Interviews

For most people, the first week of any job entails meetings, paperwork, introductions, a building tour, and lots of administrative details to contend with. But Shannon Davis's first week as BACKPACKER's new editor-in-chief was much more, well, BACKPACKER. The team spent last ...read more

It's not even 8 a.m. one Thursday morning in mid-September and people are erupting with laughter at Mountainsmith's headquarters in Golden, Colorado. I'm gathered around a pot of coffee and a pile of backpacks with a lively bunch of writers and Mountainsmith employees before we ...read more

Within an hour of disembarking a small plane at the Redmond Municipal Airport near Bend, Oregon, I find myself in the woods at the front desk of my hotel, LOGE Camps, for the weekend. Except it doesn't feel like a hotel. There's a cafe and bar, where a group of mountain bikers ...read more

When Phil Powers took over as CEO of the American Alpine Club (AAC) in 2005, his membership had lapsed, not out of any deliberate protest, but simply because he had forgotten about it. He was no doubt an active climber, although he didn't see the relevance or benefit of the club ...read more

After tossing some trash into a bear-proof trash can, Dana Watts pauses to brush her palm on a sign posted along the trail to Mt. Sanitas in Boulder, Colorado. "It's good luck" she says, adding that it's just something silly she's always done. So I do it too, before her and I, ...read more

When Kristin Carpenter started the Channel Mastery podcast in October 2017, there was no blueprint for navigating outdoor specialty retail. One hundred episodes later, there still isn't. But through her interviews, Carpenter has answered many of specialty's biggest questions, ...read more

I'm riding a Stromer e-bike that goes up to 30 mph, yet Eric "Hende" Henderson biking with a trailer full of packrafts and gear is still hard to keep up with. We're pedal pushing along a 10-mile stretch from his office to the Boulder Reservoir for a mellow morning of paddling ...read more

Spandex—the now ubiquitous elastic apparel fiber—has exploded in popularity since its inception in the '50s, starting out as a replacement for rubber in garments—like women’s girdles—and becoming a staple in the athletic community. In fact, walk into any outdoor shop today and ...read more

Fifty-two million acres protected. Three thousand, four hundred river miles preserved. Fourteen climbing areas saved. Five marine reserves preserved. Thirty-four dams halted or removed. The numbers John Sterling leaves behind him—after more than 20 years of protecting North ...read more

East Coast waves are notoriously fickle and the surf is often plagued with flat spells, but for surf and skate brand Jetty it was just an excuse to follow their own line. This soon became Jetty's "calling card"—thriving from the challenges of bipolar seasons and changeable ...read more

Justine Barone started Gearo after a failed attempt to find a place for her and her husband to rent paddleboards for a day-trip. Having faced this problem several times, she dug a little deeper and discovered that while many specialty shops offer rental programs, they struggle ...read more

Last we heard from Maine-based startup Flowfold, the team—armed with new backpack prototypes—was headed up for a quick summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Now more than a year later we caught up with COO and President of Sales James Morin to talk about their new Gorham, Maine, ...read more

The Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office didn't have to look far to replace Luis Benitez, after he announced in March that he was leaving for VF Corporation. Nathan Fey has had his nose underneath the office's tent since its early days. He was a consultant, had a seat on ...read more

Six months have passed since Carolann Ouellette was hired to lead Maine's Office of Outdoor Recreation and based on the support from Gov. Janet Mills and other in decision-making roles, it sounds like she'll be around for much longer. Ouellette's post and office will soon be ...read more

More than five years ago, President Barack Obama nominated a new general counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Avi Garbow had been a federal environmental crimes prosecutor, with decades of experience tackling the most critical threats to air, water, and land. In ...read more

Ever since 36-year-old Tommy Danger left behind the flatlands of Indiana—and his past as a poor, overweight kid nicknamed Fat Tom who liked to catch frogs and snakes just for fun—he's been obsessed with adventuring and pushing the limits in running, biking, high altitude ...read more

ORCA CEO Cliff Walker spends much of the year on the road, in business attire, selling his brand's coolers and drinkware. So when he’s home working in the Nashville headquarters, he comes casual, dressed in earth-toned shorts and a T-shirt. That down-to-earth approach is a good ...read more

Elísabet Elfa Arnarsdottir grew up in Iceland. Playing outside and exploring the country’s vast wilderness was part of everyday life—and so was wearing functional outdoor clothing that had zero style. So Arnarsdottir made her own. Now, she’s making clothes for the world. As a ...read more

A 2016 survey conducted by the National Park Service found that less than 20 percent of park visitors were non-white. For many reasons, including economic and safety issues, the outdoors can be intimidating, particularly for people of color. Chevon Powell, founder of  Golden ...read more

Buena Vista's The Trailhead is smack in the heart of Colorado Fourteener country—a short drive from 15 of the monster peaks. But for all outdoor recreation in the area, the shop's marketing manager, Susan Wood, and other businesses felt the town still lacked opportunity for the ...read more

Len Necefer has a Ph.D in engineering and public policy. It might not surprise you, then, that his outdoor apparel company is about far more than the gear. Natives Outdoors is a B Corp that shares profits with Native communities, and Necefer is working to take back ...read more

You won’t find Jeremy Hale wearing jeans. Whether he’s in the office, out hiking, or enjoying time off at his family’s cabin in New York, he’s wearing Chinos. Specifically, Mountain Khakis Chinos. “I’m a Chino guy,” he told us last week before he officially started as the ...read more

Bronx native Mirna Valerio first laced up running shoes for a 5K—and just kept going. She now has almost a dozen 50K trail ultramarathons under her belt and is well-known in the ultra world and on social media as The Mirnavator and author of the memoir A Beautiful Work in ...read more

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