Today 's topic is this little yellow piece that we can find under the best mountain footwear. Read well: VIBRAM. Many of you will know what we are talking about, but perhaps not everyone knows the derivation of this name, of this acronym.
We are talking about an all-Italian pride: VIBRAM in fact, stands for Vitale (VI) Bramani (BRAM).
Here's how things went more or less:
This gentleman born in Milan in 1900, and who in the thirties was active in the field of mountaineering as well as a mountain guide, happened in 1935 to witness a tragedy in the Western Alps (Punta Rasica) which led to the death of six climbers from frostbite. At the time, people used to climb with rope shoes that were put on, instead of the classic spiked approach boots, when they reached the foot of the wall to be climbed (where they left the boots to be recovered on the way back). In the case of the Rasica tragedy, the climbers on the way back had been seized by bad weather when they were still wearing their boots and had unexpectedly found themselves on the glacier far from their boots. Realizing how this accident was caused by the inadequacy of the footwear used, Bramani undertook to develop a new type of sole that would allow the construction of boots capable of allowing not only the approach to the mountain but also the climbing of the rock walls. .
But let's get to the point: the good Vitale was an acquaintance of Franco Brambilla, brother-in-law of Leopoldo Pirelli (that of tires, yes, just him), and his idea materialized precisely with the production of the first vulcanized rubber sole placed on the market, with the design of the so-called "tank" tessellation and marked VIBRAM, it allowed excellent performance in terms of resistance to abrasion, traction, and grip, as well as climbing up to the 4th grade.
It was 1937 when Ettore Castiglioni and Vitale Bramani were the first to conquer the north-west face of Pizzo Badile, experimenting together with the innovative soles.
Here's how things went more or less:
This gentleman born in Milan in 1900, and who in the thirties was active in the field of mountaineering as well as a mountain guide, happened in 1935 to witness a tragedy in the Western Alps (Punta Rasica) which led to the death of six climbers from frostbite. At the time, people used to climb with rope shoes that were put on, instead of the classic spiked approach boots, when they reached the foot of the wall to be climbed (where they left the boots to be recovered on the way back). In the case of the Rasica tragedy, the climbers on the way back had been seized by bad weather when they were still wearing their boots and had unexpectedly found themselves on the glacier far from their boots. Realizing how this accident was caused by the inadequacy of the footwear used, Bramani undertook to develop a new type of sole that would allow the construction of boots capable of allowing not only the approach to the mountain but also the climbing of the rock walls. .
But let's get to the point: the good Vitale was an acquaintance of Franco Brambilla, brother-in-law of Leopoldo Pirelli (that of tires, yes, just him), and his idea materialized precisely with the production of the first vulcanized rubber sole placed on the market, with the design of the so-called "tank" tessellation and marked VIBRAM, it allowed excellent performance in terms of resistance to abrasion, traction, and grip, as well as climbing up to the 4th grade.
It was 1937 when Ettore Castiglioni and Vitale Bramani were the first to conquer the north-west face of Pizzo Badile, experimenting together with the innovative soles.
