Conrad Anker Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /tag/conrad-anker/ Live Bravely Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:17:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/favicon-194x194-1.png Conrad Anker Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /tag/conrad-anker/ 32 32 Trump Just Renamed North America鈥檚 Highest Peak. These Climbers Will Still Call It 鈥淒enali.鈥 /outdoor-adventure/climbing/trump-renames-denali/ Fri, 24 Jan 2025 17:55:40 +0000 /?p=2694775 Trump Just Renamed North America鈥檚 Highest Peak. These Climbers Will Still Call It 鈥淒enali.鈥

Conrad Anker, Jon Krakauer, Melissa Arnot Reid, and other prominent climbers and guides share their thoughts on the president鈥檚 decision to rename North America鈥檚 highest mountain

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Trump Just Renamed North America鈥檚 Highest Peak. These Climbers Will Still Call It 鈥淒enali.鈥

On Monday, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump to rename Alaska鈥檚 20,310-foot Denali, the highest peak in North America. The mountain鈥檚 name will revert to Mount McKinley, named for William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, who was assassinated on September 14, 1901.

The decree undoes the work of former President Barack Obama, who, in 2015 officially changed the name from Mount McKinley to Denali, the peak鈥檚 traditional name from the Koyukon Athabascan language, which is spoken by Alaska’s Native inhabitants. Denali translates as 鈥渢he high one鈥 or 鈥渢he great one.鈥

The name change will take effect within 30 days. The name of Denali National Park and Preserve, where the mountain sits, will not change.

Policy wonks (and ) know that there has been infighting in Congress about the name of North America鈥檚 highest peak since at least 1975. That was the first year the state of Alaska petitioned to use the local name Denali instead of McKinley. Lawmakers from Ohio, McKinley鈥檚 home state, pushed back.

But how do the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on the mountain feel about Denali鈥檚 name change? We asked some of Denali鈥檚, er McKinley鈥檚, most prominent athletes, guides, and rangers.

Why Alaskans Prefer the Name Denali

The guides and mountaineers who spoke to 国产吃瓜黑料 for this story expressed dismay at the name change.

鈥淚t鈥檚 worth mentioning that the President suggested doing this about six years ago,鈥 says Mark Westman, an Alaska resident and former ranger on the mountain. 鈥淎nd he was told by Alaska’s two senators鈥攂oth of whom are Republicans and both who are still the current senators鈥攏ot to do that.鈥

Indeed, on Monday, January 21, Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, : 鈥淥ur nation鈥檚 tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial.鈥

Guides and climbers echoed Murkowski鈥檚 sentiment鈥攖he importance of the name Denali lies in its connection to Alaska鈥檚 precolonial聽history, they said.

鈥淭he name Denali reflects a local cultural heritage here that predates the United States,鈥 Westman says. 鈥淭he name McKinley was an arbitrary name given for someone who had never even set foot here. He was from Ohio.鈥

Conrad Anker, who began climbing in the Alaska Range in 1987, said he was overjoyed when the peak鈥檚 Indigenous name was officially restored in 2015. Changing the name back, he said, makes no sense to outdoor enthusiasts, local Alaskans, or the region鈥檚 Indigenous population.

鈥淚t was fitting to honor the people of Alaska with the rightful name,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 worth noting that the vast majority of peaks in the Himalayas have local names.”

Guide Melissa Arnot Reid, the first American woman to ascend and descend Everest without supplemental oxygen, said that precolonial names such as Denali enhance a visitor鈥檚 connection to a place. That鈥檚 why she encourages her climbing clients to refer to peaks and regions by traditional names.

鈥淒iscovering what the local people call a place, and why, enhances our connection to that place,鈥 she says.

Does Anyone Even Use the Name Mount McKinley?

Even before the 2015 name change, climbers and guides frequently used the peak’s Native name, guides told us. Westman, who first came to the peak in 1994, said that while the names were used interchangeably by locals back then, the preference was to call it Denali.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been a difference in the name Denali for, well, forever,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ative Alaskans were calling it Denali for thousands of years before anybody else came here. In the climbing community, it鈥檚 almost universal鈥擨 almost never hear anybody call it McKinley.鈥

In the days following the announcement, many Alaskan residents appear to agree. On Tuesday, January 21, the group asked 1,816 adults in Alaska about the proposed name change. The survey found that 54 percent opposed it, while just 26 percent supported the change.

Ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers, the first person to hike and then ski the Seven Summits, pointed out that even Alaska鈥檚 political leaders have used the name Denali publicly for decades. 鈥淲ith Denali, the traditional name has been the choice not only of Alaskan Native people, but also of the entire state including its political leadership since at least 1975,鈥 she says.

Dave Hahn of RMI Mountain Guides, who has ascended the peak 25 times, said that the mountain is 鈥渂ig enough to handle however many names you want to throw at it.鈥

But he stressed that Denali felt like it was always the appropriate title within the climbing community. 鈥淚 never felt that McKinley was wrong鈥攊t honored a president that was assassinated while in office,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut I think that Denali is truer to where the mountain is, and who the people around the mountain are, recognizing that it鈥檚 an Alaskan mountain and not a Washington D.C. mountain.鈥

Most People Will Still Say Denali

The sources who spoke to 国产吃瓜黑料 for this story agreed on one thing: they will continue to call the peak by its Native name going forward.

鈥淚 intend to continue to refer to the great mountain as Denali for as long as I鈥檓 alive, and I encourage every other climber to do the same,鈥 wrote author聽Jon Krakauer聽in an email. 鈥淭rump might be able to officially rename it, but he will never be able to force me to call it anything except Denali.鈥

Ultrarunner Jack Kuenzle, who in 2023 set the fastest known time for ascending the peak, echoed the sentiment.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine anybody will be actually utilizing McKinley,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never heard it called that.鈥

Keith Sidle, who teaches mountaineering courses with the Alaska Mountaineering School, said the only thing he expects to see change is how the mountain is named on maps and signs. Sidle said his climbing buddies are already saying online that they will continue to use the Native name.

鈥淚t鈥檚 changing a name on a piece of paper, it鈥檚 not changing the mountain,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o the people that it really matters to, it鈥檚 not changing anything.鈥

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The Nonprofit Founded to Honor Alex Lowe Is Closing After 25 Years /outdoor-adventure/everest/alex-lowe-foundation-closing/ Fri, 15 Nov 2024 18:09:50 +0000 /?p=2688966 The Nonprofit Founded to Honor Alex Lowe Is Closing After 25 Years

Jenni Lowe founded the nonprofit after the death of her husband Alex Lowe. Now, she鈥檚 passing the torch to alpinist Melissa Arnot Reid's charity, the Juniper Fund.

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The Nonprofit Founded to Honor Alex Lowe Is Closing After 25 Years

On November 14, Jenni Lowe, president of the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation (ALCF) and widow of climbing legend Alex Lowe, announced that the nonprofit she founded in his name will officially dissolve before the end of 2025. The nonprofit鈥檚 assets鈥攊ncluding the iconic Khumbu Climbing Center鈥攚ill go to the Juniper Fund, a Nepal-based charity helmed by celebrity mountaineers Melissa Arnot Reid and David Morton. Jenni Lowe first initiated the handoff process about a year ago.

鈥淚t just felt like time,鈥 she told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚鈥檓 approaching 70 years old, and I feel as though I鈥檓 ready to change direction in my life.鈥

The ACLF has been a force of change in the Khumbu region of Nepal since its founding 25 years ago. Jenni Lowe initially launched the ALCF alongside leading alpinist Conrad Anker to help indigenous mountain communities and to honor her late husband, Alex Lowe, after he was killed in an avalanche on Shishapangma in 1999. At the time, Alex Lowe was considered one of the best alpinists of his generation, establishing bold first ascents in Antarctica, Baffin Island, and in the Himalaya. He was only 40 when he died, and he left three young sons behind.

Conrad Anker and Jenni Lowe
Conrad Anker and Jenni Lowe during the early days of the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation (Photo: Jenni Lowe)

The cornerstone of the ALCF鈥檚 work was The Khumbu Climbing Center, a facility that helps provide safety education to Sherpa guides and other members of indigenous climbing community. Together with Anker, Jenni Lowe helped build the KCC from the ground up. Since its launch in 2003, the facility has provided life-saving training to hundreds of climbers.

