Non-gouge mountaineering gear outfitters...

[Donkeydonkdonk]

...in Central Washington? I need a good pair of non-plastic mountaineering boots for wide-ass pontoon feet. I live in Yakima and the only store that approaches my needs is Sportshaus which stocks one pair of mountaineering boots, in one size (luckily my own--11), and in a non-emasculating color. Unfortunately, the floor staff is manned with "um I don't know--this is Yakima"-types who seem to not be able to answer basic questions such as can you order different sizes/widths/brands/what type of crampon do these accept, etc., etc? The prices aren't that attractive at all as they have the "outdoor-adventure" market cornered in the Yak. Without the forethought of calling first, I drove like a bat-out-of-hell to the REI in Kennewick and I was disappointed that particular excuse for a store does not stock mountaineering boots (however, you can buy crampons, ice axes, cams, chocks, rope, and the kitchen sink). My inquiry to the sales staff was given curt, smartassed remarks which equated to a half tank of gas down the shitter. I grew up in Wenatchee, so I already know there isn't anything available unless something has miraculously materialized in the past couple of years. I doubt Ellensburg has anything either...

 

Help? Are there any options to my gear woes besides a Saturday/Sunday in Seattle, Spokane, or PDX? Ordering stuff off of eBay just ain't an option as I don't truss dem bastuds with my money.

 

Thanks y'all.

 

Donk

[sobo]

Donk,

E-burg has a climbing supply store, but I can't remember the name. Mountain High Sports or somesuch - google it. I seem to recall the last time I looked, they had boots, cramps, axes, etc. for the mountaineer along with trad/sport gear and shoes. With the demise of Mountain Supply of Yakima and then Hyperspud, Crackima's ability to supply climbers has gone down the shitter (I used to live in Yakivegas for years before moving to this shithole of the Tri-Cities). And you're right about that Kennewick REI shithole...

 

If you're looking for someone to trust to outfit you with some super boots, I highly recommend John Crock of Hyperspud Sports in Moscow, ID. Give him a call at 2oh8-883-115oh. You won't be sorry, and he certainly won't gouge you. He took over the inventory of MSY when they went tits up, and John ultimately sold the inventory to Pacific River & Alpine Sports when he couldn't make a go of it in Yakivegas. PRAS ultimately went tits up, too. John still has his first and flagship store in Moscow. I always give John "first right of refusal" to sell me something when I'm in the market for buying. Shop Hyperspud, shop "local"...

[genepires]

mountain gear store in spokane?

 

I thought there was a big climbing store in yakima. was that mtn supply?

[Buckshot]

 

I remember Hyperspud from when I was at WSU, they were a good shop then (1999-ish). I can't say much about them but I agree that buying local is a good thing. (I try to convince myself sometimes that Mountaingear is local but I can't do it)

 

I liked the place in E-Burg. I think it is called Mountain High. The guy there, a bald 38-40-ish year old guy was pretty helpful and seemed to have been there. They have basic mountaineering gear and an ok selection of technical pro and sport gear. Of course their prices are mostly retail but I didn't find them TOO alarming, and I am pretty cheap by nature.

 

Another place I go is Leavenworth Mountain Sports. They gave me a local's discount for not being a soul-less West-sider (present company excepted I am sure) and had an ok selection of stuff but not as much technical gear as the place in E-Burg. I think though that LMS owners and clerks spend more time in the mountains than the guys at E-Burg and have a higher level of experience, just less inventory.

 

Thats my 2 cents.

[sobo]

mountain gear store in spokane?

 

I thought there was a big climbing store in yakima. was that mtn supply?

I shopped MG in Spokane for many years after first arriving in the Dry-Shitties in the late 80s. Shopped them all the way through to the mid-90s, until I moved to Crackima in 1993 and it was just too far to drive anymore.

 

Short history lesson from a former Yakivegas local...

 

For many years, Sven's was the only place in town to buy climbing-related stuff. The staff were not climbers, and they were nothing short of rapists with a pricing gun. This dates back into the 80s thru to the mid-90s. Then along came three young men and opened Mountain Supply of Yakima in the late 90s (ca 1997/8??). MSY focused on high-end climbing gear and equipment - the really good shit. Whatever they didn't have in the store, they had enough relationships with different reps to get it for you on order lickety-split. Brothers Chad and Todd Lochrie and their mutual friend Todd DeGrasse were the owners. I bought a ton of stuff from those guys over the course of their run with MSY - 1,000s of dollars worth. They had a really good-sized inventory back in the late 90s when they first opened. Then they got so much stuff that they had to move into a new store location with more retail space in 2000. They stuck it out for 5 years or so in total, to sometime around 2003/4, but it was tough to make a go of such a venture in Yakima - there's not a real active climbing community there anymore. So they closed up the shop and moved to Bend.

