Colorado-based writer Morgan Tilton is an award-winning travel journalist and poet. In 2012, she received honorable mention for the Academy of American Poets’ Edward M. Lanna Poetry Prize. She is a bronze medalist and three-time Finalist of the past two consecutive North American Travel Journalists Association Awards Competitions for her travel writing.
Morgan covers an array of topics though most often dives into stories of adventure, travel, and outdoor industry trends. Her work is featured in Outside, Men’s Journal, SUP Magazine, Teton Gravity Research, Backpacker, and TransWorld Snowboarding among other publications.
Raised in Colorado’s stunning San Juan Mountains, she's a life-long skier/snowboarder, hiker and explorer. Her passion for discovering new places and cultures has led her to study art and language in Italy and to summit Colorado’s highest peaks. Most recently, she dove into mountain ultra and trail running--including a 2nd overall finish at the 2016 TNF Endurance Challenge Marathon in Park City--and in 2016, made a first SUP descent of Escalante River, one of the wildest waterways in the Lower 48, with four friends.
Let's be honest: Most outdoor recreationists don't aspire to summit Mt. Everest or compete in 200-mile ultra runs—they'd rather spend a morning hiking on trail near their house or a weekend camping in their local woods.And brands are taking notice, establishing ambassador roles ...read more
It’s 3 a.m. and professional skier Eric “Hoji" Hjorleifson stands over the blueprint he’s sketching for a ski boot lever. An overhead lamp illuminates blizzard conditions through the tiny windows of the 12- by 24-foot basement-level workshop—but Hoji hasn’t skied for four weeks ...read more
Zero debris in the crystal-clear water shields the riverbed from the cobalt sky. I can see every shade of pebble beneath the flowing surface of central Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River, one of the eight inaugural rivers protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, ...read more
I grip the rail, jostle in my seat, and squint my eyes as the air whips my hair around. The ocean’s teal-toned abyss in front of our saltwater flat boat is eerily vacant—at least, above the water. We are west of Great Abaco, one of 700 islands in The Bahamas, in the saltwater ...read more
When recreationists shop for outdoor gear, the sustainability of a product—from farm to factory to shelf—is becoming as important as the quality. The majority of U.S. consumers expect companies to act on social and environmental issues, and outdoor brands are moving that needle, ...read more
Imagine this: The Uncompahgre River flows beneath the balcony of your new home. After breakfast, you walk five minutes to the office. Your lunch break includes fly fishing on the Uncompahgre’s Gold Medal waters. Post work, you drive fifteen minutes—with zero traffic—to uncrowded ...read more
Right now, coolers are more customizable and personal than ever before. Most recently, in January 2018, OtterBox launched a wheel set that snaps into place below the brand’s 45-quart and 65-quart coolers. “Customers can customize their cooler. Some people don’t want wheels at ...read more
Farm to Feet is a young brand but its foundation runs deep. Kelly Nester, CEO of Nester Hosiery, has been a leader in hosiery manufacturing for close to three decades. Marty Nester, his uncle, founded the company in 1993. Within two years, Kelly joined, and the family duo knocked ...read more
For endurance pursuits, a well-designed pair of socks is on par with an ultralight tent and chafe-free pack. Endurance hiker and author Jennifer Pharr Davis agrees: In 2011, she set the fastest known time (FKT) on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and was recognized as National ...read more
Cliff Cox, plant manager of Chargeurs Wool, is an anomaly in the workforce. In an era when the average U.S. worker occupies 12 different jobs before age fifty, he’s held onto his job for four decades. “When I interviewed here, I said that I was looking for something that I could ...read more
The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) debuted the first-ever sustainability benchmarking report on Day 1 of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. “We can’t ignore how our products are made and how that impacts our communities,” said Beth Jensen, senior director of sustainable business ...read more
“Made in the U.S.A.” is an increasingly important tag for outdoor gear. Among U.S. outdoor consumers, 30 percent are willing to pay more for products made in America, according to an Outdoor Industry Association ConsumerVue study. But, arguably, the most important piece for the ...read more
Farm to Feet celebrates its fifth-year anniversary, and it’s difficult to believe that such a well-oiled company was introduced as recently as the 2013 Outdoor Retailer winter show. Despite the brand’s choice to specialize in what was perceived by many as a saturated ...read more
Black Americans now spend $48 billion a year on travel and are among the fastest growing segments in the U.S., according to Mandala Research. And the strongest influencer of that trend is black millennial women. #BlackGirlMagic—a social media movement cultivated by black women to ...read more
