adidas Outdoor magazine fall/winter 2013

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FALL WINTER 2013

highballing and trad climbing

buttermilks & zion

mayan smith-gobat and jon cardwell in chile

the marble cathedral stĂŠphanie maureau

mont blanc du tacul harder than you think

the bianco ridge hot moves in icy-cold guido unterwurzacher’s

frozen rally

outdoor t highlights fall / winter 2013

adidas outdoor magazine & produc

Mélissa Le Nevé, Hueco Tanks, Texas, USA

A good mag lets us develop a feeling for the subject – content becomes more 3D and springs to life. The enjoyment of reading knows no limits: in the bath, in a hammock, on the beach or tucked up in a sleeping bag at night with a headlamp. If you ever need to light a campfire in the rain then, as a last resort, you can always rely on printed material. What we are saying is that a printed magazine will always be the most outdoor-compatible medium.

Then there’s the digital world, the alleged other side. It is about even more information, interesting facts and helpful data. It is the digital version of the adidas outdoor magazine, which quenches the thirst for more content. Complementing the high quality stories in the print version, our iPad app brings you additional picture galleries and video material, 360° views, sound effects, bonus material, background stories and ongoing updates. Networked with social media channels like Facebook and YouTube, another important aspect opens up: interactivity. That is the key to the gateway, that is shared communication.

Because above all, we are interested in your opinion. Whoever is on the move outdoors – in high-alpine terrain or at the outdoor market – always needs a point of reference. Your feedback helps us provide this. Helps us to develop our products. Helps us to remain inspired.

Every medium has its core quality. For us it is not a question of whether digital media will replace printed products. It is not about either-or.

It is about both. It is about the connection. In the leading article about insulation inside (page 20) it is about the best of both worlds, both down and Primaloft, depending on the application.

The same applies to both versions of the adidas outdoor magazine.

Have fun reading and discovering!

adidasoutdoortv facebook.com/adidasoutdoor

We love being outdoors. Ice climbing, hiking or on high elevation alpine tours. Summer or winter. In nearby mountains or in exotic locations. Athletic adventure or active recuperation.

Our passion for the outdoors is our way of life, a statement and an acknowledgement of nature and its myriad variations. That is why the adidas outdoor magazine has been available for some time now in both printed and digital form. Print is dead, they say. But a magazine is a magazine is a magazine. You can hold it in your hands. It is tangible. It grabs us and invites us to dive into detailed and creatively presented stories, ignites our yearning with large, high quality images and stimulates our fantasy through exciting reading.

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Thirsty for more?

INDEX

Cooperation partners

The ‘Lecco Spiders’ is the climbing club of the famous Grignetta Spiders Mountaineering Association in Italy. They can look back on a long list of international successes that stretches back more than 60 years.

They have among their ranks past heroes Cassin and Casimiro Ferrari, and current big names such as Matteo Della Bordella and Fabio Palma. Over the years they have not only opened up numerous new routes but also been in the spotlight of international fame.

DAV Summit Club GmbH is the German Alpine Association’s mountaineering school and special travel organizer for active mountaineering and cultural vacations worldwide. DAV Summit Club evolved from the mountaineering service of the DAV founded in 1957 and is now one of the largest mountaineering schools in the world.

outdoor Magazine & Product Highlights Fall/Winter 2013 is the official Outdoor catalogue with editorial content of adidas AG. adidas outdoor magazine is published twice a year.

The Zugspitze Mountaineering School is the mountain guide association on Germany’s highest mountain.

The specialist knowledge of the team is clear from the high quality of training and tours they provide. Some are old hands with a valuable source of knowledge; others are up-to-date thanks to their training activities with various alpine associations and many tours with their clients, who they don’t only accompany up the Zugspitze.

IMPRINT

Concept and realisation bøa! agentur gmbh supported by Michael Meisl Photographers Michael Meisl, Alpsolut Moving Pictures, Jonathan Griffith, Sam Bié, Christian Waldegger Text Mike Mandl, Flo Scheimpflug, Reinhold Messner, Guido Unterwurzacher, Eva Meschede, Mayan Smith-Gobat, Stéphanie Maureau, Andrew Freeman Copywriting and English translation wordworks

all data are subject to change and are provided without any guarantee. printing and layout errors excepted. all rights reserved. may not be copied.

© 2013 adidas AG. adidas, the 3-Bars logo, and the 3-Stripes mark are registered trademarks of the adidas Group.

The Zermatt Alpin Center – founded in 1894, the Swiss association can look back on a highly successful histor y spanning more than 100 years. Over 60 professional mountain guides at the Zermatt Alpin Center have been relying on adidas outdoor products since spring 2011.

Published by adidas AG World of Sports Adi-Dassler-Straße 1 91074 Herzogenaurach – Germany

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PAGE

GUIDO UNTERWURZACHER FROZEN RALLY, AUSTRIA

ICE CLIMBING ESSENTIALS

INSULATION BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

BUTTERMILKS AND ZION, USA

TECHNOLOGY FOOTWEAR

SHORTCUTS GALLERY

REINHOLD MESSNER

STÉPHANIE MAUREAU MONT BLANC DU TACUL

WOMEN’S EQUIPMENT

WINTER SPECIALS

MAYAN SMITH-GOBAT & JON CARDWELL THE MARBLE CATHEDRAL, CHILE

RIGLOS RENDEZVOUS SPAIN

ADIDAS ADVENTURE TEAM

THE BIANCO RIDGE IN WINTER

TECHNOLOGY HARD SHELLS

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

06 16 18 24 32 34 46 48 56 58 60 68 72 76 86 90

ICE CLIMBING

N E Z O FR RALLY

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ICE CLIMBING IN PINNISTAL, AUSTRIA It is not every rally in winter conditions that requires spikes and horsepower. Sometimes ice axe and muscles have to do. What remain the same are the stages and the special stage tests. These also had to be done

by Guido Unterwurzacher and Christian Hechenberger. With their heart rate rev counter in the red...

PHOTOS AL PS OL UT MOVING PICTU TE XT GUIDO UN RE S TERW UR ZACHER , MIK E MA NDL

The be st is alw ays sav ed until las t. Guido go es all in again on “K lein aber fein” WI 6- (“Nice an d ea sy”), the las t of the eig ht wa ter fal ls on thi s da y sti ll manages to take it ou t of them.

8 I9

STAGE #1: PROLOGUE January 2010. Guido Unterwurzacher and Christian ‘Hechei‘ Hechenberger set off on their first pilgrimage to Pinnistal valley, the ice climbing paradise, to satiate their lust for cool routes. After all, this is where ice climbing history has been written. The Tyrolean climbing legend Andi Orgler made the Pinnisalm in Stubai, Tyrol, Austria, famous well beyond the boundaries of the valley with routes such as “Männer ohne Nerven” WI 5+,6/1985 (“Men without nerves”) and “Metamorphose” WI 7/1991 (“Metamorphosis”). Andi swung his ice axe higher and established some of the toughest ice routes in Tyrol at that time. It is not just the extreme classics but also the huge choice of routes that make Pinnisalm a hotspot for climbers into hacking up ice. There are around a dozen climbing areas to choose from. In addition, the elevation (1,700m) and shaded location often ensure excellent ice conditions by early winter.

So it was clear that Guido and Christian did not want to give this fine selection of the coolest waterfalls the cold shoulder. On the contrary. Guido: “What we wanted to do was climb as many vertical metres of ice in one day.

But after four waterfalls we were finished. We were more than satisfied with our achievement. However, we were already talking about how awesome it would be to climb all the doable waterfalls – i.e. all the waterfalls that are climbable at the time – in just one day. Ideally that would be ten of them.”

If you have ever been ice climbing, then you will know that this is something that only the top climbers – the really tough – would ever contemplate. Or the over-motivated.

Depending on how you look at it. Because ice climbing is difficult, exhausting and dependent on ambient conditions like no other form of climbing. Because not all ice is the same. Perhaps it is a myth that the Inuit have more than 30 words for snow.

The fact is that ice climbers know at least as many conditions for ice. From brittle to hard, from soft to crumbly. Including all intermediate conditions, gradings and nuances that you only get to know if you spend loads of time on vertical ice.

So that definitely includes Guido and Christian. A great plan, an amazing plan.

The signal had been given for the start of the ice rally, the prologue was sorted.

IS STAGE #2: THE IDYLL

DECEPTIVE

run , Heading up the valley a nat ura l tob ogg an ust ift/ Tyr ol the re is Ne in der Ne of tal . age nis fro m the vill snaking up into Pin ly the longes t in Tyr ol, tain cer and st ill fine uph probably the re must be a lot of ll, then that means the nhi dow run t if ges bit lon le If it is the ng. It doe s hel p a litt r motivation is flaggi you if al ide t No ”, re. cke a “Be to get the on a tob oggan. Or on stuff up on a sle d. Or use for you you can drag all your rd wo r eve ich Tyr olean dialec t. Wh ive nat his in it ls cal as Guido n into the valley on two t brings us back dow tha ion ent inv ous eni this ing d to be suf fer ing from tor, Guido still seeme fac fun h hig a h wit s te runner t on his bac k for qui flu , which had him fla the of s ect eff erch aft the clip: “This long approa rting this stage. Sound some time before sta gh las t time.” march wa sn’t this tou cke d ou t the con Pin nis alm the y che Ha vin g arr ive d at the sn’t look too bad . tw o exception s, it doe dition s: “Ap art from theref ore a wr ite has collap sed and is The ‘Gully‘ water fall doe s not extend gier‘ (‘T he Magician’) off. An d the ice on ‘Ma ice routes look er oth erw ise all the the whole route, but oth gre at.”

Ice, the moving material.

“Frozen stiff” is probably how we think of ice as a solid form of water. But ice has a mind of its own: it moves, it builds up, it collapses, it grows, it shrinks, it is under tension, it releases tension, it buzzes, it groans, it sings. When you are ice climbing it is essential you work with the conditions and not against them. Ten minus two still makes eight cool routes, starting with “Männer ohne Nerven”. This 120m frozen waterfall was one of the most difficult ice routes in Tyrol 20 years ago and its reputation has ensured it remains an attractive climb; which is why there was already a team on the route. A rethink was needed: “If we want to do all the waterfalls in one day, then it has got to run like clockwork. And today it doesn’t look like that is going to be the case. So we’ll start on ‘Vorhang‘ WI 5 (‘The Curtain’). I start climbing and then notice what the score is. The ice is brittle, I’m not climbing smoothly, can’t get into a rhythm, the quality of the ice gets worse and worse until it is not possible to set safe protection. We both know that if it continues like this, we can forget the whole thing. But we decide to stick with it.”

“All or nothing” is the motto of the day. The second stage of the rally proves to be a real muscle section, so Guido and Christian need to muscle back into the game. As long as they have enough energy in their bodies they have to notch up the difficult sections, like the “Kerze” (“The Candle”), probably the best ice route in Tyrol, a perfect, steep and beautiful ice column, situated at the top end of the difficulty grading at WI 6: “Hechei quickly hacks his way up the first pitch. Then I have to handle the steep and difficult next pitch. Luckily the ice is better here, but it is also steeper as I battle my way up metre by metre. My arms pump up fatter and fatter until I can hardly hold onto the ice tools anymore. On my last drop of energy I reach the belay point. It is a while since I’ve been so pumped.

I am completely drained, and this is only the second waterfall.”

Completely pumped out. Batteries drained. Run dry. Goodbye energy. That is ice climbing. The ice sucks it out of you because there aren’t many moves that are not extremely tiring. And those that are not extremely tiring are just tiring. There isn’t much below that.

Gradually it dawns on them, the dimensions of the challenge they have set themselves with the frozen rally. And it is time for the first special stage...

ZEIT SPECIAL STAGE #1: EIS

called r” (“Junk Room”) soto the “Rumpelkamme on ve mo y the ” l rze After the “Ke aw ay by the leader fal chunks of ice broken any ey mn chi row nar over thanks because in its 50m of ice are quickly … Hechei is also of the climber below. The directly onto the head no longer sure that this gig ous climbing. to vir tually simultane tur n, unfortunately. my it’s ow “N isn’t a bit too much. I feel like I’ve been : e”) Ag szeit” (“Ice And then comes the “Ei back again. I feel e com s arm g put through a mangle, we sit on the pin denly the pum I start climbing and sud bing like a total clim am I st.

‘Becke’ and enjoy the fun part of the day: bur to are just about as though my forear ms quitting. Hechei is in bra sledging back down to the cars.” my n eve te any more, nov ice, can’t concentra we get to the e tim the by and ch the second pit takes over the lead for re than that. Before Climbing ice exhausted is like driving with your r, we can’t manage mo ove is it top we know that . Maybe now el tow foot down 300hp on black ice. With summer tyres, the in ow it’s bet ter we thr it get s too dangerous d it, ate im est der of course.

No control, no grip, no success in sight. un w, re than we can che we have bit ten off mo Conclusion: back to the start! pos sible… per haps it is not even

10 I11

way Afte r figh ting the ir , up the ver tica l sec tion rac e to e hav s the lad w their way through sno in tha t is thig h-d eep b clim t nex par ts to the bec aus e no tim e can be lost .

“Männer ohne Nerv en” WI 6 (“Men without nerves ”) is definitely one of the coolest ice rout es in Pinnistal and all three pitches deliver the busine ss . Ho weve r, Gu ido an d He ch ei, who certainly match me n with steady nerves, take advantag e of the perfec t conditions to quick ly tame this brute.

Short break before moving quickly on to the next monster.

Guido and Hechei are ready – a brief strength test with the ice tools just to warm up.

12 I13

The “Kerze” WI 6 (“The Candle”), one of the most elegant and beautiful ice routes in Tyrol. Looking even more attractive with a sugar coating of spindrift, although Guido does not notice a thing in the flow of climbing.

STAGE #3: G ALL WITHOUT NOTHIN

yet at stage #3?

Back to the start and t es it is the process tha Yes, because sometim see ore ious rally is an unf counts. And every ser g hin ryt firs t attempt eve able adventure. On the er pow the , speed, tac tics. Only was there: motivation this: er the situation was like lat was missing. A week

“At last I feel recuperated and fit and my head feels like it is stronger and can face the challenge. Hechei and I meet at 4:30 am in St. Johann and by 8 am we are standing at the approach to ‘Männer ohne Nerven’. Deep down I feel good and Hechei is fully motivated as well. We get started. I lead the first, easier pitch.

Hechei climbs the next and more difficult pitch, no problem. I follow him up. We are getting somewhere. On the 3rd pitch we virtually run up it.

Job done, and we rappel back down the waterfall.”

Hechei en frozen at joys the “Eis zeit mosphere on ” W I 5- (“ Ice Age”) .

An important start. Depending on the approach, “Männer ohne Nerven” is a tough one at grade WI 6. Every rally needs a strategy. Tackling the hard one first should prove to be the key to success: “We jog over to ‘Vorhang’ WI 5-. This time the ice is much better, much softer and so I make good progress, climb the full length of the rope, then Hechei follows me up. What, already at the top? Yo! We abseil back down again and see that both the ‘Kerze’ and the ‘Rumpelkammer’ are occupied.”

“The 3rd waterfall, the ‘Eiszeit’, the one we gave up on last time, is quickly sorted.” Even the thigh-deep snow – which they both had to wade through to reach the upper section – was not a problem. Next up is “Chamäleon” (“Chameleon”), which at WI 5- is virtually a regeneration stage.”

Suddenly everything works, nothing is impossible. No, today it is not a case of all or nothing. Today it is going to be all. Without nothing. That is because the flow is there, the kind of flow that such a massive project simply needs. Because flow – the condition in which everything runs like clockwork – saves energy, conserves motivation, because the objective is in the motivation; the objective of climbing as many waterfalls as possible in one day: g sm oot hly. eve ryt hin g is run nin “We are in ful l flo w, g’ (‘Family on to ‘Familien Sonnta Still on a roll we move i starts che climb today at WI 4. He Sunday ’), the easiest d the che as soon as he has rea climbing and I follow top the At e. b at the same tim top of the rope. We clim our to n, pelling back dow we look for ward to rap e ething to eat . It is tim som and drink bot tles for the ‘Kerze’ nex t.”

on a sled bing dow n Pinn ista l Who bra kes lose s. Bom cent into of mak ing the long des has to be the bes t way fun. e the valley mor

14 I15 PINNISTAL, TYROL, AUSTRIA AUSTRIA Pinnistal

SPECIAL STAGE #2: NICE, BUT DEFINITELY NOT EASY “The ‘Kerze’ is beautiful. But difficult. This is the one that pumped out all our energy on the first time. Only, this time it rolls perfectly and I didn’t get as pumped up as horribly as a week ago. Hechei follows and for the first time today we grin at each other. We both know that the chances are good that we will still go on to manage the last two waterfalls. We ran through the ‘Rumpelkammer’ like last time and to finish off expect a more intensive battle.” us.” The keep our wit s about a bit on this rally. To for r gea a n WI 6. dow “We change bs. Tw o of them are wa ter fal ls in their lim en sev got y The ead t. alr boy s have wit hout roc k con tac ”: pure ice climbin g Ice r ate “W for s the nd for The “W I” sta ans: ver tical climbing dif ficulty. Grade 6 me of de gra the n tes tio ica tec numeral ind s (e.g. spr ay ice), pro ice is not homogenou The ts. res no h one y wit re is onl entire pitch skill is essential . The high level of technical an had just isti is unreliable. A ver y Chr and ido e the last water fall Gu for Be 7. s: thi n tha just grade higher the average climber ficulty grade WI 6. For dif h wit bs clim ter two completed touring books as a win ent to enter into the fici suf be uld wo se ards. one of the need to recover afterw ntioning the week you highlight . Without me

WATERFALLS BAGGED BY THE BOYS Männer ohne Nerven WI 6 Vorhang WI 4+ Eiszeit WI 5Chamäleon WI 5Familien Sonntag WI 4 Kerze WI 6 Rumpelkammer WI 5Klein aber fein WI 6

“Klein aber fein” WI 6- (“Nice and easy”) is the final project. It is nice, but definitely not small or easy: “At the bottom there is only a thin layer of ice. And then it is very steep further up. I start off, totally dialled, but the battery warning light is starting to flash. Never mind, now it’s about fighting our way through and trusting that the tools hold and we don’t run out of strength. I scrape my way up the steep section and then whoop ‘On belay!’, in relief. Hechei climbs up alongside me and we high-five so hard that the clap echoes around the valley. We are more than satisfied with today’s achievement.”

