VIMFF is back!  This years lineup of programs looks amazing and will be taking place Feb 10 – 18th, 2012.

There are many themes for each night including, climbing, mountain biking, trail running, skiing, kayaking, great ocean traverses and a lot more. I personally have the trail running and opening nights penciled into my calendar. They are also bringing back FEAT presentations, which debuted  in Vancouver last November.

All the shows are either at Rio Theatre or Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver, or Centennial Theatre in North Van.

If you plan on going – don’t miss this offer that has been extended to readers of OV:

We want to offer your members a chance to win tickets to VIMFF 2012 events! To enter the draw, your members can simply sign up for our newsletter until Sunday February 5th at noon. The more participants, the more prizes we will have, so don’t be shy to share the news! Additionally, anyone who subscribes to the newsletter will also be emailed an online discount code for $15 tickets – that’s 25% off the door price – so everyone wins! (discount code for online purchases only, draw winners and discount code to be emailed out afternoon of Feb 5)

To enter into the draw, head over to our newsletter page, sign up, and you’re done!

VIMFF CLIMBING/BASEJUMPING NIGHT

Saturday Feb 11, 7:30pm (doors 6:30)
Centennial Theatre
>>> Presentations
Steph Davis: Earth to Sky
>>> Films
Wolf and The Medallion
The Long Hope
I Belieye I Can Fly (Flight of the Frenchies)
 Buy Tickets Here

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The Yeti Snowshoe Series is back for 2012, and for this season they’ve partnered with 5 Peaks and have added a new venue – Whistler!

I’ve never done one of these races, but I’m giving some serious thought to doing the Whistler race. There’s a long lull between running events in November until the first races of 2012. I’ve done some snowshoeing, and have to imagine that running the downhill sections in snowshoes would be, er, fairly challenging. These races look like a blast.

Early bird registration is $40 until Dec 31.

The Yeti Snowshoe Sport course gives racers a 5-6km course, and our Snowshoe Enduro course will give any runner or hiker the challenge they’re looking for over approximately 10km . These courses are designed so participants can use all their snowshoe skills like climbing, descending and winding themselves through undulating single-track while doing it all at a faster pace. Don’t be intimidated, anyone can snowshoe and these course will be a challenge to anyone, whether they run or hike.

Don’t be intimidated, anyone can snowshoe and these courses will be a challenge to anyone, whether you run or hike! Frontrunners will take about half an hour for the Sport course and the back of the packers will take about an hour.

Jan 28 2012, There is no better venue than Mt. Washington, it has it all! Great facilities, great people, great skiing and a great snowshoe course! We look forward to this event every year, the biggest and the best Yeti event the Island has to offer!

Feb 18 2012,  A venue from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics Winter Games, Whistler Olympic Park is the first Olympic Nordic venue to include all three traditional Nordic sport stadiums in one site: cross-country, ski jumping and biathlon. The Park hosted the 2010 Olympic Games competitions in ski jumping, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing and biathlon as well as the 2010 Paralympics Games cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions. The venue now serves as a legacy for the enjoyment of local residents, visitors and athletes, and the most spectacular snowshoe race in the country.  If you do one winter event this year, make it this one. You do not want to miss the opportunity to race in this incredible venue.

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Photo by .WJF in the Outdoor Vancouver Flickr pool.

Just a quick heads-up the annual MEC Snowfest is happening this weekend:

Hat-tip to the Wanderung newsletter.

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VIMFF is back this November 15 -17. It’s hard to walk away from one of these events without feeling totally inspired, motivated and excited. As always, there is a great schedule of films and speakers lined up, with showings at the Centennial Theater (2300 Londsdale Avenue, North Vancouver).

The VIMFF 2011 Fall Series is a 3-day special festival edition featuring:

Tue Nov 15: FEAT Canada Talks presentation series
Wed Nov 16: Reel Rock Tour
Thu Nov 17: India to Ireland by Bicycle multimedia presentation by Pete Brennan

When: November 15-17, 2011, all shows start at 7:30pm (doors at 6:30pm)
Where: Centennial Theatre, 2300 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver
Tickets: $15 in advance, $17 at the door; Fall Series Packages available at $25 for 2 and $35 for 3 tickets to different shows. Tickets also available at the Centennial Theatre during box office hours, (604)984-4484

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Salomon has chosen Vancouver to be the home of their first flagship store at Park Royal Mall. The store opens Oct 6 and from the sounds of it the design is pretty cool.

