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Features

D epa rt m ent s

18 S W I T C H B A C K S O F T H E

16 B A S E N O T E S

T H U N D ER D RAG O N

Caspar Steinfath’s extraordinary 123km hydrofoil voyage

Mountain biking the forgotten foothills

The BASE content team

of the Bhutanese Himalaya

50 K E M P S T O N H A R D W I C K

Dan Milner

The secret diary of Bedfordshire’s greatest adventurer

26 C H A S I N G D O W N T H E W I N D

Dan Milner

Scrambles off the grid in Chilean Patagonia

54 B E Y O N D B A S E

Will Copestake

The Austral Ocean: marine Antarctica through the lens

32 G R AV E YA R D O F T H E AT L A N T I C

Ángel Pérez Grimaldi

Biking & surfing North Carolina’s Outer Banks

58 B A C K T O B A S E

Chris McClean

Turning Point: a two hundred mile walk to the top of Scotland

42 I N T O T H E C R Y S TA L C U R R E N T

Richard Gaston

Packrafting & skiing British Columbia’s Coast Mountains

70 B A S E G E A R

Carmen Kuntz & Andrew Burr

Lightweight innovations for summer 2021

64 T H E B A S E I N T E R V I E W

The BASE review team

Matilda Soderlund BASE talks to Sweden’s leading female climber

72 B A S E T E C H

Matilda Soderlund & David Pickford

The Breathing Shield: the story of breathable technical fabrics Chris Hunt & David Pickford

82 P R O R E C O R D Wingsuit pilot Tim Howell in profile

78 B A S E C U LT U R E

Juman Al-Sayegh & Francesco Guerra

Looking Out, Looking In Tessa Lyons

Co nt r i bu t or s Dan Milner

Ángel Pérez Grimaldi

Will Copestake

Richard Gaston

Chris McClean

Tessa Lyons

Carmen Kuntz

Will Copestake

Matilda Soderlund

Ainhoa Sanchez

Juman Al-Sayegh

Samo Vidic

Francesco Guerra

Bjarne Salen

Editor & Creative Director David Pickford

Publisher Secret Compass

Associate Editor & Digital Editor Chris Hunt

Enquiries hello@base-mag.com

Publishing Director Emily Graham

Submissions submissions@base-mag.com

Design Joe Walczak

Advertising emily@base-mag.com

COVER: Judith Wyder and Remi Bonnet running a ridgeline trail in the mountains of Obwalden, high above Lungern, Switzerland. LORENZ RICHARD / RED BULL

10

EDI TOR ’S LET T ER

A li f eb oa t i n t h e d eep

It is not the critic who counts; credit belongs to the man who is actually

Jack Swigert, and lunar module pilot Fred Haise pulled off what is

in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who

arguably the most remarkable act of self-rescue in human history.

strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again.

When Apollo 13 was around 180,000 nautical miles from Earth, en route to the Moon, an oxygen tank in the service module failed

T

heodore Roosevelt’s words from 1910 have even more

and the command module had to be shut down. The scenario of

relevance in 2021, perhaps, than they did back then. The

using the lunar module as a ‘lifeboat’ for returning to Earth if there

world has an awful lot more critics in it now, and there are arguably

was a problem with the command module had been discussed by

fewer who are actually ‘in the arena’. Leading an adventurous life is

NASA, even though it was considered an extremely unlikely

one way, I think, of living up to the ideal that Roosevelt identified

scenario. After the oxygen tank accident, lead flight director Gene

in his Sorbonne speech. It’s also a way of discovering our

Kranz at Mission Control in Houston quickly operationalised this

shortcomings – as important a dimension of being in the arena as

wildly hypothetical plan. A few days later, the three astronauts

the value of action itself.

safely touched down in the South Pacific aboard Apollo 13’s

The problem of procrastination, for example, is often a feature

lunar module.

of independent expedition planning. An unfolded map spreads

The story of Apollo 13 is a clear case of the precautionary

across the kitchen table. The laptop blinks back at you with the

principle being used to great effect. Had Mission Control not

finality of the ‘complete booking’ button; the first stage of setting

considered that (extremely unlikely) scenario of using the lunar

out. You know the feeling – you’re just about to book a trip. But

module as a ‘lifeboat’ – and then actioned it when an emergency

you’re still in two minds about it. It’s a situation that can occur any

occurred – the crew’s successful self-rescue would have never been

time, and for all sorts of reasons. Is the trip too expensive? Can you

pulled off, and Apollo 13 would have been lost in space.

justify being away for that long? Are you going to miss something

For every case, of course, there’s an antithesis. The story that

important back home? All these questions – and others – might

follows shows what can happen if the precautionary principle isn’t

raise themselves.

properly deployed in the planning of an adventure. In 2010, elite

The process of asking such questions at all, I’d argue, is an

South African whitewater kayaker Hendrik Coetzee was

example of a concept called the precautionary principle at work.

intending to retire from over a decade of running the wildest rivers

It can trace its earliest origins in experimental British civil

in sub-Saharan Africa to settle in Uganda to establish a guiding

engineering in the 18th century, and was seriously developed in the

business. After being contacted by two top American kayakers,

progressive environmental legislation created in 1970s Germany

Coetzee agreed to a final ‘big’ expedition in one of central Africa’s

(the ‘Vorsorgeprinzip’, the origin of the phrase in English). Yet

wildest regions: a first descent of the Ruzizi and Lukuga rivers, two

there is still no single, universally accepted definition of the

obscure tributaries of the upper Congo in the politically highly

precautionary principle itself. It could be a qualitative anticipatory

unstable territory of south-eastern DRC.

model that might protect us against the various risks of our own

Coetzee’s expedition successfully ran the Ruzizi and took a

actions, or it could be a more sophisticated tool for the cost-benefit

water taxi across Lake Tanganyika (one of the worst places in

analysis of a particular strategy. It’s certainly an interesting means

Africa for crocodile attacks) to put in on the Lukuga, which

of measuring the value of action in relation to potentially high risk

flows out of the lake. A few days in to the Lukuga, after

activities like adventure sports.

successful first descents of various grade V rapids, they came to

In the context of adventure, the precautionary principle might

a ninety-degree bend in the river that formed a wide channel

manifest itself as the exercise of detailed prior contingency

where the current slowed. Here, Coetzee’s American teammates

planning, or pragmatic decision-making in response to events or

Ben Stookesbury and Chris Korbulic looked on aghast as an

new variables during the expedition itself.

enormous Nile crocodile launched itself from the murky water

A particularly striking example of how effective this can be is

and dragged their leader and teammate into the depths. An

the extraordinary story of NASA’s ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in

empty kayak appeared a short time later; Coetzee’s body was

April 1970, when commander Jim Lovell, command module pilot

never found.

FACING PAGE: Apollo 13’s Lunar Module LM-7 Aquarius as photographed from the Command Module Odyssey before both modules re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in April 1970. There, the Lunar Module would burn up, having completed its ‘lifeboat’ service by sustaining the crew after an accident disabled the Service Module.

APOLLO 13 HASSELBLAD IMAGE / NASA

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In their expedition planning, the team had overlooked a

precautionary principle. During the course of the pandemic, it

crucial geopolitical factor that made the Lukuga an exceptionally

became increasingly clear to many intelligent observers that if you

dangerous river to paddle. Between the mid 1990s and 2010,

are implementing a policy with very considerable known harms as

intermittent civil war had been the main feature of life southern

a measure of disease control, then you need to conduct a serious

DRC. This had led to an explosion in the crocodile population on

analysis of the advantages of that policy in relation to its

rivers such as the Lukuga – both in their numbers and in the

downsides. Whilst some have argued that pro-lockdown

physical size of the animals – due to the fact that so many human

politicians and scientists were using the precautionary principle in

bodies had ended up in the region’s waterways. Some have

advocating strict social restrictions, they also – almost universally –

speculated this also gave the reptiles a taste for human flesh.

failed to ask the following basic question: do the benefits of this policy

Generations

of

African

explorers

have

traditionally

outweigh its enormous costs?

considered populated areas to be safer from a wildlife perspective,

The French deconstructive philosopher Michel Foucault

since dangerous wild animals are usually shot by local people

claimed that 'freedom is the ontological condition of ethics’.

before they can proliferate. In the case of the Lukuga river,

Foucault is suggesting here that you can only make an ethical

planning the expedition using this traditional assumption had

decision (about whether or not you should take a risk, for example)

deadly consequences; the Lukuga was actually more dangerous

if you have the freedom to act. Foucault’s idea about the

because it flowed through populated areas for the reasons

relationship between freedom and ethics is actually closely related

highlighted. In Niemba, where the three kayakers stayed a few

to the precautionary principle, because freedom – and free access

nights before Coetzee’s death, 125 local people had been reported

to accurate information – is essential for it to function.The survival

as having been taken by crocodiles in the two decades previous to

of the Apollo 13 astronauts was entirely conditional on the fact

the expedition.

that NASA Mission Control was at liberty to action a radical

If the precautionary principle is used in the right way, it can –

contingency plan in response to a new event to which they had free

as in the case of Apollo 13 – be a highly successful safety

access to information about. The three kayakers on the Lukuga

mechanism. If it isn’t used correctly, as in the case of the Lukuga

river in 2010 didn’t know the true extent of the threat they faced

river expedition, it can produce a very dangerous scenario.

from the Nile crocodile population, so you could argue that, in the

If there is the possibility of harm, the precautionary principle will suggest the most obvious path for the avoidance of that harm.

absence of this important information, they were not free to arrive at the best decision about the journey ahead.

Used in its most simplistic form, it might well suggest that manned

Perhaps the factor which unites the very different stories of the

missions into outer space should not be launched, or that sub-

Apollo 13 astronauts and the Lukuga river kayakers is that they

Saharan African rivers should never be explored in kayaks.

were all absolutely in the centre of the Rooseveltian ‘arena of

In a political context, the precautionary principle suggests that

action’. They all used – or didn’t use – the precautionary principle

the State should use policies to shield the public and the

in different ways. Apollo 13’s Mission Control and flight team

environment from harm; an extension of the idea of the social

used it to great effect; Hendrik Coetzee wasn’t so lucky, but his

contract set out by English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes

teammates deployed it after the attack and got the hell out of the

in his Leviathan, that the State’s essential duty, beyond all else, is to

Lukuga river. So this intriguing concept can often be extremely

protect its citizens. An obvious example of this in action is the

useful to adventurers and explorers. Whatever you’re doing out

1983 law passed in the UK requiring all drivers to wear seatbelts.

there, it’s a sharp tool to keep in your box of strategic tricks.

Since the spring of 2020, when countries around the world began using lockdown policies in an attempt to control the spread of Covid 19, a very complex conundrum arose in relation to the

And on that note, enjoy our action-packed summer issue of BASE. David Pickford

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OPENING SHOT

Photograph | Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race

Close-hauled in an Atlantic gale, Team SCA are seen off Spain’s

navigation equipment (voted on by the other navigators in the

notorious Costa da Morte [the coast of death] as they compete in

race). The Costa da Morte, Spain’s far northwestern point, is so

the 8th leg of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race. Team SCA,

named because of the very large number of shipwrecks its waters

skippered by top British yachtswoman Samantha Davies, were the

have seen. Here, the different tidal systems of the Bay of Biscay to

first all-female team to compete in the race, in which their boat

the east and the Celtic Sea to the north converge, creating massive

finished in overall 6th place. Team SCA’s navigator Libby

overfalls when a heavy swell is running and treacherous conditions

Greenhalgh also won the B&G navigator prize for best use of

for small craft – but no match for Team SCA.

BA S E N O T ES

K att e gat: the first hydrofo il cros si n g

I

n early May 2021, 26 year-old Danish professional waterman Caspar Steinfath once again redefined the boundaries of

endurance watersports, following his 2020 crossing of the 130km Skaggerak Straight between Denmark and Norway by SUP. This time, Steinfath opted to make the crossing of the Kattegat Straight – the wide stretch of open water that separates Denmark from the rest of Scandinavia – using a hydrofoil board and the advanced technique of downwind hydrofoiling. Setting off from Denmark’s east coast, Steinfath made the 123km crossing in a single push with a support boat only for safety, arriving in the tiny port of Bua on the west coast of Sweden after 10 hours and 53 minutes.

Downwind hydrofoiling involves using a tailwind and a following ocean swell to develop sufficient speed for the hydrofoil to rise up and lift the board above the water at forward speeds of up to 25km/h. Usually, the hydrofoiler will use a SUP-style paddle for additional propulsion when the speed of the foil drops, which can happen in the troughs between waves or during a lull in the wind.

Renowned Hawaiian surfer and watersports expert Dave Kalama gave some indication of how demanding and complex this activity is when he said ‘[learning to downwind hydrofoil] was the most humbling experience of my life as a waterman’.

Steinfath’s recent feat slightly betters the previous distance record for downwind hydrofoiling of 120km, which was set in 2020

by Australian pro surfer and waterman James Casey between Wollongong and Sydney on the coast of New South Wales. In an added twist, Steinfath’s voyage almost ended in a stalemate when the wind dropped just short of the Swedish coast. Without a sufficient tailwind, downwind hydrofoiling becomes impossible as the speed of the foil drops and the board can no longer lift out of the water. This change in the conditions forced Steinfath to prone paddle the final 7km section to the finish line. This undoubtedly arduous conclusion of his Kattegat crossing completed Steinfath’s remarkable achievement. Along with his record-breaking 130km Skaggerak SUP crossing between Denmark and Norway, this new downwind hydrofoiling record is another significant milestone in the history of adventure watersports.

FACING PAGE: Denmark’s Caspar Steinfath halfway between the east coast of Denmark and Sweden’s west coast on his record-breaking hydrofoil crossing of the Kattegat Straight in May 2021. JAKOB GJERLUFF AGER / RED BULL

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SWITCHBACKS OF THE THUNDER DRAGON M ounta in b iki n g th e f or g o tte n fo o thi l l s of the B hu t an ese Hi m al a ya Story & Photography | Dan Milner

D

arkening clouds bulge earthwards threatening a mighty

Pelden was right about the storm: it fails to materialise,

storm. The sky makes me cast my fellow mountain

leaving us with just a swirling light-show. I am disappointed

bikers a puzzled look.

not to hear thunder – this is after all, a country whose moniker

This is November, Bhutan’s dry season, and our guide,

is Druk yul, or ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’: a title entrenched

Pelden, has promised us rain-free riding on some of the world’s

in Tibetan Buddhist mythology that reveres thunder as an

best singletrack. These are boasts I’ve heard many times before

auspicious occurrence, rather than its Western trope as the

from local guides I’ve met on trips afar, often delivered with

advent of trouble. An edgy title perhaps, but its overtones are

hope over real accuracy. Certainly, rain would render the

unlikely to win awards at a tourism trade fare. But then perhaps

flowing, loamy trails we’ve been drifting down so far into slick

it is apt for a country whose determination to preserve its

mudbaths akin to the very worst of the UK’s winter offerings.

cultural identity locked it in self-imposed isolation for

And adventure’s uncertainties aside, we didn’t travel all the way

centuries; Bhutan’s borders were completely closed to

to Bhutan to slide face-first through mud.

foreigners until 1974. But times change.

