lift ticket. 

Let it snow.

-Suzanne

Got an Old Tent? Send it to Haiti.

I’m assuming if you are a regular visitor to the Adventure Anywhere Blog and NEMO website, you’re a gear junkie. It’s ok, you can admit it. You have multiple tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, skis, etc. in your quiver. And you should, you’re worth it. But maybe, in light of the events in Haiti, you could take a look in that quiver and see if there’s something you’ve recently replaced or could live without. Could someone in Haiti who has lost his home and every possession benefit from it?

After checking our inventory, we have found 50+ brand new tents, footprints and Removable Insulated Floors that we can donate to the people of Haiti. Some of us here at NEMO also have old tents from back before the days of NEMO that we’ll be donating.

Through my research, I found Mark Richey from Mark Richey Woodworking in Newburyport, MA, who is coordinating a gear donation. He has already made two shipments, over 50 pallets worth of tents and sleeping bags, to Haiti and is getting ready for another in mid-February. He’s a member of the American Alpine Club and he’s less than an hour from our studio, which means we can drive our donations to him. And even if you don’t have gear to donate, check out his website. He does beautiful custom woodworking and his facility is powered by Biomass and wind. If nothing else, it’s an interesting case in making use of your waste.

So, if you’re in the area and want to coordinate with our donation, shoot me an email. Otherwise, might I suggest you contact Mark Richey and jump on board?

~Kate

Do it, do it now! Peru y Bolivia

We have a lot of love here for the guys at Loaded. You should too. No hidden agenda here, just a huge amount of respect for their longboarding skills, killer trips, sense of adventure, creativity, and all around ability to keep a great perspective on life.

A while back, we detailed their 2009 Skate Across South America. They've just cut a video trailer for the trip, with more episodes to follow. Put them on your YouTube Channel -- it won't disappoint.

-Connie

Smuggtastic

Despite the frigid temps this weekend, Smuggs Ice Bash in Smugglers Notch, VT was a lot of fun. We met a bunch of core folks who weren't deterred by the sub zero thermometer readings, and got to demo some new gear ourselves.

For anyone who is interested in ice climbing, but doesn't have the gear, this is a fantastic (and free) opportunity to get fully kitted up for the day, and start making additions to your gear wish list (mine grew quite a bit this weekend.)

-Suzanne