A JOURNEY TO THE SUMMIT: OUR HISTORY

"We liked getting together at someone’s home or just at a bar to discuss our dreams and ideas. Our dreams were trips, the thousand walls, sometimes unclimbed, that a generous world could still offer us; deserts of snow, sand, or granite; new routes, traverses, quick repeats — and after a few beers we also talked of jackets, pants, and fleeces. The awareness was there.

There was the idea, even the certainty (or presumption), of being able to grow, but many times our focus on the moment, or the first big obstacles, obscured the shape of the future that we wished for but that was certainly not yet concrete. In this way, we conceived the first “experiments” — sometimes successful, sometimes less so — in terms of products, marketing, and communication. Leafing through the first catalogs now makes us smile, but those sparse collections conveyed all our passion and commitment. We were slowly growing up, though. People liked the brand, but with the many challenges it was not easy. Then new travel companions joined us, and, as a result, the addition of increasingly specialized expertise allowed us to reach this point.

It was difficult to believe that we would be able to compete with the legends in the industry. It was hard to think of gaining a foothold in the outdoor world from a small town at the foot of the Dolomites, or convincing customers that Karpos could be the equal of the storied American or German behemoths.

We are on a ledge, organizing our gear, with the ropes hanging down into the void, a good section of difficult wall already below us. Sometimes we stopped, suspecting that we would need to go back down, but then with careful balance we proceeded among small pockets, with determined moves and fear. Above us a paradoxically infinite sea of rock, stimulation and admiration, love and hatred. What an impression the wall makes from below! But if we turn our gaze to how far we have climbed, we see our wall from above. Two different points of view. Two contrasting feelings. In this way, the wall and the climb are a metaphor for life and every objective. Ten years: a small ledge that can offer a break only as an opportunity to take stock, reflect, and reorganize, but not to rest. The dihedral above us is overhanging, but perhaps at the top it eases up a bit. Are we looking for something easy? But easy is boring.

We are on our new route, excited to push upward, and we have already conquered a complicated section. The path is still long and full of obstacles, but with the passion and professionalism that have always distinguished us we will continue our journey toward the summit."