SNEWS Your source for outdoor, snow sports, and adventure travel news
Poll: Have you encountered racist climbing route names?
The system for naming climbing routes is about as unofficial as it could possibly be. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the first person to climb a new route simply makes up a moniker, starts using it, and eventually it catches on. There is no vetting process, no checks and ...read more
Pride month is over. That doesn't mean the work stops.
Now that Pride month has come to a close, brands across the industry will once again begin taking down their rainbow logos, packing them away until next summer. There's no question we've come a long way in our celebration and amplification of LGBTQIA+ people in the outdoor space ...read more
Coronavirus impacts on the guiding community: “It’s bad.”
It's nine o'clock on a Monday morning. Tom Wolfe sits down to start his week. He checks his email, then his Google AdWords account. He fires off a few text messages to clients, asking how they're doing. Still fine. Nothing new. He gets ready for a Zoom call. This might sound ...read more
Poll: What are you most excited to read in the summer issue of The Voice?
Today is a very special day for us here at SNEWS. Our print publication, The Voice, heads to the presses this evening despite major pandemic-related disruptions to the production process. We're very proud of everyone on the team for getting the issue across the finish line ...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
Industry Buzz: In Solidarity Project grants, virtual Tour de France, L.L.Bean opens new locations, woman hospitalized in Yellowstone
Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Grants for marginalized communities: In Solidarity Project, the organization that oversees the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge, has announced a grant program to support underrepresented and underserved people in the outdoors. ...read more
The business case for improving diversity
As the outdoor industry works to rebound from the pandemic, many companies are looking for innovative ways to connect with consumers and to make back what they’ve lost in profits. The answer is simple: connect with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Nearly half of ...read more
An accident involving an ENO hammock paralyzed a young woman in 2017. Now she's seeking damages.
A young woman injured in a 2017 accident involving an ENO hammock has sued the brand's parent company, Eagles Nest Outfitters, for unspecified damages to be determined at trial. Erin Field, 23, was paralyzed from the neck down after a brick chimney—to which an ENO hammock had ...read more
Industry Buzz: Rose Marcario, MEC in trouble, teaching Black Studies outside, Colorado Blackpackers, ski resorts panic, VF Corp. expands
Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Rose Marcario on the Facebook boycott: The former Patagonia CEO gives her thoughts on the outdoor industry’s refusal to accept Facebook’s moral lapses. [Fast Company] Will MEC survive the coronavirus? The pandemic might ...read more
Safe adventure travel during the pandemic
Staying safe while traveling is of primary importance for many outdoor participants right now. As summer kicks off, quarantine restrictions ease, and people across the country start planning trips, adherence to a sensible set of safety measures will be critical for containing the ...read more
Industry Buzz: National parks and racism, cycling diversity, ConnectHub, microalgae, state parks
National parks and racism: How managers of public lands can help our country’s shared treasures be more inclusive for all. [National Geographic] Diversity in cycling: These organizations are fighting to broaden representation in the sport and make it more accessible for everyone. ...read more
Coronavirus and the state of the media
What a tough dichotomy the media’s facing mid-year, 2020. Media consumption is at an all-time high and content engagement continues to rise at unprecedented levels due to coronavirus and more recently, protests in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Yet media houses are ...read more
Industry Buzz: $2B sustainability fund, Rue Mapp, a record-breaking heliskier, outdoor industry leadership, GearJunkie's new head editor
Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web $2 billion for sustainability: Amazon has announced the creation of a new Climate Pledge Fund to invest in sustainable technologies and work toward the ecommerce giant's goal of carbon neutrality by 2040. [TechCrunch] Rue ...read more
Bollé's cool new try-on tech
There's a whole lot nobody wants to touch right now for fear of getting sick. For most people, tester pairs of sunglasses—transferred from face to face in public retail spaces—are likely near the top of the list. To solve this problem, Bollé has rolled out a new digital solution ...read more
Outdoor companies pull Facebook ads to protest hate speech
On June 17, six national civil rights groups—the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press, and Common Sense—announced a boycott, #StopHateForProfit, that urged companies to pull advertising from Facebook for the month of July in response to ...read more
Industry Buzz: REI loses a store, the "magic bus" is gone, remembering Laurent Boix-Vives, Todd Jones on fatherhood, investing in outdoor
REI loses a store to the pandemic: The brand’s Westminster, Colorado, location is closing as a direct result of coronavirus-related difficulties. [BusinessDen] Out of the wild: The mythical “magic bus” featured in the book and film Into the Wild has been airlifted out of the ...read more
Juneteenth: Celebrating Black outdoor leaders
To honor the 155th celebration of Juneteenth, we wanted to take a moment to honor some of the amazing people working to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within our industry. As recent events have taught us, we have a long way to go before the industry—and society at ...read more