ANNUAL TRIBE MEETING IS ALL ABOUT YETI'S HISTORY & FUTURE

"We're responsible for our own direction," said Brett Hahn, the general manager of Yeti, to the Boulder Daily Camera in 1995. "Schwinn has no desire to blend images."
For true Yeti brand enthusiasts, there is no better place to walk among the company leaders and movers, both past and present, than at the annual Yeti tribe gathering.

Former Yeti General Manager Brett Hahn, (right), yours truly and "Big" Joe Henderson enjoy going through decades of Yeti memorabilia collected by Hahn. Hahn is ever active in the cycling world as Continental Tire's North American Brand Manager for cycling. The lucky dude also lives in Durango, home of some of the world's best known cycling and cyclist.

Henderson was one of only two employees kept when the Durango site was closed in 1999 by new owner Schwinn. True to Brett's statement in 1995, the company has kept it's own image and remains one of the industry's strongest "nitch" brands. For a glimpse into the company's fascinating history check out http://yetifan.com/the_history_of_yeti.html .

Current Yeti "Bossman" Cris Conroy drops his ride in dirt with the rest of the tribe after a full day's ride on legendary Fruita singletracks.

Tribe gathering bring out the common 575 Enduros and collector items such as one of Yeti's first generation rear suspension mountain bikes.

Poor souls knotted up from the kidney jarring desert descents were treated to a massage before applying Oskar Blue's general pain relief medication..

Yeti's future looks bright with the free ride and downhill bunch. Although pretty much ignored in the '08 company brochure, the XC crowd is buzzing over the introduction of the first all carbon ASR. Yep, still waiting for mine.

See you next year!!!