Come in Number two
Come in Number two – Your Times Up.
The very first Rohan customer was sadly lost on a big mountain many years ago. Let’s try and find the second Rohan customer. The garment the Rohan Mountain Salopette. The first Rohan Salopette was sold way back in the early 70’s to an outdoor shop. No Rohan Shops in those days! Outdoor and Mountain Shops where few and far between. Read more about the outdoor trade in the early days. That all important special first order came from Pindisports Holborn followed by YHA Manchester, The Climbers Shop Ambleside, George Fisher Keswick and Joe Browns Capel Curig. Thank you all. There were others, refresh my memory please if you should be on our list.
We sold about 20 garments on our first tour of the Mountain Shops of the UK. That was good enough, Rohan was alive and well. I can still hear the words from the few…
“we can’t sell them – they will never sell – our customers will not buy these”
Ring a bell, well it was a long time ago, we will not hold it against you. So if you were a customer of those early Outdoor Shops, had a passion for the high mountains, maybe you purchased one of the first Rohan Salopettes. Or perhaps your your Mum or Dad did just that, or Grandmother or Grandfather – no that’s not right is it? Maybe you worked in those early stores and remember the first Rohan garments – or it was you that gave us that all important first order. Share the story please in the comments below.
Its good to see the spirit lives on in the new Rohan Pinnacle Series just released.
Sarah Howcroft
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13 Comments
hi, i worked at pindisports in the 60′s… great memories of that place. jenni, so sorry to hear about your grandad tony lack – he was lovely (i think i have a photo of him and other colleagues)! promise to get back on here very soon with more … dena
I am one of Tony Lack’s children and I can well remember his enthusiasm for all things Rohan. Dad died in 2010, he was active in writing about mountaineering until the last year of his life. He thought you were an excellent company and was delighted when I purchased my first pair of Rohan ‘Bags’. They were such good quality that they stayed in service until I outgrew them round the middle. My daughter Jenni now uses them on her archaeology digs! Wishing you all well at Rohan, Alison Irving
Hello Alison Thank you so much for your comment and sharing your memories.
I will remember your Dad for ever.
He gave Paul and myself our very first trade order in Pindisports Holborn.
For the very first Salopettes in black.
I will never forget it. Without that order who knows.
Thank you again memories like yours are to be treasured
Sarah
Goodness me, does this get my memory going. We used to meet at all the early COLA shows at Harrogate. Paul’s early catwalk shows caused quite a stir. Tried to find you once when you moved and started a Deli? somewhere near Settle. You were away, but I had one of the best pub meals ever. I remember it had ‘Fox’ in it’s name. Happy days. Cheers, Terry
I have a later pair, post integral gaiters, but they’re still going strong and still my Weapon of Choice for resort-based telemarking. Now replaced for touring and mountaineering with some Powershield ones from MEC that are just that bit lighter and have more venting.
My Super Salopettes can be seen in ski touring action at http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/hardanger.jpg (Norway, next to the Hardanger glacier) and http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ski.jpg (Cairngorms). Sadly my greatest ever climbing day in them didn’t get any action shots ’cause I was on my own!
If the current Superstriders were extended into a salopette version I’d be looking very hard at them, for days when the Powershield ones are a bit too monster.
I loved my Rohan Salopettes. I bought them in 1978/9 and they were blue and black with zip-on gaiters. I want some more. I am sure they would sell now, they were just ahead of the times.
Hi John Thank you for the great memory ahhhh Pindisports and Tony. Your right Salopettes where one size smaller than most of the world expected.
Keep in contact Sarah
Hi Sarah
Found this website by chance and just thought I’d refresh my memory of meeting Paul at the Holborn shop of Pindisports. I was the manager of the mountain shop (the ground floor part) there until the late 70′s when Pindisports was sold.
I remember being introduced to Paul and the Rohan mountain salopette by Tony Lack, who was Pindisports main outdoor equipment buyer.
I can vividly remember the looks of shock and horror on the faces of the ‘hard men’ climbers we had working for us at the time, especially when I co-erced one of them to actually try on a sample that Paul had supplied.
I think it was a difficult pitch for Paul and we received quite a few samples before actually placing firm orders.
But once stock of these arrived (I always remember they seemed to be at least one size smaller than we expected) sales started to slowly take off.
Hi John,
A sad time as the last chap from those days of Pindisports Maurice Fry died a couple of weeks back.
All the very best.
Harry Cowell (son of Alan)
Hello Harry,
Thank you for letting us know. That is sad news. I remember the day we took the first Salopettes into Pindisports.
Rohanists send their thoughts to you all
Sarah
Hi John,
I was googling and came upon this by chance. No one may even be getting this reply since it was a good while ago since you wrote your comment. I am Tony lack’s grand daughter. Sad to say he has since passed away but I would love to hear anything one might know about him in his earlier years being the historian I am.
Regards jenni
Hi Jenni, Alison & Sarah …
After I posted my comment I did revisit here a few times but saw nothing new then today I happened past here again (I was googling some odd stuff about climbing in the Peaks) and saw the replies. Well if any of you would like to have an x-change of email I can be contacted : john.hopkins AT zen.co.uk
I think I was one of the very first Rohan customers in the 1970′s for mail order having first seen items in Ambleside and had one of the first pairs of Rohan striders which I still have but sadly no longer fit but had great use in walking in the lakes, North Wales and Scotland later in the Pyrenees. Rohans early shorts and shirts and a selection of later tops covered my travels in Middle East and later on my first ROW trips and then had range of Rohans first suits and Jackets for my work travelling over much of the globe still use some and converted a Globetrotter suit jacket to a Blazer for travelling when my job required smart casual travel to meetings. which I still use today. Keep up the great work a committed Rohanite