 

Enter John Crock: He bought out their store, moved the inventory to a new location on South 1st Street, and opened his second Hyperspud Sports store with MSY's inventory and some additional stuff (like kayaks and such). John ran a good ship there for several more years, and I always gave John the "first right of refusal" to sell me something whenever I needed to buy something (I would much rather support the local guys like MSY and Hyperspud than send my money to REI or off to some other place - plus, I wanted to keep a climbing store in my town). John gave it a go for about 5 years, too, which seems to be the tipping point for a "true" climbing shop in Crackima. John told me that he couldn't make money there like he could in Moscow, so he sold off the inventory to a couple of guys and a married couple that opened Pacific River & Alpine Sports on Yakima Avenue just west of downtown sometime around 2008 or so.

 

PRAS took the climbing and BC ski gear of MSY/Hyperspud and John's kayaks and beefed up the boating selections in an effort to cater to another demographic. There's a pretty good sized WW kayaking scene in Yakivegas, what with the annual flush of Rimrock Lake down the Tieton River every fall. Plus, the Naches is a fun run any time of year. Anyway (enter rumor), I heard that there was some teepee-creeping going on between the married couple's wife and one of the other single owner dudes, and that caused a falling out of the owners. So they ended up closing the store after only a couple years or so. I think it closed in late 2010. AFAIK, no one has picked up the pieces and tried again.

 

So I don't know what keeps Sven's in business, but I suspect it's the downhill skis and the bike selections. Biking is really huge around Crackima, and of course White Pass is only an hour's drive or less away. But I just couldn't ever stand having to go into Sven's. I always felt like they were watching me as if I was gonna kype a cam or something.

[Donkeydonkdonk]

"Sven's" = Sporthaus on Summitview?

 

When I first moved to the Yak in the fall of 2009, I was checking my mailbox at the post office on 3rd St. (right off of Yakima Avenue) and I stumbled into a mountaineering themed store to the right of it (if you're facing the post office). As I am always on a quest for footwear that don't fuck up my feet, I asked the guy in there what he recommended. (Of course I didn't remember what he said.) He seemed like a pretty nice dude. I went to follow up a month (or so) later and the store was gone and replaced by some new age patchouli-and-crystals bullshit outfit. Any ideas what this store may have been called (the climbing shop--not the indie Hot Topic) and where it went?

Edited January 5, 2012 by Donkeydonkdonk

[sobo]

DDD-

Sven's is not Sporthaus. Two different businesses. Sporthaus is a small chain store. There's even one here in the Dry-Shitties on Columbia Center Boulevard. Sven's was last located on W Lincoln Avenue, in a tiny shopping area between Custer and Oregon Streets, IIRC. Googling for Sven's in Yakima just now did not turn up any hits, so mebbe Sven's has also finally succombed to the Curse of Crackima Climbing Shops...??

 

I used to work for an engineering company located in the Sunfair Building, directly across the street from the 3rd Street PO. I left that company in 2007, and there wasn't anything in the space between the PO and the bar on the corner that I recall then. I assume you're talking about those storefronts between the PO and The Speakeasy sports bar on the corner of Chestnut Ave? We would drink there after work when we wanted to bitch about the BS that was going on at work. Now that I think about it, we used to drink there an awful lot...

[pup_on_the_mountain]

I remember Hyperspud from when I was at WSU, they were a good shop then (1999-ish). I can't say much about them

I can say a lot about Hyperspud and John Crock, and all of it can only be good. According to John himself, he does not sell as much climbing gear as in the 90s, and the soccer mom soft shell jackets are mostly what's keeping Hyperspud afloat these days. But his knowledge of all sorts of gear is top notch, and he'll get you the right piece of gear for sure, even if you have to wait a bit on occasion. He reasonably matches prices from competitors as well. Get in touch with him - and buy from him if you can. You won't be disappointed .

[sobo]

I can say a lot about Hyperspud and John Crock, and all of it can only be good. According to John himself, he does not sell as much climbing gear as in the 90s, and the soccer mom soft shell jackets are mostly what's keeping Hyperspud afloat these days. But his knowledge of all sorts of gear is top notch, and he'll get you the right piece of gear for sure, even if you have to wait a bit on occasion. He reasonably matches prices from competitors as well. Get in touch with him - and buy from him if you can. You won't be disappointed .

THIS!

 

And what I said in the second paragraph of my first post, way up top there ^^

John Crock is a prince of a guy. You'll be glad you gave him your business.

[Donkeydonkdonk]

I assume you're talking about those storefronts between the PO and The Speakeasy sports bar on the corner of Chestnut Ave?

 

Yep. The first one immediately adjacent to the P.O. The store was there the tail-end of October 2009. I think it was gone by the end of November the same year.

 

We would drink there after work when we wanted to bitch about the BS that was going on at work. Now that I think about it, we used to drink there an awful lot...

 

I should take up drinking and working on expanding my googling skills on the interwebs. It'll give me something to do in the Yakisnatch.

 

Thanks for your help