We started out sewing chalk bags, for rock climbing, on a home Singer sewing machine, in the late 1970's. I got a job working at Moonstone Mountaineering as a cutter, seamster, designer, and inspector, and gear field tester. I stayed after hours to design my own line of products. I tested a new parka design, and summited on El Capitan's Shield route, in Yosemite, in 1980. My partner Dave Orza and I rescued Tony Yaniro and Randy Leavitt's haul sack off the wall, because Randy had gotten injured on the route. I later was a guide for the Yosemite Mountaineering School, and Bear Valley Cross Country Center. I went on to do over 300 rockclimbing first ascents in the Sierras. Many years of Rockclimbing, Ice Climbing, Backpacking, & Skiing, have taught us alot about the need for bombproof gear. TOE has supplied packs for Ski Patrol, Search and Rescue, Fire Departments, Emergency Medical, Schools, Climbing Gyms and Mountain Stores. All TOE products are made in the U.S.A., and have a lifetime warranty on sewing, materials, & zippers. Our products have been used on Mount Everest.
El Cap Shield Headwall Tuttle / Orza
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