The North Shore News has a good article too.

BRITISH COLUMBIA September 27, 2011 – On October 6 Salomon Store Vancouver will open its doors in Park Royal with a party and debut a rustic new design concept that celebrates the mountains and is the first of its kind in the world.

“Of all the cities on this planet, we chose Vancouver to launch our new store design concept because this is the place that best embodies the essence of Salomon,” says Pascal Clausse, Salomon Head of Business Development and Retail. “To us, this city and its people, and the environment surrounding them, is the essence of mountain sports. In the coming months, Salomon will be opening more new stores in this design concept in Chamonix, France; Moscow, Russia and Toulouse, France.

The store’s new design offers a warm and rustic contemporary ambiance and the influence of the mountains is evident with signage featuring way finding codes and symbols. Rough wood and rock are punctuated with contemporary finishings.

Once shoppers are suitably inspired by the store’s surroundings they are invited to explore Salomon’s digital kiosk and discover sport specific footwear options and their technical benefits. Knowledgeable staff are always on hand to lend their expertise and the Footlab offers a dedicated fitting center to ensure a perfect fit for Salomon’s array of technical footwear.

Largely comprised of soft goods, the Salomon Store Vancouver in Park Royal will also boast a complete range of Freeski, Nordic and Trail Running gear. Vancouver’s elements demand technical clothing for the winter season and Park Royal’s Salomon Store will be opening just in time to get geared up for the return of another epic La Nina winter.

With many of their key freeski athletes calling Vancouver and the surrounding area home, the Park Royal store’s launch on October 6 is sure to be a snowy, star-studded affair. Mike Douglas, godfather of newschool skiing, one of the world’s most influential skiers and producer of Salomon Freeski.tv will be in attendance.

The launch event on October 6 will take place from 5-9pm and everyone is welcome to attend. A percentage of sales from the night will go to benefit North Shore Search and Rescue, and there will be bites from Whole Foods, drinks and the chance to meet Salomon athletes. The Salomon Store Vancouver is a 2,000 square foot store located in Park Royal across from Whole Foods.

Shoppers can also enter an in-store draw for a trip to Annecy France to see Salomon Headquarters and ski the French Alps this winter. The trip will be drawn on October 10 and entrants must register in store to participate, no purchase necessary.

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Earlier this year the ever-popular Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race added a new venue to the series in Burnaby. It was a great success, and now the annual Cumberland venue (in its 12th season) is getting ready to roll on Sept 24:

Local Racers and Sponsors Revved up for Next Week’s MOMAR Cumberland

New Westminster, BC – September 19, 2011. The Atmosphere Mind Over Mountain Adventure Racing (MOMAR) series is set to end its 12th season in Cumberland, BC, on September 24, 2011.

There will be over 300 racers on the start line, with a large number coming from the Comox Valley. Race Director, Bryan Tasaka, loves the strengthening regional representation. ‘’I’m so impressed with enthusiasm of all the locals that participate in this race, whether as a sponsor, volunteer or racer,’’ says Tasaka. ‘’Mostly, I love that MOMAR has helped, even a little bit, in getting so many locals out to enjoy the beauty and adventure in their own back yard.’’ Comox Valley participants will be joined by racers from Alberta, Ontario, Washington State, all over BC, and from as far away as Spain.

Final plans are being made for this year’s race course. ‘’We found some great new terrain that will be in the race – even most of the locals will be very surprised,’’ says Tasaka.

According to Cumberland’s Sarah Seads, owner of ELM Health, surprises during a MOMAR are the norm. ‘’On race day I am expecting the unexpected as usual,’’ says Seads. ‘’I try not to anticipate the course layout too much because chances are it will be completely different from what I imagine. In previous years it has been an awesome mix of Cumberland’s best single track and as long as there is more of that we will all be grinning from start to finish at this year’s race.’’

Christina Willard-Stepan, owner of Cumberland’s Seeds Natural Food’s Market, is both a third year sponsor of the race and a racer. ‘’ We are so excited to do this race every year – it brings a lot of energy to our little community and is a really challenging, good time,’’ says Willard-Stepan. ‘’The quality of scenery and trails for this race is outstanding!”

