About
Our Story
We are two brothers, Chris and Kevin Gmitro, and we own a climbing/skiing gear shop at the base of the Wasatch Mountains just outside of Salt Lake City, UT.
As far as our origin story goes, we like to believe that Utah chose us. We grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and quickly tired of skiing the single chairlift in the Sonoran desert. So we stuck our thumbs up on the side of a highway in pursuit of a mountain range to call home.
After some solo journeying stints, living apart in Bend and Moab, the rugged ridgelines of the Wasatch Front drew us back together. Reunited under the same roof for the first time since childhood, the brotherhood of the rope strengthened our confidence and trust in one another and we've been in the Wasatch Front/Salt Lake Area since 2006.
Our Climbing/Skiing Consignment shop known as The Gear Room started in November 2014 after the infamous "flip of a coin."
On a family climbing trip to the Dolomites two business ideas were floated. One, to create a community-oriented climb/ski shop; an environmentally conscious brick and mortar store that would re-home the tons of equipment and apparel generated by the local community. Second, a farm to table restaurant. After a beer-fueled debate, a coin flip finally ended the conversation, and The Gear Room was born.
Our mission is to enable the community to recreate responsibly in the mountains while reducing waste through gear redistribution and repair.
Today we resell a metric heck-ton of used equipment from and for the Wasatch community. We also mount and tune skis/snowboards, and resole over 1,500 pairs of climbing shoes annually. We take great pride in continuing to be an integral part of the mountain adventure community. It's not uncommon to receive a call at the front desk from a climbing party asking for beta, and The Gear Room is often a first stop for out-of-towners looking for information and new gear.
When planning a visit, be sure to save time for banter. A simple question like "Where should I ski or climb tomorrow?" is bound to elicit lengthy responses from our experienced team, and the regular guides, professionals and dirtbags that call The Gear Room their favorite shop.