For those that haven’t ever been to Outdoor Retailer, let me explain the experience. You fly in, and rush over to the Salt Palace. You then spend the next 9 hours running between booths in a 600,000sq ft convention center. Around 3 or 4 PM, beer magically shows up. At some point, the appointments end…
Outdoor gear maker Columbia filed an antitrust complaint with the European Union. The company alleges that Gore-Tex maker, W.L. Gore has engaged in unfair competitive practices by abusing its dominant position in the market. As most of our readers know, the many flavors of Gore-Tex fabric have become the go to fabric for high end…
In a highly anticipated move, the Canadian Government announced a free pass to access Canadian national parks and national historic sites for up to three generations of expropriated people. This will allow expropriated people, their children, and their grandchildren access to areas dear to them and their culture. Steven Blaney, Member of Parliament for Lévis-Bellechasse…
Last week, two British climbers were rescued from Western Europe’s tallest mountain, Mont Blanc. Finn McCann and Tom Greenwood had climbed to roughly 3,500 meters when they realized that they were unable to climb and further up the mountain. Unfortunately, they were also unable to climb back down again. One of the pair had a…
Earlier this year at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, there was a panel discussion that sounded pretty interesting. “The media is dead. Long live the media” was going to have some of the major people behind the outdoor media world discussing the changes going on behind the scenes in the industry. Intrigued, I decided to show…
If you’ve been following the news of the outdoor industry, you’re probably well aware of OutDry. The competitor to Gore-Tex in shoes and gloves that we have been extremely impressed with in our own tests. Well, the big news of Outdoor Retailer this week is the announcement by Columbia that they’re buying OutDry. We had…
If anyone is planning on heading to Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (aka Seattle’s back yard), as of this weekend you’ll need to make sure you have the new map. The forest service isn’t going to sign roads as to permissible use anymore and you are responsible for knowing which road that you’re allowed on. Don’t…
The USDA Forest Service released a report this week detailing the economic impact of recreation in our National Forests and Grasslands. It turns out that we Americans spend a rather large amount of money on our way to the forest. A total of $13 billion is spent directly in the communities surrounding the forests, which generates a further $14.5 billion in economic activity.
In the latest wilderness related legislation, Rep. Mike Simpson (Idaho, R) is attempting to re-introduce HR 222, CIEDRA (Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act) and it is causing quite a stir. Conservationists and recreationists are on either side of the bill, which, if passed, would designate 312,000 acres of wilderness. However, it would also…
In what has to be the strangest news I’ve read all day, the BBC comes out with a story about a man painting a mountain. Eduardo Gold of Peru, is painting up to 3 Peruvian mountains with a combination of lime, egg white, and water to reflect light back into space. His idea is that…