written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article does not cite any sources . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message mountain hardwear inc. type subsidiary industry apparel outdoor gear founded 1993 headquarters richmond california key people john walbrecht president products outerwear and sportswear parent columbia sportswear slogan radical thinking website www.mountainhardwear.com mountain hardwear founded in 1993 is a california usa based company that manufactures high tech outdoor clothing backpacks sleeping bags tents and gloves . columbia sportswear purchased mountain hardwear in 2003 . the company is headquartered in richmond california . contents 1 history 2 retail locations 3 sponsored athletes 4 timeline 5 external links history edit in 1993 a small group of former employees of sierra designs decided to form mountain hardwear . mountain hardwear s first sponsored athlete ed viesturs the first american to climb all fourteen 8 000 meter peaks 8000ers helped develop several of the company s products . viesturs no longer endorses mountain hardwear equipment . the company currently has over 90 people in their california office and more than 35 sales reps and associates in the united states and other countries . retail locations edit mountain hardwear opened its first retail location in portland oregon in april 2008 . a seattle washington retail store opened on december 5 2008 . sponsored athletes edit mountain hardwear sponsors a number of athletes . most are alpinists climbers or skiers . sponsored athletes include andrew mclean andrew lock bruce cornell dawn glanc erik weihenmayer ethan pringle matt moniz freddie wilkinson jake meyer jamling norgay janet bergman jim mcneill jon glidden julia niles kenton cool kevin mahoney mike libecki neil gresham robert jasper ryan boyer tim emmet ueli steck michelle parker and james heim . citation needed timeline edit 1993 mountain hardwear founded 1995 first window use in tent flies citation needed 1996 pioneered windstopper fleece 1997 conduit waterproof breathable membrane 1999 welded technology first used in apparel 1999 conical waists patent on pants and rotated seams on shirts for backpacking 2000 pioneered gore tex xcr 2001 partnered with gore to develop windstopper next to skin garment fabric 2003 first waterproof sleeping bags 2006 exodus backpack system 2008 introduced 25d hollow core tent flysheets 2009 pioneered outdry 3d lamination technology for gloves 2011 pioneered dryq waterproof breathable fabrics external links edit official website official blog retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title mountain hardwear & oldid 714908066 categories companies based in richmond californiaoutdoor clothing brandscamping equipment manufacturershidden categories articles with a promotional tone from september 2015all articles with a promotional tonearticles lacking sources from september 2015all articles lacking sourcesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from september 2015 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 12 april 2016 at 15 12 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view