Patagonia

Patagonia Jackets- Fleece Jackets - Patagonia Baselayer - Patagonia Swimwear

How it Began:

Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia’s founder, started climbing in the early 50’s as a 14-year-old member of the Southern California Falconry Club. Yvon and his friends became started hopping freight trains to the west end of the San Fernando Valley, to the sandstone cliffs of Stoney Point.

Chouinard started hanging out at Stoney Point at and Tahquitz Rock, where he met other young climbers who belonged to the Sierra Club, including TM Herbert, Royal Robbins, and Tom Frost. Eventually, the friends moved on from Tahquitz to Yosemite, to teach themselves to climb its big walls.

The only pitons available at that time were made of soft iron, placed once, then left in the rock. But in Yosemite, multiday ascents required hundreds of placements. In 1957, he went to a junkyard and bought a used coal-fired forge, a 138-pound anvil, some tongs and hammers, and started teaching himself how to blacksmith. Thus Chouinard climbing was started. Chouinard grew into one of the top climbing manufacturers not only selling pitons, but arrows and stoppers.

By the early 70’s Chouinard was climbing in Scotland and bought a rugby shirt so that it could withstand all the wear and tear he needed in a climbing sweater. Soon his friends started buying them. Chouinard soon realized that clothing would be another way to sell gear and increase margin on clothing that hardgoods could not give. By 1972 Chouinard was selling polyurethane rain cagoules and bivouac sacks from Scotland, boiled-wool gloves and mittens from Austria, and hand-knit reversible “schizo” hats from Boulder. Patagonia was born and still contiunes today is being the first company to produce recycled clothing and gear.