People

There’s hiking like it’s your job—and hiking because it actually is your job. This summer, the lucky employees of Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based Big Agnes (plus sister businesses Honey Stinger and retailer BAP) are in the latter category. The brands are staging an ambitious ...read more

Joe Prebich has a theory: Emerging outdoor enthusiasts come for the lifestyle apparel and stay for the technical goods. As climbing gyms explode and the more seasoned indoor climbers literally seek new heights, Mammut—and the industry as a whole—have an opportunity to help those ...read more

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is the kind of guy who will stand up in front of a room of outdoor industry professionals, realize he’s overdressed, pause to take off his tie, and then keep speaking as if nothing happened. Before he was governor, before he and three friends ...read more

When Woosah Outfitters owner Erica Lang yearns for inner peace, she does one of two things—either heads outside or creates art inspired by the outdoors. All of the designs featured in her Grand Rapids, Michigan, outdoor-focused boutique—whether on a T-shirt, sticker, or bag—start ...read more

At the new Erehwon Mountain Outfitter store, you won’t have to go outside to test the warming capabilities of a winter jacket you’re eyeing. Just step into the "cold room."The 22,000-square-foot location—the biggest and fifth in the retailer’s fleet—opened last week in ...read more

Sarah Schuster goes a step beyond the “specialty outdoor retail” classification for her two shops. She prefers “specialty outdoor lifestyle,” stressing the last word to make it clear that gear is not the focus. With an eye toward Midwesterners enjoying summer days by the lake, ...read more

No added sugars, artificial ingredients, or fake proteins, “just straight-up real foods,” Feucht said when describing her online paleo foods purveyor, Barefoot Provisions. “We’re a small, sort of a mom-and-pop ecommerce company competing against the big retailers.” Selling ...read more

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, columnist, and author Timothy Egan spent years covering the West—past and present—as a correspondent for The New York Times. His books have covered everything from the origins of the U.S. Forest Service to exploration of the Pacific Northwest to ...read more

Only a year old, 56° North is an outdoor retailer partnered with a wilderness adventure tour company, offering jet boat tours of the neighboring Tongass National Forest. The locally owned store in Wrangell, Alaska, features Alaskan essential adventurewear and gear. “It’s like a ...read more

Established in 1963, Campers Village is an independently owned outdoor retailer focused on camping, hiking, and paddling. Its three locations across Edmonton and Calgary, Canada, strive to provide expert advice and quality products that promote and enable memory-making outside. ...read more

Andrea Gabbard, one of the most influential and prolific outdoor industry trade writers, who not only retold stories of others, but lived them herself, died on July 15 after a fall. She was 71. Gabbard got her start as a writer after two of her colleagues at Pacific Mutual Life ...read more

Getting your steps in on the show floor and browsing hundreds of booths allow OR-goers to survey the trends, see what’s new and exciting, and get inspired. But why not see it in action? Denver, Colorado is home to some amazing, independent #CoolShops. Take a break and head over ...read more

When he's not obstacle course racing, surfing, biking, or trail running, Craig Cooper—former co-host of the CNBC outdoor investment show “Adventure Capitalists”— is looking for the next best company to invest in. Next week, he's joining the outdoor industry to judge startup ideas ...read more

Longtime Patagonia employee Peter Kinnoch Noone, who was known for his gruff exterior, sharp sense of justice, and down-to-earth style of the outdoor industry’s early days, died of recurrent cancer on July 9 at his home in Ojai, California. He was 75.Noone's outdoor retail career ...read more

Established in 1994 as Trailblazer, the Connecticut chain rebranded as Denali last year. Now with seven stores along the state's shoreline as well as in Rhode Island, this outdoor retailer serves New England's hikers, runners, climbers, campers, and travelers. Amy Parulis, ...read more

For many of us, camping during our childhoods fueled our pursuits of careers in the outdoors. But for many others, those precious times spent huddled in tents with our families were less frequent, if trips to the campgrounds happened at all.To give first time campers a positive ...read more

Maybe you've heard of Norrøna, but it's probably not your first choice when it comes to outdoor apparel. At least not yet. The Norwegian brand is in its 90th year of making technical outerwear for a wide range of mountain athletes—from polar explorers to downhill mountain bikers. ...read more

Known for empowering women, Camber Outdoors is broadening its mission to welcome everyone to the leadership table and achieve equity for all—not just females.Today, the organization announced a shift in its mission from, “Equality for all women in the outdoors, from the ...read more

The case of an unhappy L.L.Bean customer in Illinois has been dismissed.On June 28, a federal judge ruled that Victor Bondi failed to establish that he'd suffered harm or was unhappy with his purchase of the famous Bean boots he bought last year.Bondi sued the Maine-based ...read more

Summers are shorter in Alaska, but that just means residents pack in the action while they can, said TRAX Outdoor Center Owner Mike Hajdukovich.“As soon as the snow starts melting, we play all day,” Hajdukovich said. “We go crazy. It’s summertime. It’s time to play. Alaskans are ...read more

BACKPACKER Magazine ambassador and host of the Get Out More Tour, Randy Propster, brings the brand’s slogan to life. He tours the country–camping most nights along the way–and stops at retail locations to teach outdoor enthusiasts about the latest gear and share the skills to use ...read more

A decade ago, hikers had dreams of building a 550-mile loop around the San Francisco Bay Area for millions of people to enjoy. With the support of REI, there’s less than 200 miles left to go.“You can imagine the wonder and sense of accomplishment when people go end to end on the ...read more