THE GOAL IS SIMPLE. THE CHALLENGE IS ANYTHING BUT.

8,848m / VERBIER / FEB 2024

Everest in the Alps is the ultimate winter sports endurance challenge. It’s an ambitious claim, but we’re ambitious. We have to be.

The goal is simple: to ascend on skis the height of Mount Everest from sea level – whilst raising money for a cause close to your heart.

EDITOR’S COMMENTS

Spring 2023 – Transformations

Winter in the UK often feels like an attrition of hope. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. It’s why the spring equinox is the punctuation to my favourite time of year – arriving with a renewed sense of optimism for what’s ahead. A change of pace, warmth on our skin, in our bones and at long last, a restoration of our long depleted dopamine stores and a renewed sense of positivity. Cliché I know, but that combined with the anticipation of what lies just around the corner is a collectively binding force.

Our aim when we created BASE was to make something that would inspire everyone to spend more time outdoors, to learn something new, take more risks and ultimately help you adventure better. At this time of year, that goal seems even more relevant. It’s why we chose spring to launch our first issue back in 2019, and now, almost four years on, it feels great to be scribbling these words knowing they’ll adorn the introduction to our tenth issue.

In those four years we’ve also built BASE far beyond these 84 pages. We went live with BASE 2.0 online where you’ll now find hundreds of adventure stories as well as in-depth gear reviews of the latest and greatest in outdoor kit innovation. Leaning on the award-winning adventure TV background of our founders, we also built a film studio, creating projects with brands like what3words and prime time TV smash hits. More recently we launched a YouTube channel full of tips and tricks to help you get more from the time you spend outside. But more importantly than all of that, we’ve fostered a community.

So with issue 10, framed within this seasonal transition full of energy, we want to celebrate the community we’re so proud to be a part of and that’s led us forwards. In the following pages, you’ll hear from a range of perspectives that form this community, as they share what adventure has brought to their lives as many of them face transformations of their own.

In Truth in Movement Ana Norrie-Toch dives into her complicated relationship with her own body and self image and how spending time in the Highlands allowed her to move forward with a new, healthier perspective; while Deziree Wilson takes us on the emotional journey that sees her beloved rescue puppy trained as a Scottish Mountain Rescue Dog.

In Bike. Ski. Fondue. Repeat, Sami Sauri, Gaby Thompson and Annabel Varley set out to capitalise on the changing spring conditions in the Alps for a backyard multi-sport adventure; and in An Odyssey of Ice and Water we join a climbing, SUP and diving team as they explore above and below the surface of Iceland’s frigid waters as they face first hand the stark realities of a warming climate.

We catch up with Amira Patel to hear how an initial spark of idea turned into the creation of the world’s first outdoor-specific technical fabric hijab as well as recordbreaking high-altitude mountaineer Kristin Harila after her 14 Peaks speed record attempt, to hear how she recharges and renews her personal motivation before heading back into the high mountains. Luke Gartside chats with big wave surfer Richie Fitzgerald to lift the curtain on what life was like as a surfer living in Bundoran during The Troubles and how the act of surfing proved to be a connective tissue for the coastal communities.

Former-professional kayaker Ed Smith makes a long awaited pilgrimage to the Zambezi river in the shadow of what could be an environmentally devastating dam development; while in Re-Enchantment for Resistance, Emma Linford takes a dive into the battle over land and the community fighting to save wild camping on Dartmoor.

At the end of it all, BASE is a community, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the few years we’ve been doing this, it's that the adventure community is a thriving one! A huge heart-felt thank you to everyone who has supported our journey so far. From our contributors and Collective who trust us with their stories, to the brands and distributors we work so closely alongside and of course to you, our readers and subscribers.

Whether posted through your letterbox, found at your local climbing wall or perhaps placed in your hand by a trusted partner in adventure, I hope you find something in the following pages to excite and inspire you for whatever lies ahead for you this year!

Chris Hunt, BASE Editor