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Two days, four canines, 18 humans, three canoes, four paddleboards, and 14 tents. What does that equal? A two-day company retreat filled with adventure! Here’s a diary of our recent Ruff Wear Summer Retreat.
Thursday, July 22
7:50am – Ruff Wear Pack meets at HQ and gets ready for departure. Kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards are loaded and lashed to roofs in a manner that still allows hatchback access to our canine crew.
8:00am – Mavis decides to call shotgun, regardless that new guy Geoff is already sitting there. No matter…Mavis uses Geoff as a seat cushion.
8:30am – The night owls of the Pack beg for a coffee stop. Note: If you order a coffee “plain and black” from McDonalds, you are likely to get an iced Vanilla Latte of sorts.
9:30am – Arrive at Black Butte. Check for enticing scat before letting out the hounds to avoid stinky car companions when traveling to the campsite.
Tripp, Chelsea, and Debbie at Black Butte
9:35am – Dogs reach the summit.
10:30am – Humans reach the summit. One mile of straight vertical. Luckily, the view is incredible!
Group Photo at top of Black Butte
10:45am – Wish we had made human versions of the DoubleBack™ harness so we could be belayed back down. Granola bars make for some quick energy for humans. A Bivy Bowl™ of water works for the dogs.
We had so much fun at last year’s Teva Mountain Games, we decided to do it again! This year was even bigger! That means more to do, more to see, and our favorite…more dogs! We enjoyed getting to know all sorts of four-leggers that came by our booth to try on gear and demo our goods. Our most popular item? The Swamp Cooler™ cooling vest, which helped combat the 90 degree heat!
Besides gear demos and the dog hydration station, Ruff Wear passerbys were eligible to win a $100 gift card raffle, and custom Teva Mountain Games bowls. For information and contests in your area, follow our twitter feed at: http://twitter.com/ruffwearinc
Some of our products are water-resistant, and some are waterproof. Which can beg the question…what’s the difference between the two? To help shed some light on the issue, we turned to Wikipedia, which describes them as one and the same: “Waterproof or water-resistant describes objects relatively unaffected by water or resisting water passage, or which are covered with a material that resists or does not allow water passage.” In fact, there are differences between the two, and the applications for each vary.
In a nutshell, “waterproof” means no water in, no water out. To be entirely waterproof, the surface must be completely impervious to water, and provide a high level of sustained water protection during the harshest conditions. Where Ruff Wear gear is concerned, if a product is marked waterproof, such as our Sun Shower™ rain jacket, that means no water can get in through the fabric, seams, or flaps because not only is the fabric waterproof, but the seams are sealed and buckles are covered. Read the rest of this entry »
A Note From Patrick From the Road
Howdy all,
We are up in Canada cheering on friends in the Paralympics and meeting some of the Avalanche handler and dog teams. I caught up with two Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) Ski Patrollers, Jen and Trish today with their two dogs, Remy and ???. They had just tried on some of the DoubleBack harnesses last night and they are keen to learn more about Ruff Wear. I was impressed with how much they already know about Ruff Wear and the gear that they are specifically requesting for winter and summer work.
Patrick (middle) Learns Visits the Avalanche Dog Teams for the Paralympics
These dogs just worked an avalanche two days ago and they had a few big slides in December. The dogs are certainly a big draw for the mountain and were live on international TV just minutes after we talked.
Superstars of the Canadian Avalanche Dog Team
The vibe and energy at this event is grand.
Hope y’all are well,
Patrick (President and Product Developer)
Greg, Retail Brand Coordinator, Recounts the Great Nordeen Cross Country Ski Event
I headed up the mountain on Saturday morning to check out the Great Nordeen Cross Country Ski Race. This was the eighth annual running of this premier point to point ski races in the area. This was the second year for the Ruff Wear 15K Skijor/Ski with your dog race. It was awesome day and an awesome event. There were 15 dog teams preregistered for the event. It turned out to be a perfect day for the event.
- For the second year in a row, Wyatt from the Mt. Bachelor Avalanche Dog Program and Ruff Wear Ambassador, came in first place.
- There were 160 skiers for the premier event. The dog count was up by a couple. Hopefully this event will gain momentum year over year. Watch out, Sophie will be ready for next year!
- Damon Kluck, whose dog Duke is featured on the cover and throughout the FW10 Dealer Workbook, finished 8th in the 30K race following a nasty crash early on.
- Ruff Wear provided prizes for the top finishers.
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