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Skurka’s upcoming slideshows & clinics


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Home Forums General Forums General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion Skurka’s upcoming slideshows & clinics

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Viewing 25 posts - 26 through 50 (of 98 total)
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  • #1843678
    Ethan A.
    BPL Member

    @mountainwalker

    Locale: SF Bay Area & New England

    Andrew,

    My wife and I already picked up your book and we're looking forward to sharing it with friends and meeting you at one of the Gear and Skills Clinics in the SF Bay Area. Also sharing the link to your schedule with friends in other cities. Thank you very much for putting the time into the book and sharing your knowledge and experience in the clinics.

    Will all of the Gear and Skills Clinics be the same duration and cover the same material, or will some be longer/more in depth? We have an embarrassment of riches in the Bay Area with so many of your talks to choose from.

    #1843686
    Andrew Skurka
    BPL Member

    @askurka

    The talk is essentially the same wherever you go. Same slides and topics, and same duration. The questions will be different at each show, though I get a lot of FAQ. The biggest difference is probably geographical — I will emphasize different gear in California than I will in North Carolina. I would also say that the clinic is jam packed with information, so you'd probably learn some things at a second event that weren't clear or that you missed at the first.

    #1844932
    Andrew Skurka
    BPL Member

    @askurka

    Since my first post, two more venues have been added to the schedule:

    Fontana Sports
    Madison, WI
    Wed & Thurs, April 11 and 12
    Free admission

    Middletown RI BSA
    Location TBD
    Tues, April 3

    #1844943
    Travis Leanna
    BPL Member

    @t-l

    Locale: Wisconsin

    Good to see some Wisconsin Love! I'm gonna try to make it, but I'd have to take off teaching. We'll see….

    #1844978
    Jon Leinen
    Member

    @jonleinen

    Andrew – I just finished your book (I downloaded it off the Kindle site on the 21st). I have to admit I didin't know what t expect from the pre-read but you did a really nice job! I was really excited to see your gear list for Philmont and we will be using this!

    I look forward to seeing you in April while you are in Minneapolis. We should have a good sized group from our troop at your session.

    Jon

    #1844981
    Tom Clark
    BPL Member

    @tomclark

    Locale: East Coast

    I heard you talk in central NJ ~4-5 years ago, and am planning to come out to Campmor in March. Looking forward to another good talk.

    Tom

    #1844993
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Video version for people in the boonies. Though Coup did come here once.

    #1845524
    John Mc
    BPL Member

    @retiredjohn

    Locale: PNW

    I'm hitting both Seattle events…..really looking forward to it!

    #1845537
    Andrew Skurka
    BPL Member

    @askurka

    Great to hear that I'll have at least a few people in the audience for these programs. Please bring a few friends.

    At Midwest, make sure to get there early — I'm expecting them to have to close the doors again.

    #1845554
    Tom Clark
    BPL Member

    @tomclark

    Locale: East Coast

    I've already sent a note out to ~5 co-workers that might be interested and would benefit from hearing about your experiences. Also plan to bring my son on Saturday if soccer or b-ball doesn't conflict with it.

    #1845674
    Jason G
    BPL Member

    @jasong

    Locale: iceberg lake

    Andrew, I can work the projector for you if you wanna sneak me in the back door of the private Redwood city event (where i live btw).. :)

    #1845677
    Andrew Skurka
    BPL Member

    @askurka

    My brother-in-law works at Heartflow, so we actually might be able to sneak you in. PM me with your personal email address and I will put you in touch with him.

    #1845746
    Luke Schmidt
    BPL Member

    @cameron

    Locale: Alaska

    Andy some areas of Texas aren't going to have a lot of hikers but some will. I know Dallas the best but it seems there are lots of hikers there. Most of them go up to Arkansas or to Colorado for longer trips. There seem to be a lot of BSA troops doing trips up to the Wimenuche Wilderness in the summer.
    Down in the San Antonio area there seemed to be more interest in river trips and mountain biking (better location for them).

    #1845806
    Tony Wong
    BPL Member

    @valshar

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Andrew,

    In terms of buying your book at the event…check, cash, credit card???

    What is your preference and how much is your book going for?

    I am looking to get two copies for sure…for myself and as a gift for a friend.

    If I pay in cash, would be good to know how much to bring.

    Thanks!

    -Tony

    #1845829
    Andrew Skurka
    BPL Member

    @askurka

    Books can be purchased with cash or check only, at least at the events where I am selling them (most). CC's just take too long given the short selling windows (before, intermission, after).

    #1845842
    a b
    Member

    @ice-axe

    I am gonna try to get to this one:

    Monday-Tuesday, March 5-6
    Sunrise Mountain Sports
    2455 Railroad Ave
    Livermore, CA
    Mon, 7pm: “Circling Alaska & Yukon:
    Tues, 7pm: “Ultimate Hiking Gear & Skills”
    $5 admission, $2 for Boy Scouts in uniform
    I work in San Jose so i think i can make it to Livermore after work Monday for the AK Yukon event.
    I am hoping for some inspiration for my own "out of the box" Long distance hike/paddle.
    I want to hike from Baja up the Colorado River, over the Divide and hike/paddle down the Mississippi to the Gulf coast.

    #1845844
    Andrew Skurka
    BPL Member

    @askurka

    How come BPL hasn't installed a "Like" button yet? Get with the times, guys…

    #1845845
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    "How come BPL hasn't installed a "Like" button yet? Get with the times, guys…"

    Well, I did notice "Staff Member" next to your name :)

    P.S. What is a like button?

