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Aspen ski clothing maker Strafe launches campaign honoring iconic ski lifts

A web series featuring still photography, written words and a film were used by Aspen ski clothing maker Strafe to celebrate iconic lifts. Deep Temerity at Aspen Highlands, pictured here, was the first honored.
Ian Fohrman/courtesy image |

An Aspen-born maker of ski clothing has kicked off the 2016-17 winter with a dynamite online advertising campaign that celebrates the world’s most iconic chairlifts.

Strafe Outerwear teamed with Powder Productions to tell the stories of some of the most highly treasured lifts. They launched the series in Strafe’s backyard by highlighting the Deep Temerity lift at Aspen Highlands.

Films are used to dig into the stories behind the renowned chairlifts. Powder Productions interviewed resort staff and skiers from each resort to tell the stories. The films also feature professional skiers and Strafe ambassadors.



They come across like ski flicks rather than advertisements.

“We often tell the exploits of exceptional skiers, or ski areas themselves, but no one has truly told the stories of the iconic chairlifts that carry the athletes to the goods,” said Strafe Marketing Director Whit Boucher in a statement announcing the campaign.




Strafe founders, and twin brothers, Pete and John Gaston founded their company in Aspen in 2010. Their office and showroom as at the base of Highlands, so it’s fitting that the iconic lift series starts with Deep Temerity, said Sam Coffey, an account executive with rygr, a Basalt public relations agency that works with the company. Deep Temerity inspired the design of some of Strafe’s apparel.

Other lifts that will be featured in the series are Squaw Valley’s KT-22, Alta’s Wildcat and the Helbronner’s Skyway in Courmayer, Italy.

“Those are the lifts they had connections to,” Coffey said.

The segments on Deep Temerity and KT-22 have been released. The other two will be out shortly.

The Deep Temerity segment in the series features several killer photos of the lift and skiers hitting the terrain it serves, including Highland Bowl. A shorty written story is interwoven to tell how the lift came about and how it transformed Aspen Highlands. A 3½-minute film features the Gastons and Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol Director Mac Smith talking about the lift and action footage of pro skiers ripping it up. The film can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF3Q6br0_UM.

Powder Productions is a branch of Powder Magazine so the series will be released on the Powder website as well as through Strafe’s site.

Strafe does a soft sell of its products — links for orders, shopping, dealers, culture and adventures are included at the end of the story about the Deep Temerity lift.

Coffey said he foresees the web series as the future of advertising for an adventure company like Strafe. “It’s hard to justify $10,000 to $20,000 for a print ad,” he said, noting that the web series has a greater potential reach.