“Our commitment lies in educating and inspiring passion for the outdoors and outdoor activity in all the company does.”

“The first National Camping Month became a nationwide grassroots initiative, with more than 50,000 individuals showing interest in outdoor education and camping,” said Steve Rendle, President of The North Face and VF Corporation’s Outdoor Americas Coalition. “The response from families and individuals reinforced the necessity of creating outdoor programs that are inviting and accessible to people of all abilities and walks of life.”

Building upon the great success of PlanetExplore.com, an online community to find local outdoor activities, and paralleling the Obama Administration’s Great Outdoors Month, The North Face will be holding free educational events, community activities and gear giveaways to inspire and encourage individuals, their families and friends to embrace the outdoors throughout the month of June.

According to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2009 Special Report on Camping and 2010 Special Report on Youth, camping participation has increased almost 10 percent in the past two years, with friends and parents being the most influential in introducing camping as an outdoor activity. Nearly 60 percent of American youth ages 6 to 24 participate in outdoor recreation, with participation declining each year.

“The North Face sends expeditions to the far reaches of the earth, but the goal of National Camping Month is to encourage families and individuals to get outside wherever they find themselves – whether it be their backyard, a state campground, a multi-day adventure or one night of sleeping under the stars,” said Rendle. “Our commitment lies in educating and inspiring passion for the outdoors and outdoor activity in all the company does.”

OIA studies have found outdoor participation declines with age. Over the past three years the participation rate of youth ages 6 to 12 fell almost 20 percent for girls and 10 percent for boys. The OIA states this potential trend could negatively impact the future of conservation efforts that rely on individuals with a strong connection to and an understanding of natural systems and recreational landscapes.

The North Face retail stores will be offering a series of free clinics on topics such as how to select appropriate camping gear, pack a backpack, pitch a tent, make campfire meals and where to camp locally. The stores will also celebrate National Trails Day on the weekend of June 5 in partnership with the American Hiking Society.

In addition, The North Face, alongside The Outdoor Foundation, Backpacker magazine, and other industry leaders, will host the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival on June 19 and 20. The event will bring together tens of thousands of festival-goers, including 500 delegates, from across the country to celebrate active outdoor living while providing outdoor activities and advocacy raising awareness about the important role that the outdoors and recreational activities play.

To help consumers get the latest and greatest award winning camping gear, The North Face will be holding gear giveaways via Twitter (twitter.com/thenorthface) once a week during the month of June. For more information about National Camping Month including camping gear picks, and to find The North Face retail store closest to you, visit www.thenorthface.com, where online orders more than $125 receive free shipping.

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Gregory Mountain Products Inc. was sold to Clarus Corp. of Stamford, Conn., for $45 million.

In a companion deal, another outdoor gear maker, Utah’s Black Diamond Equipment, was also sold to Clarus, for $90 million.

According to information provided by Clarus, the Sacramento company sold $27 million worth of backpacks last year.

Clarus’ $45 million payment for Gregory will be half in Clarus common stock and half in an IOU.

It wasn’t immediately clear what will become of Gregory’s 25-employee headquarters in Sacramento. The company moved to Sacramento from Temeculah in 2008 after a management-led buyout.

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Assessed by a panel of doctors of chiropractic, the panel found that The North Face packs offer benefits including:

• Injection molded shoulder straps: creating innovative flex points to alleviate clavicle and pressure point strain;

• Anatomically correct shoulder straps: constructed in a shape specifically suited for males or females;

• Back panels with improved fit: featuring a recessed channel designed to take pressure off thespine and a more comfortable fabrication for load-bearing activities; and

• Updated interior organization: providing ample pockets and dividers for storing and organizing the necessities of school, work and play .

“After careful study and consultation with Scott Bautch, DC, The North Face designers revised specific backpacks and daypacks, making improvements to fit, comfort and usability,” said Scott McGuire, equipment product director for The North Face. “Improvements to features such as shoulder straps, back panels and hipbelts increase both the function and comfort of this collection.”

