Alpine Shop Blog – News and Events
Tonight, we open the tent for Alpine Shop’s 18th Annual Winter Swap at 7 pm. One of the best parts of this day is watching the line of excited people grow around the side of the building. Here’s some time-lapse footage from last year’s Winter Swap to give you an idea of what we’re talking about.
Enjoy! (And we’ll see you tonight. What time are you getting here?)
Alpine Shop’s 18th Annual Winter Swap Tent continues to fill up with our customers’ used skis, snowboards, bikes, boats, camping gear and clothing. You have one more day – until 4 pm on Friday, October 21 to get your own gear checked-in for this event. You can find more information on the Swap here. And for our Columbia customers, Swap is going on there, as well!
Don’t forget, while the tent opens at 7 pm tomorrow night for used gear sales and clearance items, Alpine Shop’s new gear sales will start at all three Alpine Shop locations first thing in the morning. Want to see what’s on sale? Take a peek at our new gear sales here.
While everyone breathlessly awaits 7 pm tomorrow to enter the tent and find this year’s best deals, here’s one more sneak preview at what we have inside.
Most of the time during Swap week, we can’t give you any sort of real peek at the secret holdings of the Swap Tent until Thursday or so. That’s because we haven’t started accepting used gear from our customers until Wednesday morning. This year, however, two things have really changed all of that for us and for you: First of all, we opened up the check-in process on Monday, and secondly, we’re accepting both our traditional winter gear AND our traditional spring gear for the first time ever at the same Swap.
And that means, that this Tent Preview: Wednesday Edition actually can give you a pretty good idea of just how big the 2011 Winter Swap will be.
Just a reminder, you need to check-in your used gear (if you’re interested in selling) by 4 pm on Friday, Oct. 21! Don’t miss out.
Friday night, the tent opens at 7 pm. Find more information here, including admission costs.
Now that St Louis is officially in the grips of World Series madness, you have to get ready to cheer on the Cardinals in some pretty chilly weather conditions. Never fear—Alpine Shop has red jackets in stock just for this purpose! (OK, maybe not just for this purpose, but it works anyways.)
So, take your pick from some of these awesome Cardinal color cover-ups so you can stay warm and cozy while you’re waving your rally squirrel towels in downtown St Louis or wherever you cheer the Cardinals from.
And most importantly, bring home a win!
For 17 years, Alpine Shop has always had two distinct Swap Celebrations: a Spring Swap dedicated to bikes, boats, camping gear and all warm-weather pursuits, and the Winter Swap devoted to all things done outside in the cold including skiing, snowboarding and playing in the snow. So for the 18th year, of course, we threw all of that out the window.
Bring all of that stuff in this time. If the gear meets our standards, we’ll sell it out of the Swap tent and put some cash or store credit in your pocket. (Or if you’re at our Columbia location Swap, we’ll do the same thing without the tent!)
As of Monday, October 17 at 10 am, Alpine Shop Kirkwood and Columbia are ready to accept your used items into the Swap. Bring them in early to avoid the line. If you prefer to leave things until the last minute, please note that ALL used gear registration needs to be finished by 5 pm on Friday, Oct. 21. More than likely, this means you need to be in line at 4 pm at the latest to check-in your gear. As we continue to improve the Swap to make sure our lines don’t stretch back for hours on Friday night, that same technology has forced us to make some changes in how we do some things. Check-in is one of those things.
We’ll still open the tent at 7 pm on Friday night. We’ll still have people tailgating for the tent opening hours before then. You’ll still find the tent filled with great prices on used and clearance items. (Or, you’ll still see the money coming in from the items you’re selling!)
You will find a few changes inside our stores, however. All of our new-gear sales will begin when we open our doors first thing in the morning in Kirkwood, Chesterfield and Columbia (or on-line at alpineshop.com). If you’re just interested in new gear deals, you no longer have to wait until the 7 pm starting time anymore. Also, we’ll have Early Bird and Night Owl deals on new gear on both Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22-23 and Sat. and Sun., Oct. 29-30. You can find those limited time specials on page 3 of our on-line new-gear sale catalog here.
Used gear sales are open in Kirkwood and Columbia on Friday, Oct. 21 from 7 pm–11 pm; Sat., Oct. 22 from 9 am—9 pm and Sun., Oct. 23 from 11 am—6 pm.
See you soon!
Mountain Khakis, a staff favorite for their comfortable, great-looking pants, is offering a special deal for their MountainTops. All you have to do is donate a new or gently used shirt at Alpine Shop, and you’ll receive $20 off any MK Original MountainTop. Donate two shirts, take $20 off two MK Original MountainTops. Donate three shirts, well, you get the idea.
