Yvon Chouinard was born on November 9, 1938. He is an American rock climber, someone who works to protect the environment, and a business owner. His company, Patagonia, makes outdoor gear, clothing for cold weather, and food. In 2023, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most important people in the world.

Early life

Yvon Chouinard’s father was a French Canadian handyman, mechanic, and plumber. In 1947, Yvon and his family moved from Lewiston, Maine, to Southern California. They practiced Catholicism.

His early climbing partners included Royal Robbins and Tom Frost. As a member of the Sierra Club, he founded the Southern California Falconry Club during his youth. His studies of falcon nests led him to rock climbing. To save money and create tools suited for his climbing style, he learned blacksmithing and made his own climbing equipment. He later started a business.

Yosemite rock climber to leading alpinist

Chouinard was one of the most important climbers during the "Golden Age of Yosemite Climbing." He was one of the main characters in a movie called Valley Uprising (2014), which was made about this time. In 1964, he helped complete the first climb of the North America Wall on El Capitan, along with Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, and Chuck Pratt. They did not use any fixed ropes during this climb. The next year, Chouinard and TM Herbert climbed the Muir Wall on El Capitan, which improved the way first ascents were done before. Chouinard became the most clear and persuasive supporter of the importance of climbing style, which is the foundation of modern rock climbing.

In 1961, Chouinard traveled to Western Canada with Fred Beckey and completed several important first ascents, including the North Face of Mount Edith Cavell in the Rockies, the Beckey-Chouinard Route on South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos (Purcell Mountains), and the North Face of Mount Sir Donald in the Selkirk Mountains. These climbs showed him how to use climbing techniques from Yosemite’s big-wall climbs in mountain climbing. His support for these methods was important to modern, advanced mountain climbing. Also in 1961, he visited Shawangunk Ridge for the first time and freeclimbed the first part of Matinee, which was the hardest free climb at Shawangunk Ridge at that time. He also introduced chrome-molybdenum steel pitons to the area, which changed how climbers protected themselves. In 1968, he climbed Cerro Fitzroy in Patagonia using a new route called The Californian Route (the third overall climb of the mountain) with Dick Dorworth, Chris Jones, Lito Tejada-Flores, and Douglas Tompkins.

Chouinard has also traveled and climbed in the European Alps and in Pakistan.

Chouinard Equipment, Ltd.

In 1957, he purchased a used coal-powered forge and began producing strong steel pitons for climbing in Yosemite Valley. While spending time surfing and climbing, he sold pitons from the back of his car to earn money. These improved pitons played an important role in the development of big-wall climbing in Yosemite from 1957 to 1960. His successful pitons led him to start Chouinard Equipment, Ltd.

In the late 1960s, Chouinard and his business partner, Tom Frost, studied ice climbing tools and redesigned basic equipment, such as crampons and ice axes, to work better on steep ice. These new tools and his book Climbing Ice (1978) helped create the modern sport of ice climbing.

Around 1970, he learned that the steel pitons made by his company were causing serious damage to the rock cracks in Yosemite. These pitons made up 70% of his company’s income. In 1971 and 1972, Chouinard and Frost introduced new aluminum chockstones called Hexentrics and Stoppers, along with the less successful steel Crack-n-Ups. The company began promoting these tools and a new climbing style called "clean climbing." This idea changed rock climbing and led to the company’s continued success, even though it reduced sales of pitons, which had been their main product.

They applied for a U.S. patent on Hexentrics in 1974. The patent was approved on April 6, 1976. These tools are still made by Black Diamond Equipment.

In the late 1960s, Chouinard made several changes to ice climbing tools and techniques after visiting the Alps in Europe and ice gullies in the Sierra Nevada. He made crampons more rigid for better performance. He shaped the tip of a rock hammer into a point for better grip on ice. He increased the size of ice screws while using lighter materials. He tested different designs for ice axes. Before these changes, ice climbing was often seen as simple step-cutting. He also tried replacing hand ice picks with a small ice axe head called a Climaxe.

In 1989, Chouinard Equipment, Ltd. filed for bankruptcy protection to avoid legal problems. The company’s physical assets were bought by its employees through a legal process called Chapter 11. The company was then reorganized as Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd.

Patagonia and environmentalism

Yvon Chouinard is best known for starting the clothing and gear company Patagonia. He began selling clothes by accident to help support his not highly profitable equipment business. In 1970, during a trip to Scotland, he bought some rugby shirts and sold them successfully. This led to the growth of Patagonia, which created a variety of durable outdoor clothing designed for tough conditions in places like Patagonia.

Chouinard believed that the company’s financial success could also help achieve personal goals. He made Patagonia a great place to work and a valuable resource for environmental efforts. In 1984, Patagonia opened a cafeteria that served "healthy, mostly vegetarian food" and provided on-site child care. In 1986, the company committed to giving 1% of sales or 10% of profits, whichever was greater, to support environmental causes. This included paying employees who worked on local environmental projects so they could focus fully on their work.

In the early 1990s, an environmental review found that corporate cotton, even though it was natural, had a large negative impact on the environment. In 1996, Patagonia decided to use only organic cotton.

In 2002, Yvon Chouinard started 1% for the Planet, and Patagonia became the first company to pledge 1% of its annual sales to environmental causes.

In 2014, Patagonia supported the documentary film DamNation, which explored changing opinions about dams in the United States. Chouinard was the film’s executive producer and appeared in it to share his thoughts on dams.

In 2018, Yvon Chouinard was honored with the Sierra Club’s highest award, the John Muir Award, for his work promoting sustainability and responsible practices.

In 2022, Chouinard announced that he would donate ownership of Patagonia to a trust to ensure company profits are used to address climate change. His family keeps control of the company’s voting stock through the Patagonia Purpose Trust.

Personal life

In 1971, Chouinard married Malinda Pennoyer, who was a student studying art and home economics at California State University, Fresno. They have a son named Fletcher and a daughter named Claire. Both work for Patagonia.

In 2008, Chouinard received an honorary doctorate from Bowdoin College. In 2021, he received an honorary doctorate from Bates College.

Notable ascents

• 1961 North Face, Mount Edith Cavell, Canadian Rockies. First ascent with Fred Beckey and Dan Doody.
• 1962 Northeast Face, Disappointment Peak, Teton Range, Wyoming. Technical grade: IV 5.9 A3. First ascent with Tom Frost.
• 1964 North American Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite Valley. Technical grade: VI 5.8 A5 3,000 feet. First ascent with Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, and Chuck Pratt.
• 1965 Muir Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite Valley. Technical grade: VI 5.10 A3. First ascent with TM Herbert. June 1965.
• 1968 Southwest Ridge (also known as California Route), Cerro Fitzroy, Patagonia. First ascent of the route with Doug Tompkins, Lito Tejada-Flores, Chris Jones, and Dick Dorworth. Third ascent of the peak.
• 1975 Diamond Couloir (direct finish), Mount Kenya, Kenya. First ascent of the direct finish with Michael Covington. January 1975.