Hap Klopp is perhaps the name most prominently associated with the arising of The North Face" as the modern giant it has beome today. Hap was a Stanford School of Business graduate circa 1966. His business training there, and past hands-on experience running a family business, were being put to good use in efforts that he and some others were making to buy The Ski Hut in Berkeley from George Rudolph. That did not happen because Rudolph could not be convinced to sell.
Meanwhile, still in the Bay Area, and still within the same general time frame, another outdoor gear manufacturer was just getting launched. George Marks and Bob Swanson, who had been with the manufacturing branch of The Ski Hut called Trailwise, struck out on their own and began Sierra Designs.
Time went by, with Hap still searching for an outdoor business to buy. Soon Hap shifted his focus to a new target. He remembers, "I bought The North Face, which was a retail store run by Doug Tomkins. TNF had no product of its own but private labelled products from George [Marks]. Tomkins [the original founder of the North Face name] had sold TNF to three people. Arne and Glen Hiersoux and Justus Bauschinger." It took many months of negotiations, but in May of 1968 Hap's offer to buy was accepted. Justus stayed on for awhile as Head Designer, but the Hiersouxs left... Meanwhile, Doug Tomkins and his wife went on to found "Espirit." Many years later, Espirit picked up Moonstone.
Related material-- Justus Bauschinger was another ex-Ski Hut person; he had left The Ski Hut and was part of The North Face both before and after Hap bought it. He moved on to found the Bay Area company named Class Five in 1971.
Hap quickly moved to establish the North Face logo and trademark that still exist today, and swiftly created their own design and manufacturing operation, which was at first located in the back half of the newly set up Berkeley store. At the very first, the product line was an internal frame pack named the Ruth Sack, and a line of down sleeping bags (they did not continue to have Sierra Designs make products for them, but Hap and George Marks always remained good friends). TNF's first wholesale deals, masterminded by Jack Gilbert, were to two Portland, Oregon stores, Howell's and Cloud Cap Chalet. The company grew very fast and steadily and by 1981, had acquired the Colorado giant Holubar Mountaineering.
By 1988, annual gross sales had increased to $50 million. The North Face (TNF) remained under Hap up until 1989, when he sold it to another long-time gear pioneer Bill Simon, the man who had run Snow Lion many years before. Bill Simon had the company for awhile, but more recently it's ownership has become very complicated and very corporate. Their gear itself remains top-flight.
Please Note: All Material on this page, and in all my "History of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com. Material here is derived from interviews and/or correspondence with Hap Klopp, some from George Marks, founder of nearby Sierra Designs. Material about North Face tents came from Mark Erickson. Finally, much material also is derived from Bob Woodward's articles in Gear Trends Magazine, in particular Summer 2007... Editors: Please contact me if you have interest in publishing....Others: if you were involved with one of the old-line, vintage gear companies and have a story to tell in these pages, please contact me soon. Sponsors: the History of Gear Project is soliciting a few quality sponsors to support its continued research and publication efforts.
but the caravan
moves on"Collector's Note: if you find a sleeping bag in good condition with a label that says "Made for The North Face by Sierra Designs," you've got a real collector's item. It would date to a small time period in about 1965-67, and was likely directly made by one of the two founders of Sierra Designs!
Hap Klopp still lives in the Bay Area. He
is heavily involved in a various roles in companies that could
be loosely grouped into "outdoors-related." I would
add the adjective "innovative." This is true of London-based
"d3o," and especially
true in regards to a company named "Ardica"
for which Hap is Executive Director. Ardica is developing working
examples 
of "heat
and power for apparel." An example would be a jacket or glove
warmed by a fuel cell. George Marks is one of his collaborators
on this project.
Hap has also taught classes about entrepreneurship and other business subjects. He has written books, the two that most caught my eye were "The Adventure of Leadership" (1992), and "The Complete Idiot's Guide: Business Management" (1997).
Hap told me, "I don't believe in retiring."
As mentioned previously, The North Face as a company continues to be highly successful. With massive growth, its structure is now far-removed from the genteel collection of independent-thinkers who first grew it in the late Sixties! Click for a look at it's ownership in recent times.
ALERT: MY BOOK ABOUT FROSTLINE KITS WAS PUBLISHED IN THE FALL OF 2007. PLEASE VISIT MY FROSTLINE PAGE IF INTERESTED.
NOTE: My next two books cover the stories of GERRY Mountaineering Equipment Company and Holubar Mountaineering LTD. .The Holubar book should be released in Fall, 2008... "GERRY, To Live in the Mountains," 78 pages, 10x8 inches, full-color, will be released May 20, 2008. Contact the Author.
