Richard recently contacted Gregory for a repair to his Cassin, which he’s hauled up Aconcagua, Mt. Rainier and numerous trips in the Sierra. He seemed in a hurry to get it back. Asked why, he replied that he had a lot of trash to haul, or something to that effect.

Curious, one of our customer service folks pried a little more information out of him, and turns out Richard is on his second ton of trash hauled off the beaches around Point Reyes, just north of the Bay Area. Beyond just cleaning up the beach, Richard is particularly concerned about balloon debris on the beach, because birds mistake it for food, eat it and die. He’s got a Flickr page documenting some of the numerous balloon debris he’s cleaned up.

It took some time to repair Richard’s 22-year-old pack, so our customer service person Molly sent him a newer load-hauler that was floating around the office to keep him in the trash-removal business until we could get his pack back to him. But still, he did want his pack back.

“My medium Cassin fits me just right. That is why I like it so and am loathe to replace it.” (more…)

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“Part of my living is exposure. Whether it is a video online, or a simple quote in a periodical it is part of my game. I am happy to show off my latest and greatest pieces of media!!! The first one I would like to present is my advertisement with my best friend (my Bosch drill) for the Toolnut.  Toolnut is a distributor of hardware products. They contacted me via my good friend Andrew Bisharat, from Rock and Ice Magazine. Thanks hommie!! Colette, my girlfriend and I made these photos in our house here with our Canon G11. Not bad for a point and shoot camera I must say. Colette took the shots and we did a variety of styles for them to choose from. I am very happy with the end product and have to say this is my favorite ad that I have been in. And not to brag, but I have been in lots! The timing for this ad could not have been better as well…I am very excited about bolting routes AND it is running in the Rock and Ice Gear Guide which runs for 12 months!!! YAYUUUH!!!

My second piece of media to show off is a feature in the late Deadpoint Magazine, which you can visit HERE. All of the photos shot in this article (flip to page 30) were Colette’s and mine. The concept was a simple layout with our photos (more…)

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Justin was in New Zealand studying as well as working on a grant doing population and migration studies of indigenous birds. Here’s the story behind this particular photo from his trip:

“I spent two months this summer tramping all over New Zealand from Rotoroa (basically the northernmost point of the north island) to Steven’s Point (you guessed it, the southernmost point of the south island). This photo was taken near Arthur’s Pass, Cass, New Zealand (which has a population of literally1). I know this to be true because his name is George and he has a lovely pig/sheep/llama farm and he hosted me to a much needed refueling of delicious breakfast goodies as well as some local knowledge about what was edible and inedible throughout the area. This particular picture was a surprise to me. I had no idea my companion was shooting. It wasn’t great weather, but in my opinion, it captured the essence of New Zealand’s rugged Southern Alps. It was breathtaking, truly the most remarkable, challenging, invigorating, inspiring trek of my short life thus far.”

Have a great photo with a great story to go with it? Submit it to our Good Life page and you’ll have a chance to win some great Gregory gear.  Up for grabs this month is a messenger bag in our popular digi-camo print. Not familiar with this product or fabric? That’s because it’s another Japan only goodie, not available in the US, and uber-exclusive.

Good luck!

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Now that you have 104 newly opened peaks in Kashmir to ascend this summer, you’ll be happy to know your 2011 trekking adventures will be equally, if not more exciting. Next February, The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) will open, stretching 2,800 miles and crossing through five countries: Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Pakistan.

For thru-hikers, the trek is estimated to require 150 days to complete and depending on which route you take, you could be trekking over 4,500km. However, if you don’t have 5 months to dedicate to hiking the full Himalaya mountain range, the GHT will be sectioned off into nine shorter segments, each taking between 18-35 days to finish.

If you think you’d like to be one of the first few people to access the trail, the adventure trail company ‘World Expeditions’ is organizing the inaugural trip for Feb. 15th, 2011. You may chose the entire 150 day journey or one of the smaller sections.

Some of our most popular packs, like the Z55, are purchased for thru-hikes like the AT and the Pacific Crest Trail, so if you’re looking for a pack to handle 150 days or 30 days on the Great Himilaya Trail, well, we hope you know where to look.

