Yvon is definitely not perfect. But really who is to say. He’s one of the best. I think in a lot of ways he sees the scars he has left on the walls and is paying homage for that to be cleaner.
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Great article on Yvon Chouinard and the outdoor industry
- Thread starter B the Hiker
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ChrisB
Well-known member
Wow! And for those who think the oil and gas industry is destroying the earth, just stop using oil and gas. Walk to the trailhead on your next hike.
Opps. Reductio ad absurdum. Time out for you lobster man!
Actually the oil industry destroyed mass transit by buying up all the municipal rail companies and removing the tracks so they could sell product to folks forced to by cars.
Capitalism Uber allus.
I really did enjoy it back in the day when part of the hike was a hitch hike to get back to your car. I stopped counting on that back around the Last turn of the Century when it came widely apparent you we not going to get picked up anymore. Kind of too bad it got so paranoid. Use to meet some great folks.
Steve-o
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Thread closed. Lol
Municipal rail lines are usually thought of as either subways or streetcars. I can't think of any subway lines torn up and replaced by highways, but streetcars, that's another matter.
https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562007/streetcar-history-demise
richard
Member
Too many humans
ChrisB
Well-known member
In this divisive time it's easy for me to be a cynic and skeptic on my bad days. Why stress about global warming when we'll all be toast after the next asteroid impact (which is due pretty soon by the way
.Then I get my mojo back and think just live the best life you can by respecting to the planet, it's people and it's flora and fauna. Might not help, but it sure can't hurt.
Sounds hokey I know, but after 50 years of climbing and hiking, it's the least I can do for my home planet, which has been bery bery good to me.
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In this divisive times it's easy for me to be a cynic and skeptic on my bad days. Why stress about global warming when we'll all be toast after the next asteroid impact (which is due pretty soon by the way
Then I get my mojo back and think just live the best life you can by respecting to the planet, it's people and it's flora and fauna. Might not help, but it sure can't hurt.
Sounds hokey I know, but after 50 years of climbing and hiking it's the least I can do for my home planet, which has been bery bery good to me.
Definitely not any Who Ha here but potentially Hokey.
In this divisive times it's easy for me to be a cynic and skeptic on my bad days. Why stress about global warming when we'll all be toast after the next asteroid impact (which is due pretty soon by the way
Then I get my mojo back and think just live the best life you can by respecting to the planet, it's people and it's flora and fauna. Might not help, but it sure can't hurt.
Sounds hokey I know, but after 50 years of climbing and hiking it's the least I can do for my home planet, which has been bery bery good to me.
A few years ago, I had an awakening--I guess that's the right term to call it--and since then have been trying to walk lightly on the planet. I bought a hybrid, I've been trying to own less, to be more environmentally friendly, and have been trying to support others that do so as well. Patagonia is admittedly more expensive, but they're also a 1% For the Planet company, and they aren't afraid to take on the oil and gas industries that are the basis for the global warming that is threatening our planet, and they truly do try to be as low-impact as possible in their manufacturing. They even facilitate people holding onto their gear longer by helping to repair it, and also to resell it.
I also changed checking accounts to Bank of the West, which is another 1% For the Planet company. (There's an article on that banking account here:
https://www.outsideonline.com/2416154/switching-banks-environment).
I agree with you, Chris! This planet is pretty amazing, and I feel ashamed that now that we know the inconvenient truth about global warming, we aren't doing everything in our collective power to stop it. So all I can do is my part, and maybe share some thoughts with others who are receptive in the hopes that maybe someone else, in some small way, may be convinced to do a bit more as well.
Brian
ChrisB
Well-known member
I’ve have really only found “Pataguchie” to make pontification for the so called better environment and only then have to explain how to take their own foot out of their mouth in the long run. Yvon and his gang blew it a long time ago when he decided to sell his iron and go soft. Thence Black Diamond and the Patagonia. Therefore I temper my solace and respect going forward.
sierra
Well-known member
Yvon was one of my inspirations when I was young and cutting my teeth. His book, "Climbing Ice" taught me how to climb. I have and still wear almost all Patagonia Clothes. I have had pieces of Patagonia clothes last 20 years or more. My current shell is the Triolet, 5 years old and like new, its basically bombproof. Is his company perfect? nope, but he ran his business the way he saw fit and I have no issues with it. I believe in Global warming, BUT, I'm not willing to give up my car to slow it down.
Regarding the comment that positive posts get trolled, you might be surprised how closely Tim, Dave and I look at threads. Lots of discussion and sometimes debates over whether or if we should step in and say something. let a thread that looks like it's heading south play out, or contact a member off line. We do the best to keep things on point, relative to a hiking forum and away from threads joining the unpleasant side of the national dialogue.
