People

Sometimes people will blow you away with kindness…if you just let them. The coronavirus crisis has had a crippling effect on so many retailers and small business owners and made them realize how vulnerable their businesses are unthinkably unexpected forces. Brendan Madigan, owner ...read more

Jen Gurecki, founder and CEO of Coalition Snow and editor-in-chief of SISU magazine, doesn’t mince words. “I really just want to curl up in bed all day, and I’m having a hard time pulling myself away from CNN,” she says. Gurecki knows that she is far from alone, and that the ...read more

Dear friends and colleagues, As we enter an uncertain period for our families, businesses, and country, I first want to express concern for your safety and health. There’s nothing more important at the moment, and while we go forward with our mission to inform, educate, and ...read more

During these moments of uncertainty, one thing is for sure: Employees at evo are generous with their time. The outdoor retailer on Sunday invited its top 25 executives, managers, and other leaders to donate vacation days to be re-allocated as hourly pay for team members unable to ...read more

It was a simple case of mistaken identity: Earlier this year I was at The Outbound's Pursuit Series adult summer camp in North Carolina when an ultrarunner walks up and introduces herself: “Hi, Mirna, I follow you on Instagram.” I put my coffee cup down and shake her hand before ...read more

As the country quickly shuts down in an unprecedented way, many big outdoor retailers like Patagonia, all VF brands, and REI are following suit. Most retailers who operate an online business, as well as brands that operate direct-to-consumer, are still selling product and ...read more

VF Corp. is the latest big retailer to announce temporary closures due to coronavirus. Steve Rendle, VF chairman, president, and CEO announced in a press release that all VF retail locations—including The North Face, Icebreaker, Smartwool, and Timberland—will shutter through at ...read more

Eric Artz, president and CEO of REI posted a letter Sunday announcing the temporary closure of all 162 REI retail locations amid the coronavirus outbreak. "I believe that is the right thing for our community. In fact, I believe it is our duty—to do all we can to help keep one ...read more

With growing clout in the outdoor industry and multiple large-scale DEI projects in the works, including a new initiative with Outdoor Gear Exchange in Vermont, it's hard to believe that Massachusetts-based Venture Out Project is only five years old. In half a decade, the ...read more

As a nonbinary customer wanders through aisles of backpacks, hiking boots, tents, and camping supplies in an outdoor gear shop, they come to the racks of gendered clothing: men’s in one corner, women’s in another. But what happens if this particular customer doesn’t identify as ...read more

After an extensive two-month search to replace Tom Adams, Gov. Herbert announced the new director of Utah’s Office of Outdoor Recreation: Patrick “Pitt” Grew. Grew spent his childhood in the mountains of Utah, skiing every weekend with his parents who both worked in the ski ...read more

Few industry leaders can lay claim to a resume like Casey Sheahan's. The longtime veteran's positions have included CEO of Patagonia, President of KEEN, President of Kelty, and now CEO of Simms in Bozeman, Montana. Over a four-decade career, Sheahan has modeled empathetic, ...read more

If there's one word industry vets use to describe Bruce Franks, 72, the longtime GM of Asolo USA, it's "legend." Time and again over the last quarter century, Franks reinvigorated the U.S. market for the heritage footwear brand in ways that shaped the company's direction, its ...read more

It’s 3 p.m. on a Tuesday in February and a palpable energy is building inside a new hotel at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. As I walk from my van into the lobby of Continuum, I first notice the massive, theater-sized screen above the soft-lit bar playing recaps of ...read more

Evo’s story starts like many outdoor endeavors: Bryce Phillips as a college student was slinging ski gear out of his apartments in Seattle and Whistler in the ‘90s and launched the website evogear.com in 2001. The former professional skier’s startup business merged outdoor, ...read more

The people have spoken. One month ago, we asked you to vote on the coolest retail shop in the nation from our list of 15 standouts featured in last year’s #CoolShop column. We received more than 42,000 votes—the largest poll participation in SNEWS history—and the results are in. ...read more

After a six-month search, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has announced its next executive director. Aangeenbrug currently serves as executive director of the Outdoor Foundation, OIA’s philanthropic arm that focuses on getting kids and families outside. OIA vetted almost 400 ...read more

In early January, we found attorney Andrew Grant in his element: In the previous week, almost six feet of snow had pummeled Washington’s Snoqualmie Pass, a cluster of ski areas 50 miles east of Seattle. Even better, he’d just dropped his two young kids in lessons and ducked into ...read more

We’re proud to introduce Andrew Weaver, our new associate editor here at SNEWS. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Andrew transitions to SNEWS from the editorial department of a city magazine in Denver, where he worked for three years covering travel, culture, outdoor sports, and ...read more

Black Friday was a success for Salida Mountain Sports, but not because they lured customers in with steep discounts. Prices stayed steady, and if the Colorado store missed some sales because they weren’t discounting, store owner Nate Porter said so be it. Small specialty outdoor ...read more

For your listening pleasure, we’re stoked to announce a new partnership with Kristin Carpenter and Channel Mastery podcast. SNEWS readers voted Channel Mastery their favorite outdoor podcast in 2019. We’re kicking things off with conversation with Kiri Masters, the founder of ...read more

It's 7 a.m. on a weekday in October and I'm meeting  Becky Day, marketing manager at Brunton Outdoor Group, for a pre-work hike. We're two of four cars in the parking lot at the trailhead for the Spring Brook Loop near Boulder—one of her favorite hikes in the area. It's early ...read more

The outdoor community is mourning Rodney Smith, the president and owner of American Outdoor Products who died on Jan. 2 after a tragic ski accident at Eldora Mountain, just north of Boulder, Colorado. He was 57. "He left us all too soon but spent his final days doing what he ...read more

In 2019, we shone the spotlight on 12 standout specialty outdoor stores across the country in our #CoolShops column. From matching prices online to offering free drinking water to preserving their town's history, these shops are seriously killing it at retail. And through our ...read more