Was that intentional? Were the theatricals ironic? “Klein aber fein” was the final tour on the frozen rally, and although it was nice it definitely was not easy. That is because eight waterfalls in one day, the easiest of which is still a grade of difficulty that for an average climber would be rated as difficult, that is the Paris–Dakar with ice axe and ice screws. That is a rally that has everything that a good rally needs: challenge, adventure, excitement, a touch of madness, and a little bit of luck. Behind the legendary pioneer work invested by Andi Orgler, the ice axe has been raised another notch higher in Pinnistal. Whether it can go another notch higher we will find out next winter.

That is because the next logical step is all ten!

Guido hangs off the “Vorhang” (“The Curtain”) – something he is not allowed to do at home, which makes it all the more fun here.

ICE CLIMBING ESSENTIALS

TERREX N’DOS PHERE JACKET

TERREX ICEFEATHER PA NTS

TERREX AL LROUND SOCKS

TERREX ICESKY LONGSLEEVE

TERREX ADVA NCED JACKET

16 I17

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TERREX SOFT SHEL L GLOVES TERREX COCONA GLOVES KN IT LOGO BEAN IE

DO’S GUICHOICE

YOU could say that That is when the base layer totally has to do its thing to Guido Unterwurzacher is a guy keep up with what the Advanced promises. And that is what who is easy to get along with. Regardless it does. The use of climawarm™ material enables the Terrex of whether on rock, mountain or ice, Guido is openIcesky Longsleeve to deliver selective and highly efficient minded and ready to fit in. He neither prefers nor neglects moisture management at the same time as offering insulaany form of climbing activity. So Guido is into everything tion and maximum freedom of movement. The way the body and is ready to help out anybody: a nice guy. However, he uses energy improves remarkably, especially in cold weather. demonstrated what he is really capable of on the Frozen Rally Guido chooses to clad his legs in Terrex Icefeather Pants, which in Pinnistal. That’s because ice climbing saps your energy to the more than proved what they are capable of doing during the last. Normally you only need one decent frozen waterfall and you Frozen Rally in thigh-deep snow and high pulse rate ice climbare exhausted. Complete two climbs like that, one after the other, ing. GORE-TEX® Pro Shell provides breathability, FORMOTION® and you are totally finished. But eight waterfalls in just one day? technology provides freedom on all the moves with perfectly That is tough, that is awesome, that is incredible, that is Guido’s finished polyamide ensuring the necessary toughness. Four world. That is when everything has to be just right. From your fitness, waterproof zips make it easy to slip on and take off quickly, to your ice tools and your clothing. as well as providing maximum ventilation.

It is not without reason, then, that on many icy mornings he heads out with Feet are kept happy with warm and functional Terrex Allthe Terrex Ndosphere Jacket, which really delivers the performance in frosty round Socks with air Channels, anatomic reinforcements temperatures as well as during demanding activities. Insulated stretch inand PrimaLoft® yarn, so ventilation, moisture transport serts guarantee absolute freedom of movement with 360° insulation while the and insulation are optimised. Matching kit for the hands: Cocona® layer looks after active moisture management. If things start heating Terrex Soft Shell Gloves with anti-slip system. Keepup on the cold ice, then the easily stowable Ndosphere disappears into the rucksack ing a firm grip on your ice tools at the same time as to be replaced by the Terrex Advanced Jacket, because in terms of no-compromise keeping your fingers warm and dry: strategic imperformance, Guido and this technical masterpiece are one of a kind. The athletic plementation of climaproof ® wind and Soft Shell FORMOTION® cut ensures comfortable freedom of movement in every situation, protects, insulates and breathes. If the temperaespecially when you are working with your hands above your head. You can tures hit rock bottom, then frost can be kept at bay hammer ice, reach up, stretch, bend, twist: the jacket moves with you, with tougher Cocona Gloves while keeping your head under retains its fit and breathes freely thanks to the new GORE-TEX® Pro the Logo Beanie for protection against wind and cold.

Shell material that protects against wind and rain as well as lets off steam at the high-performance end of the spectrum.

And the grand finale – when you have got eight waterfalls This lightweight yet tough composition for extreme behind you, are completely drained and don’t have a drop situations is rounded off with watertight zips, of energy left to keep warm, then simply pull the Terrex helmet-compatible hood and an integrated Ndosphere Jacket out of your backpack again. The Primamerino face mask.

Loft® SPORT material used in the torso area and hood provides excellent insulation, even when wet. So the next eight waterfalls better be prepared for some hot moves.

TECHNOLOGY APPAREL

TERREX N’DOSPHERE JACKET The new Terrex Ndosphere Jacket combines ultimate freedom of movement with 360° insulation. Even when wet.

Sleet. Cold. Cold. Sleet. The weather is going all out to show its most unpleasant side. You go all out to celebrate life. In deepest winter – ice climbing or an alpine tour many degrees below zero. Your pulse beats time to your movements. Breathe in. Breathe out. Your muscles are burning. All burners firing inside you. The wind whips around you. And the Terrex Ndosphere shines in-between. Because it loves conditions where it can prove what it can do. The more extreme the differences, the more Ndosphere. Moisture management, insulation and freedom of movement have been redefined from the ground up and a new concept implemented from inside out. The Cocona® finish made from coconut fibre and used in the key zones ensures ideal micro climate and comfort thanks to its active charcoal particles. Thanks to the increase in surface area, it rapidly transports away moisture from your body to prevent excessive cooling at the same time as delivering maximum insulation. This is ensured by 80g PrimaLoft® in the core area and hood. Especially developed for high performance, it supports moisture management and provides insulation very close to that of down, while in addition keeping warm when wet. But it is the strategic stretch panels with PrimaLoft® that make the Ndosphere what it is: a thermal movement masterpiece. That is because making insulation apparel more mobile with stretch panels is nothing new. What is new is making the stretch panels part of the insulation. As a result the patented threedimensional FORMOTION® technology with its body-hugging cut could be implemented while avoiding cold zones. And if the weather does let up for a bit, then the extremely compressible Ndosphere can be stowed away, taking up the minimum of space. We admit: we are a little bit proud of the Ndosphere.

And why not?

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Adjustable hood

PARTIAL COCONA® LINING for ultimate moisture management

FORMOTION® cut for perfect fit and comfort while in motion

80g PRIMALOFT insulation ®

keeps warm even when wet

Chest Pocket

PrimaLoft insulated stretch panels at both sides and back guarantee 360° warmth while allowing ultimate freedom of movement

2 hand warming zip pockets

Adjustable waist hem

fast drying

breathable

water resistant lightweight + compressible

thermically efficient

terrex n’dosphere woman

Insulation: the best of both worlds Bouldering or big wall? Skiing or ice climbing? Greenland or Patagonia? Why accept the limitations of “either/or” when in many areas “do both” is the smarter solution? In terms of insulation both down and PrimaLoft® possess many strengths and capabilities. Depending on the application.

Cut out the philosophy: some things are simply better when they do not change. The core temperature of our bodies, for example. If it falls below the ideal value of 37°C, in medical terms that is when hypothermia starts. First signs: shivering. That is because muscle activity converts chemical energy into mechanical energy. However, the majority of energy – more than 70% – is lost in the way of heat. This would be a relatively low level of efficiency for a machine.

But evolution did not do us any favours here and it is this excess heat that our system needs to survive. If heat production cannot keep up with the heat given of, then we start cooling down. The body tries to warm itself. We start shivering. At the same time it tries to keep cold blood away from the core and the blood vessels in the extremities contract. The system switches over to emergency mode. Loss of performance follows, along with a reduction in the ability to think clearly. In the case of challenging outdoor activities this is not an ideal situation as the risk of injury and probability of making inaccurate assessments increase. So keeping your body warm in a cold environment is about more than just comfort. It is a necessity.

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Why men sweat and women suffer from the cold The high percentage of heat that is dissipated during muscular activity is also the reason why women feel the cold more than men.

While 25 % of body mass is muscle on women, with men it is 40%. Heat production is correspondingly higher as a result. Although the proportion of body fat is higher on women, insulation without heat production does not help much in cold conditions. On top of that, women are on average smaller than men. This unfavourable ratio between body surface area and body volume results in higher thermal losses. And then there is the skin: women’s skin is 15% thinner than men’s. Thinner skin cools down faster and sends signals sooner to the brain that the body needs warmth. The fact is, men are different. So are women. These differences are reflected in the specifications for warm apparel.

Cool is uncool Regardless of whether it’s men or women: sport activates your body’s own air conditioning system. The blood vessels in the skin expand so that warm blood flows outwards, allowing heat to flow outwards too. Sweat provides additional condensation cooling. That is all fine providing we are active. However, if we take a rest, this process continues and rapidly leads to a reduction in body temperature. Then there is air exchange. We breathe cold air in. And warm air out. The exchange of heat has to be stopped quickly before we cool down too far. That is where the right apparel plays a decisive role:

. Clothing reduces the area of exposed skin . Clothing can ensure that sweat is trans- ported away from the body . Clothing increases the insulation effect between the skin and the environment . Clothing insulates the body against cold

Nothing more than hot air When it comes to insulation there are two materials that have proved best for clothing.

Down and PrimaLoft®. But in fact it is air that keeps us warm and keeps the cold at bay – that is because air is a very poor conductor of heat. The principle of insulation is therefore easy: the heat produced by the body should be dissipated into the environment as slowly as possible. Plus, the movement of heat has to be slowed down. Good insulation material retains the air around the body to retard thermal losses. The more air that is retained, the better the insulation effect. Materials like down and PrimaLoft® can retain enormous volumes of air.

Top down Geese and ducks. -20°C. Snow. Wind. Icy cold.

Six months of winter, or more. Down really has to do its thing. And it does it well. Good down has around two million fluffy down legs that reach out in a star shape from the core, inter meshing with other down clusters to form innumerable pockets of air that retain heat. The larger the down the better the cluster and the better the insulation factor. Which brings us to the measurement of down quality, the cuin. Cuin stands for cubic inc per ounce and indicates the volume that will be filled by an ounce (27.3g) of down. The higher the cuin value, the higher the volume and the better the insulation. At 300 cuin an ounce of down fills a volume of five litres, at 500 cuin it fills eight litres and at 800 cuin a massive 13.3 litres. 500 cuin is already good as far as thermal insulation is concerned, with top class kicking in around 650 and five star anything above that.

The more volume the down fills the less you need to achieve the same insulation performance. The product becomes lighter or warmer with the same filling volume. Down fillings are usually a mixture of down with supporting down feathers. This mix ratio is indicated in percentage weight. A 90/10 mix consists of 90% down and 10% down feathers. As the proportion of feathers increases (e.g. 70/30 or 50/50), so does the weight, while at the same time the bulking power and, as a result, the volume of the insulating air pockets are reduced. A down to feather ratio of 80/20 is quite sufficient for everyday use, while 90/10 offers very good thermal properties. In the end, how it is implemented also plays a major role. The chamber method is the most common. The chambers are designed to secure the down so that it is distributed evenly and does not collect in a “heap”.

The art of fibre What the goose has in down, the polar bear has in fur. Its fur consists of fine hollow tubes that store air and expel moisture. Synthetic fibres used for insulation make use of this effect. A special injection process is used to manufacture unbelievably thin fibres – microfibres. The benchmark is the finest natural thread: silk.

The unit for the finest silk thread is 1dtex. This unit says that 1g of the thread is 10,000m long.

A fibre can only be classed as microfibre if it is finer than 1dtex. Microfibres are connected to each other in a criss-cross of millions of contact points to form loose layers and innumerable tiny chambers as a result that store air and retain body heat. It virtually forms a combination of fur (the fibres) and down (the

different layers). The advantage of synthetic fibres then becomes clear: they absorb much less moisture and dry out much quicker than pure down while offering the same insulation.

In addition, they retain their thermal retention properties when wet. Thanks to the synthetic manufacturing process it is also possible to optimise fibres for each application. A looser construction supports freedom of movement and optimises moisture management, so it is ideal for the high-performance sector. If the focus is on insulation properties then fibres with more air pockets are used. The various properties, of the fibres can thus be combined to match the requirements of the product and application.

Best of both worlds We have had it drummed into our heads that down does not keep you warm when it is wet.

Wet down delivers only 1/3 of its original insulation performance, while synthetic fibres still deliver 2/3. Because apparel is now available for outdoor applications that features breathable yet waterproof membranes and outer materials, we no longer need to get our pants in a twist if the product comes into contact with rain from the outside or perspiration from the inside. Down now withstands a great deal more than we were originally led to believe. So let us concentrate rather on the core quality of down products. In terms of the ratio of thermal insulation, weight and stowage volume, down still represents the benchmark in insulation materials. Down products are often up to 50% lighter than their synthetic colleagues and in terms of stowage volume take up to 1/3 less space for the same performance. Jackets filled with synthetic fibres are able to spring back to their original structure, which gives them the ability to plump up even in a damp condition. In addition, synthetic fibres are tough and resistant to dirt and aroma, are durable and dry out rapidly.

So if your activities are constantly changing and you stash your jacket away in your backpack, then need to wear it again, and the next morning it is still supposed to keep you warm, that is when synthetic fibre comes into a class of its own. To sum up the advantages, compared to down it keeps you warm even when wet, dries out much faster and is cheaper, more durable and more compressible.

Everything considered, due to its excellent insulation properties the use of down is still justified for protecting against extreme cold in dry conditions. In cold and wet conditions, synthetic fibre products become more interesting.

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01. terrex swift primaloft vest Swift: fast, nimble, rapid. And thanks to FORMOTION® cut and PrimaLoft® SPORT, it is as warm as it is versatile. Nevertheless, this compact item of insulation ingenuity is only marginally larger and heavier than an apple, plus gives you full functionality.

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02. terrex n’dosphere jacket Developed for the high-performance sector, this jacket combines ultimate freedom of movement with 360° insulation. The stretch panels on the sides and back lined with PrimaLoft® make it a warm movement masterpiece that fits into every backpack.

03. terrex n’dorphin vest Give the cold the warm shoulder: optimised especially for the insulation requirements of women, PrimaLoft® SPORT is used precisely where it is needed. The rest is pure freedom of movement and efficiency.

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04. terrex korum hooded jacket For intensive movement in the mountains in icy conditions: loads of insulation and yet lightweight with a low stowage volume thanks to high down content and excellent bulking power.

05. terrex swift primaloft jacket Active insulation for athletic mountain sport.

This minimalist jacket combines low weight, compact stowage volume and high thermal performance, even when wet. The women’s version also features a hood.

06. terrex korum hooded jacket Never be frozen again! 90% down with a bulk rating of 700 cuin and yet so small and light that this technical and tough jacket can be stowed away in its own side pocket.

buttermilks and zion

Alex fighting through “Evilution to the Lip” (V10)

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PHOTOs Michael Meisl TEXT flo scheimpflug, eva meschede

Highballing and Trad climbing on America’s finest rock.

A sudden cry from above tore apart the silence and a split second later Alex slammed into the crashpads in front of his dumbfounded spotters.

It was a touchdown of the inconvenient kind.

System check: everything seemed fine except for Alex´ middle finger which looked like it had made the acquaintance with a cheese grater. Well, Buttermilks’ granite is razor-sharp and if you slip off it, you’ll taste the pain. It’s that simple.

Thick red blood was oozing out of the chalkcovered fingertip and dripped into the desert sand.

Damn it, why now? Just one moment shy of the sure victory.

