PURCHASE with PURPOSE Update

At this past Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, our owner, Ric Cabot presented a check for a portion of the funds we have raised through the sales of our Special Edition ATC Sock. Check out the story by Shannon Davis on Backpacker's Blog The Daily Dirt.

Since February, the Darn Tough Vermont's Purchase with Purpose initiative has raised almost $800 for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Thanks to all that have purchased with a purpose!

We now have over 30 retailers participating in our fund raising efforts!

Guntersville Outfitters, AL
North Cove Outfitters, CT
Outdoor Sports Center, CT
Travel Country, FL
Mountain Crossings, GA
Hilton’s Tent City, MA
S.F. Alman LTD., MS (228) 896-6474
Mountain Tops Outfitters, NY
Campmor, NJ
Village Outdoor Shop, NC
Bluff Mountain Outfitters, NC

Mountain Outfitters, NC (336) 246-9133

Altitude 6288 Sports, NH (603) 466-5050
Lahout's, NH
Edge of the Woods, PA
Ye Old Backpacker, PA
Appalachian Outfitters, SC
Cumberland Transit, TN
Rock Creek Outfitters, TN
Mahoney’s Sports, TN
The Happy Hiker, TN
Wilderness Road Outfitters, TN
Mountain Sports, LTD, VA
Base Camp Outfitters, VT
Farm-Way, VT
The Mountain Goat, VT
Natures Closet, VT
Outdoor Gear Exchange, VT
Appalachian Trail Conservancy, WV

Amazon (on-line only)
Runaways Running Club (online only)

Leave us a comment with your A.T. Trail Name. What's a trail name? Click here to find out

Gone Huntin'

You may have noticed our new HUNT-FISH Series on our website. For this Hunting season, Darn Tough Vermont is currently shipping two models knit with our all weather, odor resistant, fine gauge merino wool. Our Hunting socks feature Darn Tough Vermont's high density cushioning where needed most and extra inch of stretch in the calf for a wider range of fit. To find out more about our Hunting sock click here.

It was our Lifetime Guarantee that drew a lot of attention and a bit of skepticism from folks that visited our booth at the SHOT Show. So, it make sense that avid hunters and outdoorsmen such as Albert Rasch and most recently, Joe flowers, contributing editor for Woods Monkey were eager to experience what we had been talking about.

Check out Joe's assessment of our Darn Tough Vermont socks here

Woods Monkey offers a well rounded perspective on outdoor gear and news that could change the way you prepare for your next adventure. Check them out at www.woodsmonkey.com

Mount Saint Elias Southwest Ridge

4 Guys, 24 Days... Zero Blisters
Tough Tale by: Taylor Woodward

Mission: A departure by water via sailboat from Bellingham, WA and an attempt of a complete ski descent of the Southwest Ridge of Mt. Saint Elias un-assisted by extraneous support. Our voyage took us through the entire Inside Passage, slipping past the Coast Range, Fairweather Range and through the Gulf of Alaska, stopping in Yakutat and onto Icy Bay, spending a month in the Saint Elias Range. Ultimately we would end our trip sailing the last leg into Valdez, AK where an overland journey would see us complete the Alaskan Highway and down to the lower 48.

Team: Our team consisted of four members starting with Steve Hyatt, residing out of Seattle and also the owner of our sailing vessel. Steve’s job was captain for the duration of the trip while his planning and decisions gave us safe journey through the North Pacific Ocean. Tauru Chaw, our food and logistical expert from Phoenix, Arizona, flew in from his travels to be a quintessential teammate. Tauru and Steve have climbed together throughout Asia and North America and trust each other, both on and off rope. David Ghan has been living in Bellingham for the past seven years. David spent his winters snowboarding and climbing in the North Cascades backcountry and was a strong asset to everyone. Taylor Woodward, myself, made the trip over from Bozeman, Montana where I have spent the last four years patrolling in Big Sky, MT. My passion for ski mountaineering and snow science sparked interest in planning the on-mountain segment of the trip.

