NO. 02
2 EUR | 2 GBP | 2,50 SFr
WHAT IS HOLBOH? FOUR KAYAKERS TRY TO FIND THE ANSWER
ALEX HONNOLD SCALING RISK
MIDDLE EARTH A CAVE ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND
erdmannpeisker / Robert Bösch
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Editorial
Titel: Alex Honnold / Photo: Franz Faltermaier for E.O.F.T. ; Photo S. 3: Firecracker Films
A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE Big or small? High or low? Safe or dangerous? It all depends on the perspective. Everyone feels safe in his or her own element. “Caving is not dangerous. Mountaineering is,“ says caver Kieran Mckay. But would alpinists concur? And few share skyrunner James Kingston’s opinion that “fear is a choice.“ So what is normal and what is crazy? None of us can tell a story, take a picture, make or even watch a movie without looking at it from a certain point of view. Most of the time we don’t even notice our bias: our perception of the world is subjective – and limited. When it comes to judging other people, the bigger picture is almost impossible to embrace. Time to rethink our perspective. Of the many obstacles that extreme athletes overcome, some of the most extreme are inside their heads. These extraordinary men and women have their own strategies for purging danger and fear from their thoughts ... and for drawing a line between risk and consequence. As their audience we’re torn between excitement, fear, fascination and incomprehension. Contradicting feelings compete right inside our heads. The films of the E.O.F.T. 14/15 show adventurers and athletes who constantly push their limits in very personal ways: on a river far far away in Mongolia, in a cave deep down in New Zealand, on top of the roofs in Southampton and Kiev, or on a big wall in Mexico. What’s scary? What’s inspiring? And what’s both? We invite you to find out for yourself! Your E.O.F.T. team
IMPRINT The European Outdoor Film Tour is a fellow production of Mammut Sports Group, the W.L. Gore & Associates GmbH and Moving Adventures Media GmbH. Editors: Paula Flach, Angela Lieber, Daniela Schmitt, Joachim Stark | Artdirection: Birthe Steinbeck | Layout: Dirk Brechmann | V.i.S.d.P. Daniela Schmitt | © 2014 | Moving Adventures Medien GmbH, 80337 Munich, Germany
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Contents
CONTENTS
THE FILMS OF THE E.O.F.T. 14/15 From the bottom to the top: Our heroes will again follow the call of adventure this year. This shows you where they are heading. 42 MAMMUT #Project360
20 Full Throttle Brandon Semenuk tells us about shooting his film RAD COMPANY
Climb the north face of the Eiger – on your mobile!
6
52
THE FROZEN TITANS Oversized icicles, sub-zero temperatures: Will Gadd likes the extremes – especially when climbing
52 The Frozen Titans More than an ice climber: All-rounder Will Gadd tells us about his greatest challenge
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14 Into Middle Earth Caver Kieran Mckay enjoys underground expeditions: What is it that draws again and again?
ALL DETAILS AT WWW.EOFT.EU
Pool, Christian Gisi, Krystle Wright, Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool, Scott Markewitz/Red Bull Content
Mud fights in the woods and jumps on the scrap yard: the mountain bike highlight of the year
Photo: Scott Markewitz/Red Bull Content
BRANDON SEMENUK’S RAD COMPANY
Four women, three countries, two months and a kayaking expedition during which nothing goes according to plan
Pool, Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
20
NOBODY'S RIVER
Contents
48 Up / Down
36 Better Places
What‘s the difference between Alex Honnold and James Kingston? And what do they have in common?
The favorite spots of the E.O.F.T. athletes
12
DREAM There was a time when Ben Marr still dreamed of being successful. Now the dream has come true. At least in part...
48
EL SENDERO LUMINOSO
48
14
DON'T LOOK DOWN
CAVE CONNECTION A journey to the center of the earth: Kieran Mckay and his team look for the connection between two gigantic cave systems in New Zealand
James Kingston is immune to heights. He climbs bridges and cranes without protection – and enjoys looking down
SPECIAL TOPIC
WHAT DRIVES US?
25
I AM MOBILE, THEREFORE I AM THE DECELERATION FORMULA
Photo: Firecracker Films, Justin Reznick,
Erik Boomer, Renan Ozturk, Neil Silverwood/Red Bull Content Pool, Firecracker Films, Reiner Eder
Alex Honnold on his way to enlightenment. He climbs his most difficult free-solo route in Mexico
I am mobile, therefore I am. How movement changes our lives.
