West Ridge store

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Peater

Trad climber

Salt Lake City Ut.

Feb 15, 2017 - 06:36pm PT

""So... do you remember these two people?""

That would be Steve B the poet and Louis K the jewelry dealer.

Bought my Kronies and first ice axe at the big store.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

Sands Motel , Las Vegas

Feb 15, 2017 - 09:13pm PT

I remember a large glass topped display case surrounding an employee- only area...1974..?

life is a bivouac

Trad climber

Bishop

Feb 16, 2017 - 07:35am PT

That would have been the main display of hardware... Unfortunately pins were disappearing when displayed on hooks or pegs that the public could access.
It made for a great area for discussion and information about the store.
Cheers, Russ

BooDawg

Social climber

Butterfly Town

Feb 16, 2017 - 01:20pm PT

Dennis Hennek, who was employee #002 at the old Pico & Bundy store just reminded me of a few stories from that time:

Like sometimes happens in business, the founders, after some time, begin to have personality or other conflicts. Don Lauria and Tom Limp were more simpatico, and Don Nagy, increasingly, became the odd-man-out. At one point Dennis glued one of Nagy's old stogeys into an ashtray, and every time Nagy saw that it needed to be emptied, he'd try to dump it. Since that was impossible, he'd throw the whole ashtray in the trash. Later, Dennis would extract it and soon it would be waiting, once again, for Nagy. We'd snicker to ourselves each time Nagy fell for the same old trick.

There was another time when, before opening the store one day, the staff was smoking weed. Shortly afterward, some sheriff's deputies knocked on the door. Lauria scrambled to light a real cigar and he puffed it all around the store, then finally opened the store earlier than normal hours. The deputies bought some gear, but we never knew if they suspected anything was not quite straight.

Then there was the pass-through the wall between the Arsenal bar next door which made it easy to deliver food and drinks between the two establishments.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

Sands Motel , Las Vegas

Feb 16, 2017 - 06:56pm PT

LMAO...!! Bar and a climbing shop...perfect...

Jamesthomsen

Social climber

Mammoth Lakes, California

Dec 12, 2018 - 10:19pm PT

Over the last few years I've videoed a few hundred hours of past employees, sales reps, sponsored climbers with the idea of putting together a history of Wilderness Experience.

I was just watching one of the videos I did in 2015 with one of my all time favorite people, Don Lauria. Don was the first person to buy Wilderness Experience packs to sell in a store. In this section he talks about getting into climbing and then opening West Ridge Mountaineering.

I thought it was important to include it in the record here.

Don Lauria and West Ridge Mountaineering.

https://vimeo.com/306117093

mouse from merced

Trad climber

The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.

Dec 12, 2018 - 10:32pm PT

Good old Don. What a memory he owns. Thanks, Jim.

onyourleft

climber

So Oregon

Dec 12, 2018 - 11:51pm PT

Apologies in advance for thread drift:

Does anyone remember the name of a climbing shop in Hollywood circa 1982?
It was on the north side of Sunset Blvd. between Van Ness and Western.
It's where I bought "Freedom Of The Hills" and fondled my first carabiner.
It was run by "Ed" ? (I think...)

life is a bivouac

Trad climber

Bishop

Dec 13, 2018 - 07:55am PT

Good Morning onyourleft,
I kind of remember that store in Hollywood, it was Hollywood Sporting Goods. I bought my first pair of kletterschue there... as a kid of almost 16 the store seemed to be jammed with all sorts of gear and trappings even hung from their ceilings all from Europe. My little pea brain swirled looking at all the equipment for mountain climbing, as I had never seen or tangibly experienced these things. It was the "drehpunkt", "turning point" of my life.

Ropes and pitons and carabiners, the Same kinds of tools and gear that Gervasutti, Buhl, and Rebuffat were using, had used, was within my grasp...
There was even a strange exotic smell that came out of that shoe box holding my Zillertals, I can't explain, but I remember it still to this day, a clean brand new leather and rubber sole smell all the way from Austria... Such romantic times. (but then I babble)
Little did I know that about 6 years later I'd be working at that little climbing shop called The Westridge.
Cheers!

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Dec 13, 2018 - 09:45am PT

And now a move from our sponsor...
]
From Summit October 1966.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

Nothing creative to say

Dec 13, 2018 - 09:53am PT

Was in Sportsman Warehouse last night (hunting and fishing vibe type of shop if you're not familiar), and lo and behold Liberty Mountain carabiners on the shelves!

They also had some Black Diamond stuff like an ATC and some carabiners (just enough for the uninitiated to get into trouble with seeing as how the flag pole "ropes" were within 3 feet of the carabiners, lol).

Anyone else try and rappel down the underside of a stair case with that type of 'rope' when they were a kid?

McHale's Navy

Trad climber

From Panorama City, CA

Dec 13, 2018 - 01:30pm PT

The Pico Westridge store was something special to me - A real kid in a candy store I was! I bought at least my first pair of Robbins Blue Boots from there. And then came the big store with it's amazing collection of Black & White blowups on the walls. I have always been amazed that spirit was not emulated more in other shops.

life is a bivouac

Trad climber

Bishop

Dec 13, 2018 - 03:24pm PT

Hey Mc Hale, Next time you're in Bishop... visit Eastside Sports. They have a remarkable collection of old posters and photos on their walls and an intense selection of climbing paraphernalia, shoes, and sporty clothing...
Russ

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Dec 16, 2018 - 11:44am PT

From Summit May 1966. Note the mysterious Leeper ad featuring what seems to be a Gerry angle in 1960 followed by an very rare Leeper angle later.

From Summit November 1967.

BooDawg

Social climber

Butterfly Town

Dec 17, 2018 - 10:12pm PT

The SHOES pic was taken by Larry Reynolds whom Russ and I met on our trek down from our FA on Mt. Brewer in Sept. of 1963, the year we graduated from high school. I posted pix of that climb here several years ago.

Don Lauria

Trad climber

Bishop, CA

Dec 17, 2018 - 10:56pm PT

Grossman,

The little girl in the ad was my next door neighbor's daughter. She was the star of our annual calendar

hellroaring

Trad climber

San Francisco

Dec 18, 2018 - 10:07am PT

All hail the brick & mortar mountain shop! God bless, protect, and let prosper the ones still in existence in this world of cold & detached online shopping. RIP the ones no longer around. You are sorely missed. A place where kindred spirits worked, actual users gave sage advice to the uninitiated, topo maps were scrutinized & future plans hatched, climbing friendships evolved, the dog eared "shop copy" climbing guide(s) photocopied countless times, much beer & coffee consumed, etc. A gathering place as well as a house of commerce. A shout out to all those fabulous shops wether here or not...