It is easy to head out for a casul walk in the woods and find yourself lost, no I mean really lost. Just ask Robin Zammas who was recently rescued by Atalaya Search and Rescue after a short dog walk out of the Ski Basin truned into 2 days in the woods.In reading the article about Robins long walk and subsequent rescue, I felt the need to share inforamtion applicable to all who travel into the wilderness and are lucky enough to walk out with the help of our devoted local volunteer search and rescue teams or even on ones own.

There are some really basic guidlines for travelling in the backcountry whether you are alone or with freinds, going near or far.While we are lucky to have a volunteer based local SAR service in Santa Fe,many states are begining to demand payment from lost hikers and climbers for reparation on there rescue. Often people innocently get turned around in the wilderness like in the case of Santa Fe local Robin Zammas other times people get in trouble because they lack the sense and ability to measure and assess the decision they are making.By Following these easy steps, everyone can stay found even if they get lost.

Hiker Responsibility Code

You are responsible for yourself, so be prepared:

1. With knowledge and gear. Become self reliant by learning about the terrain, conditions, local weather and your equipment before you start.

2. To leave your plans. Tell someone where you are going, the trails you are hiking, when you will return and your emergency plans.

3. To stay together. When you start as a group, hike as a group, end as a group. Pace your hike to the slowest person.

4. To turn back. Weather changes quickly in the mountains. Fatigue and unexpected conditions can also affect your hike. Know your limitations and when to postpone your hike. The mountains will be there another day.

5. For emergencies. Even if you are headed out for just an hour, an injury, severe weather or a wrong turn could become life threatening. Don’t assume you will be rescued; know how to rescue yourself.

6. To share the hiker code with others.

hikeSafe: It’s Your Responsibility.

By Foloowing these easy steps you are on the way to a successful backcountry adventure. For more information on hiking visit sdcmountainworks.com

Alot of people have been asking us lately how we feel about REI coming to town, What are we going to do?.......Are we afraid of REI?....... Do we really think we are going to make it? All very realistic questions. With so many questions and so much curiosity I will attempt to address our communities questions and concerns and at the same time pose the same question back to the community. What do you think?

For nearly fourteen years Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works, formerly Active Endeavors of Santa Fe has operated as a specialty outdoor business with the mission and comittment of providing the Santa Fe community with quality outdoor apparel and equipment combined with a focus towards customer service and community investment. In this light I think that our tenure speaks to some modest success in achieving our goal within the community. Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works has always been a small store with a big heart re investing in the comminty of Santa Fe through the support of many local not for profits, participation in the Santa Fe Locals Care community cooperative rewards. One of our greatest successes has been the introduction of the Santa Fe presentation of the Banff Mountain Film Festival, a venue we devoted for seven years to assisting The Trust For Public Land in their effort to create community awareness and investment in our communities Rail Yard Park( REI is appreciative of our efforts). Beyond our charitable work in the community , Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works has assembled and pioneered some of the finest outdoor equipment and apparrel in the market place. Through our communities continued patronage, Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works believes in our business and our customers as well as our our long term viability.

Santa Fe like everywhere else in the world is changing very rapidly and has achieved the general pop status of one of the finest places in the world to live form a quality of life standoint. As we grow we also become attractive to the forces and economic drivers that seek the growth metrics of a community like ours. With this attraction comes change and the entrance of larger and more powerful corporations, like REI. Is REI bad, I would think not, they are seemingly a very adept a shrewd retailer as they have achieved a high status on all fronts nationally. REI lends viability to the market and will give Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works an opportunity to achieve a higher level of success as the railyard becomes a general outdoor epicenter for the Santa Fe Community. REI will bring a new twist to doing business in Sana Fe and will force us to sharpen our pencils and become a better retailer. We hope we can work with our new neighbor as we have done with other competitors in the market.We believe in the value of long term relationships and slowly earning our customers one at a time. We have an incredible bredth of knowledge surrounding the gear and activities we sell. As passionate skiers, climbers, bikers, paddlers,mountaineers, trail runners and nordic skiers we do what we do out of passion for sharing the outdoors. So we welcome the challenge and we will put our best foot forward, in the end it will come down to you the consumer as to where you want to purchase your gear. I can sure say, we hope you will choose Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works.

So whats really changing here and what will be the so great about having REI. There are a whole lot of myths abounding surrounding small mountain shops and larger players like REI. A common myth about shopping at REI is that they are cheaper across the board, which actually is not true. The outdoor industry in the world of wholesale distribution holds all dealers to strict contracts and pricing agreement which we all must live by or we will lose our privaledges. REI and Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works are required to sell products for the same price unless we are having a seasonal or annual sale promotion. In this light, the myth of price gouging by small retailers is just that , a myth. Well then there is the REI co-operative which enables members to recieve a divededn at the end of the year. This is great too except that Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works has also operated a customer coop allowing 10% back on all retail purchases at the end of the year. In adddition Sangre de Cristo Mountain works has participated in Locals Care allowing customers to acquire points at retailwhich are then redeemable at all participating ocal busineeses. Beyond our general cutomer appreciation programs, Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works has worked for over a decade with local Search and Rescue teams, Fire teams, The Santa Fe Police, The Department of Parks and Recreation as well as various clubs and organizationsproviding access to the equipment and apparrel they need to safely provide for our community.So, if REI is not cheaper via price or membership, is it the service? Sure, REI has well trained staff, and they do provide pretty good service for a super sized retailer, this is the tricky one because we all value different aspects of retail service in todays world. We both will provide excellent service, so that is a wash. Is it the brands? Sangre de Cristo Mountai Works and REI overlap on nearly 85% of the brands we represent, this is not to say that we will carry the same products from the companies we represent, it just means we both have access to the same products and again at the same price. It is the BIG effect where we will be different, REI is BIG and they have lots of stuff for the immediate gratification consumer. We would like to believe that BIGGER is not neccessarily BETTER, but there are some who definetly think so. So what is it about those guys,same clothes, same gear, same cutomer discounts. REI will always generally have more of everything, we will have more quality in the brands and products we sell. It is very interesting to me to sort these questions out, let us know what you think. The one thing we do know is that which does not kill us will only make us stronger and change is constant. We love the community we serve.

