Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Hateful vandalism in Tennessee: Officials are searching for suspects after someone vandalized the Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance sign with a message that read “black lives don’t matter.” [CNN] BOA Technology ...read more
Robert W. "Bob" Gore, the inventor of Gore-Tex and longtime CEO of W.L. Gore & Associates, passed away at his home in Earleville, Maryland, on September 17. The cause of death was not disclosed. He was 83. Born on April 15, 1937, in Salt Lake City, Gore's life was defined by ...read more
Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web VF’s social consciousness: The parent company of The North Face and Smartwool snagged the top spot on Barron’s List of Most Socially Conscious Companies. Representation on public lands: Surveys of national parks show that ...read more
Mark Satkiewicz, partner at SBT GRVL, former GM of TOMS, and former president of Smartwool, passed away this weekend after a suspected cardiac incident during a bike ride near his home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Satkiewicz was 51 years old. A much-heralded leader within the ...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
Over the last 12 months, we've published more than 630 stories—along with two 100-page magazines—on topics most relevant and important to the outdoor industry. From Alex Honnold's Oscar win to unrest at Camber Outdoors, we've covered the highs and lows that define our 2019 as an ...read more
Snowboarding wouldn't be the sport and community it is today if it wasn't for Jake Burton Carpenter. The OG snowboarder and founder of Burton Snowboards died on Wednesday night at age 65 from a recurrence of cancer. Employees learned of his death through an email sent by Co-CEO ...read more
The outdoor industry has lost One Tough Mother. Gert Boyle, Chairman of the Board (she hated the term “chairwoman”) and former CEO of Columbia Sportswear, died on Sunday, November 3, 2019, at the age of 95. Gert never retired; she loved going to her office at the brand’s ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected] Ibex returns: After going out of business in early 2018, the company known for its high-end merino apparel is relaunching later this month under new leadership. ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected] Tariffs update: The U.S. Trade Representative's latest list of Chinese products granted exclusions include singlespeed adult bikes, motorized skateboards, ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected] Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) criticized William Perry Pendley, the new Bureau of Land Management leader, for advocating for the sale of millions of acres ...read more
Many knew John Bresee as one of Backcountry’s founders, but many more knew him as a man who loved living on the edge. A strong intellect and wit drove him to constantly be seeking the extraordinary, and ultimately led him to his exceptionally successful life. He spent June 28, ...read more
Scott W. Crook, outdoorsman, limerick enthusiast, and co-founder of Pack Rat Outdoor Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, passed away on June 10, 2019. He was surrounded by those he loved as slipped from one adventure to the next. The byproducts of his kindness, honesty, and ...read more
One of the outdoor industry's bright stars, Sam Coffey, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a series of strokes last week. He was 29. The Aspen Times reported—and confirmed through Olympic ski racer and Coffey's longtime friend Wiley Maple—that the skier suffered a ...read more
Anyone who bumped into Carol Momoda was always glad they did. Just the sight of her made people smile and her laugh made them smile even bigger. Described as a larger-than-life personality, Momoda was an icon in the outdoor industry and worked at REI, Lowa Boots, and Smartwool. ...read more
Steve Crisafulli, who pulled Marmot out of peril in the ‘90s and was known for both pushing his employees to go the extra mile and also having their backs through anything, died last week at the age of 78. Crisafulli served as Marmot’s board chairman for one year before the ...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
After teaching himself how to climb at iconic formations in California, Charles David Cole III went on to create more than 1,000 first ascents, some dangerous and solo, on big walls in Yosemite Valley. Cole founded Five Ten in 1985, which was named after the grade in the Yosemite ...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 ...read more
As Stewart “Brandy” Brandborg's children reflect on his life, they recall story after story of him taking them camping in the backcountry, oftentimes on the way back home to Montana after advocating for wilderness conservation in Washington D.C. His son, Dan Brandborg, said that ...read more
The climbing community is mourning the tragic loss of world-class alpinists Marc-André Leclerc and George “Ryan” Johnson, who are believed to have died on a climb outside Juneau, Alaska. The pair were summiting a new route on the Mendenhall Towers on March 5 and were expected ...read more
The outdoor industry lost one of its most beloved yesterday. Ann Krcik, who recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Camber Outdoors for her broad and lasting impact on the outdoor industry, passed away in her home after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Krcik ...read more
If you climbed Mt. Everest in the last several decades, you know about this kind, gentle soul who became the famous blesser of climbers in the Sherpa village of Pangboche, a popular stop on the walk to Everest Base Camp. Lama Geshe studied as a young boy in Tibet, eventually ...read more
Warren Miller, one of the original patriarchs of snowsports, known for fiercely advocating for the outdoors and his globally-acclaimed ski filmmaking, died at 93 years old on Wednesday at his home on Orcas Island, Washington. With heavy hearts, Warren Miller Entertainment ...read more
