1. Yvon Chouinard was born on November 9,1938 and is an American rock climber, environmentalist, and businessman.
21 Facts About Yvon Chouinard
1. 2.
Yvon Chouinard was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
3.
Yvon Chouinard's early climbing partners included Royal Robbins and Tom Frost.
4.
Yvon Chouinard participated in the first ascent of the North America Wall in 1964, using no fixed ropes.
5.
Yvon Chouinard became the most articulate advocate of the importance of style, the basis of modern rock climbing.
6.
Yvon Chouinard has traveled and climbed in the European Alps and in Pakistan.
7.
Yvon Chouinard removed the flex from crampons, making them more rigid for front-pointing.
8.
Yvon Chouinard drew the taper of a rock hammer into a point for better ice purchase.
9.
Yvon Chouinard increased the cross section of ice screws while using lighter materials.
10.
Yvon Chouinard experimented with pick and blade issues with ice axes.
11.
Yvon Chouinard attempted to replace hand ice picks with a small ice axe head called a Climaxe.
12.
Yvon Chouinard is most known for founding the clothing and gear company Patagonia.
13.
Yvon Chouinard started to sell clothes by chance as a way to support his moderately profitable equipment business.
14.
In 1986, Yvon Chouinard committed the company to "tithing" for environmental activism, committing one percent of sales or ten percent of profits, whichever is the greater.
15.
In 1996, Yvon Chouinard committed the company to using all organic cotton.
16.
Yvon Chouinard was the executive producer of the film, and he was featured in the film commenting about dams.
17.
In 2018, in acknowledgment that sustainability and responsible practices are core to Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard was recognized with the Sierra Club's top award, the John Muir Award.
18.
In 2022, Yvon Chouinard announced that he was donating ownership in Patagonia to a trust to ensure profits are used for addressing climate change.
19.
Yvon Chouinard's family retains control of the company's voting stock through the Patagonia Purpose Trust.
20.
In 1971, Yvon Chouinard met and married his wife, Malinda Pennoyer, who was an art and home economics student at California State University, Fresno.
21.
In 2021, Yvon Chouinard received an honorary degree from Bates College.