Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1118716
By Cara Griffin F or Alpenglow Sports owner Brendan Madigan, being an outdoor retailer is about much more than just selling gear. "I feel a tremendous loyalty to give back to people who have supported the shop for nearly 40 years," says Madigan. "The mountain shop, in my opinion, should be the hub of their community. Providing great advice on equipment and where to have fun is a given. Shops should also serve to be versed in the best local espresso, slice of pizza, etc.," he says. "And arguably in tune with the political, social and environmental issues that have direct impacts in the community." Tahoe City, CA-based Alpenglow has been serving locals and visitors in Tahoe since 1979. Top categories at the shop include: backcountry and Nordic skiing, hiking and backpacking, trail running and rock climbing. Madigan has owned the shop since 2011. After graduating college in Virginia, and a stint pursuing professional soccer in the Netherlands, he had moved west to "chase dreams of untracked powder." He began working at Alpenglow in 2003 before eventually working his way up and purchasing the shop from original owner Don Fyfe. Events are a major aspect of what Alpenglow does. It's a result of the store's team being passionate, knowledgeable, and most of all, committed to the community. As the second-ever Alpenglow owner, Madigan says he feels a "tremendous responsibility to give back to the mountain community that has built the shop over time. Madigan says that ever ything he and the Alpenglow team does is meant to honor this long-standing community-centric business model. "I believe in the utopic concept of outdoor/ ski shops as the go-to resource for everything in each community," says Madigan. Madigan is the creator/founder of a litany of high-end, large-scale experiential events, including the Alpenglow Mountain Festival, the Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series, the Broken Arrow Skyrace and Afterglow, A Mountain Storytelling Podcast. While ownership and a debilitating auto- immune disorder have admittedly reduced Madigan's time in the skin track, he's found new and fulfilling passions through Alpenglow's community events. He says the best thing about being the owner of an outdoor shop is "the people, unequivocally." Working with a tight knit group to "create T H E G R E A T E I G H T I N O U T D O O R S / O U T S I D E T H E B O X The crowd at a Winter Speaker Series event hosted by Alpenglow Sports. Alpenglow Sports / Tahoe City, CA 1 Location Notable: This mountain shop is well- known for its events, ranging from the multi-day extravaganza Mountain Fest, its Winter Speaker Series that raises thousands of dollars for the community, to its mega Backcountry Demo Event, the largest of its kind in North America. Quotable: "I think people derive happiness not from things, but from experiences and relationships. Our whole business centers around giving back to the community." — Brendan Madigan, Alpenglow Sports An Eventful Retail Strategy A L P E N G L O W S P O R T S outdoorinsightmag.com 30 • Outdoor Insight • May 2019 Photo: facebook.com/AlpenglowSports/