EST. 1976 BISSINGEN, GERMANY
THE RUGGED TIME bigpack.com
Editorial Three 2013/14
Editorial Three Fall Winter 2013 Welcome into the third edition of The Rugged Time. Twice per year, our biannual publication brings you into the mountains, into our world, into our adventures with our people. We want to share with you the true spirit of what people feel when they are in the mountains. We want to share why we go to the mountains and tell you “come on, you can do it! Follow us…” Whether you hike, you climb, you run, you ski, The Rugged Time is the open window of the mountain world. In this issue, before the arrival of the winter, we chart about a famous country well known for its flat, cold & windy landscapes: Mongolia where a BIGPACK team went to explore the highest peaks of the country. We follow also some climbs in the Alps during the summer, some climbs that you can do too! Fall for us is spring in the south hemisphere and thus the perfect season to attempt some of the highest peaks in South America. Another BIGPACK team just came back from Argentina 1 month ago. Alpinism is the art of climbing mountains, The Rugged Time is our way to bring mountains to you. Have a good time!
Yann Delevaux Chamonix
These words describe the long and proud history of our quality products since 1976. From zipper to fabric, from stripes to back system, influenced by mountaineers, create the hard-wearing adventure gear. Everyday our team of engineers & designers imagine, draw, develop the next generation of outdoor products following our modern & performance driven style!
T HREE DECADES OF EQU IP P ING M OU NTAINEERS & EXP EDIT IONS FO R T HE HARSHEST CONDITIONS. We have participated in many ascents of 8000m peak, been part of hundreds of remote adventures and equipped unsupported trips to the North and South Poles. We believe in what we do; we design, test and build our gear with passion and commitment. We use it ourselves and we work closely with outdoor professionals to help us perfect our products. Our team of Pro Mountaineers are mixed nationalities, ambitious climbers, mountaineers and adventure travelers; people at the cutting edge who need gear they can trust . So whether you are going on expedition to the Himalaya or learning the ropes in the Alps, you can do so safe in the knowledge that your BIGPACK gear has been proven to perform.
MONZINO HUT AIGUILLE NOIREDE PEUTEREY IN THE SUN ITLAY MONT BLANC RANGE
‘Summits after summit’ encourages climbers to realize their mountain dreams per our individual altitude and parameters. We have invited professional teams from Europe to China to explore their desired summits through this year.
L es Drus are one of the most famous peaks in the Alps because it is very steep, very difficult and because you can see it from Chamonix. Reaching the top of les Drus and having the chance to see the virgin at the top (there is a statue of the Virgin Mary on top looking down at the valley to take care of the Chamonix people) is not easy. For Stephane, les Drus were a dream for a long time. There are no easy route and the traverse is very long. It took us 12hours round trip from the hut! On our way up, Stephane pulled on a big loose rock and made it fall of his foot! He was more stressed than hurt but still, climbing les Drus you need to keep being focus very single seconds, for 12 hours.
TRAVERSÉE DES DRUS 3754M
STEPHANE BOURREL JULY 2013
DIJON SWITZERLAND FRANCE
LES DRUS GRENOBLE
ITALY
IN GREEN THE WAY UP. BLUE THE WAY DOWN. SUMMIT ON THE LEFT IS “PETIT DRU” ON THE RIGHT IS “GRAND DRU”
THE CHARPOUA HUT: 12 SPOTS, 107 YEARS OLD
NOT SO EASY, ISN’T IT STEPHANE? GRANDES JORASSE BEHIND
MONT BLANC 4810M INNOMINATT A RIDGE STEPHANE BOURREL JULY 2013
SWITZERLAND
PUNTA INNOMINNATA, AIGUILLE NOIRE DE PEUTEREY IN THE BACKGROUND
MONT BLANC FRANCE
ITALY
"ECCLES" BIVY, 3900M AT THE BASE OF THE ITALIAN SOUTH FACE OF MONT BLANC
M ont Blanc, 4810m highest summit in UE is a peak that every mountaineer wants to reach 1 day. I climb with Stephane for 7 years now and we still never climbed it. We wanted to climb a different route than the normal one, a more technical route and that’s why I took him to the Italian side of the Mont Blanc. Innominatta ridge is not very difficult but it is long and high. We were kind of lost in the middle of nowhere with nobody around for 3 days. We loved that feeling. On the top, both of us were so happy! Reaching the top of Mont Blanc is always means a lot for me!
