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PROVO — The owner of Timpanogos Hiking Co. is reviving an old tradition of giving people a badge after they have summited Mount Timpanogos.
BYU professor Eugene "Timp" Roberts started an annual hike in 1912 where he would lead students to the top of Mount Timpanogos. Back then, the hike was a three-day ordeal instead of the daylong 14-mile trail available now.
The event grew larger every year and starting in 1930, Timp Badges were handed out to anyone who summited the mountain each year.
Some avid hikers would participate every year and collect a new Timp Badge each time. A BYU magazine article states a man named Alfred Pace summited the mountain 40 years in a row and collected all 40 badges while the tradition lasted.
The annual hike ended in 1971 because the number of hikers had grown too large, with thousands of people hiking the mountain at once — and earning a badge for completing the feat also stopped.
Joe Vogel, founder of Timpanogos Hiking Co., is an accomplished author who worked as a college professor for several years before leaving academia to start the outdoor apparel business in 2022.
"When I started to come back here to Utah, and would go out into the mountains, it was just — I don't know, it just kinda revitalized something that wasn't there and that I needed. Especially after the pandemic, we were all kind of trapped and everybody was ready to get out and do physical things instead of just all Zoom meetings," Vogel said.
When Vogel created the business, he immersed himself in all things Mount Timpanogos and read up on the history and traditions.
The tradition of Timp Badges fascinated him, so he decided to revive the tradition.
"I thought it was admirable they ended the annual hike because it preserved the mountain but I didn't see any reason why not to just still give people badges for that challenging, meaningful experience," Vogel said.
So the company created a run of badges for 2023 and has plans to do "like they used to do" and create new, distinct designs for each year to bring back the tradition, Vogel said.
Anyone who summits the mountain can post on social media and tag Timpanogos Hiking Co. then head to the Provo storefront and get a free Timp Badge for the year they summit. Vogel said the design has a retro feel, as he created it with the original era of the annual hike in mind.
"It's really fun because (hikers) come down and you just meet all kinds of people and learn about their connection with the mountain and their adventures," Vogel said.
Because of the record-breaking snowpack, the only people who summited the mountain in the first half of 2023 were "hardcore" climbers. Vogel said the company didn't promote the badges too much at first because it was still dangerous to hike to the peak, but he did hear some crazy stories from those who braved the snowy and icy summit.
There's still a significant amount of snow on the trail past Emerald Lake, "but people are doing it," he said.
There are only 300 Timp Badges available this year, but Vogel is planning on having more available next year, as the badges have become popular.
"One of the coolest things when you have something like this, is when it just becomes organic and by word of mouth it starts to spread," he said.
The company's slogan is "escape the noise" and Vogel said in addition to selling apparel, he tries to promote mental health through hiking and being outdoors. He said being in nature is so important for a lot of people and can be a great way to work through difficult things.
Timpanogos Hiking Co. started as an online business, but Vogel opened a storefront in Provo in May which he said has been a "total game-changer."
"It makes it more real and you start to be part of the community," he said. "It's fun to meet people and have a real place. There's just a good energy downtown."
