Backcountry skiing news: Some good, some bad. G3 attempts to restructure and Les Sauvages Jour, a new French ski film, promises to inspire.
Deloitte announcing the sale of G3’s assets. Screengrab: Deloitte
G3 in Receivership
While not breaking news, it’s news. It was reported last month that Canadian based G3 (Genuine Guide Gear) is in receivership. An August 9th legal document appoints Deloitte as the receiver.
Much is unknown at this time, but to move forward, let’s go through some details. Being placed in a court ordered receivership is not the financial equivalent of bankruptcy, or, to put it bluntly, going out of business. In the best-case scenario, which we hope this is, a receivership allows creditors (those owed money) to collect funds and for the business entity, in this case, G3, to reorganize and move toward profitability.
The facts on the ground and the Internet are grim. For a once venerable and promising player in the backcountry scene, the downfall, although maybe unsurprising, has been swift. According to information in an August 7th legal filing, behind the scenes, G3 has been on shaky financial ground for several years. “Over the past two years, the Debtor has maintained discussions with RBC [Royal Bank of Canada], repeatedly asserting that they were actively pursuing an investor to either settle or significantly diminish the Indebtedness. However, these ongoing assertions have not been fulfilled,” writes a representative from RBC.
While determining precise assets and obligations can be difficult, the filings claim G3 has a “book” value based on June financial statements of roughly CDN 6.5 million and known obligations of at least CDN 4.5 million.
Deloitte has published a single-page document detailing what’s for sale, stating, “An opportunity exists to acquire certain assets (the “Assets”) and/or potentially the business (the “Business”) of G3 Genuine Guide Gear Inc (“G3”).” Assets include skins, skis and splitboards, accessories like bindings, poles, shovels, and manufacturing equipment.
G3’s website still functions; we can place skis in a digital shopping cart. We did not run a credit card. However, a banner atop the site reads, “WE ARE TEMPORARILY TAKING ORDERS. PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER.” Along those lines, a call to their Burnbury, B.C. headquarters prompts a recorded message claiming an internal restructuring process is ongoing and G3 is not currently monitoring emails or phone calls.
During the tele skiing heyday, G3 Targa bindings were simple and solid. The company’s skins, glue dysfunction aside, had a following (gotta love that skin-cutting tool), and their skis, too, have served many well. G3 tech bindings took a hit here and there and did not keep pace with companies making lighter and more expansive binding lines. This is still a legacy brand with real human beings caught up in the financial predicament.
We’ll update readers as the news of G3 evolves.
Les Sauvages Jours: A new ski film to be released this fall features an epic journey across the Alaska Range. Screengrab: Les Sauvages Jour
Les Sauvages Jour
The other news is on the lighter side. It is ski movie season. The usual trailers are out. Enough said.
The ski movie we’re inspired by promotes a narrative that many ambitious folks could pull off with some good fortune, good fitness, sound skills, and good camaraderie. That’s right, regular folks like us who aspire for deep and quiet expeditions into the mountains, can pull off something big. If, for a moment, you thought, “That’s not me.” Think again. It is. Or it could be.
This fall, you’ll likely see a screening of Les Jours Sauvages at a film fest near you. Non-Francophiles, be warned, English subtitles are required–and the film title translates to Wild Days. The documentary captures Hélias Millerioux, Alexandre Marchesseau, Aurélien Lardy, and Christophe Tricou moving across the Alaska Range, skiing some mighty peaks, traversing out of the range, and packrafting to Anchorage.
Hell yeah!
50 days of food. A proper Denali permit and a proper adventure. We are excited for this film to screen in North America.
For now, we have the trailer which is very much a teaser.
