About SNAC | Contact Info | Directions | Core Values | Staff

Back in the early 90's, when Shawn was selling out of the back of his truck as "The Eddy Mart", the most important items to have on hand were life jackets, river shorts, sandals and river knives. Oh yes, and a few things the rafting customers would want, t-shirts, hats, sunscreen, etc. It became obvious that The Eddy Mart was getting "too big" to operate out of a garage when the whitewater kayaks came. It was time for a storefront. That's when providence arrived on the scene.

The Sonora Mountaineering building in Downtown Sonora became available, and Shawn teamed up with fellow whitewater river guide and friend, Tonja Peterson. Tonja came on board with her experience of having managed Sonora Mountaineering for several years. Partner Jill Seale got involved to cover the behind the scene job of managing SNAC's finances, and before you knew it, Team SNAC was born.

We'll never forget 1994 -- that first day in Sonora when we were selling out of the boxes because, well we weren't quite ready. We came into the business with an open mind to do our best to meet the needs of the active outdoorspeople in our area and with the mission to provide our customers with "the most exciting, innovative new products at affordable prices." We definitely had a good start with hiking and climbing gear, but for these seasoned river guides, something was missing -- watersports! First whitewater kayaks came, then to our surprise, recreational boats took over. What started as "bringing in a few rec kayaks to test the waters" became our biggest department! As usual, listening to what our customers wanted turned out to be what worked.

Not long after our second year in business, we started noticing many of SNAC's adventurous Calaveras County neighbors shopping in Sonora. Since Calaveras County was Shawn and Jill's home, the idea of having a mountaineering/paddling store along the Highway 4 corridor just sounded like the right thing to do. Hence, SNAC Arnold was born. Opening our "above snow level" location came with an awareness that the folks who lived above 4000 ft. in elevation needed winter gear badly! Cold weather clothing, snowshoes, and snowboards all found a welcome spot in SNAC product line-up!

And now, as we approach our 14th year in business, we begin a new and exciting chapter in the SNAC history! Our brand new location in Downtown Murphys is already being hailed as one of the nicest retail stores in Calaveras County! We are thrilled to have such a beautiful space to offer you one of the best selections of men's and women's clothing and footwear in the Sierra! Our Murphys location, which we call the Sierra Nevada Adventure Co. General Store, shows off the 'softer side of SNAC'. Be sure to stop by on your way to see our boat showroom in Arnold!

Much like the ever-expanding inventory, the SNAC family has also grown. It's exciting to see new staff members bringing their passion for different activities with them. In that regard we are like a soup that gets richer when more time and ingredients are added. We find that SNAC is not only a reflection of the owners, but also of the staff and our customers. Without you, we wouldn't have made it this far on the journey and it wouldn't have been this much fun.

...and the entire SNAC Team!

Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we pollute the last clean air and dirty the last clean streams and push our paved roads through the last of the silence; and so that never again can we have the chance to see ourselves single, separate, vertical, and individual in the world, part of the environment of trees and rocks and soil, part of the natural world and competent to belong to it.

- Excerpts from Wallace Stegner's Geography of Hope

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