Written by Stéphanie Major, Altitude Sports writer.
Translation: Reilly Doucet

As the famous outdoor brand celebrates its 30th anniversary, I set out to meet the athletes who have shaped its history, through the toughest conditions and personal challenges.

Tim Emmett: The Pioneer
When Tim began working with Mountain Hardwear in 1999, he was taking his first steps into the world of competitive climbing. Today, after more than twenty years with the brand, he is its longest-serving ambassador. 

If his name doesn't ring a bell, let it be known that he's a force to be reckoned with in the ice climbing scene. Tim Emmett's achievements defy belief. He has developed many routes, some of them among the most difficult in the world. His ultimate triumph came in 2016 at Helmcken Falls, in British Columbia: an astonishing 141 m waterfall, surrounded by horizontal walls of impassable ice. Along with fellow climber Klemen Premrl, Tim was the first climber to venture onto its icy walls. He gave this new route the poetic name of Interstellar Spice, the first one in the world to be rated WI12 - on a scale of difficulty that normally has only 7 levels.

The athlete I came to meet in Vancouver was as impressive as ever. He picked me up by boat to take us to his favourite climbing spot in the region, near Squamish, on Anvil Island. On a once-forgotten, incredibly steep cliff, Tim developed a climbing route that's been becoming increasingly well-known on the local scene. "I'm stronger today at almost 50 than I was when I was younger,” he told me. “My approaches, management of fatigue and risk, training, diet, and experience simply make all the difference." As if to prove his point, he soared down the wall with such ease that, despite my youth and taste for thrills, I couldn't have even imagined imitating him. 

“Age or experience?” I asked him. “Experience, for damn sure,” he replied. 

"This new generation of climbers is incredible, they're so strong. If I can help them with their techniques, their vision, their approach - then I will have truly succeeded in giving back to my community," he pointed out, telling me about his new role as mentor. For Tim, as for Mountain Hardwear, it's about more than just performance. These people have a desire to innovate, to see the sport progress beyond and after them. And for the sport to progress, well, the whole of society must evolve with it.

Nikki Smith: The Visionary 
I met Nikki in Salt Lake City, Utah. She's one of those people who, like me, feels that the world isn't progressing fast enough for everyone. She's an accomplished climber, an outstanding photographer, and also an activist. As a transgender woman, Nikki also knows better than anyone what it's like to feel like an outsider in a community as tightly woven as climbing. 

"I started climbing in the 1990s. Back then, I didn't see anyone like me. I was convinced I was alone in the world. There were a lot of homophobic and transphobic jokes. Even the climbing routes had degrading names. After my transition, nobody looked at me the same way anymore. I received death threats just for wanting to practice my sport. But I was still the same person as before; it was only the way other people looked at me that had changed."

But Nikki and Mountain Hardwear's story is a good one. With the brand's support, she founded Open Aperture, an organization that gives a voice to people from marginalized and under-represented communities in the outdoor world, through photo workshops she runs herself. Mountain Hardwear offers her a framework for evolving and sharing her experiences with those who are often not heard, giving them a place in a world still reluctant to change. 

"Climbing is evolving. There are more and more climbers from the LGBTQIA+ community, but they're often afraid to show up to events and competitions. They think they're alone in the world. So, when I climb, I make sure to carry little Pride flags. But it has nothing to do with my sexuality." 

I started to see that Mountain Hardwear ambassadors are more than just athletes. They're people who get involved, who see beyond the simple desire to break records, and who sow the seeds of change. 

Bryce Barnes: The Future 
Juneau, Alaska. I arrived in the middle of the night in the capital of the American home of mountains and icebergs. The future of Mountain Hardwear is embodied in Bryce Barnes, who I met over coffee one morning in April. In the world of winter sports, there aren't many people like Bryce Barnes. For one, there already isn’t a large Black population in Alaska. And in the world of mountain guides, outdoor professionals, ski tourers, splitboarders and so on - Black people are represented even less. 

Bryce grew up in Maine. His favourite sport is splitboarding. A Mountain Hardwear ambassador for the past year, he's part of the new generation the brand is pinning its hopes for the future on. He explained why: "Splitboarding has been my lifelong dream, I'll never stop doing it. But my mission, well, that's different. My mission is to enable more historically marginalized communities to enjoy winter sports like I have." He offered to take me skiing the next day, so that we could talk more about it.

In The Mountains With No Name 
As we reached the tree line, the summit appeared before our eyes. Visibility was almost non-existent. There we were on Douglas Island, a land of ice and forest just across from Juneau. Bryce had been there for the past few days, scouting out the best routes and snow conditions for a little skiing adventure. That day, for a moment, I thought I was out of luck: a thick fog covered the surrounding area, and while I should have been able to see the sea, I couldn't even see further than the tip of my skis. 

With extreme caution, I set off downhill, following Bryce. Then, miraculously, the sky cleared and the mist gave way to blinding sunshine and magical conditions. Sparkling water in the distance, bright blue skies, knee-high powder in April... I'd never experienced anything like it.

All smiles following the descent, Bryce told me he knew how lucky he is to be there, in the midst of peaks so remote they don't even have names. Working with Mountain Hardwear is a dream. 

"Not everyone has equal access to winter sports. The equipment is very expensive and, historically, these are activities 'reserved' for wealthier white people. With Mountain Hardwear and Inclusive Ski Touring, a non-profit organization of which I'm a member, we're offering BIPOC communities the opportunity to try, at a lower cost, these sports that have personally changed my life." 

There too, as I immersed myself in Bryce’s story, I could feel it was a good one. Mountain Hardwear is about more than sport, more than records, more than performance. It's all about experience. After more than thirty years in the outdoors, it knows better than ever how to make a real difference. And this is just the beginning...