Standing on a 12,000 ft high Himalayan ridge, rice-beers

Which is why five mountain bikers – local bike guide

in hand, we watch the gathering maelstrom twist clouds into

Pelden Dorji, US rider Sam Seward, adventure entrepreneur

foreboding shapes over the surrounding mountains. They

Euan Wilson, videographer Douglas Tucker, and myself – now

swallow the spectacle of ice-plastered peaks that once glinted

find ourselves camped out alongside a Buddhist temple in the

in the falling light. We wait expectedly for the thunder to clap

foothills of the Bhutanese Himalaya. The temple beside us is a

and roll, but instead the air remains filled with the flapping of

hulking square-edged building, trimmed with carved beams –

prayer flags – the incessant soundtrack of Bhutan.

a 500 year-old fort, or Dzong, whose roots lie in more fractious

It’s an enigma, this place – and it draws you in.

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times. It has weathered many a storm.

But whatever the past, at its feet lies the future: a thread of singletrack that has borrowed the temple’s name. It’s called the Jela trail. Far below on the valley floor, at a point now obscured by the plunging void, we’ll emerge from this trail next morning,

It’s an enigma, this place – and it draws you in

rolling out from between towering 15,000ft ‘hills’ alongside the alarmingly short runway of Bhutan’s only international airport, where about half of the country’s 150,000 annual tourists arrive on a handful of flights per day, the rest coming overland from neighbouring India. Most are allured by cultural or wildlife

PREVIOUS PAGES: Dwarfed by 7,326m-high Jomolhari, Sam Seward and Euan

tours – treading the stone paths of ancient temples, hoping to

Wilson ride the Chelela trek trail. With climbing above 6000m prohibited in

spot a tiger, or to photograph the iconic black necked cranes –

Bhutan, most of its highest peaks remain unconquered, and with such a small

or simply to trek in the Bhutanese Himalaya. Very few come to

number of mountain bikers in the country, the trails that approach such peaks remain un-ridden too.

go mountain biking. But if Pelden has his way, that will change,

FACING PAGE: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip was to ride hand-cut trails,

and flowing descents like the Jela trail will help redraw Bhutan’s

dug by a small but dedicated crew of local mountain bikers. During their stay,

slowly expanding tourism map. During our nine day trip, we

the team stumbled across Bhutanese soldiers, shovels in hand, who were helping dig trails under the orders of the crown prince, who is apparently an avid

too realise that when word gets out, Pelden’s dream may well be

mountain biker himself.

realised. Our guide was not only right about the storm, but

THIS PAGE: Modern Bhutan is a place of contrast, and no more so than in its

about Bhutan’s trails too: they are indeed some of the best

relatively recent embrace of modern tourism. Here, Euan and Sam pedal state

singletrack any of us had ever ridden, anywhere in the world, whether they come serenaded by thunder or not.

of the art bikes away from the thousand year-old Kila nunnery, towards the most flowing descent of their trip. Tourism is now Bhutan’s second largest industry, after hydroelectric power.

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Bhutan’s trails are some of the best singletrack we’ve ridden anywhere in the world

THIS PAGE: Euan and Sam steer along the Chelela trail towards a vast stand of darshen – white prayer flags – that cover the ridge near the 3,988m high Chelela pass.

These striking vertical flags, sometimes four or five metres tall, are typically planted 108 in number following the death of a relative. ‘Planting them is the hardest part of when someone dies’, joked Yeshten, the team’s second local guide.

FACING PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: None of the group expected to come to Bhutan to weave through thick verdant jungle, but in fact most of Bhutan is covered with dense forest – a perfect home for tigers and clouded leopards, and loam-seeking mountain bikers. / Another day, another descent earned by a ‘Bhutanese shuttle’ as local guide Pelden calls a hike-a-bike. Rural dirt roads can only access so far before the inevitable bike-carrying begins. / The Tiger’s Nest monastery, or Paro Takstang, is Bhutan’s most iconic landmark. While the bike team ascended the back of its mountain to its summit, before descending to the 3,120m high monastery, most tourists puff up the steep 500 vertical metre climb from a car park, unaware of the tough challenge they face. / Darshen stand silhouetted against swirling clouds above the team’s camp alongside the Jela monastery. / Exploring the Chelela trek trail by bike meant spending two nights under canvas in idyllic clearings on the trail. The camping gear was transported on packhorses; a service that’s growing with the rise in tourism, giving valuable employment to local herders.

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Thousand-metre descents from high ridgelines to braided river valleys are the norm for mountain biking in Bhutan

FACING PAGE: Sam rails through a stand of darshen prayer flags above Thimpu, Bhutan’s capital. While the prayer flag aesthetic is shared with nearby Nepal, Bhutan has a unique culture and heritage, and its aims to preserve both are embedded in its strategy for encouraging ‘low number, high spend’ tourism.

THIS PAGE TOP: Ancient forts like the Dzongchung near Punakha give a nod to Bhutan’s martial history, which included warding off invasions from nearby Tibet. Today, the country measures its success not by GDP but by a ‘National Happiness Index’.

THIS PAGE LOWER: Thousand-metre descents from 3,000m high ridgelines to braided river valley floors are the norm for mountain biking in Bhutan.

They never get old.

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Chasing down the wind Scr amb l i n g off t he g ri d i n Chil e a n Pa ta go ni a Story & Photography | Will Copestake

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27

I

t’s said Patagonia is home to a landscape from heaven carved

Patagonia that year with a reputation for enjoying long and

from the weather from hell. It is one of the last true wilderness

heinous portages as for the paddling itself.

expanses on Earth, and deeply alluring to those who seek

Interspersed with all the kayaking, I’ve had many adventures

genuinely remote adventures far from human civilisation. It’s

(and mis-adventures) in the mountains. This story is one that

home to the world’s third largest continental ice cap, from which

defines such journeys; whilst it’s not one of my successful

the Andean mountains break free in a jagged edge separating the

endeavours, it tells the truth about what it’s really like out there

western Pacific fjords from the eastern pampas grasslands and the

in the southern Patagonian wilderness.

Atlantic Ocean. To put it briefly, here lies an adventure playground to last a lifetime, where nature is your boss.

Before arriving in Patagonia, I had some mountain experience from Scottish summits in winter conditions, but I am

Since the winter of 2014, I’ve been fortunate to live and

not a mountaineer – more of a scrambler. By now I had gained

work numerous seasons around the Torres del Paine and

the confidence – and a small degree of competence – to back up

Bernardo O’Higgins National Park as a kayak guide. As I passed

my growing ambition to seek out some properly remote summits

each season in southern Patagonia, I’ve felt a personal

in Chile. Inspiration, as often happened, came from my daily

progression as I’ve played catch-up with the locals – both as a

commute to work.

guide, but also for my own exploratory ambitions.

Above the dirt road that leads into the Bernardo O’Higgins

My first year was spent focused on surviving as a ‘newbie’ in

national park, jagged mountains tower overhead along the

a world of machismo; I towed beginner kayakers through 40 knot

horizon like a constellation of giants: these are the Pratt,

winds on a regular basis. I also trekked with our clients on the

Chacabuco and Senoret ranges. Unlike in Torres del Paine, there

Torres del Paine national park’s built trails such as the famous ‘W’

are almost no trails and very few people here; should things go

track and the 110km ‘O’circuit, keeping to the known routes with

wrong there is slim chance of a rescue. Several of the peaks in

little thought needed.

these ranges have yet to be climbed, and many others are seldom

My second year was one of multiple kayak expeditions. On

if ever touched. This is where adventurous locals choose to visit.

my days off, I explored numerous wild routes travelling either

Perhaps the most iconic of these peaks is Cerro Tenerife,

solo or with friends. This culminated in a month long expedition

which is visible from our house in Puerto Natales: it’s a perfectly

at the end of the season [documented in issue 1 of BASE]. I left

pyramidal peak, 1,600m high from sea level and naturally alluring.

PREVIOUS PAGES: In the teeth of an incoming storm deep in the pathless terrain on a sub-peak in the Fitz Roy range of Argentine Patagonia in excellent winter conditions.

THIS PAGE: Lenticular clouds envelope Cerro Balmaceda in Chilean Patagonia as another storm rolls in.

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After first climbing it in 2015 with a Chilean client and my

wall formed by a long, hardened magma intrusion. As the terrain

two guiding friends, I vowed to return for a longer and more

steepened further, a formidable drop appeared on either side of

ambitious plan to tackle the 40 kilometre west ridge toward the

the spine. To my north, the mighty spires of Torres del Paine

isolated summit known as Cerro Pratt.

dominated the horizon. Looking west towards the dramatic

During my third season in Patagonia, the perfect weather

Chacabuco mountain range, I felt excitement and intimidation in

window finally broke: three days of sunshine and zero wind was

equal measure. From here, I would lose all sight of any roads or

forecast, and the game was on. After being dropped off on the

evidence of human life, and would be utterly alone. The horizon

dirt road by Cris, who runs the guiding company I work for, I set

of broken spires and icy slopes was akin to the monstrous walls of

off. Cris was the first to summit this peak in winter way back in

Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. Behind them, the skies were

the 1990s. Hauling an overnight pack up the 40 degree slopes

building with a dark front of cloud, which I shrugged off as the

was a punishing start to reach the ridge line, and a timely

usual orographic layer that hangs on the glacier.

reminder that, although small in comparison to nearby peaks, it is still 300m higher than Ben Nevis back in the UK.

Casting my mind back to the season before, I should perhaps have remembered a mis-adventure in the foothills of Torres del

At first the climb was more of a fight, pushing gloved hands

Paine. I’d climbed to 1,500m with intent to bivi and photograph

through the needle-like spines of the endemic Patagonian

the sunrise on the towers from a unique perspective, again with a

calafate bushes: sweaty work under heavy clothing to save myself

near perfect forecast. As evening drew in, the ice-cap came alive

from a thousand splinters. Local legend tells of the sweet berries

on the horizon. Towers of spindrift curled skyward in steaming

of the calafate; once eaten, a visitor will return to Patagonia again

columns of mist, above lenticular clouds that were building fast –

and again to taste them, and the thorns are a way to put us off.

the surest sign of a rising wind. The un-forecast storm hit about

After a slow hour and a half, I reached 800m – and the tree-

midnight, turning my previously ‘sheltered bivouac’ into a war

line. In less than ten steps, I broke free from the temperate jungle

zone. Hurricane-force winds literally lifted me from my perch as

and onto the open upper slopes of the mountain. In an instant,

I frantically stuffed my equipment into my pack and crawled into

I felt I’d been transported to the Moon.The sedimentary rock was

the lee of the ridge. By the time I’d battled to the sanctuary of the

broken into thousands of slates which cracked with a tinkle

tree-line 800m below, I’d been badly cut by flying rocks. I then

underfoot. These shards regularly go airborne in the wind; I was

nestled into an uncomfortable night in the bow of a tree root, and

often reminded of stories of local porters being stripped nearly

walked out at first light some five hours later.

naked by ‘flying daggers’ on the high passes of Torres del Paine.

For now, success on more recent summits had clouded my

At 1,400m, I joined the ridge-line at last. Like the fossil of a

memory enough to trust the forecast. Scrambling off the scree

giant beast, the arête was lined with a single narrow spine: a basalt

slope, I left Cerro Tenerife behind me. Descending to a wide

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valley, I arrived into the receding face of a once-grand glacier.

There was nothing growing here; no greenery, just black rock and ice all around. If the slopes of Cerro Tenerife had felt like the Moon, this would surely be Mars. I could smell it too, the earthy aroma of freshly ground rock dust, pulverised by the ice into the finest powder. This ‘rock dust’ coloured the lagoons dotting the

Small rocks flew past my headtorch, pelting my jacket and stinging my skin as the wind rose to a deafening roar

landscape to a sapphire blue. Iron ore, freshly exposed after a millennia under ice, now rusted out from the rock in streaks of deep orange.This iron also renders a compass utterly useless here;

gusting into the 100mph range: it was now clear the tent would

the needle usually turns to the rock itself rather than to magnetic

be shredded by the morning. It was time to get out of here.

north. Above me, but safely distant, a hanging icefall boomed and rumbled on occasion as it calved ice into the abyss.

Bent double to the wind, I stuffed my tent into my pack.

Small rocks flew past my headtorch, pelting my jacket and

Progress was slow. I clambered over rocks, waded through

stinging my skin. The wind was still increasing with a deafening

mud, and on occasion donned crampons to cross the front face of

roar over the peaks above. Finding a stream, I staggered downhill

the ice, which thankfully was rounded with few crevasses and safe

towards the forest with purposeful pace. In a strange way, this was

to do so. Twisting an ankle was not an option, so extra care was

fun of the type two kind; it was testing and exciting. I’d put the

needed to make safe passage. Aiming for a mountain pass, I headed

plans in place to stay safe. After an hour, I’d reached the forest

for a sheltered-looking hollow to set camp before the daylight

and just as before, in a few short steps I entered a new world.

faded. I found a hollow in the shadow of the mountains around me.