All the small businesses in Santa Fe face adversity. We have lived through Forest Fires, Forest Closures, Drought, Snowless winters, global terror, increased gas prices, incresed rent, increased expenses, internet competition, stock market implosion and increased competitiiton. It has been said by an unkown source;

"If you think you're beeaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win and don't think you can
It's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost;
For out in the world ,you'll find
Success begins with a persons will
It's all in the state of mind.


Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works believes in our mission to serve and provide the Santa Fe community with the best gear , the best service in a pleasant boutique Mountainshop environment.

In addressing the concerns of the communty as a whole, we want to thank Santa Fe and our loyal patrons for all the incredible support you have shown us during these times of change. We are happy to say we are having the busiest summer ever at Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works and we hope that this will be indicative of the communities future support of our store. I know that like so many others, I moved to Santa Fe for a love of the place , Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works was born out of a deep passion for the outdoors. I have been very lucky in combining my deepest loves into a proffession where I can serve the most interesting community of outdoor lovers in our country. We thank you for sharing in our dream. We look forward to our future serving you in Santa Fe.

As we move ahead we are looking forward to our upcoming remodel of our space and the introduction of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works Online store. We are busy looking at the Farmers almanac and conducting secret snow dances in undisclosed places. The buyers are feverishly writing orders for Summer 2008 and its hard to believe that it is almost time for the year end Sale and VIC pre sale party. Peace, we will see you on the trail.

Kent Little
Founder
Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works

Michael Reardon, a world renowned Southern California free solo rock climber who scaled towering cliff faces without a rope, was presumed dead after a rogue wave swept him into the sea Friday on an island off the southwest coast of Ireland....................Read More

Check out Michaels Blog http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/problog/michaelreardon/

New Fires ravishing the west and taxing the avaiable fire crews........

I have not been a very good blogger as of late as I have been recreating in every sense of the word. I spent the weekend in a secret place, fortunately inaccessible to most people as they , the many would trash it. I visited a Friends cabin in Northern New Mexico which is located in a canyon on a pristine piece of trout water. Rarely does someone of my caliber get to fish in such wonderful place as they really do not exist anymore in public water. This is a damn shame as fishing what we call "Live Water" is a joy beyond a fisherman's capacity in today's world without throwing down the big bucks. The river which I will not disclose for privacy reason is teaming with life and the fishing was better than exceptional.
On Saturday morning, we shook off the fog of the reverly from the night before and headed two miles down stream to jump in the river. Despite warm air temperatures, the river was frosty cold as it poured down canyon on its long journey to the Rio Grande. In an attempt to increase the odds we fished a dry dropper set up which would run a large buoyant dry fly on the surface while trailing a small sub surface nymph off the back, a truly deadly set up if you are fishing "live water". As we worked up into the first riffle, I flipped short casts into the pockets surrounding the large granitic boulders which dotted the stream. On my third drift the fly swirled into a small eddy next to the rock and immediately disappeared, game on!. I set the fly and line began screaming off my spool as the fish charged upstream in a highly irritated fashion. A few minutes later she would come agreeably to the slow water to be released. A beautiful New Mexico Brown of 16".
After such an early success, I get a bit excited and worked up on the river losing my casting edge and the zen like relaxation it takes to cast and properly drift a fly. I usually at this point place the fly line and the fly deftly in a tree to create 10m or 15 minutes of untangling line, this usually relaxes me and slows me down to repeat the process again. As we moved up stream the Dry dropper rig continued to produce.
As I rounded a long meandering bend in the river I fished up on my buddy. As always we chatted about the mornings fishing and as to whether we are on target to meet our families for a shore lunch mid stream. The fishing had turned off, leaving the fisherman to work and cover water with a a new diligence and Patience. Often when I fish and the fishing is slow, I turn my eye to birding, this day would provide not only the finest fishing in the world but some very unique birding opportunities. As I waded to the final bend I was surprised by a gaggle of Western tanager's capped in there red hoods and canary yellow suits of vibrant color. Another first for me for the day, a true dandy for a nature lover.
We came around the bend slowly as the Rainbows were aggressively taking cadis in the final pool, despite and incredible hunger and the knowledge that a cold beer lay one bend away we fished until the show was over. Soon it would be lunch and another mile of tight lines and fast fish.
I love to be out doors in the woods as I feel that for the observer there is always something afoot. I like to play more than writing on the web so if I am away, I am collecting another short tale of the wonders of nature to share with you. Have a great day and get out and hit the trail, river, woods, slopes and we will see you there.