For our Portland friends, here’s an event you’ll definitely want to check out. We’ve mentioned Mountainfilm before, but what’s really cool about the film festival is that they take the whole thing on tour, giving people that can’t make it to Telluride to experience some of the amazing films and inspiring messages. Mountainfilm on Tour will be in Portland this Thursday, January 28, 2010, hosted at Portland State University. Check it out!

What: Portland State’s Outdoor Program and Portland Mountain Rescue are hosting the Mountainfilm on Tour festival on campus. It will include four hours of films that celebrate the great outdoors—especially mountains and mountaineering culture. In addition to the festival screenings, the Outdoor Program will hold a raffle and silent auction. Both Portland State students and the public are welcome to attend.

Where: Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, SMSU 355

When: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 6-10pm.

Cost: Students $7 advance, $10 door
Faculty and public $10 advance, $12 door

More info here.

"Everything... in the photograph -- trees, bushes, all the animals and plants in the forest and the water -- contains ocean nutrients from salmon." -- Carl Safina in the LA Times. © Save Our Wild Salmon

We live in an amazing place and nothing quite drives that point home like working with people who are passionate about their causes — be they businesses, advocates or adventurers. So, we’re excited to throw our weight behind a couple of great causes: saving Snake River salmon and the Flathead. Keep reading to see what’s happening, and how you can help!

Save Our Wild Salmon has been fighting to recover Snake River salmon for two decades. Snake River salmon Snake River salmon return to the biggest, highest, coldest, best-protected spawning habitat left in the Lower 48. In the last 6 months, tens of thousands of people across the country, nearly 100 members of Congress, three former Northwest governors, hundreds of local and national businesses, thousands of scientists from around the country have called on the Obama administration to end the legal and political deadlock to save wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest. And on Sunday, writer and founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, Carl Safina voiced his opinion in the Los Angeles Times:

Two months ago, in a swift trick no one saw coming, the Obama administration embraced the Bush administration’s failed salmon plan for an even more important watershed, the Columbia/Snake River system. The Columbia and its tributaries formerly produced more salmon than anywhere else on Earth, but the once-mighty rivers now have 13 salmon stocks in danger of extinction…

The fundamental problem with the plan is that its goal seems to be to maintain endangered salmon in an endangered state rather than revitalizing them. The administration appears unmotivated to restore salmon abundance and their role in the ecology and economy. Here’s what gives the administration’s game away: The one salmon species that is already at levels low enough to trigger additional action in the new plan has been exempted from the new triggers.

Jane Lubchenco, the administration’s point person for oceans and salmon, insists that “the actions in the plan will prevent further declines.” But keeping salmon in a coma and on life support does not heal them, nor help the other species, including people, that depend on them. The likeliest outcome of a salmon strategy based on just avoiding extinction will be extinction — and not only of salmon…

"Star" -- Puget Sound's most recent addition to it's resident Orca whale population. © Howard Garrett

There’s another photograph I saw recently. Taken just two months ago where Puget Sound meets the Pacific, it shows a new orca calf emerging from the water atop its mother’s back. The scientists from the Center for Whale Research who track orcas named her Star, hoping she will guide another seemingly intelligent mammal — us — to restore the salmon abundance she will need to become a mother herself 13 years from now. May she inspire the Obama administration to think again.

Read the rest of Safina’s op-ed at the LA Times…

Take action to save Snake River salmon here!

©Garth Lenz, iLCP

Miles of free-flowing river, sky-scraping jagged peaks and abundant wildlife make the Flathead River Valley one of the most wild and beautiful places on earth. But unfortunately, diversity and a natural aesthetic don’t always ensure protection. Proposed mountaintop removal mining in southeastern British Columbia, Canada is threatening the Flathead. Earlier this month, we wrote about the Epicocity Project’s new film, Flathead Wild.

Along with the film, people can really get a sense of place by viewing the gorgeous photos from the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). Visit Planet Green for a slideshow that will make almost anyone want to protect the Flathead!

