About Us

High in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Bishop designs and manufactures Telemark bindings and skis. The original model made its debut back in 2001. Coveted by hardcore Telemark skiers, Bishop’s precision machined bindings have withstood the most extreme skiing conditions and continue to stand the test of time. We are a team bound by a love of innovative design and playing in the mountains. Interested in joining our team?  Check out our current opportunities

Dave Bombard — Owner/Designer

Dave BombardDave fell in love with the thrill of skiing at age 5, wedging down "powdah packed powdah" at Ward Hill outside of Worcester, MA. He gained a love of making thing with his hands from his father, a high school woodworking, technical drawing, and metal working teacher. He would spend hours designing and building with his Lego collection. This led him into a career as a mechanical design engineer, with degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell and MIT. After grad school he did what ski obsessed people do: drive out West to live in a ski town. It was while he was teaching skiing in Breckenridge, Colorado, that he was first introduced to the telemark turn and another ski-bum who he eventually convinced to become his wife. After Breck, they lived in San Francisco and Dave worked in the medical device industry designing surgical instruments. They moved back to Colorado in 2008 and fell in love again with the Rocky Mountains. They are thrilled to have the opportunity to raise their two girls in the beautiful Vail Valley while combining his passion of product design with the flow of the freeheel turn.

 

Kate Shrader — Director of Doing Things (... and Happiness)

When you receive just about any delivery from Bishop or an email starting with 'Howdy!'... you can most likely attribute it to Kate. Originally from the snowsports mecca of Kansas, Kate has been raging on Colorado slopes since she was on 70cm skis. Her parents will never forget the phone call they received from Kate's ski school instructor informing them that their 4-year-old daughter wasn't allowed to return to that level class because she had disappeared after taking it upon herself to venture away from the group to go down a nearby black diamond run... again. But, really, what can ya do.

Kate self-describes as a, “Kansas Jayhawks fan to obnoxious proportions. So... consider this is your warning.” Look for her on the mountain donning her KU belt buckle and self-painted Jayhawk helmet. We wish we were kidding.

 

The Dogs of Bishop

(We're dog lovers. Could you guess?)

Blitzen

Or perhaps "Blitz" or "Blitzen-Bear." Either way here is a golden retriever pup coming in HOT to greet you.

Wiggles? Check.

Lots of noises? Double check.

Big ol' goof ball? Guaranteed.

Piper

This frisbee dog will be on her bed when you come in. Hopefully tired. Yet... that is somehow unlikely.

Because, if not, it's a given she will be bringing you a toy repeatedly for you to throw for her.

Across the shop. Over and over and over. And over.

Cassidy — Shop Dog/Resident Goober

If your package contains any dog hair, you can thank Kate’s right-hand lady/adventure partner/resident Bishop shop goober. Cassidy is a Heinz 57 mix pup who is 80% amazing ears and minimum 3,710% glorious fun. Approximately, but we admit we may be biased.

If you come into Bishop HQ, you can expect the following standard Cassidy greeting:

Part I: A noise that can only be described as a “buff.”

Part II: A solid 90lbs of goofball leaning against you/sitting on your foot/insisting on any and all attention.

Part III: You’re welcome.

October 2020 - Beyond unfortunately, Kate (and Bishop) lost Cassidy this summer to aggressive osteosarcoma (the same thing that took Chedi from Dave a few years ago). While we can't bring ourselves to take down her bio, please give your adventure/ski pups an extra scritch from the dog lovers at Bishop.