It was the last day of our trip to the Californian boulder mecca Buttermilks and time was running out. The next day we had planned to hit Zion National Park for some first-class crack-climbing. But before that was going to happen Alex had to get to terms with some unfinished business. Because Alex had a dream – one that he had been carrying around for thousands of miles. It was the dream of an ascent of the infamous “Evilution to the Lip” (V10), a variant of the legendary test piece “Evilution”, a boulder with triple B-rating: big, bad and beautiful.

“Evilution” is located at the Grandpa Peabody boulder, a block with the size of a single-family house and the shape of a billiard ball. Diehard highballers call it “one of the most beautiful boulder problems in the world”. Beauty is a welcome feature but if you lose your head high up on “Evilution”, you’ll taste the bitter end.

Falling off this boulder means a long flight with a nasty landing.

Four friends and too little time There’s probably a thousand reasons to visit the States for a climbing trip and each and everyone is good enough to jump up, dash to the nearest travel agency office and book a ticket right away. The States offer enough rock for countless climbing lives if not for eternity.

Grandma Peabody – East Arete 5.10

To be honest: 14 days couldn’t be called a lot of time considering this oversupply of climbing possibilities. In fact it was close to nothing. But it was all that Alex, Tilo, Raphaela and Maria, four friends from Austria and Germany, had to their disposition for a trip to the praised land.

The maxim for this trip was therefore evident and clear from the start: Push it to the max!

But before the team could get rollin’ a route for the trip had to be figured out.

“Two weeks – two areas” sounded like the perfectly obvious master plan but making the right choice was a much harder task.

What’s the best combo? Yosemite and Red River Gorge? Hueco Tanks and Joshua Tree?

Buttermilks and Zion? Hmm…

Kevin Jorgeson in “Ambrosia” (V11)

Buttermilks and Zion!

Are you kidding me?

What do highball-bouldering and crack-climbing have in common?

The answer: Nothing.

Climbing high on huge granite eggs with some crashpads far underneath the soles and jamming fully taped hands into crack systems with a double set of camalots clinking on the harness has as much in common as ballet dancing and sumo wrestling.

CALIFORNIA Each journey has to begin somewhere and our starting point was Las Vegas, the epicentre of lightspeed luck and hypertrophic dreams in the middle of the Nevada desert. Our first ride across town felt like a sensoric overkill: everywhere we looked our gaze was almost immediately blinded by lights and lamps, glitter and glamour. But we didn’t have any time to dwell into this spectacle because our own American dream wasn’t made of bling-bling and volatile dollars but of something more tangible: the golden granite of the Buttermilks and the red-coloured sandstone of Zion. But first things first and off we were to Bishop.

After endless hours on the interstate we finally approached the Owens Valley, North America’s lowest lying valley. Located right in there is the town of Bishop, the gateway for bouldering in the Buttermilks.

Our time of arrival couldn’t have been a better one because one hour before sunset prime time started and mother nature let her finest programme run off the reel. As if by magic an enormous Instagram filter started to cover the entire landscape. The snow-covered mountaintops began to glow in delicate pink and the cloud formations, which until now had been bobbing up and down in plain grey, turned into a gleaming armada of bright orange ships as if a sudden Technicolor-boost had been applied to them.

Eye-candy made in California.

Go big or go home Driving through the desert we experienced a contrast that couldn’t be harsher: a Joshua tree every once in a while but besides that nothing but stone, sand and vast emptiness. After a while we stopped in the town of Beatty in the Death Valley. We were hungry.

Beatty is a small nest similar to those towns by the road that Europeans know from films like “No Country for Old Men” or “The Hitcher”. A trailer park there, a burnt out car wreck there, as well as some suntanned figures that sell scrap metal next to the drugstore. We got some food and then the hell out of here.

“Man, they are gigantic!” “Huuuuge!” “No chance I’ll ever make it up there.” Due to the sheer size of some of the boulders in the Buttermilks the border between bouldering and free-soloing gets blurred constantly. This vagueness has been dubbed “highballing”. Highballs are boulders that measure up to 15m in height.

In other words they are f***in’ huge.

If you plan to venture on one of Buttermilks’ big ones, you better know what you are doing. “Bring some crutches,” is a word of advice that highball veteran Wills Young handed out in his Buttermilks

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Alex in “Saigon Direct” (V9)

Kevin Jorgeson “In the Buttermilks I always feel part of the landscape,” says the 28-year-old professional climber. He first travelled here at the age of 15 from his home in Santa Rosa and has been visiting these highball boulders as often as possible ever since. He climbed all the classics and then looked for new problems. Kevin has been first to ascend a number of super highballs in Bishop, like “Ambrosia” (V11/5.14). He worked on this giant problem for nearly two years and finally cracked it in January 2009: “I was prepared to risk my life for it.”

Rush hour in “Iron Man Area”

guidebook and he did it for a good reason. This hint may sound sarcastic to some but it surely isn’t meant this way. It’s rather an advice that should be taken as a serious warning: a Buttermilks highball is simply the wrong place to pose for a new Facebook profile picture. A fall from the top can result in nasty consequences regardless of how many alert spotters or crashpads there are in place. And if you think that raw power gets you out of any trouble, you’re plain wrong. 8–10m above the ground every crimp becomes small and every foothold feels smeary as soap. Up there the body doesn’t obey the orders it gets from the brain anymore. At this point bouldering is nothing but a mind game.

Good guys, good guides We could have grabbed the guidebook and started a quest for good-toclimb blocks in this vast labyrinth of stones which may have ended in an disastrous odyssey. But we wisely chose not to do so. Instead we had organised two guides before our departure from home. Pretty smart, ey?

One thing’s for sure: we couldn’t have found better locals to guide us than the two boulder greats Kevin Jorgeson and Carlo Traversi.

With repeats of “The Swarm” and “Mandala sit” (both checking in at V14) Kevin has some of the hardest repeats in the Buttermilks under his belt.

Not only that, he has also survived a head-to-head with the area’s boss, the super highball “Ambrosia”, unharmed and as a proud winner. Carlo on the other hand is one of the strongest boulderers worldwide.

With repeats of “Heritage“ (8B+), Val Bavona/Switzerland, and “Meadowlark Lemon” (V15), Red Rocks/Nevada, he has climbed some of the hardest lines out there. In the past years Bishop has become a second home for Carlo and currently he is working on a repeat of the razor blade parade “The Spectre” (V13). There was no doubt that the boys knew their way and last but not least what was good for us.

The next morning we were warming up at the “Sunshine Boulder” with temperatures around zero. Together with Kevin and Carlo we climbed “Good Morning, Sunshine”. This felt really great and the feeling in the numb fingers came back slowly. Right after that Maria and Raphi headed to the “Iron Man Area” where they wanted to give the ultra-classic “Iron Man Traverse” (V4) a shot. But until they could take their turn they had to wait in line which is not unusual on a sunny Sunday like this.

In the meanwhile Alex and Tilo were finishing work on “Saigon” (V6) and were already eyeing on the next project, “Saigons’” big brother. “Saigon direct” (V9) is not only a notch harder but the crux also sits quite high: a classic goose-bump boulder, which they both managed to top out in smooth style just two days later. Kevin on the other hand was working on a futuristic project just a few metres away. The short description of the problem according to Kevin went like this: “From a good hold you go to a bad one, then proceed to one that’s worse which is followed by a move to one hold even worse than that.”

Maria in “Iron Man” (V4)

Carlo in “Center Direct” (V10) Tilo’s first ascent of his “Private Buttermilks” (V4)

Ask Carlo which is his favourite boulder and he’ll immediately reply: “Evilution” in Buttermilks. Not because of the difficulty, because his list also includes V15 problems such as “The Game“ in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. “‘Evilution’ – that’s simply excellent climbing,” says the 25-year-old who has made climbing his job. “Not just the sport but also the lifestyle were what I really wanted from early on.” Carlo has been all over the place and has discovered other favourites like Magic Wood and Val Bavona in Switzerland. Buttermilks is still where he belongs, though: “Here you just want to live up to the challenge of the highballs.”

Carlo in “The Spectre” (V13)

carlo traversi

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Raphi in “Inner Sanctum” (V2)

l-r: Kevin, Alex, Carlo, Tilo and Raphi

Rest days are best days Climbing in the Buttermilks was great but after a few days the fingertips were worn down and the whole body ached from doing max moves all the time. In other words: we needed a rest day to recover but also to explore things other than boulder blocks.

Soon we found out that the best coffee in town is brewed in the “Black Sheep” and that the juiciest steaks are served in the “Bowling Center”.

A bit later the day we meet up for a beer with Wills Young and his wife Lisa Rands. The two are a textbook example of a power couple. Wills is the author of the Buttermilks guidebook and knows the area like his living room and Lisa is one of the strongest boulderers ever to lay hands on Bishops granite. She is also a specialist for highballs and the living proof that highballing is not only a man’s game and that the “balls” that are said to be needed to climb the really big balls only exist in a metaphorical sense.

Lisa knows what she’s talking about because she has climbed more scary highballs than most men would dare to.

Last-minute victory.

Soon our bodies started to adapt to the 2-1 rhythm of bouldering in the Buttermilks.

Two days cranking like maniacs were followed by a day of rest, recovery and the sensation of power creeping back into the body.

This iron discipline paid off because the projects that felt impossible at the beginning of the trip started to fall one after the other.

One after the other project? “Evilution to the Lip” remained the only exception. Alex had worked the moves to perfection only to fall over and over again. The last day arose and it was spent sieging the Grandpa Peabody boulder. Hours passed and evening came. Alex knew it was now or never. He took a deep breath. The blood from the last try was wiped off and the fingers freshly taped. Alex pulled on and executed one move after the other with utmost precision. Then came the crux. But this time the dyno on the crimp-of-fate stuck. Every finger was where it had to be.

Hold it now! Three moves further a bloodcurdling cry split the silence.

Oh my God, is he falling? Alex? No, this was an outburst of joy. Alex held tight the finishing holds – he did it! It’s all over! And now off to Zion.

3 days left on the clock The Buttermilks had disappeared out of sight a long time ago and for hours on end we’ve been rolling towards Zion National Park in south western Utah. When we spotted the shiny red walls of Navajo Sandstone our attention quickly detached from the golden Buttermilks granite and shifted towards the new object of desire. At least for now. A short check of our flight tickets revealed that there were only three days left before we had to depart. Even after two weeks of bouldering to the max Alex’ and Tilo’s hunger for climbing remained unsatisfied. But their enthusiasm was well comprehensible because the “Moonlight Buttress” in Zion is a must-do on the ticklist of every ambitious climber and an ascent of this route is as coveted as one of the Nose in Yosemite. If you find yourself right on the spot in Zion, you have to jump at the chance. It’s a question of honour.

The 1,200 foot “Moonlight Buttress” was first-ascended by the likes of Jeff Lowe and Mike Weiss in 1971 when they aid-climbed the route. Two decades went by until rock legend Peter Croft (together with Johnny Woodward) paid a visit to Zion and made the first free ascent at 5.12d/13a.

It was quite obvious that Tilo and Alex were aiming high with plans and also the guidebook warned that strong fingers are only half the deal on a route like this. “Be prepared for a demanding adventure,” read the last sentence of the route description.

Starting from close to zero Crack-climbing and climbing on European limestone have as good as nothing in common. The right jamming techniques (the means by which you lock your fingers, arms, shoulders or body into a crack system) may be totally different from gripping and stepping techniques on limestone, but with some talent and motivation it’s possible to acquire the basics in short time. Motivation is one thing, the right strategy another: Tilo and Alex opted for some warming-up and getting to know the rock on the “Cerberus Gendarme” instead of getting straight on the “Moonlight Buttress”.

Andy Raether

He caught the climbing bug at the age of 13 in a gym in Minneapolis. Since then the 28-year-old has first-ascended many difficult routes (5.14), “All over Colorado,” as he puts it. He now lives in Las Vegas and earns his keep as an industry climber and is planning a huge climbing gym for the resort city. As often as possible he is to be found in nearby climbing areas such as Zion National Park. In Zion he opened up new routes with Rob Pizem in The Narrows in 2012. Narrows is a spectacularly narrow gorge through which you have to wade in waist-deep water to reach the base.

They met up with the two locals Andy Raether and Kyle Vassilopoulos for some help with the “fine tuning”. “Fine tuning” is quite an important factor especially regarding a safe way of protection.

Because Zion is one of America’s trad climbing hotspots which means that all the protection has to be placed on lead. The tools of the trade are called “Camalots” (“Cams” in short) which are devices that expand and clamp in the cracks in case of a fall and hence avoid more serious consequences.

But to be able to fiddle the right sized Cam out of 15 or more different pieces of gear that are dangling on the harness is easier said than done especially when the forearm power is as good as gone.

To place a Cam safely in the crack is as much an art form as locking into a solid jam and especially demanding in psychic respects. The first stress test for the gear came faster than we imagined.

Tilo performed a Hollywood-style whipper on a route called “Intruder” (5.11+) and was dangling on the rope. The Camalot that held his fall remained stuck in place as if it had been concreted.

Thank God! “What a bomb! But the pro is fine,” Tilo euphorically resumed his fall. He was quick to declare that a 5.11+ (or 7a+) crack is quite a different thing than climbing a route of the same grade on limestone, which is something that he usually manages right away. Next up was “Dire Wolf” (5.12). The route had a harder grade but nevertheless it suited Tilo better. He got it first try, which provided a welcome ego boost. Could it really be possible that Tilo is one of those naturally gifted crack talents out there that just have it in them? The “Buttress” would show.

Moonlight at dawn Early the next morning the boys shouldered their packs. Alongside their approach they passed by “Angels Landing”, one of the most well-known pillars in the park. Soon after “Moonlight Buttress” appeared but before they could jam their hands in the cracks, Tilo and Alex had to deal with a bridgeless crossing of the Virgin River. The water was freezing cold but the shock rendered them wide awake within a second. Three easy pitches later they were in the thick of it: the big dihedral aka the Monster lay in front of them. Sceptically they gazed upwards. Why the heck is anyone doing this? The answer was simple: because of the flawless crack systems that come afterwards which were rock aesthetic in its purest form and the perfect place for an unforgettable jam session.

After a few metres into the dihedral the “monster” started to bare its teeth. “Damn it, it’s way harder than I thought.” The climbing became more strenuous with every metre and soon the forearms couldn’t recover anymore.

Last but not least there was a chimney waiting in the next pitch and if there was anything that could irritate European trad climbing newbies more than an evil crack, it’s an evil chimney. “Horrible stuff, I almost peed myself,” Alex confessed later on. Alex and Tilo fought their way upwards but finally they had to accept that free-climbing “Moonlight Buttress” was a task, that was a little bit out of their league. At least for now. “It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings”, goes an old saying and once they will be back, that’s for sure. Backs packed and ready to go they gazed up the “Moonlight Buttress“ for a last time. After a few moments they took their eyes off the wall, turned around and walked out.

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Kyle Vassilopoulos As a former professional skier in the US national team, climbing should be sufficient enough to keep him busy away from the slopes. Every year the 31-year-old spent many weeks climbing in Europe. Until in 2007 he started his training at the renowned French Culinary Institute in New York. Cooking and climbing – especially ice climbing – go together very well, says head chef Kyle, who works as a chef on a ranch in Wyoming every summer. At least the competitive aspect has returned to ice climbing, because Kyle not only works as volunteer at the Bozeman Ice Festival in Montana, he also takes part.

TECHNOLOGY FOOTWEAR

terrex fast r mid gtx Fast, faster, Fast R – the name says it all. That’s because the Terrex Fast R is the perfect ride for mountain athletes looking for lightweight combined with stability. Despite its low weight, this fast hiker is packed with technologies to enable controlled approaches and descents at the highest possible speed.

First up is the TRAXION™ sole with its advanced profile and Continental rubber compound. It offers excellent grip, regardless of whether you are on the go in rocky, stony, boulder-strewn terrain, or on loose surfaces. But it is in wet conditions that the Continental compound is in a class of its own. That’s because this extraordinary rubber compound delivers up to 30 % more grip on dry and wet surfaces than comparable models of boot on the market. Additional control is guaranteed by the FORMOTION® unit in the heel. Two overlapping plates slide over each other to reduce heel-to-toe velocity on fast descents, equalise bumps and reduce stress on the joints. The Speed lacing system is used to secure the boot and doesn’t budge even under severe pressure on rapid descents.

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men

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terrex fast r gtx The Terrex Fast R is available as a mid-cut model with GORE-TEX® membrane and as a low-cut version with or without GORE-TEX®. All that as men’s and women’s models with gender-specific last and fit.

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terrex swift r gtx A new addition to the Fast R family this autumn. Compared to its big brother, the Fast R GTX, the Swift R GTX is slightly lighter, dispensing with the FORMOTION® unit and Continental sole. This sleek multifunction boot with GORE-TEX® membrane keeps feet dry at the same time as offering excellent stability. The fast lacing system is easy to use and secures the boot even under severe pressure on descents.

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terrex swift r The Swift R without GORE-TEX®, but with a 2-Layer mesh construction instead, completes the terrex™ fast hiking species. Thanks to its soft, pleasant lining it is extremely comfortable to wear and the outer material is wearresistant. Like its big brothers it is built on lasts specially for men and women and is designed for athletic hikes on well-defined paths in the mountains.

