The Weekly - June 16, 2020 - 7

LAST CHAIR

Colorado's Arapahoe Basin
bid farewell to a second life
of a ski season.
Colorado skiers finally had
some reason to rejoice when
local favorite Arapahoe Basin
Ski Area started the lifts
back up on May 27, running
with tight social distancing
restrictions in place until
shutting down again on June
7, as the snow melted away.
The resort on the Continental Divide, which often stays
open into June, first shut
down along with all Colorado
ski areas on March 15 when
Gov. Jared Polis ordered
them closed.
"There were several reasons why we wanted to reopen. We wanted to provide
work for our staff, deliver
spring skiing and riding for

our guests, become an integral part of our community
again, and help society back
on its feet as safely as possible," says Leigh Hierholzer,
Arapahoe Basin's director of
marketing and communications. "It was a long-term
collaborative process with
the state, county, and health
departments."
Health guidelines limited
the number of skiers and
snowboarders at the resort
to 600 each day. They needed to enter a lottery to have
a chance for a ticket, wear
a face covering, and stay 6
feet apart (about the length
of a pair of skis) in line.
Plus, there was none of the
resort's famed tailgating in
the parking lot. There were,
however, a lot of smiles
behind those face coverings.
-Doug Schnitzspahn

F R O M TO P : CO U R T E SY F I V E T E N , L AU R E N DA N I L E K , FA B I E N B U H L

Snowboarders,
socially distant

TAKING ACTION

Mélissa Le Nevé grabs first female ascent
of an iconic route.
One sure highlight in this fall's Reel Rock 15
Film Tour-no matter if it's live or virtual-
will be French climber Mélissa Le Nevé's ascent of Action Directe, 5.14d, in Frankenjura, Germany, a radically overhanging route
steeped in history. Wolfgang Güllich made
the first ascent of the 5-bolt, 45-foot line
a year before a fatal car accident on the
autobahn. As the inventor of the campus
board, which climbers use to strengthen
their fingers, Güllich applied his Olympiclevel strength and powerful fingers to
the 16-move route comprised of shallow
one- and two-finger pockets, completing

STICKY THREADS

Five Ten to launch eco-friendly apparel line.
Using recycled materials and sustainably farmed cotton, iconic
climbing and bike shoe brand Five Ten, part of the Adidas Outdoor
group, will start making outdoor apparel and footwear. Items being
launched Feb. 1, 2021, include T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, pants, rain
jackets, shoes, and a signature Brand of the Brave tank top. This is
the first time Five Ten has made clothes since the 1990s.
"We are excited for this natural extension into apparel. It's a tip of
the hat back to the original Five Ten roots, but with a modern take
as it relates to technology and sustainability," says Michael Kadous,
head of Adidas Outdoor, North America.
Five Ten is using some of its iconic logos from when it first entered
the market in 1985. This means bringing back the Stealth Cat mascot for tees and the Five Ten Box logo for the women's two-in-one
shorts (compression short underneath a running short shell). However there's nothing retro about the materials. The line relies heavily
on Adidas' proprietary PrimeBlue (which is recycled plastic retrieved
from ocean beaches) and PrimeGreen, made from recycled polyester. Two of Five Ten's popular flat-pedal mountain bike shoes will
feature a PrimeBlue canvas upper. The Five Ten Glory T and Brave
Long Sleeve T will be made with recycled and sustainably sourced
cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative.
"In our commitment to sustainability is where you really see the
power of the Adidas Five Ten partnership," says Kadous. "We want
to ensure that those in the bike and climb communities have the
opportunity to make a choice when it comes to the future of our
planet." -Chris Van Leuven

it on Sept. 14, 1991. The iconic route stood
unrepeated for four years.
On May 21, Le Nevé nabbed the first
female ascent of the line after working at it
for six years. "Never would I have imagined how emotional it would be to clip the
anchor," she wrote on Instagram, using
the hashtag #reelrock15. "Those magical
moments in the forest fulfilled my heart for
six years."
In addition to climbing Action Directe,
she's kept busy with a recent ascent of the
route Bionic Commando, 5.14c, in Bavaria,
Germany. "I was lucky to be in Bavaria,
and there was no lockdown like in France,
Spain, or Italy," says Le Nevé, whose sponsors include Adidas, Five Ten, Arkose,
Edelrid and Deuter. -C.V.L

OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2020 / THE WEEKLY 7

Mélissa Le Nevé
on Action
Directe (5.14d)

https://www.adidasoutdoor.com/

The Weekly - June 16, 2020

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