SOUTH FACE OF MONT BLANC. THE TOP IS NOT EXACTLY THE MONT BLANC, IT IS CALLED MONT BLANC DE COURMAYEUR 4760M. IN BLUE THE ASCENT. THE GREEN CIRCLE IS THE ECCLES BIVOUAC WHERE WE SLEPT.
TRIDENT DU TACUL 3639M LEPINEY ROUTE
B ernard
and I want to climb les Drus this year. Looking for a good “training peak” to get test our abilities, we climbed the Trident du Tacul by the Lepiney route. Super nice day. We went super fast, and we were waiting for the good weather to go to Les drus...
BEFORE THE CRUX (WHICH IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PITCH) CHAMONIX CRACK: WIDE, NOT VERY DIFFICULT BUT NEVER EASY NEITHER!!!
BERNARD GEISEN AUG 2013
SWITZERLAND
DE TRIDENT FRANCE
ITALY
BLUE IS THE ASCENT ROUTE; GREEN THE DESCENT ROUTE (ABSEILING). THE SUMMIT ON THE RIGHT IS GRAND CAPUCIN
SITTING ON TOP OF ONE OF THE 3 SUMMITS OF TRIDENT DU TACUL
T hierry and I woke up at 2.45am and started climbing an hour after. It was dark but with the full moon it was ok and not too cold. Well at least at the beginning… The Italians started about one hour after us. Lucky for them, they could use my track in the fresh snow! The glacier was nice and easy to find our way. After a quick pause, we reached the Tiefenmatten ridge. At this point, with the day light rising up, we met some quick strong wind and all of a sudden the temperatures dropped down. It was freezing cold!!!! Cold enough to test my new down jacket. So good to have it…. The rocky ridge is quite easy but with the snow, the wind and the temperatures we had to be very concentrated. Any fall would be very bad!
DENT D'HÉRENS 4171M THIERRY LEBLANC SEP 2013
GERMANY
SWITZERLAND
DENT D'HÉRENS ITALY
GRAND CAPACIN WHEN THE DAYLIGHT ARRIVED, WE MET SOME STRONG WINDS AND TEMPERATURES BECAME VERY COLD. WE HAD TO BE VERY CONCENTRATED
DENT D’HERENS: BLUE : ASCENT; GREEN DESCENT
WE WOKE UP AT 2.45AM AND STARTED CLIMBING.
MICHEL BACCARD THE TOP OF RIMPFISCHHORN
RIMPFISCHHORN 4199M
SWITZERLAND
R impfischhcorn is a long walk on a trail, then on a moraine, on a glacier with 200m of climbing at the end. Breakfast at 3.15am to be able to reach the summit before the bad weather arrives. With Michel, I’m confident, we'll make it faster than the usual 7 hours even if I have to break the trail in the snow. When the day light starts to appear, the view is absolutely fantastic. Impressive. Plus with the clouds, the lights are very very beautiful. I like this kind of morning, you can only experience this in the mountains.
MICHEL BACCARD SEP 2013
GERMANY FRANCE
SWITZERLAND
LAST PART OF RIMPFISCHHORN. WE WENT UP & DOWN THE SAME WAY.
