Vintage Climbing - new pulse in outdoor trends

October 30, 2017

Climbing a mountain is never easy, but can you imagine how hard it was hundred year ago?

Hundred years ago, people used to climb the hardest mountains using climbing equipment that from today’s perspective was very primitive. And most of such climbing gear was made by the mountaineers themselves or with the help of craftsmen living nearby – blacksmiths, shoemakers or carpenters – and from the materials that they could find in their surroundings: wool, iron, wood, leather, cotton.

Even while progressing in technologies and materials, cotton tents (such as Nordisk), metal pitons, hemp ropes, wool mittens (such as Devold ones) and Tricouni nailed boots were high-end items at that time. Climbers felt lucky in just having certain climbing equipment and were not even counting its’ weight and volume. The full oldtimes' rack and rucksack was times heavier than today’s modern lightweight equipment for fast-and-light ascents, not mentioning its reliability and security.

And still the greatest ascents were made those times with vintage climbing gear, vintage clothing and climbing boots! Starting from the classic routes in Alps, culminating by the first ascent of the North face of Matterhorn by  brothers Franz and Toni Schmid on 31 July – 1 August 1931, as well as the first ascent of the North face of Eiger on 24 July 1938 by Andreas Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek, and spreading in mountains all over the world, including the most famous British expeditions to Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924 with George Mallory in the front line. The reflections of such expeditions are found in black and white pictures from the great photographers, such as italian legend Vittorio Sella, and many unknown artists behind the scenes.

Recent years more and more people, brands look back and search for insipiration in history. The popularity of vintage trend has been linked to change in values, inclusion of vintage inspirations used in current designs of outdoor, climbing clothes and tools.   Our communitity explore the history of mountaineering: the first ascents and the people who accomplished them. They search for their life stories, climbing routes, technique and equipment they had been using. People want to know, feel and own the piece of history! And we are here to make that exploration easier.

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