The Ute Mountaineer in Aspen was, like many shops of its ilk, born of a love for being outdoors. In this case, it started as a dream between two friends who were climbing in Europe one summer, one of whom had already owned the Boulder Mountaineer shop. They opened the new store in 1977, and it’s still family run to this day, in the historic Elks Building (once the Aspen Post Office). Their mission extends to the employees they hire, “the people who know and use the gear they sell,” and also to their community involvement: The store sponsors and runs several local races throughout the year, and hosts the Banff Mountain film festival.
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One Stop Shop for All Your Outdoor Needs
Ute mountaineer is an adrenaline junkie’s wet dream. It is a store for the real outdoorsmen but even an amateur like me will find pleasure and shopping there. They have a wall of sleeping bags, a wall of shoes, a wall of gloves, a wall of climbing gear, and my personal favorite, a wall of backpacks. You can never have too many backpacks or purses in my opinion. To complement all this gear they have camping essentials and tools. Some might not be necessary to have but they are fun like the light weight wine glasses. Who wants to trek miles into the wilderness with heavy wineglasses when light wineglasses are available? It is a one stop shop for all your outdoor needs.