Pursue Possibility

Arc’teryx is a group of designers, perfectionists, makers and outdoor-lovers. In these stories, we celebrate people leaning into hard problems, applying design to create possibility. Now is the time to think beyond the product and make problem-solving contagious. Design is our way forward. Make it yours.

Climbing is a fine balance between technical, mental, and physical strength. Maybe even more-so for Arc’teryx athlete Craig Demartino, whose leg amputation, a result of a 100foot fall, changed his life in ways he could never imagine. Instead of admitting defeat and giving up the sport that he loved, Demartino coped the only way he knew how. With the help of New York-based Industrial Designer, Kai Lin, he would continue his climb to the top. “The human foot does thousands of things every minute that we don’t even know about,” says Demartino. His continual curiosity was a perfect match for Lin’s ingenuity and love for design. Their combined talents and determination would eventually mean a breakthrough in the future of adaptive climbing with the invention of KLIPPA—NAMED after the Swedish word for Cliff. Unlike the bulk of prosthetic limbs on the market meant only for walking, KLIPPA is a prosthetic foot engineered for climbing. “What has nature done that I can learn from?” Lin often asked when designing KLIPPA. The answer came in KLIPPA’S revolutionary movement which mimics the agile hooves of mountain goats, an attribute that would allow Demartino and other adaptive climbers to once again climb the hard, thin cracks of the mountains without getting stuck. “Little did I know that the idea [for KLIPPA] would turn into years of research and development and so many opportunities,” says Lin. “I’m helping by designing. That’s what I’m good at and that’s something I can do.” That’s not to say there aren’t days when the going gets tough. “Climbing is about working with the imperfections in the rock and the whole adaptive process is about working with the imperfections in your body. Some days it’s effortless and some days it’s horrible,” says Demartino. Much like climbing, KLIPPA’S incredible 5-year journey has been about taking the imperfections and growing from them. The climb may be tough, but the view is always better from the top.

“Climbing is about working with the imperfections in the rock. And the whole adaptive process is about working with the imperfections in your body. Some days it’s effortless and some days it’s horrible.” “Without empathy, I would be completely ineffective. It’s at the heart of everything.”

The problem: design a climbing tool that will substitute for the 26 bones, 33 joints and 100+ muscles, tendons and ligaments in the human foot.

The shape of possibility: a prosthetic designed for climbing.

“It’s hard to say where an idea begins. You just draw inspiration from what’s around you.” Possibilities taking shape. 3D-printing the prosthetic at Arc’teryx’s Design Centre as pre-test suspense builds.

The first prototype mimics the hoof of a mountain goat.

“What has nature done that I can learn from?” asks designer Kai Lin.