Catch Up, Anyone?

It's been a quiet start to the new year around Breckenridge. Maybe the negative degree temperatures even before wind chill have contributed to that. It has been miserably cold the past couple of days, but it seems to finally be warming up.

We had an incredible start to the ski season- we were graced with powder day after powder day until the week before Christmas. It has tapered off a bit recently and the storms have been favoring the southern part of the state as they normally do early season, but we're hoping for a change in the jet stream that will bring us some big storms from San Francsico. Last night six inches hit us and hopefully more is coming in the next couple of days.

 

A picture from the resort this morning

In other news, we've hired two new employees who now feel like a part of the family.

When Peter walked in to pick up an application we chatted for a little while and he turned out to be a mini Greg. He has spent his youth and college days playing soccer and his summer whitewater rafting. If there are two things Greg loves in life, it's soccer and rafting. Peter was an instant in.

Peter and Susan checking out his white elephant gift

Historically we are a one girl in each store type of business, and you know, I kind of like it. But this year Greg met Lindsey and she was in. Next door at the Main Street Outlet we hired two girls also- it's pretty great to have more female energy around the company.

Lindsey has the moustache on along with the girls from the Outlet- Sara and Averi

Our company grew this summer as we partnered with Columbia Sportswear and opened the Columbia Breckenridge store, located at 108 S Main, across the street from Downstairs at Eric's. We lost one of our own to the Columbia store. Brett moved down to co-manage the shop with Timmy from the Outlet. It was a great move for him and a great loss for us. We miss him everyday. Luckily he still stops in for a quick chat most days. Since we opened Columbia our holiday party grew to the point that we almost didn't fit in front of the fireplace for our annual picture.

The party was just as good as last year's- the food was incredible, the gifts were hilarious and it's always wonderful to spend the time hanging out together outside of work. This year after the party we took over The Motherloaded Tavern for a couple of hours and then we had the urge to dance, so we made our way to Liquid Lounge, where we got some pretty sweet pics.

Love this one of Jeff

This has been a pretty great season so far- lots of snow (soon we will be thanking Ullr for his generosity), great new hires, and a wonderful holiday season.

Snow Continues to Fall in Breckenridge

We may have been a little quiet about it throughout the beginning of this winter, but for a while we were in serious need of snow. Lots of snow. Much of the State of Colorado was in the same situation. This is a problem for many reasons, but three stand out the most for those of us living in the mountains. The three reasons are powder skiing, powder skiing and powder skiing. No, seriously, were not that obsessed (or maybe we are). The lack of snow can have a tremendously negative impact for the entire state. Low snowfall amounts can effect our economy, our drinking water supply, and yes, the skiing and riding.

Why are you so worried? THE SNOW IS HERE! If you're a local you already know, and if you're planning a trip to Breckenridge, CO there is nothing to worry about. In the last 7 days Breckenridge has reported 27" of new snow and there was lots last week too. Put your rock skis away kids and get ready for powder.

Check out the weather report for this week. The National Weather Service is calling for MORE SNOW!

Lets talk about the economy for a moment here. Many retailers chose to cut back drastically in the amount of product they were offering the consumer this winter season with the fear that it wouldn't sell. It you're a retailer OR a consumer you are either running out of winter gear to sell or you are having a hard time finding the right pair of snowboard pants or the perfect technical ski jacket. At The North Face Breckenridge and BreckGear.com we like to take a different approach. We have a great selection of ski and snowboard jackets, pants, waterproof and warm winter boots, fleece and quilted layering pieces, and tons more. Stop by at BreckGear.com and take a look. If you don't find it there, we have way more here at The North Face Breckenridge and we would love to hear from you. Give us a call toll free at 1-877-TNF-BRECK.

Chowdah

POWDER ALERT!!!!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I couldn't agree more. This is Kelly.

Breckenridge has been smacked with the storm we have been waiting on, the resort is claiming 20 inches of fresh in the past week with more on the way. The local Breckgear.com crew could not be happier and we are making the most of all the snow.

