Boulder Mountaineering redux RIP

After a valiant effort to rebuild his iconic climbing store from the ashes of the past Bob Culp has decided to close his doors. The economic debacle foisted upon us by the previous administration's disastrous financial policies proved too big of a mountain for the legend to ascend. Bob is looking at the bright side as this will allow him to climb and guide more without the burden of a seven day a week business to tend to. Bob Culp's climbing school and guide service is still in full swing but the BOMO will be sorely missed. Best wishes to Bob Culp, an inspiration and friend.

That's too bad man...

I have to say that the location of the store wasn't that great, being up on the hill and all. I only went in a few times since it usually meant dealing with the traffic on Broadway.

Hope it works out for the best!!

Ah but Scott, you should have seen it in it's hey day. It was wonderful. It occupied that whole building. So many hard core climber sof the day worked there or got there start there.
Hopefully some of them will chime in .

Too bad, I remember running around in that store when I was a little kid. Unfortunately REI and the other clothing flagships that have opened here were a death sentence to Rock Mountain Sports and Boulder Mountaineering alike. RIP. Is he having a massive g.o.o.b. sale? That'd be alright...

Man, an end of an era. For all of us that were so inclined in those early days, his location on "The Hill" was perfect. We could score on bongs and then something for our bongs on the same block, then over to the Sink for happy hour.

Sorry to see BOMO go, again...

That is really too bad, I really enjoyed going in there, really good people.

Bummer that your store closed.

Blaming GWB is weak.

i liked the boulder mountaineer, as well; fun to go in a chat with Culp.

Sorry to hear about that.

Very sad to see Boulder Mountaineer go again. I spent a lot of time drooling over gear there in the 80s. I still have a "piton" shirt. Good job Bob Culp and best wishes to you!
Tom

As a climber that moved to the Boulder area after the heyday of Culp's shop, I have to say the location and the lack of advertising, kept me from ever venturing in there.

Take a look at the business model for a shop like Bent Gate, with the online focus and always advertising sales. That is what a gear shop has to do these days to compete. With the internet and big box retailers offering all kinds of sales and deals. Thats why I've pretty much stopped shopping at Neptune except for guidebooks and the occasional chalk and tape purchase.

Sad to see Bob close his doors once again. I got my start in climbing at the age of 14 in the summer of 1974 when I took a week-long climbing class with my best friend, John Webster. It was run out of the BOMO and guided by an old hard guy named Gary Isaacs. I guess it's been all down hill since then for me!

Sad to see it go, but the demise of the BOMO is probably more due to the lack of advertising, big box stores, a failure to draw younger climbers in, and to be quite frank, a not so hot selection of clothing, as opposed to the "economic debacle foisted upon us."

Really sorry to see it go. Bob is a great guy and I'm glad the Bob Culp climbing school has plans to live on.

phil broscovak wrote:Ah but Scott, you should have seen it in it's hey day. It was wonderful. It occupied that whole building. So many hard core climber sof the day worked there or got there start there. Hopefully some of them will chime in .

This is a place I would love to see!

not to hijack the thread, but i think the big-box store putting the little guy out of business isn't always true in this industry. take a look at the changes in the climbing shoes that REI now carries as compared with their lineup as of a couple years ago; no longer do they carry Miuras or even Katanas, because the shoes didn't sell as well and got returned a lot by beginner climbers complaining of uncomfortable fit.

REI, probably the highest profile "big-box" store, targets beginner and intermediate outdoor athletes, not climbers looking to buy high-end products (TC Pros, BD Chaos harness, etc...) or non-run-of-the-mill gear - REI stopped carrying DMM passive pro a year or so ago, and they no longer sell individual Tri-Cams. Same thing goes for ski equipment and mountaineering stuff; not much for the backcountry enthusiast at REI.

