http://youtu.be/aIC6kphVbwU
Here’s a tasty amuse-bouche before Vancouver ski season 2012/2013. Extreme skier Ingrid Backstrom is coming to town to speak Sept. 24, at 7pm, at the Orpheum Annex. Gear-fiends probably know that Vancouver is home to two North Face retail locations: downtown and in Kitsilano. But did you know about The North Face Never Stop Exploring Speaker Series? Awe-inspiring athletes like Backstrom travel and talk to like-minded adventurers about their feats, inspiring others to head out and give everything they’ve got.
“The thing that I really enjoy about expedition skiing is the singular purpose that comes with focusing on one objective. You don’t get that too often in daily life,” says Backstrom.
Backstrom started freeskiing in the Cascade Range of her native Washington 27 years ago. Since then, her prolific career includes appearances in 13 ski films, and descents from America’s highest peak – 20,000-foot Denali – plus extreme downhills in remote ranges in China and Baffin Island, in the Canadian Arctic. She’s also appeared in the powderific film Steep and on Conan and The Today Show.
The North Face stores in Vancouver are partner stores owned and operated by Eco Outdoor Sports. Eco Outdoor Sports has championed women in sports since they started in the gear biz in 1997, by going out of their way to stock women-friendly sizes back when performance outdoor apparel was only made in unisex sizing. Today, female athletes like Backstrom can stroll into any North Face Vancouver store and peruse a selection that contains 50% women-specific apparel.
The North Face, 2136 W 4th Ave., 604-677-6269, Thenorthfacestore.ca
Last modified: October 30, 2012
