By Krista Henneck

On a typical Friday morning at Easton Town Center, shoppers might expect to see children romping in the fountains, Fitness Yoga on the Square and bargain hunters out to gobble up discounts. But on Friday, Aug. 6, there was a different sight to see. Outside Eddie Bauer’s newest store, Neil Fiske, president and CEO of Eddie Bauer, scaled an outdoor climbing wall with mountain guide Chad Peele.

“We climbed the wall together, lowered down and did the ribbon cutting,” Peele says. “Neil beat me,” he adds with a laugh.

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, the first 100 customers through the doors were offered free $20 savings cards. Every shopper received peel-and-reveal cards with savings of 15, 20 or 30 percent, and the free climbing wall was open to the public until 6 p.m.

The Easton store, which was previously located indoors, is now just one of three in the country with the new lodge-inspired theme. With canoes fastened to the ceiling’s wooden beams and scenic paintings glowing on the walls, it celebrates the outdoors while reflecting the heritage of Eddie Bauer.

“This whole store is about going back to our roots,” Fiske says. “We’re celebrating 90 years of adventure in the outdoors.”

The opening embraced a “back to the roots” attitude by inviting Peele, who collaborated with other mountain guides hand-picked by the company to create Eddie Bauer’s First Ascent line. Fiske says working with reputable mountain guides is something Eddie Bauer himself felt strongly about.

  “We recruited what we believe is the best mountain guide team in the world to help us build outerwear and gear under our First Ascent label,” Fiske says. “That’s really how Eddie himself built gear. He always did it in collaboration with experts. So it was really a matter of going back to the fundamental principles – build gear for people who live in it, and these guys live in the gear.”

Peele operates his own guide service, Peak Ascents LLC, in Colorado. But he still finds time to aid in product design for Eddie Bauer.

“It was just the love of the outdoors that inspired me to do more and more,” he says. “By nature, I’m always talking about gear, but now I actually get to talk to people who listen.”

Indeed, there were plenty of eager ears Friday. Shoppers filled the spaces between mannequins and display racks, examining merchandise then joining the line that snaked around the store. But what they might not have noticed is that even the window displays reflect the company’s heritage.

One window honors Eddie Bauer’s wife. “Another pays tribute to our down heritage. Eddie literally invented the down jacket and patented it in 1940,” Fiske says. “One pays tribute to our heritage in World War II, where we outfitted the U.S. Army Air Corps in a very famous piece called the B-9 Bomber Parka.”

The setup “kind of gives you the whole story,” Fiske says, his reflection bouncing off the brightly lit store window.   “It brings the customer back to the things that made Eddie Bauer great.”