Washington Business Winter 2019 | Washington Business | Page 28

what’s working
Mountain Safety Research (MSR), one of the many brands under In recent years, Cascade’s leaders realized that the innovations
the Cascade Designs umbrella.
that applied to mountain climbers — clean water, safe shelter and
These creations have allowed mountain climbers, soldiers, car the ability to cook a hot meal under the harshest conditions —
campers and international aid workers to travel farther and work could also help people in developing countries.
more safely on every continent.
The MSR Global Health Division was created in 2015. The
Along the way, this original Washington manufacturer has goal is to create low-cost products that improve access to basic
upended the outdoor equipment
market, joined in the region’s growing
global health ecosystem, created
hundreds of jobs and invested steadily
in the heart of Seattle.
That alone is a great story.
— Patrick Diller, MSR Global Health Division
But there’s more.
Cascade was founded in 1972 and
grew quickly over the years. The
company kept churning out new
inventions, or improvements on
existing products, like snowshoes,
tents or waterproof bags. The
awards, and thankful letters from
loyal customers, piled up. Over the
years, Cascade acquired MSR, which
is the driving force behind many
of the mountaineering inventions.
O t h e r c o m p a ny b ra n d s i n c l u d e
PackTowl, SealLine, Platypus and
Therm-a-Rest.
The company has expanded over
the years and now has operations in
Reno, Nev., and Ireland, but much of
its manufacturing still takes place in
Seattle.
“It’s a game changer. It empowers communities on the ground to
take control of their own drinking water supply and the safety of
that drinking water supply.”
from the back-country to
global health
Christophe Noel, founder of Clean Drink Adventures, demonstrates to villagers in Nepal how to operate an MSR community
chlorine-maker that uses water, salt and electricity from a car battery to create chlorine that can treat water to make it safe to drink.
(Photo courtesy Christophe Noel)
Cascade’s brands are an all-star team
of game-changing outdoor equipment, from lightweight packable
towels, waterproof packs and bags, collapsible hydration systems
to the reliable Thunderbird ice axe that saved the lives of two
climbers on Mount Rainier in 1971.
MSR founder Larry Penberthy was an engineer and professional
inventor who set out to improve backcountry safety. He told the
story in the August 1971 MSR newsletter.
“Jim Wickwire and Ed Boulton came in with the first enthusiastic
report,” Penberthy wrote. “They were doing a first-ascent route on
Willis Wall on Mt. Rainier. They state flatly that the Thunderbird
saved their lives twice in self-arrest when their crampons wouldn’t
hold on a 45 (degree) glare ice slope at 13,000 feet. They were sure
that their old-style axes would not have stopped their falls.”
MSR continued to innovate and expand to the present day. The
company was acquired by Cascade Designs in 2001.
28 association of washington business
human needs for people living in low-resource communities of the
developing world.
A team of engineers, scientists, product developers and
production leads have been creating new products from scratch.
The MSR Community Chlorine Maker is a good example. It weighs
less than two pounds and is about the size of a shoebox. In just five
minutes, the kit can create chlorine using water, salt and electricity
as the ingredients. People usually hook it up to a car battery.
The end product is enough chlorine to treat 200 liters of water
and make it safe to drink. One person can create enough water for
200 people, or allow doctors and nurses to sterilize a medical clinic
in the bush, for example.
“It’s a game changer,” said Diller. “It empowers communities on
the ground to take control of their own drinking water supply and
the safety of that drinking water supply.”