Meet An OGExpert: Avery Gardner

What’s an OGExpert? They’re the folks that huff and puff alongside you in the skin track, give you a yell from the lift, move that pad for you at the climbing gym, share their granola at the summit, or help you change a flat tire at the bike trail head. They’re us. We’ve done it all, and used pretty much every kind of gear along the way. We live, breathe, and recreate with the community.

NAME

Avery Gardner (pronouns: they/them)

AGE

26

HOMETOWN

Forked River, New Jersey

WHAT BROUGHT YOU HERE TO VERMONT?

I came to Vermont to attend Green Mountain College for Adventure Education down in Poultney, VT. I had always dreamed of moving to the distant mountains from the small beach town I grew up in. So once I came up for college I just never left this beautiful green place.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING AT OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE?

4 years.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT OGE?

Data Content Associate.

WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR AREA OF OUTDOOR EXPERTISE?

Camping, Backpacking, and Mountain Biking.

TELL US ABOUT ANY UPCOMING GOALS OR TRIPS YOU HAVE.

My next big goal is to bike the Kokopelli Trail out in Utah/Colorado with my best friend. We have been planning this trip for a while, but have put it on hold until we can both safely travel out there. It will be the longest continuous biking trail either of us has completed and we are stoked on the idea of finally conquering it.

WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE OR TRIP RECOMMENDATION YOU OFTEN GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THE OUTDOORS FOR THE FIRST TIME?

Research! Both through guide books and first-hand knowledge of people who have done whatever trip you are planning. You can do this either by going into a local gear store or online forums.

FAVORITE PIECE OF OUTDOOR CLOTHING OR EQUIPMENT YOU BRING ON EVERY TRIP?

The Outdoor Research Down Baja Pullover is a down hoodie that I have brought on any and every adventure that I have taken. This includes a 2-week National Park road trip from Yosemite to Rocky Mountain in November ‘19 where things got quite nippy at night sleeping out under the stars. It’s packable and has held up really well with excessive use and being shoved in an out of a backpack incessantly.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAIL SNACK AND LOCAL BEVERAGE?

Trail snack: Custom GORP - peanut m&m’s, walnuts, almonds, Rice Chex, seaweed snacks, and sesame sticks. Local Bev: Aqua ViTea Turmeric Sunrise Kombucha.

DO YOU HAVE A HIDDEN TALENT? WHAT IS IT?

I can toast bread perfectly in any condition. Toaster, Stove, fire, lava… you name it, I can toast bread over it.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE STOKE AT 11?

I love going to new places and finding little nature nuggets or new offshoots to explore unencumbered by a schedule or plan.

INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE FOR DIGGING A CAT HOLE?

Classic garden trowel if available, otherwise I love the added challenge of digging a cat hole with a sturdy stick nearby.

ARE YOU INVOLVED IN ANY LOCAL OUTDOOR COMMUNITY OUTSIDE OF THE SHOP? IF SO, PLEASE EXPLAIN.

I am involved with Pride Rides VT which is an LGBTQ+ biking group that offers biking adventures to folx that want an inclusive and affirming group and space to ride in. We have a group ride every month and some months we have even more! Pride Rides VT also had our first race team for the Catamount summer race series which was a great socially-distanced introduction to mountain bike racing.

HOW WERE YOU INTRODUCED TO THE OUTDOORS?

My parents would always take my sister and me out camping during the summers where we would all run amok in the rolling hills/mountains of Western New York to explore and catch critters and just hang out, freeform, in the woods.

FAVORITE AFTER-WORK SHRED SPOT/OUTDOOR ADVENTURE?

I love love LOVE to mountain bike over at Catamount Outdoor Family Center. There are so many different trails and a good variety of intermediate trails that allow me to push myself if I want or have a leisurely flowy ride depending on my mood.

FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE OGE?

Hands down, it’s the people. Both the staff and the community surrounding the shop have an unending wealth of knowledge. There is always someone to play outside or adventure with.

BIGGEST OUTDOOR PET-PEEVE?

Trash. Just pick it up, friends.

ARE YOU A FAN OF TYPE 2 FUN?

I’m not the BIGGEST fan but I’d take type 2 fun over type 3 fun or no fun any day.

ANY SUFFERFESTS/EPICS YOU’D LIKE TO TELL US ABOUT?

While in college, I was climbing out at Seneca Rocks in West Virginia for a fun, full-day adventure. Things were going off without a hitch until the multi-pitch rappel. I was the first person to rappel down and things looked like they were going well, until I realized that the stopper knot at the end of the rappel line was stuck in a shrub growing out of the side of the sandstone slab. I didn’t notice that had happened until I was past the point where I could keep one hand on the rappel and yank the knot-free from this securely rooted demon bush from the angle I was at. Thankfully, there was a kind climber rappelling on the anchor next to me and she swung over to yank up on the stuck knot so I could finally rappel to the ledge. Everything seemed great then, until I dropped my ATC unclipping from the rappel line. Good thing my friend had an extra, or I might still be on that ledge today.