Eastside Sports Celebrates New Era with New Owners: Matt & Sabine McCarthy

Have you heard the news?!?

As Eastside Sports continues into its 47th year of business as the "Greatest Mountain Shop in America", we are excited to announce that it will enter into its fourth era of ownership! Fear not though...the tradition of unparalleled customer-focused service by local experts as an independent, family-owned outdoor store with a little something for everyone (hike, climb, camp, run!) will continue forward unchanged.

After 36 years of being part of the Eastside Sport team (with 12 years spent as co-owners), Chris Iversen and her husband, Todd Vogel, made the decision to sell the store and set their sights on new adventures after a long transition process designed to safeguard the nationally-recognized legacy of the business in the outdoor industry for years to come. The staff thanks them both for their invaluable contribution to Eastside Sports!

So…who are the new owners of Eastside Sports?

Say hello to Matt and Sabine McCarthy!

Matt and Sabine are Bishop locals who are passionate outdoor enthusiasts to their cores. They have been working with Chris and Todd behind the scenes for over four years to put the pieces together and learn the business before it finally all came together in June 2024! Matt and Sabine worked with the National Park Service in Yosemite, Zion, Mt. Rainier, Pinnacles, Glacier Bay, Channel Islands, and Mount Aspiring before deciding to move to Bishop permanently because, in their humble opinion, it is simply the best place to live in the world.

They are active members of Inyo County Search and Rescue and have been doing search and rescue work both locally and with the National Park Service for a combined 26 years. They have been backpacking for a combined 34 years and rock climbing for 37 years. They even hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) together in 2015. They like to joke that they have spent way too much time (or perhaps just the right amount of time?) hiking and rock climbing in New Zealand, Europe, Ecuador, Chile, Southeast Asia, Nepal, and, of course, the western United States.

Needless to say, they love spending any minute of their time off in the outdoors,  regardless of whether it is hiking, climbing, or mountain biking. When you are in the store, you can always hear them debating about what adventure to do on their next day off (...when they give themselves one!). Their goal at Eastside Sports is to continue to provide high-quality apparel and equipment for all adventurers from Badwater Basin to the summit plateau on Mt. Whitney. They know what it takes to send your hardest boulder problem, complete the alpine climb of your dreams, make a 2,660 mile long hike happen, or just simply enjoy a low-key family camping weekend in the one of the most gorgeous areas in the entire United States. 

Come visit and discover our new owners' passion for the outdoors and their vision for the store's bright future in Bishop! Be sure to say hello if you see them in the store...and, if you can’t find them in the store, do not hesitate to say hello when you run into them in Death Valley, the High Sierra, the Happy Boulders, or the Owens River Gorge where they put the store’s products through real life tests!