As you can see we are charging the mountain but we certainly don't let the sun going down stop our fun. With all this snow literally laying around it was time to break out the shovels and make our backyards into the ultimate "apres ski" hangout. First to be built was a log "spine" or back to back quarter-pipes. This is accomplished by making a triangle of logs and covering them with snow.

Here Austin and Kelly land some pretty picturesque stalls.

In this shot, Kelly learns to fly as he uses the spine as a jump. Both riders are staying comfy through the build and jib session with The North Face soft shells.

Soft shells are jackets and pants made from a highly breathable stretch materials . They are ideal for the active outdoors man because they allow for a much larger comfort range. I jasper the dog have the ultimate outerwear piece but these guys seemed to have a pretty close second. They stayed comfortable while shoveling snow and hefting logs all afternoon and hiking up and down the yard well into the night. Temperatures dropped but the fun continues with the right gear.

If your are looking for the perfect piece for aerobic activities check out the Apex Bionic Jacket. This piece is windproof and water resistant, lightweight and bulk free.

If you don't find exactly what you are looking for or you would like to get one of the pieces in the pictures give us a call on our toll free number 1-800 TNF BRECK.

Soon to come...SNOW SCULPTING

Thanks for reading,

Jasper the dog

(Talk about hunt and peck)

The North Face Summit Dealers Event--January 2008

It's been a while since I have posted, been pretty busy getting BreckGear.com ready for our Spring '08 shipment. We have some great product coming in for this upcoming season, check it out soon!

January 21st through the 23rd may have been the best three days of my life. The North Face Summit Dealers event was being held in Snowbird, Utah. Pete, Greg and I were invited to take part, and we just happened to fly into SLC with 1.5 feet of fresh on the ground up in the canyon. Here is a great video that was shot by one of the other The North Face dealers on the 22nd. There is no great footage of me, but im just outside the frame........

So much snow, yet still no pictures

I would like to apologize on Andy's behalf. After reading his post from yesterday promising a slew of eye-popping photos documenting the great snow we have been receiving, I am sorry to report that both he and I neglected to take our cameras with us today. At least I didn't promise I would. If you need an idea as to how the skiing was for us today, I recommend you pick up the latest issue of Ski, Skiing, or Freeskiing magazine and flip to a page with a large photo spread of a few amazing skiers ripping down some untouched powder with snow billowing over their shoulders. After more than a few runs down the Cucumber Bowl at Breckenridge I had snow plastered all over the front of my pants and jacket up to my chin, and it wasn't all from my face plant off a little rock cliff I tried to drop. Not quite a snorkel day, but beautiful nonetheless. Hopefully one of us will remember our cameras in the next few days so we can prove how beautiful the skiing out here in Summit County really is. In the meantime, stop by BreckGear.com or The North Face store in downtown Breckenridge, and at least you can get the gear you need to rip up and down whatever snow-covered hills you may encounter.

A winter wonderland waiting to be conquered

Hey kids! Im sorry Ive been out of touch for a week or so, but the fresh powder has been calling my name! Yesterday I went with 'my boys' Andy, Kelly, Shaun, Austin and Ethan to the Oakley Rolling-O Lab at Loveland to ride and check out their touring lab. It was amazing. Like I have said before, I am from Oregon and we dont see powder like this back home! I have always been on some form of race ski, and it was time to shed the old and rock some of the new, so I demo'd a pair of Rossignol Scratch BC's and fell in love with them. I have never owned anything that was wider than maybe 60 underfoot, so riding something that is 90 underfoot was a totally different animal! I think that Santa will be getting a request coming soon. Its always a blast to ski with the guys that I work with. They are such an amazing crew, with a fantastic sense of humor and are willing to go anywhere and try anything. They really take my skiing and my sense of adventure to the next level. I feel so fortunate that I am able to work with such a great group of people. The snow is still coming down, and with each snowflake the possibilities for this town and for a new adventure is endless. At night with the snow falling, everything becomes silent, and you can really think about what you want and where you want to go. Im glad that I am here, and even more happy that I have people out here who love it as much as I do. Until next time, keep your fingers crossed, and if you ever make it out and want to ski with a great group of people, come into The North Face Breckenridge, and hit us up... we are always down to meet new people and to ski like there is no tomorrow.

Katie