Mountain Supply opens

(L-R): Nora Dragoon, Erin McClaskey with daughter Kiana Hohman, Lori-Jean Pruitt. Photo by Kathryn Godsiff

Mountain Supply has opened in Sisters -- and it's good news for local outdoor enthusiasts.

Located on the corner of Main Avenue and Fir Street, the store carries a full line of day-use hiking supplies and can obtain any specialty mountaineering or rock climbing items within a day from the main Mountain Supply store in Bend.

The business has been in Erin McClaskey's family for 23 years and at one time the family owned several stores. (One of those stores was in Sisters and was sold to another party.)

They later downsized to the one large store in Bend, which is a full-scale mountaineering supply shop. Customers from Sisters regularly came to the Bend store asking when they would open again in Sisters. McClaskey and her husband Aaron Hohman finally decided that the timing was right this summer.

The Sisters store is managed by Nora Dragoon who is an enthusiastic and energetic outdoorswoman.

"Every day I have a different outdoor craving," she said. "One day it's rock climbing, the next it might be mountain biking."

She is able to point her customers to just what they need for a day on the trail.

Hohman, who McClaskey describes as "real outdoorsy," will also spend time in the Sisters store. Lori-Jean Pruitt, a self-described "Forest Service brat who grew up in Sisters," does the bookwork.

Customer service and making people happy are the hallmarks of Mountain Supply.

"All our employees are trained and have been to clinics on all gear and clothing we carry," said McClaskey.

"We will do the legwork to get our customers what they want," added Dragoon.

Special deals are offered to Forest Service personnel.

The store has mountaineering and rock climbing rentals available. They currently are relayed from the Bend store, but could be held at Sisters if demand is there. The summer rental line consists of crampons, ice axes, helmets, climbing shoes, and plastic mountaineering boots.

Winter items are downhill, cross-country, telemark and randonee skis as well as snowshoes.

Canine hiking supplies, books, water bottles, hats and a full line of packs and clothing fill the store.

The store offers membership to the "Summit Club." A $10 two-year membership entitles subscribers to a newsletter, 10 percent discounts and other special deals. A grand opening is planned over the holiday weekend.