Hey everybody!
here’s my full story of Rocky Mountain Hand Shoes:
Before we get down to the nitty gritty, and for those of you that don’t know me yet, here’s a quick snapshot of who I am: For the past 20 years I have been climbing trees in the Pacific Northwest. As a Certified Arborist and the owner of Roots and Shoots Tree Service, I spend most of my days working with my hands. My spare time is often spent backcountry skiing, fly-fishing, camping, mountain biking, riding motorcycles, and beekeeping. As such I have been forever on the lookout for the best pair of cold weather work and play gloves available until………
About 5 years ago, on a cold snowy January day in Oregon, I was taking down some large trees with my crew. Brandishing a pair of fairly expensive ski gloves, I quickly noticed that my hands were getting cold and wet while running my chainsaw. At that moment, a trusted employee fresh in from Montana, showed me a pair of gloves that I had never heard of before. With warm dry hands and a smug smile, he called them Rocky Mountain Hand Shoes. After trying them on, I was sold and immediately got a hold of the owner in Helena and ordered my first pair. For the next few years I wore them everywhere, all winter long. From ski trips in Taos and Colorado to dirt biking in the coastal rain forests to fly fishing in Wyoming, I wore my hand shoes all winter long.
Fast forward to 2017 and I decided it was time to order a couple of pairs for my father and brother in law (one lives in Colorado, the other in Minnesota). I was shocked to learn that the owner, after selling these gloves to ranchers and ski patrollers a like for over 20 years, was retiring the business to pursue other activities. After a few months of pondering I finally called Bill Rule, the long time owner and proprietor of Rock Mountain Hand Shoes. I told him my story and asked if he was interested in selling me the business. After a great trip to Helena and a fun week with Bill learning about the business, I returned to Oregon with a barrel full of awesome gloves, a branding iron, and a ton of good will. The rest is pretty much history. Like the old razor ad from the 80’s, “I liked them so much I bought the company”!
The only changes that I have made is the ability to shop on line and a little bit of social media action to get the word out about these awesome gloves.
Sincerely,
Justin