From here on out, the KCC will continue under the umbrella of the Juniper Fund, a well-regarded nonprofit that has worked alongside the ALCF for more than a decade. The Juniper Fund鈥檚 mission to support the families of Himalayan high-altitude workers, especially those grieving loved ones killed in the mountains, dovetails with that of the ALCF. That made the hand-off an easy decision, Lowe told 国产吃瓜黑料.

鈥淭he Juniper Fund does amazing work,鈥 Lowe said. 鈥淲hen I started the ALCF, I was this young widow, and I had deep compassion for the women over there who I saw as in my shoes. The Juniper Fund stepped in to provide support to those families in a beautiful way.鈥

Jenni Lowe visiting Nepal with her and Alex Lowe’s sons. At the time, the boys were 7, 10, and 14 years old, respectively. (Photo: Jenni Lowe)

Lowe hopes the transfer of assets from the ALCF to the Juniper Fund will be complete by the end of 2025. That includes all monetary assets, the building that houses the KCC, and other resources. The ALCF鈥檚 board of directors will continue to be involved throughout this process, Lowe said.

Arnot Reid described the transfer as an opportunity to build on the Juniper Fund鈥檚 existing mission. But, she said, it鈥檚 important to emphasize that the KCC isn鈥檛 getting passed off, per se; it鈥檚 a powerful organization in its own right, and it鈥檚 simply getting a new financial backer.

鈥淭he KCC is run in Nepal by Nepalis, and it鈥檚 an incredibly successful and really well-run organization,鈥 Arnot Reid said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need our intervention to run the incredible programs they already have; they just need our support financially and awareness-wise to continue to bring their mission to people who aren鈥檛 aware of it.鈥

Arnot Reid said the Juniper fund is committed to supporting the KCC鈥檚 existing work and has no plans to alter or add to it at this time. Instead, the Juniper fund will work closely with the organization鈥檚 Nepali representatives and follow their lead.

But while the work will remain the same, Arnot Reid says Jenni Lowe鈥檚 leadership will certainly be missed.

鈥淛enni is a role model for me,鈥 Arnot Reid said. 鈥淪he worked really hard to make things happen in a space where people said it wasn鈥檛 possible, or 鈥榃e can鈥檛 do that,鈥 and she did it with grit.鈥

That鈥檚 something Lowe is equally proud of: she said in her time at ALCF, the nonprofit accomplished more than she could have ever dreamed of.

鈥淚n the beginning, it was just a way for me to walk through the grief of losing Alex. I had no idea what I was getting into when I first started the foundation, but it was a huge gift to my life,鈥 Lowe told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚 love that community and I’ll miss them. But I feel satisfied and happy with what we鈥檝e done. It鈥檚 time to make my world a little smaller.鈥

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Four of the World鈥檚 Top Outdoor Athletes Explain What the Inflation Reduction Act Means to Them /business-journal/advocacy/inflation-reduction-act-jessie-diggins-conrad-anker-tommy-caldwell-phil-henderson/ Fri, 26 Aug 2022 22:50:15 +0000 /?p=2597583 Four of the World鈥檚 Top Outdoor Athletes Explain What the Inflation Reduction Act Means to Them

Jessie Diggins, Conrad Anker, Tommy Caldwell, and Phil Henderson talk legislation and climate

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Four of the World鈥檚 Top Outdoor Athletes Explain What the Inflation Reduction Act Means to Them

Jessie Diggins鈥 life revolves around snow. She is, after all, the most decorated Nordic skier in U.S. history. But recently, it鈥檚 not the snow itself that鈥檚 top of mind for her; it鈥檚 the lack of it. Losing winter as we know it鈥攁long with the other environmental ravages of climate change and a warming globe鈥攈as become one of her biggest sources of worry and motivation.

鈥淚 want my grandkids someday to have the opportunity to learn cross-country skiing,鈥 Diggins told OBJ. 鈥淢aybe they like it, and maybe they don鈥檛. But at least I want them to get the chance to experience winter the way we knew it growing up.鈥

Earlier this year, that wish brought the three-time Olympic medal winner to Capitol Hill聽to lobby for a wonky-sounding bill that could help : the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which finally became law on August 16.