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Osprey Packs, Inc., a leader in creating top-quality, high-performance, innovative packs to comfortably and efficiently carry gear, today was named to Outside magazine’s third annual “Best Places to Work” list. Osprey was ranked number 12 out of 50 selected companies, and is one of only five companies to be chosen every year of the award. The full list and related story will be published in the May issue of Outside magazine, available on newsstands April 13, 2010.

Outside’s “Best Places to Work” list was compiled with the help of the Outdoor Industry Association (outdoorindustry.org) and Best Companies Group (bestcompaniesgroup.com). The year-long selection process began with an outreach effort that identified a wide range of non-profit and for-profit organizations with at least 15 employees working in the United States. Participating companies were then sent confidential employee-satisfaction surveys and employer-questionnaires to collect information about benefits, compensation, policies, job satisfaction, environmental initiatives, and community outreach programs. All of the results were analyzed by Best Companies Group experts, who selected the 50 companies that strive to enhance their employees’ enjoyment of active endeavors, and environmental and social involvement.

“Having happy, fulfilled employees with company paid time to get outdoors and give back to the community is just as important to us as having stellar products,” said Gareth Martins, Marketing Director of Osprey. “We try very hard to bring work-life balance into the workplace, and we’re honored to get this recognition once again from Outside.”

“These 50 companies come from a vast array of industries but they’re all following the same enlightened path,” said Michael Roberts, Executive Editor of Outside. “They’re successful businesses in a challenging economy precisely because they support a proper work-life balance. They know that benefits like on-site gyms and fitness classes, reimbursements for ski passes and sports racing fees, and support for community service efforts during work hours make their employees happier and thus more productive.”

There were several aspects to Osprey’s positive workplace culture that stood out among all the other applicants. Generous vacation time (three weeks for starting employees), a fitness program that includes paying employees to walk or bike to work and a floating “powder day” in winter are just the tip of the iceberg.

Other notable programs include the Outings Holiday, introduced in 2010, which allows each Osprey team member one paid day to participate in sanctioned Osprey Outings trips. 2009 trips included a three-day White Rim mountain biking trip, a San Juan Mountains backcountry ski hut trip and a single day climb of local thirteener Dolores Peak.

Said Martins, “These trips are great not only for overall team building and camaraderie, but they also serve as opportunities for product testing and provide team members access to the great outdoor opportunities that abound due to Osprey’s southwestern Colorado location.”

Community giving is also a company priority. Osprey’s Volunteer Incentive Program pays each team member eight hours per calendar year for local, state and national volunteer efforts. In 2009 Osprey donated nearly 240 volunteer hours on a wide variety of projects, including Conservation Next’s Boulder Backyard Collective, National Public Lands Day in Mesa Verde National Park, The Access Fund’s Hawkins Preserve Project and the local Carpenter Preserve Open Space project, among others.

On a local level, Osprey donates 5% of all proceeds from bi-annual community Local’s Sale events to select, local non-profit organizations. In 2009, they raised over $3,500 benefiting the Southwest Colorado regional community.

Sam Mix, Outdoor Marketing Manager added, ”In the end, what makes Osprey a great place to work, besides a healthy work/life balance, is the inclusion of every Osprey team member in the process of normal day-to-day business. We have really worked hard to not only create a cohesive, efficient team, but to create a family. Each Osprey team member shares equally in the work and the potential reward with their motivation as the only limitation to what they and Osprey can achieve.”

About Osprey
Independent since 1974 and anchored by the design genius of company founder and owner, Mike Pfotenhauer, Osprey Packs has long set the standard for creating innovative, high quality gear carrying equipment. Their collection includes backpacks, pursuit specific packs, hydration packs, active everyday packs, and a full line of travel packs and bags. Located in Cortez, Colorado at the corner of the rugged San Juan Mountains and on the edge of vast sandstone canyon country, this landscape provides a constant inspiration and a superb testing ground for their products. They also maintain a product development office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ensuring face-to-face relationships and transparency with our suppliers. Every Osprey ever built reflects the company’s commitment to protect the wild places our customers explore while using our products. For more information about Osprey, visit www.ospreypacks.com.

