We here at PEMBA are always interested in how people find their way into the outdoors. Some people get exposure from birth, and others seek it out. We’re about an even mix of the two here on the team. It makes us wonder: How do others find their way? We asked, and got a really compelling answer from our friend Amy Christensen from expandoutdoors.com. Check this out, and then answer for us: Does her story resonate with you, your friends, or your customers? Just wondering…

Wait Up!
“Can you wait for just a moment,” I asked? His eyes rolled back (again) in undisguised exasperation. “You just took ten pictures of those same flowers five minutes ago. At this pace we’re never going to get to the top.” I sighed. He was right, but I couldn’t understand the hurry. Why couldn’t he just enjoy being outside? Wasn’t that enough?

The more hikes we went on together, the less patient he became. “I thought you said you loved the outdoors,” he’d point out when I was trudging along behind him, gasping for breath. I wasn’t all that fit back then, but I hadn’t lied. I did love the outdoors. I just didn’t know how to be out in them.

Early Exposure
Growing up in the Maryland suburbs, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to get into the wilderness very often. I was in a Children’s Chorus, played violin and took ballet. There wasn’t a lot of time left for outdoor adventures 2+ hours away.

When we did travel (and we went on a LOT of summer road trips), we visited historical monuments and museums, with a generous sprinkling of National Parks. But I only got a slight taste of what the outdoors was like since we rarely ventured more than 20 feet from the car to explore anything beyond the paved viewpoint.

Colorado
I moved to Colorado at 22 for an internship and I knew, without a doubt, that I’d be staying. I wasn’t sure exactly why the pull was so strong (having only been to CO once on a long-ago road trip), but I trusted it.

When I arrived, I started hiking with some friends off and on. I was eager to experience the trails, and at first it was exciting. But then my inexperience and lack of fitness began to take their toll. The outdoors became a source of anxiety and frustration for me. I felt discouraged and confused. Why couldn’t I make it to the top? Why did I get so tired so quickly? I became convinced I simply wasn’t cut out for serious outdoor excursions.

The Lincoln Group
One day I got a phone call from a friend who’d started climbing Colorado’s 14ers. He and some friends were planning on a hike the next day and would I like to come along?

I jumped at the invitation, even though at the time, I’d missed the part where he mentioned hiking up to 14,000 feet. I agreed to meet them at the appointed time (silently wondering why we needed to meet so early in the morning).

When I arrived, I realized immediately I was woefully underprepared. “You brought a rain jacket, right?” My friend asked as he eyed my small backpack. I looked at him blankly, the feeling of inexperience and of being a burden welling up inside. “I have an extra one,” someone in the group offered kindly.

With borrowed jacket, hat, gloves, and sunscreen, I, along with five others, set out. As the trail got steeper and the air thinner, one of our friends started feeling the effects of the altitude. I listened, fascinated, as plans to get her to a lower elevation were made, radios exchanged to stay in contact with each other, and words of encouragement were shared. I stayed with the group heading up to the summit.

As it turned out, I was not the last one to make it up (much to my, and I think everyone else’s, amazement). As we sat at the summit and cheered for the others as, one by one, the rest of our party arrived (including the one who’d been having trouble), I marveled at how good I felt—both physically, and emotionally. I was filled with gratitude for my friend who’d invited me to join. He cared about safety. He was patient and encouraging. He’d never questioned my ability to summit. He’d believed in me. And I hadn’t let him, or the others, down.

We continued on that day to summit three more 14ers, and I found myself, towards the end, running along the trail to the summit of Mt. Bross. (Me! Running! Who knew I could do that?) The open views, the crisp, alpine air. The tiny flowers the size of a pencil eraser standing strong in the wind. I found renewed strength and belief in myself. In my relationship with wild nature. I belonged.

Gearing Up
After that experience, I realized I had a lot to learn, and some key pieces of gear to acquire. I’m not sure the term #OIBIZ existed back then, but I’m pretty confident that if it had, I’d never have heard of it, or understood what it meant (or how it applied to me). At an outdoor newbie, I found it hard to know what to buy and where to go to buy it. Outdoor advertisements seemed geared towards experts, or veteren outdoor enthusiasts—certainly not to me. The terminology and jargon was foreign and I felt in over my head.

I fumbled through my first few pieces, not really knowing what I was doing. There was the rain jacket (that turned out to be merely water “resistant”) and the thick rag wool hiking socks I bought for summer treks (that subsequently gave me blisters).

