Sierra Designs Wales Adventure Sweepstakes gathers momentum

Launched in May to celebrate the prestigious Backpacker Magazine Editors’ Choice Award, the Sierra Designs 2009 Wales Adventure Sweepstakes– an international backpacking trip for two to Wales- continues to gather momentum and draw entries from outdoor enthusiasts with a passion for adventure travel.



Thanks to sweepstakes partners Visit Wales and Virgin Atlantic Airways, Sierra Designs is sending one lucky winner and a friend to Wales for a week of exploring the beautiful and expansive Welsh countryside. The trip will include airfare, hotel stays at the beginning and end of the trip, Sierra Designs gear, and BritRail passes for custom travel throughout Wales.

“One month into our Wales Adventure Sweepstakes and we’re already seeing hundreds of people entering to win,” said Kenny Ballard, president of Sierra Designs. “A trip like this really resonates with an outdoor community eager for new experiences and exciting adventures. Including the award-winning Lighting XT 4 and a variety of other Sierra Designs gear certainly helps to draw attention.”

Tested in the spectacular terrain and demanding weather of Wales, Sierra Design’s Lightning XT 4 tent won both praise and a 2009 Editor’s Choice award from the expert staff of Backpacker Magazine.

“In a rain- and hail-blasted camp high on the Glyders – a sharply rising 3,000-foot range in Snowdonia National Park – with 40-mph gusts that knocked testers off their feet, seven staffers sat comfortably in the (Sierra Designs) Lightning, playing cards and toasting the creation of an all-new tent category: ultralight and ultra-large”

— Backpacker Magazine, 2009 Editor’s Choice Awards.

Already live at www.sierradesigns.com/wales the grand prize package includes a Sierra Designs Lighting XT 4 Tent, two award-winning Verde 20 sleeping bags and two sets of legendary waterproof hiking gear: the Cyclone Eco Jackets & Pants. The package also includes round-trip airfare for two on Virgin Atlantic Airways, two nights lodging in a luxury yurt at the Graig Wen resort, a BritRail FlexiPass for transportation around Wales and to Snowdonia National Park, and two nights at Escape, a five-star boutique bed and breakfast, prior to flying home.

For a complete description of the prizes as well as sweepstakes terms & conditions, please go to http://www.travelwales.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.10346.





A land of historic castles (641 at last count), green pastures, and endless coastline, Wales is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream come true with abundant opportunities for hiking, biking, trekking, climbing, camping, caving, and that uniquely Welsh adventure, coasteering.



The sweepstakes is running through September 30, 2009, and the winner will be notified.



Sierra Designs has been creating innovative tents for over 30 years, and the Lightning XT 4 highlights a continuation of that heritage. Supremely lightweight and abundantly roomy thanks to advanced materials and intelligent pole design, the Lightning XT 4 remains amazingly strong, able to withstand weather that sends other tents flying.



About Sierra Designs:

Founded in 1965, at the beginning of the golden age of backpacking and climbing, Sierra Designs is one of the original brands for the eco-conscious outdoor enthusiast. We have always had a passion to protect where we play, and our tents, sleeping bags, and apparel have been to every corner of the world, from the highest peaks in Tibet to your local greenway around the corner. We model and design our products for high performance adventurers, but make it attainable for you. Sierra Designs’ gear and apparel fits in with your daily life, no matter where it takes you. Visit us online at SierraDesigns.com or find us on Facebook.

About Wales:

Wales is a country about the size of Massachusetts: 200 miles long and 70 miles across at its widest point. Wales and England and Scotland are the 3 distinct countries that make up the island of Britain. Wales is “a peninsula on the western flank of England, facing Ireland,” as writer Jan Morris aptly says. The people of Wales are called Welsh and many still speak the ancient Welsh language (as well as English). Wales is the host nation for golf’s Ryder Cup competition in 2010, the sporting world’s third-most watched event. The Ryder Cup will be played at the Celtic Manor Resort near Newport, Wales in October 2010.

About the Wales Adventure Sweepstakes:

For a complete description of all sponsors and prizes in the Wales Adventure Sweepstakes, please go to http://www.travelwales.org/server.php?show=nav.11461.

For sweepstakes terms & conditions, please go to

http://www.travelwales.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.10346.

###