Are you brothers?

It is a common question Mark and his best friend, Aaron, get asked when they're together. In high school they eventually just started saying 'yes' to the question.This past weekend Aaron had to come to Salt Lake for work (he and his wife Carole are living in San Diego) and we got to spend some time with him. Never have I heard Mark laugh harder or longer than when he's with Aaron. They are happiest when with each other, uh, well, of course not happier than when they're with their lovely wives.

They went snowboarding about 5 times, one of which was until about 1am in the moonlight, had a sleepover, played the guitar, went to Cafe Rio, talked about bodily functions and rank smelling snowboard gear, and had such a good time.Thanks for letting us spend time with you while you were here Aaron, come again soon (and bring Elorac).

Virtual Pumpkin Carving

Because I know you're checking this while bored at work....go here

Dawn Patrol

Since Ali was already getting up at 5:45 am to go yoga, I decided that I was going to be productive too and go shred the gnar. So I got ready and headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon and into the windy abyss. I arrived at the base of the Collins lift around 6:30 and began my ascent. There were only a few other souls brave enough to show themselves so I was excited to be alone and relish in the simplicity of my surroundings. I scrambled up the hill until I had found a secluded peak on which I could perch for a few minutes. Evidently my brain was somewhat functional when I woke up because I remembered to bring along my Nikon camera. The sunrise was incredibly picturesque and was one of those things you could sit back and watch for hours. I tried to make the most of it and snapped a few shots before I strapped in. Plugging in some "Sweet Beats" (a CD mix comprised of mostly Enya) I started making my way down. Although it was starting to warm up, I made turn after turn in the soft, white goodness until my leg started to burn. When I got to my car I pulled out my phone: 8:15 - just enough time to get to work.

Here are some of the images from that day and from the day before. Enjoy and get out there and shred the gnar! (our blog header photo is also from that morning)

Great people talk about ideas.
Average people talk about things.
Small people talk about other people.

Love Your Job

I work for Backcountry.com. In case you've never heard of it, check it out now!
As of Thursday, I will have worked there for 3 years! (That's big for me-I've never been at one job for that long). Backcountry.com also owns and operates Dogfunk.com, Tramdock.com, SteepandCheap.com, WhiskeyMilitia.com, and GearEngine.com

Why I love my job:
-I use the product I sell, making my job so much easier and fun.
-I get to work with the best people, including my sister Liz, who have become my friends.
-I get incredible gear discounts, and free gear!
-The company is growing exponetially
-Opportunity to advance is very probable. I became a Phone Supervisor on 9/10/07 and was offered the Phone Manager position yesterday. (I said no, if you want to know more you can ask me).
-The CEO and President are personable and very involved. Although we are owned by Liberty Media, you would never know anything had changed from day one when they started the company in 1996.
-The company party held every October is the best! It's called the Adventure Contest Party. Basically-the more activities you do outside, the more points you can earn. The more points you have, the better your chances are of winning one of the "big prizes".

The party was last Saturday at The Depot downtown. Everyone goes away with something (this year everyone got an Ogio bag, a pair of Skullcandy headphones for themselves and a pair for their guest, a North Face hat for themselves and one for their guest).

This is my fourth party and I finally won a "big prize"! I was one of the latter ones to get picked so there weren't as many options (like the 5 day trip to Jackson Hole), but I did pick up a FREE Thule rack set up, wooohooo! We also walked away with a brand new complete Zoo York skate deck, Mark was very happy.

Before working at Backcountry I don't think I ever realized I could love a job or a company that I work for, but now I do.

Outback in the House

So we finally caved and got what Ali has been desperately longing for since high school: a subaru.
This one happened to be an LL Bean edition (whoo super fancy, I know) and is maroon like this cool picture. Now that we have one, I'm sure trips up Mt Everest and the outback of Australia will certainly become the norm just like in all those commercials. So if any of you feel daring and dashing and want a sweet lift, give us a call