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Up Close with Outdoor Designer Ronnie Legg

Veronica “Ronnie” Legg is a climber and clothing designer who’s worked for some of the UK’s best-known mountain brands. We caught up with her to discuss her role as a designer, gaps in the women’s outdoor clothing market and some of her key climbing experiences.

Working on the latest prototype for Vertura

Can you tell us how you first got into climbing? 

I was introduced to it through Scouts when I was around 10, and the local leisure centre had a climbing wall which was lucky. I liked it so much I did an introduction to outdoor climbing on southern sandstone with Nick Tullis (Julie Tullis’s son), and from that moment I was hooked. Growing up in Sussex meant the mountains were a long drive away, which is one of the reasons why I ended up at university in Leeds.

 

What's your job and what does it involve?

I’m an outdoor clothing designer and recently started my own brand (Vertura) focussed purely on women-specific technical clothing.

I’ve been working in design since 2010. I started out at Rab, which was a great place to develop my design skills with the support of a bigger team, before moving on to Alpkit where I’ve been responsible for developing the entire clothing range since 2015.

In broad terms, my job involves identifying a problem, and finding the right materials and manufacturing partners that can help make the design I have in mind to solve that problem.

Designing technical clothing is much less about drawing than people think. I spend more time in Excel and on email than creating pretty pictures. The hardest part is sourcing, and working within the parameters that the brand or end customer demands (be that cost, performance level, look, feel or sustainability). Then there’s all the other aspects like fit, testing, quality and colour to consider. It usually takes between 6 and 18 months to develop a product from start to finish, but sometimes it’s even longer.

Ronnie tackling the cornice on Cinderella, Creagh Meagaidh - Andy Cowan

How do you find working professionally in a field that you also spend your free time engaging in?

Funnily enough, I was torn between becoming an outdoor instructor and pursuing a career in design. I tried the instructor route for a little while, getting my basic qualifications at Plas Y Brenin and instructing their summer programme and then working as a mountain leader on an expedition to Svalbard. I found this was too close for comfort and it affected my desire to get out and do stuff for myself. Working in design means I can save my energy for big days out or trips that I want to do.

One of the downsides of being a designer is that it’s a bit embarrassing if you get caught out without the right clothing. Then again, getting cold or wet can serve as a good reminder of why I do it!

Climbing is so absorbing I’m not usually thinking about what I’m wearing (until I get to the belay, and then it’s all I think about!) But I’m always looking at what other people are wearing. I do sometimes have to check myself to make sure I’m not staring, trying to work out how a particular seam has been constructed!

 

It seems remarkable that you’ve found time to start a new company alongside your day job. Can you tell us a little more about Vertura?

One of the reasons I started Vertura was out of frustration that I couldn’t buy women’s technical down clothing suitable for my trip to climb Ama Dablam. I’m an average height female with curves in all the usual places, and wearing a men’s or ‘unisex’ product just doesn’t work. I figured if no one else was going to solve this problem, then I should. So I designed a super-warm down jacket, and even made my own down trousers for the trip. I’m still in the prototyping and sourcing stage, but I’m loving the process of developing my own brand and creating something to fill a niche that’s close to my heart.

I’ve done a soft launch already with some simpler products like hats and thermal leggings (the kind of thing you always need on a trip) while I work on the more complex items like down-insulated trousers and jackets suitable for expeditions to higher altitudes.

I always say I’d rather be busy than bored, and I’ve definitely been living up to that. For the first year I basically worked most evenings and weekends on top of my day job. Now I’ve transitioned to part-time at Alpkit to give me more time to work on Vertura but also to have a life again and find time to go climbing!

I really want Vertura not only to serve women’s needs for technical clothing, but also inspire them and show them they are just as capable of tackling high peaks or arctic expeditions as men. I’m a firm believer that you can’t be what you can’t see, so curating a collection of books about and by women, and writing articles to demystify some of the common barriers women face are another aspect of Vertura.

A sneak peak of the Vertura down jacket out on a test

What made you choose Ama Dablam for an expedition and how did you find the experience of climbing it?

Like many people, I’ve always wanted to go to the Himalayas, having read so much about the region. I’ve organised my own trips in the past, as far and as high as the Bolivian Andes, but being self-led has always meant being conservative in my ambition routes-wise. If I was going to go as far as Nepal (and I didn’t have anyone to go with, so it had to be an organised trip), I figured I should try something more technical and a bit higher. There’s also just something incredibly appealing about the shape of Ama Dablam.

I had been warned it was a tough mountain, and it certainly felt it. I found acclimatising fairly slow going, and didn’t enjoy the lower part of the mountain that much. The climbing on the upper section was simply superb though. It was like a series of 3-star classic routes of every kind: slabs, easy rock, technical rock, ice, mixed and snow. The exposure is downright outrageous, and I was very glad of the fixed ropes.

It was a long summit day, and between the cold and the altitude I suffered with a bit of fuzzy vision (although that took the edge off the exposure!). The hardest part was actually descending the next day. With a combination of calorific deficit and high altitude cough I was pretty wrecked. It was totally worth it though.


Advanced base camp on Ama Dablam, with the route from camp 2 to the summit on the left skyline

Approaching Chachacomani (6074m) in the Cordillera Real, Bolivia - Alys Jepson

Now that you've carved out some time to climb again do you have any climbing plans or aspirations for the next few years?

I would love to go back to the Andes at some point. Maybe Peru next time. I’ve been neglecting my skiing these last few years, so having got back on the slopes this winter I’d like to improve my off-piste skiing and get back into ski touring. I’ve never done a proper ski mountaineering expedition so that’s on my wish list too. There are loads of places I’ve not been that I’d like to visit, including Lofoten and the Bugaboos. As usual there’s too much to do and too little time!

 

You can follow Ronnie’s work with Vertura at www.vertura.co.uk, via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X.