Late summer and early fall are the perfect times to get out and explore the rivers that make Missouri so special. As the crowds begin to fade on many of the more popular float sections, you have even more opportunities to explore the beautiful scenery at your own pace without having to worry about anyone else.
With that in mind, we’ve been working with Confluence Outdoor – the parent brand for some of our most popular boat brands like Wilderness Systems,Dagger,Perception and more – to put together a way to celebrate this time of year and get more people out in their own boats.
So, here’s the deal:
Between now and Sunday, September 15 when you purchase any Confluence Outdoor brand boat, you’ll receive an entry into a sweepstakes to win a $500 prize that can be used as either a rebate on your original boat purchase, or you can use it towards the purchase of another Confluence boat or other Confluence brand gear.
You don’t have to fill any forms out or anything like that. Once you make the purchase, you just have to be patient and wait until Tuesday, September 17 for us to announce the winner!
To get started, you can take a look at a small selection of our boats on-line. Then, come into our Kirkwood or Columbia locations in Missouri, or The Pathfinder in Manhattan, Kan., to pick out the perfect craft for you.
BALLWIN, MO – When you name a course after a hill titled “Cardiac Hill,” you’d expect times to go up. Instead, the 218 runners that tackled the “Cardiac Course” at Castlewood State Park on Thursday, August 15, pushed the pace up a notch compared to the week before. The approximately 4 mile race featured two substantial climbs, including the previously mentioned “Cardiac Hill” and also saw participants make their first finish-line-crossing of Kiefer Creek.
Jon-Paul LaVenture hits the creek crossing right before the finish line on Thursday night’s Race 3 of the 2019 Trail Run Series.
Once again, Jon-Paul LaVenture (37, Ballwin) was the first to cross through the Alpine Shop arch in a time of 26:28.5, more than a minute faster than last week’s second-place runner, Andy Rains (26, Ballwin, 27:43.2). Josh Wright (41, Kirkwood), who took third place last week, as well, crossed the finish line in 28:19.3 to round out the top three in the overall standings. Those three will also hold the points lead heading into the final race of the 2019 Series next week.
Women’s winner for the second straight week, Jaime Maher, hits the full depth of Keifer Creek near the end of the race.
For the women’s open category, Jaime Maher (36, St. Louis), last week’s winner, took first once again in a time of 33:04.9, beating last week’s second place finisher, Lory Cooper (32, St. Louis, 33:37.9), to the line by just over 30 seconds. Repeating the “familiarity” theme of this year’s races, Yuting Huang (28, Ballwin), last week’s third place woman, took – you guessed it – third place with a time of 35:34.8.
Men’s Master’s winner, Chris Martel (center, “1”), heads out with the lead group at the start of Race 3 of the 2019 Trail Run Series.
Chris Martel (53, Francis Park) won his 11th straight masters Trail Run Series race with a final time of 29:38.7 (7th overall). Eric Buckley (56, St. Louis, 31:42.6) was second in the division for the second straight week. And Ryan Yoch (56, O’Fallon, IL, 32:07.0) returned to the top three after taking second during the first week’s race. On the women’s side, Kate Dewey (51, Chesterfield) took home her third straight win with a time of 38:24.6, with Sherri Schultz (50, Chesterfield, 39:56.5) and Julie Dobslaw (51, University City, 40:48.0) once again, taking second and third, respectively.
Women’s Master’s winner, Kate Dewey heads down the hill to the creek near the end of Race 3 of the 2019 Trail Run Series.
The final race of the 2019 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series will take place next Thursday night, August 22 at 6:15 pm.
BALLWIN, MO – An evening that began with a forecast for rain earlier in the week turned into a typical St. Louis summer night for more than 210 runners who took to the trails at Castlewood State Park for the second night of four in the 2019 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series. This approximately 4.2 mile race featured two substantial climbs, including the opening half mile up to meet the Bluff Trail and then a second climb that stretched over the second and third miles.
Jon-Paul Laventure crosses Kiefer Creek on his way to his second straight overall win in the 2019 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series.
