G3 Ends the Enzo
G3 has announced the discontinuation of the free-pivot version of their two-year-old Enzo telemark binding, reports Backcountry’s
Senior Editor Craig Dostie on earnyourturns.com. According to Gord Bailey, G3’s sales manager, “it would take years” to sell out of the Enzo bindings produced for a minimum production run, which means, for now, one of the few players in the telemark game has ceased with product development. For inbounds use, G3 still plans to make their non-touring Enzo R. Dostie has the inside scoop, here.
Thomas Turiano Rolls Out Jackson Hole Backcountry Skier’s Guide: South
“Jackson Hole’s vast untracked paradise beckons,” Teton legend and Backcountry Icon Tom Turiano 
writes in his third published book, Jackson Hole Backcountry Skier’s Guide: South. Turiano released his first book, Teton Skiing: A History and Guide, in 1995 and followed it eight years later with Select Peaks of Greater Yellowstone: A Mountaineering History and Guide. His most recent guidebook, released this June, offers 408 pages chock-full of prime lines. $95 gets you full access to 523 color photos and a chance to seek out what the guidebook calls south Jackson’s “infinite unknown rewards.” Purchase yours, here.
GoPro Goes Public
On June 26, GoPro took the public market by storm, selling 17.8 million shares on its first day at a high of $24 a pop, according to Forbes.com. Traders must have gotten the memo that virtually every other skier (and climber, and surfer, and biker…) is sporting the cam responsible for clogging YouTube with decidedly non-pro footage. Forbes Staff Writer Brian Solomon reports that in the camera’s first four days on the market, shares rose to $48 a piece, twice their IPO price. Despite a dip on the fifth day of trading, investors have a bright outlook on the company’s prospects in the public arena. “Although sharp and strong moves are common in the first days of securities lending activity of a newly listed company, and often unrelated to short selling activity, these numbers are dramatic even by those standards,” Karl Loomes, a market analyst with Astec Analytics told news outlets. Read more, here.
Heady Topper Anticipates Move to Stowe, Vt.
The Alchemist, makers of Heady Topper, a world-renowned American Double IPA and 2013 Backcountry Editors’ Choice winner, is scheduled for a July 15 hearing regarding their intended move to Stowe, Vt., according to the Stowe Reporter. The new location, which would include a tasting room, sales floor and visitor center, would give Vermont skiers easy access for acquiring the oft hard-to-come-by beer. Still, the Reporter states that some Stowe residents are opposed to the idea, saying that they would rather have the brewery—which is looking for a retail outlet apart from its Waterbury, Vt. location due to traffic issues—clogging someone else’s backyard. “The way traffic issues are handled in Stowe falls into a confusing stew of mixed responsibilities with a lot of empty space in between,” writes Nancy Wolfe Stead of the Reporter. Read more, here.
Black Diamond Sells Gregory Mountain Packs to Samsonite
For a cool $85 million, Black Diamond Equipment has handed over Gregory Packs to luggage giant Samsonite in an effort to focus on their core products. “The Gregory sale is an important part of a strategic pivot that we initiated last fall to re-focus investment away from strategic acquisitions and into our core and fastest growing brands,” Peter Metcalf, president and CEO of Black Diamond, said in a press release. Black Diamond went public in 2010 when it was purchased by Clarus Corporation and combined with Gregory Mountain Products to form Black Diamond Equipment. In the 2010 deal, Gregory was bought for $45 million, which leaves the company with a profit of $40 million. [Ed Note: How many backpacks can you make with $40 mil?] In their press release, Black Diamond states their plans to use some of the sale’s proceeds to pay off its debts with Zions Bank, and amount that was estimated at $26.7 million as of March 31, 2014. Check out the press release, here.
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