She鈥檚 not the only pro athlete getting involved in politics. Environmental concerns聽also brought Tommy Caldwell, one of the planet鈥檚 best rock climbers, and Colorado senator John Hickenlooper together for a climb last fall, so that Caldwell could bend the senator鈥檚 ear about his climate concerns. Mountaineer Conrad Anker has paid repeated visits to the offices of Montana senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines for the same reason. And pioneering climber Phil Henderson, the leader of the first all-Black American team to summit Everest, is out pounding the pavement, encouraging his community to , when he鈥檚 not making sports history.

Two men harnessing up to rock climb outdoors
Tommy Caldwell took Colorado senator John Hickenlooper climbing last year to chat about climate. (Photo: Protect Our Winters)

As athlete activism , some fans are for folks like Diggins, Caldwell, Anker, and Henderson to stay in their lanes and quiet down. Whatever the haters may say, their efforts are working. The four athletes, working with nonprofit , were among the many voices that helped move the IRA over the finish line. The law tackles health care costs, tax codes, and pollution in historically marginalized communities, and also contains the largest climate investment聽in U.S. history.

鈥淭his puts us on a path for energy security in the 21st century,鈥 said Mario Molina, POW鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淚t will also help us reach our commitment under the Paris Agreement聽of 40 percent greenhouse-gas emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030.鈥

But the fight isn鈥檛 over.

A little over a week after President Biden signed the bill into law, 国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal sat down with these four athletes, along with Molina of POW, to ask what the legislation means to them, their careers, and the broader outdoor community鈥攁nd what still needs to be done to ensure a safe future for our planet. The below conversation has been edited for聽clarity.

Of all the ways you could spend your time, why advocate for climate-change legislation and the Inflation Reduction Act?聽

Jessie Diggins: It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e a huge fan of fresh powder or you鈥檙e聽into fly fishing or trail running, we鈥檙e聽all invested in some way in being outdoors, breathing clean air, enjoying the amazing environment, and protecting our crazy-cool outdoor playgrounds.

Tommy Caldwell: I don鈥檛 like politics, and I don鈥檛 really like the idea of lobbying. But I do understand that policy is our quickest way to make a change. At the very least, I want to slow down climate change so we can extend the health and wellbeing of our children and our children鈥檚 children. This is really about future generations.

Woman holding a microphone giving presentation
Jessie Diggins was heavily involved in Protect Our Winters鈥 efforts to get the Inflation Reduction Act passed.聽(Photo: Protect Our Winters)

And will this law actually protect our planet, in your view? Or at least help?

Mario Molina: Under a business-as-usual scenario, where we don’t do anything at all, we are on a trajectory to reach warming of 3.5 to 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Everything that we鈥檙e experiencing now鈥攖he heatwave that we just had, the increase in hurricanes, floods, reduced snowpack, the unreliability of winter, droughts and fires out West鈥攊s the consequence of about 1.2 degrees.

Say you鈥檙e mountain biking down a 40-degree slope and you see a cement wall in front of you. When is it too late to hit the brakes? Do you want to hit that at 50 miles per hour? Or do you want to hit it at 25 miles per hour? We are going to continue to see the impact [of climate change], but there is a scenario in which those impacts are manageable, and we were able to protect some semblance of seasonality.

What has that 1.2-degree warming, and the resulting climate changes, looked like for you on trails and mountains over the course of your careers?

JD: A couple of years back, we started our World Cup season with the pre-camp in Finland in Rovaniemi, which is right on the edge of the Arctic Circle. Even there, the trails had completely melted out, they were full of rocks and dirt and puddles, and it was down to a very thin layer of man-made snow. We would jog home after skiing these small loops on this dirty snow, and there would be little flowers and green moss and plants blooming on the side of the trail鈥攊n November! In the Arctic Circle! For me, that was just really shocking. It brings it home that nowhere is safe.

Phil Henderson: The biggest example I can give is from Mount Kenya in 2000, where I spent a lot of time, and where there are permanent ice fields. The route to one of the higher peaks is easy [Editor鈥檚 note: easy for you, Phil]. I went back in 2010, and that ice was gone, those permanent ice fields were pretty much gone.

