Jun 07 | True North - An Intern's Experience
By The North Face
"You're our top
candidate..." After finishing a phone interview 45 minutes prior, I wasn't
expecting to hear those words so soon, or really at all. My name is
Lindsey, I’m 29 years old (quickly approaching 30), from Los Angeles, CA, and through
social media, my world changed. Via a Facebook post found on Modern Hiker
– a hiker I follow to learn of new trails in the greater Los Angeles area – I
was introduced to a great opportunity being offered through Backpacker
Magazine in partnership with The North Face. It was an intern
position working with one of their esteemed athletes to coordinate an inaugural
service event at the annual athlete summit, this year being held in Jackson
Hole, WY.
Upon my introduction to The North Face headquarters located in Alameda, CA, I was in complete disbelief at how a building could embody my ideology on sustainability and environmental awareness. In Los Angeles, I worked as an Art Department Coordinator for film and television, and oftentimes I’m known as the girl who brings her own bowl. Working in an industry that is wasteful overall, it was great to see a company so dedicated to the environment – through their use of reusable water bottles, composting, an onsite garden, and every type of bin to collect items for reuse or recycling (even an energy bar wrapper collection bin), not to mention their approach to their products being cruelty-free and having the least amount of environmental impact in production and shipment. I was a fan from the beginning.
Through countless phone calls and e-mails, Heidi Wirtz (TNF climber, philanthropist, and awesome woman) and I were able to develop a great service event partnering with the American Alpine Club’s Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch. The American Alpine Club, a climbing and advocacy group, through their Climbers’ Ranch, provides an accommodation option to mountaineers and their families during the summer months. In the first week of June, the Ranch conducts “work week,” a great program for climbers and those interested – in exchange for a week of working on improvement projects, a month of accommodation at the Ranch. In preparation for work week, the Ranch needed our help in readying it for visitors.
To say that the arrival into Jackson Hole, WY was bumpy, would be an understatement. After a fall from the sky, and a ride reminiscent of being inside a “BOGGLE” game, Blair (Sr. OE & Community Development Coordinator) and I touched down. Welcomed by a short spurt of rain, we started off readying for the next day’s service event – picking up work gloves donated by an amazing organization, Teton Science Schools, which educates about nature and the ecosystem through a variety of programs, and conducting a quick site visit at the Ranch to run over the last-minute details. Meeting with Philip, the manager of the Ranch, and the two assistant managers – Debbie and Gary, gave Blair and I great insight into the Ranch, and the actual scope of work that we were undertaking. We were even welcomed by some of the locals – two moose, and a bushy-tailed fox!
The day of the event was met with a mix of nerves and excitement. Once at the Ranch, Heidi, Blair and I readied for the arrival of the athletes and the TNF staff. To keep the carbon footprint to a minimum, we used human-power to get the majority of the volunteers to the event. Via forty bikes, five cars, and some on foot, everyone began to arrive. The Tetons were shrouded in clouds for most of the morning, but as the runners ran, the bikers biked, and the cars drove up, the clouds lifted, creating a nice welcome to the Ranch.
With four awesome project leaders at the helm, there was little that could go wrong. The Ranch had been closed for winter, and our efforts were concentrated on de-winterizing: moving bikes out of cabins and picnic tables out of the cook shelter, cleaning windows, removing shutters and storm doors, hanging screens, cleaning coolers, and the largest task of the day – gravel relocating. The gravel is dispersed unevenly around the Ranch, and was in need of some leveling and movement for better mobility via foot, bike and car. Each volunteer took to his or her project with great enthusiasm and excitement! Seeing snowboarders wielding wheelbarrows, runners riding bikes from the cabin to the bike rack, skiers cleaning windows, and climbers carrying shutters on their heads to storage, it was a multi-sport grouping of awesome and inspiring individuals doing their part to give back. From the physicality of the shoveling, to some creativity in getting the bikes out of the cabins, and even window washing extending from the cabins to the cars nearby, everyone had a great time giving back and getting in a small workout. The event was a success being celebrated after by a lunch brought in from Jackson Whole Grocer – a fresh, wholesome, and organic market in town. With the Tetons as the backdrop – it couldn’t get much better!
Leaving the event, it seemed
surreal that it was over. Philip and the Ranch were ecstatic with
everything we were able to accomplish, and the day exceeded their expectations!
Everyone I have met, from the receptionist at the TNF front desk, to the contacts at the nonprofits in Jackson, to each member of the marketing and PR team at The North Face, has been helpful, kind and welcoming! To have this opportunity truly embodies Backpacker Magazine’s description of the position – a dream job. It has been a stellar experience, and has only reinforced my love for the outdoors and the industry that services it!
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