On behalf of Patagoniacs everywhere, we dedicate The Cleanest Line to YC and Malinda. Thanks for everything. Patagonia holiday party 2005. Photo: Dave Kanarek
"The time is five o’clock, and I aaaaaaam outta here!" Everyday, all the little worker bees at Patagonia HQ eagerly await those sweet words from our frisbee-freak receptionist Chipper Bro, but never more so than on Friday afternoon. Some folks bust out their aloha shirts to celebrate Friday, while others simply don’t show up to…
Our challenge from the Spring 2006 catalog has been answered. Becca from Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City proved us wrong by climbing Sundance (5.10a) in her Morning Glory Dress. You rock Becca! This really made our day. When your travels take you to the Lake Tahoe area, be sure and say hi to the crew…
As a young skater growing up on the east coast in the 80s, Christian Hosoi had already achieved iconic status amongst my circle of friends. Some of our earliest glimpses of professional skateboarding, which at the time existed almost entirely on the west coast (SoCal specifically), were delivered courtesy of Thrasher Magazine and featured coverage of the scene and contests going on at Del Mar Skate Park. Christian Hosoi’s style practically jumped out of the pages.
We got this field report from Laura Cooper, a Virginian living in Oregon. I really liked her story, writing and dedication to the outdoors – she’s an ESL teacher who spends most of her time backpacking, skiing and reading, as well as birding, paddling, and taking pictures.Thanks for the great report Laura! After forty-five minutes…
We test our gear on a variety of levels. Our athletes and ambassadors are responsible for putting the latest designs and fabrics through the paces before we’ll add a new product to our lineup. But just because something reaches our shelves doesn’t mean testing is over. Once a new item shows up in our catalogs,…
Today we have a special treat for you. Patagonia field report contributor Fitz Cahall just alerted us to his new podcast The Dirtbag Diaries. If you’re at all a fan of our field reports please take a moment and listen to Fitz speak his writing to life. You can either listen now via the embedded…
You’re all pretty familiar with the Dawn Patrol (DP) idea by this point: wake with the roosters, drive blear-eyed through the pre-dawn black, exit warm car in the belly of the night’s bitter cold, strap on headlamps and start slogging uphill through dark and snow, all for a token taste of skiing before work. I…
We test our gear on a variety of levels. Our athletes and ambassadorsare responsible for putting the latest designs and fabrics through thepaces before we’ll add a new product to our lineup. But just becausesomething reaches our shelves doesn’t mean testing is over. Once a newitem shows up in our catalogs, our Customer Service staff…
Today’s post comes from Matt O’Conner of Boulder, Colorado. Matt’s currently running Franklin Handholds and sells climbing walls for the Eldorado Wall Company. He also keeps his own blog. His letter isn’t the first of its kind – we’ve received many similar stories from customers over the years – but it’s the first we’ve received…
Fifteen year-olds scare me to death. I’ve never been cool, and 15 was when my nerdiness fleshedout in all its glorious fullness. And now, the great karmic card dealer has dealt me this hand: I’ll be living with a whole posse of them in the Tetons for the next three weeks. I’m used to guiding…
The latest episode of The Dirtbag Diaries went live on Thursday for your podcasting pleasure. From the site: Many of us associate our vehicles with freedom,independence and youth. Even as we come to terms with the fact thatautomobiles may be an unnecessary evil, it’s hard not to think back tothat first surf or climbing trip…
So much of what we do stems from the desire to improve the world for the next generation. And here at Pat. HQ we’re constantly reminded of that responsibility by the kids we see playing at our onsite daycare center. Patagonia customer Chris Stelter makes us optimistic for the future with this heart-warming contribution. Chris…
Another great contribution from a former employee of one of our many Independent Patagonia Dealers. The Cleanest Line Crew, Patagonia is about getting to the source. The source of where materials come from. The outdoors, the source of the passion and commitment by the enthusiasts that Patagonia’s products are designed by and for. I worked…
Need a soundtrack for your Earth Day celebrations? Thought so. Grassroots radio maestro extraordinaire Don Darue has been "servin’ ’em up covered and smothered" for purt-near 20 years on the homegrown radio show The Risky Biscuit Hayseed Hoot. One of Dondo’s specialties is the Annual Edward Abbey Memorial Tribute Edition of the show. Wanna get…
The following report is brought to us by Ken Larussa, from our Reno Distribution Center, home of Patagonia’s Customer Service. If you’re a long-time customer, chances are good you’ve spoken to Ken at least once. After hearing about Ken’s trip and seeing his pictures, we’re lucky he came back. Wool. We all know it comes…
The days are gone when I would cruise solo to work, blasting the music, surfboard on the roof, checking all the breaks along the way. Now with two small children in tow, I carpool down the 101 with another mom to the Patagonia headquarters in Ventura. We travel together as families, bringing our kids to…
Ray King, the manager of our Santa Cruz outlet store, sent us his take on the 2007 Surf Kayak Festival held at Steamer Lane, where Patagonia’s director of direct marketing, Morlee Griswold, took first place in the women’s international division. Generally speaking, if it’s foggy in the morning the sun will burn through by the…
