Carbondale's new gear library aims to make outdoor recreation accessible in the Roaring Fork Valley
CARBONDALE, Colo. — “There [are] definitely people who come in here and just are very surprised,” said Olivia Lewis.
Lewis is referring to the Roaring Fork Gear Library that opened March 2 in Carbondale. It is a place where people can check out gear for outdoor sports, a process that is typically very expensive.
After filling out liability forms and running a debit or credit card for just $1, local members can check out a variety of gear from the library for free for the entire year.
Lewis moved to the area from Virginia, where she grew up recreating and enjoying the outdoors. She noticed how expensive equipment could be, but when she came to the Roaring Fork Valley, she really felt the accessibility divide.
“There was actually this huge gap or divide … just regular working people would not maybe partake as much as the visitors who were coming here from out of state or other places,” she said.
This challenge is well known to Kyle Watts, a local to the valley.
“I know it’s a struggle to be able to afford sporting equipment in the winter … especially in the winter but the summer as well,” he said.
Watts became even more familiar with this problem when his snowboard was recently stolen, and his ski pass was no longer provided at a discount through his work or school.
“That’s like $2,000 for the pass plus an easy grand for new equipment,” Watts said. He hasn’t been up the mountain as much these past few years.
“It’s just really hard,” Watts added.
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But in the summer of 2021, he met Lewis on a farm in Basalt, Colorado, where they both were working for the season. They got to talking and decided to do something about the issue of accessibility to outdoor recreation.
Inspired by her college’s gear library back in Virginia, Lewis suggested the idea to Watts for the Roaring Fork Valley.
“I called up Kyle and was like, ‘Let’s just do this,’” she said.
They received several donations from community members and independent businesses like Free Range Kitchen, a restaurant Watts used to work.
“That hasn’t been the hard part so far, getting stuff,” he said.
Lewis said that they are determining what equipment is needed by researching what other gear libraries have checked out the most.
For the Get Outdoors Leadville Community Gear Library, one item was fat bikes for winter riding. So, Lewis and Watts put the word out and received two brand new bikes from a community member almost immediately.
As their equipment supply grows, so do their members; after just a week of opening they had almost 20.
“People have just been super positive and overwhelmingly supportive about it, so that tells me that there is a need for it in the community,” Lewis said.
Lewis and Watts said people who want to help can not only donate equipment, but also volunteer at the library or simply spread the word so more people can access and enjoy Colorado’s outdoors.
More information on the gear library is available on its website.
Clarissa Guy is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at clarissaguy@rmpbs.org.