The Trip: The idea of Mt. Saint Elias from the water was introduced four years ago during a climb on Denali’s Upper West Rib. Steve and I had thrown the idea out that “if we had a boat,” we could begin to contemplate such an endeavor. That fall, Steve’s purchase of the Resolute got the wheels turning and the rest was relative history.

Leaving from Bellingham on April 5th marked the beginning of a 2-month journey that would take us northwards to Alaska, covering over 4,000 miles by land and water after returning home. The trip was divided into three parts; our first phase taking us by water up to Icy Bay via the Inside Passage, a protected waterway that extends from Seattle, WA to the Gulf of Alaska.

The S.V. Resolute, a 1958 Newporter motor sailer weighing in at 16 tons with a full keel was well equipped for the voyage being fully blue water capable. Our speed was maintained at 5 knots, varying with wind direction and speed.

Southeast Alaska provided favorable winds, giving 3 days traveling exclusively by sail, catching southeast winds. Most of British Columbia provided excellent crabbing but drizzle and glassy conditions made for strict planning when dealing with tidal currents. Planning nightly anchorages and maintaining our schedule gave way to constant daily plotting and the consultation of Charlie’s Charts, our maritime bible.

The Gulf of Alaska provided most of the true sailing adventure of the trip. Being on open ocean, the seas were anywhere from 4 to 10 feet and winds out of every direction. The autopilot stopped working during this leg and we took two-hour shifts at the helm throughout the night, keeping a strict bearing towards Cape Yakutat as the Fairweather Range slipped by off the starboard side.

Repeatedly we spotted pods of whales in the Gulf, seeing Mienke, Orca and Humpback. After 19 days and 1200 miles behind us, we pulled into the aptly named Icy Bay at the foot of St. Elias.
There was much mystery involving the base camp approach from the water.

During a recon run up the Taan Fjord, we found out that the Tyndall Glacier had retreated 4 miles from our last topo map update and we were officially off the GPS charts. Not dissuaded, we chose an alternative route through the Chaix Hills incurring a 7-day approach to base camp with all gear totaling 650 pounds. Double and triple carries with sleds were involved to facilitate weight.

From Base Camp we rationed food and prepared for moving up the mountain. The Shale Ridge provided our first objective demonstrating how poor rock can be. Moving to the Bench camp took patience along with double carries and gave us our first skiing opportunities. From the Bench camp we ran into a major obstacle encountering a highly unstable snow pack at 12,000 feet. Our only option was to wait for the slope to stabilize, but repeated additional loading crushed our hopes up high.

After spending 5 days in an igloo waiting for improvement, we decided to head down, still concerned about a reasonable retreat.

After a ski descent from 10,500 feet, Dave and I regrouped at Base Camp bagged first descents all around the lower mountain. Our retreat back to the water was further complicated by the receding snow line and pack ice jamming up Icy Bay, making pick-up impossible. With food and patience running thin, we walked the beach to Kageet Point, 21 miles from the mountain. Our persistence paid off and we were picked up 24 days after starting by George Davis, our Alaskan friend and solitary inhabitant of Icy Bay.

Sailing from Icy Bay to Valdez involved about 220 nautical miles. Traveling by boat again was surreal after slaving on the mountain for nearly a month.

Once again rotating watches, we plotted course around Kayak Island, Hitchinbrook Island, past the Copper River and through Prince William Sound to Valdez, Alaska, the end of our adventure in this spectacular country.



Darn Tough Tested: Before this trip started, I ran into Chris Moon who introduced me to a company that lived up to its name, Darn Tough Socks. I was initially skeptical of any kind of warranty on socks, especially with my track record. Being grateful of our sponsorship, we were all outfitted quite sufficiently with an assortment of socks for the trip.

My personal test came when 5 pairs of socks were to get me through a month in ski boots on a big mountain. Taking care of my feet became first and foremost and after no time I was extremely happy with my socks. Merino Wool is the perfect compliment in wicking and keeping feet dry and the virtually custom fit gave not one blister or even hot spot for the entire team. In the end, the socks stood perfectly stiff from starchiness but still didn’t smell badly like they should have.

