Join Eastside Sports at the AAC Bishop Craggin' Classic 2024!

1. What’s the AAC Bishop Craggin’ Classic? 

• History & Significance
• Every year, the American Alpine Club hosts the nation's largest series of climbing festivals, called "Craggin' Classics", all over the country to celebrate all things climbing.
• Each of these festivals have the mission of promoting and fostering three core values: community - to help climbers connect with and inspire one another; competency - to enhance skills and education; and, conservation - to inculcate community ownership in preserving and caring for our climbing landscapes.
• This is BY FAR the biggest climbing festival/event in Bishop and whole Eastern Sierra each year!
• Festival Schedule
• This upcoming weekend (17-20 October 2024), the sixth event and grand finale of the 2024 Craggin’ Classic series comes to the Eastern Sierra for its annual fall pilgrimage to the world-class climbing mecca (and our home) of Bishop, CA!

2. What’s this got to do with Eastside Sports? 

• Find Us at the Vendor Village
• The Eastside Sports team takes great pride in announcing that it will be participating in this year's event with a table at the Vendor Village.
• Look for us on Friday, 18 October from 4-9pm and Saturday, 19 October from 2-9pm right next to the village entrance at 327 Church St.

• You Are Our Reason for Being
• As an independent, family-owned climbing and mountain sports store in a small town, the soul of our company comes from the desire to serve grassroots communities of fellow adventurers, big or small, near or far, with top-notch service and high-quality gear. As such, we look forward to connecting with the very people who inspire us to always be improving how we support the next send, the new project, or someone's first-ever visit to the crag!

3. What Can You Find at the Store?

• Located less than 100 meters from the Vendor Village, our store has a massive selection of gear, cheap rentals, extended store hours, and HUGE SALES!!!
• Largest Selection of Climbing Gear in Bishop and the Eastern Sierra.
• The store always strives to maintain one of the most comprehensive collections of climbing equipment in the country so regardless of whether you are looking to boulder in the Buttermilks and Happies, sport climb in the Owens River Gorge, or sneak in a late season trad multi-pitch on the granite of Pine Creek Canyon, we are ready to support.
• Need the latest guidebook? We got it. Need crash pads? We got those. Need a new rope ready to catch a bunch of lead falls? Got plenty of those. Need a fresh pair of shoes to send? We got you covered.
• Only looking for advice on which routes or problems to do in your limited time here? Happy to provide that too (and even give some local secrets so you can avoid the crowds)!
• Rentals on Crash Pads and So Much More
• If your travel logistics do not allow you to bring the right number of crash pads (or any) for that infamous Buttermilks highball, Eastside Sports offers cheap rentals on crash pads and much more to facilitate your time in the area.
• Pricing is by the day and reservations accepted online, in store, or by phone.
• Extended Store Hours
• To support the ability of our fellow climbers to maximize their time to be outdoors climbing, the store will be staying open for an extra hour from 9am - 7 pm on Friday, 18 October and Saturday, 19 October.
• HUGE SALES ON CLIMBING SHOES AND MORE!!!
• The store always has great sales racks. But, specifically in celebration of this weekend as the autumn and winter seasons of hard bouldering and sport climbing approach, the team has put together a series of big shoe sales ranging from 20-30% on some of the most popular La Sportiva and Scarpa climbing shoes as well as other approach and hiking shoes!
• This includes numerous pairs of the La Sportiva TC Pro, the La Sportiva Solution, the La Sportiva Katana Lace, and the La Sportiva Solution Comp in both men’s and women’s varieties...no joke.
• All sales are available both in-store and online so don't hesitate to spread the news to your friends not at the festival and become the hometown hero who helped everyone get a cheap pair of elite shoes.

4. What Can You Find at Our Festival Table?

• Compete in Climbing Skill Challenges for Awesome Prizes!
• The highlight of the festival table will be our two interactive activities that you can compete in for prizes, camaraderie, and most importantly, bragging rights! All challenge participants will walk away with something.
• (1) The Neox vs. Grigri Challenge.
• Come and try out for yourself the much-hyped, game-changing Petzl Neox vs. the legacy Petzl Grigri. Compete with a friend, partner, or complete stranger to see who can pay out 20 meters of rope more quickly. The staff can guarantee you will not be disappointed by the Neox…and might even want to buy one.
• Beat your competitor and win eternal glory…as well as some swag.
• (2) Blindfolded Knot-Tying Challenge
• Compete in a timed blind-folded knot tying challenge that will require you to tie into a harness with a figure-eight follow-through.
• Beat the time standard and walk away with an Eastside Sports shirt/hat or some free chalk!
• The Eastside staff record is 21 seconds with a well-dressed knot - no pressure or anything!
• Meet Our New Owners in Person!
• If you haven’t heard, Eastside Sports was bought this summer by an enthusiastic young couple who are Bishop locals. We're all excited for a new era of ownership with Matt and Sabine McCarthy. Come visit the table to meet them both and discover firsthand their passion for the outdoors and vision for the store's bright future in Bishop!
• Eastside Sports Swag
• There will be ample supply of our famous Cities t-shirt (see below) and other great Eastside Sports apparel so you can represent Bishop and the Eastern Sierra back at your home gym or crag.

• Guidebooks and Other Accessories
• We also will have a small selection of store items – guidebooks, our favorite stickers, and other accessories – to save you the short walk over to the store.

5. Support to Stewardship & Conservation Efforts via Raffle & Silent Auction 

• Eastside Sports is pumped to provide a slate of quality apparel and equipment for the Bishop Area Climbers Coalition (BACC) raffle at the Reel Rock 18 showing and AAC silent auction on Friday/Saturday. The proceeds of both go to support their respective efforts in protecting wild places, educating climbers, and building community so be sure to bid on some amazing items!
• The Thursday night (17 October) showing of Reel Rock 18 at the Bishop Twin Theater is the BACC’s most important fundraiser of the year so be sure to come out and be inspired by four new climbing films from across the globe!

6. Come Enjoy All That Bishop and the Eastern Sierra Has to Offer!

• At Eastside Sports, we fervently believe that Bishop and the Eastern Sierra are among the best places to live in the entire world and we unabashedly want everyone to know and experience the magic too. The team is excited to share the world-class climbing and community of our hometown with all those coming to the Craggin’ Classic so be sure to stop by the table or store and say howdy!