Called "The Greatest Mountain Shop in America" by Outside.com, Eastside Sports (formerly known as "Wilson’s Eastside Sports") is a small, independent, family- owned, and locally-staffed outdoor and mountain sports store located in Bishop, California - the heart of the famous Eastern Sierra Nevada!
The formal beginnings of the store trace back to 1977 when Rick Wheeler, a local adventurer, started a small shoe repair shop named "Wheeler Boot" that focused on mountain footwear and other outdoor shoes. Shortly after, circa 1979, James Wilson came on board and the name was changed to "Wheeler and Wilson Boot".
A few years later, in the mid 1980s, James Wilson took on full ownership of the store, moved the store to Main Street in Bishop, and developed it into a full-service mountain sports store (known as "Wilson's Eastside Sports") that still maintained a boot repair business in the back run in part by cobbler Tony Puppo from 1981 onward. Over the years, thanks to James Wilson's steadfast focus on providing customers large selections of quality items, professional expertise, and unmatched customer service, the store garnered an international reputation as THE outdoor store of the Eastern Sierra, regardless of whether you were a first-time amateur, a grizzled old-timer, or somewhere in between. It was truly one of the few stores in its time where you could walk in with nothing on your back and no idea where to go and then walk out a couple hours later fully outfitted to begin an adventure and (almost too many) recommendations on where to adventure after chatting with the local staff, who often were trailblazers with a litany of "firsts" to their names.
In 1999, the shoe repair business was able to be its own business and split off to become The Rubber Room after being purchased by cobblers Tony Puppo and his wife Nan. Twenty-five years (and over 100,000 pairs of shoes) later, it remains renowned across the western United States for the quality of their craftmanship and personalized customer service. True to the small-town charm of Bishop, it's still located just a three minute walk away from us on West Line Street.
In 2012, Chris Iversen (who had joined the staff in 1988 and became a store manager and product buyer) and her husband Todd Vogel purchased the store from the Wilsons. Their veteran stewardship continued to the timeless mission of the store and brought it into the 21st century with updates that included, but were not limited to: the re-design of the decor and the floor layout in order to maintain the ability to provide the largest selection of items possible; installation of solar panels on the building's roof to improve the store's environmental impact; and, the founding of the Eastern Sierra Youth Outdoor Program. Perhaps most critically, they successfully guided the store through the COVID-19 pandemic such that it was able to make it through intact and ready to continue serving adventurers near and far for decades to come.
In June 2024, after 36 years of being part of the Eastside Sports 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 four-year transition process designed to safeguard the nationally-recognized legacy of the business in the outdoor industry for years to come, Matt and Sabine McCarthy, a young Bishop local couple, bought the store.
Passionate outdoor enthusiasts to their cores, 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 in 2018 because, in their humble opinion, it is simply the best place to live in the world. 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 that is!). 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.
As the store begins its fourth era of ownership after 47 years, we are excited to bring a fresh energy to the store's bright future in Bishop but the same old values of providing high-quality gear, accessories, and expert knowledge for all adventurers from Badwater Basin to the summit plateau on Mt. Whitney.
Come visit the store to say hello and make some history with us!