SHORTCUTS

FALL / WINTER 2013

notes.STORIES.ATHLETES.spots.

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A big welcome to dean potter The visionary climber, slackliner, base jumper and self-described aerialist, has recently joined the adidas Outdoor family. We are looking forward to his exciting upcoming projects on the rock, on the line, in the air or even with his little dog Whisper, who is almost always at Dean’s side.

reinhold messner '13 Double summit anniversary: Like no other, the name Reinhold Messner is repeatedly associated with the highest mountain on earth, Mount Everest. Two dates are especially memorable in May 2013: on May 29th 1953, i.e. 60 years ago, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to reach the summit. On May 8th 1978, Reinhold Messner together with Peter Habeler were first to climb to the summit without oxygen cylinders. Heavily criticised prior to the event, it was then heralded as a sensation.

Barbara Zangerl movie out now Watch the teaser on: youtube.com/adidasoutdoortv

Dani moreno The Spanish athlete Dani Moreno completed a first ascent in Colombia and the first free ascent of “Supervivientes del plástico” (8a), Bolívar Massif, Venezuela.

“Ocho Amaneceres” (8 sunrises) is the name of the route he opened in Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia. They spent 8 nights in the east wall and consequently witnessed 8 sunrises.

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3 Adidas athletes & friends in Patagonia Thomas Huber and Mario Walder conquered Fitz Roy. But not via the standard route; instead they climbed the north face on one of the most remarkable and rarely used lines on this mountain. The route is called “Tehuelche” and was first ascended in 1986 by the Italians Carlo Barbolini, Massimo Boni, Mauro Petronio, Angelo Pozzi, Mauro Rontini, and Marco Sterni. However, they had to give up 150m below the summit due to poor weather conditions. It was not until ten years after the first ascent that the route was repeated and completed right to the summit.

Mario Walder and Hansjörg Auer made the first ascent of “Trollo y Trollin” on the east face of Aguja Guillaumet.

Ragni di Lecco: Italian Alpinists Matteo della Bordella and Luca Schiera took their place in climbing history by claiming the first ascent of the west face of Torre Egger in Patagonia.

Success for Guido Unterwurzacher In one year (2012) he stood atop two of the world’s most beautiful free standing granite needles: the “Nameless Tower” (6,251m) in Pakistan and “Cerro Torre” (3,021m) in Patagonia.

Watch the trailer of “8 Amaneceres” on: youtube.com/adidasoutdoortv

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More on the most popular destination for climbers in the adidas outdoor iPad app issue #9 adidas.com/outdoor/magazine

1. REINHOLD MESSNER (1978) 2. DANI MORENO 3. DEAN POTTER 4. TOP-DOWN: LUIS SOTO, RAGNI DI LECCO, MAX BERGER 5. BEAU KAHLER, FORREST WOODWARD

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. Welcome.

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Ashima fell in love with climbing right after the first encounter with the Rat Rock, a boulder 15 feet high and 40 feet wide at Central Park, which her parents and she passed by one day in 2007 after kindergarten when she was merely six years. Since then her passion for climbing increased rapidly. Today Ashima is climbing nearly every day.

But the hard work pays off.

Four time (Youth Div. C) National Bouldering Champion and the youngest person – male or female – to climb 5.14c.

Ashima shiraishi

Focus When I go into climbing mode it’s like a battle between the wall and myself. In sports like basketball and tennis, you compete against a team or another person. But in climbing, you compete with yourself. And also with the rock.

This is how I approach climbing, and it takes focus.

Sometimes I get freaked just sitting in the chair, waiting to compete and worrying about results. But once I’m on the wall, I relax and get super focussed. All the stress and nervousness drops away and I climb one move at a time. Even when I’m warming up, I don’t fool around with friends or look at my phone. I focus and don’t let anything distract me. Winning isn’t the first thing on my mind. Even if I don’t flash all the routes, if I feel like I did well, I’m happy.

So the important thing is to have a good day climbing. And to have a good climbing day, I have to be focussed. Ever since I first started bouldering in Central Park (New York City), when I was six years old, I could never stop climbing.

Sometimes my coach, Obe, says aggression is good because I’m focussed and just go for it.

I get scared sometimes on big dynos. So I get angry and kick off the wall. I’m like a rocket.

Like Superwoman, flying up the rock for a few seconds. It’s a cool feeling.

Motivation is important because if I’m down in my mind and I’m not psyched, it’s impossible for me to climb anything. If I think of what I’m doing is something special, it’s easier to get focussed. Without goals you have no direction or focus, so you can’t do anything.

When I have a goal, a climb I want to do, I can’t give up till I get it. I’m stubborn like that.

It’s my nature.

In my bed at night I’ll visualise myself climbing a hard project. Later I’ll draw pictures of myself making a difficult send, and I’ll focus on that.

If I can imagine doing something, this helps me believe, and focus on accomplishing my goal.

My goal is to climb all over the world, have fun and put up a few first ascents. Or a bunch of FAs! I want to go to Europe. Yosemite? I don’t know. Maybe. It might be fun to climb El Capitan. I think the rack’s a little bit heavier than me. But we’ll see in the future.

More about Ashima and adidas Outdoor on facebook.com/adidasoutdoor

allery.

find out more in the interactive adidas outdoor iPadÂŽ magazine

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himalaya adventure

ATHLETE: Bernd Zangerl, AUT LOCATION: Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India boulder: The very best Lake (Fb.7a) PHOTO: Ray Demski

allery.

para 7 gliding ATHLETE: Veso Ovcharov, BUL LOCATION: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland PHOTO: Ivo Ninov

allery.

hueco

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tanks - bouldering ATHLETE: Mélissa Le Nevé, FRA LOCATION: Hueco Tanks, Texas, USA boulder: Diaphanous Sea (V12) PHOTO: Eli Holzknecht / Alpsolut Moving Pictures

find out more in the interactive adidas outdoor iPadÂŽ magazine

allery.

find out more in the interactive adidas outdoor iPadÂŽ magazine

9

jordan

climbing trip ATHLETEs: Felix Denkmayr, Jomo Zeil,

Oliver Bauer, AUT LOCATION: Rakabat Canyon, Wadi Rum, Jordan approach: Jebel um Ejil, west face PHOTO: Moritz Matschke

allery.

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EL

diamante ATHLETE: Charly Fritzer, AUT LOCATION: Val Lunga, The Dolomites, Italy route: El Diamante (M11/WI6) PHOTO: Timeline Production

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REINHOLD MESSNER

Today, alpinists have completely different options open to them compared to earlier.

That’s thanks to the development of new equipment, more accurate weather forecasting and better training. As a result we have been able to push the limits upwards in recent decades so that even the highest mountains are accessible to so many – including paraathletes, veteran climbers and children. As a consequence, mountaineering is becoming more and more of a sport. The result is that fewer and fewer mountains – famous summits in particular – are climbed by more and more people.

The latest reports from Mount Everest expeditions, for example, read like postmodern marketing copy. As if it is more important to attract attention to oneself than enjoy the challenge of the mountain or the experience of an expedition. These vanity trips are more popular than ever! It seems they all want one thing only: to get into the Guinness Book of Records.

There is already the oldest climber at over 70, the youngest at 13, the first father-son ascent, the first wedding at the summit, the first brothers to reach the summit, the first amputee and the tragedy with the highest number of fatalities. They record who climbs the mountain fastest, and who stays up there longest. The first son of an Everest climber was Peter Hillary, the son of the man who climbed Everest first.

Following the “conquering“ of the highest mountain in the world 60 years ago on May 29th 1953, the next 25 years were spent looking for new routes, and then at last an ascent without supplemental oxygen was managed and then in midwinter a paraglider jump from the summit, and finally the fastest descent – only possible because the two easiest routes to the summit were better and better prepared and secure.

OUTDOOR

THEN AND NOW REINHOLD MESSNER

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In the past ten years more than double the number of climbers reached the summit of Everest than in the 40 years before; up to 40 people in a day.

This has been made possible by technical developments: the lightest oxygen cylinders, satellite phones for logistics and weather reports, medicines against altitude sickness, lighter ropes, better climbing protection, ideal clothing. And of course all the experience that has been gained.

I am impressed that Sherpa Ang Rita has managed to climb to the summit 20 times without supplemental oxygen, but I’m not impressed by the longest queue on the ridge to the summit, the 1,000th tourist at an altitude of 8,850 m, or the birthday boy who fancies getting into the record books. Nor am I impressed by the number of newspaper articles that are published about some or other “heroic ascent of Everest“.

In contrast to the Mount Everest that today is supposed to belong to the career path of every successful mountaineer, and the urge to dare to do something, mountaineers frequently “die a death“ verbally when they advertise their group travel deal as a sensation and publish photos online of a single tent (out of the city of tents at the foot of the mountain) to give the impression of loneliness.

Mountaineering has a lot more to do with being exposed than it has to do with summits, and the art is about returning from the loneliness rather than going away or being on top. Being on top won’t earn much more than a pat on the shoulder from those who would give a standing ovation to the first dog on the summit. It’s not the somersault at the summit but the challenge we put ourselves through that throws us off balance, when it leads us into the unknown, brings us to the limit of our being, our health and as a result our capabilities and pain threshold. I have nothing against better equipment, but traditional mountaineering remains climbing with the minimum equipment.

It is my own frailty that has become a lasting memory from by solo climb on Mt Everest and many other tours – not euphoria. The fittest or quickest tourist on the mountain can’t tell me anything new; only the few who dare to venture far from any kind of infrastructure on their own where people don’t belong. And then there are near-death experiences – senseless and yet emotional – which I experienced myself in 1980 as a rebirth.

As if I had managed to haul myself back into the land of the living.

I still climbed with hemp ropes and primitive boots. There were no Gore-Tex, no Friends and no mobile phone. Helicopter rescue was unheard of. With the ice tools available today Welzenbach routes are a cakewalk and in a portaledge you sleep like a baby compared to a suspended off a belay. But everything that is technically possible is implemented, and it is the same in mountaineering. Increasing the achieved degree of difficulty is the result, along with much improved training opportunities in the gym thanks to sponsors and drugs.

Even if we are totally at one with ourselves during extreme mountaineering, each of us completely convinced that we are the most important person in this game, there is always somebody else – and naturally the mountain itself – that is above us. But this kind of modesty is disappearing as fast as the level of modern climbing aids increases. The progress in training methods and technical equipment is what characterises the status quo of alpinism today less than personal character, which is subject to less and less scrutiny than before. That’s why people demonstrate such arrogance towards nature. As if this attitude can be deemed legitimate by the millions who follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, there are an ever increasing number who set out in search of new records.

But because you cannot gain experience if you haven’t worked it out for yourself, the routes that are already well-trodden never lead to the centre of your being. They serve as a reflection of the hubris of others but are not worth much as experiences.

Nonetheless, no success on the mountain is handed over on a plate. It goes against our nature to climb such extreme routes over such high elevations. Everything up there is tiring. And then there are fear, much willpower, and suffering too. But every task remains free of emotion. In the same way that muscle functions, acclimatisation, willpower, heart volume, lung power are also free of emotion. All the effort we invest to arrive at a place we don’t belong is secondary; what counts is our spirit, formed from the challenges we have set ourselves.

I also dedicated a good 25 years of my life to extreme mountaineering.

With the equipment from that era. I have failed on some of the most difficult walls, likewise on the North Pole attempt later. The date was 1977, not yet ready for the Dhaulagiri south face. Likewise the hardware.

However, none of my many interests lasted a lifetime. New ideas always came along, gripping me, suppressing old obsessions. It wasn’t the many first ascents in the Dolomites that made me successful, or the eight thousanders, but the ability to change, the readiness to question what I did yesterday. Again and again.

In the meantime the highest mountain in the world is crawling with Sunday mountaineers, who use whatever it takes to get them to the top.

Just to be able to crown their mountaineering career with this “record“.

There is indeed no mountain that symbolises the “pure ascent“ so blatantly as the highest of them all. But whoever spends their life looking for adventure will find it in the Alps too, in Caucasus, in our highlands, if you want to grab the essentials before jumping over the garden wall and setting off into the great wide open.

“Kalipé” as Tibetans say – always travel with steady feet.

Reinhold Messner (04/2013)

MONT BLANC DU TACUL

Living an everyday dream

mont blanc du tacul

- heart of the alps

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TEXT STÉPHANIE MAUREAU PHOTOS JONATHAN GRIFFITH

s

o, ice axes, crampons, pitons, quickdraws, some screwgate carabiners, descenders, helmets, ropes. OK! Some nuts for the first pitches?

That’s it for the technical stuff.”

“Now for the bivouac, stove, mess can, sleeping bag, mattress, tent. Just the clothes left… Let’s go, this is going to be great.” After closing the backpack and a phone call to Max to check the final details of the route, it‘s time to get going.

Stéphanie and Max are heading for the Supercouloir on the east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul.

This couloir is simply captivating. With the broad band of ice that outlines 600m of the east face of the mountain, there is no doubt that any climber will be attracted to it. A climb like the Supercouloir represented for them, who love the mountain in all its forms, a real playground where you have to master several alpine activities to accomplish it: the approach is made on skis, first a short descent into the Vallée Blanche, then a short ascent on skis to reach the bergschrund and finally the technical climb – two mixed pitches to reach the foot of the ice, which then continues for 500m. The route ends at the peak of Mont Blanc du Tacul with the last 400m mixed and a descent on foot from the summit. If conditions are too poor to descend the normal du Tacul route, it’s possible to get off the mountain by abseiling down the technical pitches.

Stéphanie, who has been a competitor in the Ice Climbing World Cup, is now a “Guide de Haute Montagne” (Mountain Guide). Based in Chamonix for the last five years, she recently joined the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix (Mountain Guide-Company of Chamonix) – the second woman in over 25 years. Stéphanie has been mountaineering since she was a child. After university, not finding any conventional work, she passed her climbing instructor qualifications which she worked at for several years, and then naturally turned to being a professional guide.

I feel good. I’m living a dream every day!

I love my work – taking a person up the mountain is just magical. It’s true that it can be tricky for a woman – you have to win clients’ confidence but after a little while on the rope they see that they have found their feet and can take it from there, it’s a success and they have confidence in us.

The mountain is sharing, for me.

Sharing emotions, sharing feelings, sharing friendship. So why not share experience…???

Her buddy for the Supercouloir is Maxime Tirvaudey, instructor at the Military Academy de Haute Montagne and an aspiring guide. They met one summer evening when they came looking for work at the Compagnie for the next day. Their friendship arose from the desire to climb together, and then skiing as well. As they were getting along well together in various activities, the idea of sharing something on the mountain developed, giving rise to projects that were a little more ambitious. Mountaineering is a great way to get to know each other and weave other links, stronger links, a secret which only the mountain knows… Beyond mere friendship, there is the bond of team spirit. An attachment to one another and a relationship of trust.

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Supercouloir on the east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul

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h h

ere’s the story of their route, told by Stéphanie: It was 1 pm and I found Max at the base of Aiguille du Midi. We had a last coffee before getting into the gondola that would take us up to 3,800 m, the starting point of our route. With the mountaineering and camping equipment, the bags were heavy and bulky. It wasn’t going to be easy to ski with this load on our backs but… The idea of sleeping at the foot of the Supercouloir added an extra attraction to this adventure.

30 minutes later, we arrived at the summit of Aiguille du Midi and prepared to descend the ridge, which we had to do to access the Vallée Blanche and all the routes it offers. The ridge, impressive in summer, is equipped with winter ropes to help people descend. The landscape is magnificent and the weather was fine, although we could feel the cold of winter on our cheeks.

Ow! Ow! Ow! … It was not going to be very warm over the next couple of days.

The descent to the foot of the slope that would bring us to the bergschrund of the Supercouloir is quite short. In ten minutes we were at the place where we wanted to set up our bivouac.

The foot of the slope was already in shadow; we would have to wait until daybreak to see the sun again. The late afternoon passed quickly and we dug a hole and raised the tent inside it to protect ourselves from the wind. The temperature continued to drop and it was hard to stay outdoors unless you kept moving… We decided to go into the tent to prepare our supper and slide into our sleeping bags.

I’m not very used to camping in winter and I had thought that sharing a beer would be nice, but to my surprise, after a few sips, the beer began to freeze. Next time it will be mulled wine for sure!

After a few problems with our stove (also because of the cold), we managed to eat our freeze-dried food but it was not possible to melt the snow a second time, so no hot water before sleeping. The thermometer on my phone indicated -23ºC… I couldn’t guarantee a great night.

We put everything possible inside the sleeping bag – shoes, slippers, the gas cylinder in the hopes of having a little hot tea in the morning… and presto, we drifted off in no time. The night seemed long and I looked forward to the early morning. A little more patience…

We set the alarm at 4.30 am to be at the bergschrund by daybreak. Between the bad night and the cold of early morning, it wasn’t easy to get out from under the duvets, but a glance at the rock face re-motivated us and gave us energy. The problem with the stove was repeated and it took an hour to melt some snow.

