Most businesses, when they grow, relocate to bigger cities, with bigger markets. A few specialty retailers, like Pro Ski and Mountain Service in North Bend, benefit from doing the opposite.

Pro Ski, part outdoor retail shop, part mountain guiding service, got its start in Seattle 25 years ago, but moved to North Bend 10 years later in 2000, for a lot of reasons, that all boiled down to one, access.

Store owner and founder Martin Volken wanted to live and work in the same place, explained store manager Mike Yost, and “He was kind of… shopping the other mountain towns, but he settled on North Bend because of access — access to good skiing terrain. You can’t find a better place.”

That must still be true, since the store is still here after two more transitions. The first was a move from one side of North Bend Way to the shop’s current home on the other side of the street, after about a year in business. The second, about 10 years ago, was an expansion of the shop into its neighboring space.

“We are in an extremely unique outdoor recreation environment,” said Yost. “It’s just the perfect place to have a little gear store.”

The shop is also in the elite position of claiming its own International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations-certified guide, in Volken. Also a Swiss mountain guide, Volken leads the international guiding service for the business.

“He’s one of only 100 IFMGA guides in the world,” said Yost. “And he was in the store tuning skis yesterday. That’s where he started, tuning skis and he still does it.”

In its second expansion, with about 75 percent going to retail space and the remainder going to the guiding service, the store was able to reach more customers, and more levels of customers, said Yost.

“And we’re outgrowing the space we have… We’re pretty well-rounded for a small store. We have gear for skiing, hiking, climbing, mountaineering, people who are super high-end athletes and people who are just going out for a day of recreation,” he said.

All of those people are invited to an anniversary celebration the shop will host from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. In addition to a short presentation, the event will include refreshments and a free raffle for big prizes.

“We’re not trying to make this a salesy thing, it’s just kind of a community gathering,” said Yost. “In the last 10 years, a lot of small specialty ski shops have been closing, … and we’ve found a way to have success and we’re just excited to share that with everybody.”

Pro Ski and Mountain Service is at 108 W North Bend Way, North Bend. For more, visit http://www.proskiservice.com.