Snooze Is Ready For The Hunger Games

After heading to the hills to escape the July heat to participate in an intense survival training with the Cottonwood Institute, Snooze Staff are officially ready for the Hunger Games.

They broke into two teams for an extreme competition where they battled it out. The winner would receive serious bragging rights and the loser had to buy the first round at Oskar Blues after the course.

They participated in a few games to get things rolling, completed a survival scenario to learn about survival priorities, and then kick in their A-game to compete in a survival shelter competition. Who won? You be the judge.

Because we were in a fire ban this summer, we unfortunately did not have a chance to practice our mad survival fire making skills, but we did have a chance to organize a throwing stick competition before our lightning safety skills were put to a real test. An afternoon storm rolled in quickly,  the temperature dropped, and a severe downpour and lightening ensued, so we decided to head to the safety of our vehicles and get out of Dodge.

After making it out of the field safely, but very, very wet, we relived the crazy day over a refreshing brew at Oskar Blues. Overall, it was a good day and everyone left with the confidence that they have what it takes to survive if they ever get caught out in the mountains.

To check out a slide show of the action, Click Here.

In memory of Zach Johns.

Throwdown, Bags, and Bagpipes

No, we are not talking about the sequel to Braveheart, but the 2012 Throwdown started to the thundering sound of bagpipes and drums as participants put their game faces on and prepared for battle, er, competition. With team names like “Maized and Confused,” “Nacho Mamma,” and “This Ain’t Our First Throwdown,” we knew we were all in for an action packed day.

Thanks to Stoney’s Bar and Grill, Wynkoop Brewing Company, and Oskar Blues, competitors were able to refuel and stay “hydrated” as the intense Colorado sun beat down on everyone. Rumor has it, one team has a sweet new sweatband tan now!

The day rolled on and the competition became stiff as Corn Dawgs, Children of the Cornhole, and Bags of Glory battled it out. But in the end Corn Dawgs were victorious and clutched the ultimate prize: bragging rights! They also won some sweet trophies from AOR, Inc., tents from REI, and Scorzies, while Children of the Cornhole won backpacks from Mountainsmith, concert tickets to the Fox Theatre, and Rockies Tickets thanks to Root Sports.

We raised over $4,000 to help support our programs with STRIVE Prep this fall, which will serve low-income, Latino(a) public school students in Denver. We want to give a quick shout out to our generous sponsors and supporters that helped make this event possible, so check out and support the following folks: AOR, Inc., EMI Sportswear, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Excell Fund Brokerage, Fox Theatre, Hero Kit, Mountainsmith, Oskar Blues, OtterBox, REI, Root Sports, Scorzie, Stoney’s Bar and Grill, and Wynkoop Brewing Company.

To check out a slideshow of the action, Click Here.

AOR Survives – Hoot!

On Monday, June 18th, 2012, Agency Off Record, Inc. (AOR), a spunky advertising agency in Denver, CO, closed the office for the day and took off to the mountains for a 1-day survival training with the Cottonwood Institute. Leaving the 100 degree heat behind, AOR did what every responsible company should do: unplug, leave client deadlines and cell phone range behind, and head to the mountains!

Hoot, Hoot! After arriving at our stunning base camp location for the day, the AOR crew gathered up to learn more about our genius hoot system for communicating outdoors and a quick safety briefing, including how to pee and poop in the woods. A special shout out to the Admiral, the Queen and Mr. and Mrs. Peebody. Let’s just say after our bathroom talk, the word of the day was…wait for it…splatter cakes!

Smiles were exchanged for game faces as we broke AOR into two groups to compete in a series of survival challenges throughout the day. They came up with creative team names, including: Donner Party! and Stud Ranch? The losing team had to buy the first round at Oskar Blues in Lyons, CO at the end of the course, so needless to say the stakes (and bragging rights) were extremely high. Check out this video of one of their first challenges to visually represent wind:

Each team fought “to the pain” and were neck and neck all day. They participated in a survival scenario, competed in a shelter building competition, and were briefed about several fire building techniques, primitive and modern fire starting methods, and how to make their own survival kit. Without a clear winner, Donner Party! eventually emerged victorious in triple overtime when they correctly guessed the age of Ford Church, the Cottonwood Institute’s Founder and Executive Director, who was honored to instruct the course along with co-pilot Kristin Maharg.

Look out Survivor, a new highly trained group of survivalists are ready to take you on next season!

To check out our slide show to re-live the magic of the day, Click Here.