Familiar names resided at the top of the leader board as Jon-Paul LaVenture (37, Ballwin) beat the field on the 4.2-mile course in a time of 28:39.47, besting second-place runner Andy Rains (26, Ballwin, 30:03.0) to the finish line by, once again, just more than a minute. Josh Wright (41, Kirkwood), crossed the finish line exactly 18 seconds later to round out the top three in the overall standings. That’s the exact same time difference between the second and third place finishers in week 2 when Caleb Smith took third place behind Rains.
Women’s Overall winner, Jaime Maher (6), holding off Eric Buckley (3), who finished second in the Masters men division.
For the women’s open category, Jaime Maher (36, St. Louis) – the winner of Race 4 during the 2018 series – made her 2019 debut and promptly took first place in a time of 36:47.8. Lory Cooper (32, St. Louis), making her 2019 debut as well, finished almost exactly one minute behind Maher. Yuting Huang (28, Ballwin) moved up from outside the top five last week to third place with a time of 39:15.3.
Chris Martel has won the masters division in 10 straight races, going back to 2017.
Kate Dewey (255) won the masters women division, holding off Julie Dobslaw (56) who finished third and Susan Richmond (2) who was fourth in the division.
Chris Martel (53, Francis Park) won his 10th straight masters Trail Run Series race with a final time of 32:32.4 (6th overall). Eric Buckley (56, St. Louis, 33:28.7) moved back into a familiar second place finish in the division. As stated last week, Martel and Buckley finished 1-2 in each race in 2018. Mickey Howell (56, Villa Ridge, Mo.) who finished just 10 seconds outside of the top three last week, moves up into third for the first time. On the women’s side, Kate Dewey (51, Chesterfield) took home her second straight win in a Trail Run Series race with a time of 43:17.7, with Sherri Schultz (50, Chesterfield, 43:54.6) and Julie Dobslaw (51, University City, 45:03.2) once again, taking second and third, respectively.
We also had one of the largest collection of young runners in Trail Run Series history this week with eight runners under the age of 14, including top finisher Oliver Pollock (14, St. Louis, 37:39.6) and the youngest runner in the competition, nine-year-old Ty Rauls (Wildwood, 46:38.3 ), who finished in 79th place overall and fifth of six in the under 20 division. 13-year-old KB Piepho (Chesterfield) was the top under 20 girl with a time of 51:35.7
Race 3 of the 2019 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series will take place next Thursday night, August 15 at 6:15 pm. We hope you can join us!
Saturday, August 10 is National S’mores Day! To celebrate this momentous occasion, Osprey Packs is providing everything you need to make your very own s’mores at our stores – including the fire to roast the marshmallows. At Alpine Shop Kirkwood and Chesterfield, s’mores hours will be from 5 pm – 7 pm! At our Columbia location and at the Pathfinder in Manhattan, Ks., s’mores will be served from 4-6 pm.
We’ll also have representatives from Osprey Packs that will be on hand with some informational seminars, games and over $600 worth of Osprey backpacks and accessories that they’ll be raffling off throughout the evening to celebrate Alpine Shop Kirkwood’s certification as an Osprey Packs PRO SHOP.
About to embark on an adventure? Pro Shops have you covered with the largest assortment of Osprey products, expert gear knowledge and custom fitting services. Don’t know where to start? Let the experts at one of our pro shops help you choose the best pack from a full range of size and color options, translate the technical specs and fine-tune your pack so it fits you exactly as it should.
Osprey Packs Website
As the only Osprey Packs PRO SHOP in Missouri, and one of only 12 shops across the entire United States with that designation, you won’t find another retailer across most of the Midwest with the kind of selection and service for world-class Osprey Packs that you’ll find at Alpine Shop.
Alpine Shop is pleased to welcome the World Bird Sanctuary back to our Kirkwood location for an Al-Pint Night this Saturday, August 10 from 5 pm – 7 pm.
While s’more stations are happening at all of our locations thanks to Osprey Packs, our Kirkwood store will also have one of our famous Al-Pint Nights to support the World Bird Sanctuary. The good folks from the Sanctuary will have a number of raptors on hand for you to see and interact with on an up-close-and-personal level. (Please, for the safety of the birds at this event, we ask that all customers respect a “no dog zone” around the birds, though!)
