Gregory recently held its annual sales meeting about an hour or so from the home office at a small resort on the California Coast that’s a great spot to combine work and the outdoors. Reps from around the world converged for a couple of days to talk business, see preliminary designs for next season, and of course hike, mountain bike, surf and sea kayak. Really, business did get done … Some of the reps from farther afield often take the opportunity of being in California to make a more full trip of it. Harry Kondo, the company’s Asia Pacific sales and marketing manager, based in Japan, headed south after the meeting to surf. Being an avid climber, Thomas Strobl, from Invia, Gregory’s distributor  in Germay, Austria and Switzerland, often takes advantage of trips to Gregory HQ by building in a few extra days and making the pilgrimage a few hours south and east to one of the meccas of the climbing world, Yosemite Park. On this trip, before headed to the park’s granite walls, Thomas in the name of product testing stole (OK he did actually ask and got the green light with the condition that he report back with his feedback) a Serrac 35 sample from Gregory’s forthcoming Fusion LTS pack line for 2010. Here’s a couple shots of Thomas sorting gear and eyeing a certain iconic rock route. ShareThis

Mt Wrightson looms large on the drive up Madera Canyon Road in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson, and the hike to this towering summit from the end of the road is the signature outing in the area. So, it can be easy to miss some trailheads near the mouth of Madera Canyon that access a loop trail which visits two of Madera’s side drainages. Graced with several springs and tangled groves of white barked sycamore trees, oak, pine and fir - this is a lovely area to spend time in. Sycamore cathedral near Bog Springs Continue Reading »

After last year’s wildfires canceled the race, the Western States 100 is back, and so is Hiroki Ishikawa, a Gregory ambassador and one the inspirations behind this year’s Active Trail pack line, especially the race-ready Rufous. The 100-mile race starts tomorrow, June 27th, in Squaw Valley, CA. with a grueling 2,550 vertical feet climb in the first four-and-a-half miles. The race ends in Auburn, CA. Hiroki, along with all 2008 competitors, will be returning this year for what’s likely to be the most competitive WS 100 to date.  In order to earn a spot at this year’s event, you had to be one of the top three finalists of a 08-09 Ultra Cup qualifying race. So expect to see to best of the best wrangle trail passes, rugged territory, and relentless terrain. Continue Reading »

REMINDER: This event takes place TOMORROW, THIS FRIDAY. Please come out! It's going to be a great opportunity to learn about saving our wilderness areas and to hear some of the history behind our American wilderness. Oakley has stepped up to provide some catering, so we'll have some food available. Please RSVP so we know how many are coming, but don't let that keep you away if you haven't been able to RSVP.

It takes an act of Congress to designate specific areas of land as forever protected "Wilderness" lands. Our natural, untouched resources are seemingly the most neglected areas by mankind. However, once land is selected, maintenance and preservation is reinforced, prolonging the existence of precious acres all across the nation.

In this current economic time of budget cuts and expenses causing a decrease in advocacy, what will the future be for our unprotected lands? Who will speak for them?

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Launch out on your Summer adventure, with help from Rock/Creek and Mountain Hardwear, who proudly present your official "Passport to the Outdoors."

Don't wait till the end of summer to start! You have until September 1, 2009 for the chock-full of fun passport to be your guide through adventures with friends and families. Every one is encouraged to complete activities to earn entries into a GRAND PRIZE SWEEPSTAKES.

Here is what you do to get started: Stop by Rock/Creek's Downtown Two North Shore store or Hamilton Place store during store hours, and pick up the bursting with adventure passport. Each time you complete one of the 5 activities, come back to Rock/Creek, with your passport in hand to receive the approval stamp, and commence to the next activity. But the rewards don't stop there. Mountain Hardwear wants to acknowledge participant's efforts, by pairing a product offer or free item with every completed activity.

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James Wilde grew up in Raleigh, NC, graduated from NCSU and has traveled the world. In 2001 he set out on a personal journey with the first step being in Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. That journey continues to take James to the ends of the planet has he attempts to climb the seven continental summits. To date he has climbed five of those seven summits with plans to climb Everest in 2010 and then Kosciusko (Australia). Join us at the Raleigh Shop on Thursday, July 16 - 7pm, to hear James speak about his travels and plans for Everest. Click here to read more about James

Source: SNEWS Editors

Andy Knapp is off on another adventure. At 3 a.m. on June 22, Knapp (61) ended his six-year battle with renal cell cancer and left his body behind. Who knows where he is headed, but for those who know Knapp well, and even for those who don’t, the SNEWS team can assure all that the trip is certain to be a grand one and doubtless beer is involved — hopefully, they serve it where he’s going.

Knapp lived life as it should be lived. With a huge heart, a bigger smile, and a knack for self-deprecation and spinning tall tales. His sense of humor remains legendary. And he never wasted a minute of time worrying about what might have been or could be. Knapp did more in his life than many of us could ever dream.

Now, Knapp’s on a one-way journey to places far beyond our imagination.

For Knapp, rest in peace does not apply. To read more about Knapp’s life than we could ever manage properly in SNEWS, go to his blog, which will remain live, we are told (http://www.andytknapp.blogspot.com/). While you are there, leave a rememberance or two. And if you find yourself hanging your head, wondering about life and pondering what-ifs, snap out of it. Better yet, get outdoors and start living your life the way Knapp did his — fully and with no regrets. He wouldn’t want to be remembered any other way.

–SNEWS Editors

Well, not exactly. But in our world, it kind of is. Outside Magazine has amped up its online counterpart with video reviews of editors’ favorite 2009 summer gear. And the Diablo got a cast as one of the best packs of the season. Here, Associate Editor Justin Nyberg covers the Diablo’s most innovative features, including Bio-sync suspension, which helps the pack mimic body movements while running, biking and so on. Outside’s one of a handful of magazine’s that’s really making much more of concerted effort over the last year or so to keep their site fresh with daily outdoor news and content. Nice to see the video content expanding into gear. Click here to check out their blog. ShareThis

Joe Miller (of N&O Fame) has a new blog. Here’s the scoop:

Hiking, biking, paddling, climbing - you can do it all in the Triangle and North Carolina. So the question isn’t “Can I do it?”, it’s “Where can I find out where I can do it?” TakeItOutsideNC.com will be your first stop when planning a North Carolina adventure. Click on a particular adventure and we’ll give you a snapshot of the opportunities available. If there’s a Web site that already does a great job of covering a topic, we’ll send you there directly. If not, we’ll tell you what you need to know. We’ll also keep you updated on the latest news and upcoming events. And we’ll share adventures from the field, both ours and yours, because there’s no better way to get a feel for an adventure than to hear from someone who’s done it.

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Wherever you go to get off the grid, clear the mind and recharge, I suggest you get to it as soon as possible … it is so fulfilling to reset at this moment as the summer of 2009 arrives. I am just re-entering the grid after several days in my favorite getaway in the Eastern Sierras near the east entrance of Yosemite. All that kept coming to me as I reflected on the last nine months was how fortunate we are to still be here making it happen at Nau, Horny Toad and the Lizard Lounge. While these are and will be tough times for the foreseeable future, we imagined far worse just a few months back. I feel like we have turned that psychological corner from managing fear of the unknown and managing a baseline level of productivity to really being able to think long term, plan and be fired up for the potential for the future. What a refreshing change and one that could not be more exhilarating at Nau given the chance for a second life. Continue Reading »