La Sportiva, previously known for their footwear and more recently for a ski line, is entering the clothing fray. This stuff might be super nice. Or, it might be Euro cut “sausage skin” that only the skinniest of the skinny can fit. We shall see. Below is the press release, condensed.
La Sportiva North America, makers of the world’s finest mountain products, announces today that it will debut a full line of technical ski mountaineering apparel at the 2012 OR Winter Market, SIA Snowshow, and ISPO Munich tradeshows.
Backcountry skiing clothing by La Sportiva.
“The culture of ski mountaineering is thriving in Europe and shows signs of significant growth in North America,” states Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America. “Our team of designers in the Dolomites used feedback from some of the world’s best ski mountaineers to design apparel that is fast, light and highly efficient. For randonee racing, backcountry touring, and alpine climbing, the La Sportiva apparel line sets a new bar for performance and innovation.”
La Sportiva will distribute its apparel line in specialty outdoor retail stores where the brand’s recognition is strong. The line includes hard shells, soft shells, insulating mid layers, and performance base layers.
In the new apparel line, La Sportiva continues its long-running partnership with W.L. Gore and Associates to utilize the highest performing fabrics available. The Men’s Storm Fighter jacket and pants feature GORE-TEX® Active Shell. Weighing in at 11.14 ounces for the jacket and 18.13 ounces for the pants, the combination is one of the lightest, fully waterproof breathable jacket and pants combinations on the market. In addition, the Resolute jacket and pants use GORE-TEX® Pro Shell and the Adjuster jacket utilizes GORE-TEX® Windstopper for versatile all-mountain use.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