In addition to their typical 50 km sprint race, MOMAR offers a short course that will provide less seasoned racers with an opportunity to participate in a world-class adventure race. Both the enduro (50 km) course and short (30 km) course will include mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, orienteering, and bushwhacking.
MOMAR organizers are still looking for some volunteers to assist with the coordination of this event. All volunteers receive a MOMAR T-shirt, entry to the infamous post-race dinner and party and the thrill of experiencing adventure racing up close. For information on volunteering, contact elaine@mindovermountain.com.

Participating in a MOMAR, either as a racer or volunteer, also means you’ll be supporting MOMAR’s official charity, the Make-a-Wish Foundation. More information on racing, volunteering, MOMAR training clinics and their official charity is available at www.mindovermountain.com/momar or call 1.866.912.3331.

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On Saturday, September 17th join us on Fromme for the LAST toonie of 2011!!  Dress like it's the 80s and blind the competition into falling behind! 

Registration will be at the water towers, but we've decided on not timing the climb for this one, so the race will start at 10am from Mountain Highway at Jerry Rig.   From there, down Executioner, Dreamweaver, Dempsey back up to Baden Powell, and then up the Baden Powell to the water towers, where the race ends.

Apres localtion to be confirmed and announced later on.

It's not too late to volunteer!  Especially if you're a first aid person!  Email toonie@nsmba.ca to help out.

Then on Sunday, September 18th, hop over to Seymour to give one of the most ridden trails on the Shore some love. We'll meet at 8:45am at Parkgate Mall to meet your trail day leaders and start shuttles up the trail. Lunch will be provided by John Henry Bikes.

On Saturday, September 17th join us on Fromme for the LAST toonie of 2011!!  Dress like it's the 80s and blind the competition into falling behind! 

Registration will be at the water towers, but we've decided on not timing the climb for this one, so the race will start at 10am from Mountain Highway at Jerry Rig.   From there, down Executioner, Dreamweaver, Dempsey back up to Baden Powell, and then up the Baden Powell to the water towers, where the race ends.

Apres localtion to be confirmed and announced later on.

It's not too late to volunteer!  Especially if you're a first aid person!  Email toonie@nsmba.ca to help out.

Then on Sunday, September 18th, hop over to Seymour to give one of the most ridden trails on the Shore some love. We'll meet at 8:45am at Parkgate Mall to meet your trail day leaders and start shuttles up the trail. Lunch will be provided by John Henry Bikes.

On Saturday, September 17th join us on Fromme for the LAST toonie of 2011!!  Dress like it's the 80s and blind the competition into falling behind! 

Registration will be at the water towers, but we've decided on not timing the climb for this one, so the race will start at 10am from Mountain Highway at Jerry Rig.   From there, down Executioner, Dreamweaver, Dempsey back up to Baden Powell, and then up the Baden Powell to the water towers, where the race ends.

Apres localtion to be confirmed and announced later on.

It's not too late to volunteer!  Especially if you're a first aid person!  Email toonie@nsmba.ca to help out.

Then on Sunday, September 18th, hop over to Seymour to give one of the most ridden trails on the Shore some love. We'll meet at 8:45am at Parkgate Mall to meet your trail day leaders and start shuttles up the trail. Lunch will be provided by John Henry Bikes.

On Saturday, September 17th join us on Fromme for the LAST toonie of 2011!!  Dress like it's the 80s and blind the competition into falling behind! 

Registration will be at the water towers, but we've decided on not timing the climb for this one, so the race will start at 10am from Mountain Highway at Jerry Rig.   From there, down Executioner, Dreamweaver, Dempsey back up to Baden Powell, and then up the Baden Powell to the water towers, where the race ends.

Apres localtion to be confirmed and announced later on.

It's not too late to volunteer!  Especially if you're a first aid person!  Email toonie@nsmba.ca to help out.

Then on Sunday, September 18th, hop over to Seymour to give one of the most ridden trails on the Shore some love. We'll meet at 8:45am at Parkgate Mall to meet your trail day leaders and start shuttles up the trail. Lunch will be provided by John Henry Bikes.