Via The Adventure Blog

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“This pack rose to the top of a crowded- and very competitive- category due to its total load transfer, comfort, and conveniently laid-out packbag.” -Backpacker Magazine, 2010 Gear Guide

It sort of feels like snagging first place in the fourth grade science fair. Only this time, we don’t run the risk of being beat up at recess, and the judges, well, let’s just say they’re not meandering around a gym scrutinizing Styrofoam balls and foaming Coke bottles.

No, all jokes aside, these judges have put our packs through it all, rigorously testing every feature in environments they’re meant to handle. So to us, there is no higher compliment than to receive ‘best all around’ packs of 2010 from the good folks at Backpacker Magazine who really do put our packs through the paces.

Beyond the Z55 and the Jade 50 being named winner of ‘best all-around’ packs, a number of other packs were called out in the gear guide with notable comments. Here’s what they had to say:

Miwok – “Testers loved this soft-backed day pack for the way it shifts seamlessly from hiking to biking to running.”

Z35 – “Here’s a load hauler for day hikers who chronically overpack. The tubular steel stays and nylon framesheet can handle up to 30 pounds, and weight is effectively distributed to the hips.”

Baltoro 70 – “With a perfect capacity for longer trips, this stable, comfortable top-loader cruised to a 2008 Editor’s Choice Award. And those test packs from two years ago are still going strong today; our staff regularly bickers over them for weeklong trips with heavy loads.”

Denali Pro 105 – “ ‘I’ve carried a person in this pack,’ writes an editor who’s used it for almost 10 years. ‘That’s how big and supportive it is … Indestructible too.’ ”

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Yellowstone
Created by timelapse photographer, Andrew Curtis

via Kyle Cassidy at Wend

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Back in July 2008 Ryan Powell set off to hitch-hike across America with the goal of creating a documentary of the people he met along the way. And nearly two years later, he’s still at it. The term ‘hitch-hike‘ is relative in this situation as he has only allowed himself to accept rides when drivers voluntarily stop to ask if he needs one. So, in turn, Ryan has seen most of America on foot. How does this story relate  to Gregory?

Well, when you’re carrying everything you own on your back across amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesties, you better have a comfortable, yet functional pack. Ryan chose the Gregory Palisade 80 to accompany him on his journey and, unfortunately, Ryan had some initial difficulties with the hip-belt. While we’re very proud of our quality control in general here at Gregory, it’s difficult to achieve a perfect track record, and Ryan’s problem stemmed from an isolated batch of defective plastic material from one of our suppliers that caused the waist belt frame to crack. This was a problem for a limited number of other Gregory customers who unfortunately also got a pack with one of these defective hip belt frames.

In our mind, the measure of a company is not whether you have the occasional problem, but how you deal with that problem to keep the trust of a loyal customer. We proactively communicated with our customers concerning this topic, and we also tried to help customers directly, rather than having them go through a retailer. In this case, John Sears from Gregory’s R&D contacted Ryan to explain the problem and offered to send him the newest Whitney 95.

After much use, Ryan was extremely pleased with the quality and functionality of the pack. So last month, while he was ‘on the road,’ Ryan stopped by the Gregory headquarters in Sacramento to meet the crew and thank them for their help. During his visit he met with John Sears, Director of R&D and Nick Kelso, Sample Maker who beefed up his pack by replacing worn out and dirty parts on his pack as well as reinforcing seams. Here’s what he had to say about his visit:

‘The people at Gregory are awesome. I was there for five hours, talking pretty extensively to almost everyone in the building. The also fed me, an act that always wins major points with me, But mostly it was just cool meeting them and seeing a little bit of their operation. It’s clear that they spend a lot of time working to make their products the best they can be, largely listening to feedback from people like me.’ -Ryan Powell via his blog

It’s people like Ryan who really get to know our packs and without people like him, we wouldn’t have the quite the same insight about our packs as we do. So, we sincerely appreciate their feedback and always enjoy hearing their stories.

Thanks, Ryan and good luck with Aimless.