The wind was instantly gone except for the roar in the canopy

Although I could hear the gentle wind above, I felt fairly confident

above. Soon finding a sheltered camp, protected by the buried

it was a safe camp should the wind increase. Nevertheless, I built a

bow of a fallen tree, I settled in, far below my previous camp and

rock wall to shelter behind in case those clouds turned into

far more comfortable. By morning, the wind was still rising, with

something more. I then spent a pleasant evening resting and

hurricane force gusts howling in the highest treetops. One thing

enjoying the solitude – until the sun went down.

was sure: I wouldn’t want to still be up on the plateau above, and

At around 11pm, the storm duly arrived. Totally un-forecast,

had made the right decision to descend.

it was a reminder of the unpredictability of the Patagonian

A day’s bushwhack down the valley brought me around the

weather. I hunkered in, expecting to outlast it, and confident the

front face of Tenerife and along to a dirt road – the nearest access.

tent could take it. I was relatively comfortable at first, battered

Turning my back on the mountain, the adventure had taken a

only with occasional isolated ‘punch downs’ from gusts above

new tack towards a different horizon. It wasn’t plan A, but it had

ranging around the 80mph mark. By midnight, it became

been a spectacular night out to add into the stock of experience.

apparent this was more than a flurry: a really big storm was

Trips like this define Patagonia. There have been many other

coming in. My full-spec mountain tent was now blowing flat

days where we got to the top and returned triumphant, but there

onto my nose where I lay, and rocks started thumping into the

have been just as many where the weather reminds you who is in

walls. I’d learnt from previous trips to sleep with a prepped bag

charge. The game of cat and mouse with the elements is an

with a planned route of direct safe descent should I need to leave

eternal feature of Patagonian adventures, and one I hope to keep

in the dark. As rock daggers had started to fly, the wind was

playing – hoping neither of us ever quite beats the other.

30

FACING PAGE: Peering out over the cliffs of Dorotea in the Torres del Paine National Park to spot condor – the largest terrestrial bird on Earth.

TOP: Clambering the narrow ridges of Cerro Tenerife.

CENTRE LEFT: High camp on Cerro Toro overlooking Torres del Paine national Park.

CENTRE RIGHT: Spindrift (Rafagas in Spanish) on Lago Grey, directly underneath the Towers of Paine.

LOWER: Overlooking the Rio Serrano as it flows out of the Torres del Paine national park towards Puerto Natales and the Pacific Ocean beyond.

31

Graveyard of the Atlantic Biking & s urfing No r th Ca r ol i na ’ s Ou t er B ank s Story & Photography | Chris McClean

A long line of low-lying islands extends almost two hundred miles down the coast of North Carolina, from Virginia Beach to Cape Lookout. Known as The Outer Banks, these remote strips of wind-blown sand face the full force of the Atlantic Ocean, and are the stuff of legend. Once the f inal outpost of the notorious Bristolian pirate Edward ‘Blackbeard ’ Thatch, they were also the site of the Wright Brothers’ f irst successful powered flight in 1903. In late summer 2019, Chris McClean rode the full length of the archipelago with new friends and surfboards in tow, f inding the islands just as storm-swept as their reputation suggests: a reminder of why this place once gained the well-earned nickname ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’

I

landed in Trump’s New York amidst the humdrum of the

My destination was Virginia Beach, the coastal town just

climate protests in September 2019. The air was hot, dusty

east of Norfolk, Virginia. I was dumped unceremoniously in an

and dirty. And the train that took me from JFK to Williamsburg

empty parking lot beside a handful of boarded-up superstores,

was rammed. I’d never been to New York before, and was full of

a bowling alley, and a small restaurant tucked in the corner.

anticipation. A sea of faces: sharp-suited businessmen, unkempt

I bought a drink and watched the patrons. I couldn’t work it out.

youths, close-knit families, and scruffy skater kids. Every aspect

Halfway through renovations, it was seemingly part jazz club,

of society was here in every single carriage. I had three days in

part brothel, part Caribbean takeaway and part cabaret

the city, but the purpose of my trip Stateside wasn't New York.

installation. I didn’t have enough time to figure it out as my

It lay over three hundred miles south, along the line of lonely

phone buzzed, and my ride was suddenly waiting outside.

islands known as The Outer Banks that separate the inshore North Carolina coast from the open waters of the Atlantic.

Not all of us on the trip had all met one another before. But in the deserted car park beneath the neon signs from Ollie’s

After three days in the Big Apple I woke early, let myself

Bargain Outlet shining down on us, we introduced ourselves

out, bought coffee to go and a bagel, and made my way across

and embraced, excited about the journey on which we were

town to a bus station in the Lower East Side. My seat was next

about to embark.

to a large lady, who was on her phone for the entire journey.

Our crew consisted of Bri, an easy-going local surfer and a

Somewhere around Philadelphia, she pulled out a huge box of

lifeguard on The Outer Banks. She’d lived on The Banks her

fried chicken and proceeded to munch her way through the

whole life; fishing, surfing, painting, and playing music – it all

entire thing whilst still managing to hold down a conversation.

seemed pretty idyllic. Ry, her husband, was an Australian who

On paper, eight hours on a sweaty bus with only a bagel and a

came to lifeguard for a season. Smitten, he’d stayed and married.

handful of nuts for company sounds horrible, but strangely it

Bri was tough-skinned and a joy either to ride with or surf with;

wasn’t; I was so full of excitement for the second part of the trip.

a smile, a joke, or a song was never far away.

PREVIOUS PAGES: Somewhere north of Rodanthe, we rode past hundreds of perfect breaks on a hunch to reach a bank that gave even bigger and better waves, and it did.

FACING PAGE: The longest stretch of highway we rode was on Cedar Island: miles and miles of good asphalt with no cars whatsoever.

THIS PAGE: Bri stylish as ever on a sunset swell at Pea Island Nature Reserve on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the heart of The Outer Banks.

35

Gary, a scientist with the gift of chat, was analytical and

As we were planning for this trip, Hurricane Dorian had

always looking beyond the obvious. He was a seasoned traveller

smashed into The Outer Banks, in particular into Ocraoke

having ridden around Africa on a motorbike with a surfboard

Island, just as Trump had announced the storm was heading for

strapped beside him. He also surfs good, from years on the

Alabama. (The hurricane then immediately turned north and

Californian and Baja point breaks, and is a joy to watch on the

spun off into the Atlantic, largely missing the mainland US.) The

fast and peaky Outer Banks’ A-frames.

destruction on Ocracoke, though, was so significant that the

Robin was a kind-hearted Floridian now living in Santa

authorities had closed the island to all but residents and aid

Cruz, and had organised the trip. I’d met Robin last year in

workers, meaning we were unable to travel via the island and the

Scotland the previous year on a bike-packing trip, and we’d

only current option was a 200-mile detour back via the mainland

talked a lot about surfing and bikes. We compared notes around

to our finishing point. Robin said he had a plan, though, and he

campfires and promised to make something happen. Robin then

was working on it. As we finished tinkering with our bikes and

actually made it happen: he brought four people who barely

one by one said goodnight, we slipped off to bed with the

knew each other together on the Eastern Seaboard with kit and

excitement of the morning awaiting us, and the hope that

bikes. Even when plan A doesn’t quite work, Robin usually has a

Robin’s Plan B wouldn’t include too brutal a detour.

Plan B that kicks in smoothly and calmly, and with limited fuss.

The Outer Banks is one of the most low-lying places in

Plan A was pretty simple. We would all meet in Virginia

North America, and extremely exposed to hurricanes. Slowly but

Beach and, using ‘fat bikes’ from Fatback Bikes, we would travel

surely, these islands are being eaten up by the sea. Despite and in

south from the furthest northern point of the islands to the

some ways because of their exposure to the Atlantic, the region

southernmost point. We would surf and camp our way south,

is a unique coastal community steeped in culture, history, and

riding the beach as much as possible from Virginia Beach to Back

rich in natural resources. Residents are resilient: they enjoy the

Bay and then False Cape, before crossing the state line into North

setting, and they've become accustomed to the winds, storms,

Carolina. From here, we’d take in Currituck National Wildlife

and other coastal hazards that shape their environment.

Refuge, Corolla, Duck, Kitty Hawk, the wonderfully named Kill

But this is an ever-changing landscape, and remains at the

Devil Hills, Nags Head, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge,

mercy of the sea. There are houses perched on stilts on the beach,

Rodanthe, and Cape Hatteras. From Cape Hatteras we would

as if waiting for the sea to claim them. Some roads and houses

board a ferry and sail to Ocracoke, and from Ocracoke take

are half-lost, standing knee-deep in sand. Rising sea levels are

another ferry to Cedar Island, and then yet another ferry to Cape

forcing residents from homes that are slowly washing out from

Lookout, before returning to the mainland via Harkers Island.

under them.

It sounds like a long way – and it was. Two hundred-odd

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

miles in just over a week, with heavily loaded fat bikes riding

says about six feet of coastal land erodes here every year. These

mainly on the sand: it was certainly going to be a challenge.

rising seas are making already unstable strips of land yet more

Back in Virginia Beach, we unpacked the bikes, attached

prone to erosion. Each time a storm makes landfall, seawater

racks and bags, ate pizzas and sank beers, and got to know each

carves inlets and deposits sand, spreading it across one side of the

other. At this point Robin slipped it in that we needed a Plan B.

island while it erodes from the other like a slowly turning wheel.

36

The surf was shifting, and felt sketchy; the Oregon Inlet is a shark feeding zone as the fish move into the open ocean

For those who own a beachfront property, the biggest

We all returned to shore with a smile. For a Brit, the

concern is losing a vacation home, but other residents fear losing

camping conditions were something to dream of: no rain or

deep ties to the region. On some parts of the islands, seawater

midges, and we even slept without a flysheet. When dawn came

has been known to flood cemeteries, threatening to wash away

I was first up and out in the line-up. I knew this might be the last

the buried remains of generations of locals. Residents have long

chance of waves for a couple of days, as the swell was dropping

debated how best to address the encroaching ocean; although

and we had a long day ahead of us in the saddle.

they share a sense of community knowing they’re all in it

After catching some super-fun, small waves in Kitty Hawk,

together, no State-wide agreement has been reached. As they

where we fished and cooked tacos with Bri’s family, another

ponder solutions, the sea continues to eat away at the land.

storm was making landfall. We started out before dawn to make

When we first hit the beach after leaving our campsite in

it over the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge – one stretch of our

Virginia Beach, the urge to jump straight in the water was

journey where riding on the highway was unavoidable. Half

strong, but the beach was crowded; Robin assured us in half an

asleep, we started to see the sun rising and for the first time in

hour it’d be empty and we’d be able to surf alone. He wasn’t

three days, we saw the surf. It was pristine: perfect A-frames rose

wrong. The heat was unbearable, but the remnants of Hurricane

up and down the beach. We pushed our bikes over the mounds

Humberto had left good size waves and we had pristine offshore

of sand freshly taken from the highway, and ran over the sand to

winds. After two hours on the bikes, the saltwater felt good and

the water’s edge. That morning was magical, with beautiful light

washed the heat and dust from our bodies. We rode some more,

and fresh conditions; I shot photos from the beach before

and with the last of civilisation approaching, we stopped for

joining the others in the line-up.

lunch and beers. It’s incredible how good beer tastes after a bike ride, and knowing we didn’t have any supplies, we had another.

The surf was shifting, though, and felt sketchy; the nearby Oregon Inlet is a major source of food for local sharks as the fish

Back on the bikes, spirits were high and the evening ride

migrate from the Pamlico Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. But

into Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge flew by. There were no

safely on dry land, fed and starting to warm up as the sun rose,

people here at all. We took our time, and followed the sandy

we started to plan our day. We wanted to make it to Avon that

gravel paths. We were aiming for False Cape for the night, and

night, which was 30-odd miles away. Plus, this was the day when

we all had the thought of a sunset surf in the backs of our minds.

we could really score classic Outer Banks waves – the clean and

The surf was big and shifty here, and I didn’t really get much

glassy kind that often line the pages of surfing magazines.

joy. However, when I swapped with Robin onboard a 6’1” bright

We chose to ride along the beach, surfing the 100’s of peaks

yellow Wade Coffrey, I couldn’t help but smile; the board was

we saw that day in our mind’s eyes. I’d have stopped at all of

fast and agile as I slipped into a couple of peaky waves.

them, but we cruised south hollering at each other as another set

FACING PAGE: When the tide was too high and the sand too soft, we resorted to North Carolina Highway 12.

THIS PAGE: Bri drops in on a particularly fun bank near the town of Avon that was deceivingly powerful – one characteristic of Outer Banks surf is mellow-looking waves that pack a bigger punch than their size.

37

reeled down a new bank. We saw a few surfers as we rode, but

road to factor in. Robin had been connected with a chap called

Bri had a hunch that a wave just to the north of Rodanthe would

Chuck, who was running The United Methodist Church’s

be working.

disaster relief efforts on the island, and had arranged for our

When we stopped, it was pumping. Bri and Gary paddled

passage across to Ocracoke in return for volunteering with the

out, and myself and Robin lathered on the sun cream and hid in

relief effort. Chuck had told Robin we needed to be on the

the dunes shooting from various angles. The local guys had the

afternoon ferry: missing it wasn’t an option. We now had to plan

place dialled, and we sat back to shoot. They both got a couple of

the rest of the trip around this one ferry, and missing it meant

sweet ones, but each wave here requires you to come in and run

had a 200km detour by road to Cedar Island.

back up the beach to paddle back out to combat the rip. Before

This changed the whole outlook of the trip; from this

long, Bri and Gary were back at the bikes looking for snacks.

point onwards, our journey wasn’t just about biking and

With daylight hours getting short, we made the call to drag the

surfing anymore. Ocracoke became our focus. And as the piles

bikes over the sand and through the dunes to the road with the

of discarded furniture and personal belongings beside the

hope of making Avon before sunset.

road became bigger, our resolve to help the stricken locals

It was around here that we started to notice the piles of

grew stronger.

rubbish at the end of driveways, and they got bigger the further

Getting to the ferry was just about doable, but we wanted to

south we went. Cory treated us like kings, and we showered and

check for waves under the lighthouse at Hatteras. The swell had

slept in freshly-made beds, after fish tacos and ice cream. It felt

dropped too much, though, and we made the wrong decision to

glorious after several nights of wild camping.

ride along the beach towards the ferry terminal in Hatteras:

Morning came too soon, and we wheeled our bikes out

the tide was high and it pushed us up on to the soft sand

again to hit the road south. Plan B was actioned late last night

hindering our progress. It took us hours to reach Frisco, allowing

as Gary, Bri and I slept. Robin was up early finalising the details

us to re-join the road. Hot and thirsty, we found water in a

and making calls. He shares it as we stop for breakfast. Ocracoke

campground and hit the tarmac at full speed. Getting to the

was now off-limits due to the destruction caused by Hurricane

ferry was hit and miss, since fat bikes aren’t the fastest of vehicles

Dorian. The island was closed to all but residents and key

when you’re in a hurry. As we pulled in to the dockside parking

workers who were allowed on the ferries over. And without the

lot we could see the ferry was there: the gangplank still down

combined ferry trips via Ocracoke, we had a 200km detour by

and we were waved on by the attendant.

