A sourced history, 1995 to 2026

What happened to climbOn?

The beeswax lotion bar from Wimberley, Texas, that climbers carried in their chalk bags for twenty years.

The short answer

Polly Glasse created the climbOn bar in 1996 and grew it into SKINourishment, a skincare company selling in about 38 countries. In November 2018 she sold the company's assets to Clarus Corporation, the parent of Black Diamond. Clarus folded it into its outdoor business, then quietly stopped selling it. By its 2023 annual report, Clarus no longer listed SKINourishment among its brands, and retailers marked climbOn products discontinued.

Clarus still holds the climbOn trademark, but it has let the sister brands POLYN and crossFIXE lapse. A separate company now sells a similar bar that forum posters describe as a revival.

Timeline

  1. Origins
  2. A house fire changes course. Polly loses her home and turns her herbal hobby into a business, Ivy's Herbal Delights.pollyglasse.com · Edible Austin
  3. The first bar. After a climbing day in Colorado, her sister and her sister's boyfriend ask for something to heal their hands. Polly makes the first version of the lotion bar in a kitchen. The federal trademark record gives October 1, 1996 as first use.pollyglasse.com · USPTO reg. 4997015
  4. The climbOn brand is created. Polly settles in Wimberley, Texas and builds the line around the bar.pollyglasse.com · goclimbon.com · Wimberley View
  5. Distribution grows. A UK distributor signs on in 2001; REI carries climbOn across the U.S. by 2003. Tommy Caldwell starts using it in 2002.pollyglasse.com · goclimbon.com · UKClimbing
  6. A retail store opens at the Wimberley headquarters.goclimbon.com
  7. SKINourishment
  8. Polly forms SKINourishment to house four brands: climbOn, crossFIXE, POLYN and POLYN Baby.Clarus acquisition coverage · USPTO
  9. The Dawn Wall. Polly formulates RIDICULOUS! Paste for Tommy Caldwell in 2013; he uses it through the first free ascent of El Capitan's Dawn Wall.pollyglasse.com · goclimbon.com
  10. Trademark and a new line. The climbOn mark is federally registered to Climb On Products, Inc. POLYN aromatherapy skincare launches.USPTO · Eco Chick
  11. Clarus
  12. Clarus buys the assets. SKINourishment then made 48 products, sold in 37 to 38 countries, with about 85% of sales in Europe. Polly stays on to lead product innovation. Terms were not disclosed.Clarus 10K FY2018 · SGB Media · Wimberley View
  13. Black Diamond Europe takes over European distribution, starting with the fall 2019 line.The Pill Outdoor Journal
  14. Folded into the outdoor segment. Each annual report lists SKINourishment beside Black Diamond and PIEPS and flags the risk that regulators could treat skincare claims as drug claims.Clarus 10K FY2019, FY2020 · 2022 Annual Report
  15. The disappearance
  16. Dropped from the brand list. The FY2023 annual report names Black Diamond and Clarus's adventure brands as its principal brands. SKINourishment appears only in history and loan paperwork. That same year Black Diamond's new president cut about 30% of equipment products to refocus on core climbing. In December, the POLYN trademark is cancelled.Clarus 10K FY2023 · Shop Eat Surf Outdoor · USPTO
  17. Shelves empty out. Retailers such as Urban Outfitters and CampSaver mark climbOn items sold out or discontinued, and climbers start asking for replacements on Mountain Project.Retailer listings · Mountain Project
  18. crossFIXE trademark cancelled after its ten year renewal goes unfiled.USPTO reg. 4671457
  19. climbonstory.com goes up, crediting Polly as creator. See the founding question below.climbonstory.com
  20. Renewal deadline for climbOn. The climbOn mark is still live, held by SKINourishment, LLC at Clarus's Salt Lake City address. Its ten year renewal came due in July 2026; the grace period runs to January 12, 2027.USPTO reg. 4997015

The trademarks today

MarkRegistrationFirst useStatus
climbOn4997015Oct 1996Live renewal due, grace to Jan 12, 2027
SKINourishmenton file2012Live renewal due, grace to Dec 28, 2026
crossFIXE4671457Jan 2011Cancelled Jul 25, 2025
POLYN5204477May 2016Cancelled Dec 1, 2023

Status from USPTO TSDR records checked in October 2026. A trademark names the company that owns a brand, not the person who invented the product.

Two open questions

Who founded it?

Every source agrees Polly Glasse formulated the bar, and Clarus's own announcement calls her SKINourishment's founder. An early Edible Austin profile presented Polly and her sister Amy Reynolds together as the people behind Climb On! Products. climbonstory.com disputes Amy's claim to be a cofounder and publishes letters from 2010 to 2013 about her conduct; those letters are one side of a family dispute.

Is it back?

Not from Clarus. On Mountain Project, posters say a former staff member revived the product after Black Diamond's parent dropped it, and some report the new bar on shelves. That product is sold by a separate company, The UP! Corp, not by the owner of the climbOn trademark.

What climbers lost

The original bar was grapeseed and apricot kernel oils, yellow beeswax, wheat germ oil, vitamin E and essential oils, with no water or fillers. 99Boulders named it the top skin repair pick after a month of testing, and its Amazon listing ran from 2008. Polly's own line for it was simple: if you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin.

Sources

  1. Polly Glasse, About
  2. climbOn Performance Skincare, About and history
  3. Edible Austin, From the Ashes
  4. Wimberley View, Successful local business is aiming for world wide sales
  5. SGB Media, Clarus acquires SKINourishment
  6. Clarus Form 10K, fiscal 2018
  7. Clarus Form 10K, fiscal 2019
  8. Clarus 2022 Annual Report
  9. Clarus Form 10K, fiscal 2023
  10. The Pill, Black Diamond Europe taking over distribution for climbOn
  11. Shop Eat Surf Outdoor, Black Diamond narrows its focus
  12. USPTO, climbOn registration · crossFIXE · POLYN
  13. Eco Chick, POLYN review
  14. Mountain Project, climbOn replacement suggestions
  15. UKClimbing, Climb On! Bar
  16. 99Boulders, best climbing salves
  17. Urban Outfitters, climbOn All Purpose Crème (sold out)
  18. climbonstory.com