ABOVE ZERMATT, IT IS LIKE A CIRCLE OF 4000M PEAKS THAT WE COULD ALL CLIMB FOLLOWING A LINE ALONG THE RIDGES
RIMPFISCHHORN THE SUN WAS GONE AT 9.30 AM! WIND STARTED TO BLOW WHEN WE STARTED OUR DESCENT, A VERY LONG DESCENT…
OJOS DEL SALADO 6800M AGENTINA SOUTH AMERICA
S ummer
is over in the Alps. Time to rest, time to travel before the winter comes back. Winter times with cold, snow, ski… but not everywhere. Winter is starting for us but is over in the south hemisphere! Some friends of mine went skiing in August in Chile this year. Winter/summer? Depends where you go! South America always sounds fun to me. I’ve even started to learn Spanish planning to visit one day this part of the world. As a mountain lover, my idea is to go and climb there. Yes but which peak? South America is so big that you have the choice! After some research we decided to go to Argentina (maybe because it sounds more like vacations to me) with my wife Charlotta, my best friends from childhood François and his wife Veronique. The plan was to climb some nice mountains, have the opportunity to see some beautiful landscapes and have a good time together. Icing on the cake, we all agreed to “taste” high altitude. Not very high but for us it is a 1st experience above 5000m. 3 weeks round trip from France to climb the second highest peak of south America, the Ojos del Salado, 6800m. To fit to the technical level of all of us, we planed quite easy
routes. Our goal is to climb remote peaks by ourself alone. The weather will be a key point as usual. My main worry is the wind because this range is well know to have some of the strongest winds on earth… It will be a great field test for our BIGPACK equipment. October 26th. I was in the plane. I thought about our trip. My mind was full of fantastic and unique sceneries. We did not summit exactly the peaks we wanted because some of us felt altitude sick with a beginning of pulmonary oedema. We managed to deal with it but what an experience! We were hundreds of kilometres away from any kind of rescue with no people around! We had to adapt so we did! We climbed 4 6000m peaks in a beautiful area. I want to come back. We want to come back. There are so many other summits! At the end this is what I was looking for: something new, different from I’ve seen before. Not difficult, not crowdie. Another great experience! The team climbed 4 peaks above 6000m
- Christophe Boloyan
ALTAI MOUNTAINS
RUSSIA, CHINA, MONGOLIA and KAZAKHSTAN
C limbing
new mountains, discovering new places, reaching new peaks… and maybe some unclimbed!! Not easy to find information about those mountains the Tavan Bogd but that is exactly what I was looking for: a wild, remote mountain area. No maps, no or very few ascents, no mountains huts, nobody… Going into the unknown… When you climb mountains there is always a part you cannot control and it is probably one of the most interesting aspect of mountaineering: you cannot control everything but you need to be ready for everything and adapt yourself. Planning this trip is already great fun and we know that we don’t exactly know what we will find there… it is so exciting! What we decided is that we will try to climb the highest peak of Mongolia, Mount Khuiten. Reaching the highest point is always a good first motivation. But we didn’t want to stop there. We want to explore the area and climb as many as possible peaks. We don’t have much time, 10 days,
so that’s why we will ski tour. Information we manage to get leads us to think the ascent are not very technical and doable with skis and descents are way faster gliding on skis than walking! Glaciers look big and it is always safer to use skis when the snow covers the crevasses. We will set a big base camp with a Mongolian big round tent next to the Potamine glacier and will do one day ascent using skis from there. When I visited China last year, I started to think about some wild places to discover and explore. All the area next to the Mongolian border is one of the place I would like one day to explore… It is a way to try to get some information. Same thing at the border with Russia, there are some mountains not far from Mongolia in Siberia that seems fantastic…. Exploring the mountains of Mongolia is a way to start discovering new mountains to climb in China and Russia… There are always summits after the summit…
