Jen's Journal July and August 2024

jen loofbourrow from alpine fit hiking in alaska in july 2024

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Hi Alpine Fit Friends,

Thanks for all the fun in the sun this summer! July AND August went by in a flash. Summers are short in Alaska, so we make the most of the time we have! Here are a few things that some of you experienced with us this summer. For the full breakdown keep reading on the blog!

jen and hale hiking in july 2024 alpine fit

Working backwards from this past weekend - we had our friend Mallory from Youer in Montana come up to Anchorage Alaska for a visit and joined in on her fall photoshoot to get some photos of the new products coming to our website soon. We had 6 awesome people come be models in the shoot and had a great time roaming around some Alaska mountainsides getting some nice fall shots - it is already in the low 40s F here in the mornings!

Before that, our friends over at Heather’s Choice published a podcast interview with me to peel back the layers on the who, what, why of their crowdfunding opportunity that is open now - a chance for every-day customers and fans or anyone to invest in their company.

Before that we had a busy week of packing online orders from the online version of our Trail Sale / Sample Sale. Thanks to all of you who got some new adventure gear! Meanwhile, our office/headquarters/manufacturing space that we call our workshop had the interior walls painted by the landlord's team, and Amanda on our team went above and beyond repainting our staircase and mezzanine railing. It is amazing what some love and a few new coats of paint will do to refresh the place! We’ve got the sewing floor put back together in a new layout, and we still have to get the storage and cutting table zone of our workshop back in order. It looks and feels so great, you’re welcome to come visit any time and check out the clean brightness!

While the paint was partially drying last weekend, we traveled to beautiful Cascade Locks Oregon to see those of you who make their way to Pacific Crest Trail Days, either as part of your thru-hiking the trail, or in celebration of backpacking and thru-hiking in general. All of the brands and gear I love to research online and use on my backpacking trips all come together and have booths there sponsoring the event. We had so much fun doing an in-person small batch launch of a new product we are excited to share with all of you online in the coming weeks - a sun hoodie version of our flagship odor-eliminating tops. There are some features on these that make them stand out - in addition to all the things you already love about the fabric.

alpine fit at pct days in cascade locks oregon

What happened before that?

We got more athletic underwear into production in both the thong and hipster styles - the fabric got cut, and we've been sewing and restocking them on the website as they are made. If you missed out, check now for your size, and let us know if you need a size you aren't seeing is available. This product is seriously limited edition - the fabric is running out way quicker than anticipated. Get some now before they're gone!

We finished some hoodies in time for the event! We participated in a thru-hiking giveaway with some backpacking brands including Cnoc, Diorite Gear, Heather’s Choice, Trail Butter, and Zenbivy where the winner got a Rendezvous Ridge or Treeline Long Sleeve, Solstice Hat and Geo Merino Neck gaiter! We also participated in the River Girl Summer Giveaway with Youer, Alpacka Raft, Granite Gear, Kula Cloth, Hiker Trash Apothecary, Jenny Lemons, Surf Durt, Bedrock Sandals, Ombraz, Sensi Swim and Fishe! The winner got an awesome bundle of prizes including a packraft! Plus, from us, the winner got a new pre-launch edition of our new sun hoodie and a $350 gift card. These giveaways are so interesting. It is really fun to team up with other brands and offer the chance for you to win some cool gear and learn about other brands we love and have aligned use cases and values with!

Before THAAAT, we hosted the in person Trail Sale event at Hilltop with a group of outdoor brands based in Alaska. It was a sidewalk sample sale kind of event, and we held it at our local ski area. Alpacka Raft had 30 heavily discounted packrafts, Revelate Designs Had their sample and repaired bikepacking bags, we had our second ever sample sale, Skhoop and others had previous season items on great deals, including AK Cycle Chic, Powder Hound, Fishe, Eli’s Dyes, Kicksled Alaska, Tidewater Fleece, Versa Outfitters, and ShredMaiden.

alpine fit trail sale graphic and event images

Right around that same date, my kiddos got back from spending an extended period of time with my parents, and my parents came for a visit! It was right during the super torrential rain, but we made the most of it! And the kids went back to school! School’s no longer out for summer!

Right before they got home, I had a glorious day doing the full Crow Pass trail from Girdwood to Eagle River. It was perfect! 23 miles on a trail in one day in a perfect weather window with low water on the essential river crossing was a great highlight of the summer!

Somewhere in there I had a birthday and celebrated with the Crow Pass Hike, dinner with Hale, and the lovely high of having spent a full week backpacking the week prior as summer vacation. So much hiking and backpacking this summer, in some fantastic weather! I wore shorts so many times - which to those of you in the lower 48 might not sound that special, but up here it is.

hiking Alaska summer wearing alpine fit 2

hiking Alaska summer wearing alpine fit 3

Before that we launched the Athletic Underwear online! Many of you that got the first drop in person in Seward, came back for more - a great sign with a new item! Yay, we are so excited you love them and about all the positive feedback we’ve received. We love them too, so soft, and the bio nylon made from fish scales a bi-product of food production, really caught a lot of people’s attention. As I mentioned we are busy sewing more and add them to the website as we have them, so check back, and will announce the restocks!

Somewhere in July we had a lot of rain, and low ceiling on our cloud cover, so the activities outdoors became trail running in the woods! I love doing the “right” activity for the conditions these days, and it is fun to try to still feel like you’re having a summer adventure, no matter the weather. When the sun isn’t out, it can feel really cold, but when you move your body on the trail, and you can still wear just a tank top or long sleeve with no jacket, it still feels like summer! OH! I almost forgot. I never discuss a certain aspect of our fabric we call Sterling, and all the running in the rain in July reminded me! We always mention that Sterling (the fabric in our Rendezvous Ridge Long Sleeve, Treeline Long Sleeve, Ridgeline Racerback Tank Top and Backcountry Base Layer Bottoms), has the main features of being odor-eliminating thanks to permanent silver in the fiber of the fabric. We also mention that it is UPF 50+ and is quick dry. What I rarely or never mention is that it is an excellent running in the rain fabric, on those days where you are just going out for a bit, back to home and an opportunity to be dry and warm again later, so you don’t necessarily want or need a jacket, because it would be too hot or heavy, but wearing a shirt is essential to not have too much evaporative cooling due to sweat and all that cold rain water on your skin. This fabric is excellent at feeling great next to your skin when you are getting rained on. It handles the moisture so well, and has a nice soft feeling on the skin, not clingy and plastic-bag-like. It is soft, sits just right on your skin, and keeps you as comfy as can be in just a shirt in the rain! It’s also an excellent swim shirt for the same reasons.

During this time we were finalizing details and getting production started on making sun hoodies and I’ve also been prototyping and wear-testing a lightweight merino wool short sleeve t-shirt! A few of you have seen me on the trails and asked about it. Its in the works for next summer so stay tuned!

Before that, more hiking!

Before that 4th of July and Mount Marathon in Seward! Mallory from Youer came up again and had a booth adjoined with ours, we launched the athletic underwear in person, we hiked Mount Marathon the day after the festival to feel a part of the adventure action, and had a blast camping nearby. I love that festival and its always so fun to see all of you trail runners, hikers, adventure tourists and the Seward locals!

alpine fit booth at seward mount marathon and 4th of july festival

alpine fit and youer in seward for 4th of july and mount marathon

That rounds out July and August.

Most worn Alpine Fit products these months: Solstice Hat, prototype tanks and t-shirts for next summer, and the classic Rendezvous Ridge Long Sleeve.

Thanks so much for being here!

-Jen Loofbourrow, Founder/Owner @ Alpine Fit

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January 30, 2025 at 03:15am

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