Alpine Shop Wins Two 2022 A-List Awards

St. Louis Magazine announced their 2022 A-List Readers’ Choice Awards on Wednesday, June 15, and Alpine Shop took home multiple awards for the fourth straight year.

Alpine Shop won awards for Best Outdoor Outfitters, and Best Activewear, beating out brands like REI, Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Lululemon.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Alpine Shop has won Best Outdoor Outfitters, and the third time in four years that the store won Best Activewear. Overall, these awards represent the 11th and 12th A-List wins for Alpine Shop since 2011.

As we head into our 50th Anniversary year, we’re proud to continue our efforts to set the standard for outdoor retailers across the Midwest.

The St. Louis Magzine A-List Readers’ Choice Awards are an annual celebration of the region’s finest, as voted on by readers. With more than 75,000 nominations and 550,000 votes, the results are based 100 percent on the choices of the magazine’s readers. The A-List edition of St. Louis Magazine hits newsstands late-June through July, or you can use the link at the top of the story to read through now.

Alpine Shop Kicks Off 2022 with a Fresh Batch of Awards

The 2022 Terrain Magazine Readers Choice Awards were released earlier this month and Alpine Shop had its best year ever in the awards with three wins and three finalist awards.

Here’s the breakdown:
Best Outdoor Store – Hall of Fame
Best Gravel Biking Event
Tour of Hermann Gravel Challenge
Best Outdoor Store Employee – Perry Whitaker
Finalist – Best Paddling EventMeramec Marathon
Finalist – Best Multi-sport EventCastlewood 8-Hour Adventure Race
Finalist – Best Paddling Operator – Alpine Shop

If you’re keeping score at home, that means since these awards began in 2018, Alpine Shop has brought home nine wins and been a finalist for nine more!

Here’s a link to see all the award winners for 2022: https://terrain-mag.com/terrain-magazine-readers-choice-awards-2022/

And if you’re interested in joining us for any of the events listed above, click on the event name or visit offroadracingleague.com for more information!

The North Face Customer Appreciation Weekend

Join us this Saturday, December 11 through Sunday, Dec. 12, at all Alpine Shop and The Pathfinder locations as we celebrate The North Face Customer Appreciation Weekend. All stores will have snacks and/or refreshments available for all customers to take home with them, compliments of The North Face.

Love all things The North Face? (And really, who doesn’t?) You’ll want to be in the store on this day. We’ll have TNF branded gifts with any purchase from The North Face. Offer good while supplies last.

Our Kirkwood location is also pleased to welcome our local TNF vendor rep (and former Alpine Shop manager) Peter Carleton, who will join us on Saturday.

See you this Saturday and Sunday at Alpine Shop and The Pathfinder for The North Face Customer Appreciation Weekend!

We Honor Our Veterans – Today and Every Day

On this Veterans Day, we honor the brave men and women who have risked their lives to protect our freedoms.

As a retailer owned by a veteran, Alpine Shop is keenly aware of the significance of November 11. We’re also aware that the sacrifices that these men and women have given so that we may have our freedoms deserve to be honored every day, not just once a year. To those of you who have served, we say “Thank You.” Thank you for your service and thank you for continuing to serve your country. 

On this day, and every day throughout the year, we invite all military personnel – current & retired – to take 10% off their purchase* inside our stores.

Our sincere thanks for your selfless service.

*Please note, this discount is not currently available on-line at www.alpineshop.com. Proof of service such as a military ID is required, however we will allow dressing in uniform as a form of identification. Discharge papers, VA cards and veteran organization membership cards also can be used to prove your service.

Friends & Family Weekend Is November 12-14

It’s that Time of Year Again: Friends & Family Time!

This up-coming weekend, we invite you back into our stores and on to our website for our Winter Friends & Family Weekend at all Alpine Shop locations, at our Manhattan, Kansas, store—The Pathfinder–and on-line at www.alpineshop.com!

