About the Patagonia brand

Yvon Chouinard, a young American of a French Canadian family decided to make his own climbing equipment as he couldn’t get the pitons he liked. With the help of a second-hand anvil, he forged pitons out of hard steel which were extremely strong and lightweight compared to the iron equipment existing on the market. He could make 2 pitons an hour and sold extras to his friends for $1.50. These pitons, named "Lost Arrows" were soon in high demand because of their extreme durability. By 1970, Chouinard Equipment had become the largest supplier of climbing hardware in the U.S. But it had also become an environmental villain, as the repeated hammering of pitons – during both placement and removal- in the same fragile cracks, severely disfigured the rock. Yvon and Frost decided then to phase out of the piton business and to propose to their customers an alternative to pitons: aluminum chocks. It was in 1972 and they promoted “clean climbing”. Those were the days when Yvon Chouinard and his climbing fellows opened new routes on Big Walls such as in the Yosemite valley, California. Long and hard ascents like the Nose on El Capitan which could last more than a week. During a journey in Scotland, Chouinard discovered tough and hardy rugby shirts and decided to import them. The first collections only consisted of these everlasting sturdy shirts and corduroy britches. In 1973, Patagonia was founded. The name was chosen because it relates to the beautiful wilderness, glaciers and high peaks of the landscape in the very south of the American continent. Chouinard is convinced that clothing must be as efficient as climbing equipment: an alpinist on a bivouac needs to stay warm when it is cold and feel comfortable when it is warm. Patagonia clothes are always designed for the outdoor enthusiasts who take their sport to the extreme: climbers of the Himalayan peaks, backcountry skiers...