Pete Van De Carr’s spirit nonetheless soars via the Yampa Valley. In the 12 months since he handed, Backdoor Sports — the enterprise he constructed over 40 years — continues his legacy, striving to make sure that everybody who walks via its doorways “has the best day ever,” as Pete would have needed.
Van De Carr handed away at 70 in a tragic skiing accident in February 2025. In the 12 months since, Backdoor Sports has endured, balancing his legacy with a brand new path ahead.
“Backdoor Sports exists because of Pete and his family,” mentioned Backdoor Sports proprietor Dominique Welch. “He and Gretchen (Van De Carr) have done exceptional work in spreading awareness, promoting access, reviving Telemark, developing a hockey community and creating a place where young individuals have learned how to work, learn and explore values that have set them up for a lifetime of success in ways that transcend monetary gain.”
Backdoor Sports was based in 1986, and after dwelling out of quite a few garages moved to its present location on the banks of the Yampa River at 841 Yampa St. The Welches completed their purchase of the business in May 2025.
“I think Pete’s legacy will always reverberate through Backdoor Sports,” mentioned purchaser and grasp boot fitter Amanda Brotman. “He touched our community with generosity, kindness and connection that we hope to keep up and continue to develop over time, while bringing in our own flare.”
Welch echoed Brotman’s sentiment.
“His legacy reverberates through us and our approach in that we work hard to play hard,” mentioned Welch. “It’s about rolling up our sleeves to enjoy the limited time we have with the ones we love, all while aiming to leave the world better than we found it.”
In the 12 months after Pete Van De Carr’s passing, Backdoor Sports endured an anemic low-snow winter, and but was capable of increase its choices.
“We have had the privilege of being able to continue to carry many of the same telemark and alpine touring lines that Pete was passionate about,” mentioned Brotman. “We brought in some Alpine boots and bindings, splitboards, and dove into ski tuning and custom-insole and ski-boot fitting as well. All of which I hope Pete would smile about.”
Van De Carr was a passionate Telemark skier.
“He was a pretty hardcore Telemark guy,” mentioned proprietor Michael Welch. “He spent years in the Telemark world and that was his passion. You can see why, it’s where skiing started and it’s alive through modern technology.”
Brotman was introduced on this 12 months because the grasp bootfitter, marking Backdoor’s foray into the Alpine snowboarding world.
“It was just the natural progression of the ski shop,” mentioned Michael Welch. “As a business it was a decision we made that helped the shop during the challenging winter.”
This previous winter solely 171 inches of snow fell — down from the 10-year common of 289 inches, based on Steamboat Resort monitoring knowledge.
“I think the biggest (challenge) was definitely the weather, (which is) beyond any of our control,” mentioned Brotman. “I think Pete would have prepared as best he could, and continued to just be Pete — generous, kind, happy with a wonderful, contagious way of enjoying life.”
A development that store workers seen this previous winter was that prospects had been much less inclined to purchase new skis, putting a higher emphasis on gear they already had.
“People leaned more on their rock skis than in years passed,” Michael Welch defined. “Whether they are waiting for a better snow year, nobody wants to ruin a new pair of skis because of the lack of snow.”
Brotman defined that the complete winter sports activities trade felt the results of the down 12 months.
“The general consensus across the winter sports industry was that this was obviously an unusual year overall,” mentioned Brotman. “Luckily we had great support from our community and customers old and new coming in to do business and spread positivity, tell stories and introduce themselves.”
The group helped see the store via. Support got here in from miles round, and tears of each sorrow and gratitude had been shed, based on Dominique Welch.
“Oftentimes we hear that Backdoor was more than just a place of employment,” mentioned Dominique Welch. “Feeling welcomed and a sense of home is one of the many ways that Pete made Backdoor Sports, as well as Steamboat, a better place.”
Van De Carr was a passionate conservationist. He was a founding member of the Northwest Rivers Alliance, which was established in 1980. It would later grew to become Friends of the Yampa, and he served as president of the group from 1987-2009. He additionally served as president on different boards together with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps from 1998-2004, Yampa River System Legacy Partnership since 2001, State Water Supply Initiative from 2002-04 and the Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation Commission from 1996-2004.
“This winter has brought to light how dependent we are on snow and our snowpack, not only for enjoyment, but also for water supply, irrigation and fire prevention,” mentioned Dominique Welch. “It would be pretty amazing to sit on the bench (outside the shop) with Pete right now and hear his take on some of these challenges.”
The store will proceed to accomplice with Friends of the Yampa and the Yampa River Fund.
“We are stewards of the Yampa River and the environment and will continue to be,” mentioned Michael Welch. “It is in our backyard and is one of our proudest pillars.”
The store is seeking to increase summer season rafting operations and be the native spot that folks look to for out of doors gear.
“We want to be the place that locals come to for all their outdoor needs and know they won’t get gouged,” mentioned Michael Welch. “This shop was built by Pete for Steamboat, and we’re here to make sure that keeps going.”