The North Face, named after the side of a mountain which is the hardest to climb, started out as a small mountain climbing store in San Francisco in 1966. They quickly started designing their own products and The North Face became very popular among enthusiastic outdoorsmen. In the 70's, The North Face started their still ongoing sponsorship of wilderness expeditions worldwide. The North Face is now synonymous with quality equipment and when man visits a new and distant place for the first time, you can be sure that The North Face is very much involved. The North Face - Never Stop Exploring se.thenorthface.com