Photos: Xavier De Le Rue
LIFE EN ROUTE MOBILITY IS FREEDOM
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SPECIAL: MOBILITY-
DRIVEN
56 Lucy‘s Trail GORE-TEX® Experience Tour: all the way to the top with a strong woman
EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 7
Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
The four kayaking nomads follow the picturesque Onon River through wild Eastern Mongolia.
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Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
HOLBOH OR THE ART OF BEING CARRIED Far away in the Far East: Four women, three countries, two months, and a river that belongs to no one.
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 9
Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
“From one moment to the next our journey became a different one entirely.” Amber Valenti
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Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 11
Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
Amber Valenti is scratching her head in silence. She’s searching for a definition. Her fellow team member Krystle Wright also has a hard time trying to find the right word – but then she gives up. “We don’t have a word for that in our language. Probably because we always need such precise terms for everything. But it doesn’t work in this case. In Mongolia they call it holboh.” Definitions can be hard to pin down, particularly when a word has multiple and different meanings. Holboh can mean a telephone connection, a sense of orientation, an inner compass or any form of intuition. Yet as hard as it was to describe, holboh quickly
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became a decisive factor in one adventure taken by four kayakers, who traveled through Russia from eastern Mongolia to the Pacific. Amber, Krystle and their paddling comrades Becca and Sabra had had enough of the graded rivers and flooded canyons in the United States so they went in search of a freeflowing current that would take them straight into a different world. The Amur is the third-longest, freeflowing river on Earth, morphing from its gentle headwaters in Mongolia into a powerful torrent that writhes like a mighty serpent across much of eastern Asia and down to the Pacific. It is no coincidence that the Chinese call it the Black Dragon.
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Photos: Krystle Wright
Destination It’s easier to overcome the language barrier while reading a map. Contrasts After the untouched Onon, the team enters the industrial landscape of the Amur.
Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
As the group finally arrived at the launch on the Onon, a tributary of the Amur, everything suddenly got very quiet. They had spent three years planning and countless hours on planes, old Soviet buses and horseback to get here. Yes, fifteen dry bags filled with their belongings were packed into the folding kayak, but the heaviest baggage was in their heads. Just a few weeks before they flew out, Becca’s boyfriend of many years, Zach, was killed in a tragic paragliding accident. Contrary to all expectations, she decided to make the journey to the end of the world. She followed her instinct, her holboh, and stepped onto that plane for the big adventure. It was a big risk. In the middle of nowhere there would be no emotional filters. Her sadness was as intense and sudden as her joy. “Unlike at home where she would be expected to grieve, she knew she wouldn’t be judged here for lapsing into moments of joy and lightness. She could let herself go, regardless of her feelings, and despite the horrible pain we had fun just about everywhere we went,” explains Krystle. And in that moment, when four women shoved off from riverbank and floated down the first few meters of the Onon, the joy was indeed immense. “I only realized it in that moment how alone we were and how isolated the area was that we would paddle through for the next weeks,” continues Krystle with light in her eyes, adding, “I would go back in a heartbeat. If you are looking for a real adventure, Mongolia is the right place.” Yet, like the river, their kayak adventure had its twists and turns. From the gentle, desolate landscape of Mongolia they arrived in Russia, and from the untouched waters of the Onon they glided into the great Amur, lined by industrial
cities and polluted swamps. Then, the four were reduced to three. Becca left the team in Russia to return to her family in the U.S. “Nobody paddles down the Amur for fun!” The comment came from a random Russian passerby, but it gave the team pause. Before long they realized what the young man had meant. Pollution in the Amur is inescapable. “How I would have loved to roll into the river after one of those long hot days,” sighs Krystle, “but the water was just too polluted. I was scared of catching an infection.” The team didn’t even eat the local catch-of-the-day because the river’s contamination couldn’t be overlooked. On top of that, expansive swamplands fringing the Amur’s banks were a breeding ground for battalions of mosquitoes, which thrived in the oppressive summer heat. Everyone wore nets over their faces, the number of bites entered triple digits, and any cooked meal was automatically protein-enriched by the dozens of insects that flew into the pot. At that point the trip acquired an exhausting tone and the river branched out into more of a delta where the waters were so still that it became difficult to tell which way was downstream. However, after one and a half months on the river the team’s inner holboh was finally calibrated, accurately enough to allow Krystle, Amber and Sabra to navigate without a map or GPS, but another plot twist awaited them two weeks before they reached the Pacific. Amber had reservations about whether they should continue. The river had become too dangerous and maze-like. The team couldn’t find a dry bank in this delta region to set up camp in the evenings. Krystle, the team photographer, wanted to continue to the end but they ultimately decided to abort the mission.
