Our Story
3 Rivers Outdoor Company was founded by Pittsburghers' with a passion for adventure, the outdoors, & community.
Christine Iksic
Founder, and co-owner, Christine Iksic, shares a similar story with many Pittsburghers', "The Boomerang Story." A Pittsburgher born and raised grows up and leaves the Steel City to find greener pastures and grand adventures then somewhere in their later years they accidentally end up back in Pittsburgh. Christine went overseas to New Zealand and around the globe to pursue a career in aerial mapping and found her love of water, backpacking, and adventure travel. Christine came back in 2009 and started to pursue whitewater kayaking leading her to realize what a mecca the region was for not only paddlesports but also other outdoor passions like hiking, backpacking, and camping. Finding it hard sometimes to meet other like minded outdoors people and to find the best gear for getting outside she set out to open a local independent outdoor shop where Pittsburghers passion to get outside could come together, share stories and beta, and get geared up.
Jason Miller
Jason Miller, joined Christine as a co-owner of 3ROC in 2022. As a long time member and leader in the Pittsburgh Explorer’s Club, Jason has a drive and passion to lead others in experiencing the great outdoors through mountaineering, mountain biking, and adventure racing. As a partner of 3ROC he saw a new opportunity to continue and build his involvement supporting the Pittsburgh Outdoor Community and sharing his passion for getting outside daily.
Jason, Christine, and their incredible team of staff all have a shared passion and vision for supporting the Pittsburgh Outdoor Community.
Our Mission
Our mission is to CONNECT the Pittsburgh Outdoor Community, PROMOTE the use of Western Pa's natural resources for Outdoor Adventure, and ADVOCATE for sustainable practices.
CONNECT
We want 3 Rivers Outdoor Co. to be a place for connecting Pittsburgh climbers, hikers, bikers, runners, campers, paddlers, and outdoor adventure lovers. Taking the leap to try something new is often difficult on your own, it's easier when you have friends or neighbors who can show you the ropes, give you the support and motivation to challenge yourself, or that little bit of advice that will help you master a new technique. In outdoor sports this community is often a critical piece of having fun through shared experiences, being safe, and finding success. Pittsburgh isn't exactly known as an outdoor destination and finding those people can sometimes be harder in this town. 3 Rivers Outdoor Co. helps to keep building that community with in-store events, weekly outings, film-fests and more.
PROMOTE
Did you know it is possible go ice climbing 10 minutes outside of Pittsburgh (when the weather is cold enough), or that there is a State Park in the middle of the Allegheny River 15 minutes from the city where you can camp? Did you know there is 257 acres of green space on Mt. Washington with 10 miles of trail or that you can bike from Pittsburgh International Airport to D.C. on 335 miles of non-motorized trail? Did you know some of the best most challenging whitewater in the world is only 2 hours from Pittsburgh? There is a lot of stuff to do outside in Pittsburgh and you don't have to go far. At 3 Rivers Outdoor Co. we want to get the word out about all these awesome places to go hike, bike, climb, and paddle. There are so many organizations out there helping to preserve these places, maintain and create trail, or keeping our waterways clean. We our partnering with many of these organizations through our Community Impact Partnerships. We believe that getting outside makes us healthier happier people and we want to share that with everyone and we want to support other organizations that help others get outside.
ADVOCATE
We live in a world of limited natural resources and most are aware of the importance of recycling. The same applies not only to glass or plastic but also to the outdoor equipment we purchase. Gear that is old to you may still have plenty of useful life left and by putting it back into circulation through resale we are minimizing the need to utilize new resources to manufacture new goods.
If we our passionate about outdoor adventure it means our hobbies are fueled by access to wilderness, clean rivers, parks, and forests. In order to ensure we and future generations have the same access if not better access to these outside playgrounds we must become conscientious consumers.We must put our dollars where our hearts are, in the outdoors, by protecting them and choosing brands that do their best to also do the same. At 3 Rivers Outdoor Co. our goal is to provide access to brands that are also advocating for our natural spaces, clean air, and water. Our goal at 3 Rivers Outdoor Co. is to bring access to all these types of brands and their quality specialty outdoor products to the Pittsburgh Outdoor Community and also making outdoor adventure more accessible to all.
Thank you for visiting our site & our store. We look forward to seeing you out on the trail!
3 Rivers Outdoor Co. - Christine Iksic, Jason Miller, & The 3ROC Crew
Come Visit Us
We look forward to seeing you soon at the shop & out on the trail!