THIS PAGE: Clean and offshore at Pea Island Nature Reserve, the half-unloaded bikes framed our surf session.

FACING PAGE: Bri mind-surfing perfect banks as we raced to the Ocracoke ferry.

38

As we high-fived, dismounted, and set our wobbly legs on

I was feeling pretty apprehensive as we approached

deck, the captain wanted to see our paperwork. Frantic going

Ocracoke: I wasn’t certain what to expect on the other side. The

through emails on phones commenced, and although Chuck’s

ferry was filled with people from all walks of life. Chancers and

emails were all good, the all-important letter of acceptance from

tradesmen, locals and NGO-types all seemed to be drawn to

the sheriff ’s office was missing. We couldn’t reach Chuck on the

help whatever their motivations. As we docked and rolled into

phone, so we disembarked and watched as the ferry we ‘couldn’t

the little port, we quickly found an island laid to waste by a

miss’ sailed for Ocracoke without us.

hurricane. The poet Syvia Plath once described a hurricane as ‘a

We sank beers in the Hatteras Grill, and eventually Robin

monstrous speciality, a leviathan. The sulphurous afternoon went

managed to get Chuck on the phone. The necessary paperwork

black unnaturally early… Then the wind. The world had become

was sorted, and Chuck had us booked on the first ferry the next

a drum. Beaten, it shrieked and shook. The only sound was a

morning. We camped at a nearby campsite and stocked up from

howl.’ No doubt this is what Ocracoke had felt like in the midst

the local store, a classic American small town joint that sold

of Hurricane Dorian.

everything from firearms to jams, and postcards to fishing bait.

I was witnessing the aftermath of this ‘monstrous speciality’

With our panniers fully loaded, we were set for the morning.

that Plath so brilliantly described. Ocracoke was an island blown

When morning came, under the cover of darkness we packed

to bits, and this was three full weeks after the event. I can’t

down our tents and loaded the bikes. We rolled down the road

comprehend what it must have looked like directly after the

as dawn was breaking and on to the ferry, this time successfully.

storm had hit. The couple of days we spent on Ocracoke passed

And as the first beams of sun broke over the horizon of the

in a blur. We were given a house to work on with an experienced

Pamilco Sound, a pod of dolphins trailed us as we sailed out.

team, and we set about to remove any flood-damaged parts,

We cruised south down the beach, hollering at each other as yet another perfect set reeled down a new bank

The sulphurous afternoon went black unnaturally early. Then the wind.

The world had become a drum.

- Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)

THIS PAGE TOP TO BOTTOM: The devastated main street leading into Ocracoke’s town centre; the expedition team took a few days off from the surf and the road to help the locals clean up after the massive storm. / On Cedar Island the landscape changed dramatically; the destruction of Hurricane Dorian is evident in the stripped trees of this mangrove. / An abandoned car with an engine bay full of seagrass speaks volumes about what happened to Ocracoke when the full force of Hurricane Dorian hit in late August 2019.

FACING PAGE TOP ROW, L-R: Breakfast, Cape Lookout. / Garry ‘Look mum, no hands’ Conley. / All smiles for Bri on the first evening surf of the trip, at False Cape State Park.

FACING PAGE MIDDLE ROW, L-R: Bri finishes a classic Outer Banks early morning session / The best waves of the trip, for about half an hour before the tide filled in, just south of Pea Island Nature Reserve. / Catching the dawn ferry to Ocracoke.

FACING PAGE BOTTOM ROW, L-R: A cold beer makes the miles worth the pain, Harkers Island. / Gravel roads leading toward the North Caroline Stateline, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. / With beer and fishing, we embraced the Outer Banks way of life.

40

which was basically the first 1.2 meters from the floor up.

the little Coffrey board went well, and I slipped down the line on

We ripped out walls and floorboards up to show beams and

a couple of lovely waves. Everyone properly filled their boots on

joists. It was hot, dirty, and sweaty work – but it felt good to help

our final surf of the trip, and came away smiling, sunburnt and

out the people of Ocracoke in whatever way we could.

stoked. We had a little ride as the sun went down to an apartment

We missed our ferry as we tried to leave: the captain promptly

Robin had booked, where we spent the evening looking back,

turned around to pick us up, and we sailed onwards towards Cedar

ruminating over the past ten days with cold beers in our hands as

Island. From here, we hoped to get another ferry to Cape

we stripped the kit from the bikes. Would we ever do this trip

Lockout, but the ferry was no more and it was a Sunday, so no

again? We talked about Scotland and Mexico, and places further

private boats would take us: it’d be a long hot slog on the bikes.

afield; dreams of roads and waves not yet ridden.

Sixty kilometres later, we rode on to Harkers islands and again

Atlantic islands, no matter their geographical position, are

missed the last ferry to Cape Lookout – the most southerly point

always characterised by storms. Hurricanes have shaped life on

of The Outer Banks. We started to pitch our tents before a kindly

The Outer Banks for centuries. Extremely exposed coastal areas,

couple gave us the keys to a little apartment, which was partly

such as these islands, will be the places where the effects of

renovated so had no beds, but we had cold Corona beers.

climate change are experienced most intensely. And, as we

We were on the first ferry the next morning and Cape Lookout was the perfect ending to our ride. Small fast peelers and

discovered on Ocracoke, they might also be the places where the motivation to deal with these huge issues will come from.

41

I N T O T H E C R Y S TA L C U R R E N T

Pa ckrafting & ski tourin g B r i t i sh Co lu m bi a ’s Co as t M o u nt ai n s Story | Carmen Kuntz Photography | Andrew Burr

An Unusual Idea

when Arctic outflow winds sent temperatures plummeting at

Frozen fingers and stiff waterproof zips are never the best

home in Squamish in early March, the dates we’d penciled in

combination. But perhaps it is just this kind of combination that

for the trip seemed a bit ambitious. Despite our trip’s close

makes an adventure in both whitewater and snow so different.

proximity to civilisation – we would be less than 30 kilometres

It’s 7am on an unseasonably cold Tuesday in March. Just

as the crow flies from the mountain town of Squamish –

minutes ago, a friend dropped us off on the side of Canada’s

the basics of mountain wilderness survival would apply

iconic Sea-to-Sky highway, which connects the Pacific Ocean

just the same. Food, water, shelter, and warmth would be

at Vancouver to the Coast Mountains of Whistler. With hoods

critical. Warmth, in particular, was on our minds. We knew we

up and gloves on, we trudged through hip-deep snow to the

were going to need more than just whisky to keep us warm

edge of the Cheakamus River. My dexterity was already limited

out there.

when I started stuffing my sleeping bag, sleeping mat, boots and clothes into the tubes of my packraft.

The Cheakamus River

After fumbling the packraft zips shut with hands that felt

Pivoting through rapids scattered with ice-encrusted rocks,

like clubs, I inflated my boat, creating a whitewater vessel that

I tried to keep my hands dry as we passed psychedelic

doubled as a kind of giant drybag. This is where things got

mushroom-like ice formations. We weaved around massive

unusual; I grabbed my skis and poles, and lashed them to the

frozen cedar logs; huge relics from the British Columbia’s past

outside of my inflatable raft. And then I pushed off into the

and present logging industry. I caught myself picturing my

current, laughing at the strange view of a pair of ski tips

sleeping bag inside my raft tube, literally bouncing off rocks in

crashing through whitewater.

shallow spots, or breaking waves in rapids. I was still getting

The plan was simple enough. We would combine travel across

used to this whole inflatable raft concept.

water in both its liquid and solid states by paddling two rivers, on

Rok and I are whitewater kayakers. And kayakers typically

either side of the same mountain. In between, we would draw

don’t like carrying kayaks. Any expedition paddler will agree

some lines in the snow with skis under us and packrafts on our

that portaging a boat through thick forest, across slippery rocks,

backs. We would use a unique combination of skis and packrafts

or up steep riverbanks is the worst part of the sport. Packrafts,

to get to know these two rivers – and the frozen source of some

however, offer a far lighter alternative. These inflatable, single-

of that water. Paddling the Cheakamus River was first segment of

person mini-rafts can’t run technical class V rapids or drop

this three-stage winter adventure, with some mellow class two

waterfalls. But they are inflatable, floatable, lightweight

whitewater leading to the base of Cloudburst Mountain. Here, we

facilitators of good times on the water. Ours were made of

would roll up the rafts, strap them to our backs and ski tour up

durable ultra-light nylon and had waterproof zips allowing the

the 1800m peak. Then, we’d ski down the other side to launch the

tubes to be filled with gear. They weigh less than eight pounds

rafts into the Squamish River and paddle the final 30 kilometres

when deflated and can be rolled into a packable bundle small

to the Pacific Ocean in Howe Sound to complete our ski-packing,

enough to fit in (or on) a backpack. They’re kind of perfect for

raft-skiing, whatever-you-want-to-call-it adventure.

exploratory adventures, I thought, after I first paddled one. This

Convincing my Slovenian boyfriend Rok and our

trip would prove whether or not my hunch was accurate.

photographer buddy Andrew that this trip was a good idea was

Navigating whitewater in the winter meant taking dry lines

easier than expected. Paddle. Ski. Paddle. Simple concept. But

and triple-checking our spray decks were taught.

PREVIOUS PAGES: Following seals and seagulls from the freshwater of the Squamish River into the salt water of the Pacific Ocean with the granite dome of the Stawamus Chief reflecting the last of the day’s sunlight.

FACING PAGE: Navigating the cornice-encrusted approach to the peak of Cloudburst Mountain, the 1800 metre summit that rises above the head of Howe Sound, British Columbia.

45

It was the kind of cold where a deep intake of breath causes the hairs in your nostrils to freeze together

But water found its way in, as it invariably does, and we

a morning spent paddling to the mountain’s base. Ahead of me,

were soon paddling with freezing puddles in our boats. Around

the stories of rapids and river-ice drip off my friends’ backpacks

midday, we swapped paddles for poles and attached our

as they toil uphill, hinting at the origins of this water in the

dripping, deflated rafts to our backpacks. We stepped out of the

Cheakamus River, by now some 800m below us.

river sand, onto the snow, and into our skis to start the long skin up Cloudburst Mountain.

As light dwindles, we stomp out a tent spot and inhale our dinner. Tonight the temperature will drop to -15 degrees

Even as we were transitioning from one sport to another,

Celsius, and the wind will blow hard: very physical reminders

calling this trip an ‘expedition’ felt like an exaggeration. Isn’t an

that in the mountains, ‘surviving the night’ is not a cliché, it’s a

expedition going somewhere no one has been? This trip,

reality. As we tucked into our sleeping bags, squirming and

though, was certainly an adventure. We are conditioned to

shifting to add some warmth, it was shocking to think that we

think that adventures like this require big budgets and that they

were just 10 kilometres as the crow flies from the nearest road.

must occur in very wild, far flung locations. But the three of us

On a map of BC, it looked more like we were camping in an

had our own idea of what adventure meant. We weren’t trying

extension of Squamish’s backyard than the backcountry.

to go the fastest, to get to the highest point, or take it to the

Despite our proximity to the comforts of civilization, the basics

extreme. We just looked at a map, gathered or borrowed gear,

of mountain survival still applied up here. We went to sleep

and got creative. The entire five-day route would occur within

that night like a bunch of nervously excited scouts squished

cell phone reception, yet with skis underfoot and packrafts

together in a small tent, listening to the snowflakes dancing

strapped to our backs, we were somehow using our backyard to

lightly on the tent flysheet outside.

create a challenging adventure close to home.

Fueled by oats and cowboy coffee, we crunched upwards the next morning through silent glades of cedars and spruce.

Cloudburst Mountain

True to the mountain’s name, afternoon clouds rolled in and

Cloudburst Mountain is a sprawling granite massif marking

visibility became limited. At a similar pace, the realisation

the southernmost point of the Squamish-Cheakamus divide,

settled in that we wouldn’t summit and ski down today.

where the two rivers feed fresh snowmelt to the Pacific Ocean.

We were forced to set camp early, and chose a spot near the

As we skinned uphill, I contemplated the frozen and liquid

tree-line in a sparse stand of gangly western hemlocks.

water that made this trip possible. Skiing is a highly visible

It was bitterly cold: cold enough that fingers come out of

activity, where only intense wind, heavy snow or the warmth of

mitts just long enough to light the stove or stir the pasta. This

the sun can erase the story of an ascent or descent. Paddling,

was the kind of cold where a deep intake of breath causes the

conversely, is an almost untraceable activity, where paddle

hairs in your nostrils to freeze together. Add in that charming

strokes disappear as soon as the blade leaves the water. A few

element called windchill, and you have conditions where

footprints in the riverside snow and sand were all we left after

constant movement is the only way to stay warm.

46

Our ‘accessible adventure’ was quickly becoming more

the uphill slog of the previous days on Cloudburst Mountain.

exciting. The sun drew us out of the tent early and a bluebird

We had a few hours of sheltered paddling before the wind

day greeted us. Navigating the cornice-crusted ridgeline in the

worked up again, and blasted frozen sand in our faces. We

bright sunshine, we reached the summit well before midday.

zipped past the riverbank, flowing closer now to the Pacific,

Our time on the very top of Cloudburst Mountain was

but also closer to the residential areas of Squamish itself. In

brief. We snapped some pictures and slapped some high fives,

certain spots, the river ran just metres from roads and homes,

and then tucked away from the wind to have a quick summit

and the Squamish First Nation communities that stand

snack, watching the Squamish River snaking down the valley

buffered and hidden by thick flood forest. But the scattered

far below and into the Pacific.

driftwood and meandering braids of this wonderful, wild river

Skins came off, but hoods stayed tightly secured against the

made it feel like we were on much more remote waters in BC’s

whipping wind and we started the frozen descent, using gravity

furthest backcountry. Small rapids, swifts, and fast-moving

to follow the path of the water cycle back downhill. We

sections pulled us along, and we revelled in the ease of

experienced the sharp textures of wind slab and crust on the

travelling once again by water in its liquid form, leaving not a

upper slopes, and the soggy slog of sun-cooked mashed potato

trace behind our boats.

snow lower down. We moved fast on the switch-backing, snow-

There was no need for our paper map anymore; the river

packed logging road – popping on the rollers, humps and jumps

knew where to go. Our navigation over the past few days had

– before bare gravel marking the snow-line forced us to shoulder

been devoid of technology; a paper map, decent backcountry

our skis and walk a tedious five kilometres to the riverbank.

navigation skills, and common sense was all we brought. For

Here, the reward of whitewater awaited us once again.

emergencies, I carried my cell phone deep in my pack. But I almost forgot it was there. It felt light and refreshing to be

The Squamish River

without screens and buttons, an increasingly unusual experience

The satisfaction of unrolling a packraft carried over a

in the backcountry today.

mountain erased any thoughts of retreat, as we crossed a dirt

Because we were just outside of town, our route was more

road that lead to town, frequented by local fishermen in pick-

of a direction than a plan, and we used large landmarks like

ups. It was still cold. We could have called it quits and hitched

storm-drains and the occasional clear-cut swathe to orient

a ride back to town. But the feeling of floating on the clear

ourselves. If at any point we had veered way off course, we

water of the Squamish River was glorious, and contrasted with

would have met a creek, a rural road, or the Squamish River.

