Intro:
Carved from wind and water, The Columbia River Gorge is truly a sight to behold. The Gorge has become the ideal place where fun and innovation have come together. Home to some of the most tech-savvy and adventurous people, or as we call them, Athletic Nerd, that Oregon has to offer, the Gorge is a place where people can work hard, and play harder all year round. When all of these factors come together, who knows what kind of innovative tech will come out of the Gorge next?
History:
The Gorge has become a mecca for tech and outdoor sports enthusiasts. The marriage between the two has been in the making for thousands of years. About 12,800 years ago, a massive flood carved the Gorge out of the Cascades.[1] It’s not until 1937, with the creation of Bonneville hydroelectric dam, where we first start to see tech come to the area. During the 1980s, windsurfing becomes a large part of the culture within the Gorge. It’s not until the 1990s where we see tech and action sports come together.
In 1991, the founders of Real Carbon, a carbonfiber manufacturing company, moved to the Gorge, combining their love of windsurfing and tech by making windsurfing products. In ‘94 and ‘99, Insitu and Cloud Cap, UAV manufacturers, move the Gorge. With collaboration between Real Carbon and Cloud Cap, and also innovative tech from Insitu, these three companies started the modern tech revolution growing in the Gorge. According to an article on oregonbusiness.com, more than 50 different companies in all areas of tech, including Google in 2006, have grown roots in the Gorge, some using access to outdoor sports in the area to pull potential employee in.[2]
Government & Support Organizations:
In 1986, Congress passed the creation of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area to protect the area’s natural environment and support the local economy. Today there are many more government and local support organization throughout the Columbia Gorge. Entities like the Columbia River Economic Development Corp.[3] help businesses relocate to areas in the Gorge that are financially beneficial.
A huge motivator for new companies to move the Columbia Gorge is the sense of community throughout the area. Local businesses owners ranging from architecture and art, to restaurants and retail, have come together to create a community group called “Gorge Owned.” Their website you can find lists of local shops that you can visit to help support the local economy. On their site visitors can also find tips about what the Gorge is doing to save energy and go green. The site also offers, “GO spaces” that local startups, small business’ and entrepreneurs that can be used as a workspace to help their businesses grow.[4] In reaction to the Tech boom, the Gorge Tech Alliance was set up in 2007 to aid present and future tech companies with networking and joint marketing that moved to the area.[5]
Culture:
Culturally the Gorge has always been centered around the outdoors. The Gorge boasts great hiking, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking as well as world-class windsurfing and kiteboarding. These activities attract outdoor-minded folk to the area. The rise of windsurfing in the ‘80s especially had a large influence on Gorge culture. Windsurfing was an exciting new sport in the ‘80s and the Gorge offered the perfect place for it. As a result, riders flocked to the area, which in turn, created a community of windsurfers who brought their spirit of collaboration, drive for progress and love of the outdoors. Windsurfing has since seen a drop in popularity, but the culture lives on.
While windsurfing has seen a decline in its relevance since the ‘80s, tech culture in the Gorge has experienced a constant growth. As more and more tech brands relocate, or startup in the Gorge, they increase tech’s impact on the culture as a whole. For the Gorge this simply means the increase of some cultural values that have been present since the windsurfing days. Values such as innovation, which was important for windsurfing, are essential for starting tech companies. Sustainability, a value which Gorge residents have held since the dams were built, is increased from the wind farms and Google’s data center. While tech has boosted some values, the core culture of the Gorge can be traced back to windsurfing culture. Windsurfing as a whole isn’t competitive. Rather it’s a sport where everyone is friends and genuinely wants their peers to do the best thing they can. This embodies the Gorge. Tech companies are innovating by coming together to produce the best products they possibly can. Like windsurfing, they aren’t concerned with making the most money or being the greatest ever. Instead, they are in the Gorge to enjoy the outdoors and to push the boundaries of their respected industries.
Brands:
The Columbia River Gorge is an area with a vast array of exciting brands. Although there is quite a variety, the present and future of the region is based on the tech industry and the brands that make it up. The first important brand that deserves recognition is Real Carbon. Real Carbon was founded in 1988 in Southern California by Wes Lapp and Mike Graham, and at the time specialized in making booms and boards for windsurfing. They were extremely successful, holding approximately 50% of the market share for this category.[6] In 1991 they decided to re-locate to Hood River in the Gorge because of its world famous reputation for windsurfing. This is what brings us to the significance of our next brand, which is Cloud Cap.
