Maine Chapter Website

It’s back! Mark your calendar for the Banff Mountain Film Festival at 7 pm, Monday, February 13 at the State Theatre. The eleventh year of this film festival will feature two hours of magnificent cinematography of skiing, climbing, kayaking, mountain culture, the environment, and more and is produced by some of the world’s best outdoor cinematographers. The shows starts at 7:00PM. Visit the webpage for ticket information.

Maine Chapter volunteer Jeff Aceto will be honored at this weekend’s AMC Annual Meeting in Boston when he will receive AMC’s Volunteer Leadership Award. This award recognizes “members with at least five years of active service who have made significant contributions to volunteer leadership within their club units. The recipients will have furthered the recreation, conservation, and education mission of the AMC in some way.” Jeff has served the Maine Chapter as a trip leader of hiking (all four seasons), biking, and paddling trips, he has served as the Meetings and Education Chair, and is currently the Outings Chair for the chapter. Thank you Jeff for all of your efforts and congratulations!

Planning an outdoor adventure, be it a hike, ski, over-night trip, or just a walk through the woods? Winter weather is definitely something to consider. And, the weather out your back door may be drastically different from where you intend to recreate. An accurate local forecast is needed for proper planning, so you know if you will need the basic winter gear, or extra hand-warmers. If you are headed to the White Mountains, the trusted weather source is continue

Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) wants you to know that many of Maine’s State Parks are open in the winter. And to entice you there, they are offering activities such as “Winter Family Fun Days” to help get you there. They are offering lessons in ice skating, cross country skiing, winter camping, and snowshoeing, as well as activities that include a fishing derby, animal tracking, nature programs, and dog sled rides. Don’t have equipment? BPL has 60 pairs of cross country skis for you to use, free of charge! Check out this article to learn more.

On January 7, 2012 the AMC announced its next president- John D. Judge. He brings to the AMC a background in executive and senior development, finance, and marketing, as well experience as an active community leader. John Judge currently lives in the Boston area, and starts his new duties as AMC’s president on February 1. For more information, read this press release.

No, this is not an app your mother invented to remind you to wash your hands! If you have every taken any sort of Wilderness First Aid course from SOLO, you will certainly remember that a SOAP note (Subjective Objective Assessment Plan) is used to document and monitor a medical emergency in the wilderness. The SOAP note has now come into the 21st century in the form of an app for your iPad, iPhone, or Android device. This ensures all steps are followed, employs visual schematics of the body with injury locations, allows the user to prioritize and tracks treatments, and produces a legible output that can be transfered as patient care is transfered. The app requires an annual subscription and is available on the SOLO web page. Read more about the app and its specifics!

Now you can get some of your favorite AMC publications for Kindle, Apple, and Nook devices. New AMC eBooks include “Katahdin: An Historic Journey”; “AMC Guide to Winter Hiking and Camping”; “Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast”; three books from the popular Best Day Hikes series (including guides to Boston, the Whites, Washington, DC); and two paddling titles, “Quiet Water New Hampshire and Vermont” and “Quiet Water New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania”. Starting in spring 2012, AMC Books will release many of its new books simultaneously in print and eBook format.

Time is running out to register for the 2012 AMC Annual Meeting- the deadline is Friday January 13th! The meeting will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. There will be workshops and committee meetings as well as volunteer award recipient presentations during the day, and then a dinner, business meeting, and presentation in the evening. This year’s meeting will include a special celebration honoring retiring President Andy Falender. Registration information is available at this website. If you have any questions regarding the 2012 136th Annual Meeting, please call Cindy Martell, Event & Office Coordinator, at 617-391-6603, or e-mail her.

If you like scenic landscape photography of mountains, you are likely familiar with the Washburn Gallery. The mountaineer, explorer, surveyor, mapmaker, and photographer Brad Washburn captured spectacular images of the White Mountains, and the White Mountain Collection was donated to the Mount Washington Observatory. Prints of his photographs are for sale, at 20% off through January 31st. A holiday gift idea, perhaps?

Outdoor writer Jeff Romano will present a slideshow-illustrated talk showcasing favorite local hikes from his latest book, 100 Classic Hikes in New England. The book features 100 iconic “can’t miss” hikes many along the rocky coast of Maine and others deep in the Maine’s heartland. Sometimes called the most comprehensive and up-to-date hiking guide for all of New England, the book features color photos, maps, and descriptions of scenic trails for all levels of fitness and abilities. Romano’s talk in Holden is at 7pm on Wednesday, December 14th at Maine Audubon’s Fields Pond Center, 216 Fields Pond Rd, Holden, ME 04429, about 15 minutes south of Bangor. Parking is free and plentiful. This program is co-sponsored by Maine Audubon and the Maine Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. For more information, download a flyer (144 KB PDF) or email Education Chair John Mullens or Audubon Naturalist Holly Twining. All events are free and open to the public.