Climbing Shoes: Paragot “White Soles”

These shoes are French in origin and named for Robert Paragot a very accomplished French alpinist and early Fountainbleau boulder climber. Paragot was the recipient of the 2012 Piolet d’Or award for lifetime achievement.

The soles on this pair of shoes are a natural or “white” rubber but do not seem to be stickier than other shoes from the period. They still have a nice edge on the forefoot which shows a decent durability for this unique rubber.

Brevete S.G.D.G was used to indicate a French patent until 1968. It stands for “Brevete Sans Guarantee Du Government” or “patent without guarantee of the government”