When: March 15
Where: Forest Room 5
Speaker: Kevin Corrigan, Digital Media Specialist, Climbing magazine
This month, Mappy Hour Denver members and newcomers gathered at Forest Room 5 to hear a jovial talk from the digital media specialist at Climbing magazine and self-proclaimed “climbing-fat,” funnyman Kevin Corrigan.
The goal of Kevin’s talk? To teach Mappy Hour attendees “How to Have Fun in the Outdoors without Being Strong or Good at Anything.”
We had our traditional name-tagging and registration as people entered people entered the Library room before Kevin took center stage. Forest Room 5 has a long list of beers and cocktails to choose from, and the decor is very Mappy-Hour-esque, complete with fire pits outside and logs for chairs. There was even an archive of old National Geographic magazines in the bar’s library, and a map supplement included. In short, Forest Room 5 was the spot for us.
Kevin, who’s originally from New Jersey, told us how he fell in love with the outdoors and about his first major hiking trip, which involved carrying gear in garbage bags and bear-proofing food… by storing it in a pillowcase. He also talked about a backpacking guided tour he signed up for in Colorado, where he learned that he already knew how to backpack because “the only thing you have to do to do backpacking is not sit down while you’re walking. It’s pretty easy.”
Kevin also touched on some of his climbing adventures, including the time he and the rest of the Climbing mag staff were climbing in Israel. They got to the top of a multi-pitch route and couldn’t find the way back down. As the sun began to set, they decided they were stuck for the night and snuggled up with some old blankets locals had tucked under a bush.
The moral of Kevin’s tales of mishap and catastrophe? While skills, knowledge, and gear are all valuable, what matters most when it comes to adventure is stoke. And the best way to get better at any outdoor sport is simply by doing it.
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A special thanks to Kevin Corrigan for sharing his experiences and his easygoing outdoor philosophy with us, and a huge thanks to Alan Westman, our photographer, for the awesome photos!
See you April 26th at Mappy Hour Denver Golden!
