Bill and Vieve Gore nostalgic smiles; Founders of Gore-Tex

If it's true that weather patterns run in cycles, we're in for another big winter. Big winters for Tahoe and the Sierra can mean everything from feet of dry powder to feet of the heavy wet stuff. We pretty much can get it all in a single ski season. That's why apparel engineered for the extreme is so important in our neck of the woods. In the Sierra Nevada Gore-Tex reigns king. For W.L. Gore and Associates, their mantra is straight forward, "we got ya covered in very situation". It is a mantra that keeps pushing the boundaries of their product development everyday.

The Dawning

So how did this Goliath get its start? Well, it's really quite a story. Way back in 1959 Wilbert L. (know as Bill) and Genevieve (Vieve) Gore, turned the basement in their Delaware home into corporate headquarters for W. L. Gore & Associates. Bill, while working at DuPont, was intrigued by a product called polymer polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE. First we have to recognize that anyone intrigued by a product with 31 characters in its name, is by definition a nerd. Some would call him a visionary, but I like to think of him as a nerd with an innate sense of curiosity. At this point Bill did not have a clear vision, or even a blurry vision, and not the faintest idea of an end product. He was, however, certain that the material had untapped potential.

For 10 years Bill, Vieve, and associate (son, Bob) worked to develop a viable product from PTFE. Then in 1969, Bob discovered that by rapidly stretching PTFE under very specific conditions he had created a very strong microporous material that had amazing low water adsorption qualities. Exciting, yes, but what the heck is it going to be used for, and how did he come up with the idea of rapidly stretching PTFE in the first place? Perhaps from a fit of rage, swinging it wildly around the room, screaming, "what the hell are we going to do with this stuff."

Direction

Not fully understanding what they had, nor any possible application, didn't stop the Gores. In 1970 they applied for their first patent. The patent was for the process of wildly swinging  this PTEF stuff around the room. With the patent in hand, the time had now come to settle on a product or purpose. Something useful, something that could be sold, something that could generate some income. As it turned out the need was right in front of them the whole time. The Gore family were skiers and hikers. Six years after being granted their first patent Gore received its first commercial order for Gore-Tex fabric, the world's first waterproof, breathable, windproof fabric.

Gore-Tex shower testing

At this point there was no stopping them, the sky was the limit!

1979 Gore-Seam tape was introduced

1980 2-layer Gore and Gore-Tex glove inserts

1982 Gore-Tex Z-liner, a Gore fabric bootie was invented and another patent

1989 GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY warranty and Gore-Tex Product Testing was introduced

1990 International Antarctica expedition team suited up in Gore-Tex outerwear. One explorer claimed Gore-Tex saved his life

1998 Gore-Tex Paclite (a personal favorite)

2010 Introduction of Gore-Tex Active and Gore surround footwear

And oh yes, that sky is the limit thing - light years ago in 1981, NASA's first space shuttle mission - yep, astronauts all decked out in Gore-Tex spacesuits.

It's a great American story, the Gores became billionaires, and the rest of us are warm and dry playing in very bad weather.