Month: July 2011

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Tax Holiday Comes a Week Early to Alpine Shop

Alpine Shop will pay your sales tax on EVERYTHING in our stores beginning this Friday, July 29 through Sunday, August 7.

Why wait for the “Back to School” tax break? We’ve got “Back to – “Whatever you want to do” Savings going on right now!

It doesn’t matter to us if you’re shopping for Back to School, Back to the River, Back to the Trail or Back to the Ski Lift. Just fill in whatever you want to get back to for yourself. Whatever you’re shopping for, we’ll take care of the sales tax for you starting Friday, July 29 through August 7.

And when we say EVERYTHING, we mean EVERYTHING.

This is not just good on backpacks or clothes. Need a new bike to get to school (or to get on the trail)? Pay absolutely no tax on it when you purchase it from us before Aug. 7. Are you thinking you just need to get a new kayak? No Tax! Skis for this winter’s trip to the mountains? No tax! EVERYTHING is tax free.

Alpine Shop’s Save Your Sales Tax Week starts Friday, July 29 at all Alpine Shop stores and on-line at alpineshop.com. Don’t get caught waiting – it only goes through Sunday, Aug. 7.

* Discount on receipt reflects normal sales tax amount.

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Final Weekend for Wilderness Systems Kayak Rebates

For our customers in the market for a new Wilderness Systems kayak, like maybe the Tsunami kayak we use in our instructional courses, or the fishing-centered Tarpon, this last weekend of July is your final chance to take advantage of up to $100 in rebates.

If you’d like to take advantage of the deal, come in to Alpine Shop‘s Kirkwood or Columbia locations and pick out the Wilderness Systems kayak you like. We’ll print out the rebate form for you (or you can print the copy below) and make sure you have it filled out correctly. Then, just mail in the form with the correct proof of purchase by August 30, 2011 to claim your cash!

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Why This Year’s Tour Actually Matters

We all know about the doping scandals that have rocked (and continue to rock) the cycling world through recent history.  With that said, the 2011 Tour de France has turned out to be an absolutely riveting race – yes, quite possibly even for those of you who have absolutely no interest in a Tour without Lance.

In 2011, we haven’t sat back and said “So, when will Lance make his move.” Instead, it’s been “How long can Thomas Voeckler hold onto the yellow?” Evidently, Voeckler himself keeps forgetting that he was supposed to have fallen out of the race for the yellow jersey long, long ago. It’s like the bike race version of the Little Engine that Could. In Thursday’s brutal stage which featured 17,000 feet of climbing including the highest summit in Tour history at the top of the Galibier, the little Frenchman somehow managed to stay in the yellow by just 15 seconds.

Today’s stage 19 features the famous l’Alpe d’Huez, featuring its 21 historic hairpin turns with an average of 7.9 percent grade up nearly 14 kilometers.

With just three stages (including today’s final mountain stage) left in the tour, everything is still up for grabs. If you haven’t been watching the coverage on Versus or following the action live at a site like Velo News, you’ve still got a chance over the last two days to witness some incredible racing.

And, you can check out some gorgeous Specialized road bikes (and mountain and hybrid bikes) at Alpine Shop as well!

Finally, don’t miss out on the rest of the Alpine Shop Short Track Dirt Crit Series at Castlewood State Park next Thursday, July 28! The best mountain bike racing in the Midwest for experts all the way to pure beginners has become the premier bike race in St. Louis. See you there!

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Alpine Shop Named St. Louis’ Best for Athletic Gear

2011 St. Louis Magzine A-List Readers' Pick Winner

In St. Louis, the best place to find workout and athletic gear is Alpine Shop, according to the readers of St. Louis Magazine. The 2011 A-List Readers’ Picks included the following description:

What began as a Webster Groves climbing shop in 1973 has expanded into three locations and been recognized as one of the nation’s top 25 independent outdoor specialty retailers. Talk about ascending to new heights.

We’re extremely honored to be not only included in this list, but also to be the readers’ top pick. We have always worked to give our customers the best selection in everything from expedition gear to everyday wear. Evidently we’re doing something right featuring great products from brands such as: Patagonia, The North Face, Marmot, Smartwool, Icebreaker, SkirtSports, Under Armour, Vibram Five Fingers and many, many more.

While we’re obviously pleased, we also realize that to keep our standing as St. Louis’ best choice for workout and athletic gear we need to continue to maintain our own high standards. If you have recommendations for products or brands you’d like to see us carry, please let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

If you’d like to take a look at some of the athletic gear and workout wear we carry in our stores for both men and women, we invite you to take a look either on-line at alpineshop.com or at any of our three locations.

Hopefully, you’ll discover the same thing that made the readers of St. Louis magazine name us the 2011 A-List Readers’ Pick for athletic and workout gear.

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Get Outdoors: Mobilizing America’s Youth through Outdoor Nation

Youth involvement – or lack of involvement – in the great outdoors represents a growing challenge for our nation. As kids concentrate more and more on indoor activities and parents continue to confine their kids to the indoors in fear of potential dangers to their children, an entire generation of Americans is losing its connection with the wild.

We’ve covered this topic before on this blog, with links to information on nature-deficit disorder and the best-selling book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. The U.S. government introduced the Let’s Move campaign in 2010 to fight childhood obesity with a major component titled simply Let’s Move Outside. These issues are well documented and solutions can seem to be few and far between.

Outdoor Nation is part of a movement by America’s young adults themselves to combat these issues. In June of 2010, the first Outdoor Nation Summit convened in New York City attended by over 500 delegates from all 50 states. The result of the two-day event was:

…a solid commitment to break down the barriers to the outdoors – not just for (young adults), but for everyone. We love to prove the stereotypes false!

In “official” terms,

Created by The Outdoor Foundation and supported by a diverse coalition of public, private and not-for-profit partners, Outdoor Nation and its community of Outsiders are committed to increasing and expanding youth participation through entertainment, education, engagement and action – especially among urban communities and communities of color – resulting in a healthier, more active generation.

In 2011, five Outdoor Nation summits across the nation are scheduled for the months of June and July. Alpine Shop-Columbia’s Liza Babington was selected as one of the 250 delegates to the Twin Cities Summit held this past weekend in Minneapolis, Minn. In the next week, we’ll be posting her reaction to the experience. Stay tuned!

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