Sometimes I wonder if we take this thing to seriously. I mean, why should we spend our time actually testing the products we sell. Product testing may sounds like fun to some of you out there, but I assure you it isn’t easy. Not to mention the fact that they make us do it on our day off. We have board meetings, power lunches and conference calls during the week just like the rest of you. The only difference is that we have to spend our weekends testing skis or tents or fly rods. It isn’t easy folks. You hardly have any time to yourself. Below you will see Duffy “Face” McGee and former male model Braden Masselink working tirelessly to prepare a raft for a recent product testing mission. Does this look like fun to you?
If this looks like fun to you I am willing to bet that you have never blown up a raft with one of those little pumps. I honestly don’t no why we spend our personal time in such a manor. Except to assure you that the Chaco sandals on our feet actually are the best river sandals out there. Not many people would be willing to sacrifice so much of themselves for the gain of others. It has been said that I don’t know much, but I know that one thing is for certain. We don’t spend our days off blowing up a raft and then putting our lives at risk shooting the Snake River Canyon at 21,000 cubic feet per second because we enjoy it. We do it for the love of the job. Because “My Job……
So rest easy folks with the knowledge that we are here for you. While you are relaxing at the pool with the kids wondering if you really need that new Sage TCR 5 weight fly rod for your pending trip to the Tetons. Just know that we have sacrificed countless hours standing in some beautiful river casting to countless trout all in the name of insuring that it will actually be worth it.
These guys want to remind you that hunting season is a short two months +/- away. Are you ready? These guys recommend that you check this out just in case. You might want one of these as well.
Today’s fishing tip Is slightly less relevant in the summer, but always important. According to local Jackson fishing experts you always want to fish below damns. Thanks to Mike Spector for that pearl. Above you will see former male model Braden Masselink at the oars of the S.S. Minow while Ned Wonson ties one of his secret dam fishing patterns on the end of his line. Clearly Ned is a good angler. Look at all that fishing stuff he is wearing. He must have stopped at Grand Fishing Adventures before he hit the South Fork. Also, only really good anglers have secret below dam patterns that they steal from their friends when there backs are turned. The particular fly in question was stolen from Grand Fishing Adventures Guide Mitch Luedloff. Can you guess what it is?
Today’s bonus fishing tip: Be careful when stealing custom, secret flies from guides. They tend to notice that you are using one of their flies.
I just received an email from an active www.tetonvillagesports.com/blog/ supporter. Her handle is brazenhussy6. Check out her posts. Good stuff and very insightful. Anywho, she is very excited that if finally feels like summer in Jackson Hole Wyoming. In honor of this fact I thought everyone would enjoy a picture of brazenhussy6 and her beau enjoying some summer fun with Granite the wonder dog.
If this picture doesn’t get you excited to go outside and enjoy a summer activity I don’t know what will. The picture really has something for everyone. Beautiful people, waterfalls, dogs, beer, fishing rods, pfds, cowboy hats, visors, sunglasses and if you look close a bag of Lays Wavy potato chips. I’m not even going to get into the contents of the cooler.
So go get outside and do something. If you need some gear go to www.tetonvillagesports.com. There, I can’t do anything more than provide motivation and a place to buy the appropriate stuff.
So I made another attempt today at running past Teton Pines. Prior to my departure and lacing up my trusty Pearl Izumi shoes I thought about what would be my best defense against these animals. I decided on a hat. I flipped on my iPod and headed out the door. Good run as far as my legs were concerned. However, the conclusion concerning the Ravens (a type of Crow) was much less positive. They made at least 5 attempts to ‘hit’ me; all in the form of ‘dive bombs’ (see previous blog entry). My hat proved to be great for scaring them off, however I would have prefered to be carrying a BB gun. My next step is to call the Teton County Sheriff’s office and see if it is legal to fire a gun on the bike path.
Ultimate Conclusion: Do NOT run on the bike path in front of Teton Pines unless you are amply armed. Preferred weapon: 10 gauge magnum shotgun (see above photo).
Todays photo of the day was submitted by Steve Perce, a.k.a. Tele-Steve, of Boulder CO. Pictured is Steve’s KTM motorcycle packed and loaded for bear. Steve and a friend are setting out for a ride along the continental divide. Aptly named the Continental Divide Ride or Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. This route will take them from the Canadian border south back into Wyoming. Hopefully, we will have some additional pictures for you at the end of the journey.
Product testing is moving forward progressively as the team has just finished a thorough session at Busch Gardens – The Old Country – in Williamsburg, Virginia. While the tests primarily focused on the heat, crowded spaces, water and general comfort levels, the clip below turned out to be the finest test of our visit.