Want to do more? Watch the video, and pass it along to your friends. And take action HERE!

1. Kicked off the morning at the Conservation Alliance breakfast. Inspired by all the great things this awesome organization has taken on in the last year. Here’s just one of the slides from this morning’s presentation:

2. We dropped by the Keen booth where they’re donating $10 to Haiti relief efforts for every person that gets a polaroid shot and posts it on the HybridLife wall. All we had to do was write where we wanted to travel to… guess what the Under Solen answer was? Everywhere!

3. Digging the cool new products from Innate — some awesome re-purposed bags that use leftover materials from sleeping pads, etc.

Now we’re just counting down to happy hour…

Especially with snow… we couldn’t have asked for a better kick off to Winter Outdoor Retailer. Now here we go!

In our ongoing Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2010 coverage, we already rounded up a list of happy hours, but what we like even better than free beer is buying awesome gear and having your money go to a good cause. So here’s a list of cool swag you can score by donating money to super cool non-profits and causes; you’ll have new gear to show off at home and feel good about supporting positive change… the ultimate for an eco warrior gear head!

KEEN Targhee Boots

Score a pair of $40 Keen Targhee IIs for yourself and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Waterkeeper Alliance.

When: Friday January 22nd, 4-6pm

Where: Keen, Booth #32149

FalconGuides’ Best Easy Day Hikes books + National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps

FalconGuides is proud to announce a new alliance with National Geographic Maps. As a result of this collaboration, two of the United States’ largest publishers of outdoor recreation information will offer hiking enthusiasts comprehensive packages featuring FalconGuides’ Best Easy Day Hikes books and National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps.

A portion of sales from the four initial packages in the Best Easy Day Hikes Book and Map Packs series will benefit the American Hiking Society.

When: Friday January 22nd, 4-6pm

Where: Falcon Guides, Booth #33035

Suunto, Patagonia, Osprey, Dakine, Pistil Designs, Black Diamond, La Sportiva & more

SkiingtheBackcountry.com is putting on a raffle in conjunction with OR and SIA to raise funds for Kirk Williams, one of the writers for the online magazine. Last November, Kirk was in a mountain biking accident and ended up with a serious spinal injury.  He’s currently an  incomplete quadriplegic, but there is hope that he will someday walk again! He is also working on regaining the use of his hands and forearms so that he can continue to pursue a career in photography. Needless to say, his medical expenses are going to be staggeringly high.  On average, someone Kirk’s age with a spinal cord injury will spend $1.5-2 MILLION of their own money on medical expenses that are not covered by insurance.  The team at SkiingtheBackcountry.com figured the best thing they could do was rally up the power of the outdoor and snowsports industry and raise as much money for Kirk as possible!

The raffle will kick off Wednesday and tickets will be able to be purchased via SkiingtheBackcountry.com.

Shoes, bags, bottles and beyond

The granddaddy of OR swag is being sold by Conservation Alliance member companies, in fact there’s so much cool stuff that it’s too long to list here. You’ll find everything from Montrail shoes to a re-purposed NEMO tote to Osprey hydration packs, with a lot of companies giving 100% of proceeds to the Conservation Alliance. You’ve never put your money in a better place! Here’s all the info you need:

Columbia, Booth #28001

Product: Ravenice, Men’s and Women’s.

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Price: $40, MSRP $115

Hours: Happy Hour, Thursday, January 21, 4:30-6pm

Montrail, Booth #26001

Product: Sabino Trail Shoe

Price: $35, MSRP $100

Donation: proceeds will be split between The Conservation Alliance and Conservation Alliance grantee The Wilderness Support Center

Hours: Friday, January 22, 4-6pm

Brooks, Booth # 36123

Product: Brooks Cascadia 5.

