Way back in1953 Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard started out as a climber at the age of 14; becoming a member of the Southern California Falconry Club. At the time he met other climbers and started to take on much larger ascents requiring anchoring hardware. Soft iron pitons were the only option until Yvon met John Salathe a Swiss climber and decided to make their own reusable hardware. He tested them on Sentinel Rock, Yosemite and it wasn’t long till the word got out and by 1970 Chouinard Equipment had become the largest supplier of climbing hardware in the US! During accenta of El Capitan it was clear the use of pitons was damaging the rock and it was decided the piton side of the business would be phased out; replacing it in 1972 with aluminium chocks - forming an environmental ethos for the future. At around the same time Yvon started to experiment with different clothing options specifically tailored to outdoor sports, yet environmentally friendly, and so Patagonia’s clothing range was born. Ever since this day Patagonia has been developing and testing new and exciting materials to help shake up the sportswear market and now produce some of the highest quality enviromentally friendly base layers, insulation layers, and technical outerwear products in the world - whether skiing, climbing or just enjoying the outdoors. If you would like any further information on any of our Patagonia products why not pop into store or give us a call where our fully trained staff will be more than happy to help.