From Dreams of Flight to Ultralight: Crafting the World’s Lightest Ice Tools with Jarek Walewski of Eliteclimb

Eliteclimb makes the lightest ice tools in the world, and it’s not even close. It’s possible because Jarosław "Jarek" Walewski uses a mix of carbon and kevlar composites, and nothing else—the only metal in his tools are the bolts and picks.

The one-man brand has been bucking industry trends for over a decade now, and it’s his unique position as an independent craftsman that lets Jarek pursue solutions that the bigger brands ignore.

By being attuned to the community and working with some of the world’s best, their tools have been used on no oxygen ascents of Lhotse, expeditions to places like K2 and Broad Peak and at the highest-end of drytooling today.

In this episode, we chat about:

• 🧊 How Jarek came to understand composites by working in one of the best glider factories in the world
• 🧊 Why he chooses to make each tool by hand
• 🧊 The advantages of composite materials
• 🧊 Why moving fast and trying things is a good strategy
• 🧊 Being open to opportunities and feedback (positive and negative)
• 🧊 His philosophy on business, craftsmanship, and production 

Resources and links:

To learn more about Eliteclimb’s tools, head to eliteclimb.com. All of their tools can be customized (from weight, strength, colors, etc.), so if you’re interested, be sure to reach out to Jarek. 

On the website, you can also read trip reports from expeditions where their tools have been used. Lastly, there are more updates on their Instagram, @eliteclimb.

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📸: Episode cover photo by Artur Małek courtesy of Jarek

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

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