So, we have the first slide show presentation scheduled! It will be up in Luck, WI (about 45 minutes northeast of Minneapolis) on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8pm. It is being held at a great coffee shop up there called the Wren, one of our favorites. If you are in the area and would like to come and need directions, just visit
http://www.cafewren.com/. We would love to see you there!
More showings will be posted in the weeks to come! The next two after that are:
Thursday, Oct. 4th in Duluth, MN at W-Trek Outfitters at 7pm
Thursday, Oct. 11th in Madison, WI at Fontana Sports on State Street at 6pm
We would love to schedule one with additional stores as well, so contact Brian today! If you have any questions or would like to attend and need additional info, please contact Vanessa! Thanks, have a great day!
Well, this year at the Leadville 100 started beautifully! Brian felt very strong after all his time at altitude in Pakistan, so he was ready to take on the course! Unfortunately, the race did to continue as well. Brian broke his ankle hiking into K2 basecamp this summer, and without a proper set, it was not ready to handle the running abuse. At mile 24 (the fish hatchery), he had to call it quits for this year, warranting himself a walking cast for the last 6 weeks! Hopefully the doc will get his ankle fixed and all will be on task for next summer: the hostile takeover of the Leadville 100 by AAO...Anton who?
Sunday and I did take a minute to drink in the beautiful sunrise coming up over sleepy Leadville.
Between the last aid station and this one, Brian lost his shirt and 40 pounds! No, this is not Brian. This is Anton Krupicka, a.k.a. Jesus, the second time first place winner of the Leadville 100. This guy is an animal, finishing in 16:14:35, a whole 3 hours before anyone else came in!
This year at the race, we had a few more friends to talk to! Peter Grimes, the Montrail rep before we were, and his lovely wife Jen were out, giving the race their all.
This is Pete's friend Joel, who also gave it the old varsity try. They will be making a play for a 50 mile run here in just a few weeks. Good luck guys!
Jen provided excellent crewing...but terrible Hope Pass got these guys as well. Next year will be the triumphant tour de force of Midwest runners!!
What does one do at a time like this? Surround yourself with friends and
vicodine, of course! Party on the lawn! What's that you say? it still hurts? Well then, add some whiskey! Brilliant!
Here comes Kyle up the fish hatchery! See Kyle. See Kyle Run. Run Kyle Run! Our boy made a smashing play for the finish again this year, but he and a group of about 10 guys found themselves off course at one point and thus, missed the cut-off and were disqualified.
But Kyle, what is that you are carrying? The Marmot Kompressor? Yes it is...the latest in fall fashion, the Kompressor is once again hot on the scene with its lightweight, minimal design and easy functionality...perfect for a hydration pack, small personal items, or an upgraded compression sack for your sleeping bag. Kyle, you stylish devil!
Alas, it will once again be "next year" that is course is conquered and both
heros return to Iowa victorious. As for now, this is Vanessa Hohn,
signing off and wishing you all champaign wishes and caviar dreams!
The dZi foundation is a very unique organization that was created by two avid climbers who were compelled to give back to the people in the places they had climbed in for so many years. These cultures were so giving and wonderful, but needed help.
Jim Nowak started the dZi Foundation to create sustainable programs to offer things like dental and medical care, education and nutrition to regions in the Himalayas. One thing that makes the organization so unique is their small overhead- with low administrative and fundraising costs, this humanitarian cause gets straight to the heart of the issues, and gives help directly at the source.
Marmot has long recognized the benefit of this organization and matches any donations given toward their operation and execution costs.
This fall, AAO is offering a unique opportunity for your store to get involved in this great project. Brian is currently putting together a slide show of his trip to K2 from this past summer that we will be touring around the territory this clinic season. This slide show presentation can either be set up as an in-store show for staff only or a formal customer base show. Either way, we are asking a minimum $5 donation that will be sent into the dZi Foundation and backed by Marmot, to further raise awareness and funds for this great cause.
If your store is interested in participating in this opportunity, please email Vanessa at
vanessa@goaao.com so we can get you set up with a time and a marketing kit to make this a very successful and educational fundraiser.
For more information on the dZi foundation, visit
http://www.dzifoundation.org/ or
http://www.marmot.com/.
It may seem like a very simple thing, picking up a pen and writing something. But for children in the Karakoram region of Pakistan...it means the world. In trekking through remote areas of Pakistan on his way to K2, Brian was very enchanchanted with these beautiful, determined children who repeatedly asked him for pens so that they could learn to write at school. We would love to help these kids get the education they want and deserve. So came along Marked Change.
Marked Change is name we are giving to this pen drive to benefit these children. All it takes is a donation of pens to your store, and we will take care of picking them up and shipping them over. Your store can be as involved as they would like to be!
This is an image of a postcard that can be sent to your store if you would like to participate in this great effort to help bring education to many eager children in a poor region in Pakistan. AAO will send you a poster to place in your break room so your staff can get involved. We will also send posters for the sales floor, should you choose to open the drive to your customers. This is a great cause and would love to get as many people involved as possible! Please let Vanessa know if you are interested in receiving these marketing materials to start your pen drive today!
So, we have the first slide show presentation scheduled! It will be up in Luck, WI (about 45 minutes northeast of Minneapolis) on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8pm. It is being held at a great coffee shop up there called the Wren, one of our favorites. If you are in the area and would like to come and need directions, just visit http://www.cafewren.com/. We would love to see you there!