Luckily, I was not only spending more time outside hiking, running and training, but I’d found a few knowledgable friends who kindly pointed me in the direction of outdoor retailers when there was a new piece of gear I needed. And contrary to my initial belief that I didn’t belong in “those” stores, it was refreshing to learn that the sales staff were excited and invested in my continued happiness in the outdoors.

I was impressed with their honest answers and assessments of products they shared, and grateful for the education they provided. I learned what “wicking” meant and why cotton wasn’t the best material for cold weather activities. They taught me the difference between “waterproof” fabric and “water resistant” and in what conditions I might wear one over the other. I learned about and began to attend clinics held to introduce newbies like me to sports like snowshoeing and trail running.

I began to feel increasingly confident to walk into a store and ask intelligent questions, and participate in conversations with other outdoor enthusiasts without feeling like a fraud. Other people even began asking me questions!

Coming Into My Own
Slowly, with more and more time spent camping with friends, hiking and running on trails by myself, my connection to the wilderness began to strengthen, along with a deeper connection to myself.

My confidence rose. My understanding of the world around me expanded. I felt as though a fog had lifted and I was actively participating in my life. And as my experiences matured, so did my awareness. I began making better choices for myself (career, finances, relationships—especially relationships!)

Looking back at those early stressful hikes, I’m grateful for realizing that who you’re with can make a huge difference. I am incredibly grateful for the people I’ve encountered along this journey who taught, encouraged, supported and believed in me—and still do.

My unconscious had been right oh-so-long ago—this is where I belonged: running along a trail with the smell of evergreen fresh in the air, aspen leaves rustling above.

Amy Christensen is a certified professional life coach at Expand Outdoors who specializes in helping people get unstuck and move forward toward their life goals. She is passionate about helping others develop an active, healthy (and sustainable) lifestyle. She is a trail runner, climber, novice surfer and mountain biker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast and about to embark on a year-long adventure, traveling around the country with her husband, enjoying the outdoors while working from the road.

You can find her on the web through her blog, or connect with her via twitter at @expandoutdoors or facebook.

After the OR Summer Market in Salt Lake City, my family and I slipped away into the mountains of Wyoming. I grew up spending half the year in the Wind River Range outside of Pinedale. It was here where I learned how to climb rocks, ride, pack, and shoe horses, backpack, run rivers, and live outdoors in all conditions, often without much of anything.

This spot in particular where we went, I’ve spent over one hundred days of my life camping there, and it’s called…

(Well, heck: It’s off the trail, and not marked on any map. I know what it’s called, anyway. Just ask and maybe I’ll tell you, but prolly not.)

When I worked for Skinner Brother’s Wilderness Schools in the Seventies, Eighties, and – okay – even into the Nineties, we ran our climbing programs out of a little lake high up in the mountains. There are cliffs nearby and a boulder in the camp made from some of the oldest rock on the planet. This rock has roots that shoot clear through me, and through most people who have ever spent time there. For some, these roots span generations. It was time we gave them their due.

So, six adults and eight kids (ages four to fifteen) got on pack-horses and rode fifteen miles over five hours through one of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48 to sit beside this little lake for five days. We were: My family (Me, Vera, Emma, Misa, and John-Pio); The Skinner Family (Amy, Hannah, Sara, and Jake); The Sheafor Family (Mattie, Alex, and Lucas); and our frequent partners-in-crime, Anne Hughes and Stanley Livingston.

Since the horses packed the gear, we took everything and then some. It was rather plush. We hiked, climbed, bouldered, rafted, swam, jumped off cliffs, caught fish, laughed, told stories, and remembered old friends and family long-gone.

It was a great trip, and – truth is – part of me didn’t come back. But, it’s also true that part of me also never left there, either.

And, you know, I’ll go back again.

I hope you enjoy the pictures, and that they make you think of someplace special.

For that matter: Where do you go when you go to that place outdoors that made you?

Huge feature article “A Fast New World” recaps the 2010 Western States 100; Montrail athlete, 2010 champion and WS100 course record holder Geoff Roes is in the spotlight.

Montrail athlete Matt Hart quoted in the “Ups and Downs in Colorado’s San Juans” article

The Sabino Trail GTX makes the 13 shoe review lauded for its “comfort and fit during long runs on technical and hilly terrain.” They call out the Sabino to be more ‘run-able’ than its predecessor, the Hardrock 08. Tester-monial: “The excellent tread enabled me to motor up steep parts of the Colorado Trail and bomb down without feeling intimidated or worrying about slipping.”

