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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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I like toe cleavage...
Me too....
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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IMO, the bulk of money doesn't come from people interested in all that old junk. The vast majority of the displays are really just inside jokes between Neptune and his friends and past employees, many of whom are senior citizens who don't climb anymore. The rest are archeological relics from a long dead era. That junk probably held more interest 30-40 years ago. I think that museum symbolizes the store's real problem - a place that can't evolve and change with the times. Let Gary take his stuff, consense the rest to a corner of the store, then update remainder. How about climbing from the past - say - 20 years?
Well, it's true that a museum is not the same place as a retail store. Gary has been hoping that he could hand his collection off to a museum, somewhere. Nothing yet....
There are people interested in those "archeological relics," witness the recent sale of a 30- or 40-year-old Crack-n-Up for about 100 bucks on ebay:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2036047/Totally-Crack-N-Up-Over-This-One
"the store's real problem - a place that can't evolve and change with the times" is not a problem, it's a feature.
I think Gary would be proud of Neptunes not being just like every other retail store, changing displays with every whim of fashion.
The logical, obvious thing for him to have done would be to follow the lead of North Face or Chouinard/Patagonia--stop selling pesky hardware, hire expensive marketing consultants, sell nano puffs in every flavor and size. Rebrand the store "Neptune Rack." Fire the climbers, hire some polite just-out-of-high-school kids for cheap.
Or else close the store completely, run a purely internet business, run out of an anonymous warehouse in somewhere like Alabama. Not even have any stock at all, just order stuff from the manufacturers as orders roll in, deep discounts on everything because there's no employees, no storefront. No store, really.
But no. Gary's a person of integrity. He's run it his way, and it's worked. I think his store has been a huge success, for him, for Boulder, for climbers. It HAS evolved. It's grown steadily over the years. A few years ago he bought out the space next door to accommodate even more display space for tents and suchlike. It's gonna evolve again, under the new owners.
Thanks Gary!
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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When Gary hung the majority of that junk on the walls, it was current or less than 10 yrs old. The vast majority are not museum pieces, they’re just a giant scrapbook of Gary's personal life. It's more akin to the decor in a college frat house, where outsiders who didn't go through the secret hazing and get their frat paddle aren't as welcome.
Really, I think this "we're the insiders in the climbing world" crap is what fostered the now infamous Nep-tude culture and landed them broke and on the block.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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It HAS evolved. It's grown steadily over the years. A few years ago he bought out the space next door No - the expansion happened pre-internet - like what - 15-20 years ago at this point? The place has been DYING steadily over the past 10. His current financial problems are no secret.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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JLP your insignificance is arrogance is only surpassed by your insignificance.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Keep telling us stories about that 10+ choss gully you lead in the Black, Philo - your life's greatest achievement.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Well at least I have some achievements.
But my children are my greatest accomplishment.
But you go ahead and keep on laying the ripe steamers of the never was and never will be.
Continue to disregard and denigrate that which came before 'cause it's so classy.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Really, I think this "we're the insiders in the climbing world" crap is what fostered the now infamous Nep-tude culture and landed them broke and on the block.
Now you are simply an insolent child. Give the computer back to your mommy. You've got to get back to living your life of inconsequence.
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Spanky
Social climber
boulder co
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JLP,
its funny that you refer to Gary's museum as junk when so much homage is paid to that kind of "junk" on this website. It has to be one of the best private collections of historical climbing equipment in the world with some of the highlights as follows;
Tobin Sorenson's ice axe recovered and donated by Jack Roberts
Boots from the first ascent of Everest signed by Edmund Hillary
Peter Habeler's down suit from the first ascent of Everest without O2
Gear donated to the museum by the likes of Tom Hornbien, Pete Schoening, Kurt Diemberger, Warren Harding, Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard and countless others
Gear donated by Ashenbruner (I know my spelling is off) from the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger.
If you think that's junk you obviously have no appreciation for the history of this sport. Gary's an eccentric fellow there's no doubt but he created a unique shop and his resume as a climber is probably more impressive than yours. And come on lets be honest every small specialty shop in the country struggles with the attitude problem. I've gotten the tude at the mtn shop in the valley too but for some reason it's not mentioned much. As an earlier poster mentioned and I think we can agree climbers might know climbing but that doesn't make them great at customer service, but how many shops in the country can you go into where you can be confident that the person you are talking is actually a climber and really uses the gear.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Don't forget that Gary's museum has the knife Simon Yate's used to cut the rope between himself and Joe Simpson which was the seminal event for the hugely popular non-fiction climbing book "Touching the Void." Talk about history!
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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...his resume as a climber is probably more impressive than yours. Nep-tude.
You used to work there, right? It's obvious. If not, you'd fit right in. You guys all feel this way and project it. You're all better than everyone else who walks in the door.
Except when you aren't. Which, in Boulder, is often.
Now nobody walks in the door anymore. Nobody wants to deal with that sh#t.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Ugh! Is this RC.com?? I clicked on this thread because I was interested in reading about a place that figured a special place in my youth.
Was I really as divisive as this in my younger years? Maybe that's what selective memory (or memory loss as the case may be) is good for, so you can forget what an insufferable jerk you(I) used to be in your bulletproof youth.
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Rankin
Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
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Great news for the orinal owners, assuming they got a good price. Sometimes change is good and it sounds like the shop could use a little shake-up.
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bergbryce
Mountain climber
California
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From the article....
Neptune will still work for Backwoods, though his title and responsibilities are still "evolving," Mull said. However, Neptune maintained ownership of the Neptune Mountaineering and Ski Museum, which will remain at the shop.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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JLP,
its funny that you refer to Gary's museum as junk when so much homage is paid to that kind of "junk" on this website. It has to be one of the best private collections of historical climbing equipment in the world with some of the highlights as follows;
Tobin Sorenson's ice axe recovered and donated by Jack Roberts
Boots from the first ascent of Everest signed by Edmund Hillary
Peter Habeler's down suit from the first ascent of Everest without O2
Gear donated to the museum by the likes of Tom Hornbien, Pete Schoening, Kurt Diemberger, Warren Harding, Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard and countless others
Gear donated by Ashenbruner (I know my spelling is off) from the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger.
If you think that's junk you obviously have no appreciation for the history of this sport. ...
This is well said. It's not just the archaic gear that is of interest, but the collection of stories involved, all personally connected to Gary and the Boulder (indeed, worldwide) community in some way, that would be lost if the collection was dissociated with Gary and/or split up. Having grown up on the climbing stories of the late twentieth century, there's much in that gear that evokes the peripheral elements of the history and provides unique and requisite detail to an overall compelling story. Otherwise, in the end, all we have is the recorded history, which is a bit boring: so and so did a FA on this date, etc.
Perhaps someone in Boulder could do an oral history with Gary going over the collection while it's still in the shop.
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Brenda Puff is an expert at oral accomplishments.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Yep, we're all senior citizens. And probably still climbing
harder than JLP will ever dream about. . .
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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still climbing harder than JLP will ever dream about. . .
Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, meanwhile people who know better are laughing at you.
Why it rankles ya'll to the point of making ridiculous assertions (see above), when someone simply states an opinion (shared by many, actually) that the store had been suffering for a long time, in large part due to inability to move with the times (i.e. recognizing that the little museum and name/reputation doesn't substitute for acceptable customer service in the day of 24/7, clickity click e-commerce.)
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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I don't get it. Why all the shouting? Really?
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