Similar story: I went to Kilimanjaro in 2000, and then back in 2018, and again what you see is shrinking glaciers, ice that鈥檚聽not there anymore. So I鈥檝e聽seen it with my eyes in places that most people will never see. But others see it in their cities, in the urban areas: winter coming later, the snowpack being far more shallow, no runoff in the rivers.

Tommy Caldwell: I started noticing the glacier changes in the mountains鈥攖hat鈥檚聽really obvious. As glaciers melt out, the mountains are thawing and starting to fall down in certain places. Beyond that, the two places where I spend most of my time, Colorado and Yosemite,聽are drastically changed because of forest fires. Once, the summertime was an incredible climbing season; now a lot of the time we鈥檙e聽stuck inside because of the air quality.

Man speaking to a crowd of people
When not leading expeditions on Everest, Phil Henderson is an outspoken voting-rights advocate.聽(Photo: Protect Our Winters)

What do you mean by that? Mountains are actually falling down?

TC: Ice is melting out of the cracks. I first started to notice it in Patagonia. Mountains melted and moved, and that created ,聽but also just completely sporadic rockfall, whole sides of the mountain.

Conrad Anker: The original ascent route of The Ogre [in Pakistan鈥檚 Karakoram Range] is completely melted out. It鈥檚聽not climbable from a safety parameter. Think of it like this. If you鈥檝e聽ever scraped ice off in your driveway on a cold day, it鈥檚聽completely stuck there. You chip so hard, you end up breaking the concrete. If you鈥檙e聽an ice climber, you want those conditions. But then on a warm day, when there鈥檚聽a bed of water underneath it鈥攚hich is what happened this year in the Marmolada Glacier Collapse [in the Dolomites]鈥攖hat鈥檚 when things move.

Man in a suit speaking in a board room
Conrad Anker meeting with members of Montana senator Jon Tester’s office on Capitol Hill (Photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty)

So while this bill likely won鈥檛 stop some of those changes, it sounds like it could help them from getting worse. Where does it fall short?聽

MM: We would have loved not to see oil leases included in the bill. The International Energy Agency has said pretty emphatically that in order to reach the 1.5-degree Paris target, there can鈥檛聽be any new fossil fuel development.

Now, having said that, rarely in politics do you get something done that doesn鈥檛聽get criticism from both sides. If you鈥檙e聽getting criticism from both sides, you鈥檝e聽probably struck somewhere in the middle of the best you could get.

What are some of the tangible, immediate benefits of the climate portions of the bill?

CA: Near-term, if we have more solar panels and wind towers, those two industries hire from the climbing community.聽They put advertisements in the magazines that talk to those people; they actively recruit within them. So there鈥檚聽going to be more climbers working on towers and using their skills. We鈥檙e聽going to create jobs. Here in Montana, we鈥檙e a coal state but have a tremendous amount of wind and solar potential. The law will put people to work.

TC: I moved into a new house a few years ago and I鈥檝e聽been debating putting solar on鈥擨鈥檒l admit, it does seem a little bit expensive. This [the bill’s Residential Clean Energy Credit, which allows homeowners to subtract 30 percent of solar costs from their federal taxes through 2032] just moves the needle to a place that makes it a no-brainer. If that can happen for me, on my house, it can happen for other people.

What鈥檚 next then? Where do we go from here?

MM: The work that鈥檚 left won’t be done in our lifetime. That鈥檚聽something we have to recognize. But this is a massive quantum leap. Number one is clean-energy permitting and number two is interconnection and transmission [of that energy]. We have to make permitting far more effective, far more efficient. After that, the focus is grid upgrades.

What can we do as people who love the outdoors?

JD: . And not just every four years. Vote this fall [in the midterms]. We鈥檝e聽seen history made in the margins of elections, in the smallest numbers you can imagine. That can actually make a big swing and change the course of what will happen and what laws are able to be passed.

PH: Look at your daily life, and minimize as much energy use as you possibly can. If you can use solar, switch to solar. If you can drive an electric car, drive an electric car. If you can ride a bike, ride a bike. If you can walk, walk. We just have to really change our way of thinking and living on a day-to-day basis.