Cloud Cap has been producing unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), for the past 14 years in the Gorge.[7] Their presence is truly significant because by a stroke of good luck, Cloud Cap ended up moving into the same building as Real Carbon and asked for some help making carbon fiber parts, as their durable/lightweight nature makes them for making drone aircraft. This was very successful and led to Real Carbon withdrawing from the Windsurfing market completely. This synergy between Real Carbon and Cloud Cap also paved the way for other drone and windsurfing manufacturers to work with one another in harmony.
Perhaps the biggest player in UAV manufacturing in the Gorge is Institu, which arrived in the Gorge in 1994. Boeing, who is the leading drone manufacturer in the United States, owns Institu. This is truly a testament to the tech boom that is occurring in the Gorge, especially in drone production and testing. Institu is a leader in the industry and owns the ability to say it was the first company ever to fly a drone over the Atlantic Ocean. [8]
Last but not least we have on of the leading tech powerhouses of the world, Google. In 2006 Google decided it would build one of its major data centers in The Dalles, a small city located on the Columbian River. Google invested 1.2 billion dollars into this facility, which is a testament not only to investing in a relationship with the Gorge and The Dalles, but an investment in the state of Oregon and its economy. Since the facility is built right on the river, it is able to harness the power of nature by using hydroelectric power generated by the Dalles Dam to help power its facilities. This facility at the time was the first owned and operated data center that Google ever had. Google’s entry to the region could pave the way and allow for the growth of many smaller tech firms in the area to flourish. [9]
Advantages:
Although the Gorge is one of the windiest places on the North West[10], the wind as a resource was not what brought tech companies there. In fact, it had nothing to do with harnessing any of the Gorge’s natural resources. Tech companies started moving their businesses to the region due to the culture and opportunities for outdoor sports.[11] They wanted a culture that embraced both work and play.
Athletic individuals have always thrived in the Gorge, but the introduction of new tech companies has also made it a paradise for a new type of individual: The Athletic Nerd. Athletic Nerds embrace the tech culture. These bright minds are hard working, intelligent, innovative. As engineers, programmers, computer specialists, they have brought a new industry to the Gorge region. In their free time, these nerds are wild. They made their home in the Gorge to parallel their tech life with an adventurous and daring one. They embrace the nerd stigma and redefine it.
Obviously, the Gorge’s wide array of outdoor recreational opportunities is a huge advantage to the Athletic Nerds who want to let loose after a long day on the job. The Columbia River Gorge’s combination of wind and water provides just that. It is the windsurfing capital of the world[12]. Sailing, parasailing, hang-gliding, kayaking, rafting, and jet boating are among the other options the river alone has to offer[13]. The surrounding mountains offer another set of exciting options, including hiking, biking, and snowboarding. There is no shortage of outdoor recreation within The Gorge.
The growing tech cluster itself has become a huge advantage to the Athletic Nerd. What started as a couple tech companies moving to the Gorge for pure enjoyment quickly turned into a vast network. Larger companies, such as Insitu and Google, put the Gorge on the map as a tech hub. Giving smaller tech brands in the area opportunities to grow their business with the recognition. These tech companies within the Gorge have embraced one another’s strengths and used each other as resources through partnerships and sharing ideas. These brands have also helped lower employment in the Gorge by providing more job opportunities and improved wages for locals.
Having a thriving tech cluster in the dynamic Gorge region provides endless advantages in both work and play. Athletic Nerds are able to work hard doing what they love in a flourishing network while balancing active and energetic lifestyles. Combining the vibrant tech hub with the immensity of outdoor recreation has made the Gorge the ideal place to be for the Athletic Nerd. These individuals will help use the tech market to enhance the active and adventurous culture of the Gorge instead of overpowering it.
Summary:
The Gorge combining its incredible natural features and distinct tech market makes it one of a kind. The growing tech cluster within the Gorge has provided a new and emerging industry with a culture that embraces both work and play. The Athletic Nerd represents the type of innovative, adventurous individuals behind these tech brands that have created the “Work Hard, Play Hard” spirit in the Gorge. The Gorge is the perfect region to embrace this culture with the wide selection of outdoor and extreme sports it’s known for. The growing tech cluster will continue to enrich the Gorge’s reputation.
[1] http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/30/589
[2] http://www.columbiarivergorge.info/history.html
[5] http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/30/589
[6] http://www.oregonbusiness.com/component/content/article/128-news/10178-from-windsurfer-to-drone-manufacturer
[7] http://www.cloudcaptech.com/aboutus.shtm
[8] http://www.insitu.com/about/team-insitu
[9] http://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/the-dalles/
[10] http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~justin/documents/Climo_Pre_Preprint.pdf
[11] http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/30/589
[12] http://hoodriver.org/windsurfing
[13] http://traveloregon.com/cities-regions/mt-hood-the-gorge/
