We thought of the name Après Noon the way all the best ideas happen: drinking margaritas at a dive bar.
We were at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson, WY, a local favorite watering hole. The margs were a well-earned reward for the backcountry ski adventure we had gone on that day.
…At least, that’s what we told ourselves. We had embarked on our “adventure” at close to 4 p.m. The run we chose, Chivers Ridge, is popular exactly because of its accessibility—only a 15-20 minute hike or skin up, then a quick ski down. Perfect for a couple of half-assed adventurers who love sleeping.
Because that’s what we are, honestly. Unlike the peak-bagging, sunrise-chasing extreme outdoor lifestyle so often toted on the internet, our relationship with outdoor recreation is a much more casual one. Our adventures start at the crack of noon, at best. That day’s adventure started at the crack of 4.
“Our adventures start at the crack of noon, at best.”
There are things we have in common, and things we’re working on together. We both love skiing. We love beer, and brunch. We love campfires and starlit nights, long hikes, rivers, road trips. We love sunsets. Cheese. Of course, we love sleeping.
Jonathan loves bicycles, and Shannon is learning to. (Really, Jonathan loves anything with wheels.) His world is visual, his stories captured moment-by-moment. Jonathan thinks socks are an important accessory, and should always match with shoes. He’s a rock climbing has-been.
Shannon and climbing are still in their honeymoon phase, and probably always will be. Shannon thinks wheels are fine but two feet are pretty great, too. She puts her socks on before her pants. They seldom match each other, let alone her shoes.
Adventure is a pillar in our lives, and the passion that unites us. But in a digital age concerned with being the best, or the most, or the hardest, it’s easy to lose sight of why we do it in the first place: to go outside. To connect with something bigger than ourselves, and disconnect from the distractions of the “real world.” (We’ve always found that term interesting, the “real world,” because being out in the elements is about as real as it gets. And yet it’s where we go to escape.)
A 12-minute mile and a 6-minute mile are the same distance. A 5.6 climb and a 5.12 climb will both get you off the ground. Sunrises and sunsets paint the sky with the same palette.
So, we’re not the raddest people on the internet. But we’ll never pretend to be. We want the world and its infinite offerings to feel accessible to the everyday adventurer, the adventurer-in-training, and to us.
To those that get outside, who experience an adventure of any size, we cheers you with a cold one.
So back to the “Coach,” where we sat stirring the last of our margs, toying with the idea of our “half-assed” identity. We prefer to play in the afternoons. We take “apres” a little too seriously. There’s gotta be a play on words there.
And Après Noon was born.
This is perhaps our biggest adventure yet. We’re so excited to share it with you.