Finding a good Balance

Carson finds balance in her END shoes.

Carson Munroe came into the shop the other day with a dilemma. She was going on a float trip and wanted a shoe for the occasion. I helped her try on Chaco's, Keens, and finally the END (Envionmentally Neutral Design) "LOL" shoe. She liked the chaco's feel, but didn't see herself wearing them around town after her float trip. The keens were a bit much for her narrow foot. I had never sold a pair of the END "LOL's" with a float trip in mind. She loved the look of the shoes and how light they were. The drainage was perfect for her float trip. She promised she would let me know how they worked out, and a few days later she said they worked perfectly. They made a great balance between a tennis shoe and a water sandal. If you haven't seen the "LOL's" yet come in and check them out.

Customer Gear Review
"Adirondack" Canoe

Review by: Maggie Berglund

In June I bought Winonah Adirondack Canoe from the Alpine shop.
So far I have only been out on lakes although my real hope is to be out
on rivers. It is nice and light which means that with a little
planning I can load and unload it by myself and carry it around. I am
a relatively strong woman, but not a power lifter by any means.

On the lake I have paddled it by myself, which is a little tricky and
slow, but very doable. With two people, look out, we are cruising.

I can't think of any complaints. Maybe I will check back in after a
river trip next week.

In the meantime, you can tell from the picture that my dog approves of
the purchase as well. I should note that it is stable enough to stay
upright when he jumped out unexpectedly for a swim, but he also weighs
less than 20 lbs.

See you on the river,
Maggie

Trip to the southeast

Here are some pictures from my trip this past week. We got to paddle the upper and lower ocoee as well as the chattooga in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina. It was a great trip with plenty of water.

Dick's Creek falls on section 3

Somewhere on the Chattooga

Second Ledge

Second Ledge

First Annual Alpine Shop Family Paddle Day

We had a great day on Sunday. Thanks to all who came out to the first ever Family Paddle Day with the Alpine Shop to benefit the Rainbow House. The event was a success with about 80 people getting out on the water. Thanks to all who helped with this event, we look forward to seeing you all in the store or at our next event. Here are some pictures from sunday thanks to Michael Hoffmann.

State rep. Chris Kelly, Rainbow House executive director Jan Stock, and Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman.

The registration tent.

Mayor Hindman tries out the Wilderness Systems "Pungo 120"

Good food hot off the grill.

The Alpine Shop booth had some good examples of what we carry in our store   ( as long as we could keep our examples from blowing off the table).

The scene down at the shore-line.

Confluence Kurt helping out one of the boaters.

Some shots of paddlers out on the lake.

Missouri Whitewater Association Clinic (trip report) 4/17

The clinic had a good turnout this year. The total came to about 70 students and 50 safety boaters/instructors. Everything kicked off at 8 am Saturday morning. We were lucky to have great water levels for both days. Saturday was overcast, but the rain moved in Sat. night. Sunday saw on and off rain with the water rising throughout the day. We had a lot of fun with good company over both days. The students learned a lot and, like always, so did the instructors and safety boaters. All of the credit for the photos goes to John Niebling. Thanks John.

Safety boaters meeting in the morning (photo by John Niebling).

The clinic groups start to take shape

Running Cat's Paw

My group discussing lines and options for Cat's Paw on Sunday

Trip Report: Saturday on the Saint Francis

We showed up for a great saturday on the Saint Francis river near Fredericktown, Mo to find bridge-level water, great friends and amazing weather. We got in a quick first run down from millstream gardens, and then followed it up with a second run of the same stretch. It had been a while, so the water felt great. The Saint is quite a gem tucked away in the Ozarks. We really do have some amazing stuff here in Missouri.

Some views from the put-in

Big Drop

Ran into a lot of fellow paddlers at Double Drop

Cats Paw

Cats Paw 

Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to The Alpine Shop in Columbia's blog. I am going to kick things off with the first post. It is an invite to come paddle with us at Stephens Lake on May 3. Check back for updates. I will post a trip report from the Missouri Whitewater Clinic after the weekend of the 18 and 19th. We will get some other people posting as well. Have a good day.


Fellow paddlers,

We have a date set for our Alpine Shop in Columbia's Canoe and Kayak day at Stephens Lake. The date is Sunday, May 3 at 1:00pm. We will be out at the lake paddling around and answering questions. This is a free event! We will have hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. There will be a tv/dvd player to show paddling videos (feel free to bring any you have or have made...we will try to play them). This is designed to be a meeting of the paddling community in Columbia and surrounding areas. You are encouraged to bring your own boats but not required. If you don't have a boat, please just show up with a swimsuit and we will help you get in a boat to give it a spin. As I said before the event is free, we will have a donation jar for the Rainbow House here in Columbia. For those of you not familiar, they are a local children's emergency center. Here is their website: http://www.rainbowhousecolumbia.org/


Directions to Stephens Park (we are at the Gordons shelter)
http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/ParksandRec/Parks/index.php

If you have any questions, call us up at the Alpine Shop or e-mail me at

jholdmeier@alpineshop.com

See you on the water!