About Outside Magazine
Outside is America’s number-one active-lifestyle magazine, with more than two million readers a month. For 30 years, we’ve been dedicated to covering travel, sports, adventure, health and fitness, as well as the personalities, the environment, and the style and culture of the world Outside. Along with many other accolades, Outside is the only magazine ever to receive three consecutive National Magazine Awards for General Excellence. Please visit us at www.outsideonline.com.

About Best Companies Group
Best Companies Group works with national and local partners around the country to establish and manage “Best Places to Work,” “Best Companies,” and “Best Employers” programs on a national, statewide, and regional basis. Through its thorough workplace assessment, utilizing employer questionnaires and employee-satisfaction surveys, BCG identifies and recognizes companies who have been successful in creating and maintaining workplace excellence.

About Outdoor Industry Association
Founded in 1989, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is the premier trade association for companies in the active outdoor recreation business. OIA provides trade services for over 4000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives and retailers in the outdoor industry. Outdoor Industry Association seeks to ensure a healthy and diverse specialty retail and supply chain based on quality, innovation and service. To this end, OIA works diligently to raise the standards of the industry; increase participation in outdoor recreation to strengthen business markets; provide support services to improve member profitability; represent member interests in the legislative/regulatory process; promote professional training and education; support innovation; and offer cost-saving member benefits.

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2. Announcing Give-Back Grants from Mountain Hardwear and Montrail
3. North Face Sponsoring Second Annual National Camping Month

Gregory Mountain Products this week donated more than 1,600 backpacks to assist with relief efforts in Haiti, following the recent natural disaster in that country. The packs will be distributed to two particularly hard-hit areas of Haiti to help people who were displaced from their homes store and transport food and personal items.

Operation USA, a nonprofit, international relief agency that helps people overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid, will distribute the packs. They were shipped this week from Gregory to Operation USA’s headquarter in Los Angeles. From there, Operation USA will ship them to on-the-ground teams in Haiti.

Neil Frame, Vice President of Procurement and Logistics for Operation USA, said with estimates of more than a million people out of a population of 9 million displaced in Haiti, and with the advent of the rainy season, it’s a big help to be able to distribute backpacks to help people transport personal items and food, as well as hang food off the ground.

Jim BoisD’Enghien, director of sales and marketing for Gregory, said the company learned through the Outdoor Industry Association’s web site of Operation USA’s work to distribute items like tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads to help residents displaced by the disasters.

“It logically occurred to us that there could similarly be many uses for packs – whether for transporting aid supplies or to help people keep track of their belongings,” BoisD’Enghien said. “We’re glad we could play a very small part in the global response to lend a hand.”

Frame said tents and waterproof material that can be used for shelters – even raw material – continue to be critically important with the advent of the rainy season, so Operation USA is seeking out donations on that front. Frame can be reached through Operation USA at (800) 678-7255.
About Gregory Packs

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2007, Gregory Packs has been the longtime leader in expedition, backpacking and day packs. Gregory is world-renowned for setting durability, comfort and performance standard in backpacks. In recent years, Gregory won awards for its pack designs from such diverse media outlets as Backpacker Magazine, Outside Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, Popular Science, Men’s Journal, Consumers Digest and Alpinist Magazine. For more information about Gregory packs, visit www.gregorypacks.com or call 877.477.4292.

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Sister companies Mountain Hardwear, Inc. and Montrail® are pleased to announce the 2010 recipients their respective Gives Back Grant programs. For 2010, the Gives Back Board of Directors, all employees of the two companies, worked to narrow the focus of both Gives Back programs.

Mountain Hardwear Gives Back: Getting youth outdoors and fresh water.
Mountain Hardwear’s primary focus for the first half of the year is Helping to Create the Next Generation of Outdoor Enthusiasts. In the second half of the year, the focus will shift to supporting research about the fresh water crises occurring in mountainous regions of the world. Stay tuned…

For the first half of the year, Mountain Hardwear will once again focus on funding and raising awareness about organizations that provide opportunities for underprivileged youth to attend an outdoor camp. Ten camps across the country where chosen to be part of the program. In addition to receiving funds, the camps benefit from added traffic to their websites driven by Mountain Hardwear’s outreach and social media efforts. For every visitor to the Gives Back landing page and clicks on the Send a Kid to Camp button between now and April 15, 2010, Mountain Hardwear will donate one dollar towards the cost of camp for a youngster who would not normally have that opportunity, up to $40,000 total.