Here in Fort Collins, the Mountain Shop carries a wide range of products not offered at REI, and I think that helps them get by. Additionally, they're taking to a Bent-Gate style advertising and community outreach approach; advertising sales through email, developing their website, and offering to contribute to the development of a local climbing/adventure community. This is a fairly recent development, I think, in terms of the outdoor-outfitter business model; the last time I was in the Boulder Mountaineer I didn't see a lot of evidence of that.

What's too bad is that places like that are going out of business; you're unlikely to see a cardboard box of Hummingbird Ice Tool picks labeled "$1 If You Don't Know What These Are You Probably Don't Need Them" at an REI or at The Mountain Shop, but they were in the B M at the end of the summer because a not-so-crusty-old-guy with a personality ran the place; dunno if that's bad or good, but it's a distinct attitude that some shops sacrifice in favor of streamlining and focusing their business model.

phil broscovak wrote: The economic debacle foisted upon us by the previous administration's disastrous financial policies proved too big of a mountain for the legend to ascend.

It was good to see him give it another go. . . and I thought the location was good (all those college kids, etc) - but then I'm no business man.

But the above quote made me laugh harder and deeper than I had in quite some time. Thanks!

phil broscovak wrote: The economic debacle foisted upon us by the previous administration's disastrous financial policies proved too big of a mountain for the legend to ascend.

That's an intersting idea. And I thought it was just location and REI.
But if not, then how many more will go out with this recent great increase in spending now, from the current adminsitration? R.I.P. R.E.I.?
You can't just go lay everything you don't like at the doorstep of a particular politician that you don't like. AFterall, if people who were buying at REI were buying at BOMO, Bob would be a millionaire, and NOT out of business. So it's the shopper, not the market.

I used to love stopping in to BOMO to pick through the box of used bargain gear on the front counter.
I must admit that I haven't stopped in there for about twenty years now.
While driving up Broadway on the hill a couple of weeks ago I was tempted to stop in, and now I wish I had.

David Wilcox said everything I want to say:

Go To East Asheville Hardware Before you go to Lowes

REI doesn't know whether bent gate biners snap open in a fall. They don't know whether it's cold enough for certain waterfalls to freeze enough to be climbable. They don't know what a screamer is, or why you'd want one, and when.

REI is freshman Outdoors 101.

Shops like Boulder Mountaineering are Outdoors MBA schools.

For the chuckleheads here that want to deny that GWB oversaw the biggest economic reversal in US history since 1929: Just shut up.

For the big box store apologists on here: Wise up. If you want cheap, go to the web. If you want knowledge, guidance, help, pointers, friendship, camaraderie, and all the things that real life should be about, you need to go to the places where that happens, and it isn't REI.

Folks: The creeping monoculture of McAmerica is a nasty, soulless, unhealthy place to live. Boulder has (so far) avoided some of that fate...but if people do *not* remember to go to East Asheville Hardware before they go to Lowes, well; remember to always Supersize....it's the "best deal".

justaguy11 wrote: For the chuckleheads here that want to deny that GWB oversaw the biggest economic reversal in US history since 1929: Just shut up.

"Just shut up" eh? DHHHUUde... You are harshing my mellow! Like, where is the love? What happened to tolerance and diversity? Free speech? Oh yeah, that's right, only GWB ever tried to silence dissent.

justaguy11 wrote: For the big box store apologists on here: Wise up.

Because only you are wise? I'm not a fan, but I'd rather shop at Walmart than listen to that.

justaguy11 wrote: Folks: The creeping monoculture of McAmerica is a nasty, soulless, unhealthy place to live. Boulder has (so far) avoided some of that fate...

Funny, I think it is the government doing it. Afterall, federal policy creates most of the garbage like agro-business.
Boulder avoided the same fate? Hmmm... not really that I can tell. They build malls with tax dollars and give our tax money to businesses. Walmart is Bad but Home Depot is Good? Gimmie a break! But you shop at McGuckin's, right? Well, actually, I do.

i think sasha had some really good points up above. sorry to see bomo go, bob is a great guy and ultra legend. hope everything works out for him.