Dan's Outside

QuicksilverSpringFlowers03_March2003

Spring flowers at Almaden Quicksilver Country Park
—–

March 29, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on QuicksilverSpringFlowers03_March2003

QuicksilverSpringFlowers02_March2003

Spring flowers at Almaden Quicksilver Country Park
—–

March 29, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on QuicksilverSpringFlowers02_March2003

OriginalWesternMountaineeringStory

The original Western Mountaineering store
—–

March 29, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on OriginalWesternMountaineeringStory

2003.03.29

***Spring in coastal California

Spring wildflowers at Almaden Quicksilver County Park. More on the Photos page.

***Western Mountaineering Santa Clara retail store is closing.
The store is having a final sale to clear out remaining merchandise and rentals so I dropped by briefly on Thursday – partially to look for deals but perhaps more to say goodbye to a store that has some history for me.

When I was a student at San Jose State University in the 1970s I heard that some folks were producing down sleeping bags in San Jose. One day I walked west through the downtown area on San Carlos to find the tiny Western Mountaineering shop in a seedy area of town. If memory serves, it included a small main room (festooned with a multi-colored down bag) and a smaller adjacent room for filling down bags. The owners (Jeff and Gary?) were excited and dedicated young guys – not a lot older than I was.

(Note the vintage outdoor clothing style – down vests!

Some time later they moved to a wonderful space in a working class area on the southern fringe of downtown San Jose, where they restored an old brick building for their new shop. The lower level housed their down gear “factory” and the upper floor featured all of the gear that fed the dreams of young backpackers, cross-country skiers, and climbers. Since the shop was walking distance from the college I went there frequently to lust after new equipment, attend evening presentations, and purchase much of my gear. (Pivetta boots, Snow Lion tent, the original Patagonia pile jacket…)

Later they moved to a more urban location in western San Jose, in the former Freeman’s store in the Town and Country Village shopping center – now the location of Santana Row. I think this was about the time that the retail operation was merged with Marmot. I visited a few times but it wasn’t the same, and I eventually began to patronize the local REI store.

Earlier this year I found out that they had a retail store in Santa Clara so I visited. While I like the great selection at REI, I miss the smaller shops where it seems like all of the employees are more than just college students looking for a part-time job, and the WM store seemed to provide this. I purchased a pair of Scarpa tele’ boots and eyed lots of other cool stuff – like I used to do at the downtown store when I was in college.

(Despite the retail store closure, I believe that Western Mountaineering’s excellent and innovative gear should continue to be available from other retailers. And, since the WM store was essentially a Marmot retail shop, South Bay shoppers can still make the trek to the wonderful Marmot shop in Berkeley.)
—–

March 29, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.03.29