The hiking boots, base layers, helmets, skis and other sporting goods carried by Kirkham’s Outdoor Products in Murray never captured Noah Howell’s imagination as much as a simple mess kit. When it caught the 19-year-old’s eye while he was stocking shelves, it wasn’t the cookware inside that piqued his interest. It was the peak on the lid: a beautiful, snow-covered mountain rising out of a lake with a wide, steep, perfectly skiable swath seemingly painted down the center.
“I don’t care where that line is,” Howell, now 43, remembers thinking, “I’m going to find it.”
A coworker quickly burst his bubble.