Lüdger is the grandson of François Simond, who created the Simond forges in 1860. He has witnessed the complete evolution of mountaineering into its modern form, and is the heir to an incredible story.
Lüdger: The Simond brothers were blacksmiths and worked with iron and wood, making agricultural implements. They were keen crystal hunters and were already developing tools for their crystal hunting. So, naturally, the first alpinists turned to them to make climbing equipment for use in the mountains of the Mont Blanc massif.
The distinctive thing about Simond is that it has always been where the action is, in Chamonix. The fact that we are so close to the climbers, in this great playground, has allowed us to be hugely innovative throughout our history. And what’s more, a number of great climbers have worked with us! (See innovations)
Our customers buy our products because they know they give high-performance results and are safe. We have always seen these basic and fundamental values as essential for our products. Safety is one of the things that makes our sports and activities fun.
The Chacal axe, as it was the first axe with a curved pick. Since then all technical axes are built on the same principle.
A pair of Makalu crampons: these were completely avant-garde and advanced for their time and are still a must for climbers today.
A Cliff carabiner: first ergonomically shaped Zicral carabiner… The Spider is merely the next generation! We’ve yet to build a better one! And I’d add the Shark too: it was the first axe made out of composite materials and without a head. The Naja, Anaconda and Coyote are its direct descendants…