A business hive in a mountain bike haven with a watering hole and holistic health care: It sounds like an ideal recipe for productivity and fun. Pending zoning approval, Yeti Cycles will build a brand new headquarters and factory in Golden, Colorado, with adjacent acres that will ...read more
“The questions that we are asking ourselves in small rural communities are ubiquitous globally,” said Luis Benitez, Director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC), as he kicked off the three-day Mountain Ventures Summit in Telluride, Colorado, this month. The ...read more
Forty-six years ago, a passionate hiker, climber and camper named John Burroughs had a groundbreaking idea: Sleeping on the solid earth, surrounded by the wilderness that he loved, shouldn’t need to be miserable.Burroughs had a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford and, at ...read more
The fishing community is becoming a leader in shifting the gender paradigm, a movement that dovetails with the outdoor industry’s growing focus on diversity. Introducing: 50/50 On the Water, a program to create gender parity in the sport of fly fishing. Orvis launched the ...read more
The outdoor industry’s collaborative ethos is growing—and spurring a handful of groundbreaking work-space collaborations. Shared overhead, resources, consumer traffic, and synergy are all incentives for brands, retailers, and nonprofits to jump on board with the movement. ...read more
At Salomon headquarters in Annecy, France, designers and engineers have been working on a groundbreaking manufacturing process that could be game-changing in the world of custom gear. In September, the design center’s doors will open to the public, so that anyone can use its new ...read more
Boundary-pushing paddlers are increasingly SUPing their way through multiday excursions and first descents. With the wild popularity of stand-up paddleboarding showing no signs of slowing, SUPers are no longer content to cruise around on the same old board. Brands are introducing ...read more
Customers snap up mosquito-protective gear in response to the Zika virus global health crisis. As the Zika virus continues its devastating march across the globe—last month, the first U.S. mosquito-borne cases popped up in Florida, prompting the first-ever CDC travel advisory for ...read more
Brands focus on sustainable pieces that protect against foul weather and UV rays — all while fighting stink.Stewards of our playground Great news for Mother Nature: For 2017, environmental responsibility is growing. “Younger consumers are increasingly interested in apparel that ...read more
The great coverup: Sun-shielding fabrics and full-coverage designs help consumers defy UV damage in this season's crop of performance apparel.NO GETTING AROUND IT: Playing outside means exposing your skin to the sun. But as the public’s concern about the dangers of solar ...read more
![Alchemy Bicycle Company's Rollout Cafe is an integral part of their success. “[A café] gives the retail shop an opportunity to be a part of the community, and gives the community a place to gather while cycling,” says founder Ryan Cannizzaro. Photo: Courtesy](https://www.snewsnet.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTQ3MDQ2Mjc0ODM5MjI2MjYz/img_5418.jpg)
How do you make an outdoor shop feel cozy, luxurious and a bit more like home? Offer a refreshing beer, warm food, or steaming cup of Joe to help fuel consumers through their buying decisions and—perhaps hours—of geeking out on the newest technology and trails. Two Harbors, ...read more
Surrounded by a 4-foot wall of water, the taxi driver struggled to steer the cab. Liquid seeped into the vehicle. The car’s solo passenger—Allison Hill, Managing Director of LifeStraw—sat idle on the flooded road for 27 consecutive hours. Despite the unexpected cyclone and ...read more
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. If mountain climber Melissa Arnot had a motto, this might be it. She trains hard—including an ultramarathon this spring—to prepare her body for climbing the world’s tallest peaks and to strengthen her mind: “I don’t like running. Doing ...read more
Chelsea Griffie is a leading woman of color in the climbing world, and that reality is bittersweet. “I'm one of the go-to women of color climbers,” she said. “Which is flattering, but it is sad that there are so few of us.” Griffie was the first African American woman to climb El ...read more
Anne Miltenberger kept her eyes on the horizon while she rowed the boat, chewed raw coffee beans and fought to keep her heavy eyelids open. The inescapable sun, 100-degree heat and torn rib muscles exacerbated Miltenberger’s exhaustion. But if she dozed off while on row duty, ...read more
Owning a retail shop requires more than enough energy for the 40-hour workweek. Imagine running ten. For 13 years, Jennifer Mull has been the CEO of Backwoods, an ecosystem of outdoor retail fronts that include close to a dozen brick-and-mortar businesses throughout the West and ...read more
In light that it’s 2016—nearly a century following women’s suffrage, the U.S. Constitution’s 19th Amendment, and 80 years since the country’s first ski resort opened in Sun Valley, Idaho—the slice of women that are in leadership positions in the industry is shockingly delayed. ...read more
The new spin on socks? Hotter, smoother and more synthetic.We'll be adding stories from Outdoor Retailer Daily over the next several weeks. This Gear Trends article can be found on page 36 of the Day 4 issue.Non-wool spool More and more synthetic socks are showing up next ...read more