Yep, you read that correctly – take 20% off the full, retail price on almost everything in our stores including all apparel, outerwear and footwear. We’re even offering the same deal throughout our camping department, as well. So, tents and sleeping bags? Yep! Looking for some new goggles? Those, too! Bike gloves? You get the picture. Certain exclusions apply. See below.**

Yes, you also read that correctly… You can save 10% off the retail price on nearly every bike or boat, ski or snowboard, and snowsport boots! Stock levels are extremely limited on bikes, boats, and snowsport hardgoods. Please shop early to get the best selection.

We invite you to share this event with your own friends and family! The more, the merrier!

Can’t, or don’t want, to make it to the store? Shop on-line at alpineshop.com using the discount code: AlpineFamily

**Note: 2021 Winter Friends & Family Weekend offers valid November 12-14, 2021 ONLY at Alpine Shop locations and The Pathfinder (Manhattan, Kan.), or on-line at www.alpineshop.com. Discount may not be combined with any other coupons or offers. Excludes all gear from Jackson Kayak, Kuat, Specialized, Thule, Yakima & Yeti brands. It also excludes all previously discounted merchandise, previous purchases, gift cards, Alpine Shop clinics and any boat or ski package deals or service work. Sale price limited to in-stock items only.

Donate a Coat, Take $25 Off Your Next Apparel Purchase

Since we held our first coat drive back in 2006, Alpine Shop customers have donated over 18,000 coats to help keep our communities warm. This year, we’re asking for your help, once again, in bringing in at least one thousand more as Alpine Shop and The Pathfinder stores kick off their 16th annual One Warm Coat Drive on Monday, November 1, 2021 at all Alpine Shop locations in Missouri and at The Pathfinder in Manhattan, Kansas.

How It Works

From Monday, November 1 through Thursday, November 11, we’ll accept clean, gently-used coats, jackets and sweaters at each and every Alpine Shop location.

• Just for bringing in a garment–any coat, jacket or sweater–we’ll give you a $25 off coupon for your next full-price apparel purchase of $125 or more at any Alpine Shop or The Pathfinder store. (Some exclusions apply. See a sales associate for details.)

• Plus, we’re also giving away four prize packages – each including a $100 Alpine Shop Gift Card and a Thermoball Eco Jacket from The North Face – one from each of our stores. For each and every coat or sweater you donate, you get one entry into that drawing. Here’s the deal, though… we only draw the prize packages when we reach our goal of 1000 total coats donated across all of our stores. And each Alpine Shop location must collect at least 100 coats to be eligible to give away a gift card. So, help your local Alpine Shop out!

NOTE: Alpine Shop will only give away one coupon to each customer during the coat drive no matter how many different coats you donate. However, each item donated will still earn one entry into the gift card drawing.

How to Donate

Alpine Shop has made donating simple. Just bring your clean, gently used coats, jackets and sweaters to any Alpine Shop or The Pathfinder location. Bring your coats inside the store and check them in with one of the store’s outfitters to make sure you receive your coupon and get entered into the drawing. Then, Alpine Shop, The Pathfinder and One Warm Coat take care of the rest.

Donated coats will be split among organizations in the greater St. Louis are, including: Webster-Rock Hill Ministries and the St. Patrick Center. In Columbia, all coats will go to the Rainbow House. At The Pathfinder in Manhattan, Kan., coats will be donated to Common Table, The Manhattan Emergency Shelter and FIT Closet and Clothing Exchange.

Last year, we managed to beat our goal once again. We hope you can help us do the same in 2021!

About One Warm Coat

One Warm Coat is a national non-profit organization that supports and encourages coat drives. It helps individuals, groups, companies and organizations across the country collect coats and deliver them to local agencies that distribute the coats free to people in need. More than one million coats have been provided to those in need at no cost since its inception in 1992.

About Alpine Shop

What began in 1973 as a small climbing shop in Webster Groves, Missouri, now serves almost every type of outdoor enthusiast from backpackers, hikers, campers, paddlers, and cyclists, to snowboarders, skiers and adventure racers. With four family-owned locations across Missouri and Kansas, Alpine Shop was named the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance National Retailer of the Year in 2019.

After nearly 50 years in business, it is Alpine Shop’s vision to see Generations Transformed by Discovery Outdoors.

Give a Little. Save Big. Glennon Card Discount Days are October 14-24, 2021

Back in 2011, Alpine Shop was one of the first retailers to sign on to assist SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital with their new “Glennon Card” promotion. Little did we know then just how big this would promotion grow!

