HP3 Challenge - Environmental Urban Race!!

Seattle, WA

Our Earth Day event was truly unique. The City of Seattle approved a grant to fund the HP3 Challenge, which is an environmental urban race, the first of its kind. Participants could participate in a 4-person relay team or a 2-person 'elite' team. The course was 16 miles long and comprised of 4 mile legs. Between each leg participants stopped at city parks and helped Earth Corps volunteers complete tasks to help maintain and create trail systems and also clean/restore park grounds around the Duwamish River system in West Seattle. The Lower Duwamish River is one of the most industrialized waterways in Washington State. It's up to us to help restore this beautiful area!

Runners and bikers started the race and completed tasks like carrying buckets of gravel, buckets of mulch, pushing a wheelbarrow of bark chips up a .25 mile hill and carrying tree saplings to be planted by Earth Corps. volunteers. At the start/finish a company called PlugOut provided four stationary bicycles which can be plugged into a wall socket to convert the effort of the cyclist into wattage that flows back into the power grid.

The HP3 Challenge was organized and run by a TNF Seattle PT Associate, Amanda Zahler! She was responsible for coordinating with volunteers, Seattle Parks & Rec and all the vendors including PlugOut. Amanda did an amazing job leading the event and setting a great example by embodying the TNF brand.

TNF Seattle and TNF UV partnered together as a contributing sponsor at the event. We had a booth set up featuring our environmentally conscious products like the new Venture Jacket and recycled Denali Jacket. Veronica and Kyle from UV helped man the booth alongside Cassie from Seattle. We had a Eco Q & A challenge to win swag and a handed out Bounce Back coupons for a free GTD Hat with $50 purchase at either store location. We also provided gift card awards to the top finishers in each category. The booth was a big hit and drew a lot of attention.

TNF Seattle had two participants in the elite category. Our FT Merchandiser, Amy Hornung, peddled away for 3 hours and created 190 watt hours of electricity which could power a cell phone for 22 days!! Amy wore the Tadasana Tank and is convinced its the most comfortable women's training top TNF has ever made. The bicycles were plugged into the brewery building hosting the event and helped provide some electricity for the event! PlugOut is a local company and they sell their bicycles to gyms to create self-sustainable businesses.
I was the other half of the 'elite' team from Seattle and I ran the 16-ish mile course and completed all the tasks at the different parks. It was very challenging but I really enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many volunteer groups out helping the parks it was very inspiring. The weather was cool, dry and partially sunny and we were very grateful for that! I ran the race in my Doubletrack shoes and they did an excellent job both on pavement and trails throughout the course.

Though the turn-out was lower than expected, the day was well organized and there was a lot of energy from those who did participate. A lot of hard work was accomplished at all the parks that day and TNF helped out in our unique way! We hope to see this event again next year and help increase the overall attendance. Where else could you combine an endurance event with volunteer work that helps out Planet Earth!!?! A local city channel, Channel 21, filmed the entire event for a cable access show called City Stream and here's a link if you'd like to see the show. Fast forward to the 16 minute mark!

Robyn and Team Seattle!!

Mt. Si

If there is a single most popular hike for people who live in or around Seattle it would have to be Mt. Si. Jeremy and I decided to beat the crowds and go while there is still snow in the area. We took a leisurely start and shared the parking lot with only a few other hikers, dogs, and a couple of excited runners. The trail starts off mellow and then steepens until you reach to top. The whole hike is 3100 ft of elevation gain to a meadow at 3900 ft if you don't climb the so called Haystack rock outcrop at the top. Round trip the distance is a total of about 8 miles. We were slowed not by the elevation but by the dense, icey snow that had compressed by other early season hikers. Finally towards the top we got into the powdery snow that, although not nearly deep enough to ski, was great for hiking.

Once at the top we broke out lunch and extra layers. The local grey jays picked Jeremy for their lunch target and got real friendly.

The normally great views of the Cascades and back down into Seattle were totally gone due to fog. It didn't take long before we were getting chilled from sitting around, so back down the trail we went. One of the cool things about hiking at Mt. Si's elevation is that although the parking lot is wet and relatively warm, there is not only snow on the top but it is cold enough to be powdery. We slid most of the way down making for a quick descent.