S o, a fantastic trip I said… First, the group was perfect and it is probably the most important point. No trouble, no internal conflict, not even the beginning of a single one! It seems normal but trust me it is not. We were 11 climbers from 28 to almost 60 years old. 3 girls 8 boys from France, Netherlands & Switzerland plus our Mongolian guide, Mouguy (incredible fluent French speaker!), our cook Ogdno (the best one for sure) and our camp keeper Toulga (a strong guy always ready to keep the fire on). The group was very homogeneous even if people were very different and the atmosphere between all members was just perfect! I think it is not only luck, it is also because everybody made some efforts to create this amostphere Second , we were good luck with the weather and conditions. We had some incredible good days allowing us to climb Khuiten in just perfect conditions: blue sky, no wind, perfect temperature, all the group on top at the same time… and we had also some incredible bad weather like only Mongolia can have: super windy, snowy, freezing cold… and when I say freezing cold believe me, it was cold. We had 1 night -18°C in the tent so probably something like -25°C at only 3000m… But the bad weather was the opportunity to rest and also to
appreciate how lucky we were for the good days! The snow was good, not the best powder snow every “freerider” dreams of. We had most of the time hard snow but it was definitely the best choice to be able to climb some different peaks because approaches were super long! Guess? How long to reach the base of Khuiten? 15km of more of less flat glacier let say 400m of elevation for 13km…. It took us more than 7 hours to reach the top and only 2,5 hours skiing back to base camp!! Every skiing day we walked an average of 15 to 20 km, 6 hours and more than 1000m of vertical denivilation! So, the group was perfect, and we were lucky with the weather. Actually I don’t like to say lucky because with Mamat we also made the right choices taking some “risks” to make it .The first day we climbed for acclimatization the Malchin peak 4050m. It was quite tiring because our body needed to get use to the altitude and we just reached the base camp after 2 travelling days from Ulan Bator internal flight to Olgï, 4-wd for 7 hours plus 18 km walk! Weather was good and we thought it was better to give it a try even if acclimatization was not perfect than waiting for another weather window that could never come! We explained our
strategy to the group and they all agreed. What a day! We made the right decision because it was the best day of our trip!! After that, we both knew with Mamat that the trip was already a success...! Fourth, The country is super exotic and beautiful and the Mongolian people super nice! The fifth reason, we had very good gear and it is also why the bad weather was not “so bad”, thanks to BIGPACK After sharing just an adventure, I just want to do it again! Somewhere else, to discover another country, meet other people and climb other mountains. That is where the “Summits after Summit” come from. Reaching one summit is not my motivation, what I love is building project that will eventually take all the team to the top if everything goes well. And I will do it again either I success or not because summit is just the icing on the cake, a part of the experience, a great part of course but definitely not the only one! In Mongolia, we managed to combine everything in the perfect way. It is not always easy and it is exactly why it is so good when we succeed!
- Yann Delevaux
Edition Three 2013/14 FIELD TEST
A
FIELD TEST DRIVING OUR PRODUCTS FOWARD We test our equipment everyday, everywhere in the worst and also in the best conditions to make sure you can trust it all the time and keep being concentrated on your climbing. The BIGffffACKteam work hard to let you enjoy the spirit of the mountains.
B
Edition Three 2013/14 ALPINISM SERIES
ALPINISM SERIES
1
A
LD ACTIVE WARM 1/2 ZIP
1
CHESTER BEANIE (Black)
LD ROPE PANT (Pink)
COULOIR JKT (Meadow Green)
BPG1237-0550
BPG1201-3542
LD COULOIR JKT (Ocean Blue)
MADITA (Black)
GLOVE BPG1294-0247
BPG123309218
POWER RIDE 30 PIRATE (Black)
2
BPG1274-0247
(Ocean Blue) BPG1265-0218
B
1 2
2
GRADIENT JKT (Ocean Blue) BPG1202-0218
BPH0052-0247
GRADIENT PANT (Black) BPG1202-0218
POWER RIDE 30 (Black) BPH0051-0247
HIGH ROUTE PANT (Black) BPH0051-0247 3
HYBRID LOFT JKT (Green) BPG1222-1038
3 2
Edition Three 2013/14 ALPINISM SERIES
1
2
3
1
CHESTER BEANIE (Black)
2
BPG1274-0247
BPG1233-0218
LD ROPE PANT
GRADIENT JKT (Ocean Blue)
(Fushia Purple) BPG1237-0550
BPG1202-0218
POWER RIDE 30 (Black)
3
GRADIENT PANT (Black)
4
LD EFFUSION REVERSIBLE JKT (Fushia Purple) BPG1241-0550
BPH0051-0247
BPG1203-0247
LD COULOIR JKT (Ocean Blue)
CHESTER BEANIE (Black) BPG1274-0247
GASHERBRUM JKT (Ocean Blue) BPG1214-0600
4
Edition Three 2013/14 ALPINISM SERIES
2
1
4
1
EIGER ULTRA-LIGHT JKT
3
2
ASCENT 30 (Ocean Blue)
SNOWLYPSE PANT (Orange)
BPH0053-0218
BPG1213-1024
SNOWLYPSE JKT (Orange)
CAP (Blue)
BPA0004-1002
BPG1221-1024
SNOWLYPSE PANT (Orange) BPG1213-1024
3
ACTIVE WARM 1/2 ZIP (Green) BPG1229-3940
(Blue) BPG1219-0203
4
NAMCHE DUFFLE 100 (Red) BP4400112-050
Edition Three 2013/14 TECHNICAL ADVISORS
Our technical advisors are explorers, constantly on the move and trying new things. They don’t wait for things to get done for them. They get up and do it themselves. They are mountain guides and alpinists from the Alps.
