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Backcountry.com mostly delivering on reparations after trademark controversy

Jason Blevins The Colorado Sun
Backcountry.com's offices in Redstone.
Bubba Brown/Park Record

Emily Hargraves last year was certain she was going to close Backcountry Babes, her 22-year-old business. Backcountry.com was suing her in federal court because she had secured a trademark for her company, which offers tours, clinics and avalanche training for women. 

When news broke last November that the e-commerce giant had for several years been suing small businesses, like Hargrave’s, for registering and trademarking the word “backcountry,” the Utah-based company weathered blistering criticism. Eventually, Backcountry.com dropped its lawsuits, fired its trademark attorneys and launched a nationwide effort to make reparations. 

Then-chief executive Jonathan Nielsen reached out to Hargraves in November last year and asked what she needed — as he did for many of the dozens of brands that were sued.



Hargraves said there were too few women qualified to teach and guide in avalanche terrain. Nielsen proposed a deal. Hargraves got to keep the name of her company and Backcountry.com would fund multi-year scholarships to Backcountry Babes guides to pursue instructor qualification with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education and guide certification with the American Mountain Guides Association. 

Read the full story via The Colorado Sun.



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