So no freeze-dried food for breakfast. We opened a packet of biscuits instead (thanks, Max, for this great idea). Not hyper-energising but it would be good enough…

6 am and we tackled the rise on skis and an hour later reached the bergschrund. After a quick gulp of tea, we put on our mountain boots and got ready for the ascent. The first two pitches are mixed climbing. There was some ice and we

The last stretch of ice was very interesting. It is quite steep and the ice was of good quality. It was a pleasure to climb except the uncomfortable spin drifts, amusing little avalanches that have a perverse pleasure in filling our clothes

progressed with ice axes on the rock by aiming for its flaws and all the little cracks available in the granite. It was early in the season and the ice and rock were in reasonably good condition.

with snow. We were sure, it will definitely be windy up there… Reaching the summit from the final technical pitches, Max and I decided to rappel back down the way we came. The spin drifts were becoming more numerous and abseiling was by far the easiest solution. There had been a lot of snow recently and the normal du Tacul route would be difficult. Happy to have completed this route together, we had no regrets as we set up our rope in the quick links and started the long series of abseils that would bring us back to our skis. We arrived back at the bivouac at 2 pm. We hurried to fold up the tent and pack our bags again for the last part of the day – the descent by ski.

It’s good when ice and rock are together.

We were now at the foot of the ice pitches – eight ahead of us, about 400m to climb. Being this early in the season, the ice was changeable, sometimes with good anchorages, other times needing several attempts before the ice axe would stick. It was icy cold, and the wind picked up, and we were suddenly trying to go as fast as possible to reach the top…

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A

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s a guide in Chamonix, the descent from the Vallée Blanche was not new to me, but skiing it is a great pleasure every time. The route is across open glacier, skiing between crevasses and seracs.

The scenery is magnificent and changes from one moment to the next. All these surrounding mountains… the Grandes Jorasses, Blaitière and its north face, the Aiguille Verte, the Drus.

All their fascinating, imposing majesty... In the distance you can see the mountains in other ranges, the Grand Combin, Matterhorn, Monte Rosa.

You feel like you are in the heart of the Alps. It‘s official: I love this landscape.

We let ourselves gently slide towards the Mer de Glace. The backpacks were still heavy. So we decided not to ski down to Chamonix, but to go back down by train from Montenvers, a hundred-year-old rack and pinion railway.

Suddenly we were among people… It feels strange to return to civilisation. We were only alone for two days and, hey, there was everyone and it wasn’t so easy to just sit still… And then we were back in Cham. The journey was over but there were still a few things to do. It’s out of the question to leave just like that after a great day on the mountain. It was now 4 pm and we had hardly eaten all day, so a good meal was essential while sharing our impressions, emotions and reliving the route we had just experienced, but this time a lot warmer…

Maxime died a few days after this climb during an accident at Mont Blanc. adidas is sorry to have lost a friend who was all passionate about mountaineering, skiing, climbing, being active with friends in the mountains. adidas joins with the sorrow of his relatives and friends, together with whom we have decided to publish the story of this expedition in his honour.

„Max, thank you for having crossed my path. I will keep your smile and your joie de vivre with me. Keep shining for us and among us. With all my love.“ Steph

“Max, thank you for having crossed my path. I will keep your smile and your joie de vivre with me. Keep shining for us and among us. With all my love.”

- Steph

WOMEN’S EQUIPMENT 8

stéph’s choice

7

for S upercouloir

The Supercouloir is one of the greatest routes of its kind in the Mont Blanc massif, set picturesquely between the Pilier Gervasutti and Pilier des Trois Pointes. Ascending this elegant and straightforward route requires one thing in particular: versatility. Whether it is skiing, mixed climbing or ice climbing, Stéphanie Maureau feels more than at home in any of these disciplines.

Just like the athletic 1 Terrex Icefeather Jacket, which meets each challenge as the stakes increase. The name says it all. As light as a feather. Tough against ice. Or snow. Or wind. Or all of them together. It takes a great deal, a very great deal, before the combination of highly breathable, new GORE-TEX® Pro Shell and FORMOTION® cut reaches its limit. Numerous features such as strategically optimised ventilation, removable snow guard and helmet-compatible hood round off the extremely wide spectrum of this high-performance jacket, while the 2 Terrex Blaueis Pants complement it. The comfortable pants made of climaproof ® Soft Shell go through all the moves with you thanks to their stretch material, shaped knees and FORMOTION® cut. They offer excellent protection with integrated gaiters and are also well-ventilated thanks to additional zips on the sides.

Because a winter bivouac is all part of the Supercouloir ascent, it is essential that the functional 3 Terrex Ndosphere Jacket – especially optimised for women’s thermal requirements – is included in Stéphanie’s kit. Firstly, you can rely on the Ndosphere when it gets really cold while you are climbing – on a frosty morning for example – while insulated stretch panels enable unrestricted freedom of movement with 360° insulation. Secondly, the Ndosphere keeps you warm even when wet; perfect on a tiring climbing tour. So while the drinks froze overnight, Stéphanie didn’t. That is also partly thanks to the 4 Terrex Cocona Fleece that works perfectly as an intermediate layer. And of course the 5 Terrex Swift Longsleeve 1/2 Zip base layer. Together, the two layers provide such an excellent micro climate that after a tiring tour Stéphanie was able to slip virtually bone-dry into the insulating Terrex Ndosphere. That is due to Cocona® – a fabric produced using coconut shells – which transports moisture extremely rapidly to the surface of the fabric using active charcoal particles. The same fibres are also to be found in the 6 Laya Pants. The complete outfit is more than the sum of its parts and when the individual layers complement their functionality intelligently the result is a comfort zone with enormous performance potential, including tough weather protection, high breathability and unrestricted mobility.

The 7 Crotched Beanie with its soft and cosy lining and fashionable shape provides comfort for your head, while the anatomically lined 8 Terrex Light Sock ensures your feet stay warm yet well-ventilated. The weather-resistant 9 Terrex Swift Soft Shell Gloves, reinforced on the palm and made from climaproof ® material, enable you to lay warm hands on a satisfied heart, even on a freezing summit.

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Ski mountaineering, winter bouldering, ice climbing or ski touring: Are you one of those people who, with the right equipment, are ready to hit the trail as soon as the first frost arrives? Do you belong to the group of winter freaks who prefer to be outdoors all the time in freezing conditions? No mountain too high, no snow conditions too difficult? Then bring on the next Ice Age because you are well prepared: keeping yourself fit as well as your equipment bang up-to-date. You also know how to have fun despite the cold, kitted out with the right accessories from head to toe.

Well, here is some new stuff for you:

P ad d ed B o a t

201 3

WINTER SPECIALS

SPECIALS

slop ecr uis er

A RELIABLE COMPANION ON COLD DAYS It’s going to get dark at some point, far too soon unfortunately. But that’s no reason to resort to warming yourself by the fire after the tour. Perhaps you can still go slacklining in the snow or head for the next mountain refuge.

Whatever you decide to do after your skiing or mountaineering adventure, with the Slopecruiser CP you won’t lose your footing even on snow-covered surfaces because TRAXION™ is a special sole construction inspired by the crawler tracks on slope grooming machines. PrimaLoft ® ensures that your feet stay warm: this soft synthetic fibre lining is familiar from its use in jackets. Its microfibres form tiny air cells that store body heat, repel cold and at the same time ensure a comfortable climate thanks to the fibre’s breathability. Due to the wide-opening tongue construction it is easy to pull the boot on and off. A special feature on the Slopecruiser is a clip on the heel for long and wide pants, preventing the seams from scuffing on the ground and soaking up moisture towards your calves. The high-strength material is especially robust and hard-wearing as well as being completely waterproof thanks to the climaproof ® membrane. It also comes in three stunning designs to bring a bit of colour to the white winter landscape. The Padded Boot PL from the everyday outdoor collection is an outdoor boot for all day, any day. Because they are really light and compressible, you can take them in your backpack on ski tours – or leave them in the car for your return – to warm up your feet comfortably after the tour.

That’s one of the things they do best, because like Slopecruisers they are lined with especially warming PrimaLoft ®.

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k ni t lo g o b e anie

BEANIE ATTACK

bo uld er b e anie

s nowf l ak e b e a nie

id 2 pro

re ver s ib l e b e a nie

zir b el b e a nie

s t r ip ed b e a nie

adidas.com/outdoor

It’s a long time ago since headgear was just designed to keep you warm.

In addition to the undeniable and practical effects of counteracting icy ears, cool statements have been all the rage for ages, and not just in winter. Headgear has the fun factor; the icing on the cake. There are narrow ones, wide ones, long or short, crazy or cool. What you really need now is a special one just for you – at least one. That’s where the current beanie collection comes in: Black, pink or blue, the Knit Logo Beanie is available not only in a range of colours with eye-catching logos – it also provides especially good insulation with its warm fleece lining. With the same lining but stripes on the outside and a pompom, it’s the Striped Beanie. Vintage and sport are the perfect mix on the Boulder Beanie with tightly hugging rib knit in multi coloured wool. Simply turn to the left – you get two in one with the Reversible Beanie. The laid-back and loose-fitting Zirbel Beanie and Snowflake Beanie give you the cool look.

UNBELIEVABLE VISION Ice-blue sky, white mountains, blazing sunshine: all wasted if your goggles are giving you gyp. Like when they steam up in powder, don’t protect your eyes properly on a ski tour or squeeze your head and your concentration during an ascent. Zero vision, dangerous dazzling or pain-in-the-skull pressure points – anybody who has had to deal with these problems knows how important good hi-tech eyewear is. id2 pro goggles deal a double blow to nerve-racking condensation: first they feature ventilation technology that has been tested in a wind tunnel, second they are fitted with soft padding in contact with your face to prevent water or snow crystals from entering. The pro version is also equipped with a changeable filter system for UV protection up to 100%. Only one hand and two clicks are needed to fit the reflective exterior filter to the goggles and protect your eyes. A new design of flexible front frame is used to act against pinching and pressure; it adapts to any helmet too, with a silicon coating on the straps to maintain a comfortable position on the smooth surface of helmets.

CHILE

A

n icy wind was howling down the lake, whipping the surface into gigantic waves... It felt like we were in the middle of a raging ocean, with waves crashing over the sides of our boat – not much more than a dinghy with an outboard motor. Sam Bié, Jon Cardwell and myself (Mayan Smith-Gobat) huddled down into our jackets, pulled the hoods tighter around our faces and put faith in skills of Francesco, our faithful host and boat driver, to get us safely back to the shore. Our life jackets felt far from adequate.

With each bitter moment the reality sunk in deeper – we were in Patagonina Andes, notorious for unsettled weather and high winds. It was late spring / early summer, and our mission was to go deep water soloing/bouldering!

Jon and I had brought lightweight wetsuits in preparation for icy water, but had not expected the weather to be so bad... Our minds were set on beautiful sunny days and the clear still water shown in all the photos of the Marble Cathedral.

Thankfully, we made it back to the shore, frozen to the core and a little perturbed, but alive.

Sulkily Sam, Jon and I returned to our cabin, thawed ourselves with hot tea and mulled over our options. The quick jaunt down to Chile from Argentina had quickly turned into an epic journey simply to get to our destination – the trip to the tiny village of Puerto Río Tranquilo, felt like it was a journey to “the end of earth”. Now that we had finally arrived, it did not even look like we would get to climb at all... We only had three days left, the weather was terrible and we kept hearing conflicting stories on where and whether we were even allowed to climb.

Having finally laid eyes on the beautiful features of the fabled Marble Caves, did not make things any better – they were amazing! Unfathomably smooth stunning limestone caverns, sculpted by thousands of years of glacial water and adorned with drooping teeth and pillars.

Creating the perfect climbers’ playground, with countless beautiful lines to climb... if only it was a little warmer and there were no officials and undefined laws to navigate.

CHILE ARGENTINA Lake General Carrera

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the Marble Cathe dral the end of earth

PHOTOS SAM BIÉ TEXT MAYAN SMITH-GOBAT

adidas.com/outdoor

Yes. ated by s fascin T ourIS T L ICaT E bing a de im cl e m e lake, th e ov ab slab way ly on d e an on the on e had. y that w SU NNy da

he e l

W b r a e ath al

of ear th

aking to another day of rain

and howling winds, the team’s patience had all but run out.

Sam and I were exasperated and ready to leave, but Jon managed to talk some sense into us. Reasoning that after spending so much time and energy getting to this remote corner of the world, we had to try every last thing to succeed in climbing on these incredible marble features. Grudgingly I agreed and we made arrangements with Francesco to take us out that afternoon. Hoping the weather would clear a little, but even if not, to climb in the caves along the coastline where we had eventually been told that we were allowed to climb, and which would not be sheltered from the rain. For once, luck was with us, the rain eased off and the sun even showed itself for a few minutes every now and then.

Action and some glimpses of sunshine lifted our spirits instantly... Excitedly, we cruised around in the boat, eyes peeled for the most striking climbable features. Once we had agreed on a line, we, in a jumbled mixture of Spanish and English, instructed Francesco where to take us. Skilfully he maneuvred the boat into our selected cave, then Jon and I took turns precariously climbing out of the boat onto the smooth and often razor-sharp marble features. We managed to climb for several hours on a variety of different features and found dozens of amazing lines to climb, yet did not even try to top anything out for fear of falling into the glacial melt, and facing the prospect of being stuck on a boat in the Baltic wind for several hours – hyperthermia would have been almost unavoidable!

The idea to venture to this remote destination and try deep water soloing on the stunning features of the Marble Caves was Sam Bié’s...

It all began from an image he saw posted on Facebook. Beautiful pastel-coloured Marble Caves above a crystal clear lake, never touched by climbers. Sam was intrigued, he went on a mission to find out everything he could about the place...

These Marble Caves, Cathedral and Chapel are part of a huge area of extremely hard limestone (marble) band, located on the western side of Lake General Carrera (in Chile) or Lake Buenos Aires (in Argentina). This lake spans the border between Argentina and Chile, almost equally divided between the two countries – it is the largest lake in Chile and the second largest in South America. Because of the size of this lake and the Patagonian winds constantly blowing down its length, the icy water is often whipped up into sizable waves. In addition, Lake General Carrera is glacially fed, so there is an annual rise and fall of the water level of several metres.

Where the marble drops directly into the lake, the combination of these two factors for over 6,000 years have eroded it into one of the world’s most stunning formations – caves, columns, pillars and flying buttresses rising out of crystal clear glacial water.

Even though the distance to get to Puerto Río Tranquilo is not very far – a couple hundred kilometres from the Argentinean border, it is an extremely isolated and difficult place to travel to, getting there was much more time-intensive than any of us had anticipated.

Immediately after crossing the Chilean border the roads turn to extremely small, winding dirt tracks – even the main road running down the length of Chile is no better, making any form of travel extremely slow. In addition, public transport is rare and even if scheduled, never seems to run or is very unreliable. A common way of getting around (for travellers) was to hitch, but this was no better – also very slow and unreliable, as there was not much traffic anywhere, even at the best of times!

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slow...

Yes. boring...

Far from it.

When Sam first showed me pictures, we had no idea about any of these logistical issues, it looked like an amazing place – and not far from the Esquel, Argentina (where we were for the Petzl trip anyway). So without much more thought or planning, Jon and I agreed to go.

Only a day after the Petzl RocTrip finished Sam Bié, Jon Cardwell and myself found ourselves in a rental car driving south through the endless deserts of Argentina.

Flat expanses of nothingness stretching on forever, only very occasionally broken by a slight rise or even more rarely a small sleepy village. For eight hours we drove, the roads slowly degenerated. From being descent paved highways, to heavily potholed horrendous dirt tracks where travelling more than 30km per hour would have meant instant death for our small rental car.

Slow... Yes. Boring... Far from it. This was actually one of the most beautiful and fascinating drives ever – there was an amazing amount of wildlife and variety in the endless flatland.

From marshland filled with pink flamingos, to deserts with herds of wild horses, alpacas and lanky ostriches followed by dozens of tiny chicks. Even a skunk, which happened to be crossing the road just ahead of our car.

Sam and Jon chased him with cameras, and surprisingly the feisty little skunk actually tried to hold his ground... for a while. Though eventually the photographers became too much for his patience and our dear little friend lifted its tail and sprayed, covering Sam from head to toe – camera and all.

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DrivING South through ArgenTINA...

LonG straight dIRt roads, stuNNing light and lots of wILD life, including a friendly sKUnK.

ventually we arrived at the Los Antiguos and the Chilean border, only a couple hundred kilometres from our destination. Little did we know that this is where our problems would really begin. When hiring the car we heard that the laws had just changed and that it was no longer possible to take a hire car across into Chile. But, as we had no other options (public transport in this part of the world seemed to be nonexistent) we had decided to take the risk and try anyway. So with our fingers crossed and hearts beating fast we apprehensively approached the border crossing. Everything seemed to be going fine for a while, Sam received a bunch of stamps and feeling confident moved onto the next counter, while they began processing Jon and me. Only then did I realise what was happening – Sam had succeeded in leaving Argentina with the car, but now he had to enter Chile! Unfortunately, moments later we received the bad news – there was no way we could take the car. So, after a couple of hours, a bunch of paperwork and a lot of stamps we were back in Argentina, utterly frustrated and with no clue what to do...