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So who were these ‘testers’?  We gave Gregory Ambassador Joe Kinder a Torre 33 nine months ago, and had one of our female employees, Molly, test two of the women’s specific models over the past 4 months.  Both of them LOVE the mountains (obvs), so these were the perfect packs for them to put through the ringer, through a multitude of activities, with each of their very different packing styles.  Here’s what they had to say:

Name: Joe Kinder
Pack Tested: Torre 33
Activities: Climbing, Approach, Bolting Routes

The Review:  “I’ve been using the Torre 33L for the past 9 months. My objective was to put this joint to use and try to kick its ass, use it in every situation, and then provide feedback. So far…to this day…I haven’t been able to damage it in the slightest. No rips, no holes, nothing. The zipper is still intact, the material is completely fine.

The harness system is amazing. It is a mold that offers total support and comfort. I pack this thing with bolts, draws, my drill, a rope, harness, shoes, water, and food. NO problem. The access to the interior is SO easy with the opening design. I am in love with this pack.”

Name: Molly Maguire
Packs Tested: Inyo 45 & Cirque 30
Activities: Backpacking/Climbing Yosemite, XC Skiing, Snowshoeing, Ice Climbing

The Review:  “I used the Inyo 45 for an overnight backpacking trip in Yosemite with some newbies and was amazed at how much I loved it. I usually use a 60-80L pack and have been known to use that 80L for overnighters with new hikers to carry as many creature comforts for them, as possible. I fit everything I wanted to, everything was able to be organized, all the pockets are in good places, and there’s more than enough of them.  And after everything was stuffed inside, it was super easy to get to it, this pack’s access is awesome. The approaches when climbing were easy b/c of the narrower waistbelt, so I could be wearing my harness and still take big, scrambly steps. The smaller packs in this line are great for a sport rack, the larger accommodate a trad rack, and with 3 volume sizes, you can do any length climbing/hiking trip.

In Ouray, I used the Cirque 30 as a day pack, out xc skiing and snowshoeing, as well as ice climbing.  The Wraptor Stabilizer during the skiing and snowshoeing totally pulls the load up into your back, it feels super stable, like I had total freedom to move and the pack stayed still and stable, and didn’t throw me off balance (which can happen when you pack like me and come in at a whopping 5 feet tall :). It fit all of my climbing gear while I was trolling around the festival - crampons, harness, carabiners, belay devices, an extra rack - and still had enough room for my helmet inside too. I didn’t feel scared at all about throwing it down on the ice, the materials are bomber and super abrasion resistant.”

There you have it folks. Man and woman, coming together and agreeing that these All Mountain packs are AWESOME. What do you all think of these packs? Psyched to try them out? If you’re still not sold, check out the video for some more info on the features, Fusion LTS suspension, and what makes these packs so great.

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As a result of years of regional turmoil and unrest, few have explored the ‘cursed’ Prokletije mountains of Albania. Since the dying of tensions over the last decade, Drs Philip Huges, Jeff Blackford and PhD student Rose Wilkinson recently traveled to the widely undocumented region to research features carved into the landscape by past glaciers and unknowingly stumbled upon the real thing.

Their expedition led to the discovery of four glaciers, all previously unknown to geologists, glaciologists and researchers. Given the latitude, researchers were surprised to find the glaciers at such an unusually low altitude of roughly 6,500 feet. But due to the high amount of snowfall per year and cool temperatures, these glaciers have been able to survive.

The discovery was documented in the December 2009 issue of Arctic, Antartic, and Alpine Research and a full scholarly paper will be released later this year.

Along with putting the Prokletije region on the map for researchers, the discovery also put the mountainous region on the map for backpackers and adventure travelers looking to explore relatively untouched territory.

Via Gadling blog

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The winning snapshot resulted from a few too many minutes of shut-eye, one too many granola bars and, unfortunately, a hike down a crater in the dark. Ayelet Niv and her fellow backpackers ended up a little behind on their trek from the Red Sea to the Syrian/Lebanese border due to a extended lunch and nap break, which forced them to finish their long trek in the dark. Thankfully they completed the journey safely despite the minor setback and Ayelet was able to share this amazing photo with the Good Life community.

If you think you have the next Good Life photo winner, post it on our website for the chance to win a Muir 24 or Imlay daypacks shown below.

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