Polartec Scufoneda 2010

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Last week I was lucky enough to attend the Polartec Scufoneda Telemark Festival in the Dolomites near Moena, Italy. I went under the guise of work but it really was way too much fun to call it that.

Polartec has sponsored the event for the past 3 years and plans to ramp it up next year – so mark your calendar now – it’s an amazing event.

For a week each year a crew of tele skiers from around the world convene to ski tour, enjoy the local food and culture, and generally have a great time. Everyone there was super friendly and supportive – no egos, no pressure.

Skinning up – descended the other side in a white-out. 10 turns, regroup, count heads, 10 turns…

Dan Abrams and Eben Mond of Fly Low

Scufons Village Base Camp – Freeride Course in Background on Col Margherita

Nice to be the sponsor – got to take a few laps on the edge of the freeride comp course – found the soft snow in the shady, North facing gulleys:

Eben Mond launching off the roof of the refuge at Alpe Pampeago:

I’m sure you think you’ve seen this dance before – but hold out for about 1:12+ – whoa!

Every direction you look the mountain views are insane.

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Floating the Fork

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Floated the Roaring Fork on Friday afternoon with Nick Armano (Kara’s husband and former fishing guide) and Pete McBride who was taking photos for an upcoming book on the Colorado River. Pete’s holding the best shots close to his vest for future use, but here are a couple snapshots…

Nice bow just below Carbondale on the Roaring Fork.

Nice bow just below Carbondale on the Roaring Fork.

Nick holding a fat rainbow - Aspen Glen area on the Roaring Fork.

Nick holding a fat rainbow - Aspen Glen area on the Roaring Fork.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures

False No-Trespass Signs Are LAME!

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Roaring Fork and Property LinesRFTA Bike Path – Catherine Store to Rock Bottom Ranch

Earlier this week I pedaled down the RFTA bike path near Catherine Store to one of my favorite fishing zones on the Roaring Fork River. But when I hit my destination, I was assaulted by a forest of No-Trespassing signs on the bank – right in my favorite spot. As a hunter and angler (and red-blooded American), I have complete respect for private property. But I was pretty sure these signs didn’t belong. So after some research on the property lines and the RFTA trail boundaries, I’m heading back to fish my favorite spot again. In fact, I think I’ll staple the property map to the no trespassing signs and reel in a few extra fish for good measure. Although, the parting words from RFTA didn’t exactly inspire complete confidence, “I’m sure you’re right but duck if they shoot.”

Posting false no trespassing signs happens throughout the west – usually on easements that were specifically created to allow access to public lands. Respect private land but if no trespassing signs don’t line up with your maps, take the time to do the research and report it.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Environment, Fishing

Today’s Fabrics – Tomorrow’s Environment

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_ger518112March 19, 2009 – Polartec hosted a media event at The Loft and Garden in Rockefeller Center, New York City to celebrate their new collection of environmentally friendly fabrics. Fall 2009 garments from the best performance clothing brands in the world were on display to highlight the range of recycled content Polartec fabrics now available including super lightweight 100% recycled content Polartec Power Dry to super warm Polartec Classic 300 with 87% recycled content.

Andy Vecchione, President of Polartec, LLC, kicked off the evening by discussing Polartec’s long-term commitment to sustainability. Polartec first offered recycled fleece over 15 years ago and in 2009 almost 30 percent of Polartec’s total production will be recycled fabric – saving at least 38 million pounds of CO2 annually.

Andy then passed the mic to newly minted author, Aspen local and old friend, Auden Schendler. Auden, who works as the environmental director for the Aspen Ski Co, just published his first book Getting Green Done, a fascinating look from the front lines of the sustainability movement. Auden began his talk by comparing his Harris Tweed jacket to Polartec and had the crowd engaged and laughing from start to finish.

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Andy Vecchione

Andy Vecchione

Auden Schendler

Auden Schendler

Posted in: Client News, Environment

Tough Job, But…

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Last week Rob Bondurant and Jake Martin from Patagonia’s Marketing Department spent a few days in Carbondale testing new Polartec fabrics and planning cooperative marketing efforts for 2010 and beyond.

It happened to snow 18 inches in Highlands bowl overnight and we hiked the next day in bluebird conditions.

It’s a tough job, but someone has do it…the raspberry pants and orange jacket combo aren’t the usual – they are proto fabircs and we didn’t have a color choice…

Penn, Nate, Jake, Rob on top of Highlands Bowl

Penn, Nate, Jake, Rob on top of Highlands Bowl

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PC’s Suck

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Backbone has always been and will always be a Mac office. After recently purchasing a PC to run a more robust version of Quickbooks, I am now more convinced than ever that Microsoft and PC’s completely suck. There’s no way Crispin Porter can possibly make Microsoft cool – but I applaud them for taking their money.

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Eco Friendly Fibers – It May Be Green But It’s Really Grey

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Cotton, organic cotton and wool are all “natural fibers” but does that make them green? See the attached table with estimated energy and water usage for some common fibers. I’m hoping to find the same data on wool, bamboo, and PLA but even the cotton data is pretty surprising. Plus one of the largest footprints a garment will have in its life is the energy impact of washing and drying. Polyester and Polypropylene do not stain and dry almost immediately, so they require much less laundering and do not need to be dried. And polyester garments last for many, many years of hard use where others tend to wear out faster (in part due to heavy laundering).

There’s a place for every type of fiber (and sometimes nothing feels better than cotton), but just because polyester is oil based does not make it less green when you look at the whole picture (remember the ethanol hype). For full disclosure, I work with Polartec® which mainly uses polyester fibers, including an increasing amount of recycled-content polyester that saves significant energy compared to virgin polyester.

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