We resorted to hITCHing...

Up a very stEep hill on a windy DIRT track.

try hitch hiking

lodging – OU R inteNDed er ThE Bus SHElt

Travelling IN style...

Our finAL ride, in the cAb of OsCAR’s giant truck.

Oscar even tRUsted me to drive his huge trUCk over a ONe-lane suspension bRIDge.

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e soon discovered that even though only 8km from Chile Chico (the next town just across the border) no one had any information about anything on the other side of the border. Our only option was to leave the car, take a taxi across to Chile Chico, then work out the next stage of our journey once in Chile. After a crammed taxi ride with a ridiculous amount of luggage, a lot more paperwork and stamps, we finally made it into Chile. Our initial excitement soon dissolved as we found ourselves stranded, sitting in front of a corner store waiting for a bus which never arrived – the owner of the store eventually informed us that it was not coming today, the next one would be there (maybe) in three days. Having run out of options, we found a hotel to stay in, drank wine and, once again, tried to work out how to proceed. The hotel owners eventually arranged a friend of theirs to drive us the next morning. This sounded like it would work, but the next morning the arranged time came and went, yet no one arrived. We waited till noon, and then 2 pm... Still nothing and my patience

was in shreds! I needed action and only two options remained: #1 – bail back to Argentina where our car was waiting and try for a different objective. Or #2 – try hitchhiking. Eventually we all agreed that, even though this was unlikely, it was at least worth a try. So, the three of us ended up sitting on a corner with our thumbs out. However, the faint shimmer of hope we had on arriving quickly dissipated – there was barely any traffic leaving town, the afternoon was almost done and the three of us with a huge amount of luggage, would have been lucky to get a ride at the best of times.

Almost an hour passed and we were about to give up on this crazy mission, when a truck pulled over. Hastily throwing our gear in the trunk, we piled in and were pleasantly surprised that one of the guys was actually from England. He was working at a self-sufficient farm near a tiny village an hour around the lake. An hour later, this is where we ended up – again, sitting on the side of the road, yet this time, truly in the middle of nowhere. There happened to be a hitchhiker opposite us, who

proceeded to tell us that he had been sitting there all day and how epic hitching was in this remote place. To our surprise, luck seemed to be with us for once and another truck stopped for us after a relatively short time. After two more rides we ended up at the last intersection, with only 40km to our destination. It was getting dark, but we were beyond caring – we were as good as there and here we even had a small bus shelter (somewhere to sleep) and a boulder to play on!

We instantly gave up on hitching and played on the boulder... However, luck was still on our side and we did not have to spend the night here. In the last faint glimmer of light we got the most unlikely ride of all – a truck transporting a digger happened to stop at the intersection to talk to a friend. Without hesitation, Oscar, the driver, welcomed us on board and for the next several hours we travelled at about 10km per hour. I have never been so happy to drive at this pace – after far too many days of travel, we finally knew that we would make it to Puerto Río Tranquilo!

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On arriving, we let loose days of frustration and partied until the early hours of morning...

Celebrating being there and Oscar’s birthday, all our worries forgotten! Yet, they all returned in a hurry when we woke to the disappointment of battling rain and officials for the next few days. Finally, on our last day there, the sun showed itself. Our faithful driver Francesco dropped us on the shore and I rappelled into one of the lines which had struck me on our first trip in the driving rain. It turned out to be a beautiful climb – a fun roof section with big holds, which then turned into a delicate and airy slab. It felt amazing simply to be climbing again, after the epic journey to what felt like the “end of the world”.

Moving around the coastline, Jon prepared to climb a stunning prow we had also found the previous day. Out of the boat we had played on this line and Jon had succeeded to decipher an awesome three-dimensional sequence of moves, involving a toe hook above his head, to navigate past a blank section on the horizontal roof. However, unfortunately just before Jon was able to attempt to climb this prow, a very official looking boat rounded the corner and headed straight for us. As it drew closer our fears grew, they carried guns, had a camera pointed at us and once close enough proceeded to order us (in Spanish) to come down to the shore. In my imagination I saw us being handcuffed and landing in a Chilean prison, but also could not imagine what we had done wrong... Fortunately, the three officials were actually very friendly and in our broken Spanish we made out that they believed we were not allowed to climb there after all and they told us not to do it again.

This was the end of our last day anyway, so after they departed, we packed our bags and, with some trepidation, began our long journey back to Argentina. However, we were still determined to get to the bottom of what was actually allowed. So, once we made it back to Chile Chico, Sam, Jon and I went into the District Council. With the help of a local, who had become a friend of ours, we managed to explain the situation. The end result: it was simply private property and all we would have needed to do was get permission from the local landowner – very good to know, yet also a little frustrating that we did not know this earlier...

I’m plaYINg on the stunNIng features in the Marble CavES.

was a new experience for the entire team, even in our wildest dreams none of us imagined that it would end up like this. However, even though it was not exactly what we wanted, the trip was an amazing experience and a total success – despite all the odds being stacked against us, we made it to the destination, Puerto Río Tranquilo, and discovered the phenomenal beauty of the Marble Cathedral and Caves. Jon and I braved the harsh Patagonian weather and, as far as we know, were the first people to climb in these fantastic Marble Caves.

Exploring these unique features on these untouched and incredible formations, with absolutely no information and in one of the most remote locations ever, was totally worth all the frustration.

Jon aNd I trying to FIGure out the sequENCe on this perfect pRow – dUBBed “The Rhino”

This trip

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© 2013 Stone Age Equipment, Inc. STEALTH is a trade mark of Stone Age Equipment, Inc.

FIVE TEN® ELITE Jon Cardwell crushing in his TEAM VXi with STEALTH Mi6

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RIGLOS

Andrew Freeman, 22, USA, Jakob Krauss, 24, Germany

The final moves of El Zulú Demente pack a serious ’til punch. The route isn’t over you’re standing on top!

El Jakob leads the way to .

Pisón, Riglos’ tallest wall

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adidas.com/outdoor

Sun and Steepness in the Cobblestone Kingdom

I’m 200 m above the ground and getting pumped. Deep down, I know this probably shouldn’t be happening; my right hand is wrapped around what should be a “thank God” hold. Shaped like a protruding potato, it’s comfortably incut and has space for two hands. But somehow I’m still getting pumped.

TEXT ANDREW FREEMAN PHOTOS CHRISTIAN WALDEGGER

I look up at the rest of the route. A sea of cobblestones looms ahead, whitened from years of chalking, more chalking and protected from rain by virtue of the unrelenting angle of the wall.

Just as I regain composure and being climbing towards the end of the pitch, I’m interrupted by a loud yell. I look to my left, and watch horrified as a body comes hurtling by me. Then, only 100 m from impact with the valley floor, the aerialist pulls the ripcord of his parachute and sails smoothly to a landing.

Nestled in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees Los Mallos de Riglos (The Towers of Riglos) have earned a reputation as a playground for climbers, base jumpers, paragliders, or anyone looking to have fun at gravity’s expense. Above a sleepy Spanish town a series of imposing towers soar up to 300 m. The crown jewel of the area is La Visera, a wall so steep and continuous that its routes look beyond improbable. But that’s the paradox: the rock, a kind of limestone conglomerate, is so amply spattered with large, rounded cobbles that the grades remain relatively moderate. Furthermore, since the rock is not well-suited for removable protection, most routes are fully bolted.

By now, most climbers have at least heard that when it comes to steep rock, Spain is nothing short of paradise. Thousands have come from all over the world to go a muerte at classic destinations like Siurana and El Chorro, as well as modern hotspots like Santa Linya and Margalef.

As winter approached in Germany, I began to

dream about doing the same. Over our lunch breaks at adidas Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, my fellow intern Jakob Krauss and I began hatching plans for a winter getaway.

That’s when we met Carlos Suarez.

Around the cliffs, bars and refuges of northern Spain, Carlos is something of a local legend.

From his origins as a rock climber and alpinist, Carlos quickly caught the base jumping bug, and before long was throwing himself off anything tall enough to give him a few seconds of airtime. Now, as an adidas Outdoor Sales Representative, he’s holding down the closest thing he’s ever had to a desk job while still finding plenty of time to play on cliffs around the world. Jakob and I met Carlos at the OutDoor Trade Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany and a few pictures and words of encouragement from him were all it took to get us interested in a week of long pitches and long days in Riglos.

Flash forwards two months. Jakob and I have touched down in Barcelona. We pick up our rental car and start the three-hour winding drive through the Catalan countryside. No more than ten minutes out of the city, we’re both leaning out of the window trying to get a look at the unfathomable quantities of rock around.

“This is unfair,” says Jakob, who’s from a part of Germany that’s flat by comparison. As evening approaches, we see the towers of Riglos rise out of the horizon, both daunting and inviting.

A golden light is just fading as we pull in. We’re psyched.

Our first day of climbing we decide to get one of the most celebrated routes in the area, El Zulú Demente (7b). The air is cool and breezy as we simul-climb the first third of the route to “The Throne”, a wide ledge that marks the last comfortable stance on the route.

From here on, all of the belays are hanging.

Riglos’ iconic cigar-like formation offers surprisingly solid rock.

Just don’t expect much room to sit at the top!

Finally, we blast off into a world of unbroken steepness. Each hold seems bigger than the last, but after a few 50-m pitches, we’ve both built up considerable cumulative fatigue. Even Alex Huber - who freesoloed El Zulu in the late 1990 s–admitted to feeling a slight pump at the top. After several hours on the wall, we arrive at the last pitch, the heartbreaker. The climbing up to this point has not been very difficult, but the crux of the whole 300-m route is the final few moves over “The Visor”. At this point all the large holds run out, replaced by slopey edges.

I envy the base jumper we just saw. His job was easy.

As it’s my lead, take the quickdraws and get psyched. From our airy belay stance, I negotiate 20 m of steep rock and try to stay relaxed. Then, breathing hard, I make a big move to the last hold of the whole route, but feel my fingers narrowly miss the incut section. After falling, I shake out briefly and take a minute to look down at the valley. Though I’ve just been fighting hard for an onsight, it’s hard not to feel the calm that hangs in the air. Far below me a dog barks, and though it’s past noon I feel as if Riglos is still waking up. Tranquilo. Back in town we return to our temporary home, Refugio de Riglos, and join a small band of climbers sipping beer.

Carlos has driven over from the adidas Spain office and joins our table. “This is Alex Txikon,” he says, beckoning to the man behind him. “He made his 7th base jump today.” Alex smiles, and we recognise the man who flew past us in the morning. “Conditions were not so good,” he says with a heavy accent. “Windy.” I look at Carlos and laugh awkwardly. In between our first meeting and our trip to Riglos, Carlos survived an almost disastrous base jumping accident when a backdraft caused a crash landing into a pile of stones. Undeterred, he’s here in Riglos to hang out and get back on rock for his first time after breaking multiple ribs and losing two teeth.

After a few days we’ve gotten a little more adjusted to the local climb style, which can best be described as potato-pulling. We jump on El Pisón which hosts the longest routes at Riglos and are pleased to find solid stone and intricate movement. Riglos rock is generally good, but at first glance it looks like a cake of dried mud.

Most of the cobblestones are only partially embedded in the wall and look like they might pull out at any time. My past experience climbing alpine routes tells me to check carefully for loose holds, and Jakob and I spend any excess

energy we have knocking on anything that looks suspect. However, after a few days without an incident we give up: yank away.

The highlight of the trip is Fiesta de los Biceps (8/7a/5.11d), a soaring line up the left side of La Visera. Though its crux is easier than that of El Zulú Demente, its sustained nature makes it tougher overall. After the polished and technical third pitch, we hold on for the ride and savour nearly 200 m of absurdly steep climbing before topping out and mutually agreeing that we’ve earned a good dinner.

For such a remote area, Riglos has a number of solid dining options. Most restaurants offer a cheap fixed price menu that includes bread, water, several courses and, naturally, wine. Each evening Jakob and I drop our ropes and rack in the car and land at the bar. Between the two of us we have hardly any Spanish, but it’s never a problem. “Dos cervezas, por favor. Grande.”

Our favourite hangout quickly becomes Bar El Puro, the cigar, named for Riglos’ most distinctive feature. As the sun sets, the seats quickly fill up with other members of the outdoor tribe.

It’s easy to recognise a climber from a distance; swollen knuckles, overdeveloped forearms and a belay jacket are dead giveaways. In a few short days we meet Germans, Austrians, Americans, Spaniards, Basques, Ukrainians and an alpinist from Kyrgyzstan. Everyone has come for a little fun in the vertical, and since Riglos has its own microclimate, the area is an ideal hideout when the rain is falling elsewhere in Catalonia. However, one day the forecasts reverse and Jakob and I decide to say goodbye to Riglos and check out other nearby areas. We decide on Rodellar, only two hours’ drive away.

To describe Rodellar as a side trip is nothing short of sacrilegious. For decades it has been one of Europe’s premier sport climbing areas.

On the drive there, we again have the opportunity to drool over the quantity of undeveloped rock that lays untapped around Spain. “Next time we’re coming back with a drill,” Jakob says with a laugh. Soon, we find ourselves grappling with a number of tufa-laden classics on what was supposed to be our rest day. No matter. The three-dimensional climbing style is a welcome change of pace from the more straight forward routes we’ve been climbing in Riglos.

Finding reliable internet can be a challenge in Spain. Take it when you can@

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Jakob gets techy on El Pisón.

Carlos prepares for his first base jump following his accident.

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Jugs, jugs and more jugs Just don’t let go!

Beers and sunshine; Spanish winters sure look a lot like German summers.

That night we get a call from Carlos, who invites us to join him and a crew of climbers and base jumpers in Val d’Aran, a quaint ski town on the French border, for a local climbing festival that he’s helped organise. When we finally rendezvous with him the next day he looks excited and a bit nervous. We soon find out why: he’s preparing to make his first base jump since his accident. He’ll be jumping from a helicopter — a relatively safe undertaking for a basejumper as there’s no way to hit an obstacle on the way down — but it’s still a big moment for him.

“Wish me luck,” he says with a raised eyebrow and a smile. Jakob and I watch from below and cheer along with a crowd of onlookers when we see small dots leap from the chopper and accelerate towards the ground. Safely landed, Carlos is noticeably relieved. “This is what it’s all about,” he says. It’s cheesy, but he’s probably right. Those moments spent with your tribe, those moments where you brush up against your limits, on rock, on water or in air, those are the moments that make a winter getaway worth looking forward to all year.

ADVENTURE TEAM Beat Kammerlander

Mike Küng

Schorschi Schauf

Hans Rey

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adidas.com/outdoor

DID YOU

KNOW

THAT ...

Last century – in the 90s – the adidas Adventure Team created a stir.

And was way ahead of its time…

The 60s were wild – yeah, that’s for sure.

Flower power, Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Beach Boys, bikinis and miniskirts, breaking with tradition, a glimpse of the future, rolling a stone towards a more open society.

The relay baton from this soft revolution was readily accepted by the 70s and handed to the “Nuclear Power? No Thanks!” movement and the anti-establishment of punk rock putting the boot in on stage. While the visionary John Lennon imagined a world at peace, the Stones tried to get their satisfaction. And the rest of the free-to-experiment 70s landed in the jaws of a great white. Then came the 80s, the age of creativity and poor style. The Walkman celebrated its launch, as did Cheers, Star Trek, Alf and E.T., Dirty Dancing, Rambo and Indiana Jones. Along with poppers, yuppies, cringe-worthy hairstyles and styles of clothing way beyond tasteless – you don’t want to know.

And the 90s? Hold on, yes, the 90s, what happened then exactly? It seems as though society’s creative spirit ran out of steam from the previous decades for there to be anything left worth noting for the 90s. The 90s: the slightly tedious quiet after the storm and the slightly tedious quiet before the next storm. If it weren’t for the adidas Adventure Team… no, it would be

presumptuous to claim that this colourful bunch of a team put its hallmark on an entire decade.

It wasn’t like that. But we can certainly imply that the adidas Adventure Team made an exciting and progressive statement that didn’t really achieve the recognition it deserved until nearly 20 years later.

Beat Kammerlander, Mike Küng, Hans Rey Schorschi Schauf

&

– putting these extreme individuals together under the umbrella called extreme sport was a brilliant and innovative idea that was definitely based more on intuition than rational calculation. That’s because the famous four were more than just strong personalities, they were, and still are, out-of-the-box thinkers, visionaries, rebels, pioneers, creative hooligans with a bent for pushing the limits. And that is what they had to be. Because each of them was raising the bar in their sport, often creating completely new routes, opening up a whole new world.

Beat Kammerlander established the first alpine rock climb in the upper 10th grade with his first ascent of “Unendliche Geschichte” in 1991 in Rätikon. “Silbergeier”, which followed in 1994, was rated for many years as one of the three most difficult alpine routes in the world and is still one of the really big classics. What Beat was doing then is now state-of-the-art in the climbing world: taking the top end of sport climbing ability grades and applying them to alpine.