When you purchase a Glennon Card – either at Alpine Shop, on on-line at www.glennoncard.org, 100% of your money benefits the kids cared for by SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. Plus, the Glennon Card also provides you with significant discounts at over 270 retailers, restaurants and salons on-line and in the area (including Alpine Shop!) through Sunday, October 24. With unlimited use for 10 days, it’s easy to recoup the cost of the card. Best of all, 100% of card sales benefit the kids.

Here’s how it works: You can purchase a Glennon Card either in any Alpine Shop location or on-line here for $60 and use it all participating merchants. With your card, you’ll receive a 20% discount on nearly everything in our stores* with the main exception being a 10% discount on full-priced bikes, boats or snowsport hardgoods.

Alpine Shop is proud to have been one of the top Local Merchants for Glennon Card sales over the past five years. Please come in and purchase your Card anytime between now and Sunday, Oct. 24, and be sure to select Alpine Shop as how you heard about the Glennon Card if you purchase a digital card through the on-line checkout here.

2021 GLENNON CARD RULES AND EXCLUSIONS:
Card sharing is strictly prohibited. Since the Glennon Card is a fundraising event to help the sick and injured children cared for at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon, we encourage shoppers to buy their own Glennon Card. Participating retailers will not accept cards unless purchaser has been verified with a valid photo ID.

*20% off promotion applies to the full retail price on in-store apparel, footwear and camping gear only and is not eligible to be combined with other promotions or offers, except for clearance goods (marked with $_.97 pricing) which will be discounted from the lowest-marked price.Hardgoods such as bikes, boats and ski & snowsport hardgoods receive a 10% off discount. Used items for sale in Alpine Shop’s Winter Swap are not eligible for any discount. Select brands and items are excluded. Please see an Alpine Shop outfitter for details.

If you would like to shop on-line with us, please access our site through this link here. You will need the passcode that is either on the second page of the paper Glennon Card or from the information you received through your digital card.

2021 Tax Free Weekend

Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, 2021 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. As long as our price tag says it’s under $100, it qualifies for no state sales tax!

If you’re shopping on-line from outside Missouri, you already won’t have to pay any sales tax. If you’re inside Missouri state lines, the same qualifications are in effect for you as if you stepped inside one of our stores.

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. 

Check out this story on our marketing director’s son’s backpack that lasted not only his kindergarten school year, but all of grade school and high school, too.

Like we’ve said: Why buy them gear that’s built to barely survive one school year when you can outfit them in gear meant to last an entire school career?

Official Paddle Store & Official Paddling Experts of the MR340

On Tuesday, July 20, 534 boats holding more than 800 participants will leave Kaw Point Park in Kansas City, Kan., for the 2021 Missouri American Water MR340, the world’s longest non-stop river race.

Paddlers will have just 85 hours to navigate 340 miles across the state of Missouri, nearly all on the Missouri River, from Kansas City to St. Charles. Chances are at least a third of those participants won’t make that deadline.

Not only is Alpine Shop the Official Paddle Shop of the race, but we are also proud to have a number of employees participating in the event.

We asked a few of those paddlers (and ground crew) to give us some insight into why they compete in the MR340 and what they’d recommend you do if you decide to try it yourself one year.

Jarrid Snyder:

1. What has drawn you to this event? A: The paddling community. Especially within the shop. The support is incredible, and everyone wants to see you finish. 
2. Have you participated before? A: I started the race last year and didn’t make the finish. Ready for the haul to the boathouse this year.
3. What are your goals for this year? A: My goal is to make it to my best friends wedding. The rehearsal dinner is Thursday night, so 60 hours or bust! You could say this is an unfortunate scheduling mistake on my part.
4. What kind of boat are you using? A: I’m paddling a boat I’ve spent less than 2.5 hours in. Some surprises led me to a teammate a couple weeks ago and I just bought a 40 year old Wenonah Jenson Kevlar Canoe. 
5. What kind of paddle are you using? A:  My trusty Wenonah Black Lite Elbow and when I’m feeling like churning out some quick miles, an Aquabound Whiskey Straight Shaft double blade.
6. Paddling with Teammates?  Yes! Eric Evans from the shop. Last minute change from a solo canoe.
7. What tips and tricks would you suggest for first time participants? A: Don’t think of this as a race to St. Charles. Break it into smaller pieces. Your brain is powerful and can psych you out so just think of what needs to happen in the moment and you’ll get there!