If you live in the Reno area or happen to be there on May 17, please join Rick Ridgeway for this special event at the Patagonia Service Center. Those not in the area can read about Rick’s journey in his book The Big Open: On Foot Across Tibet’s Chang Tang. THE BIG OPEN On Foot…
We just got word from Fitz Cahall that the newest episode of The Dirtbag Diaries is now live. In this special episode Fitz adds photographs to his podcast to help tell the story of adventure photographer Corey Rich and his unique profession. Watch and listen on your computer or download it to your photo-ready iPod…
You’ve heard of the dude. But unless you’ve visited Patagonia HQ, taken a Surfclass in Ventura or happen to be a freestyle Frisbee player, chances are you haven’t heard of the bro. I’m talking about Chipper "Bro" Bell, the voice of Patagonia and 11-time World Freestyle Frisbee Champion. Check out Chipper Bro in action 0:42…
Have a look/listen at a segment from today’s Morning Edition on how businesses are trying to reduce their impact on global warming: California Company Works to Cut, Adapt to Warming And for what it’s worth, I’ve never been fortunate enough to see a mouse scurry across the floor during a line presentation (listen to the…
Attention fly fishers: Steve Stracqualursi, fly fishing product line director for Patagonia, is looking for feedback to help make our already-awesome waders even better. Visit his weblog WayUpStream and let him know what you’re looking for. [With thanks to The Trout Underground]
We test our gear on a variety of levels. Our athletes and ambassadors are responsible for putting the latest designs and fabrics through the paces before we’ll add a new product to our lineup. But just because something reaches our shelves doesn’t mean testing is over. Once a new item shows up in our catalogs,…
If you live or happen to be in the Boulder, CO area this weekend, be sure and stop by the Boulder Adventure Film Festival and Dirt Days. The festival, which starts tomorrow (May 11), is wonderfully organized by climber/writer/photographer, and Patagonia catalog contributor, Jonathan Copp. The films look great and the Dirt Days events will…
Congratulations are in order for Patagonia paddling ambassador Eric Jackson and his family. Mark, our product line director for paddling, sends word: I’d like to share the great news that our paddling ambassadors Eric, Emily, and Dane Jackson took home top spots in this year’s World Freestyle Kayaking Championships: Eric Jackson – Men’s 1st placeEmily…
For most of us at Patagonia, biking to work is choice versus driving our cars. But for the world’s poorest communities, a bicycle is one of few affordable transportation options. Grayson Schaffer, Associate Editor for Outside magazine, has written a post for the blog Those Responsible about hardcore kayaker Ed Lucero and the bike he…
Yesterday, some future Patagoniacs from our onsite childcare got into the spirit of Bike-to-Work Week. Their enthusiasm was so infectious. Listen carefully for some priceless remarks and look for a cameo appearance by Uncle Dave. I think biking to work has brought out the inner kid in a lot of us this week.
We just wrapped up Bike-to-Work Week here in Ventura with a groovy happy hour and raffle. A quick tally shows that Ventura employees rode 1,979 miles this week and Reno rode a whopping 2,789 miles! (Stay tuned for the Retail store totals.) According to Bike Metro and the EPA, by riding our bikes instead of…
Fitz Cahall helps us shake off the Monday blues with a wonderful tale of travel improvisation as told in the newest episode of The Dirtbag Diaires. There is a fine line between a life-lasting memory and disaster. Whatever the discipline – alpinism, big wave surfing, foreign travel – we calculate risk, formulate plans and sometimes…
Friend of The Cleanest Line and periodic commenter, CM, hipped us to a cool program put on by our comrades over at Element Skateboards called Elemental Awareness. "Even though this month is celebrating the bicycle. I felt other non carbon producing forms of transportation need a little spotlight. Skateboarding isn’t just for the kids. Sidewalk…
You don’t hear those terms used together very often, if ever. But when former Patagonia sales rep turned filmmaker, Hansi Johnson, got the call to produce a video for the band Low, he drew on two of his passions to make a very strong point about the state of the environment. Hansi decided to focus…
by Jeff Johnson Editor's note: We're stoked to introduce a new feature on The Cleanest Line from Bend to Baja author/photographer Jeff Johnson. Jeff's work has appeared in The Surfer’s Journal, Surfer’s Path, Alpinist, Surfing, Surfer and the Patagonia catalog. When we don't have him chained to a desk at Pat. HQ in Ventura, Jeff…
Gather ’round the campfire one and all; embrace a loved one or grab a cold one; smoke ’em if you got ’em and leave your troubles behind. It’s time for another episode of The Dirtbag Diaries with Fitz Cahall: In May of 2007, I made a mistake that should have cost me my life when…
When I think about Malibu, its usually on the order of Moonshadows, Surfrider Beach or expensive real estate listings. So, a few weeks ago while reading up on the Santa Monica National Recreation Area, I was surprised to discover a listing about a banjo and fiddle contest being held at the Paramount Ranch. It turns…
Happy Father’s Day to all the Patagoniac dads out there. Hope you had a good one. I’m sure some of you can relate to this sweet story from Ray Aberle. Read "Smaller Summits" How did fatherhood change your outdoor lifestyle? We’d love to read your story in the comments section if you have the time…