Price: $50, MSRP $100

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: Thursday, January 21 – Friday, January 22, 11am-6pm each day

Ruff Wear, Booth # 33061

Product: Ruff Wear Sqwash dog toy

Price: $5, MSRP $9.99

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: available throughout the show

Stanley, Booth #21017

Product: Stanley eCycle Exchange Recycled & Recyclable mug and bottle. Two limited Edition Nineteen 13 Flasks for Auction

Price: $10 for bottle/mug. Silent Auction for Flask

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: Runs through the show and at Open Air Demo

Timex, Booth # 35125

Product: WS4 Watch

Price: $50, MSRP $200

Donation: 50% of revenue will go directly to The Conservation Alliance. IF all 300 watches are sold, Timex will provide an additional donation to a Conservation Alliance grantee.

Hours: Friday, January 22nd, 3-5pm.

Additional notes: limited quantity available

CamelBak, Booth # 15027

Product: SnoBlast Pack, limited edition — embroidered with The Conservation Alliance logo!

Price: $30, MSRP $79.99

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: available throughout the show,

Dansko, Booth #18027

Product: Dansko Shoes for Women and Men

Price: $75, MSRP $120-140

Donation: $10 of each shoe sale will be donated to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: available throughout the show

NEMO, Booth #1011

Product: Ditto Tote, made of repurposed NEMO tent samples and manufacturing seconds.

Price: $15, MSRP $19.95

Donation: 100% of the proceeds will benefit The Conservation Alliance

Hours: Available throughout the show

Osprey, Booth #8027

Product: Osprey Raptor 6 Hydration Pack

Price: $30, MSRP $79

Donation: 100% of the proceeds will benefit The Conservation Alliance

Hours: Thursday, January 21, 3-6pm

Black Diamond, Booth #5027

Product: Ion Headlamp

Price: $10, MSRP $19.95

Donation: 100% will benefit The Conservation Alliance

Hours: available throughout the show

Eagle Creek, Booth #22027

Product: ES Cargo Duffle, medium size. The perfect bag for hauling gear through the rainforests of Borneo or valuable schwag home from OR.

Price: $25, MSRP $75

Donation: 100% will benefit The Conservation Alliance

Hours: available throughout the show

Canada Goose, Booth # 5045

Product: Merino Wool Beanie

Price: $20, MSRP $50

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: Thursday, January 21, 2 – 4pm

Grabber, Inc., Booth #132

Product: 20-pack Hand Warmers or 8-pair Toe Warmers

Price: $5, MSRP: $10 Hand / $15 Toe

Donation: 100% to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: All Day January 23-24, 2010

Horny Toad, Booth #30051

Product: Men’s and Women’s Cashmoore fleece styles

Price: $20-$40, MSRP $76-$110

Donation: 10% of the proceeds to The Conservation Alliance

Hours: available throughout the show

Did we miss something? Leave a comment below or let us know via Twitter.

This week is a crazy combination of social media presentations and Outdoor Retailer for us… Over the weekend we got to check out the fine city of Boise. Nice people + good skiing + an amazing breakfast join = a pretty great place to visit.

But while the rest of the world hunkered down and celebrated MLK day today, we parked it at Big City Coffee and prepped for the rest of the week. Fortunately good coffee and a bowl full of fruit and granola can take you far, so if you’re in Boise, be sure to check out this hopping joint, complete with over-sized baked goods and a fast wifi connection. We give it a great big Under Solen recommendation!

Soft drink powerhouses, Coca Cola and Pepsi are both shifting their spending to social media marketing campaigns in 2010.

From Trueslant.com:

When does a trend become mainstream? In the world of advertising and marketing there is a persistent undercurrent of one-ups-manshippping. A few weeks back Pepsi boldly proclaimed that they wouldn’t be buying a Superbowl ad and would be investing in social media driven campaigns…

Just today a story was published on New Media Age citing Coke and Unilever will be shifting their digital microsite strategy to social communities like Facebook & YouTube. “We would like to place our activities and brands where people are, rather than dragging them to our platform…”

What’s this all leading to?

