We’ve created the Behind The Wall column to give our readers a backstage pass into the inner workings of the climbing industry here in Australia and New Zealand. In creating our mag, we have the privilege of working with the climbing industry’s behind-the-scenes unsung heroes who power the sport we love. From the brand names we love, to our local gyms and entrepreneurs who have turned their love of climbing into their livelihoods; our industry is teaming with creatives, professionals, and professional-dirtbags alike, each with their own incredible story. We think it’s time we started telling them.
To kick us off, The Patagonia team take our Managing Editor Coz backstage on their “What’s Next?” work. We reflect on what they’ve achieved as they “mark the halfway point in their 100-year experiment”--but perhaps more importantly, look towards the future and what the next 50 years must hold.
The story of Yvon Chouinard’s journey to founding Patagonia reads like a movie script full of adventure, determination and ultimately, creativity. From his initial introduction to climbing in 1953 by abseiling down cliffsides to reach falcon aeries as a teen member of the Southern California Falconry Club, to teaching himself to climb Yosemite’s big walls with the likes of now icons T.M. Herbert, Royal Robbins and Tom Frost, and hiding from the
