business

The North Face ascends in DC

By Garrett Faulkner

August 2009

The mountain has come to Georgetown — and no, it’s not the long climb up to Prospect Street. Think crampons over docksiders, because The North Face officially opened its store at 3333 M St. N.W. on Aug. 21, featuring two floors’ worth of its rugged and trendy outdoor gear — and who knew the two could go hand in hand? The store is the first in the district, the nearest previous location buried in the congested Tyson’s Corner area.

The company has long been adept at branding itself the perennial outfitter of extreme sports old and new, accoutering with top-notch Gore-Tex and polar fleece the sanguine and windburnt bodies of Dean Karnazes, Karina Hollekim and other death-taunting adventurers on snow and slope. Local powderhounds and mountaineers were treated Saturday to a talk by climbing titan Conrad Anker, the company’s alpinist poster boy with an Everest-sized resume, including a founding role in the philanthropic Khumbu Climbing School.

But the real genius behind The North Face’s image lays in its nonclutter and reserve, palpable in everything from the company’s logo (the three curves far more minimalist than, say, Arc’Teryx’s dinosaur skeleton) to the spare and versatile apparel. The Inlux insulated jacket, for instance, performs equitably for mountaineers in a rainstorm or city slickers walking across Key Bridge in winter. What results is a flurry of devoted followers from all backgrounds who are after North Face’s sporty cachet, all at a more modest cost than the Marmots and Mountain Hard Wears of the world.

“Our corporate goal is to inspire people to get outdoors,” said retail director Rich Marini, who oversees operations at the Georgetown store. He’s optimistic the student and (albeit understated) outdoorsy demographics in Georgetown will make it a good location to foster interest in outdoor sports. Additionally, the store’s community corkboard will offer the wanderlustful the latest hiking and backpacking opportunities in Washington, Shenandoah and beyond.