THE AMUR RIVER
RAFFLE WELL-EQUIPPED FOR ADVENTURE
RUSSLAND Amur
CHINA
The river rises in the Khan Chentii natural reserve in Northern Mongolia and flows into the Sea of Okhotsk. Due to its many loop lakes, navigation on the Amur is a challenge. Over a length of around 3,000 km, only two large bridges connect the two banks. Unlike other rivers of its size, the Amur has not one dam.
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Victorinox tools offer maximum functionality, ease of use and quality. Together with the E.O.F.T., we raffle off 3 high-quality Victorinox Swisstool Spirits. Join in at www.eoft.eu/victorinox-gewinnspiel
EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 13
Victorinox presents: Nobody’s River
Wakey-wakey On the Mongolian steppe, the wake-up service is a little rougher than elsewhere. Emotional farewell Amber on the Pacific shore.
destruction in its wake. The spring floods took entire villages with them. “We have no idea what would have happened if we had stayed out there,” says Amber earnestly. “We may have been in our boats or we may have been sleeping.” Call it what you will – an intuition, an instinct or a holboh – it surely wasn’t the first time a persistent gut feeling saved some lives. Photos: Krystle Wright
“Amber said she didn’t have a good vibe about the whole thing anymore. We were really teetering but we’re all happy now that she insisted on stopping. Maybe she was more in tune than I was at that moment,” says Krystle reflecting. No sooner had the team abandoned the river than massive rainstorms inundated the Amur delta. Water levels rose dramatically and a massive river flood left nothing but
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Nobody’s River/Dream
THREE QUESTIONS FOR SKIP ARMSTRONG NOBODY’S RIVER and DREAM: two films that couldn’t be more different. Speaking of them, Director Skip Armstrong‘s reflections bridge seriousness and slapstick. WOW 24/7 WHAT‘S ON WHERE
Was it difficult to tell a story that you did not experience and film by yourself? It was clear from the outset that I was just going to be editing the film, but then before the trip we spoke about which pictures the girls would take during the expedition. I had to look at a million images, mostly from the first 10 days. Typical! At the beginning you film more than at the end. But that wasn’t the biggest problem. When Zach died we didn’t know how to deal with it at first. Sure, NOBODY’S RIVER would no longer be the film that we had all envisioned. First Amber and I tried to just tell a different story. But that didn’t work. Then we just accepted that the story would be however it would be. Zach wasn’t just Becca’s partner. He was also a great friend. That made everything very tricky.
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Photo: Skip Armstrong
A good film lives and dies by its main character. How do you find an interesting character? I think you can make an interesting movie about anyone. Everyone has an exciting story to tell. But people need to be honest in front of the camera. If they aren’t, the audience notices it right away.
Photo: Skip Armstrong
How did you light up the kayak in DREAM? Using LEDs that we had attached to the bottom of the kayak with tape. A lot of tape! It took seven days to get those damn things to work. Doing SHAPESHIFTER two years ago was
much easier. We fastened flares to the kayak. They burn for two hours and by then you had to be done. DREAM was just for fun for Ben Marr and me. It was supposed to be silly and crazy. He wrote the script for the voiceover himself. He saw the images and just said what came into his head. We did a few takes, and I cut the final version from those.
WOW247 is a new UK events and entertainment website from Johnston Press, covering the arts, culture and going out scene with guides, reviews, interviews and video. For comprehensive film coverage from a UK perspective, WOW247 has it covered. They cover the new releases, unique events and screenings for film fans and indulge in offbeat features on everything from Under the Skin to Uncle Buck. Look out for their in-depth coverage of film festivals, including Cannes, London and Edinburgh.
