Introduced in 1979, the first Norrøna trollveggen jacket was built for demanding mountaineering in Norway’s harshest conditions – and became the first GORE-TEX jacket made in Europe.
The story began two years earlier, when Norrøna designer and climber Tomas Carlström guided American climbers Henry Barber and Rob Taylor during their pioneering first ascent of the frozen Vettisfossen waterfall. The Americans were wearing garments made with a remarkable new waterproof and breathable fabric called GORE-TEX.
Carlström immediately saw its potential, brought the idea back to Norrøna, and helped turn the revolutionary material into a shell designed specifically for climbers. Named after the legendary Troll Wall in Romsdalen, the jacket combined weather protection, durability, and freedom of movement for life in steep terrain.
It marked the beginning of what would become Norrøna’s longest-running product line – and a trusted companion on countless vertical adventures, from Trollveggen itself to Mount Everest in 1985, Great Trango Tower, Patagonia, the Alps, and pioneering first ascents of enormous big walls in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.
More than four decades later, the trollveggen name still represents the very essence of Norrøna mountaineering: technical products made for big mountains, rough weather, and serious adventures.
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