- ONLY 7 SHOPPING DAYS LEFT 'TIL X-MAS. HAVE YOU VISITED WWW.ALPINEER.COM?

Long title, huh? 20 years and over 1100 miles away I can still feel the scathing criticism of my journalism teacher from high school all the way out here in CO. (I never liked you either, lady.) With that out of the way we'd like to officially welcome The Alpineer from Crested Butte on board as a patron of the race. We're stoked to have them for a couple of reasons, the first being that they're really, really involved in open space issues in their own back yard starting with a planned project to create a single track route from CB to Gunni. Hard not to like commitment like that.

They've also been in the biz since 1969...and it shows. Their online catalog is unadulterated gear porn, especially if you're into tele, AT or Nordic stuff. And with mother nature blessing CO and the southwest with what's shaping up to be another banner snow year, The Alpineer's goodies take on just that much more luster. Emphasis on the 'lust' part. Their bike stuff is nothing to sneeze at either and it's a great tie-in that Travis himself is a veteran of several La Ruta's and other international-level stage race sufferfests.

Travis and his staff have done more than just create a nice product mix at their retail location. They've really globalized their business through the internet, yet have managed to maintain that small store appeal and benchmark service levels with gear reviews from the folks in the shop, gear guides and FAQ's and an amazing compilation of product reviews from the national magazines...and it's all in one place. They've really created a cool resource for everyone and anyone who's looking for more information. If you've ever shopped Backcountry.com these guys are an unbelievable alternative.

So yeah, there are a few days left until Christmas and there are a few great deals on their site. They also offer free shipping to the lower 48 with orders over $25. You can check 'em out at http://www.alpineer.com/ or http://www.telemarkski.com/. Tell 'em we sent ya.