FACING PAGE: Follow the leader – bootpacking to the summit of Cloudburst Mountain with our boats on our backs.

THIS PAGE: Dodging giant trees and picking dry lines on the Cheakamus River between Squamish and Whistler.

47

Each icy paddle stroke of our journey confirmed the philosophy that adventure should also be fun

We weaved and wandered at times and were not as efficient

multiple states proved to be quite the combination. By the time

in tracking our course, but we problem-solved our way toward the

we pulled our boats on shore, we could compare how water

summit and then the river, which just added to the adventure.

behaves when it crystallizes overnight on the steel edge of ski,

We had been optimistic that we would gain a few degrees

or when it floats through the air after a powder turn, or how it

of warmth down in the valley, but the moist river air and cold

moves over a shallow gravel bar in the river. The tracks and

Arctic wind funneled down from the higher slopes and taught

trails of this winter adventure were written in the snow, sand,

us that expectations can be unfriendly. Sleeping on hard-frozen

frost and frozen water, and would disappear at different

sand beneath our tent, we waited for the sun to coax us out in

intervals. Some, like the pull of a paddle stroke in a swirling

in the morning. When we emerged, the only way we could boil

eddy, were already long gone. Others, like our skin tracks up on

water without the wind blowing the stove out was by lying

Cloudburst Mountain, would disappear only with the spring.

partially inside a massive old-growth driftwood stump.

Over cold beer and fresh sushi, we shared stories of our

Comically, just a few hundred metres away, and out of sight on

adventure with friends, and somehow the cold nights started to

the other side of the river, people were boiling water in kettles

seem less cold. The struggle of skinning and skiing with

to make their morning coffee. As we flowed closer to town,

cumbersome packs transformed into something very funny.

those people started appearing on the banks, walking the

After all, isn’t adventure primarily about fun – about

riverside trails with kids on bikes or dogs off-leash, enjoying the

exploring and experiencing the unknown in a state of play?

almost-spring sunshine.

Each icy paddle stroke and every waterlogged step of this

They probably thought we were crazy for paddling the

adventure confirmed that philosophy. We unintentionally

Squamish in such cold weather; if only they knew how far we

proved you don’t need expensive plane tickets, weeks of

had really travelled.

planning, or fancy navigational technology to enjoy the

Our pre-trip tidal chart check paid off, and on our final day

wilderness. To appreciate the experience of the backcountry,

we timed our transition from fresh water to saltwater with the

you really just need a crazy idea and some willing friends to join

receding tide. Compared to other parts of our trip, the final leg

you. As a Canadian, I know I’m spoilt for choice for close-to-

was one from an adventure fairy tale. The breeze diminished to

home adventures. But this trip opened my mind for many new

a very slight tail wind, the draw of the outgoing tide pulled us

trips I’d never previously considered. It also highlighted how a

through the estuary, and a group of curious seals escorted us

multi-disciplinary approach can open up new opportunities for

into Howe Sound and the water of the Pacific. The sun was on

adventures closer to home.

the horizon as we took our last paddle strokes to finally land on

Over another round of beers, cracked with wind-chapped

the shore at Nexen Beach close to downtown Squamish,

fingers and sipped with sun-burnt smiles, the stories kept

among the eerie wooden skeletons of the old shipyard.

coming; stories of hardship and accomplishment, of mischief and

From the windswept alpine environment to pebbled river beds, this simple idea of combining two sports and water in

48

laughter. Some we share, some we keep inside, and some simply disappear when the snow melts and the river rises in spring.

FACING PAGE: A few glorious moments of sunshine can (almost) make you forget the Arctic outflow winds that will greet you around the next corner.

TOP LEFT: Passing time between sundown and sleeping bag time at camp two on the tree-line.

TOP RIGHT: Packrafting the Cheakamus River with gear-stuffed boats.

CENTRE LEFT: Socked in by fog and setting camp early near the peak of Cloudburst Mountain.

CENTRE RIGHT: Paddle high-fives and wind-burnt smiles floating in Howe Sound near Squamish’s downtown.

LOWER: Cold hands, cold beers and cold memories of a trip through whitewater and snow.

49

KEMPSTON HARDWICK

The secret diary of B ed fo r d s hi r e’ s g r ea t es t a dv e nt u r e r Story | Kempston Hardwick

Illustration | Dan Milner

Part 5: An Eco-Friendly Welsh Interlude

W

hat I really love about today’s World Of Adventure is

rewarded with the instant approbation by faceless online peers

just how instantly immediate it is.

we quite rightfully expect, we faced an arduously slow validation

If I had to choose a tag-line for a perfect world (and my

process involving trips to Snappy Snaps and photo printing.

Instagram channel), it would be Adventure Now! And yes, the

Back then, everything took time, and it’s time we just don’t

exclamation mark is key. Time waits for no adventurer, as I like

have. Imagine claiming the summit of Kinder Scout in the

to remind Kate and the kids when they’re dragging their heels

Peak District, arms held aloft in victory, and then having to

on the way up Scafell in the drizzle every October.

wait a week to share the proof. A whole week! That’s like a year

What’s more, Adventure Now! goes hand in hand with my

of anyone’s Adventure Now! agenda these days.

own mantra: Love Life And Live To Love Adventure. I think it’s

I’m not boasting, of course, but I regularly tick off most of

catchy. Okay, I didn’t come up with it – I read it on a bumper

the Munros in that sort of time nowadays. Very regularly, in

sticker on a people carrier in Colorado Springs. But I would

fact. And anyway, when you collected your Kodak moments

probably have penned it myself given enough time. Just like

(whatever they were), there was nowhere online to share them

those monkeys that will come up with the complete works of

with anyone. How did we ever manage?

Shakespeare one day if they’re let loose with typewriters...

Thank heck that kids these days won’t face such problems.

Adventure Now! is the go-to mindset of any modern

No, thanks to my old friends same-day-delivery and budget

adventurer, and for good reason. There’s no better moment to

airlines, thanks to fat skis and Strava, and the religious zeal of

be imbibing adventure’s giddy brew than in the here-and-now.

product managers throughout the outdoor industry, today is all

Adventure is all about immediate payback: the instant buzz

about Adventure Now! And it’s also about realising tomorrow’s

that glues together our endorphin stratosphere and harvests

adventures today (another bumper sticker, that one).

multiple likes on our social media accounts. I mean, back in the

Know what I mean? I’m sure you do.

Dark Ages of canvas tents, blue cagoules and mountain bikes

And no, I just can’t harmonise with the ne’er-do-wells

with just 12 pitiful gears, we had to be patient.

negativity that opines that this race towards faster, higher and

I get it, patience is a virtue; but it was tiring having to wait

bigger is incompatible with a healthy planet. They just need to

to reap the rewards of outdoorsy endeavours. Those were hard

get out more. C’mon, nothing allows appreciation of our

times, back in the Dark Ages. A new backpack meant venturing

beautiful planet more than being out among its slowly wilting,

physically into a shop; planning a wilderness foray meant

surgical-mask-carpeted green spaces.

pouring over paper maps; paying for a two week trip to India

And when it comes to Adventure Now! there’s one specific

demanded two years of saving, and running was even called

object that shines in the virtuous light of appreciation amid a

jogging – which is just nauseating.

garage stacked high with the fat, the fast and the hi-tech – and

This was an era when just skiing powder – something I see

that’s my new mountain bike. It’s electric – as I’m sure you

as a fundamental human right – took ages to learn on ridiculous

know. This simple machine – it is just like those pedalled

skinny skis, which were embarrassing as they resulted in lots of

by my two-wheeled Ethiopian brethren, albeit mine has a

wipeouts. In adventure’s yesterworld, going anywhere took ages

big motor – has become my Ultimate Tool Of Outdoor

to plan and eons to undertake. And then, rather than be

Empowerment, or UTOOE.

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I rode and I rode at full electric throttle, smashing through the Welsh wilderness, scattering sheep.

Nothing beats travelling fast through beautiful places!

It’s better than my sea kayak, or any of my many SUPs.

company who generate it in England says their electricity is the

It’s better than my tents. And it’s even better than my trusty

best and the cleanest. Anyway, I thought I’d charged it. Maybe

twig-burning stove that has a USB output to charge my iPad,

Kate unplugged the bike to put the tumble dryer on. Hmmm,

GPS and mini boombox speakers at camp – though not at the

I do remember Luke’s soccer kit needed drying.

same time, obviously. This two-wheeled marvel is my essential ticket to Adventure Now! I love the way it immerses me in the wild so quickly, and seemingly without any effort whatsoever. Isn’t that weird?

Flat batteries and Adventure Now! don’t really mix. I still had places to go, a life to live, even some prayer flags that we bought at a little shop in Notting Hill three years ago to hang.

I had more quality planet time to be had, and I couldn’t wait to

I took it to Wales the other week where 750 Watts would

grab it. Who can? So I reached for my phone. Wow, still 90%

allow me some proper me-time, alone on a hill with nothing

power. Get in! Phone batteries are so much better now.

but my thoughts and golden selfie moments. I rode and I rode

Something to do with cheaper lithium from Chile I hear.

at full throttle, smashing through the Welsh wilderness,

The mountain rescue helicopter took just 22 minutes. I timed

scattering sheep. Nothing beats travelling fast though beautiful

it on my Fitbit and shared it online. Some commentators

places! I dropped into valleys and crested over hills like a

suggested it was an extravagant abuse of resources. Well, the pilot

veritable lone ranger. I splashed through streams that have not

told me it burns 300 litres of jet fuel per hour, but I needed this

yet echoed with the gasps of wild swimmers. And I powered

mercy flight to pluck me from nature’s cruel, menacing grip.

effortlessly up rocky staircases, appreciating the empowering

I mean, I really had no alternative, did I? E-bikes weren’t made to

physicality of 3-inch wide rubber tyres. This was more than a

be pushed across hillsides in Wales, and it would have taken at

ride; it was a journey. It was a chance for self-growth and

least an hour and twenty minutes to push it back to the car.

reflection. I rode until I reached the deepest point on my

So here I was, the only passenger in the fastest Uber ever.

downloaded route, a whopping 12 miles from the car park.

Anyway, it was a heck of a lot quicker than walking and that

I was out way there and it had only taken 42 minutes.

had benefits. It meant I got home with time to open my laptop

In essence, I’d smashed it... whatever ‘it’ is.

and plan my next adventure. I had it done in four minutes. Four!

And then, without warning, the battery died. Are they meant to do that?

WTF. I charge it with nuclear electricity. The French

I feel I’m finally mastering the fine art of Adventure Now! I best go plug in the bike before I post my trip on Insta.

Can’t they make them charge faster?

Kempston Hardwick is a keen-as-mustard-adventurer and dad (in that order). Old enough to remember Sony Walkmans, Hardwick def ies his rapidly amassing years by seeking outdoor recreation at every opportunity, and the exponentially mind-expanding escape from domesticity it offers. His irrepressible readiness to embrace al-fresco challenges has delivered him with worldly-wise opinions that he applies to every turn in life, whether bagging Munros or browsing the organic frozen pizza aisle of Waitrose. He sports a curiosity-of-self that’s akin to most adventurers, something that is largely attributed to holidays in Anglesey with nonchalant parents. It is believed he was named after the place where he was conceived; a railway station on the Bedford to Bletchley line. He is a good friend of adventure photographer Dan Milner.

52

THE AUSTRAL OCEAN

M arine A nt ar c t i ca t hr ou g h t he l en s Story & photography | Ángel Pérez Grimaldi

FACING PAGE: A silhouette of a king penguin against the midday austral sun shows in detail the perfect transition of colours in their plumage. King penguins are the second largest species of penguin after the Emperor penguin. They have been recorded diving at depths of up to 300 metres. They can be up to 100cm tall and weigh up to 18kg.

THIS PAGE TOP: A massive iceberg drifts in front of a distant mountain range in the Antarctic Peninsula under the morning mist.

THIS PAGE LOWER LEFT: A pair of king penguins seem curious about their own reflection in one of the lagoons formed by melting glaciers on Salisbury Plain, South Georgia.

THIS PAGE LOWER RIGHT: A female leopard seal, more than 3m in length, rests on the ice during a snowfall. At the beginning of the austral summer, leopard seals are mostly seen on land or on the ice. As soon as the penguin chicks moult their feathers and start to swim, it's common to see leopard seals hunting penguins in the water near the colonies.

The leopard seal is among the top predators in the Antarctic environment: its only predator is the killer whale. A large leopard seal reportedly attacked Thomas Orde-Lees (1877–1958), a member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–

1917, when the expedition was camping on the sea ice. In 2003, biologist Kirsty Brown of the British Antarctic Survey was killed by a leopard seal while snorkeling in Antarctica, in the first (and only) recorded human fatality from a leopard seal.

55

T

hese images reveal the unique fauna and landscape of

I’ve had several close calls with avalanches and ice calving

the Antarctic peninsula in locations such as Neko

while operating near glaciers; mini-tsunamis can be formed at the

Harbour, Paradise Bay, Port Lockroy, and the Lemaire

beach landing sites by rolling and imploding icebergs, even if the

Channel, as well as the Subantarctic islands of South

event happens hundreds of meters away from where you are.

Georgia and the Falkland Islands. The photographs were

Data shows that the Antarctic Peninsula is the fastest-

taken during several voyages to Antarctica and the

warming part of the Southern Hemisphere: the mean annual

Subantarctic islands between 2018 to 2020, during the

temperature has risen by about 3°C over the past 50 years. In the

austral summers.

