Backcountry Experience

We are family owned and managed in Durango, by family members who have been backpacking since 1976, climbing since 1977, and opened their first specilty outdoor store in 1979. Our store is a full line, completely stocked backpacking, mountaineering, rock climbing and backcountry/telemark ski shop. With the Southern Rocky Mountains and high desert around us, and the canyons and big walls of Arizona and Utah to the west, our staff loves to play hard and have fun. We constantly use, abuse and evaluate gear before we decide to stock it... that is, if we like it! Many times, we try a product and find that it really is not of the quality, or price/value that we feel it should be. And thus, we do not stock it and will be happy to tell you why. This also allows us to find the best products for the money that you may not see in many "traditional" outdoor stores. We aren't content to carry a line of gear just because they have a big name or because everyone else sells it too - we look for what works the best! Which often means brands of packs, sleeping bags, tents, technical outerwear, and other gear that you may not have seen in the stores in your area or mail order catalogs - but products every bit as good, or superior to the better known brands, and with the best warrantees in the business. Sorry, we don't publish a catalog! But we do offer phone and mail order service for two reasons. First, too many people were coming into our store saying how great it was to be in a real backpacking shop again - with more packs, gear and technical outerwear than casual clothing. The other reason was our knowledge that most states are much larger than Colorado, but have very few good outdoor stores.