Photo: James Sullivan
TNF Sushi Dinner

Last month BNQT journeyed up to Tahoe to spend some time with The North Face crew. Made up of athletes Ian MacIntosh, DCP, Mark Carter, Dana Flahr, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Rob Kingwill, Jacqui Edgerly, Scott Schmidt, Jim Zellers, and Callum Pettit, the purpose of the gathering was the annual TNF Athlete Summit.

Once a year riders, designers, developers and the marketing group at The North Face get together to reflect on the previous season and brainstorm ideas for the upcoming winter.

Photo: James Sullivan
Eric Tietje, Scott Schmidt, Ian MacIntosh, John Nite
Among topics discussed are products, film projects, traveling and the general notion of what each individual athlete hopes to achieve in the season to come.

For those who've never worked for a brand or a clothing company, it may be hard to conceive just how complex a process creating the products you wear and consume can be. Take winter outerwear for example.

Photo: James Sullivan
Callum Pettit displays his inspiration board.
The items you buy on the shelf this holiday season were designed and constructed over a year ago and were initially conceptualized a year before that (or more).

Such is the time it takes to gather ideas, design, develop, produce, test, improve, finalize and deliver a particular good.

Photo: James Sullivan
The TNF crew brainstorms ideas for new products.
Considering the effort, nothing is more frustrating than achieving an end result that's less than satisfactory -- be it from lack of quality or poor design.

For the athletes, who work so hard to perfect their own skill, riding a jacket or pant that functions badly and looks whack is not an option.

If you're hiking and hucking to get the shot, you don't want the reason the magazines don't choose your photo is because you're steeze is sub-par.

Photo: James Sullivan
Rob Kingwill and Megan Pischke
From the brand side, getting it right is equally, if not more important. Spending 2+ years creating a product only to have it sell poorly with bad reviews is a no-no.

Enter in the athlete brand summit. Many companies do this, but The North Face is an example of those doing it right.

Photo: James Sullivan
Mark Carter on the frisbee golf course.
They bring all their athletes out to Tahoe each year, put them up in a dope house in Squaw, take them out to sweet sushi dinners, offer entertainment like mountain bike excursions, frisbee golf and firelight guitar playing by the legend himself - Jim Zellers!

Kidding aside, the summit most importantly brings designers and athletes in one room to pour over products, exchange valuable feedback and give rider and desk jockey alike a chance to truly get to know one another.

Photo: James Sullivan
Kinger demonstrates the "tomahawk toss."
For example, athletes provide "expression boards" -- a collage of sorts that illustrates through imagery the various things in life that inspires the presenting individual - from art and design to ocean waves or music.

Through this exchange designers can get a feel for the personality of the athlete and build products to suit their style.

In turn, the athletes can help guide the designers about colorways, cuts, and specific functional features needed on the hill - be they pocket zippers, goggle access or material weight.

Photo: James Sullivan
Dana Flahr takes aim.
As subjective as it may be the end result improves the process and the product, benefiting both athlete on the hill and the customer in the store.

During our time in Tahoe, BNQT was able to interview all The North Face athletes, join them for meals and meetings and even play a round of frisbee golf.

What we learned is that despite being on opposite sides of the aisle the snowboarders and skiers of The North Face team are a very tight knit group with a shared passion for the mountains above all else. It's the same with the design & development team -- all passionate enthusiasts who gain inspiration on the weekends and inject it into their work in the office.

Photo: James Sullivan
Snowboarding legend Jim Zellers provides a few party
favors.
It was an insightful few days -- getting behind-the-scenes of where a product starts, how a team is integrated into the mix, and how bad even pro athletes can be at frisbee golf.

Much thanks to the TNF team for their hospitality to BNQT. Make sure you enter the TNF Cryptic Challenge at http://www.bnqt.com/TNF for your chance to win a full outwear setup from TNF's high end "Cryptic Line."

And for more on The North Face check out TheNorthFace.com