Featured Sole Dealer: Morgan Shoes in Madison, WI!

Below is a great review of the service that Morgan Shoes offered a customer recently. Congrats on the great review, guys!

"Just a follow-up to our phone conversation a few minutes ago.

My name is Al Krause and I called with a question about the different models of footbeds that you market. As part of our conversation you asked about my satisfaction with the product. I gave a description of my introduction to the Yoursole product line. I _didn’t_ do a very good job of describing the store where I heard about your product.

The store is located in Madison, Wisconsin in an ‘upscale’ shopping center named “Hilldale.” Although it is actually one store, they do operate under three different names and three different entrances – New Balance Madison, Morgan Shoes, and Stride Rite. They have a website - www.morganshoes.com. The name of the young man who told me about your product line was Cody Seibel. /(I believe he is the corporate trainer when not on the floor selling shoes.)/ Anyway, these folks know their business. They have five+ Board Certified Pedorthists on staff which can be seen for doctor referred problems or severe foot problems. Pretty thorough operation for a shoe store in this day and age.

As I stated on the phone, I am fully satisfied with your poroduct and look forward to purchasing more items in the future.

Thanks,

Al Krause"

Willow River Clean Up Report!

Brian & Peter,

The Willow River Clean Up IV was a huge success! We had a surprisingly great turnout being that the event was rescheduled twice and was in November in Minnesota! There were about 40 people in attendance. Luckily the day was perfect day too; 70s and sunny. What more could you ask for? The previously rescheduled date was the previous Sunday, which turned out to be cold and rainy. I've been lucky to get such good weather for the events.
Our main goal for each year is to scour the climbing area, access trails, and overlook for trash. Last year we broadened our scope to include the beach and surrounding areas where there’s a significant amount of traffic during the summer and fall months. In addition there are multiuse trails for hikers and cross-country skiers that need routine maintenance throughout the year. For the past couple years we’ve helped maintain these trails by pruning branches, clearing brush, picking up litter, etc. The past couple years have seen a significant growth of climbers at Willow River as well as attendance at the clean up event, which is great! It is nice to know that our user group is respectful and conscious of the park and impact that we have on our playground.

Every year, I try to include a new project for the clean up. This year the park needed to divert an existing multiuse trail around a new campground being constructed. We needed to clear a 12-foot wide swath of trail running 300 yards through a dense thicket of brush and trees. Luckily for us, the terrain was fairly flat and we hand enough manpower to bust through fairly quickly! Local companies like Peace Coffee and Rush River Brewery provided enough hydration and incentive for nearly 40 volunteers!

The event wrapped up with a raffle. Everyone received at least a couple pieces of swag, which was provided by 21 sponsors ranging from cases of beer, jackets, shoes, restaurant certificates, sunglasses, and much more!
The goal of these events is to improve relations with the park in hopes of improving climbing access. Currently, there are imposed climbing hours for the park. Climbing is permitted (365 days and 24/7):

• Monday to Thursday: all day
• Friday: until noon
• Saturday: no climbing
• Sunday: until noon

It has been mentioned numerous times by different park officials that our user group, at least since the clean ups, are the most generous and helpful in regards to donating volunteer hours to the park. The first 3 years, we removed 500 lbs of trash each year from various parts of the park. There are large amounts of scrap metal littered in the woods. Surprisingly, the climbing area is typically clean as we monitor ourselves and practice the art of “climb and clean” before we leave.

Rock climbing has given me so many memories and adventures over the years. I hope to continue this tradition every year, since it is where I started climbing 10 years ago.

Thanks for your continued support!

Phaydara Vongsavanthong

Sustainable Living Bike Tour- one of our sponsored athletes!

November 13, 2008


FYI...

Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible! My gratitude cannot be expressed adequately... I am flying to San Francisco tomorrow to ride the Sustainable Living Bike Tour for the second time. The trip is in its 4th season. My personal charge for the trip is getting Tree Media Group (11th Hour w/ Leonardo DiCaprio) to join us for a day this year and film a full-length documentary with us next year :) As far as I'm concerned, it is a done deal, haha. My personal charge for Iowa is that I'm video-blogging every day of the trip on DMJuice.com and raising awareness for a non-profit I'm starting called Urban Ambassadors that focuses on sustainability education.

Synopsis: 3-weeks, 750-miles, San Francisco to San Diego, 18 volunteer environmental educators, 18 road bikes, 1 short bus running on veggie-oil and solar panels, teaching 3000+ middle and high school students, stops at major universities and city events... just a rock'n good time!

Our Ocean Futures blog from 2007
YouTube video (4 min) from 2007
2008 Juice blog for Des Moines

I'm leaving tomorrow, but if anybody still has $$ burning a hole in their pocket :) ... you know, just in case! You can send all your saved millions from this economic boom to: enrgPATH, c/o Angela Clark: Bike Trip, 3920 Valdez Drive, Des Moines, IA 50310. Don't feel pressured... I won't go broke ~ I think, haha. Angela at enrgPATH, Matt at Bike World, Greg at Rasmussen's, Lexi at Backcountry, Diana at Campbell's Nutrition, Maggie at Firehouse Yoga, and the New City Market have been more than generous and helped me get myself and my bike out there with the right gear. Preston Daniels from KFMG 99.1 had me on the radio and Cavan Reagan put a short blurb in the Juice this week. And I thank them ALL!!!

