Vertfest 2012 is here – Prepare for a weekend covered in snow and slathered with awesomesauce!

For the sixth year in a row, Outdoor Research is bringing you the most incredible celebration of backcountry and sidecountry verticulture the world has ever seen: Vertfest is back with a vengeance in 2012, and is kicking off on Saturday, February 18 at Alpental, Wash.

On tap; the Monika Johnson Memorial Rando Rally race on Saturday, backcountry and Sidecountry clinics on Sunday, gobs of demos for both skiers and splitboarders on both days, and Seattle band Head Like A Kite performing for free at Saturday’s award ceremony.

Sign up for clinics before they fill up and register to race on the VertFest site.

So grab your sticks or your board and head up to Alpental to get in on the action and make some turns. We’ll see you there!

The 2012 Knuckle Basher Ice Festival is coming Saturday and Sunday, February 11-12th. Canmore, Alberta will once again be home to this incredible weekend of ice hosted by MEC with clinics led by Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. The weekend also features demos, photography clinics, an evening with Jen Olsen, and coincides with the Canmore Winter Carnival.

Find all the details on events and registration on the Knuckle Basher website

Friday, February 3 through Sunday the 5th is the 19th Annual Mt. Washington Valley Ice Festival in North Conway, NH. This year promises to be one to remember. The list of guest guides, including OR athletes Bayard Russel and Emilie Drinkwater is enough to inspire attendance, and the evening programs featuring Will Gadd, a film festival, auction and apres parties are the icing on the cake for this great weekend to celebrate the sport and playground of Mt. Washington.

Sign up for clinics, get a schedule of events, details and tickets for all evening programs, and updates on the weekend through the festival blog and at the International Mountain Climbing School website.

Swing by the Outdoor Research booth on your way out to clinics and climbs each morning for glove, gaiter and outerwear demos!

The Ouray Ice Festival takes over the park January 5th – 8th. A long weekend full of clinics, demos, a comp showdown with some of the best climbers in the field, good times and great brews with awesome folks. We’ll see you there! Swing by the OR booth for demos of gloves, gaiters, puffy jackets and sneak peaks at some of the gear in production for the coming fall.

All the details can be found on the festival website.

Tiny takes to the streets.

Session: noun \sesh-uh’n\ Any period of time devoted to a specific activity, such as slaying pow

“The opportunity to explore the accessible powder stashes with the most passionate locals is the mission. Getting it the best we can is our objective,” says Neil.

This winter, we’re subscribing to the gypsy life and taking off on a two-month tiny house road trip in celebration of a passion-driven, low impact, ski bum lifestyle. “We are refining the entire process of living as ski bums. It is really about figuring out what you do and don’t need. For me, I want to ski and there isn’t much else that I need,” says Zack. Over the next 6 weeks, OR ambassadors Molly Baker, Zack Giffin and Neil Provo, along with videographers Sam Giffin and Andy Walbon will be road tripping to North America’s most respected sidecountry areas in search of deep powder and influential snow loving locals.

Unlike any previous skiing road trip, the Sidecountry Sessions crew is on a mission to find the best snow and greatest communities in prominent powder territory while living out of a ski bum’s dream-home-on-wheels. Along the way, the team will be on the search for the most esteemed, enthusiastic and talented individuals to bring on as members of OR’s Grassroots Athlete Team. Could you or one of your friends be the next team member?

Based on recommendations of local skiers via Facebook (no, you can’t nominate yourself), Molly, Zack and Neil will ski, climb and adventure with chosen nominees in order to select the newest members of OR’s athlete team. “Being a part of Outdoor Research is really about being genuine with an honest devotion to a life in the mountains. It makes it really easy for the right people because they essentially continue doing whatever it is that they do and that embodies the mission of the company as a whole,” says Molly. To nominate someone you know? Post their photo to the Outdoor Research Facebook page. In the comments section, reference hash tag #SCSessions and include a brief description of why your person would be a great OR Athlete. If we come to their hill, Molly, Zack and Neil want to get in touch with them for a session of slaying pow.

Find out what it’s like to spend the season searching for new ski talent while living in 112 square feet of unconventional living space. Showcasing local talent, communities and mountains, watch video episodes of the Sidecountry Sessions releasing each week and find out what happens when these gypsy shredders occupy your parking lot.

The tiny house made its debut at Powder Magazine’s 40th Anniversary party in Sun Valley, Idaho, then headed for the San Juans in search of powder at Silverton. Watch the latest episode of the Sessions at outdoorresearch.com/scsessions and stay tuned to Facebook for their next destination.

The Pirates of Rad are coming to Seattle! See their slideshow and hear tales of their climbing adventures in Alaska this past spring.

“In the winter of 2010, Mark Allen called me about a photo he had come across of a glacier in Alaska of which we had never heard. We determined that it was possibly accessible with skis from the epicenter of Kahiltna Basecamp and by all accounts unknown. With a bit of work, photos lined up to maps, together showing steep terrain and big relief, our excitement built. We planned for the Alaska range in the spring.”

Find more on their quest to trace new lines on the Lacuna here on VertiCulture. And come to their slideshow, Friday, October 7th at 7pm at the Outdoor Research Retail Store.

The 30th anniversary Pocatello Pump will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18 at the basalt crags of Ross Park in Pocatello, ID. The weekend will be filled with incredible competition and camaraderie at the country’s longest running climbing festival. Join in for the comp, a vendor fair, party, live music, food, fun and friends! All the details including event registration can be found on their site.

For the 9th year, the Red River Gorge hosts the biggest and best fall climbing festival. Mark your calendars for October 7-9th. More details to come but plan to visit us at the festival! We’ll see you there. Upcoming information can be found here and on the RRGCC site.

RiverRocks is a fun-filled, family-friendly, environmentally-conscious event that celebrates the Tennessee Valley’s incomparable natural resources, the health benefits of an active, outdoor lifestyle and Chattanooga’s commitment to environmental stewardship and land conservation.

From rock climbing and trail running to kayaking and rowing, cycling and off-road biking, hiking and hang gliding, there is something for everyone, expert and novice participants of all ages. This 10-day event based in Chattanooga will also feature live music, hot air balloons, river cruises and more in the area’s mountains, rivers and forests of the Tennessee Valley’s unsurpassed parks and conservancies.

RiverRocks also supports the conservancies and land trusts protecting the area with the goal to redistribute 50¢ of every dollar collected by RiverRocks to non-profit trusts and conservancies in the Tennessee Valley.

For a event details, a calendar of the week, and all the information you need to participate in a new or favorite activity, go to www.riverrockschattanooga.com. We’ll be there all week so, be sure to swing by the Outdoor Research booth as well to say hello and enter to win new gear!

Saturday, October 1st marks the Southeast’s premier 50k trail race!

The Stump Jump features 5,000+’ of elevation gain through the Tennessee mountains and will put the burliest to the test. For those looking for a shorter alternative, there is an 11k option.

Course maps, directions, and event registration can be found on the Rock Creek Stump Jump website. Check their facebook page for the latest updates and giveaways!

Rock/Creek StumpJump 50k 2010 from Rock/Creek on Vimeo.