Comic Relief, Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Don Bushey- Owner

My first gear job was with a large retailer in Berkeley in 1991 about a year out of college. I was going to take a year off to figure out what I was doing; you know- work very part time, get outside to play as much as possible, and then get on with my adult life. I had gotten a taste of “the life” ski bumming in Breckenridge the previous season and it was already starting to wear away at my resolve to become a productive member of society. And then I started rock climbing.
After several years, (many of which I no longer have any recollection of), I fell into a group of misfits and misanthropes at a small local funky gear shop- the Wilderness Exchange in Berkeley. Now this was a place I really felt at home- a small independent shop, run by Jerry Jordan, a cross between Jerry Garcia and Falstaff, “sticking it to the man” if you will, where the dirt-bag climber ruled. The ideas of recycling gear, getting deals for the masses, and living minimally really struck a chord. I always wanted to keep these ideas alive when I started Wilderness Exchange Unlimited in Denver in 2000.
High on my list of achievements in the mountains are surviving 3 separate incidents of unplanned forced bivies in the freezing cold (for no other reason than lack of experience and/or common sense). I’ve also managed a couple first ascents (I got lost on well-established trade routes), I pull the $%^# down on V0+ (when I’m training and dieting), and I can also claim the first (drunk) ascent of many modern American test pieces (in my indoor home climbing gym). I’ve also done a couple of first ski descents (I was again off-route) in the High Sierra.
I currently live in Boulder, CO, the nationally designated home for the aging adventure athlete. Squandering my intellect and wasting enormous amounts of my life climbing and backcountry skiing has been incredibly rewarding. My favorites: in the Winter, like a devoted gardener, I tend to the local powder stashes on tele gear up in the Indian Peaks and harvest the pow-pow. I’ll also occasionally swing some ice tools, but I don’t hate myself enough to be a full-blown ice climber. Then it’s rock climbing season- Spring in the South Platte, the Desert, and Eldo; Summer starts in The Black Canyon, then Lumpy, Boulder Canyon, Vedauwoo, and of course, those exquisite, long, butt-kicking days up in the Park. In the Fall- back to the Desert, Eldo, maybe Red Rocks and always Yosemite. I try to punctuate the ski and climbing seasons with a surf trip down South on both sides, and that’s a good year in business!

Contact me at:
don@wildernessexchangeunlimited.com
 
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