Man in a suit speaking to Congress
Tommy Caldwell lobbying in D.C. (Photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty)

Even with everything you鈥檝e seen鈥攕ki trails melting, mountains crumbling鈥攄o you feel hopeful?

TC: It鈥檚聽amazing how my mood can go from feeling pretty discouraged to feeling very hopeful just based on this one bill. Once this version of the bill finally passed, I did find myself filled with hope.

JD: We need to remember that we鈥檙e聽not at the end of the race yet鈥攁nd this is a very, very long race. But I think it鈥檚聽important to celebrate where we are right now, and then to keep looking forward, using our voices, and not taking for granted how amazing the outdoors are. Every time I get out to ski, I have to remind myself how incredible that opportunity is, and that we have to fight to protect it. It鈥檚聽when we start taking things for granted that we鈥檙e most at risk of losing them.


Editor’s note: Protect Our Winters is an 国产吃瓜黑料. . POW is focused on sparking the civic engagement that fuels big climate policy wins like the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Retailer Spotlight: Tahoe Mountain Sports in Truckee, California /business-journal/retailers/tahoe-mountain-sports-cool-shop/ Tue, 08 Aug 2017 01:20:41 +0000 /?p=2573265 Retailer Spotlight: Tahoe Mountain Sports in Truckee, California

Dave Polivy is using big-brand marketing to boost his small shop and get around an Amazon-induced downturn

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Retailer Spotlight: Tahoe Mountain Sports in Truckee, California

For a lot of Dave Polivy鈥檚 friends in outdoor specialty retail, online juggernauts like Amazon are seen as a hulking behemoth steamrolling the industry. Many of his contemporaries are reluctant to go anywhere near the e-commerce giant, let alone do business with them.

But Polivy is a realist. 鈥淎mazon is about to account for 50 percent of all e-commerce transactions in the world,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he option to fight Amazon is not realistic.鈥 His solution? Get onboard and embrace that big yellow arrow.

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聽Almost half of all online shoppers start the search for their purchase on Amazon. (Photo: Courtesy)

It certainly didn鈥檛 start this way for Tahoe Mountain Sports (TMS). The brand was born around a campfire in 2003, when Polivy and two friends, who had all worked together in another outdoor shop, were looking for a change in scenery. 鈥淲e threw $1,000 each into an idea and said 鈥榣et鈥檚 see what happens,鈥欌 Polivy said.

For the first three years, TMS was online-only, selling all forms of outdoor gear from hiking, backpacking, and trail running to backcountry ski and snowboard during the winter months. 鈥淚t was back in the heyday of e-commerce where you could literally just put stuff on websites and watch it sell,鈥 said Polivy. In 2006, Polivy鈥檚 wife bought out the two original partners and the couple opened a brick-and-mortar space in Kings Beach, California. After a handful of expansions, they moved in 2014 to their currently location in Truckee, balancing a physical storefront and TMS鈥檚 still-running web operation, while looking for ways to link the two halves.

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Polivy (right) and his wife Pam Jahnke get some help from The North Face athlete Conrad Anker to open their new location in Truckee in 2014. (Photo: Courtesy)

On Harnessing the Power of YouTube鈥

鈥淥riginally the mindset of our blog was to drive SEO for our e-commerce website,鈥 said Polivy. 鈥淏ack in the days when we were ramping up and e-commerce was a priority, we developed a ton of content to support that business.鈥 Gear reviews, event coverage, trip reports, and more all fed towards products on TMS鈥檚 website with the intention of boosting search engine traffic and sales. The articles come from employees, who are allowed to write on company time.

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TMS’s blog, produced by employees, is one of the shop’s secret weapons. It includes gear reviews, trip reports, checklists, hike recommendations, and event coverage. (Screenshot: Courtesy)

Polivy is also proud of that fact that his shop鈥檚 YouTube channel crushes it. Its two million views鈥攕pread out across product videos and in-store clinics by brand representatives鈥攎ake it king among other outdoor specialty retailers on this platform, according to Polivy. 鈥淭he goal is to provide people with additional product information that they couldn鈥檛 just get online,鈥 he said.

