Wild Profile: Ascent Outdoors

Sandeep Nain, Owner of Ascent Outdoors

Our story begins 24 years ago. Originally a second-hand sporting goods store named Second Bounce, we slowly began bringing in more and more outdoor gear focused on activities including backpacking, camping, climbing, backcountry skiing, and biking. In 2001 Second Bounce moved to the current location in Ballard, ditched the “bouncing items”, rebranded as Second Ascent, and became a full-service outdoor retail store with a full-service bike shop selling new, used, closeouts, and salesman samples.

In April 2016 our bike shop moved 3 doors up the street under the name Ascent Cycles. On May 1st, 2017, after 16 years, we rebranded from Second Ascent to Ascent Outdoors. As we have evolved to meet the demands, second-hand items have become a smaller, though no less important part of our store. After a sudden closure of the store in April 2019, Sandeep Nain, the founder of retail and mountain climbing group Miyar Adventures, bought the store and Ascent Outdoors reopened in July 2019 with a new focus on diversity and community. 

Under new ownership, we are excited to continue to cater to our existing community, foster the same close connections with our guiding service, Miyar, and continue growing both locally and nationally! Supporting and partnering with an organization like Washington Wild gives us the opportunity to educate and equip both our audiences with the knowledge of what to expect in our wild places, and just as important, how to protect them. So when you are backpacking in the Wild Sky Wilderness, climbing in the North Cascades, or enjoying a tasty craft beer, think about what went into keeping those places wild for all of us and where that clean water came from. It’s on us to keep these places clean and pure for generations to come.