Jarrid Snyder
Alpine Shop Program Director

Teri Rudelic:

1. What has drawn you to this event? A: The opportunity for an affordable adventure. 
2. Have you participated before? A: This will be my 4th time. 
3. What are your goals for this year? A:  My goal is to enjoy my time on the River and finish Thursday night. 
4. What kind of boat are you using? A: 18 1/2” Wenonah fiberglass Jensen
5. What kind of paddle are you using? A:  52” bent shaft Bending Branches wood paddle
6. Paddling with Teammates?  I am paddling with the same girl I’ve paddled with the last three times. 
7. What tips and tricks would you suggest for first time participants? A: Just don’t quit. Everyday you’re a little closer to the end and it’s a little easier mentally. 

Teri Rudelic
Alpine Shop Facilities Manager

Eric Evans:

1. What has drawn you to this event? A: The challenge to finish such an epic race and the commrodary of the competitors, volunteers, and the ground crews.  It's the longest continuous river race in the world!
2. Have you participated before? A: Yes.  Twice.  And I'll keep competing until my body says "NOOOOOO, don't do it again!".
3. What are your goals for this year? A:  To get Jarrid to his buddy's wedding on time!
4. What kind of boat are you using? A: 1981 Wenonah Jensen
5. What kind of paddle are you using? A: Black Pearl II canoe paddle and Werner Cyprus belmont shaft kayak paddle
6. Paddling with Teammates?  Yes. Tandem canoe
7. What tips and tricks would you suggest for first time participants? A: Ask lots and lots of questions.  Set realistic goals.  Training runs from Jefferson City and other ramps/checkpoints to St. Charles.  It's good to be familiar with the second half of the race when you will be the most exhausted. Familiar landmarks can be morale boosters.

Eric Evans
Alpine Shop Kirkwood Assistant Store Manager

Emily Woll:

1. What has drawn you to this event? A: I first did this race in 2017 after making a new year's resolution to "really throw myself at life and try new things" then 3 days later being asked to join the MR340 in a team boat. The second year I did the race to prove to myself that I could (Year one I was DNF) and to get back with the great commoradary of paddlers.
2. Have you participated before? A: Yes I raced in 2017 and DNF (did not finish, pulling out at Waverly) and 2018 tandem 
3. What are your goals for this year? A: This year I am not racing, but plan to do solo women's in 2022, with an endtime under 70 hours.
4. What kind of boat are you using? A: Most likely a Wilderness System Tsunami 145
5. What kind of paddle are you using? A: Werner Camano 220 small bent shaft... possibly a Greenlander style paddle
6. Paddling with Teammates? A: Nope, solo. But maybe traveling in a "pod" with fellow racers.
7. What tips and tricks would you suggest for first time participants? A: Tip 1: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! The two weeks leading up to the race, slowly increase your daily water intake to help your body get comfortable with the amount of water it will be filtering during the race. Tip 2: Real foods and fruits during the race, a lot of protein packed bars can be rough digestion during the race. Tip 3: Ladies, figure out how to pee in a boat without capsizing (or pulling over) well in advance of the race. Tip 4: Know your limits and be honest with your body.

Emily Woll
Alpine Shop Columbia Assistant Manager
-Working as ground crew in 2021 for one of Alpine Shop's teams

Alpine Shop Wins Three 2021 A-List Awards

St. Louis Magazine announced their A-List Readers’ Choice Awards on Monday, June 14 and for the second time in three years, St. Louis-based Alpine Shop has taken home three awards.

Alpine Shop won awards for Best Outdoor Outfitters, Best Sporting Goods, and Best Activewear, beating out brands like REI, Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lululemon and Big River Running.

This is the third consecutive year that Alpine Shop has won Best Outdoor Outfitters, and the second consecutive year for Best Sporting Goods. It’s also the second time in three years that the store won Best Activewear.