But aside from SEO, the blog, and the rest of TMS鈥檚 online marketing, he鈥檚 also focused on building the shop鈥檚 credibility in the community. As one of the area鈥檚 newer shops, Polivy originally didn鈥檛 have the reputation that his competition enjoyed. But, he said, the older age of his competitors meant they were also more traditional and not immersed as deeply in the tech, which Polivy saw as his advantage. 鈥淚f we could put out some really cool content like 鈥楤est things to do with your kids in Lake Tahoe,鈥 hopefully readers would also come and stop in our store.鈥

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The brick and mortar storefront of Tahoe Mountain Sports benefits not only from the company’s blog-generated traffic, but also by harnessing the power of Amazon. (Photo: Courtesy)

It worked, and continues to. 鈥淲e have people coming into the store telling us 鈥楾he reason I鈥檓 here is because I read this article and I knew you had what I was looking for.鈥欌 TMS also has a significant number of blog readers from outside of the local area. As a major tourist community, the hope is that as readers pass through, they鈥檒l be more likely to think of Tahoe Mountain Sports as the place to stop for gear. But Polivy has one more trick up his sleeve to catch long-distance revenue, and it doesn鈥檛 completely align with common industry thinking.

On Working with Amazon, Rather Than Fighting It鈥

In the last two years, declining online sales (undoubtedly due in part to sites like Amazon) forced TMS to stop selling products on its own website (although the blog lives on), so Polivy began looking for other ways to take advantage of the shop鈥檚 still-flowing content. Step one involved taking advantage of affiliate selling programs through Amazon, as well as monetizing TMS鈥檚 YouTube account.

鈥淚f readers don鈥檛 live around us and they click [on product links embedded in articles] and order gear from Amazon, we鈥檙e still going to get a percentage of that sale,鈥 said Polivy about the strategy. And he鈥檚 not worried about losing brick and mortar sales by driving traffic to a competitor. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e already not going to buy it in our brick-and-mortar location and their immediate reaction is to shop on Amazon, we probably weren鈥檛 going to get them to begin with.鈥

In addition, Polivy said, TMS is a third party seller on Amazon, which means TMS sells its own products, like packs and boots, through Amazon鈥檚 marketplace, rather than solely linking to Amazon鈥檚 own products. Contributing so heavily to Amazon鈥檚 business is somewhat controversial in an industry that鈥檚 struggling to compete with the brand, but Polivy said not only is it necessary, but it鈥檚 also beneficial to the industry as a whole if it鈥檚 done right.

As a retailer, the keys to working with Amazon are held by the gear manufacturers. 鈥淚ndependent retailers are at the bottom of the food chain,鈥 Polivy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really the vendor鈥檚 choice about how they鈥檙e going to handle their Amazon business, whether they鈥檙e going to deal with Amazon directly, and whether they鈥檙e going to consistently enforce their MAP [minimum advertised pricing] policies. Those are the things that we should be fighting for as specialty retailers.鈥

He also makes a point that retailers should be stocking in-store what they sell on Amazon, which allows retailers like TMS to take back products they can鈥檛 sell online and sell them in-store. This keeps stores from needing to drop prices online in order to get rid of product鈥攁 killer of MAP-compliant specialty retail.

On Being Resourceful in Social Media鈥

鈥淭hose of us who work and own the store can鈥檛 be constantly repping it via social media,鈥 said Polivy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of tacky.鈥 Larger brands are typically the only ones capable of using a fleet of ambassadors, but Tahoe Mountain Sports takes advantage of their own athletes鈥 knowledge and reach on the small scale. You probably won鈥檛 recognize any of them by name鈥攖hey鈥檙e all Tahoe locals鈥攂ut according to Polivy, TMS sees wide-ranging benefits from its ambassadors. On social media, they actively promote and plug the store in a way that Polivy says he and his staff just can鈥檛 do as effectively. The athletes are also vital in product and stocking decisions, regularly testing items and offering feedback to Polivy鈥檚 team regarding what to sell and what to take a pass on. Ambassadors also regularly put that information into posts on TMS鈥檚 blog.

In the 21st century David vs. Goliath retail environment, Tahoe Mountain Sports has stayed alive by making friends with Goliath.

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