After winning several World Championship titles in trial, Hans Rey, the pioneer in extreme mountain biking, turned his back on the competition circuit in 1997 to follow his nose. This followed the scent of previously uncharted territory on the bike and Hans started to conquer the world on two wheels, bringing back full coverage. Now, nobody in today’s sporting world can get round proving what they got up to in exotic backwaters by bringing back impressive action footage. Hans helped create this trend out of pure passion, which has left its mark on the media world.

Schorschi Schauf is another in the brotherhood of those who were pursuing similar thoughts at the same time: it is not just all about titles – the adventure and covering new ground is what makes it really interesting. And that is why the extreme kayaker also started to travel the globe, always on the look out for exciting challenges. One of them even landed him in the Guinness Book of Records: in 1997 he managed to canoe the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen on the south route with a vertical drop of 23.7m. Of course that is an insignificant drop for Michael Küng, who is used to jumping from 10,100m with his paraglider to break the world record. If anybody has earned the nickname Mad Mike, then it has to be Küng. Airships, cable cars, hot-air balloons, volcanoes. There is nothing that Mad Mike has not yet jumped off with his paraglider. At the same time he is also a master at the highest level of acrobatic paragliding, including World Championship wins.

The result: four dedicated athletes, four extremely different sports, one name. The adidas Adventure Team. Today, this kind of team belongs to every brand that has found its footing in a sport segment, so it has escalated to neverending team meetings, team photo shoots, team products and team appearances. Back then, in the 90s, the concept of a team covering a range of disciplines together was a complete novelty:

through the narrow Soča Gorge, Beat gradually lowering himself on the rope. Even Beat, who has all the experience in the world, happily admits to having felt a bit queasy, especially during the landing where he had all the responsibility and hit the ground running so Mike could land safely. All in all the event added up to an exciting as well as creative process. Schorschi: “We were a small but cool team who could really get things going.”

“Four special characters from different types of sport were thrown

Because this focussed expertise also required suitable equipment, adidas provided the business with the Adventure line, a collection that at the time grew with these athletes, standing out thanks to innovation and professionalism. The differing requirements of paragliding, kayaking, mountain biking, climbing and other sports proved an enormous advantage in the design of the Adventure line since a product that was appreciated by all four in the team really had a great deal to live up to. They worked with a small group of designers to engineer technologies to support outdoor athletes. Schorschi Schauf: “I really enjoyed us being involved in product development and batting ideas around with the designers who then implemented our input directly.”

together, and it was great fun,” – remembers Schorschi Schauf. Well, for Schorschi maybe, because the first meeting was in Silz (Tyrol/Austria) to go rafting, for which the non-water sport members of the team could only muster fair-to-middling enthusiasm. “Still,” says Mike in reflection, “it was extremely interesting to take a look at what the others were doing, how they made things work, and that everybody else had an opportunity to get to grips with my sport.” What counted above all was that they shared the same spirit. Beat: “I felt at home in this team. Some of us developed friendships that have stood the test of time.”

Then there are the stories where the ending is still open. So far, Schorschi Schauf has managed to successfully escape “revenge” for the first team meeting. Rock, bike, air? That is not where he is in his element. He does not go there.

Which is why he is constantly reminded of them every time the “old team” gets together.

But that is why it was all the more important for the team to organise challenges together. Today they would be called team trips. A legendary gathering of this kind was the trip to Slovenia, where the various athletes met with their various sports for both fun and extreme action.

Mad Mike landed on Hans Rey’s back as he was burning up a trail on his bike. Rey’s comment: “That guy is crazy.” Beat Kammerlander hung onto Mike Küng with his climbing rope as he flew

adidas trekker

Here, there was already a wide range of proven technologies to rely on, such as the TORSION® SYSTEM, for example, which was adopted from the running sector and modified especially for the needs of outdoor sports. The combination of flexibility and protection provided by this system was virtually predestined for moving through terrain. The forefoot and heel benefited from the freedom of movement provided along with support for the arch and stability across the whole foot: “adidas implemented industry-leading biomechanical and orthopaedic research,” was what was reported at the time. Certainly no empty statement since Hans Rey still has a brand-new pair in his garage. Because the TORSION® SYSTEM worked and Hans wanted to make sure he still had a pair “for more trying times”.

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“

I really enjoyed us being involved in product development and batting

”

ideas around with the designers who then implemented our input directly.

Another development team invested its energy in the development of aditex, an elastic and micro-porous membrane that alongside other products from adidas “made adventure apparel waterproof, windproof and breathable.”

Of course this principle was not new since GoreTex had been working on it since the 70s. adidas wanted to strike out on its own, however, in the same way that the Adventure Team was always looking for new routes. In the end, going your own way all comes down to being able to act independently and determine the direction you want to head in. The development and implementation of aditex is therefore a metaphor for what the 90s stood for. While during the 60s, the 70s and even in the 80s it was about desperately searching for new routes to rediscover yourself, this hectic and sometimes chaotic bustle was streamlined into focussed and gentle reflection on the importance of your own direction.

Perhaps that is why the 90s were neither boring nor quiet. Perhaps the search for authenticity outside became more concentrated on the inside to become more true to oneself. Definitely a hypothesis, but authenticity is a very meaningful part of our psyche. And the routes taken by the members of the Adventure Team were no less meaningful, not to be overgrown and forgotten in the wake of new trends. The activities and attitudes of Hans, Beat, Mike and Schorschi are more current today than ever before. A sign that back then, almost 20 years ago, they took an important step towards the future.

Perhaps it was not intended like that. But the adidas Adventure Team conveyed this message and the products conveyed this message too. Individuality was supported along with free space.

Focus yourself and do your thing. Or as Mike Küng put it so succinctly: “Basically, each of us did our thing and worked on our own projects.

What brought us together as a team was the support provided by adidas.”

Hans “No Way” Rey Sport: Mountain biking Lives in: Laguna Beach_California_USA Is: Multiple world champion in trail, Member of the Mountain Bike “Hall of Fame”

Has: First sponsorship

from adidas in 1983: a tracksuit, a pair of shoes, a sticker

Beat Kammerlander Sport: Climbing Lives in: Feldkirch_Vorarlberg_Austria Is: Not only a world-class climber, but also a photographer and mountain guide

Has: Thanks to his ascent of

“Prinzip Hoffnung” continued to raise the bar over the age of 50

Michael “Mad Mike” Küng Sport: Paragliding Lives in: Schruns_Vorarlberg_Austria Is: World record holder for highest paragliding flight, two times world champion in acro flying

Has: Flown across the English Channel with his paraglider

Schorschi Schauf Sport: Kayaking Lives in: Ötztal_Tyrol_Austria Is: A welcome guest at parties, wearing his own design of double pompom hat

Has: Turned heads as the youngest member of the elite Alpine Kayak Club

BIANCO RIDGE

THE CHALLENGE WA S DOING THE BI AN CO RIDGE IN WINTER. REAL W INTER, NOT THE ME TEOROLOGICAL ON TO HAVE ON E OF E. TH E M OST AWE- IN SP IRI NG RO UT ES IN YO URSELF IS SO M ET TH E ALPS ALL TO HI NG THAT MANY DREAM OF BU T ON TO EXPERIENCE. AN LY FEW MANAGE D YE T TH E ST RATE GY FO R TH E BIANC BE SO ST RAIGHT FO O RID GE WOU LD RWARD: GO WHEN NO BO DY ELSE IS TH EXAC TLY WHAT TONI ERE. AN D THAT ‘S MOSSHAMMER AND DAVID KREINER DID.

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HARDER THAN YOU THINK

THE BIANCO RIDGE IN WINTER

PHOTOS MICHAEL MEISL TEXT MIKE MANDL

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CRUX OF THE SUPERLATIVE

THE BIANCO RIDGE Cornices

are a standard feature of ridge walks in the high Alps. On the Bianco Ridge it is no different. In contrast to many other far less popular ridges, the Bianco maintains its physical shape from snow and ice alone. And in the imagination its appearance takes shape using every superlative you can think of. Just like the cornices, they get more spectacular as you go along.

“The most aesthetic route in the Alps!” “A sculpture of snow and rock!” “A magic picture book line!” “A ridge made by the hand of God!” ”A must for ever y tour book!” “Stair way to heaven in white!”

“The most spectacular mountain marathon!”

Superlatives are part of the way people judge things. That superlatives don’t stop at mountains, but have been intrinsically linked to them ever since romantic alpine literature came into existence, is also nothing new. After all, there is hardly a better way of portraying the grandeur of nature than with a lofty peak standing out against gigantic cloud formations, or the absorbing darkness of an overhanging north face that evokes fear and respect from the first moment you set eyes on it.

A little later, ice cascades caused by climbers above. As the day goes on the crescendo of rotor noise arrives as the rescue helicopters move in. And finally the impossibility of getting your camera out to snap the indescribable panorama from the summit because it is usually too crowded to even move.

The art of waiting.

Toni Moßhammer and David Kreiner are actually really affable people, although being part of a mass exodus does not really meet their expectations as far as a memorable alpine adventure is concerned. When they pay their respects to the Bianco Ridge then it is going to involve a strategy that includes simply waiting. Wait until winter has set in, wait until the days are shorter and the conditions more fierce. Wait until wind, weather and low temperatures leave the area people-free.

Wait until the Bianco Ridge pleasure trip has transformed into a real alpine challenge.

The Bianco Ridge has made regular appearances in the gallery of picturesque routes since time immemorial. High above the valley floor, appearing to float in the heavens, illuminated by a golden-pink alpine glow, elegantly curving its way towards the summit of Piz Bernina: it has been created to be admired and then climbed. In other words: whoever sets eyes on the Bianco Ridge wants to get up there and do it.

Beauty isn’t everything.

The attraction of the Bianco Ridge has one serious disadvantage, however.

A disadvantage that everybody knows who has set off in perfect conditions during the summer vacation to treat themselves to this alpine dream classic. That is because it is only in exceptional cases that you can enjoy the Bianco Ridge in solitude.

It is far more likely that your enjoyment of this alpine highlight will be tarnished by the following conditions: sardine-style accommodation in the Tschierva hut, the starting point of the tour. Followed by a confusion of light beams from innumerable headlamps when you set off at 2:30 in the morning. Then footsteps in front of you, behind you, to your left and to your right, on the scree slope ascent.

co ing the Bian nge wa s do “T he challe , no t the er nt wi al er. Re Ridge in wint ni cal one.” To meteorologi

IT DO ESN’ T MATT ER WHETHER YOU LOVE T H EM O R HAT E TH EM : IF SU PERL ATIV ES MANAGE TO DELIVER WHAT THEY PROM ISE , TH ERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO APAR T FROM STAN D TH ERE AN D STARE IN AWE.

78 I79

BIANCO RIDGE

BERNINA RANGE, GR

AUBÜNDEN , SW ITZ

ERL AND

IS: PERHAPS THE FIN EST SNOW-CRESTED RIDGE IN THE ALPS FIRST AS CENT BY: PAU L GÜSSF ELD, HANS GRASS AN D JOH AN N GROSS IN 1878 LEADS TO: PIZ BERNIN A, 4,0 49M STARTI NG POINT: TSC HIERVA HU T, 2,573M DIFFICULT Y: ROCK III, ICE 45–50 AVER AGE TIME TAK EN: 9–12 HOURS (IN SUMMER) AUTHORISED NICKN AME: “STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN ”

POLE POSITION HAS ITS PRICE

THE BIANCO RIDGE

TONI MOSSHAMMERL/AUSTRIA

BRU NN/TYRO HOME TOWN: FIEBER FIED WORKING AS A QUALI SPENDS HIS TIME: AS GU IDE, AN D AS MUCH MOUN TAIN AN D SKI D IEN LFR GIR ING ARM CH POSSIB LE WI TH HIS AN TON KNAME: HANDSOME UNAUTHORISED NIC OD MOOD ALWAYS BE IN A GO HAS: THE ABILIT Y TO RYT HING TO DO WI TH CAN DO WELL: EVE MOUN TAINS

DAVID KREINER

HOME TOWN: KIT ZBÜ SPENDS HIS TIME:

HEL /TYRO L/AUST RIA WINN ING NORDIC

COMBINATION GO LD MEDALS, E.G . AT THE OLYMPIC GAME S IN VANCOUVER 201 2 (TEAM EVENT), AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP S IN OSLO 201 1 (TEAM EVENT), AT THE WO RLD CUP IN CHAUXNEUVE 201 1 (IN DIVIDU AL EVENT) AUTHORISED NICKN AME: DAVE HAS: AS MUCH POW ER IN HIS LEGS AS TWO FREIGH T TRA INS AT FULL TILT CAN DO WELL: STAY AWAKE

“If your pins don’t get tire d, then the grey matter upstairs stay s awake longer too. ” Toni

80 I81

TWO EARLY BIRDS

January 2013: it is freezing cold and the days are as short as they can be. Daylight shuts shop from four o’clock in the afternoon, plunging the stage in darkness.

Toni Moßhammer and David Kreiner have just arrived in Pontresina after a long drive from Tyrol in Austria. There is no time to lose because they both want to catch a glimpse of the ridge before it becomes pitch-black.

What the conditions look like up there at the moment none of the people they contacted in advance were able to say. For one simple reason: nobody has been up there recently. And why not? Because you only do the Bianco Ridge during the season. Certainly not in winter. Interim status report: the strategy seems to be working.

In order to obtain an overview of the situation they first need to reach the Tschierva hut at 2,573m. But this is more than just a stone’s throw away. Toni and David put on their skis, shoulder their backpacks and set off up the mountain. To have an Olympic champion and world champion in Nordic combined putting the tracks down in front of you is an advantage, especially when you are in a hurry. So David sets the pace, and instead of the standard three hours it only takes half as long – thanks to their extremely athletic progress – until they reach the completely snowed-under Tschierva hut. No light, no footprints, no smoke: the hut was shuttered up for winter months ago and it looks like nobody has been here since. The last entry in the hut logbook is from October last year.

It is no longer possible to check out the ski touring conditions tonight because the Bianco Ridge has transformed into the Nero Ridge as night falls and it slumbers in silence under the starry sky. The only information to be obtained within the scope of their headlamps is from the mercury in the thermometer outside: a reassuring -20°C. It is clear there is only one thing to do: get inside, and quickly.

Swiss mountain huts have their pros and cons. The prices are one of the cons. For a litre of hot water (without a teabag, obviously) you will often be asked to hand over € 6.00. On the positive side, as a kind of reimbursement for the exorbitant summer prices, some hut keepers equip the winter quarters with an oven and plenty of wood, as is the case in the Tschierva hut. An offer that Toni and David, sweating and frost-covered from the ascent, find impossible to decline. Within the hour the winter room has transformed into a 70°C sauna: “We sat there in our underpants and watched the glue drip off our ski skins,“ says Toni.

– one cold start. When the alarm goes off the next day, on January 8th, it is still pitch-black outside.

The backpacks are ready and their skis are skinned up in the corner. A quick breakfast, a few sips of lukewarm tea, and they are off. It is important they do not waste a moment: every hour of light is invaluable in deep winter. Just before six o’clock, Toni and David set off by the light of their headlamps in temperatures of minus 20 degrees.

The first stage across the Tschierva glacier immediately reveals its stubbornness. A stubbornness that hardly exists in summer because at this point you have an easily crossable scree slope in front of you that you can march across relatively quickly before reaching the glacier field. But not in January, when all the paths are covered by several metres of snow. On top of that it has snowed quite recently, turning the supposedly “easy” start into a bit of an ordeal. Again and again Toni and David break through the icy crust, sinking up to their waists in bottomless snow: “First it was David, who had taken over cutting the trail at full pelt, who sunk in up to the waist. And then I followed and thanks to the 20 kg extra weight strapped round my ribs, sank into the same track, just even deeper.”

Getting off to a difficult start is not for everybody and has often led to retreat. For Toni and David this is neither a surprise nor unwelcome. This is precisely the challenge they were looking for here in the middle of winter: “For us the challenge was doing the Bianco Ridge in winter. Real winter, not the meteorological one. No holds barred.”

Their batteries are fully charged and their thighs have fully recovered following yesterday’s sauna. The two-man team ploughs on until they reach steep ice and have to secure their skis to their backpacks. The 45 to 50° steep ice slope is in sound condition and they manage to run up quickly. Two and a half hours into the tour Toni and David reach Fuorcla Prievlusa (3,430m), the saddle at the beginning of the first section of rock. In summer, this grade-three climb would not present them with much of a problem. All the gnarly bits have been ironed smooth with steel cables and ladders. A situation that Toni and David are not able to take advantage of on this occasion. Loose snow is lying everywhere, not offering a safe foothold, and has to be painstakingly swept away first. As a result, climbing and setting protection is a slow process that in these conditions turn out to be very time-consuming. Plus it is freezing cold.

Toni: “This section went on forever and we lost a lot of time covering these few metres.”