The following programs are part of the 2010 Send a Kid to Camp program:
Big City Mountaineers – Denver, Colorado
City Wild – Denver, Colorado
Girl Ventures – San Francisco, California
Kismet Rock Foundation – North Conway, New Hampshire
Outdoor Outreach – San Diego, California
San Jose Inner City Outings, Sierra Club – San Jose, California
St. Louis Inner City Outings, Sierra Club – St. Louis, Missouri
SOS Outreach – Avon, Colorado
Summer Search – New York, New York
Youth Enrichment Strategies (YES) – Richmond, California
Additional Mountain Hardwear Gives Back grants for 2010 are awarded to the following organizations:

Access Fund
American Alpine Club
American Mountain Guides Association
American Hiking Society
Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies
Conservation Alliance
Leave No Trace
Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition
The Outdoor Foundation

More information about the Mountain Hardwear Gives Back program can be found at http://www.mountainhardwear.com/GivesBack.aspx

Montrail Gives Back: Healthy Lifestyles and Healthy Trails.
Montrail’s primary focus has been narrowed to support trail running as a healthy lifestyle choice. For 2010, the board recognizes a local need for support of community races and school running programs in Montrail’s backyard of the San Francisco Bay Area. Programs supported by Montrail for 2010 include:
Richmond YMCA Bayfront Run
Berkeley Athletic Fund
Richmond/Oakland area middle school running programs
Conservation Alliance
HERA Climb4Life Run

Montrail’s secondary focus on maintaining and preserving healthy trails was supported with a fundraiser at the Winter Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, Utah in January. Montrail sold the Sabino Trail shoe to raise funds and awareness for wilderness designation of the Hardrock 100 Trail in Southern Colorado.

About Mountain Hardwear:
Mountain Hardwear, Inc. makes cutting edge mountaineering and outdoor equipment, apparel and accessories for ultimate performance in extreme conditions. Established in 1993 by a group of outdoor industry veterans, Mountain Hardwear is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company based in Richmond, Calif. Mountain Hardwear distributes its products through specialty outdoor and sporting goods retailers throughout the United States and over 40 countries worldwide. Mountain Hardwear has won numerous product and customer service awards since its inception, reflecting the company’s commitment and passion toward innovation. It’s our relentless drive to create the absolute best that makes us who we are. Mountain Hardwear. PERFORMANCE ELEVATED™. www.mountainhardwear.com
About Montrail:
Established in 1993, Montrail is a premium outdoor footwear brand known for its technical, high performance trail running and hiking footwear for outdoor enthusiasts. Montrail sells footwear to retailers in the United States and in 29 countries worldwide. In 1996, Montrail embarked on a mission to improve the standard for comfort and fit in footwear by creating IntegraFit™, its proprietary fit technology. To learn more about Montrail, visit www.montrail.com.

For Immediate Release

Mountain Hardwear Inc. Public Relations
Paige Boucher

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Born and bred in Canmore, AB, Hjorleifson (pronounced Hyor-leaf-son), 27, is a member of the infamous “Bow Valley Crew” of freeskiers who cut their teeth ripping big Rocky Mountain lines in and around Lake Louise.

His specialty is skiing steep, challenging, rock-studded faces and couloirs in a high-speed, racer-derived style with the odd air thrown in for good measure.

Tom Duguid, Arc’teryx Director of Brand Management, welcomed Eric to its athlete team. “Eric is one of the most dynamic and visually exciting big mountain skiers out there right now. His understanding of how technically-designed equipment and clothing can increase performance in the big mountain arena is aligned with our mission to build the best gear possible,” said Duguid.

Eric’s first assignment “field testing” Arc’teryx gear just wound up at Golden Alpine Holidays, where the film crew from Matchstick Productions (MSP) documented Hjorleifson and fellow pro Mark Abma dropping powdery pillow lines near GAH’s newly-refurbished Vista Lodge. Hjorleifson has appeared in MSP’s Push, Claim, The Hit List and Seven Sunny Days.