This ski-season, imagine taking giant S-turns on a pair of skis that physically adapts, second-to-second. Essentially, having a set of planks that becomes more rigid or soft depending on the conditions of the terrain. The concept is somewhat surreal — but it’s not exactly a pipe ...read more
In the woodwork shop, a lathe pulls 1,600 feet of aged newspaper beneath a glue applicator, and then rolls the paper into a tootsie-roll cylinder shape. The newfangled device — created by Shwood Eyewear — looks like it could be from a scene in The Imitation Game. The handmade ...read more
It’s 6:14 p.m. That last-minute afternoon meeting ran late, but it doesn’t overshadow your much-needed date with your Stand Up Paddle Board. You drive to the nearest body of water, cross the beach with your SUP board, and the sun moves closer to the horizon. By the time you ...read more
Are those compression socks? Or, do they have graduated compression? Yes, even outdoor socks have their own technical lingo. And, indeed, medical-grade graduated compression and compression knits are two different, independent styles. For 2016, a wave of these varying compression ...read more
In eyewear, adventure and lifestyle frames are reflecting edgier styles, while greater photochromic lens ranges and bio-friendly frame resins are upping performance and sustainability. The trends point toward a consumer demand for a more minimalist approach — one durable pair of ...read more
Throughout the next month, SNEWS will recap its coverage of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015 with select stories from the O.R. Daily we published at the show Aug. 5 – 8. It’s an opportunity for you to catch up on stories you might have missed in O.R.D., and for us to update ...read more
Throughout the next month, SNEWS will recap its coverage of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015 with select stories from the O.R. Daily we published at the show Aug. 5 – 8. It’s an opportunity for you to catch up on stories you might have missed in O.R.D., and for us to update ...read more
Throughout the next month, SNEWS will recap its coverage of Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2015 with select stories from the O.R. Daily we published at the show Jan. 20 – 24. It’s an opportunity for you to catch up on stories you might have missed in O.R.D., and for us to update ...read more
One of the defining points of outdoor specialty retail is that it is where customers can go to discover what’s truly new. Local shop owners are the ones who often take the risk to bring in a small, start-up brand, differentiating themselves from the big boys. In this reoccurring ...read more
One of the defining points of outdoor specialty retail is that it is where customers can go to discover what’s truly new. Local shop owners are the ones who often take the risk to bring in a small, start-up brand, differentiating themselves from the big boys. In this reoccurring ...read more
This Outdoor Retailer Summer Market recap is brought to you in partnership with Gore-Tex. Sandals and watershoes for 2015 are sweeter than ever, with comfort-driven designs and supportive footbeds — but they haven’t sacrificed their feather-light weight. Plus, the active wearer’s ...read more
This Outdoor Retailer Summer Market recap is brought to you in partnership with Gore-Tex. Outdoor lifestyle footwear is getting an extra dose of sophistication for 2015 — while keeping up with technical developments. Stylish and lightweight warm-weather shoes on the show floor ...read more
This Outdoor Retailer Summer Market recap is brought to you in partnership with Gore-Tex. For 2015, hiking footwear is exploring a fresh area of comfort with climate control from the inside out. Across the board, designs are focused on establishing airflow to help draw moisture, ...read more
This Outdoor Retailer Summer Market recap is brought to you in partnership with Gore-Tex. Trail running footwear is swinging away from minimalism and finding a supportive sweet spot with midsole cushioning, heel bracing and higher drops. And on the spectrum of neutral-to-plush ...read more
One of the defining points of outdoor specialty retail is that it is where customers can go to discover what’s truly new. Local shop owners are the ones who often take the risk to bring in a small, start-up brand, differentiating themselves from the big boys. In this reoccurring ...read more
Leading up to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2014, SNEWS is previewing some of the top trends and new products you’ll see at the trade show and Open Air Demo in Salt Lake City, Aug. 5-9. You can access all these articles and more in our O.R. Daily Day 0 edition. Footwear is ...read more
One of the defining points of outdoor specialty retail is that it is where customers can go to discover what’s truly new. Local shop owners are the ones who often take the risk to bring in a small, start-up brand, differentiating themselves from the big boys. In this reoccurring ...read more
One of the defining points of outdoor specialty retail is that it is where customers can go to discover what’s truly new. Local shop owners are the ones who often take the risk to bring in a small, start-up brand, differentiating themselves from the big boys. In this reoccurring ...read more