I am sold on Darn Tough and firmly believe that the socks might outlast me.

High Pointing Challenge

High Point # 3 of 48: Mt Mansfield, VT- Elevation 4,393 ft.

Today, Monday, July 27th, Randy Clukey and JR Jasinski began their attempt to visit the highest point in each of the lower 48 states in record setting time. In doing so, they will be raising money for Big City Mountaineers, an organization providing outdoor experiences for under-resourced children.

For more information on our challenge, please visit www.highpointingchallenge.org

Darn Tough Vermont is supporting Randy and JR by providing several different models of our Merino wool socks. From Florida to Wyoming, from trail running to glacier travel, Randy and JR will encounter a wide range of temperature and weather extremes. Darn Tough Vermont's Merino wool and high density cushioning will offer JR and Randy the performance needed to keep them on their feet until they are finished with this philanthropic adventure. For today's summit of Mt Mansfield, we wore our Darn Tough Vermont 1/4 Sock Cushion (Model #1401).

I met up with JR and Randy at Mt Mansfield to deliver the socks around noon today. Keep in mind, they started at Katahdin, had been to the top of Mt Washington and were on the way to Mount Marcy, New York's tallest peak following reaching the summit of Mt Mansfield. JR and Randy eagerly put on the socks. Thanked me, then looked at me and said, "Let's go pilgrim!" After a few seconds of debate, i quickly dashed ahead of them, knowing they would catch up in a heart beat. After all, JR and Randy have been training for this trip....

Good thing I wore my Montrail Mountain Masochist trail running shoes. The soft EVA foam did a great job cushioning my feet from the jagged rocks and the gryptonite outsole provided plenty of light weight traction on the off camber trail to the summit. I think it was 1.4 on the Long Trail to the "chin," Mt Mansfield's highest point.

I'm beat....good thing I'm not doing all 48:)

Some photos from Mt Mansfield

Rental Provided by Enterprise

Nice socks!

Randy pushing for the summit



Tom, local yokel and Resort Employee had Darn Tough Vermont socks on too!



Follow the High Point Challenge with Live Chat and GPS updates.

Better Yet...Donate today!

Happy Birthday Marc!

Our founder, Marc Cabot recently celebrated his 70th Birthday.

Thanks for being such a great inspiration to all of us at The Mill.

Bobb"1"

Two time U.S. Sport Climbing Champion and Darn Tough Vermont Sales Rep., Bobbi Bensman took 1st place for the Masters Category in the Citizan Bouldering Competition at the Vail Teva Games this past weekend.

If you'd like to learn how to boulder like her, I highly suggest purchasing her Bouldering Instructional Guide.

She also placed 18th in the XC Mountain Bike Race!


Goooo Bobbi!

from Peter Kling - Darn Tough Athlete

I am a relatively new Darn Tough athlete. My goals are to be on the United States Olympic Nordic ski team in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

Currently I am living in Anchorage, Alaska where I am a full time student as well as a professional athlete. My roots began in Vermont and love staying in touch with Vermont with something I wear everyday.

Springtime in Alaska is one of the best times to be a skier: sun and lots of snow.

Aside from the copious amounts of school work that must be turned in before the end of the year my days are spent crust skiing high in the Chugach with my Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center (APUNSC) teammates.

Crust skiing comes at the end of the normal ski season which works out perfectly as a transition for the body between racing mode and embarking on a new training year. The warm sunny days melt the top most layer of the snow and the clear nights freeze that back up to provide one of the most incredible playgrounds for any outdoor enthusiast.

It is not too difficult to get up and go ski for a few hours when you know you can work on your tan and sneak in some corn snow turns on southern faces.

This summer I have an GIS internship with HDR. On top of this I will be continuing to ski train full time with APUNSC. The team will be fortunate enough to ski one week each month this summer on the Eagle Glacier.
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Peter prefers to wear our Cushioned Merino Wool Nordic Boot Sock (model #1420)