“Hoji”’s Alberta roots can be seen in his 4FRNT signature ski that features a top sheet inspired by Lethbridge Pil, the legendary low-cost brew favored by ski bums throughout the West.

Watch for Eric’s athlete’s page coming soon.

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BOULDER, COLO. (For Immediate Release) – In response to the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, Kelty has donated almost 300 tents to help provide temporary shelter for families and individuals left homeless in the quake’s aftermath.

With help from Jenny Dubin (a volunteer who donated countless hours of her own time to help with earthquake relief), Partners in Health (an organization that brings modern medical care to poor communities around the world), and the Clinton Foundation, Kelty was able to donate and send tents to Port-au-Prince and other Haitian communities where they were needed most.

“Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated employees and the strength of Kelty as a brand, we were in a position to lend a helping hand to those affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti,” said Kenny Ballard, president of Kelty. “It’s our hope that this small donation will provide some much needed relief and restore some hope in the people of Haiti.”

Thanks to efforts by the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of Haiti, Kelty’s donated tents have been distributed to parts of the country most in need. Several of these tents have been used to set up a village providing temporary shelter for 750-800 children who lost one or more parents in the quake.

The tragedy is Haiti is far from over and additional help is still needed. For more information on how to get involved, please visit Jenny Dubin’s Partners in Health web page.

KELTY is based in Boulder, Colorado, and uses the natural backdrop of the Rocky Mountains to test, create and continually innovate within their diverse outdoor product families of Apex, Backcountry, Trail, Basecamp and KIDS. Kelty combines the best in new technology with a healthy dose of common sense to create exceptionally made, affordably priced outdoor products. For more information on Kelty, please go to www.kelty.com, or call 800.423.2320.

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Only two of up to 20 people who worked for Cloudveil have been offered jobs after the company was bought by a Connecticut-based firm, the CEO of the outdoor apparel maker’s former parent company said.

Cloudveil Mountain Works, which was owned by Spyder Active Sports, employed between 10 and 20 people and had offices in Jackson and Colorado, said Tom McGann, chief executive officer of Boulder, Colo.-based Spyder. The Jackson Hole office employed “seven or eight” people, McGann said Tuesday.

Spyder in February announced the sale of Cloudveil to Cloudveil Mountain Peak, a company backed by Connecticut investors. Spyder then closed the brand’s Jackson office and released almost all employees.

Wilson resident Ned Hutchinson, who worked as Cloudveil’s national sales manager, is slated to continue with Spyder as that company rolls out the brand’s spring line for summer sales, McGann said. Cloudveil’s Boulder-based general manager, James Samuel, also will work on the spring line.

The other Jackson-based Cloudveil workers were given severance packages, McGann said. McGann would not disclose the overall Jackson payroll.

Jim Reilly, who partnered with Connecticut-based Windsong Brands to buy Cloudveil, said his company will be responsible for the fall line of products as well as future releases. Reilly previously worked as CEO of Cloudveil.

Reilly also announced last week that the Cloudveil retail store on Pearl Avenue would close.

Store employees said the shop would be open through the month.

Earlier this week, Reilly said he would close the store because it was not making money. When asked about the profitability of the retail store, McGann said the operation “didn’t consume cash.”

Cloudveil was founded in 1997 in Jackson by valley residents Brian Cousins and Stephen Sullivan.

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The Richmond-based outdoor equipment company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM).

In his new position, Gaylord will oversee product creation, global sales and marketing of Mountain Hardwear, as well as global sales and marketing of Montrail trail running shoes. The two brands had combined 2009 sales of $110 million.

Prior to Mountain Hardwear, Gaylord was president of 7 For All Mankind, a denim brand owned by VF Corp. Before that, he held various positions within VF Corp., including president of VF Corp.’s outdoor and action sports brands from 2006 to 2008. VF Corp.’s outdoor brand portfolio includes San Leandro-based North Face, which Gaylord first joined in 1993.

At Mountain Hardwear, Gaylord will report to Mick McCormick, executive vice president of global sales and marketing at Columbia Sportswear. He replaces Kirk Richardson, who has served as Mountain Hardwear’s interim president since Nov. 2009.

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