Vibrant winter jackets on display in a clothing store, showcasing a variety of colors for shoppers.

The North Fake Economy

A Field Guide to Buying Gear in Thamel Thirty shopfronts in a single block, every one of them claiming to be selling real North Face, real Patagonia, real Mountain Hardwear. Jackets hang from awnings in colors no mountain has ever produced. A shopkeeper watches you thumb through a rack of down jackets and after a …