Norrona

So Big Mountain freeride is where you’re at, heading out to the backcountry or boot-packing to reach that line you spotted from valley floor.  You need the best possible kit, super technical performance wear, but somehow your style is being compromised by kit that is aimed at bearded alpine man.  We’ve had our eye on Norrona for a couple of years now as here is a brand, finally, that combines top-end fabrics like Primaloft and Gore-Tex and super technical features with styling that’s much more akin to what’s on the snowboard/freeride scene.

Norrona, for us at LD Mountain Centre, is a really exciting, fresh new look, with product that has managed to find a gap in the market and jump effortlessly into that niche.  Whilst Norrona has a long, 90 years in fact, and impressive heritage in the outdoors(it was the first company to use Gore-Tex in Europe), it has been specifically their Big Mountain collection, called Lofoten, that has captured our imagination and is actually the gear we will all be wearing next season.  This category from Norrona has been organically growing and has fast become the uniform of choice amongst the hard-core Chamonix back-country/alpine crew.

All of Norrona’s collections, not just their ski/snowboard pieces, are all inspired and always link back to their expression of ‘Loaded Minimalism’ – i.e. loaded with features yet characterised by a clean and paired down design.  They say they build touchstone products, establish construction techniques and redefine the meaning of fit, fabric, function and finish.  When you pick up these pieces and inspect them the thought and imagination that has gone into them is immediately evident, they’re so simple, neat and practical that you constantly wonder why no-one has thought of it before, placing each piece of clothing far beyond the reach of your average rider’s gear.  With the paired down silhouette also comes relaxed, roomy fits for a huge emphasis on freedom of movement, so this is not your typical too tight alpine shell.