To support this important organization, you can purchase a STANLEY Al-Pint Night Adventure Stein (see photo below) for just $25 which includes two free pours at the three remaining Al-Pint Nights for the rest of 2019. Every cent goes towards the organizations our Al-Pint Nights support throughout the year. Or, if you have already purchased an adventure stein for the year, come and join us at no cost to yourself! Plastic Pint Night Cups are just $5!
Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4, 2019 is Missouri’s Sales Tax Holiday for qualifying back to school purchases. For parents looking to get high quality apparel, shoes and gear that will actually make it through not only this school year, but also years to come, Alpine Shop is the place to shop!
To qualify, apparel and footwear must be under $100. And right now, Alpine Shop has some great bargains on items like: Patagonia Better Sweaters – regularly priced at $139 are now $96.97; selected Chaco sandal styles – regularly priced between $105 and $115 are now $89.97; plus, almost our entire stock of summer apparel is discounted between 25-40% off. And as long as our price tag says it’s under $100, it qualifies for no state sales tax!
If you’re shopping on-line, we’re offering FREE shipping across our entire website this weekend. No code necessary! (But the offer does exclude oversized items like bikes and boats.)
On the subject of school gear like backpacks, we understand that very few of our backpacks meet the under-$50-threshold the state requires for the tax holiday. However, we would like to point out that we’re fairly sure most of those under-$50 backpacks you’ll find somewhere else also won’t come with a lifetime guarantee.Â
Runners gather under the Alpine Shop arch for the beginning of the 2019 Trail Run Series at Castlewood State Park on Thursday, August 1.
BALLWIN, MO – Back in 2010, Alpine Shop hosted the inaugural race of the Trail Run Series with a grand total of 33 participants. On Thursday, August 1, 2019, we began our 10th season with a capacity crowd of nearly 250 at the starting line. Along the way, we’ve continued to try to build this series into the best combination of physical activity, social night and a great chance to win some impressive prizes, in the St. Louis area.
Jon-Paul LaVenture takes on the crossing of Kiefer Creek in Race 1 of the 2019 Trail Run Series.
Jon-Paul LaVenture (37, Ballwin) conquered the approximately 4-mile course in a time of 25:07.9, beating second-place runner Andy Rains (26, Ballwin, 26:10.6) to the finish line by more than a minute. Caleb Smith (31, St. Louis) crossed the finish line just 18 seconds later to round out the top three, overall.
On the women’s side, Mandy Wright (Kirkwood, 42) captured a rare feat, winning two Off-Road Racing League Events in less than a week. With the rescheduled Meramec Marathon Paddle Race running this past Sunday, Wright was the top women’s finisher in the Marathon Stand-Up Paddleboard division. Five days later, she took the top spot in the women’s race with a time of 34:22.1. She was followed by Emily Haarmann (29, O’Fallon, 34:34.1) just 12 seconds later and Annemarie Rains (27, Ballwin, 34:58.6) just under 40 seconds after that.
Women’s winner Mandy Wright (left) at the creek crossing with third place finisher Annemarie Rains (right).
For the purposes of the Trail Run Series, our Masters Division starts at age 50. This week, Chris Martel (53, Francis Park) continued his dominance over his competition for the past three years with a final time of 28:44.9, good enough for 8th overall and first in Men’s Masters. Chasing him to the line were Ryan Yoch (56, O’Fallon, IL, 31:01.8) and Eric Buckley (56, St. Louis, 31:22.6). Martel and Buckley finished 1-2 in each race in 2018 and Martel has now won the last nine races in his division, going back to the 2017 season. On the women’s side, Kate Dewey (51, Chesterfield) took home her first win in a Trail Run Series race, with Sherri Schultz (50, Chesterfield, 38:25.3) and Julie Dobslaw (51, University City, 40:11.6) taking second and third, respectively.
Following the race, participants helped themselves to a selection of Urban Chestnut Brewing Company beers along with some barbecue and snacks. Lucky winners also took home prizes from Hoka One One footwear, Native Sunglasses and Smith Optics.
Race 2 of the 2019 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series will take place next Thursday night, August 8 at 6:15 pm. We hope you can join us!