Sabino Trail GTX Men’s | Women’s

Perfect for family adventures the PETZL TIKKINA² retails for $19.95

Here’s a great customer letter recently received at PETZL Headquarters

Just a quick note to let you know of a situation where Petzl saved the day.  My family and I were going through Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana last week with about 28 other people.  They had electric lights that went down through the cave and allowed the visitors to see the amazing cave formations.  At the halfway point in the cave, and unknown to us, a huge thunderstorm swept through and took out the power so we were all thrown into darkness.  The park ranger who was leading us had one, wimpy Mag-lite and it became obvious that we were going to be stuck for sometime.

People started to panic but then we pulled out our Petzl headlamps.  With the four of our headlamps, my kids (8 and 12), my wife, and I were able to lead the group out.  The ranger was very thankful (and a bit embarrassed) and we received a standing ovation.  One thankful person even gave us a pound of coffee in the parking lot!

Anyway, we wanted to share our story with you.

Love your products!

Ed

Some days, it’s hard to be us. Take yesterday, for instance. While Steve and I were here at PEMBAbase working, our wives were out enjoying a beautiful late-summer day on some new boulders at Devil’s Lake.

At least Vera and Katie sent us some pictures.

Like that makes us feel better.

Well, we hope you enjoy these shots of Vera, Katie, and our friend Anne Hughes. We’re still a little bitter about the whole thing…

We get requests, yes we do: “I’m [going somewhere/doing this thing/really rad], so give me stuff.” And, most of the time, we don’t. (We have a name for people who need our gear; we call them “customers.”) But Patrick Schirf had us at “hello,” with a real need for real gear, and a great opportunity to test it, also. Plus, there were bears involved. We like bears. And bear conservation, we can’t forget that. We sent him a Mountain Hardwear South Col, which seemed to us to be the perfect pack for what he was doing, and it seems as if we were right. Here’s Patrick’s story: Enjoy…

I arrived in Edmonton, Alberta on May 13th, ready for adventure. After an annoyingly long process dealing with customs I met up with my supervisor, Bogdan Cristescu. For some reason Canadian customs couldn’t understand why someone would come all the way from the States to volunteer to study grizzly bears. Bogdan is a Ph. D. student studying the impact of open pit mining on grizzly bear ecology. Alberta is Canada’s wealthiest province due to its natural resources. The mining of these resources has a major impact on the environment, and therefore the need for the grizzly bear research.

The rest of the volunteers trickled in over the next few days and we eventually made the move to the hamlet of Cadomin, population 54 and home base for the project. Things got off to an awfully slow start due to heavy snowfall.

The excitement began when we went to our first kill site cluster. A bear’s radio color sends out a GPS location once an hour. If a bear is within a 50 meter area for more than three hours then it is considered a cluster. We survey all of the larger cluster sites. We arrived at the kill site in a fairly dense wooded area  There was hair and bone everywhere.

The four volunteers and our supervisor had a look around the area. We came to the conclusion there were two different kills right near each other. Both kills were made by a large Cougar. Male Cougars in this area can get well over two hundred pounds. The first kill was an older deer. The second kill was an elk. It looked as though the cougar had made the kill and a female grizzly came in later to scavenge. She moved the elk kill to another area and tried to cache it by covering it up with earth.

It was a very different feeling being surrounded by death and knowing the creatures responsible could still be nearby watching you. We continued on with the protocol, taking all the proper measurements and began to hear something big moving around the woods close by. We made plenty of noise but never saw anything, so we got back to work. The noises continued for the rest of our stay at the site, almost circling around us. Everyone was on high alert and was working as efficiently as possible. We finally finished the site and made it out safely. We never knew what was watching us. Being in such a situation makes me realize just how wild this place really is. It’s an amazing feeling to be a part of it all.

We went back to survey the random site a few days later. On our way back from the site we were walking in a meadow and saw two heads pop up over the ridge in front of us. My first wild grizzlies!

They were two young cubs a couple of years old that had been let go from their mother. We stopped to watch them and one of them popped up on his hind legs to get a better look and catch our scent.

He then fell lazily on to his sibling as if there wasn’t anything to be too worried about. They then headed cautiously over the hillside into the woods, stopping to have another look at us along the way as if they still weren’t sure what to make of us. We watched them disappear into the woods with the great peaks of the Canadian Rockies hiding in the fog in the background.  It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, a moment I won’t forget.

