Epic Award 'Trophy' Axes

Mountain axes from Black Diamond Equipment and the paintbrush of local artist Bekah Worley were the necessary pieces to put together a set of wall-mountable trophies made for our new EPIC Award project, which we launched this week with a microsite page.

So maybe it’s not quite as venerable as an Oscar or a Piolet d’Or. At least not yet! But with our new industry and outdoor-world award, which is sponsored by Wenger, we hope to highlight adventurers, athletes, gear designers, and artists who affect notable change in the world outdoors.

For 2012, we plan to award six EPIC prizes, and this week we jumped in with two recipients, Jason Kruk of Squamish, B.C., and Hayden Kennedy of Carbondale, Colo., who in January made a history-altering and controversial ascent of Patagonia’s famous “Compressor Route” on Cerro Torre. See the full post on Kruk and Kennedy here.

Going forward, we’ll announce new EPIC Award winners every other month, including an axe hand-off to our next recipient planned live and onstage April 29th at the Midwest Adventure Expo in Minneapolis. Be there to see our presentation and ogle an EPIC axe in person. And be sure to email us and nominate anyone potentially worthy of recognition and exhibiting “epic” tendencies within your sphere.

—Stephen Regenold is founder of GearJunkie.