Plus, if you post a picture of yourself donating a shirt on Mountain Khakis’ facebook page, you’ll be entered to win FREE MK apparel. Visit their facebook page for more details.
All donations will be given to the St. Patrick Center in St. Louis.
Alpine Shop certified pedorthist and senior bootfitter Angie Bono shows how Alpine Shop custom fits the heel of a boot for one of its customers.
Using a sequence of heat, pressure and cold, Alpine Shop bootfitters can remold the shape of your boots to perfectly fit your heel and ankle.
Alpine Shop can also use different techniques to help you deal with problems like bunions, hammer toes, plantar fasciitis, tarsal tunnel and leg length discrepancies.
You can learn more from all of Alpine Shop’s boot fitters by stopping in any one of our locations in Missouri. You can also visit http://blog-alpineshop.com for continuing instructional videos.
Alpine Shop’s head bootfitter and Certified Pedorthist, Angie Bono, explains the main differences between a “Good” quality hiking boot and a “Bad” boot. Beware—Looks can be deceiving!
Back in the early 1900’s mountaineering and backpacking boots were built on steel shank. This was great for sturdiness and for protecting your feet from rocks and turned ankles. However, it was also heavy and unyielding—not quite the solution we are looking for today. With current technologies, the top quality hiking boots today are based on a nylon shank that runs the length of the boot from the toes to the heel. This stiff nylon helps to protect the hiker’s foot and ankles while also helping to keep weight down and comfort up.
All of Alpine Shop’s hiking boots will contain this feature. However, if you visit some other store that claims to sell hiking boots, watch out for cheap imitations that may put your body at significant risk. Once Angie shows you what’s inside two boots that look almost exactly the same on the outside, you’ll know where to look for your next boots—Alpine Shop!
Enjoy the video!
Alpine Shop’s head bootfitter and Certified Pedorthist, Angie Bono, spends a few minutes on this video going over some easy and effective lacing techniques to help your shoes or your hiking boots fit better.
For problems with your heel slipping in your boot or shoe, the “heel lock” technique helps lock your heel into the back of your footwear. This prevents your foot from moving and reduces the chance of a blister forming on the back of your heel.
If you have problems with too much pressure on sensitive parts of your foot, Angie shows you how to use the “box lace” technique to simply go around those sensitive parts while keeping your footwear as snug as it needs to be everywhere else.
Finally, Angie demonstrates how the “surgeon’s knot” can be used to custom tighten the lower section of a boot for new boot wearers (and another great option to help with heel slippage).
We hope you enjoy the video. We apologize for the focus coming in and out on the boot. We’ll get it fixed before our next video later this week!
There are over 110,000 miles of streams, both large and small, that need our attention and protection in Missouri. The Stream Team program brings together groups of concerned individuals to work on stream improvement projects, water quality monitoring, and serve as the eyes of the agencies that protect our watersheds. Alpine Shop is proud to have worked with Stream Team in the past, and we just found out about a new program that will help others across Missouri support them even more.
Now you can show your support for our wonderful waterways by ordering your Stream Team License Plate. In order for the plate to be produced a total of 200 people must pre-order the plate. These plates are personalized with your selection of letters and numbers. By purchasing these plates you will not only show everyone that you are protecting our crucial watersheds, but you will help fund this great program.
We hope that you will take this important step in helping keep Missouri’s streams clean and safe.
Here is how to order your Stream Team license plate:
1. Fill out Form 1716 .
2. Write a check to Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coaltion for $40.00 for 1 year or $65.00 for 2 years (this covers both the donation and specialty plate fees).
3. Mail Form 1716 along with your check to:
MSTWC
P. O. BOX 2132
OZARK, MO 65721
4. A voucher will be mailed to you after 200 plates have been pre-sold.
5. Take your voucher to your nearest Missouri Department of Revenue License Bureau to complete the purchase of your Stream Team license plate.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note this is a separate process than renewing your license plate at the Missouri Department of Revenue, and you will still be required to pay your registration fees in addition to the donation and specialty plate fees you send to MSTWC as outlined above. If you have just renewed, your renewal registration payment will be pro-rated when you receive your personalized specialty plates. Your pre-collected payment to MSTWC includes either a $25.00 for one year or $50.00 for two years donation to MSTWC, plus an annual $15.00 specialty plate fee to the Department of Revenue. You cannot pay the annual fee directly to Department of Revenue for this first-time purchase. We must pre-sell 200 plates before they go into production. We will send the MSTWC donation voucher to you after the 200 plates have been pre-sold. Only after you receive your voucher can you complete your plate transaction at your local licensing office.