Tahoe City, California's, Alpenglow Sports, recently announced its sale to local freeheeler Brendan Madigan. Madigan, who started working at Alpenglow “as a classic ski bum” in 2003, admitted that now owning the shop that gave him his start is “a dream come true”. Alpenglow Sports is a well known landmark in the Tahoe area for all things outdoors, but it is especially renowned for its expertise within the telemark and backcountry skiing markets. As an accomplished telemark athlete himself, Madigan continues the legacy of a shop with employees — from ownership to sales team — that love the outdoors and use the gear they sell.

And Alpenglow Sports has established itself as much more than just a retail store. It has become a hub of outdoor culture and community involvement. Madigan aspires to preserve the traditions of the shop’s former owner, Donald Fyfe, while staying up to speed with new technology and unique ways to participate in the local community. He explains,“Under Don’s professional tutelage and expertise, we have been able to blend a proven and successful business model with the exciting new prospects of social media, events and thinking outside the box.”

So, look for a calender of events at Alpenglow that is jam-packed full of telemark and backcountry skiing oriented endeavors. These will include the Lake Tahoe Winter Film Series, the Lake Tahoe Backcountry Vertical Challenge, as well as free community avalanche seminars, women’s-specific backcountry evenings and the Lake Tahoe Alpine Touring and Telemark Demo Event at Alpine Meadows.

“I feel strongly about giving back to my community,” said Madigan. “We’re all in it together here in Tahoe, and at Alpenglow we are hopeful that our service, friendliness, expertise and free community events resonate with the community. In this day and age it is our responsibility to support each other.”

Undoubtedly, the telemark community has a strong ally in Alpenglow Sports. With Madigan at the helm, the shop is sure to continue producing top-notch telemark events as well as providing great service to anyone who stops in for a visit. To stay up-to-date with everything Alpenglow has going on, check out their website HERE.

-Kate Hourihan