WALK THE LINE

THE BIANCO RIDGE First cutting a trail

in deep snow and then tiresome climbing up rock covered in snow – so far operation “Bianco Ridge in winter” has delivered everything Toni and David could hope for in terms of challenge. Testing yourself against the challenges of winter climbing is all very well, but a winter classic like the Bianco Ridge can also catch you out with one or two picture book moments, even in winter. Toni and David are on top form, but at the moment they still don’t know what the conditions on the ridge are like. It is not until they reach the “Shark Tooth”, a prominent rock pinnacle at the end of this section, that they set eyes for the first time on the heart of the tour: the ridge itself. And, the curtain rises, the picture book moment appears.

It does not matter whether you love them or hate them: if superlatives manage to deliver what they promise, there is nothing you can do apart from stand there and stare in awe.

Toni and David do just that as the Bianco Ridge stretches in front of them in all its glory. Still, a real mountaineer does not stand around with his jaw hanging open, he gets started.

“Walk the line” commands the instinct. However: “Now and again we just had to stand there and let our jubilation sink in. It is difficult to believe that a place which is overrun with people on a fine day can also be so mystical and lonely.” in. let our jubilation sink had to stan d there and more than “Now and again we just e. But we didn’t nee d ther up ul utif bea ly It was so incredib e.” Toni 45 minutes for the ridg

After a euphoric 45 minutes, the ridge – which offers a mix of smooth ice, hip-deep powder and perfect foothold-safe snow – is behind them and they reach Piz Bianco (3,995m), a kind of intermediate peak on route to Piz Bernina (4,049m).

But there is still a ridge to come: Toni and David yet again have to tackle a technical section and this time it is the crux of the whole route. On this second section of rock it is also difficult to fit protection and tough to climb. Thrash about, search for hold, thrash about again. Toni takes the lead and is first to reach Piz Bernina. David is right behind him and at 1:30 pm they are both standing exhausted but satisfied under a perfectly blue sky on the summit of Piz Bernina.

erla tive s or hate the m: if sup the r you love the m ing you can do apa rt “It doe sn’t mat ter whe noth is e ther e, mis t they pro man age to deli ver wha stare in awe.” from stan d there and

An amazing moment for them both, all the more memorable for David perhaps because the Bianco Ridge is his first major combined tour above 4,000m in winter. There wasn’t a moment, though, where he revealed his lack of experience, something for which Toni expressed his greatest respect: “David is not just extremely fit, he is something even more important on this kind of outing: totally motivated. There was only once when I showed him which way to go next and he took off.”

Doing overrun alpine classics in winter so that you have your peace and quiet: a concept with a future? There are only exceptional cases when you can enjoy an alpine beauty like the Bianco Ridge alone and deepest winter is certainly one of them. “But you must not forget,” warns the mountain guide in Toni, “a tour in winter is a completely different undertaking that has virtually nothing to do with the summer version of the same thing.”

You need to view the grades of difficulty in the topo with caution. A scree slope can easily transform into a bottomless snowfield that is difficult to cross. Likewise, a comfortably crossable snowcrested ridge can become smooth ice on a treacherous knife’s edge. As the difficulty of the conditions increases, so do the requirements on fitness and physical strength. Not everybody has an untiring ski track maker as a climbing partner, not everybody who climbs a mountain has the experience of a mountain guide.

Conclusion: an icy cold winter’s day, a dream ridge, a summit and a team that quickly managed to ascend and descend without incident. It could not be better. And it looks as though the Bianco Ridge will not be the last team expedition undertaken by these two.

TECHNOLOGY HARD SHELLS

FULLY ADJUSTABLE, HELMET-COMPATIBLE HOOD

FACE MASK with merino wool lining, provides full face protection in combination with goggles in extreme weather conditions and laser cutouts for better breathing

full zip waterproof centre zip prevents undesirable bulging of the jacket

REFLECTIVE ELEMENTS tonal on sleeves, contrasted on hood

NEW gore-tex® pro SHELL most rugged, breathable, durable, wind- and waterproof 3L fabric

FORMOTION® cut athletic fit with an ergonomic pre-shape and intelligent seam placement to support the athlete’s movements; provides unrestricted arm lift without hem ride up

ventilation pockets 2 waterproof, internal laser cutout VISLON® zip pockets for individual climate control

adjustable sleeve for ultimate performance and comfort while in motion

adjustable hem with drawcord

86 I87

adidas.com/outdoor

terrex Advanced Jacket The highest level of technology and ruggedness: The Advanced is in a class of its own when the going gets really tough. advanced [ad’va:nst] – pioneering.

Ultimate performance is required.

Whether it is ice climbing at the top end of the difficulty grades or ski mountaineering at the end of the world. This high technology 3L lightweight is made for extreme athletes who put themselves to the same test as their equipment and accept no compromises.

Unrestricted freedom of movement meets the highest level of ruggedness.

Tough weather protection meets perfect climate management.

– highly developed.

New 3L GORE-TEX® Pro offers maximum comfort in extreme weather conditions and is the perfect solution for everybody who demands a bit more from their clothing.

Despite its increased durability, breathability has been improved by 28%.

– in front.

Freedom means going further. Even if the snow is coming in horizontally.

Integrated face mask with merino wool, helmet-compatible hood, waterproof zips and body-hugging FORMOTION® cut provide backup for intensive activities in tough to the very toughest conditions.

– future-oriented.

Delivering performance in unreal situations, quickly and smoothly, that is the future.

Because the focus is on what really matters and the most modern production technologies are employed, the Advanced has already arrived at the point where our visions have become reality.

HARD AS (S)HELL It is not always about inner values. Sometimes it is the outer layer of clothing that assumes the most important functions during outdoor sport: providing protection against adverse weather conditions.

Millions of years of evolution and experience cannot be wrong: crustaceans still protect their soft bodies using a hard shell. So the shell principle has paid off. When we talk about “hard shells” in the outdoor sector it is the same idea: successful, long-term and effective protection against external influences. The main difference compared to crustaceans: hard shells are tough but are otherwise flexible, provide a high degree of freedom of movement and are comfortable. That is because showing wind, storms, precipitation and cold the warm shoulder is the responsibility of the outer layer of clothing. The multitasking functions of a good hard shell include excellent moisture management as well as good breathability and toughness against rock, ice, scuffing backpacks and climbing harnesses. Maximum freedom of movement and minimum weight go without saying, because every gramme counts both on multi-day excursions at the limit as well as during short and intensive athletic activities. The range of applications is as wide as the number of weather bandwidths multiplied by type of outdoor activities.

Whether it is challenging ice climbing in freezing conditions, a ski mountaineering route in beautiful spring snow or deep powder excesses in deep winter. There is no such thing as the ideal hard shell.

Although there is an ideal hard shell for each application.

The outermost material of a hard shell consists of a tough material that is resistant to wear and tear.

A high-performance membrane bonded directly with the outer material ensures breathability and stops water from entering. If permanent stress requires a maximum level of toughness in extreme conditions, that is when GORE-TEX® Pro comes into play. If the highest level of breathability is important during intensive athletic activities, then GORE-TEX® Active has its advantages. Depending on their classification, products with climaproof ® protect against wind, rain and snow. In addition they are breathable and allow heat and sweat to evaporate outwards. climaproof ® storm has been developed for extreme conditions, is 100% wind- and waterproof and is therefore intended for activities where it is important to ensure maximum protection over an extended time period.

On 3-Layer jackets (3L) an additional inner lining protects the membrane from mechanical damage due to abrasion. 2-Layer jackets (2L) are lined with a layer of netting for the same reason. 2.5-Layer jackets (2.5L) are constructed using the same principles as 3-Layer jackets, where the lining is protected on the inside by a thin coating. This has advantages in terms of weight and stowage volume. Whether it is the highly technical 3L Advanced, the tough 3L Icefeather or the 100% waterproof 2.5L Active Shell Jacket, or the lightweight Cocona 2.5L Jacket or the versatile 3in1 Climaproof Storm Jacket: we have a matching shell. You have the matching sport. Together there is unrestricted passion in all conditions.

88 I89

Terrex Icefeather Jacket A mixture of ice, rock and deep snow: that is the Icefeather’s terrain.

It does not matter whether it is on a day tour on the Bianco Ridge or a multi-day expedition, the comfortable 3L jacket with integrated snow cuffs and the most robust of all Gore membranes – the new GORE-TEX® Pro – delivers freedom of movement, robustness and athletic weather protection in winter conditions.

Terrex GTx ACTIVE SHELL Jacket If weather protection is as light as it is breathable, if reduction to what is important means an increase in performance, if the body and jacket form a dynamic unit, then it has to be the absolutely waterproof 2L Active Shell for fast and athletic activities in the mountains.

TERREX COCONA 2.5L Jacket 50% more is 50% less. Thanks to the Cocona® coating – made using recycled coconut shells – sweat evaporates 50% faster than with conventional polyester for superior moisture management and excellent comfort. Optimised ventilation and three-dimensional FORMOTION® cut provide the ultimate in freedom of movement making this 2.5-Layer jacket predestined for high pulse rate activities in the mountains.

TERREX SWIFT 3IN1 CLIMAPROOF STORM Jacket Cold, wet or cold and wet. Autumn, winter or spring: two jackets in one delivers three times the versatility. climaproof ® and taped seams on the outer jacket ensure total protection against wind and rain while providing breathability at the same time: the insulated inner jacket keeps you warm while the athletic cut follows every move in alpine terrain.

The all-in-one solution for athletic women hikers.

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Terrex Icefeather Jacket #G82627

Terrex GTX Active Shell Jacket #Z08841

Terrex Ndosphere Jacket #G80341

Fully equipped winter mountain sports jacket with GORE-TEX® Pro Shell material, ideal for extreme weather conditions.

Made for maximised ruggedness with high breathability, FORMOTION® cut for ultimate performance while in motion.

Lightweight GORE-TEX® Active Shell fabric combines all-weather protection with extraordinary breathability and packability. Features FORMOTION® technology for freedom of movement and a fully adjustable helmet-compatible hood.

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Terrex Icesky Longsleeve #G75216

Terrex Icefeather Pants #G80605

Terrex Hybrid Pants #W37868

Long sleeved base layer made with climawarm™ fabric which guarantees next to skin comfort, high moisture wicking properties and thermal insulation. FORMOTION® cut delivers body hugging fit and comfort during outdoor activities.

GORE-TEX Pro Shell pants are highly breathable, waterproof and extremely durable. Features full-length water resistant side-zip for ventilation and easy entry. Detachable braces and FORMOTION® cut for best fit and performance during activities.

Hybrid construction combining the advantages of different performance fabrics in respective body zones. Great for protection against wind and light rain. Features FORMOTION® cut for perfect athletic fit and soft waist belt.

®

90 I91

Terrex WOMEN

adidas.com/outdoor

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Made for maximised ruggedness with high breathability, FORMOTION® cut for ultimate performance while in motion.

Lightweight GORE-TEX® Active Shell fabric combines all-weather protection with extraordinary breathability and packability. Features FORMOTION® technology for freedom of movement and a fully adjustable helmet-compatible hood.

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Terrex Stockhorn Fleece Jacket #G89354 Body hugging, comfortable yet technical stretch fleece hoodie made from a mix of two high-performance fabrics. Cocona® fabric with activated carbon aids evaporative cooling and speeds dry times. Pontetorto Tecnostretch provides durable, insulating and wicking properties.

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Terrex Ndorphin Vest #G92544 Vest with PrimaLoft® 40g insulation keeps warm even when wet. Highly compressible with stretch inserts at the sides for enhanced freedom of movement. FORMOTION® cut for comfort and ultimate performance.

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Terrex Icesky Longsleeve #G89357 Long sleeved base layer made with climawarm™ fabric which guarantees next to skin comfort, high moisture wicking properties and thermal insulation. FORMOTION® cut delivers body hugging fit and comfort during outdoor activities.

Terrex Blaueis Pants #G89359

Terrex Skyclimb Pants 2 #G85895

Made with breathable water- and windproof climaproof® storm material these pants are ideal for use in extreme weather conditions. Features inner gaiters and ventilation zips to control the body climate. FORMOTION® cut for ultimate performance and comfort while in motion.

Soft shell pants combining weather protection with excellent breathability and stretch. Body mapped hybrid construction with different performance fabrics for key sweat and heat areas of the body.

Features adjustable bottom hem that fits ski boots. FORMOTION® cut for ultimate performance and comfort while in motion.

Terrex Swift MEN

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Terrex Swift 3in1 Climaproof Storm Jacket #G80711

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climawarm™ structured fleece material enables this fleece to provide thermal insulation in cold weather conditions. Features ventilation pockets and waist draw cords for climate management.

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Terrex Swift Longsleeve 1/2 Zip #G92768

Terrex Swift Lined Pants #W37531

Lightweight long sleeved base layer featuring Cocona® fabric with activated carbon for improved moisture management and UPF 50+ sun protection.

Breathable, 4-way stretch material enables perfect freedom of movement. Elastic waist with belt for adjustable fit and improved comfort.

Terrex Swift AllSeason Pants #W66822 Durable, athletic pants for year-round mountain sports use.

NANO-TEX fabric technology for stain resistance and superior water-repellence. Elongated waist for enhanced warmth and comfort.

92 I93

Terrex Swift WOMEN

adidas.com/outdoor

#G89365

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Terrex Swift PrimaLoft Hooded Jacket #G89393

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Jacket suitable for colder conditions with PrimaLoft® 100g insulation material which keeps warm even when wet.

Extremely compressible with adjustable hood.

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Terrex Swift Soft Shell Jacket #G91343

Terrex Swift Fleece Jacket #G91363

Stretchy and breathable Soft Shell exterior offers protection against wind and light rain. Breathable stretch inserts for even enhanced freedom of movement and clima comfort. Features elasticated sleeve cuffs and a zip chest pocket.

climawarm™ structured fleece material enables this fleece to provide thermal insulation in cold weather conditions.

Features ventilation pockets and waist draw cords for climate management

Terrex Swift Longsleeve 1/2 Zip #G92867

Terrex Swift Flex Pants #X25701

Terrex Swift AllSeason Pants #W38084

Lightweight long sleeved base layer featuring Cocona® fabric with activated carbon for improved moisture management and UPF 50+ sun protection.

Most versatile pants with ultimate freedom of movement through soft 4-way stretch Soft Shell fabric. Integrated belt and adjustable leg hem opening.

Durable, athletic pants for year-round mountain sports use.

Comfortable wind and water resistant Soft Shell fabric for weather protection.

Terrex Swift Icezeit Jacket #G89386 Packable and lightweight down jacket with 650+ 80/20 goose down filling and ripstop fabric. Inner sleeve cuffs and zip hand pockets for comfort and weather protection.

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MEN

FOOTWEAR

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Terrex Fast R Mid GTX #Q21352

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Terrex Fast X Mid GTX #Q21359

Terrex Fast R GTX #V22343

Protective yet lightweight mid-cut hiker features outsole with Continental rubber compound for unparalleled control on wet and dry surfaces. GORE-TEX® membrane provides waterproof breathability. FORMOTION® unit reduces impact force and improves comfort on steep descents.

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Featuring outsole with Continental rubber compound for optimum grip and control in all conditions. FORMOTION® unit offers stability and comfort.

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Clips easily onto harness thanks to offset rear loops.

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Dual mesh upper construction adds to durability.

Terrex Conrax Climaproof #V21260 Waterproof winter boot with climaproof® membrane and PrimaLoft® insulation. Temperature sensitive outsole with TRAXION™ technology for ultimate grip on snow and ice.

94 I95

WOMEN

adidas.com/outdoor

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Terrex Fast X Mid GTX #G97252

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FORMOTION® unit lends stability and control.

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Terrex Swift R GTX #Q21343

Terrex Swift R #Q21340

Lightweight hiking shoe built for technical environments.

Featuring outsole with Continental rubber compound for optimum grip and control in all conditions. FORMOTION® unit offers stability and comfort.

Lightweight and breathable fast hiking shoe. Features a waterproof GORE-TEX® membrane, ADIPRENE® cushioning in the heel and a TRAXION™ outsole for ultimate grip even in wet conditions.

Lightweight, breathable and abrasion-resistant fast hiking shoe. Features ADIPRENE® cushioning in the heel and a TRAXION™ outsole for ultimate grip even in wet conditions.

Dual mesh upper construction adds to durability.

#Q21044

Terrex Solo #M22987

AX 1 Mid GTX #G97058

Technical yet lightweight approach shoe with climbing specific toe for steep terrain. TRAXION™ outsole offers control and grip, while ADIPRENE® midsole provides shock absorption.

Clips easily onto harness thanks to offset rear loops.

Support and weather protection in a versatile outdoor boot.

GORE-TEX® membrane keeps feet dry while offering breathability. TRAXION™ outsole for grip in a range of conditions.

Last provides a customised fit for women’s feet.

AX 1 TR #Q21334 Multifunctional outdoor shoe with mesh panels for breathability and climate control. Synthetic toecaps offer durable abrasion resistance. TRAXION™ outsole for optimal grip on all surfaces.

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