Alpin Haus founder Bud Heck with wife Kay Heck

For Bud Heck, the journey had an unexpected beginning. Stopping in for some after ski refreshment after a day on the slopes at Whiteface, Heck and friend Bob Moore struck up a  conversation with a fellow patron. It turned out to be the launch of a 60 year long career in the ski business.

Heck was a young college graduate with a new job as an auditor with New York State. On the side during the holidays, he with then partner John Daly sold crushed ice snow cones and Christmas trees in his hometown of Amsterdam NY.  The man in the chance conversation that day turned out to be a ski equipment representative who pointed out there was not a ski shop in Bud’s hometown.

“Why not start one?” the man asked.

Heck listened. Sixty years later, his Alpin Haus ski shop is one of the largest in the Northeast with three locations in New York’s Capital District including a recently expanded 40,000 square foot showroom less than a mile away from the location of the original shop that opened in 1964.

At the start, the shop sold inventory Heck had bought from a nearby ski hill that had closed the year before. Heck would work his regular job in Albany then come to the store afterwards and stay on until closing at 9 pm. Weekends it was all day.  Kay, then his girlfriend,  was a teacher in town. She came in to work in the shop after school.

“We had no money to go out on dates then.”

Total sales that first year?  $1500.

Sixty years later, the bottom line is a lot different and  Bud no longer turns the light on and off  daily. But Alpin Haus patrons can still catch up with him at the store when he drops in for a cup coffee in the lounge area of the showroom. He loves chatting with customers, especially those he has known for more than half a century, and their kids, and now their kids too

Kay is still there, Mrs Heck since 1965, and now too is son Andy as company President,  and co-owner with his brother Greg and sister Katie Osborn. Grandchildren Nicole, Ryan, and Danielle are the third generation of leadership in the business.

“Its easy to run into a Heck at Alpin Haus these days.” said Bud recently.

While the ski business has continued to grow significantly over the years, Alpin Haus has  expanded too. Recreational vehicles were added to the mix in the late 1960s, swimming pools in the 1970s  and boats in the 1980s.

“We don’t sell anything that’s essential.” says Heck. ” We are a feel good business.”

While Alpin Haus has spread – there are seven locations currently – in  the Adirondacks, the Hudson Valley, and now in  northern New Jersey, “We are still based in Amsterdam.”

With 275 full and part time employees, it is a major local employer.  And involved too. In addition to the usual community activities,  Alpin Haus has underwritten a summer splash pad and an ice skating rink in the city in recent years.

Today, in an era where people can buy what they want, wherever they want, why has Alpin Haus succeeded for more than half a century?

Bud Heck believes he knows the answer: “Have a passion for the business; provide a good store experience; and take care of the customers.” he says.

Sixty years in the business suggests that Heck knows what he is talking about.