2020-21 season we witnessed a large red algal bloom and minimal

Antarctica remains the wildest place on Earth. Operating

ice in many locations, as well as saw the warmest day ever

in polar regions requires highly attuned risk assessment; there

recorded in Antarctica (a balmy 20.75 degrees Celsius on 20th

is no marine rescue anywhere nearby, and the nearest properly

February 2020, at Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station).

equipped hospital is in Ushuaia, Argentina – several thousand

It has never been more important to share our knowledge and

miles away. In an emergency, help may take days to arrive.

our experiences of nature, and to encourage others to learn and

Ferocious katabatic winds can whip up in minutes, sending

connect with it. As the naturalist E. O. Wilson proposed in his

the temperature into freefall.

1984 theory of biophilia, we have an inherent urge to connect to

On land, the environmental situation can go from peaceful contemplation to serious danger in an instant.

56

wildlife and wild places. Only by feeling we are part of nature do we realise its importance, and become willing to protect it.

Only by feeling we are part of nature do we realise its importance, and become willing to protect it

FACING PAGE: An iceberg shows the incredible sculpting forces of wind, rain and seawater.

THIS PAGE TOP: A pod of playful Commerson’s dolphins surf the waves off the Falkland Islands.

THIS PAGE LOWER: A humpback whale breaches at the end of the austral summer. After spending several months feeding on Antarctic krill, these incredible creatures will head north to their breeding grounds in Central America, completing a 10,000km annual migration journey.

57

TURNING POINT

A two hu nd r e d -m i l e wal k t hro ug h m a in l a nd B r i t a i n ’ s w i l d e s t r e g i o n Story & Photography | Richard Gaston

The farthest northwest corner of the British mainland is a truly wild place; a region of myth and legend on the very edge of the map. The name Cape Wrath is an English translation of the Old Norse word ‘hvarf ’, meaning ‘turning point’. On their voyages of discovery and conquest around the coasts of northern Europe over a thousand years ago, the Vikings would turn their longships around once they sighted the Cape, and head back for Norway and home. In the absence of accurate maps, these ancient explorers instinctively knew, somehow, that Cape Wrath marked an important threshold – the point where the European continent makes way for the vastness of the North Atlantic Ocean.

aking the long route to Cape Wrath from Fort William,

Day four

240 miles to the south, had been on my radar ever since

It was a tough yet rewarding day, but it couldn’t compare to the

my first forays into the Scottish Highlands. The appeal was the

poor guy who was abandoned by his mates at Sourlies Bothy –

idea of pushing north until you can’t physically go any further,

he injured his leg, and none of the large group he was with

and you come to the turning point the Vikings first identified.

decided to stay as they headed to Inverie and called in help.

To get there, I would have to negotiate Scotland’s largest and

Sourlies was the midway point in the day, and I was beat.

finest wilderness region: barren mountains, sweeping glens,

Nonetheless, I bashed my way through another four miles of

high waterfalls, remote beaches, and the vast, relentless bog.

bog amongst the spectacularly wild Knoydart hills. It was

This route is regarded as one of the hardest long distance hikes

mentally taxing, just hoping the next step wouldn’t dunk me

in the UK, which few fully complete. Wild camping is not just

knee-deep in bog. So I cut the day short, and set up an idyllic

necessary up here; in the absence of any human infrastructure,

camp in an extraordinary hidden valley by the River Cornach.

T

it’s absolutely essential.

Day five Day one

The much-welcome luxury of an actual path took me out of the

I set out for the Cape in September, 2020. Heavy downpours

Knoydart wetland wilderness. The ongoing battle to dry my

were forecast around Fort William throughout the day, but I

boots was finally a possibility, albeit a short one. The route

remained committed – and nervous. The humble red-hulled

merely guided me along one of the most magnificent lochs in

ferry took me over Loch Linnhe to the beginning of the route;

Scotland, Loch Hourn – a spectacularly steep and narrow

a dramatic opening worthy of any epic adventure. I set off and

fjord-like valley. An 800m climb from here up to ‘The Saddle’

made my way through the lush green glens of Lochaber under

would be the highest and most physically demanding point of

continuing yellow warnings of relentless rainfall. No amount of

the entire trail – a significant milestone on the journey.

Gore-Tex could protect against this onslaught, and I was completely soaked down to my base-layer. Stopping for a snack

Day six

brought immediate shivers, so pushing on was the best option.

The next day, I woke up to a crisp and beautiful morning in

The lack of food had taken its toll by the time I made a final

Glen Shiel and wandered through the Kintail forest towards

river crossing; I had nothing left in me to proceed. Any

the Falls of Glomach; this graceful waterfall is one of the

campsite would do at this point, and I settled for the flattest

country’s tallest, dropping 113m down into Glen Elchaig.

patch in a nearby forest. I was hungry, everything was wet, and

Here, I heard rumours of a girl doing the route barefoot from a

my mood was low. It was hard to appreciate the beauty of my

local farmer. ‘She not too far ahead’, he said. Surrounded by

surroundings today with my head burrowed into my hood:

dark barren land, Maol Bhudhie Bothy sat proudly, brushed

a respectable introduction to the Cape Wrath Trail.

red by the setting sun where an alfresco freeze dried meal was thoroughly enjoyed as I watched the sunset with Naz.

Day two

The rumours were true: she was the girl the farmer had

The following day was filled with mixed emotions. I already had

mentioned. I walked with her the following morning in

blisters on my feet, which brought about some serious doubts –

fascination as she gently moved across the pathless terrain with

what state will they be in a week from now? But at least it was

no shoes, and here was me fixated on keeping my boots dry and

dry, and I was feeling optimistic. I passed under the beauty of

struggling with blisters. We parted ways at Torridon.

the Glenfinnan viaduct and into the lonely glens of the Western Highlands: the magnificent country all around was a powerful reminder of why I was here. The pathless and boggy terrain in Glen Dessary didn’t dampen my mood; I wished I could say the same for my boots. In the back of my mind I knew Knoydart was approaching, which was unnerving. It is one of the wettest and most inaccessible regions in Scotland, and was now the main obstacle to my passage north.

PREVIOUS PAGES: A crisp and frosty morning at Loch Stack with early fog hovering above the water.

FACING PAGE: Loch Stack lies in the heart of the bleak yet captivating landscape of the Cape Wrath moorland: 107 square miles of boggy and craggy wilderness with few footpaths and no road access whatsoever.

61

Day eight

Fort William. Their calls have become my soundtrack; the

Torridon marked the halfway point of the journey, where I

silence is broken only by the deer, the rushing of the river

re-stocked my food supply ahead of entering the Fisherfield

Oykel, or the Duag Bridge Bothy doors rattling in the

Forest. Along with Cape Wrath, Fisherfield is another of the

buffeting winds. I marched on through the rugged beauty of

last true wilderness areas in Britain. A 22 mile hike from here

Assynt where the highest waterfall in the UK, Eas a’ Chual

would be the longest distance I’d cover in a single day. It took

Aluinn, stands proud. This waterfall remains with me as my

me into incredible mountain scenery, where I spent the night

fondest memory of the trail; it was glowing in the morning sun

in the shadow of the imposing bulk of An Teallach, one of the

with a wash of rain. Then, as if by magic, a group of wild horses

tallest Munros in the Northwest Highlands. So far, I had

came running off the hill and down to Glendhu Bothy. In this

lucked out with a week of dry weather, but the following

loneliest corner of Scotland, I felt entirely welcome. For the

morning changed that.

rest of the day, I walked towards Loch Stack with a smile on my face.

Day nine I underestimated the day's route today. The rain and wind was

Day twelve

brutally intense, and I thought I would be in Ullapool in a

This penultimate day was bookended with beautiful

couple of hours. But when I came to understand how far I

conditions; first, I woke to a crisp and frosty morning at Loch

actually had to go, I was stuck in a negative state of mind.

Stack with the fog rolling in over the hills and hovering above

Nonetheless, there was nothing I could do about it but blunder

the water. This was followed later in the day by a hazy sunset

on until I could finally rest in the welcome civilisation of

from my camp on Sandwood Bay; I looked down to the mile-

Ullapool, where I ordered a fish & chips – with extra chips.

long white sands as the waves crashed in from the Atlantic.

It’s the first time I’d felt remotely full in over a week of walking.

The sounds of the ocean signified the nearing end of my journey: Cape Wrath lay only eight miles north, a journey

Day eleven

which I would embark on tomorrow. I perched on a rock and

After a day of rest in Ullapool, the landscape became more

reflected on my proud yet humbling experience. Arriving at

open as I ventured further north. The echoing sounds of the

this point, I knew I had completed the trail regardless of what

rutting deer in the glens have followed me all the way from

the final day may bring.

62

Day thirteen I woke up to a dull and blustery morning amongst the Cape Wrath moorland; a bleak yet captivating landscape situated amongst 107 square miles of boggy wilderness which separates it apart from the rest of Scotland, and from civilisation itself.

Although my feet and body were drenched, nothing could dampen my spirits as my focus was solely engaged on the ever-

As the yellow turret of the Cape Wrath lighthouse slowly revealed itself, I knew I’d reached the end of land: I could venture no further north

nearing ‘turning point’. Like the rising mast of a Viking longship emerging on the waves, the yellow turret of the Cape Wrath lighthouse slowly revealed itself behind the brown peaty landscape. I’d reached the end of land: I could venture no further north. My long journey through the spectacular beauty of the wildest regions in Britain was all-too quickly over. Just as I was getting into the groove of life pursuing a simple objective, it was time to reintroduce myself into the complexities of modernity. Yet as soon as I turned back for home, my journey to Cape Wrath left me hungry for more time to explore the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands on their own terms.

FACING PAGE LEFT: Glencoul Bothy provides a welcome – if austere – shelter next to the waters of Loch Glencoul.

FACING PAGE RIGHT: The author taking the trail north as he leaves Sandwood Bay, one of the wildest beaches on mainland Britain, which defines the southwestern end of the Cape Wrath moorland, the 107 square mile wilderness at the very northwestern edge of mainland Britain.

THIS PAGE LEFT: The Eas a’ Chual Aluinn waterfall – the highest waterfall in the UK – seen from Maol-Bhuidhe Bothy in the early morning sunlight.

THIS PAGE RIGHT: A hazy sunset seen from camp on Sandwood Bay as the waves crash in from the North Atlantic Ocean on the mile-long white sands.

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T H E BA S E I N T ERV I EW

M a ti lda Söder lun d t al k s t o Da v i d P i c k fo r d

Matilda Söderlund is one of the world’s most accomplished sport climbers. With her 2019 ascent of The Elder Statesman in Germany’s Frankenjura, she became one of the few women in history to have achieved the French 9a grade. She’s bouldered to an extremely high standard, being one of only a handful of women to have achieved a V13 standard boulder problem. She has also climbed 8b+ sport routes onsight, with no prior knowledge. Beyond these achievements themselves, and the talent and world-class training regime that underpins them, there’s a f iercely intelligent and quietly determined human being. Matilda is focused not just on her progress as an athlete, but also on using her prof ile as an adventure sportswoman to promote the benef its of the outdoors to a wider audience. I recently spoke to her at home in Stockholm about her life in the vertical, about what climbing has taught her about herself and the world, and about how she sees her career evolving in the future.

Do you remember your first encounter with climbing?

What’s the best thing about living in Sweden as a climber?

I remember it well… [laughs] It was at a friend’s birthday party

Well, when it comes to training and indoor climbing facilities,

in the local climbing gym in Stockholm, where I grew up. I was

Stockholm is a pretty amazing city. But if you want to go

eleven, and the first time I stepped on the wall something just

climbing outdoors, Stockholm isn’t the best place to live. But I

clicked; I really enjoyed the feeling of moving around in the

like having Stockholm as my base, because when I come back

vertical environment.

from a trip I have my family and friends here. I’ve chosen to live in Stockholm more for personal reasons than for climbing.

Even though you started climbing indoors on plastic, you’ve excelled in outdoor sport climbing and bouldering.

You climbed Pure Imagination, an 8c+ sport route, in Red

How did you make that transition?

River Gorge in the USA in 2018. Was that a big moment?

Okay, so real rock climbing came much later. My first few years

Yeah, so it was really quite a journey to send that route!

of climbing were almost exclusively indoors, and I began

I made a goal to climb my first 8c+ before the end of 2018, and

competing in the Swedish youth championships in my early

we were going to spend a whole month in Red River Gorge.

teens. I was quite competitive as a child, and really enjoyed the

This route is a really fantastic climb, with hard moves between

indoor competitions. I didn’t get outdoor climbing at first – it

some quite good rests. But redpointing this was one of the few

seemed scary and really cold [laughs]. The first couple of times I

times I’ve really messed up a project. I was passing the crux

tried actual rock climbing I didn’t enjoy it that much, strangely

within the first few days of trying it, but I made some mistakes

enough. The style of the granite climbing we have in Sweden is

with my sequences and didn’t make any progress. Then the

hard and very technical, and perhaps not the best way to

weather got really cold, and it was impossible to seriously try it.

introduce someone to outdoor climbing! When I graduated

But finally, magically the weather slowly improved, and on the

from high school, I spent a month sport climbing in Spain, and

very last day of the trip I managed to send it on my first try of

that was the first time I really enjoyed rock climbing.

the day.

For a sport climber, climbing your first 8a is always a bit

What did you learn from that lengthly, nail-biting process

of a watershed moment. What do you remember of yours?

of redpointing Pure Imagination?

Yes, so I was just fourteen, and went with my dad to try this 8a

I think it showed me a great deal about why I climb actually;

called I Have A Dream on one of the local crags near Stockholm.

about the reasons I enjoy being on the wall, exploring my own

We put the draws in, then I managed to send it on my first try,

limits and what I’m capable of. The process of climbing is much

which was great. Even though it’s possibly been downgraded

more important than achieving a specific route or project, and I

now, the memory of climbing it has certainly stayed with me.

definitely learnt a lot about that in Red River Gorge.

FACING PAGE: Matilda at home in Stockholm, Sweden. COURTESY HAGLOFS

65

Climbing Pure Imagination (8c+) showed me a great deal about why I climb. The process of climbing is much more important to me than achieving a specific route or project

In 2019, you became one of a very few women in the world to

through to big wall climbing. At the moment, I’m focused on

climb a 9a sport route with your ascent of The Elder Statesman

mastering sport climbing and bouldering and becoming the

in the Frankenjura [Germany]. It’s a super technical and

best climber I can be in these two disciplines. This summer,

sustained face climb in the notorious fingery style of the

I’m planning my first multipitch projects, which is an avenue

climbing in the Frankenjura region. What led to your success

I’m really excited about exploring.

on this route?