    #1845870
    a b
    Member

    @ice-axe

    Hey Nick, Be my friend on facebook… oh nevermind.. ;)

    #1845945
    Jake D
    BPL Member

    @jakedatc

    Locale: Bristol,RI

    Taking my dad to the Seekonk,MA one. Maybe he'll finally replace his old frame pack ;) though i doubt it.

    #1845964
    Stephan Doyle
    Member

    @stephancal

    @Matthew: Are you going to try to make it Tuesday as well? I think I'm going to try to be there Tuesday at Sunrise, but it's maybe 50/50 at this point.

    #1845971
    a b
    Member

    @ice-axe

    I would most definitely like to see both.

    #1849619
    Tony Wong
    BPL Member

    @valshar

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    I went to Andrew's slide show on his Alaska trip last night with some friends and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of other BPLers there too along with a lot of Boy Scouts.

    Was a full house, but still an intimate gather where Andrew did not need a microphone to address all of us.

    The slide show with his personal narration and stories to share was a real treat with stunning photos and a number of video clips from his trip that ranged from very humours to extordinarily honest/personal moments on the trail.

    It was nice to be able to see the man in person in person and to realize that he is very socialable, normal, humble, and very approachable.

    One of the highlights of the night was being able to see and touch a lot of the gear that he used on the trail. To see what gear stands the test of thousands of miles on the trail and then to compare it against my own gear choices.

    Lastly, Andrew fielded questions from the group to close the night out.

    My only suggestion to make the presentation betters was if there was more time for Q & A.

    Looking forward to going to the next one tonight on his book and picking up a few signed copies for myself and for a gift for a friend.

    If I can snag some photos, I will post them up here.

    Highly recommend that other attend this event, which was very entertaining as well as informative.

    Made for a great evening and listening to Andrew talk for about 70-90 minutes was a pleasure.

    -Tony

    #1849773
    sean mccutcheon
    Member

    @aldosean93

    Locale: East Bay

    Tony I believe Andrew said there will be more time devoted to Q&A tonight at Sunrise.
    Andrew Skurka at Sunrise Mountain Sports 3/5/12

    #1850451
    Tony Wong
    BPL Member

    @valshar

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Yesterday I had a chance to attend Andrew's Gear Clinic and I took these photos of the event.

    Sunrise Mountain Sports Livermore, CA.

    Sunrise Mountain Sports Livermore, CA.
    It was a packed event where Andrew laid out his theory comparing Ultimate Hiker vs. the Ultimate Camper. There were a lot of humorous personal stories and slides to show examples between the two.

    Slide Show

    Starting the Slide Show

    The slide show gave a nice mix of photos to illustrate his ideas as well as to clearly list resources and definitions of the techniques and ideas that he wanted to convey to us.

    Hands on Time with His Gear

    Hands on Time with Gear
    The gear assembled was a mix of Andrew's personal gear that he had taken on his trips and what Sunrise Mountain Sports had to offer. The day before, when Andrew had given his presentation on his Alaska-Yukon Expedition, he had this same table filled with nothing but his own personal gear he had taken on the trip. This was great because you could touch and feel his choice of materials and gear that was proven on the trail.

    PackRaft 5 lbs

    PackRaft 5 lbs

    The Most Important Equipment

    The Most Important Piece of Equipment- You Brain and the Skills You have Mastered

    Cat Food Tin Alcohol Stove

    The Humble Cat Food Tin Alcohol Stove Andrew had Taken on his Expedition

    Evernew Ti Pot with Handles Removed

    Evernew Ti Pot with Handles Removed
    Andrew prefers simple meals that require plenty of hot water- Soup Like Meals. They provide not only food, but aid in re-hydrating and warming the body.

    Recruiting the Audience to Help Setup a Mid Shelter

    Recruiting the Audience to Help Setup a Mid Shelter
    Andrew asked a number of audience members to help him illustrate the various light weight shelters options such as this Mid and a simple tarp that can provide plenty of coverage from the elements.

    Q&A After the Formal Presentation

    Q&A After the Formal Presentation
    One of the nice aspects of the event was Andrew frequently inviting the audience to ask questions throughout the presentation. The negative aspect of this event was that there was so much material to cover in a relatively short time. Given Andrew's vast experience and fielding questions, he really needed twice the time to be able to coverage the main points of his ideas and give examples.

    Working the Crowd

    That said, it was very informative and dense for the novice to intermediate traditional backpacker. For more experienced and lightweight backpackers, I think that the value of this was to be able to talk to the man himself, to ask your own questions to him, to glean some insights on how to improve your own kit based on his experiences, to simply be inspired to better yourself by his example and his accomplishments.

    Fielding Question at the Intermission

    Fielding Question at the Intermission with Debbie from BPL
    Actually, one of the pleasant surprises was to see how many BPLers were in attendance. I was sure that saw at least 8 or more people who had attended the recent Gathering of Gear Geeks at Henry Coe State Park.

    Was able to get two copies of his autographed book

    I was able to get two copies of his book at he event, which he autographed for me.

    Really enjoyed both nights but between the two, I enjoyed the presentation on his Alaska-Yukon Expedition the most, because it had a more relaxed pace and was more intimate feel due to the mix of photos and videos taken on the trail.

    Either way, I highly recommend your taking a little time out of your evening to attend his presentations. Great fun.

    -Tony

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