Investments in traditional digital media (if that isn’t an oxy-moron) is evolving at a rapid pace. Mega brands are now shifting their serious dollars toward social media. The trend of investing in social media is taking root in marketing mixes for the largest brands around the world and displacing traditional digital media, which is inline with Forrester’s report on 50% of marketers planning to increase their spend in social media. And where is that money coming from? They are taking the budgets away from broadcasting and microsites. The multi-million dollar allocations of Coke and Pepsi are the largest spends in social media to date and will propel the space into mainstream.

James Balog of the Extreme Ice Survey will speak next Friday at The Conservation Alliance's breakfast in Salt Lake City. The Extreme Ice Survey is the most wide-ranging glacier study ever conducted using ground-based, real-time photography.

This week at Under Solen, we’ve been gearing up for next week’s Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. While all of our heads will be swimming with meetings, happy hours and gear, we’re hoping to keep our eye on the the thread that holds all of this together — protecting those incredible wild places that keep our industry alive and kicking.

So, we thought we’d give a shout-out to a couple great groups that are walking the walk this week.

The Conservation Alliance

Since thier founding in 1989, the Conservation Alliance has contributed more than $7 million to conservation projects throughout North America — protecting more than 49 million acres of land, stop or remove 27 dams, and preserve access to thousands of miles of rivers and several climbing areas. The Alliance is a group of outdoor industry companies that disburses its collective annual membership dues to grassroots environmental organizations to protect threatened wild habitat, preferably where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. The Alliance was founded in 1989 by industry leaders REI, Patagonia, The North Face, and Kelty, who shared the goal of increasing outdoor industry support for conservation efforts.

Mark your calendars for their awesome breakfast at 7a.m. on Friday at the Marriot. We know it’s early, but this will give you the inspiration you need to get revved up for a day at the show. Look forward to founder and director of The Extreme Ice Survey, James Balog to give a stunning look at the impact abrupt climate change is having on the world’s glaciers.

And make sure to stop by participating booths to support the Alliance! Whether you’re looking for some wild inspiration, a rockin’ party or some sweet gear that benefits a great cause – they have packed line-up.

The Epicocity Project and iLCP Flathead RAVE

Grizzly bear captured on film by iLCP photographer Joe Riis ©iLCP Flathead RAVE

The Epicocity Project’s thought-provoking new film — Flathead Wild — will premiere at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival at the Nevada Theater in Nevada City, Calif. Saturday, Jan. 16 before going on tour.

Proposed mountaintop removal mining in southeastern British Columbia, Canada is threatening one of America’s most endangered rivers and one of North America’s wildest remaining valley — The Flathead. Flathead Wild follows the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) as they descend on the Flathead River Valley, along with local conservation groups, to take breathtaking and iconic images of the threatened ecosystem. These images then act as tools for the Flathead coalition to help tip the scales in favor of protection and conservation.

Flathead Wild is also now available online. Help Epicocity spread the word by linking to the film on your blog, Facebook and Twitter and send it to your friends and family!

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/7775085]

Helping Haiti

And we wanted to once again highlight how we can help folks in Haiti. Earlier this week, an earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Haiti. Centered just outside of the populated capital, Port-au-Prince, the quake’s effects have been devastating. Within less than 24 hours the outpouring of international support has been impressive.

So how can you take part? Here’s just a small collection of what’s out there.

Here at Under Solen HQ we’re getting revved up for Outdoor Retailer, so we figured we’d keep track of all the cool and happening events in one ultimate guide. Keep checking back as we’ll be updating leading up to the show. And if you’ve got something that should be on here, track us down at @undersolen or leave a comment on this post.

Keep reading to get the full guide!