Although short, the clip shows a couple of the key elements to the test procedure. The first few seconds shows the benefits of a pair of Chaco sandals versus flip flops as well as the close quarters comfort of the Icebreaker Tech Top versus your standard cotton conterpart. Each row of the test vehicle contains 10 of your closest friends, dangling in mid-air for several seconds before the experiment begins. As the test team was in the first row, the moisture-wicking abilities of our garments were tested due to the 20 subjects located directly above and behind us for the duration of the gravity test.
Next begins the acceleration tests which demonstarted the lack of bunching and clinginess (is that a word) our garments exhibited. It is in the next second that all of the above properties are tested again, as well as the ability to retain our Smith sunglasses by the wonderful Croakies products.
Although the clip does not show it, a fabulous water procedure ended the experiment which again showed us the ability for our merino garments to wick moisture as well as dry quickly.
Today’s tests will be in a lovely swamp area. Stay tuned.
Katie (V.P. of Customer Service and Graphic Design www.tetonvillagesprots.com) just informed me that I am having a five star day and that I “will be on top of my game” and that “slowing me down could be improssible.” I don’t believe in astrology except for the fact that I am a Scorpio and apparently according to astrology I shouldn’t date Geminis. This is a proven fact and I will fight anyone who disagrees! The only other time I believe in astrology is when I have a positive horoscope. I didn’t need anyone to tell me that I was going to mop the tennis court with my opponents tonight, but a little affirmation is always a good thing.
In all seriousness I am a terrible tennis player. I love to play though. I love to participate in any contest that involves funny clothes. I want to sell tennis outfits and gear at Teton Village Sports. Let’s hear it from everyone out there who would purchase tennis gear at www.tetonvillagesports.com. I promise we will be the best online tennis store around.
This morning I confirmed that there are birds attacking people on the bike path by Teton Pines. There was a lady running down the path in front of me this morning and two birds swooped down from a power line and hit her in the head and then flew back to the power line. They didn’t come after me because I am too fast and I smell bad, but I got out of there as soon as I could. I must admit that I am not a member of the Audubon Society and I am not much for “Birding”, but I am pretty sure these winged attackers are not crows as first reported. They looked like a Red Breasted Robin. So please be careful if you are out on the bike path. Nesting birds are not something to mess around with.
I read an article this morning on Yahoo.com (normally I’d provide a link, but I think you can all find Yahoo by now.) saying that flip-flops and flats can be damaging to your feet. I almost hate to post this on the blog. All it will do in the end is give our own resident foot expert Kurt Geister another reason to tell me I shouldn’t wear flip-flops all the time. Actually, for those of you who know Kurt he is probably going to say “Dahhh, I told you so!” I can take a little tough love, but I just love my flip-flops. I start wearing them in the spring as soon as I can make it to the car in the morning without losing a toe to frostbite and I don’t put them in the closet until at least Thanksgiving.
Now that you understand where I am coming from I will get to the meat of this post. Recently, I have been experimenting with my sandal choices. Noticing that I have 6 pairs ( I lost one pair this winter to a hungry dog. “I ain’t mad at yah Colin”) I figured I should do some product testing. So in the interest of better blog posting for you all I have broken out of a sandal mold I had. I actually took my Chacos out of the closet and wore them for something other than fishing or boating. I wore them to office a.k.a. The Worldwide Webquarters and found them to be wonderful. They definitly have more arch support than any of the flip-flops I own and they are very comfortable. More importantly I like having the added support they provide while I am skateboarding around the office or to the store for lunch. You just can’t trust a flip-flop to be there for you when you are working on your ollies.
I will never give up my go aheads, but I am glad I have come up with another option and use for my Chacos. They are just as versatile as they are supposed to be. Fortunately for all of us we can find all kinds of sandals at http://www.tetonvillagesports.com/footwear.html. So go pick up a pair or six and do your own test.
After Squaw I was pretty sore from crashing and had to take a few days off. I wanted to be ready for Kirkwood and be confident with my skiing. This has been a really tough year on me mentally and it has started to downward spiral my confidence. When you start to crash a lot it makes it hard to think about anything in the gate except crashing. Squaw was my 5 […]
I’m back home after a month of hauling 70 lb duffel bags, camera equipment, ski bags, and packs through airports, cities, villages, into the mountains of western Sichuan and back. At the end of it all, between the chaos of modernizing Chinese cities, gnarly jeep rides, packing and repacking of gear, ancient Buddhist temples and [...] […]
Social Chairman