I tested the men's Alteo 35 pack and was really happy with the whole pack. In general I like much simplier packs. Bells and whistles can break or just get in the way most of the time. The Alteo is the first pack fully loaded with tons of features that I would pack around for day hikes. The breathable back panel made a huge difference right out of the parking lot. I had to throw on a hat to be a little warmer due to air flow by my back! I never had problems with sweat even though I wore a rain shell the whole time. The frame is stout enough that the pack could be made bigger without changing the support at all and still be able to carry a full load. The design of the pockets seem to be most useful when fully loaded. Overall, I liked the pack and even used my experience with it on Mt. Si to recomend the Alteo 50 to a customer just the other day!

Kelly M

TNF Seattle

Muir Snowfield Ski: Mt. Rainier National Park

On Friday I made the annual pilgrimage up to Camp Muir on the southern flank of Mt. Rainier for the fourth time in 2 years. This time was special because I brought my father along for the trip. We left Seattle early but still got delayed at the National Park gate due to avalanche control work on the road from Longmire to Paradise. It may be April in the Pacific Northwest but it still feels like mid winter. Having received nearly 30 inches of cold, low density snow in the last three days, avalanche conditions at Paradise were going to be high in the afternoon hours. We arrived at the parking lot a bit after 9 and were pleasantly surprised to find very light crowds. With cool temperatures and a nice breeze the skin up to Panorama Point went very quickly. at the base of pan face we found ourselves with two options for gaining the Muir Snowfield. Pan face is notorious for solar radiation slab releases due to its southern exposure, so we choose to gain the snowfield via the ridge and some exposed scrambling. Mt. Rainier national park rangers were kind enough to install a fixed line to the upper ridge. This was very helpful as it was incredibly exposed. The trip to Camp Muir above Panorama Point mellows out considerably and becomes a long slog up to 10,100 ft. above sea level. We began the accent and made it to just above 8,000 ft before weather began to make its way onto the mountain. With no terrain markers and numerous objective hazards, the Muir snowfield can be a dangerous place in "whiteout" conditions. This combined with the late hour made it an easy decision to descend. The conditions on the decent were typical of a Muir ski. The extreme elevation change and influences of wind and solar radiation make for a highly variable decent. This time was no different. We skied everything from bullet proof ice to dry powder.

On a side note one benefit of this trip was the ability to scope out the Furher Finger, which I plan to ski in early May. The Finger extends from the upper Wilson glacier to the Nisqually ice fall and then on to the summit of Mt. Rainier. This line is the most direct route to the summit and features an amazing 12,000 ft. ski decent!

Jeff Schomaker

TNF Seattle

Elfin Lakes Ski Tour: Garibaldi Provincial Park BC

With forecasts calling for increasing snow levels and rain in the Cascades, my friend Eric and I decided to head up to the British Columbia coast range to do some exploring in the Garibaldi Provincial Park. Forecast were calling for slightly lower freezing levels and high pressure building throughout the day Saturday with just moderate avalanche danger, so we were optimistic in finding some great touring conditions. Upon reaching the trail head at 3,000 ft. we were greeted with an empty parking lot, wind driven snow and temperatures hovering at the freezing mark. We both smiled at each other knowing that we had made the right decision. The trail head above Squamish, B.C. leads up into a hut system created for back country use in the Elfin Lakes area of the Garibaldi Provincial Park. The trek in was wet, but otherwise uneventful. We cruised the 2500 ft. elevation gain and roughly 7 miles in no time and found ourselves enjoying the heated cabin, resting ourselves for the long day ahead. Although heated the cabin was still cold and the new men's Cats Meow kept me very warm throughout the night.

In the morning we were greeted with blue skies and views of the surrounding coast mountains that we missed on the way in. The vistas were breathtaking as the sun rose over Garibaldi and Diamond head peaks. Our objective for the day was a 5 mile jaunt up Diamond Head peak and then all the way out to the car. Excited to get going we pushed up and over Columnar Gargoyle col and into the Diamond Head region very quickly. The snow from the night before was light and fluffy at 7000 ft and skied incredibly well. All in all it was another incredible trip into the mountains.

Jeff Schomaker

TNF Seattle