SNEWS Your source for outdoor, snow sports, and adventure travel news
The biggest evolution in SNEWS history happens live on Tuesday
SNEWS has been around for 37 years, and in all that time, we've never undergone a change quite like this. On Tuesday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m. MST, we're launching into a new era with some radical changes to our platform: a new name, new brand, new website, and an entirely new ...read more
The strategies behind the outdoor industry’s biggest Instagram accounts
As of October 2020, Instagram registered over a billion unique monthly users. If a picture truly is worth a thousand words, then a wide-reaching Instagram account is—well, it’s valuable. But how can outdoor companies make the most of an audience waiting on the other end of a ...read more
Watch the N-word webinar
Is it ever okay to use the N-word? There is, of course, no definitive answer to that question, as you'll discover when you watch this webinar. A few months back, rapper and climber Devin Dabney submitted an essay to Gym Climber magazine that was riddled with the N-word: It ...read more
Despite uncertainty, retailers prepare for a busy thru-hiking season on the Appalachian Trail
Four hundred seventy miles into a northbound trek on the Appalachian Trail, a hiker hits the town of Damascus, Virginia. Tired, thirsty, with battered poles and worn-down trail shoes, that hiker might stumble into a tan brick building sporting a sign that reads, in simple block ...read more
Recent Press Releases
Since 1984, SNEWS has been the outdoor industry’s most trusted source for trade news, company and retailer profiles, outdoor politics and issues, gear trends, and important interviews with power players.
Catch up on all the stories that are making news in the outdoor industry
Black-owned outdoor business spotlight: Coral Cliffs Rock Climbing Gym
In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting one Black-owned outdoor business per day. You can read the complete series here. Owner: Abby Dione Year founded: 2011 What they do Coral Cliffs is an indoor rock climbing gym in Ft. Lauderdale that offers 87 top-roped routes, ...read more
Waking up: Will the outdoor industry ever get DEI right?
Last summer—when the streets across America started burning, Black Lives Matter became a mainstay in the national discourse and her employees began pushing loudly for a company reckoning on race—Donna Carpenter knew she was in the midst of another one. Another "oh, shit" moment ...read more
Black-owned outdoor business spotlight: The Towne Cycles
In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting one Black-owned outdoor business per day. You can read the complete series here. Owner: David Boone Year founded: 2014 What we do The Towne Cycles is a community-based bike shop that specializes in custom builds for commuters. ...read more
Outdoor Retailer delays Summer Market by 8 weeks to August 10-12
To ensure a “safe and successful in-person event” and meet the capacity requirements of the Colorado Convention Center amid ongoing Covid-19 precautions, Outdoor Retailer is altering its traditional show cycle and moving its Summer Market eight weeks back. Outdoor Retailer, a ...read more
Goliath's reckoning: Has REI grown too large?
This story originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of The Voice. Read the full digital issue here. In 1930s Seattle, ice axes, the kind you would climb Rainier with, were hard to come by, and expensive. Early ski shops sold knockoffs for $370 in today’s money. So Lloyd and ...read more
Straight Talk with Earl B. Hunter Jr. of Black Folks Camp Too
Earl B. Hunter Jr. is a guy who likes to talk. Go on a hike with Earl, and you better adjust your mileage expectations, because he stops to chat with virtually every single hiker he passes. He is a born connector of people—a human bridge—which makes him well-poised to make waves ...read more
Black-owned outdoor business spotlight: Slim Pickins Outfitters
In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting one Black-owned outdoor business per day. You can read the complete series here. Owners: Jahmicah and Heather Dawes Year founded: 2016 What we do Slim Pickins Outfitters is a specialty outdoor retailer focused on building up ...read more
Behind the scenes at Thule’s first North American retail store
Amid Covid-related lockdowns and the limiting of guests inside stores, the past year has been difficult for outdoor retail. But one global brand is betting that brick-and-mortar remains a viable channel for moving goods and, perhaps more importantly, engaging consumers. Thule ...read more
Pocket Outdoor Media acquires Outside Magazine, Outside TV, Gaia GPS, athleteReg, and Peloton Magazine; Rebrands as Outside
There’s seismic news in the media, outdoor, endurance, and tech industries today. Pocket Outdoor Media (parent company to SNEWS, Backpacker, and nearly 30 other active living brands) announced news that will catapult the Boulder-based company into a powerful position in these ...read more
Black-owned outdoor business spotlight: R.E.Load
In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting one Black-owned outdoor business per day. You can read the complete series here. Owners: Roland Burns and Ellie Lum Year founded: 1998 What R.E.Load makes Roland Burns and Ellie Lum launched R.E.Load over 20 years ago to design ...read more
VF promotes from within for Icebreaker’s new top exec
VF Corp. didn’t have to look too far when selecting a new global leader for its New Zealand-based outdoor apparel brand Icebreaker. The Denver-based company promoted from within, naming Jan Van Mossevelde—who had been serving as Icebreaker’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and ...read more
Black-owned outdoor business spotlight: Paskho
In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting one Black-owned outdoor business per day. You can read the complete series here. Owner: Patrick Robinson Year founded: 2013 What Paskho does Paskho sells high-performance and eco-friendly apparel for men and women, such as ...read more