'On the glacier, on the rock, trying to put your ice axe in the right stop, nothing else matter that the next step! Because your life and the one of your partner depends on your next move. Life becomes so simple up there… Relationships are true because there are no more doctors, no more bosses, no more employees, just people together taking care of their own and their friend to live a great experience. Simple and true. '- Yann Delevaux
YANN DELEVAUX BORN IN 1978 FRANCE ALPINISM ICE CLIMBING ROCK CLIMBING EXTREME SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING █
█
Born in Chamonix at the bottom of the Mont Blanc the highest peak in UE, Yann Delevuax is one of the toppest Alpinist in the area. He started rock climbing at 14-year-old, and being the
director of the Mountain Rescue and Accident Prevention Organization for couple of years. More than 20 years of ascent, snowboard descent, and expedition experiences brought him happiness, friendship, and helped him to learn more about himself and friends. At October, 2012, Yann joined BIGPACK as the Sports Marketing Director, leading a team of technical advisors to assess our professional equipment under different conditions all over the world. The team brings outdoor activities professionals and lovers the essence of B I G P– deter-mination and courage.
█
MATTHIEU BERLIOZ BORN IN 1974 FRANCE █
ALPINISM ICE CLIMBING SKI ROCK CLIMBING █
█
Born in a big gold Chamonix family, my grands parents opened the first guest house in the valley : the chalet « Premier de Cordée ». The famous writer, mountain guide and explorater ROGER FRISON ROCHE (a very famous french mountain writer& mountain guide) was the godparent of this chalet. As you can see, i grew up in a « mountain atmosphere » from the begining.
FLORENCE SIMOND BORN IN 1972 FRANCE █
ALPINISM ICE CLIMBING SKI HIKIN █
█
What I love the most is discovering new places, news mountains. I try to go as often as possible abroad with clients as a mountain guide or with some friends to climb new peaks such as Greenland, Nepal, Mongolia…
CECILE THOMAS BORN IN 1976 FRANCE █
ALPINISM ICE CLIMBING SKI ROCK CLIMBING █
█
She loves to share this vertical world she is privileged to live in. Her goals are to encourage others to experience the same and to go beyond their own perceived physical and mental limits. Her rock climbing prowess has led to ascents on some of the hardest routes in the Alps. She needs daily challenges, the search for a solution to the seemingly impossible. That is what makes her an inspiring athlete and unique teacher.
CHRISTOPHE BOLOYAN BORN IN 1970 FRANCE █
ALPINISM ICE CLIMBING SKI ROCK CLIMBING █
█
The mountains are an integral part of Flo’s life. Not only is she an Accompagnatice en Montagne (the hiking equivalent of a certified mountaineering guide) and a skilled guide with the prestigious Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix, but she is also an accomplished skier and mountain climber. Her membership in the Compagnie des Guides not only attests to her qualifications, but also constitutes a continuation of her family traditions as she follows in the footsteps of her father and grandfathers.
Originaly from Marseille Christophe moved to Chamonix about 20 years ago and stayed! Mountain guide for 15 years, he is member of the Chamonix guide company. During the winter Christophe is a ski patrol in the most famous ski resort of Chamonix: Les Grands Montets. He also gives classes at the French national ski patrol school and teaches first aid in a non profit organization in Chamonix. He perfectly managed to associate his two passions: alpinism and rescue!
www.bigpack.com CHAMONIX, FRANCE 106 Chemin Saubérands 74400 Chamonix SHANGHAI, CHINA Floor 1, No 859, Tian Yao Qiao Road, Xu Hui District, Shanghai, China Tel: (8621) 3133 6699 HONG KONG, CHINA Suite 06-07, Level 38, Shop 708-9, Langham Place, Mongkok Tel: (852) 2391 2772
EST. 1976 BISSINGEN, GERMANY
THE RUGGED TIME bigpack.com
Editorial Three 2013/14