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“Norway is a country of contrasted beauty - grand, wild, savage and beautiful.”
Our new collection of striking t-shirt and neckwear designs, distinctively curated to pay homage to the pioneering British mountaineer, explorer, and writer William Cecil Slingsby.
Each piece symbolic of his landmark first-ascents, pioneering exploration, and documentation in Norway between the late 1870s and early 1900s which designated him as the Father of Norwegian mountaineering.
Slingsby's 'Norway: The Northern Playground' was first published in 1904.
Slingsby's pivotal contribution involved exploring many uncharted routes in the Norwegian mountains, extensively mapping and documenting previously untouched areas, and showing the way for future climbers and adventurers to delve into the beauty of a land he found so enchanting. The classic, indispensable work on the region, and our inspiration for this special collection.
"The exquisite colouring for which Norway is so deservedly famous appeared in all its richness and variety; but in such a place, alone, out of sight of every living creature…it will be easily understood, when I say that a feeling of silent worship and reverence was more suitable than the jotting down of memoranda…The scene was too overwhelming for notes.”
Behind the design
Inspired by the typography of historical journals and the elegance of old book spines. A classic yet minimalist aesthetic.
Slingsby’s 1904 classic, Norway: The Northern Playground is a seminal piece of mountaineering literature with vivid descriptions of the Norwegian wilderness and his ascents of several peaks in the region, capturing the spirit of exploration and adventure that characterised the early days of mountaineering in Norway and across the world.
Store Skagastølstind, first ascended by Slingsby on 21 July 1876.
The most notable of his near 80 ascents is that of Skagastølstind in 1876, the third highest peak in Norway. A ragged tooth reaching almost 8,000ft, considered impossible to climb. Defying beliefs, Slingsby summited in 1876, soloing the final 518 feet of coarse gabbro rock. A landmark achievement in Norwegian mountaineering history.
"Now! farewell to snow, that great aider of mountain ascents, and! - 500 feet of cold rock!...Three time I was all but beaten, but this was my... much-longed-for mountain, and I scraped away the ice and bit by bit got higher and higher…I gained the unsullied crown of the peerless Skagastølstind."
Behind the design
A tribute to one of Cecil Slingsby's pioneering first ascents, echoing early mountaineers' sketches, and the cover of historical archival volumes.
Slingsby's pioneering spirit and mountaineering skill on Skagastølstind was significant to the development of Norwegian mountaineering, with newspapers celebrating his triumph, "…it was evident that a keen interest in the sport of mountaineering had been awakened in the country at large."
Local Norwegian mountain guides preparing to lead a group of early summit pioneers.
Explorer
“This was a magnificent climb, and one which called forth the full powers of the men who undertook it, and it was worthy of them.”
Slingsby explored some of the most challenging regions of the Norwegian mountains, documenting them through detailed notes and cartography. A notable ascent of magnitude was Strandaatind.
“Both peaks rise on the south side with most forbidding ice-planed precipices from a low and partly wooded line of foot hills…One looked down at a terrific angle upon a cheval-de-frise of sharp rock needles…most fiendish and threatening... I have rarely, if ever, seen such truly savage rocks.”
Behind the design
Fashioned after Slingsby's journals of exploration. Inspired by the sketches of the summits he ascended. As if torn from a book, with a subtle footnote referencing his original, indispensable work on Norway's mountains.
Slingsby helped inspire a country-wide passion for mountaineering in Norway and catalysed its global popularity. “There are still many grand and new mountain expeditions to be made in Arctic Norway. Of this fact the Norsk mountaineers are now fully aware, and year by year the number of maiden summits gets less and less. Let members of the Alpine Club note this fact.”
His legacy continues to inspire adventurers and mountaineers to explore new frontiers and to discover the beauty of the natural world, both in Norway and beyond.
Believed to be an unpublished photograph of Carl Wilhelm Rubenson and William Cecil Slingsby after their successful ascent of Strandaatind at Kjerringoy in 1912.
Vegvísir | wayfinder
The Norsemen of old believed in the power of symbols to guide and protect them. The Vegvísir, the mythical compass symbolising protection and wayfaring, has come to embody the adventurous spirit of these explorers and travellers, romantically imagined as guiding them through unknown territories and offering protection.
The chest logo design sees a pairing of Jöttnar's Mjolnir logo and the Vegvísir. A symbolic relationship tying our Norwegian heritage to the country's mountain myths and legends.
Vegvísir | wayfinder
The Norsemen of old believed in the power of symbols to guide and protect them. The Vegvísir, the mythical compass symbolising protection and wayfaring, has come to embody the adventurous spirit of these explorers and travellers, romantically imagined as guiding them through unknown territories and offering protection.
The chest logo design sees a pairing of Jöttnar's Mjolnir logo and the Vegvísir. A symbolic relationship tying our Norwegian heritage to the country's mountain myths and legends.
Limited Edition
Our new collection pays homage to the pioneering British mountaineer, explorer and writer William Cecil Slingsby - the Father of Norwegian mountaineering.
“Norway is a country of contrasted beauty - grand, wild, savage and beautiful.”
Our new collection of three striking t-shirt designs, distinctively curated to pay homage to the pioneering British mountaineer, explorer, and writer William Cecil Slingsby.
Each piece symbolic of his landmark first-ascents, pioneering exploration, and documentation in Norway between the late 1870s and early 1900s which designated him as the Father of Norwegian mountaineering.
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