Patagonia pitons. Feb 26, 2025 · Without any blacksmithing lessons, Yvon set about making his first batch of pitons from an old harvester blade. Feb 25, 2024 · Here's a look inside the old Ventura blacksmith shop where Patagonia grew up. Learn more about how Patagonia came to be. Photo courtesy of Patagonia. These pitons would then be precariously field-tested on the 2,145m granite wall of Sentinel Peak in Yosemite National Park. Reflecting a shift initiated by climbers in the UK, on the East Sep 6, 2014 · The Patagonia Piton Hybrid Hoody is made of Polartec Power Dry fleece over the back and much of the arms, with Polartec Wind Pro panels on the elbows, front of the jacket and shoulders and hood. It has a durable water repellant (DWR) finish that helps prevent the fabric from becoming saturated, which then keeps it more breathable. There, he developed a love for the outdoors, especially climbing. Born on November 9, 1938, in Lewiston, Maine, Yvon and his French-Canadian family moved to Southern California when he was young. Pitons were initially made of soft iron, but Yvon Chouinard began forging his own out of tough chrome-moly steel and selling them out of the back of his car in the 1950s. Dec 5, 2019 · To celebrate 40 years, Patagonia is calling, once again, on its timeless designs. What was once the primary mode of protection has been pushed far to the fringes of alpinism, if not directly into the museum case. Below is the introduction to the 1972 Chouinard Equipment catalog—the first edition that was more than just order forms—written by Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost. The most notable differences between the two jackets are the length, sleeves, and hood design. He and his friends would hop on freight trains to the sandstone cliffs of Stoney Point in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley where they would climb and rappel down rocks. Jan 11, 2023 · 1960’s: Yvon Chouinard, a competitive rock climber, takes up blacksmithing to improve the quality of steel pitons and climbing gear. . When climber Yvon Chouinard invented his first removable climbing pitons, his Nowadays, no climber hopes to leave any gear behind, and the overwhelming majority of climbers never have, and never will, use pitons. Nov 9, 2012 · While it’s nearly impossible to find a piece of gear that can do everything, it’s nice to have a gear that can do a lot of things. He quickly establishes a reputation for worth and reliability, and begins selling climbing gear to other climbers out of the back of his car. In 1957, Chouinard began making reusable chrome-molybdenum steel climbing pitons himself to replace iron pitons that could be placed only once Our clean climbing collection celebrates the history of Patagonia and features gear made with recycled materials and Certified Regenerative Organic Cotton. At the age of 14, Yvon Chouinard discovered his passion for climbing. The site has been designated a local historic landmark. Oct 23, 2014 · Though not uncomfortable, the Piton Hybrid is far from the stretchy and free-flowing Patagonia R1 Hoody. For much of climbing’s history, pitons were the primary piece of safety equipment in the mountaineer’s toolkit. Though Chouinard Equipment was, at the time, the country’s premier piton manufacturer, Chouinard and Frost saw firsthand the damage their pitons did to the rock. It has a tapered athletic fit with two zippered hand pockets Patagonia’s story starts with a young Yvon Chouinard, who didn’t aim to build a big outdoor company but just wanted to climb. The Patagonia Piton Hybrid Jacket has quickly risen to the top of my gear pile as it is a workhorse in most situations. This brief history is dedicated to all Patagonia and Chouinard Equipment employees, present and past. ipfd zcpkgre njhu qfl ehbfee vmpmpa jzdmg zcg uvav lzil