I spent a lot of time in the Frankenjura in 2019, and felt I was

Isn’t it interesting how when you try a different form

making really good progress in my climbing. I knew I might be

of climbing, such as moving from sport climbing to trad,

capable of climbing a 9a, particularly in the Frankenjura as the

it can almost seem like you’re doing a different sport?

style there really suits me. When we arrived, it had been raining

Mountaineering is certainly very different to bouldering.

for almost a month and almost everything was wet, but The

Absolutely it is! It’s cool to feel like a complete beginner again.

Elder Statesman was one of the few things that was dry as it’s on

I was struggling on some relatively easy crack climbs in Sweden

a free standing pillar – so doesn’t suffer from any seepage. It’s a

last summer. It’s a totally new game learning to place your own

super beautiful route, with really interesting moves, and there’s

gear, too. You learn and grow a lot by trying these other forms

nowhere you can really rest as soon as you step on the wall.

of climbing.

I made good progress on it and quickly did the easier 8c+ version, without the hard boulder problem start… this meant I

You’re one of the few women in the world to have climbed

developed good fitness for it, and finally linked the whole thing.

a V13 boulder [Armstrong Assis in Nockeby, Sweden].

Is trad climbing and big wall climbing something you’d

This boulder is close to Stockholm, and you can take the tram

like to progress into in the future?

from the city centre to get to it. Doing this boulder problem

Yes, definitely. My long term ambition with climbing is to

was partly an affect of the pandemic, as in April 2020 all my

eventually master all the disciplines – from sport climbing

planned trips got cancelled and I was stuck in Stockholm. And

What did it take to get this done?

THIS PAGE: Matilda training outdoors on one of her local crags near Stockholm, Sweden, where she is based. Her typical training schedule involves 6 days a week of training with just one day of rest.

66

I was thinking well, what should I do now? Everyone was

goes at the project in a day. The simple fact of getting higher

climbing outdoors locally, though. I’d done very little

above the ground makes a difference, and when you get to the

bouldering outdoors before trying this problem – I didn’t think

top it feels like you’ve reached somewhere. You spend more time

I could go and do any V13! [laughs].This particular boulder is

of the wall when you’re sport climbing, so you have more time

very much my style, with tiny holds and slightly overhanging.

to think about where you are and what you’re doing.

Everything was cancelled and the world was upside down, so my friend and I kept going back to this problem. I finally I did

In a 2020 interview with Gripped you said that you really

it, after spending pretty much the whole of April 2020 trying

want to do something that matters and use climbing as a tool

it. I’d never had a bouldering project before, and I became quite

to make an impact. Can you explain this ambition a bit more?

obsessive about it. Everything makes a difference with hard

Well, I’ve thought a lot about climbing as a profession. I studied

bouldering, the conditions are super important, even the type

economics and finance in Stockholm, and seriously though

of chalk you use. I fell off the last move quite a few times, and

about a career in finance after I graduated. I did lots of

you’re not really supposed to fall there. After multiple

internships, but it was terrible! Probably the worst time of my

attempts, I went back to it with some friends after about a

life. And then I figured that I have this gift for climbing, and a

week off due to an elbow injury, then managed to do it.

passion for it – it’s something that comes very naturally to me.

Sometimes a short break like that can be good for completing

And I thought if I have the chance to follow my passion and

a project.

what makes me happy that I should take that chance. If I’ve been given this gift for climbing, then I should do something

The pioneering British climber Ben Moon has said that

useful with it. I feel that climbing could be my tool to affect

sport climbing is more satisfying than bouldering because

other people in a positive way, in a way that’s bigger than

it requires more commitment. Could you ever get into

just climbing.

bouldering as much as you’re into sport climbing?

I’d like to be able to inspire young people to live differently

For me, I think I’ll always enjoy the process of sport climbing a

to the stereotypical lifestyle they’re often presented with, and to

lot more. You put a lot of time and energy into a route, and it

inspire women and girls in particular that they can succeed in

feels like more of a journey. There’s a lot more strategy involved

adventure sports, which have been traditionally a very male-

in sport climbing too, as you have maybe two or maximum three

dominated space, although this is now changing.

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If I’ve been given this gift for climbing, then I feel should do something useful with it. Climbing could be my tool to affect other people in a way that’s bigger than just climbing itself

Can an activity like climbing – or any adventure sport – make a difference to the world?

I’d like to think so. I think climbing as an activity helps a lot of people, it’s a form of meditation in some ways. It can also help with problems in everyday life. You enter this bubble in climbing where you don’t focus on anything else, you also spend a lot of time outside and in nature, which can be hugely beneficial.

Climbing has the potential to open a lot of doors. There’s a lot of stuff you learn in climbing that you can apply to other areas in life. It’s very rewarding to try something that feels almost impossible at first, then get to the point where you can actually do it. This process can happen at any level – the reward and the satisfaction can be same on a 6a as on a 9a. From a personal perspective, climbing has helped me a lot. I think it really builds your confidence and self-esteem. You have to step outside of your comfort zone, which forces you to see what you’re capable of.

Climbing is part of the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the first time climbing has been an Olympic sport.

What effects do you think this is going to have on the sport as a whole?

I think more people will discover climbing through the Olympic presence. We need more diversity in climbing, so this could be a good thing. If you look at the natural ways of moving that have become mainstream sports – running or swimming for example – climbing is also a natural form of movement. Climbing has come from this kind of counter-cultural movement, where it was a niche, rule-free sport, so it will be interesting to see how it continues its transition into a more mainstream sport. Back in the day, you came into climbing through the community of climbers you knew, but now the community is so big it’s perhaps harder for some people to get into climbing, despite the fact there are more people climbing.

You have 81k Instagram followers, is maintaining your social media presence time consuming?

Not really, I post every day but only once usually, about the climbing or training I’ve been doing, so it doesn’t take up too much time. I try to promote the benefits of climbing and generally living a healthy, outdoor life. The connectivity of social media can be problem, though – it’s a double-sided sword. And there’s a big difference between the way men and women are represented through social media, too. Imagine growing up with social media though! The negative aspects for kids are so obvious.

What plans do have for your next big international trip?

I’m planning to go back to the Frankenjura to work on a few other projects, and I also plan to work on my first multipitch project in Switzerland this summer, which I’m really excited about.

Athletic training is a major part of life for a professional sport climber in the 2020s. What does your schedule normally look like when you’re not on a trip?

The winter of 2020-21 has been the longest consistent period of training I’ve ever done, it’s also been my most productive training cycle ever. I’ve been training 6 days per week, and I’ve been trying to work on my power and also my endurance. I feel I’m in my best shape ever, so I’m really looking forward to putting it all into action on the rock this summer.

There’s a certain culture in Scandinavian climbing of not telling others about your own achievements, which is possibly linked to the Norwegian Jantelagen tradition.

Does this culture make life as a professional climber in Scandinavia difficult at times?

This culture does exist to some extent in Scandinavia. In the U.S. it’s the complete opposite, of course! It’s not that apparent in Stockholm, but in the rural areas, in the north of Sweden and Norway, it does still exist. I’ve never found it to be an issue for my own climbing though.

Which figure(s) from climbing history would you most like to climb with, and why?

I’d really like to climb with Lynn Hill [the legendary American climber who made the first free ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in 1993], as she was so influential and possibly the most important female climber in history. It would also have been amazing to climb with Wolfgang Güllich, who was an incredible pioneer of sport climbing back in the 1980s and 1990s.

Sending the hardest routes and boulder problems in the world is a time-limited activity. What do you see yourself doing in 10 or 20 years time?

My vision is to master all the disciplines in climbing, and to do more adventurous stuff whilst pushing my limits. After that, I’d really like to develop my own business or brand in the climbing space, which would use my knowledge of finance and business and combine it with my passion for climbing. There are very few major climbing brands founded by women.

What’s the best thing about living the life of a pro climber?

The fact that I get to do what I love for work is quite special. And having the freedom to control my own schedule is also very valuable. But most of all, climbing is a way I can explore my mental and physical limits.To be able to do this in these amazing wild places, and with some of my closest friends, is an experience that nothing else can beat.

What useful advice would you give to someone who’s just starting out on their journey in climbing?

I’d say the most important things are to climb as much as possible. Don’t care about grades or sending things, just try to climb as many moves and as many metres as you can. And also, even more importantly, try to have fun.

FACING PAGE: Matilda locked in on the next hold during a bouldering session on the Swedish granite.

‘Everything makes a difference with hard bouldering, the conditions are super important, even the type of chalk you use’ she observes.

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BA S E G E A R

Ligh tweigh t inn ov at i ons f or s u m mer 2021

MSR Habitude 4 / 6 American brand MSR are best known for their superb lightweight multi-fuel stoves. Their new Habitude 4 and 6 person tents show that the best-in-class technology they’ve developed for outdoor cooking has been extended into camping itself. The Habitude 4 and 6, which use an identical design, are strong and light 3 season tents that are also remarkably easy to pitch – a quality not often associated with larger tents, and one which gives the Habitude range a distinct advantage over the competition. With standing-height accommodation inside in both models, and a large awning area for cooking and storing gear, these superb tents are perfect for a family or group camping trip, or even as a summer base camp / expedition tent. Finishing touches like sturdy YKK zips, and a strong but lightweight pole setup further consolidate the reputation for quality MSR are known for.

WWW.MSRGEAR.COM

BAM Rowtor Jacket There are few – if any – companies in the outdoor industry with the environmentally-friendly credentials of Britain’s BAM Bamboo Clothing brand. Apparently, bamboo is a remarkably good raw material for sustainable fabrics: it absorbs five times more carbon than hardwood trees, uses half the land cotton needs to produce the same amount of fibre, and it doesn’t need irrigation or pesticides.

Sounds good, right? In practice, BAM’s excellent base layers and other bamboo products prove the point. Their Rowtor Jacket also proves you can make technical outerwear without expensive singleuse fabrics. In this case, BAM have crafted a waterproof and breathable lightweight shell from 98% recycled materials, using a breathable membrane instead of a lining which gives the piece a kind of ‘second skin’ feel. What’s impressive about BAM is their ambition to re-write the traditional rules of performance outerwear with the concept that you can have a highly functional technical fabric without a resource-intensive global supply chain.

WWW.BAMBOOCLOTHING.CO.UK

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Tekrasport TekraPod Brainchild of Irish triathlete and engineer John Hanley, the founder of Tekrasport, the Tekrapod is a new concept for open water swimming safety systems. Dispensing with the traditional tow-buoy, the Tekrapod is essentially an extremely lightweight, low-profile, streamlined emergency buoyancy aid that you wear as a backpack which feels like a second skin, massively reducing the drag and encumbrance of a towed swim-buoy. The internal buoy in the Tekrapod stays inside the pack and doesn’t inflate unless you pull the trigger-cord, meaning you can swim freely and safely in open water with minimal drag.

The Tekrapod conforms to all the regulations of the ITU, the International Triathlon Union which sets the gold standard for open water swimming safety protocol.

The other thing that appeals to the BASE review team about the Tekrapod is that it can also be used for other watersports beyond open water swimming, instead of a waist-belt style emergency buoyancy aid. In this way, the Tekrapod gives an additional level of freedom of movement with the same margin of safety of a waist-belt buoyancy aid for other water-based activities like standup paddleboarding and sea kayaking.

TEKRASPORT.COM

Black Diamond Approach Down Hoody American brand Black Diamond has grown substantially over the past decade from its traditional base as a climbing hardware manufacturer to encompass almost every major product line in the outdoor industry. Its success in so many categories – from skis to tents, and from backpacks to technical outerwear – is to a large extent due to the brand’s relentless design focus on performance above all else.

Something like the Approach Down Hoody shows this process in action: it’s one of the best ultra lightweight down jackets we’ve used, being packable into its own hand pocket (or a tiny stuff sack) yet warm enough to use as an outer layer on cold, dry days for skiing, climbing, or hiking. Using 800 fill power goose down on the inside, and a breathable and water resistant ripstop shell on the outside, it really is quite the package as a piece of lightweight insulation.

The neat transverse panel pattern on the front face gives a zany twist to what is a highly engineered and superbly executed finished product.

BLACKDIAMONDEQUIPMENT.COM

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BA S E T E C H

The Breat hing S hield: the evolution of w aterproof tech ni cal fab ric s Story | Chris Hunt

The forecast hinted at rain, but the probability offered by the Met Office was low – so you deemed the risk worthwhile. And anyway, you’d easily make it home by 7, wouldn’t you? Now, the clouds close up and the sky edges steadily towards monochrome. At 7.15, with at least an hour ahead of you, you picture that waterproof shell drooped over the banister at the bottom of the stairs where you consciously left it. You’ve been caught out enough times to know it – we all have. There’s perhaps no single item of clothing more universally useful in the outdoor environment than the humble waterproof jacket. Today, a performance shell that works in the harshest conditions won’t come cheap, but will always earn its keep.

This is the story of the development of waterproof fabrics, and where we go from here.

History

In ancient Chinese civilisations over a thousand years ago,

The necessity to stay dry is, of course, nothing new; nor are the

umbrellas were weatherproofed using oiled silk which proved

attempts of human beings at staying dry. It’s hardly surprising,

effective and remained extremely light, making for another of

then, to learn that the early solutions for waterproofing started

the world’s first high performance fabrics. Later, in 15th

with natural and animal fibres.

century Europe, sailors treated heavy duty sail cloth – originally

Ötzi, the world's oldest ‘wet mummy’, is believed to have

linen and later cotton – with linseed and flaxseed oil to make

died c.3300 BCE. His body was discovered in 1991 in a glacier

the first ‘oil skins’, or waterproof nautical clothing, before later

in the Ötztal Alps on the Austrian-Italian border. He was

moving to paraffin-based oils for waterproofing.

wearing a form of weatherproof jacket understood to have been

Taking advantage of the semi-permeable membranes of

made from the skins of at least four animals. All the equipment

the natural world, however, wasn't totally out of fashion. The

he had with him was state-of-the-art Chalcolithic [copper age]

Aleut American Indians (of the Aleutian Islands between

technology; but his jacket, in particular, was a remarkably

Alaska and Russian Siberia) made totally waterproof jackets

sophisticated piece of equipment. The need to stay dry and warm,

known as kamleikas using seal and whale intestines; a

as the discovery of Ötzi has shown, lies at the earliest beginnings

gruesome but ingenious invention. And where better to look

of the development of technology in the human story.

to aid your hunt than from the same creatures you’re pursuing?

