Durango Outdoor Exchange strives to be a gear store for everyone. We hope you feel a sense of community and place the minute you walk through the door. Whether you are brand new to a sport and looking for guidance or just in for your weekly check on sweet used gear finds, we are so happy you’re here. We are thankful for each and every customer and consignor and feel lucky we get to continue growing in our dream jobs. And now, for the introductions…
We believe great adventures shouldn’t come at the planet’s expense.
From extending the life of outdoor gear and carrying eco-conscious brands to engaging in community outreach, installing solar panels, and adding an EV charging station — sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
When you consign and shop with us, you're helping build a more environmentally responsible outdoor community. Explore more, waste less — it’s that simple.
If you are camping in bear country, or in any place where food storage is a concern, you should strongly consider using a bear canister–a storage system that is built to keep bears out of your food. And in some places, particularly parks in California, Montana, Colorado, and Washington,backcountry campers are required to have and use bear canisters.
While you may get lucky by hanging your food in a sack from a tree, this is not permitted in many areas and virtually impractical in many alpine anddesert backpacking zones. Bear canisters are the preferred method for storing food and other smelly items, but there are many kinds to be aware of. Let’s look at them in more detail.
For many hikers, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks is a lifetime achievement. Others make it their entire personality, working for years and even decades to climb all of them. Some make a goal of climbing them all in a single season while others try to ski them all.
The problem with climbing 14ers for many people is that they are difficult–and we’re not just talking about the thin air. Of the 58 in Colorado, about one-third entrail considerable exposure and require skilled route-finding and ascent/descent skills. About half have either moderate or considerable challenges. Just eight are considered “easy.”
Hikers looking to summit a 14er near Durango will find four that rank generally as easy or the easy end of moderate. They are all in the same two canyons and can be climbed by someone with decent fitness, good shoes, and a penchant for waking up early. The roads to access all these peaks are part of the Alpine Loop and can be driven from Silverton in a four-wheel drive such as a Tacoma, but are generally not in all-wheel drives like Subarus.
Ready? Here goes!