www.dalesoutdoors and UKClimbing

Having had a few e-mail exchanges in the past with the guys at UKClimbing we decided to give them a miss in this latest venture. They run a superb website for those who wear average fit jeans, boulder average routes and buy average gear but the lack of cutting edge discussion and a tendency to stifle any alternative viewpoint from anyone in the climbing and hillwalking community speaks volumes for what they have become. They are a business and the activity climbing has little to do with business. The frendo spur or even the three peaks challenge is not a fashion parade. Time then for www.dalesoutdoors.co.uk. We aim to provide the best links to the best products and ultimately develop an online store and video blogging tool that is second to none. Never mind the days of forum discussion where you ask "So what was that route like" we will offer the ability upload footage of the route and video conferencing with other climbers to offer a real down the pub experience. Don't like our products- you'll be free to click on through to links elsewhere. We certainly don't want to be the sterile discussion forum of all round niceness that typifies climbing at its commercial worst. The mountains are an inheritantly risky place to be. No matter what any outdoor retailer tells you- you don't need the latest event jacket, you dont' need the latest scarpa boots. You do however need tried and trusted gear that will last year after year and not see you scooting back to the retailer for another jacket or another rucsac because the bottom fell out of yours. So I guess in a way that sums up www.dalesoutdoors.co.uk Our mentality is odd for a business- we have a serious desire not to sell you stuff unless what we sell you is going to allow you to confidently fall back on yourself, that alone in the mountains with map and compass you don't care that your jacket is the latest lime green ultra-lite edition from Berghaus, but simply that it is dependable, has been dependable and won't let you down this year or next. That's the kind of product we want to offer and we are pleased with our initial discussions with montane to offer their amazing products in the future alongside our expanding craghoppers travel and fellwalking clothing range. We are proud also of our other contacts- dare2b and and gear zone. As we grow we will be a cutting edge business that won't stock product that fits in with this fundamental ethos.