Moor & Mountain was founded in 1966 as a partnership between Alan French and Thomas Stout and initially, was located on Main Street in Concord, MA. The outfit first published a mail order catalog in 1967 which continued biannually until 1982. Along the way, Tom and Al established a crosscountry ski import business called Norfell, Inc., with its headquarters in Chelmsford, Ma, as well as a second retail store in Andover, Mass. In 1975, Al and Tom amicably decided to follow different paths and Al subsequently consolidated his share of the business in Andover where it is located to this day.

Burton Batcheller came on board in 1977. Known as "Skip" in his early years growing up in Andover, Burt learned woodcraft, fishing, and a strong love of the outdoors from his father. He knows the Allagash about as well as anyone and is well-versed in the hows and wheres of local and upcountry rock climbing.

While Moor & Mountain's form has changed over the past thirty-five years, its basic purpose has remained essentially the same. As quoted in the first catalog in 1967, "Moor & Mountain aims to provide customers with equipment to enjoy backcountry places that can only be reached on foot".

Click on one of our catalogs from the seventies...