Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2018 - 70

From the Road: Halti, Finland
"IT'S A HUGE PLUS TO
HAVE SCANDINAVIA
ITSELF AS A BRAND. IT'S
A LITTLE LIKE TAKING
PRIDE IN A COLORADO OR
CALIFORNIA HERITAGE
FOR U.S. BRANDS."

DO YOU HAVE A FLAG?
Hikers flew the banners
of seven nations from
the top of Halti to
celebrate 100 years of
Finnish independence.

Scandinavian
Summits
We trekked 100 kilometers to Finland's high point and
sounded a seven-piece alphorn to celebrate 100 years of the nation's
independence-and to celebrate the outdoor culture of the Nordic
nations and what that means to North American retailers.
by Doug Schnitzspahn
IT DID NOT MATTER THAT NONE OF US COULD ACTUALLY PLAY THE ALPHORN. IT DID MATTER
that the seven of us had carried it-in seven, portable pieces-across the wilds of northern
Lapland to sound the 10-foot-long horn from the heights of Halti, the highest spot in Finland. I
put my lips to the mouthpiece, filled my lungs and cheeks with air... and let out a flatulent noise
that would have scared off even the rangiest alpine cow looking for a mate. Only a few in our group
coaxed a better sound out of the thing. And one random Norwegian hiker couldn't even make a
noise. But all that mattered was that we were here on top of a European high point, celebrating
100 years of Finnish independence, the joy of the high peaks in any nation, and the prominence of
Nordic brands in the outdoor indsutry and Nordic nations in the global outdoor consciousness.

70 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Winter 2018

We came here as part of Scandinavian
Summits, the brainchild of Matthias
Aßmann, the co-founder, along with Martin
Kössler, of the Scandinavian Outdoor Group.
The program encourages hikers to stand atop
the high points of Norway (Galdhøpiggen,
8,100 feet), Sweden (Kebnekaise, 6,882 feet),
Denmark (Møllehøj, 561 feet), Finland (Halti,
4,344 feet), and Iceland (Hvannadalshnjúkur,
6,920 feet). Technically, only the first three are
"Scandinavian," so all five can also be referred
to as the "Nordic High Five." Those who finish
all the summits get a nifty diploma.
"The concept is aspirational," says Aßmann,
who currently runs Mandel Consulting and
lives in Sweden. "Any individual can study and
plan the trips with the guidance of the website scandinaviansummits.com and with the
help of a growing social media community. It's
connected to initiatives such as the European
Outdoor Group's #itsgreatoutthere and helps
to get people out in nature pursing goals. It
will also create partnerships with travel destinations, tour operators, and retailers to educate and outfit new hikers."
It's a concept North American retailers should pay close attention to, not only
to emulate, but also because Scandinavia
has so much gravity right now. While many
European brands come and go in the North
American market, failing to gain traction
with consumers here, Scandianvian companies have found a welcome spot with outdoor
types-from Helly Hansen to Suunto to Ecco,
they have become just as much everyday
household names as American brands.
They're also hot. Take one look at
Fjällräven, which has made a splash not just
because of the technical and sustainable selling points of its products, but more so because

Photographs by Maren Krings

http://www.scandinaviansummits.com

Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2018

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