Touched upon in our Sole Survivors feature from issue 2

They used natural animal glues to seal the seams, which it’s

[in which we looked at the development of rubber in adventure

believed they would test by tying off the cuffs and the neck

footwear] some 3000 years ago the ancient Aztec, Olmec and

before filling with water. Photos exist of these extraordinary

Maya are believed to have made the first ‘technical fabrics’.

jackets that are believed to have been taken as recently as the

Combining rubber tree sap with vine sap, they created a

start of the 20th century.

stretchy waterproof material used for both clothing and to line their dwellings.

FACING PAGE: Michelle Parker bootpacks up into the alpine during a multi-disciplinary bikepacking and ski-mountaineering journey from the Tahoe region (USA) into northern Washington state in June 2020. Along with her expedition partner Cody Townsend, Parker climbed and skied Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier and El Dorado Peak during the month-long, 1,000-mile expedition. BJARNE SALEN / RED BULL

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Modern waterproof textiles

known as today, in 1856 the brand was founded on the

Waterproof textiles on an industrial scale came onto the scene

principle that clothing should be designed to protect its wearers

in 1823, when Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh patented a

from the British weather. By 1879, Burberry invented

double-textured fabric sandwiched around a layer of liquid

gabardine, a breathable, weatherproof and hardwearing fabric

rubber. His patent described the process for manufacturing a

which would revolutionise rainwear.

range of materials from hemp and flax to wool and cotton

Burberry’s clothing was used for sledging overalls in

making them ‘impervious to water and air’. The ‘Mackintosh’

respective expeditions to both poles by Norwegian polar

(note the added k) became a synonym for the rain coat, and

explorers Nansen and Amundsen, as well as Brits Shackleton

Charles Macintosh went on to supply the British Army and

and Scott. It was also used in the first Everest expeditions in the

the police, as well as the disastrous 1824 Arctic expedition to

1920s. On his ill-fated summit attempt in 1924, George Mallory

discover the Northwest Passage led by Sir John Franklin.

was wearing a Burberry climbing suit as his outer layer.

Experimenting with new materials with higher melting

Trademarked in 1879, the technical attributes of Burberry’s

temperatures, chemists’ interest in waxing fabrics made a

gabardine were well ahead of its time. In 2006 Graham Hoyland

comeback on an industrial scale. In 1877, Norwegian captain

conducted field tests on Everest, replicating the clothing used on

Helly Juell Hansen was seeking a more efficient method of

Mallory’s expedition. He concluded that the fabrics were light

protecting his sailors against the harsh Nordic conditions.

and comfortable as well as proving warm enough to use during

By applying linseed oil to cotton canvas, he created supple,

the day. The 1930s eventually saw Burberry’s gabardine replaced

waterproof apparel.

by a fabric designed by Arctic missionary Sir Wilfred Grenfell.

Soon after, he and his wife Margarethe started producing

‘Grenfell cloth’ was also a tightly woven high quality cotton;

‘oilskin’ jackets and trousers in Moss, Norway. Their waterproof

it was light, windproof and waterproof. As the fabric of a

gear was an immediate success, with Helly Hansen controlling

specifically designed climbing suit, it became a mountaineering

65% of the world market for waxed seafaring garments before

classic, used right through to the 1960s.

the end of the 19th century.

The third high performance fabric to come out of the north

Almost two decades previously, Thomas Burberry had

of England was Ventile®. Using long stapled cotton, Ventile

established his eponymous clothing brand. Although Burberry

could keep water out when the yarns swelled, and was

would grow to become the iconic fashion power house it’s

developed initially as a response to the high level of casualties

THIS PAGE: Water droplets ‘beading’ on the face fabric and front zipper of an Arc’teryx Beta AR hardshell. DAVID PICKFORD FACING PAGE: Not a place to be without a decent waterproof shell: Graham Taylor strikes out for the summit above Lenz Rocks on the north side of Mount Elbrus (5,642m), Russian Federation. DAVID PICKFORD

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Layered fabrics using membrane technology have revolutionised waterproof shells since their discovery

by Robert Gore in the early 1970s

among airmen bailing into the frigid waters of the Atlantic

internally to create vascular grafts. The material proved to be

during the Second World War.

particularly useful internally as the porosity of the fabric

Adopting the fabric improved airmen’s survival chances from a few minutes to 20 minutes, making rescue a real possibility. As a result, 80% of anti-submarine pilots who fell into the sea survived, compared to just a handful previously.

enables the body’s tissue to grow through the material meaning the graft would bond seamlessly with the circulation system.

Gore-Tex, however, would become best known for its use as a waterproof breathable fabric in outdoor clothing and

Ventile® was not totally impermeable though meaning it

sportswear. While Gore-Tex fabrics visually appear to be a

was also breathable, making it ideal for a wide range of active

smooth, solid structure, per square inch Gore-Tex membranes

pursuits. In 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary reached the world’s

contain around nine-billion microscopic pores. Those holes

highest point on the first summit of Everest in a garment made

are so tiny that they allow heat and vapour to flow through,

of Ventile® fabric, and in the late ‘70s and ‘80s Sir Ranulph

whilst remaining small enough to create a barrier for larger

Fiennes crossed the Arctic clothed in Ventile®.

water droplets.

In 1989, Gore began to license manufacturers to use the

Robert Gore: technical waterproofing’s arch-pioneer

Gore-Tex material and label; the majority of the leading

Layered fabrics using membrane technology would soon

outdoor manufacturers design their products using various

completely revolutionise waterproof fabrics. In 1969, Robert

forms of its technology. Spend a sustained amount of time in

Gore

stretching

wet conditions, though, and you might find that a

polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) – a synthetic material which

microporous structure like a Gore-Tex membrane could be

would also become known as teflon. He and other chemists had

partial to saturating. As such, the industry developed a liquid

been attempting to stretch rods of PTFE in the range of 10%,

repellency technique to stop the fabric from completely

but by applying sudden pressure the solid PTFE unexpectedly

soaking through and allowing liquid to seep through those

stretched

tiny holes.

was

researching

about

a

process

800%, forming

an

for

extremely

strong

microporous structure that was about 70% air. A patent

Durable water repellent, known as DWR, is a coating

application for expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) was

added to fabrics to make them more water-resistant. You’ve

filed in 1970, and Gore continued to investigate the properties

probably seen DWR as spray on after care products to renew

and uses for the new material, which he quickly – and

the life of a waterproof jacket. Effectively this is a sprayable

ingeniously – trademarked as ‘Gore-Tex’.

version of the fluorinated polymers discovered by Robert Gore,

Gore-Tex is now the world’s best-known waterproof fabric,

a chemistry that’s been used since the ‘50s. More recently

and was quickly adopted for many medical applications,

though, new understanding of its toxic potential has sparked

including burn bandages, micro-filtration and even inserted

research into environmentally friendly alternatives.

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Chemistry used in textile manufacture continues to be developed, considering the longevity, purpose and environmental credentials of the technologies used - Dr. Phillipa Hill

Waterproofing today In relation to all the weatherproof fabrics that have gone before, what does the modern day top of the range waterproof jacket look like? Dr Philippa Hill is the Senior Materials Developer at Rab, one of the UK’s leading outdoor clothing brands. As her job title reflects, she’s at the forefront of pushing the envelope when it comes to waterproof fabrics. Her PhD considered the performance and environmental impacts of liquid repellent finishing in outdoor apparel, and now she sources and develops the fabrics the brand uses across Rab’s entire range: bona fide waterproofing nerdery, right here.

‘I work with our international supplier base looking at fabrics of the future. We work two years in advance’ Philippa tells me. ‘Day-to-day this involves developing and researching new fabrics, concepts and ideas, checking fabrics match our standards, working on our sustainability goals and plans, managing the colour process working with our designers, and being the general encyclopedia of all Rab fabrics’.

For a company like Rab who specialise in outer layers to withstand the worst mountain weather for a range of different activities, fabric innovation is a vital part of business. As such, they work closely with several different fabric manufacturers to best suit the needs of the product dependent on its intended use.

‘Gore-Tex, Pertex and our own brand Proflex offer something for everyone whether you are a fast and light mountain runner, where weight and packability is essential, or working in the harshest winter conditions where a heavier three layer waterproof is required’, explains Philippa. ‘Each has differences in features, fabric, fit and construction. A jacket designed for a high-intensity activity such as mountain running will offer increased breathability as a main feature, whereas a jacket for mountaineering will be focused on durability and being very highly waterproof. We range both general purpose jackets and styles for specific needs such as alpine climbing or winter mountaineering.’

Today though, with more environmentally conscious consumers demanding better practices from brands, across the industry emphasis lies in sustainability as much as it does performance.

‘There is a huge amount of research now going into using bio-based materials for membranes utilising naturally occurring substances, potential for recyclability or biodegradability, and cutting down greenhouse gas emissions. This leads the way to bio-based products using bio-waste materials, engineered lab-grown fabrics and looking at the products end of life’, says Philippa. ‘In addition, chemistry used in textile manufacture continues to be looked at and developed from more sustainable dyeing practices, cutting down the use of water and energy, to re-looking at chemistries used for DWRs and considering their longevity, purpose and environmental credentials.’

But while sustainable practices have stepped into the limelight, continued technological progression and a strong relationship between product designers and the fabrics’ manufacturers themselves, it certainly hasn’t been to the detriment of performance.

‘Using the new Pertex Shield Revolve fabric, our Arc Eco jacket was an ISPO award winner earlier this year’, explains Philippa. ‘The jacket uses a three layer fabric which is made of a polyester face, membrane and backer recycled from post-consumer waste and finished with a fluorocarbon-free DWR. Working with Pertex, we envisage this will be fully recyclable in the future.’

If the trend that Philippa describes here continues, perhaps the most advanced waterproof fabrics of the future will not only be 100% recycled but may also return again to naturally occurring materials, taking the cycle of the history of these technologies right back to ‘Iceman’ Ötzi’s four-animal-skinned copper age prototype shell – a visionary garment that lay safely sealed in a Tyrolean glacier for over five thousand years.

FACING PAGE: The extraordinary waterproof performance of modern technical fabrics can be clearly seen in this close-up image of a pair of Arc’teryx Beta AR pants. DAVID PICKFORD

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B A S E C U LT U R E Look i n g O u t, L ook i n g I n Tessa Lyons | BASE artist-in-residence

Last gasp. Ink and digital media.

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St Bees, Lake District. Monoprint.

Between you and me. Monoprint series.

These monoprints were made during my recent pregnancy. I wanted to explore the lack of boundary between myself and the new being growing inside of me.

Cell-like and ambiguous, these prints were made using found matter from the landscape to further explore the space between ourselves and the natural world.

Caves, Ariège, France. Monoprints.

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How sweetly did they float upon the wings Of silence, through the empty-vaulted night At every fall smoothing the raven down Of darkness till it smil'd!

Conspiracy of Ravens. Ink.

- John Milton (1608 - 1674)

Shenavall bothy, Scotland. Ink.

See the wood through the trees. Monoprint.

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PRO RECORD

Pro win gsuit pilot Ti m H o we ll exp la i n s ho w he m ast er s the bala nce b etw een r i sk a n d r ew ar d a s h e pu sh e s the li mi t s of h um an f l i g h t Story | Juman Al-Sayegh

T

im Howell speaks about BASE jumping as an art of

Exactly the same could be said of BASE jumping.

freedom. ‘Where the mind goes’, he says, ‘the body follows

The more you practice, the more your body becomes fine-tuned

beyond normal limitations, absorbed in utmost concentration’.

How does one find BASE jumping? In Tim’s case, it found him. Originally a climber, he encountered a number of BASE

to the subtle movements required to fly the wingsuit safely.Tim stresses the importance of correcting even minor asymmetry in the body.

jumpers on his travels, when he was actively pursuing sky-

Tim describes human flight as ‘an incomparable feeling

diving. By 23, he had completed over two hundred sky-dives.

that can't be tamed, controlled or governed by anyone.

Sky-diving helps hone the necessary technique required for

Understanding BASE jumping this way removes the

every BASE jumper’s career: the equipment, how the parachute

terminology of extreme. It’s just you, your mind deciding

canopy flies, how to land, and how your body position will

whether you should jump or not.’This is the difference between

change your flight pattern and trajectory.

simply getting an adrenaline rush and being able to maintain

Tim explains how there is a large popular misconception

complete control. ‘If my heart is racing at an exit point, I will

that BASE jumping is just a stunt. For the most experienced

stand back and do some breathing exercises; I want my mind to

and accomplished jumpers out there, it’s a process they train for.

completely focused’ Tim explains. We can all learn from this

It can be perceived as reckless, but that’s just not the case

approach in any form of sport that we pursue.

according to Tim. ‘It’s a combination of muscle memory,

The Middle East is not widely known for its BASE

reaction times and symmetry… If you exit and you are slightly

jumping potential. In October 2019, Tim Howell set off on an

lop-sided, you can kick open the wrong way and fly back into

exploratory wingsuit adventure to Jabal Shams in the Arabian

the object you just jumped from.’

Peninsula, as part of his continuous quest for exploring new

The wingsuit’s large surface area means that every minor

heights with his fiancée, Ewa Kalisiewicz. Of the expedition,

input a BASE jumper makes causes a reaction. As Tim says,

Tim recalls how ‘we had such a good time because there were so

‘If your left arm is just a centimetre lower than your right,

many people there who would help us out. That’s what really

that will have an effect’. He goes on to say that it takes

makes a trip for us, it’s the local experience; the people and the

hundreds of sky-dives and then a hundred more BASE jumps

food.’ He went further to say that ‘there is still so much more to

with a small wingsuit before you can progress to a full-sized

explore and definitely would head back for some big walls’.

wingsuit, which gives more forward glide but is also much more responsive.

Tim’s experience in Oman reminds us why travelling to unlikely places offer such great rewards, not least through the

There’s a common perception that BASE jumping is a high

people that we encounter. Stepping into a parallel universe

risk activity. Renowned solo climber Alex Honnold makes the

connects us through stories and the kindness of strangers who

distinction between risk and consequence in the movie Free

often become friends. Something like BASE jumping is

Solo: ‘Consequence is what happens if you fail; risk is the

located firmly in travel and exploration, whilst that fine balance

probability of failure occurring.’

of risk and consequence still determines its outcomes.

Tim contemplates the next exit point in the Italian Dolomites. FRANCESCO GUERRA

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