The “Blizzard Proof Jacket”

The following is an excerpt from my new book, Ramble On: A History of Hiking.

The first significant improvement in outdoor apparel was made as a result of a near-death experience during a winter fishing trip in 1935. After catching roughly one hundred pounds of steelhead salmon along the North Fork of the Skokomish River on the Olympic Peninsula, Eddie Bauer and his friend began hauling their heavy load up the steep canyon. Though it was cold and snowing, the men removed their wool coats to avoid overheating during their ascent. However, as Bauer neared the top of the climb, he realized that his underclothes had become coated with ice, and his body temperature was starting to drop. In an interview conducted several decades later, Bauer stated that he sat down next to a tree to take a

quick rest. After a short time he realized that he was becoming sleepy, which is usually an early sign of hypothermia, and fired off three rounds from his revolver to alert his friend, who was well ahead of him by this time. Fortunately for Bauer, his fishing buddy heard the shots and returned to revive him and escort him back to safety. Upon returning to his home in Seattle, Bauer immediately went to work on designing a garment that would help outdoorsmen stay warm and dry during harsh weather conditions, while eliminating the bulkiness and weight associated with heavy wool. During the following year, he introduced the “Skyliner,” the first quilted goose down jacket made in North America, and began advertising it as a “Blizzard Proof Jacket” in outdoor publications, such as Field and Stream. The breathable, lightweight coat, patterned with diamond-shaped baffles, revolutionized winter outdoor apparel. Over the next several years, Bauer designed and patented several other down-filled products, such as parkas, ski jackets, pants and sleeping bags. Members of the first American K2 expedition in 1953, as well as the first American Mt. Everest expedition in 1963, wore Eddie Bauer parkas.



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.