Built Outdoors | Wild Iris Mountain Sports
In 1989, famed professional rock climber, Todd Skinner, and his then-girlfriend, Amy Whistler, heard about the incredible dolomite cliffs near Lander, Wyoming, packed their bags, and moved immediately to Lander. In order to create jobs for themselves and other climbing partners, they created what came to be known as Wild Iris Mountain Sports, an outdoor gear store named after the climbing area that was holding their minds and hearts in Lander.
1991, when it was still Wind River Mountain Sports, according to the sign out front.
Since then, Wild Iris has seen challenges, changes, and growth, and through it all, it became more than your average outdoor gear shop in an incredibly beautiful place. It’s a pillar of the community, both in Lander and in the climbing world at large.
In this episode of Built Outdoors, we hear from co-owner Amy Skinner and manager Joan Chase, about their path to creating a community-centered, adventure-focused outdoor gear shop in small-town Wyoming, how they maintain their identity as a business, and what kind of culture they try to create for their employees.
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This episode comes from Built Outdoors, which is created by Emily Holland and Kris Hampton for Plug Tone Outdoors, a channel dedicated to expanding the perception of what is possible in outdoor storytelling and media.
Kris talks with Amy Skinner and Joan Chase about how the founding of Wild Iris Mountain Sports is inextricably linked to the rise of climbing in Lander, Wyoming.