Sincerely,

Adam Hammes
Sustainability Consultant enrgPATH
(515) 491-0706

Booster review- installment 2

How's it going guys? Things are going pretty well over here and thought I'd give you another quick update on how the booster is holding up. I've been lucky enough to have gone out each saturday the 6 or 7 weeks and a couple times during the week too. It's been nice.
Especially since the weather is starting to get nice again!! We went out this past sunday morning and it was perfect. Right about 40 and sunny!! The holds felt so good!

So, here you go! First off, I still like them a lot. So that's good, right? They aren't as sensitive as my last few pairs have been and I am beginning to like that feel again. My all time favorite shoes were the Testarossa's and these feel pretty similar. Thanks Mr. Mariacher.

A couple of points on fit. I kept on waffling between Size 38 or 38.5, but lately I've decided that the 38 is the right size for me, at least for the booster. Feroce could be totally different but I'm guessing 38.5 based on what I tried on at OR. For a bit i definitely thought I'd go up a half size, but now i'm psyched that i'm in the 38. The fit is phenomenal and there aren't any real dead spots. They hug my arch and heel hooks feel totally secure.

As for performance, I like them a lot. Like I said earlier, they are a bit stiffer than I have been used to. There was a short learning curve but now I'm digging them. They work well in the gym and better outside, which is perfect. I'd much rather have that than the other way around! They edge surprisingly well and better than I thought they would. I like how powerful the toe is when you weight it. A little sensitivity would be nice but it's not worth sacrificing that power. The Stix would fill the sensitivity niche from what I've done in my friends pair.

The only improvement that I can think of right now is to extend the rubber on the toes over the big toe. That's the one spot that I'm seeing wear and tear and a small piece of rubber over the knuckle of the big toe would solve that. It's a similar problem that I've seen on almost every other pair of Boosters or Rockettes that I've come across. It has the potential to change the fit so I could understand why they didn't do it. That's really the only suggestion that I have right now. I can see that that will more than likely be the first place to blow out. Small complaint, really, and not a big deal at all.

I've got a couple pics now so let me know if you guys want any. I'd be happy to give you some. There are some on Pemba's blog too if you want to check it out and feel free to steal some from there if you want. I'm heading up to Governor Dodge on Wednesday and Thursday to climb and hang out a little. Should be fun. I hope you guys are getting out!!

Steve

Win a trip to Jackson Hole!

Have you been on Marmot.com recently? You can win a trip to Jackson Hole, WY!! Check it out today!

W's Teton Nubuck OBoZ Review!

Patty Evans received a pair of the W's Teton Nubuck OBoZ shoes as a giveaway at the MORE trade show this summer. Read below her review!

Hi Vanessa,
Thanks so much! I’ve never won anything in my life. I looked on the OBoZ website and would love to have Teton Nubuck shoe in women’s 8.5. The color is grey, black taupe with lime green trim. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks again see you in Madison
Patty
Lad & Lassie
1115 Central Ave
Wilmette, Il. 60091


Hi Vanessa,
I received my Oboz shoes (that I won at the More Show) and I love them. They feel great and I can’t wait to do some serious hiking. They will be great for work and play.
Thanks again,
Patty Evans
Lad & Lassie
Wilmette, Il.

Scarpa "Booster" gets a big thumbs up from Steve at Pemba!

Hey Guys,

Just thought I'd send you a note and let you know that I'm loving the boosters! I don't want to be "that guy" that just says that he loves something because he got it for free, but the shoes are sick. If I had to do it again I'd go up to a 38.5 but the 38's are working fine so far. I'd probably say I'm a 38.5 for the performance models at least so it's about a full size up from sportiva. I'm normally a 37.5 in their performance stuff. I'll know more once they are fully broken in though.

Fit wise though, they are exceptional. no real baggy areas anywhere important. there is a small spot on the top of my foot but that's about it, and if it's going to be baggy anywhere, thats where I want it to be. I had been climbing in Sportiva solution's and the fit on
the boosters is way way better. by lots. I'm already noticing it.
i'm definitely happy with them. I've tried a bunch of shoes out over the last 4-5 years and these are up top right now. I'm counting this is my 11th model from the 4th company(Acopa, Sportiva, Five Ten and now Scarpa) since about 2004. I know, I've got a problem. it's a fun problem to have at least, right?

either way though, brian, I wanted to thank you a bunch for hooking me up. I'll try to send you some pics as i get them this season. I was in the gym last week one night and the 2 other people i was climbing with were wearing Stix. My girlfriend has a pair of rockette's that
she bought last year and Vera is looking at getting a pair too.
People are definitely noticing. I'd give boulders a call or send them a note and see if they want to open if they haven't already. They do evolve right now and have been kinda looking for another line.

Also, one last request, is there any sort of deal I can get for one of
the guys that I climb with? He tried on my boosters and liked them.
Let me know. If not, I wouldn't be too hung up about it. He's already got a pair of stix and likes them a lot. He just wants to get the boosters now.

Alright, that's enough of your time that I've wasted with my ranting.
To sum it all up, the shoes are sweet. I'm a fan and I'm excited to try out some other models.

Later!
Steve