Once we became proficient with the site protocol we split into teams of two to be more productive. One of the other volunteers and I headed out to a very large cluster. This female bear spent over a week in the area so we couldn’t help but assume it was a large kill site. After several hundred yards of bushwhacking we made our way down an incredibly steep canyon to a stream bank.

If the forest floor didn’t have a thick layer of moss to allow us to dig our heals in on the way down the canyon then I don’t believe we could have even made it down to the stream.  We arrived at the site and found massive amounts of hair and bone everywhere. After looking around and seeing the amount of hair we determined a large cougar had killed an adult moose.

Cougars, as well as other species of feline, shear off all the hair of their kill. There was also evidence of wolves and of course, our bear. Part of the protocol of a kill site is to bring back the bones of the prey animal to identify species, sex, health, and age of the animal. We were unable to find the skull, femur, or the pelvic girdle so the next best thing was the lower leg. We found a large lower leg with skin and hair still present, along with a lovely smell of rotting carcass.  After a couple of hours we finally managed to complete the protocol and packed things up.

I had the privilege of putting the 10+ pound moose leg on the back of my pack.  We began hiking and my mind began to get the best of me. I couldn’t help but think about the fact that I’m carrying a rotting moose leg on my pack in dense forest with several species of large predators in the area with a 2 km hike ahead of me. After what felt like hours of bushwhacking we made it to a quad trail but we weren’t out of the woods yet. There were wolf tracks in the mud along the trail. My nerves were completely on edge; I couldn’t help but be startled by the slightest of noises through the trees. We eventually made it back to the house tired, sweaty and my nerves shot. My stomach wasn’t felling its best either, the wind was to our back the whole hike home and the heat and smell of the moose leg blowing in my face made me feel a bit queasy. It was a long day for everyone.

I would have to say my experience in Canada was life changing. Being surrounded by large predators forces you to always be in the moment. You can’t let your mind begin to wonder. You will either terrify yourself picturing what might happen or walk into a dangerous situation without even realizing it.

I explored some incredible landscapes. My Mountain Hardwear South Col pack worked out perfectly for my trip. I could load it up for overnight trips and it compressed down to be a great day-pack as well.

The Canadian Rockies are a beautiful place and I hope that our research will help keep it wild. The mines continue to destroy the landscape and eat up the habitat. We must find alternative forms of energy before grizzlies become a distant memory.

Brad presented his OIA / Outdoor University Webinar yesterday, The Evolving Role of the Independent Rep. For those who are interested, here are the slides.

(If you want to hear a recording of the presentation, follow the instructions, below…)

Brad was honored and humbled to have been asked to present, and really sweated over the content. It went pretty well, we’re thinking.

Attendance exceeded expectations and there were some really excellent questions. Though Brad went a bit long (the blabbermouth), just about everybody held in there until the bitter end. Thanks for all of those who attended and contributed to the discussion.

For those of you who couldn’t make it, feel free to leave a comment. Brad reads ‘em – we gather – and we’re pretty sure he’ll respond.

Contact events [at] outdoorindustry.org for the link to the recording.
Outdoor University webinars are free to OIA members and SNEWS subscribers and $99 for non members.

Pemba Serves and Mountain Hardwear are stoked to have Chicks Rock! back again for a session at Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin September 11th – 16th.

Here’s how you can win a spot on their co-ed weekend skills clinic.

At the co-ed weekend skills clinic, which precedes the full Chicks Rock! experience Sept. 13-16, our infamous Girly Guides will be giving clinics on topics such as:

• Self rescue (Saturday)
• Intro to trad leading (Saturday)
• Working a project/red point tactics (Saturday)
• Anchors (Sunday)
• Intro to big wall climbing (Sunday)
• Intro to multi-pitch (Sunday)

The cost for one of these clinics, which run from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., is $100 per day; or $180 total if you sign up for the full weekend.

But, because we are ready to rock in Wisconsin, and want to see some men take advantage of this opportunity to learn from some of the best guides in the world, we are giving away a total of two passes to one of these full-day clinics!

So, how’s this contest going to go down? Well, we want you to get creative!

In order to enter the contest you must submit a photo of an artistic creation you design, or capture with some climbing related piece(s) of gear on our Facebook page.