Thanks Alan. Appreciate you guys allowing some of the threads to get a little heated as long as they remain civil. I think that posts should just remain about hiking and stay clear of politics. Of course, once a political statement is made, many of us just feel the need to respond (like me: Thanks again.
Thanks again.
You might be surprised at how the moderators put aside our own personal views on things to keep from appearing right or left.
Yvon Chouinard was my hero before. But now?
Words cannot describe my admiration for him!
One can engage in capitalism and the markets and be a good person at the same time. If anyone doubted that, Chouinard is living proof of it. He gave away a company that made over $100m a year in profits, and received no tax breaks in return. He provided his employees with child care, good benefits, and the knowledge that due to their efforts, the company’s profits will now go to fighting climate change and preserving lands for future generations.
I cannot think of a better model!
Words cannot describe my admiration for him!
One can engage in capitalism and the markets and be a good person at the same time. If anyone doubted that, Chouinard is living proof of it. He gave away a company that made over $100m a year in profits, and received no tax breaks in return. He provided his employees with child care, good benefits, and the knowledge that due to their efforts, the company’s profits will now go to fighting climate change and preserving lands for future generations.
I cannot think of a better model!
An op-ed in the New York Times by Tom Brokaw.
Yvon Chouinard still possesses, in the proud parlance of the climbing community, the “dirtbag” sensibility. In the 1960s, he lived to climb and made do selling handmade climbing gear so he could devote himself to the mountains.
Even today, at the age of 83, when he visits my wife and me in our New York City apartment, he’s likely to spread out his sleeping bag on our sofa when he retires for the night.
[...]
Yvon and I first met through a mutual friend, Rick Ridgeway, the mountaineer, adventurer and writer who made it to the top of K-2, the world’s second-tallest peak, known as the “savage mountain.”
Rick also introduced me to Doug Tompkins, who, like Yvon, had lived a hardscrabble life as a climber (and skier) before also building a fortune as a co-founder, with his first wife, Susie Tompkins Buell, of the retailing giants The North Face and Esprit. Doug and his second wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, used their money to buy and protect more than two million acres of land in the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina. Like Yvon, Doug had a zealot’s passion for preserving pristine lands and waters.
Yvon and Doug were part of a small group of climbers, surfers, skiers and kayakers who called themselves “the Do Boys.” They generously included me in their adventures, but I always put an asterisk after my name. As I once explained, knowing them was and is a privilege.
[...]
They took me places physically and philosophically that I might never have visited otherwise.
# # #
It might be behind a firewall, but if you can access this piece (which takes all of three minutes), it is worth the read.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/...uinard-tom-brokaw.html?searchResultPosition=4
Brokaw is ostensibly writing a paean to Chouinard, but unwittingly tells a simple truth: find friends who will take you outdoors to places you otherwise would not have gone by yourself.
Yvon Chouinard still possesses, in the proud parlance of the climbing community, the “dirtbag” sensibility. In the 1960s, he lived to climb and made do selling handmade climbing gear so he could devote himself to the mountains.
Even today, at the age of 83, when he visits my wife and me in our New York City apartment, he’s likely to spread out his sleeping bag on our sofa when he retires for the night.
[...]
Yvon and I first met through a mutual friend, Rick Ridgeway, the mountaineer, adventurer and writer who made it to the top of K-2, the world’s second-tallest peak, known as the “savage mountain.”
Rick also introduced me to Doug Tompkins, who, like Yvon, had lived a hardscrabble life as a climber (and skier) before also building a fortune as a co-founder, with his first wife, Susie Tompkins Buell, of the retailing giants The North Face and Esprit. Doug and his second wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, used their money to buy and protect more than two million acres of land in the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina. Like Yvon, Doug had a zealot’s passion for preserving pristine lands and waters.
Yvon and Doug were part of a small group of climbers, surfers, skiers and kayakers who called themselves “the Do Boys.” They generously included me in their adventures, but I always put an asterisk after my name. As I once explained, knowing them was and is a privilege.
[...]
They took me places physically and philosophically that I might never have visited otherwise.
# # #
It might be behind a firewall, but if you can access this piece (which takes all of three minutes), it is worth the read.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/...uinard-tom-brokaw.html?searchResultPosition=4
Brokaw is ostensibly writing a paean to Chouinard, but unwittingly tells a simple truth: find friends who will take you outdoors to places you otherwise would not have gone by yourself.