Gramicci 2010 Winter PONG Cup (ie. Beer Pong)

WHAT: Nothing’s better after a long day of walking around the show floor than a rousing round of beer pong! Gramicci happens to be hosting pick-up ping pong games everyday during the show, but from 4pm onwards it turns into beer pong! Friday and Saturday championship with $500 for winner!

WHERE: Gramicci, Booth #9001

WHEN: Daily

Friday January 22

Conservation Alliance Breakfast

WHAT: Ok, ok, so we know that this isn’t a happy hour, and 7am is early to be up and at ‘em, but the Conservation Alliance Breakfast is well worth making an effort for. The breakfast’s featured speaker is James Balog, the Founder and Director of The Extreme Ice Survey. His multi-media presentation takes a stunning look at the impact abrupt climate change is having on the world’s glaciers.

WHERE: Downtown Marriott, Salt Lake City

WHEN: Friday January 22, 7:00-8:50am

Sierra Designs Cocktail Hour

WHAT: Sierra Designs is celebrating the launch of Core Comfort Technology with a cocktail hour and cat skiing trip for two giveaway (courtesy of Alaska Mountain Guides and Alta Ski Area). Sierra Designs also wants you to take part in making the cocktail hour rock; message @SierraDesigns on Twitter to recommend songs for their playlist. More info here.

WHERE: Sierra Designs, Booth #28017

WHEN: Friday January 22, 4-6pm

Osprey + Winter Wildlands Benefit Party

WHAT: Come join Osprey Packs for a fundraising/outreach party for the Winter Wildlands Alliance. This event will be hosted by Osprey Athlete and Save Our Snow crusader Alison Gannett. There will be free beer (of course!), great gear giveaways featuring a Telluride Ski Weekend and a Rippin Chix Clinic for a $5 donation to WWA. Come help us celebrate winter!

WHERE: Osprey Packs, Booth #8027

WHEN: Friday January 22, 4-6pm

Happy Hour with Keen and Waterkeeper Alliance

WHAT: A kicking deal on shoes and 100% of proceeds to an awesome organization, what more could you ask for? Come join Keen who will be offering free beer and $40 Targhees with all proceeds going to Waterkeeper Alliance. If that’s not enough, you can rock out to live music!

WHERE: Keen, Booth #32149

WHEN: Friday January 22nd, 4-6pm

Bowl-a-Rama, Hosted by ExOfficio and Manzella

WHAT: Bowl-a-Rama
A Big Lebowski Bowl-a-Rama hosted by ExOfficio and Manzella to raise funds for Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition.

WHERE: Ritz Bowling Alley, Salt Lake City (free shuttles to/from the bowling alley and the trade show will be available)

WHEN: Friday, January 22, 7-11pm

COST: FREE!

More info here.

Teva Party

WHAT: Legends never die. The Teva party is back! Get down at Club Elevate on Jan. 22, 2010, with JURASSIC 5’s CHALI 2NA – a featured artist on Tevanthology Vol. 8.  Join us for the world debut of The Teva Life Agent program, free swag and fresh beats.

WHERE: Club Elevate, 155 W 200 S, Salt Lake City

WHEN: Friday January 22nd, 9pm onwards

Woolrich ‘Get Your Plaid On Party’

WHAT: Beer, wine, plaid and prizes. Wear plaid and be entered to win a plaid-tastic collection of Woolrich goodies and a grand prize of a custom selection of Woolrich garments and a Woolrich-designed Thule rooftop carrier. Prizes drawn every 15 minutes with the grand prize selected at the end of the party. Must be present to win. More info here.

WHERE: Booth #19001-2001

WHEN: Friday January 22, 5-6pm

Outdoor Retailers All-Star Jam

WHAT: So, you’ve seen these guys at the show… But have you seen them on stage? The All Star Jam is coming to Club Elevate with performing musicians including Misty Murphy & Odub, the Black Diamond band, Kenji Harutunian, Timmy O’Niell and many, many more… Get down!

WHERE: Club Elevate

WHEN: Saturday January 23, 9pm-1am