Marmot Will Open its 7th North American Store Right Here in Chicago's Gold Coast

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As the story goes,

In April 1971, students Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley were in Alaska on the Juneau Icefields on a school project in Glaciology. It was here on the glacier, amongst these students, that the idea of a Marmot club began. To become a Marmot, you had to climb a glaciated peak with another Marmot. One of the rules of the club was that everyone was president. Most of the other rules dealt with the collegiate fascination with bodily functions.

That summer and through the semesters until 1973, Eric and Dave made prototypes of a down vest, a sweater and a parka and, later, three down sleeping bags. The warmest bag, the PIKA was rated at -45 degrees F and retailed for $168. Later, after a winter ascent of the Grand Teton in Wyoming with a gentleman named Tom Boyce, the threesome rented a 100 year old stone building and opened a rental and retail shop called Marmot Mountain Works. Marmot the company was born.

Marmot has grown since 1977 to be headquartered in California and operate offices in Colorado, Canada, Hong Kong, the UK, Sweden and Germany. Its products are distributed in over 60 countries, yet only has 6 stand alone stores in places like Aspen, Vail and Park City. This fall, Marmot will open its 7th store in North America right here in The Gold Coast.

· Marmot [Official Site]
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