A Chicks Climbing committee will select one winner, while the Chicks Climbing fan base will select the other. The fan base winner will be selected by adding up the number of “likes” the photo receives on the Chicks Climbing Facebook page. So, when you enter, make sure you encourage your friends and family to show their support and vote for you!

Read more at www.chickswithpicks.net

 by: Bryan Kuhn | Pemba Serves Field Rep

Thank you.

Really it’s a simple phrase, and we do use it often – but there are times when the simple mention doesn’t do it justice.

I’ve been on the vendor side at #ORShow before. Winter shows, summer shows, an SIA and a couple buy group shows for measure. I’ve seen first hand all the hassle, stress, and impossible tasks involved with getting a show to run smoothly in that 20×20 island. I’ve had crates delivered 2 hours before the clean floor deadline, mystery power outages the morning of opening, a 15 hour Vegas to Salt Lake redeye flight from hell, and put in those 18 hour days back to back to back because there are only 2 of you for a brand at the show.

On the representative side of things, an Outdoor Retailer event is actually pretty painless. We come in, go to our sales meetings, go to the show, give support in booths, meet with our retailers, partners, and friends, and then we leave. We guzzle free coffee, eat free lunches, and drink free beer.

 
We miss all the chaos, the frantic set-up, the weary tear-down and agonizing wait while the GES crew wheels in shipping crates one at a time in a seemingly random manner. Vendor days are longer than anyone else’s day – they are in the booths straightening, vacuuming, and preparing for each day before we all sail in, partly caffeinated and still a little bleary from the previous evening’s events. While we wander off to find the shortest line for the coldest beer at 4pm – really, people, the show goes until 6 and we really SHOULD be working – vendors are handling the lookie-loos, the wander-bys, and trying to deal with the partially inebriated, over-stimulated crowd with utmost patience.

After we’re already on our flights to wherever we call home, they are packing away every display, boxing every fixture, wrapping up lights, and making sure nothing went missing during the week. In summer, the air conditioning is off for set-up and take-down; because the big bay doors are open, and the hot desert outside air is rolling in. In winter, the heat is off and you can see your breath before you even have the 6” pegs off the wall.

Yet, they manage to pull it off. And the best vendors manage to do so with a smile, a grin, a joke, and a general all-is-well vibe. They’re the ones keeping it rolling, making sure that whenever we look up from a table in search of a thumb drive pre-loaded with paperwork, we have it. When a prototype product makes its way around the booth to show off, we have it handed to us. A quick confirmation of an order received last week in the frenzy, nodded in our direction when we need it. “Hey, what do you need?”, “Something I can do to help?”, “So-and-so dropped by a few minutes ago, here’s their info…” are all music to our ears.

So to all our colleagues at PETZL, Mountain Hardwear, LEKI, Adventure Medical Kits, and Montrail; to all the friends we work with and who make this one of the best industries to be in: Thank you for all your efforts and hard work. We can’t say it often enough. We’re proud to represent you, and humbled by your incredible generosity. We look forward to coming back again to both work with and hoist glasses with you. I hope that if you can come visit us, we can be as generous and as helpful as you are. The standard is certainly set high.

Pictured Above
Adventure Medical Kits | Nate Offenberg and Sarah Tantillo
LEKI | Christine Schnitzer, Gregg Fisher and Jane Rackl
Mountain Hardwear | Casey Tilmanis and Clark LaCouture
PETZL | Justin Roth and Pitt Grewe

Even More Thanks to the folks Not Pictured Above!

Derrick Mayoleth | KayakQuixotica.com

Excellent review of Montrail’s Sabino Mid GTX from Derrick at KayakQuixotica.com

I’m a trail runner. After an ankle injury early in the season the doc said that I needed to find trail shoes with ankle support.  Right!  Well, with a bit of help for the folks at Pemba Serves I’ve had the opportunity to put a pair of Sabino Trail Mids by Montrail to the test.  2 month on, and I have to say,  the Sabino Trail Mids were just what the doctor ordered, and then some.

Trail runners know that having freedom and flex in your ankle is paramount to good balance on rough terrain.  That’s why you don’t find high-top runners.  But when you injure an ankle or simply feel your age coming on, you sometimes need a bit of support.  Ankle braces that do any good are usually over-kill for runners or worse, they run a band under your arch which can be painful to run on.  Hiking boots are simply too heavy and clunky to run in.  This is where the Sabino Mids by Montrail really come to the front.

Read the rest at KayakQuixotica.com

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