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Cave Connection
INTO MIDDLE EARTH
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Cave Connection
Bring light into the dark Kieran Mckay and his team explore the mysterious underground world
“At this point people have been all over the planet. Yet here we leave traces of our presence in places nobody knew existed.“ Kieran Mckay
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 17
Cave Connection
“At this point people have been all over the planet. Yet we leave traces of our presence in places nobody knew existed.” Kieran Mckay is an explorer, and an overly modest one at that. In January 2014, he and his team found the connection between the Stormy Pot and Nettlebed cave systems on the South Island of New Zealand. For Kieran this was not a phenomenal achievement. “People have been looking for this connection since the 1970s. We were just lucky enough to actually find it,” he says. Lucky, yes, but endurance and curiosity also played their roles. “That is what drives us all. We want to know what’s around the next corner.”
Kieran, on the other hand, has spent as many as eight days underground (“I could have gone longer, for sure!”) and can still remember most of the channels and junctions without looking at a map or markers. Having a spectacular memory is definitely not a basic requirement for caving. “Some of us don’t have that ability,” he admits. There are about 300 cavers in New Zealand, but fewer than 30 would consider themselves “explorer” types like Kieran. Troy Watson and Neil Silverwood, the team photographer, are among them. One reason Kieran knows most of these caves like the back of his hand is because he has mapped them
The darkness has fascinated us forever, most likely because it leaves so much to the imagination. J.R.R. Tolkien conjured up dwarves and orcs while Walter Moers wrote of stainless steel maggots and cave trolls from the dark mountains. “It’s easy to imagine you’re being followed by a monster,” says Kieran with a smirk, “but the only life forms down there are just a few millimeters in size, if that.” Even if you can categorically deny the existence of monsters, caves are very eerie places for anyone who enters one for the first time. Director Niko Jäger, who accompanied Kieran’s team through the first phase of filming for CAVE CONNECTION, was completely disoriented underground. “You’re in this 3D space without a horizon, and the path you just walked down is totally foreign when you look back over your shoulder,” he explains.
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out with a compass and a clinometer. Old-fashioned perhaps, but there is no GPS underground, so the team measures the cave from crag to crag while noting the incline at each juncture. They usually get through about a kilometer per day, after which the information goes into a computer program that creates a map from the data. “We just had the new map of the Stormy Pot / Nettlebed system made,” explains Kieran. “It’s a few meters long.” Looking at the map on paper doesn’t reveal much in terms of dimension. You must be inside the caves to understand them. Kieran is continually surprised by the images people have of caves in their heads. “People ask me what inspires me to crawl around on my stomach through these tiny spaces. They actually think that all caves are small. That’s just not true. Of course there are tight passages, but what’s
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Photos: Neil Silverwood / Red Bull Contentpool
Deep within the Earth, water is friend and foe at the same time: it shows the cavers the way to the connection between the Stormy Pot and Nettlebed cave systems, but also places nearly insurmountable barriers in their way.
Cave Connection
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 19
Cave Connection
really amazing is the big stuff,” he says, referring to caverns of gigantic proportions. Still, tight squeezes are unavoidable. If you’re looking for the echo in the great hall you must make yourself pretty small at times to get there. At the beginning of the Nettlebed Cave there is a spot that can only be managed by pushing and pulling yourself through with all of your arms and legs correctly positioned to do so. Just the mere notion would give most people cold sweats, but for the experienced caver contorting into tiny shapes is simply part of adapting to the landscape. With a broken leg, on the other hand, even Kieran wouldn’t have had a chance.
“I’m through!” and the whole pile started to rumble into motion. Then it was silent – until we heard his voice from the other side of the heap. Was I glad to hear that voice!” Kieran’s pragmatic attitude toward the topic of danger is astonishing, especially if you know that he’s already lost a good friend below the surface. Since then he hasn’t been into a cave alone again. “Caving is a team sport, and the people I am with at the moment are the best team that I’ve ever been a part of. We look after each other.” Everyone knows that the call of the unknown can be irresistible. Kieran spends most weekends in a cave some-
The risks of caving are omnipresent. Indeed, they cannot be ignored: torrents of ice-cold water, towers of loose stones two stories high, earthquakes and of course injury. But Kieran can’t get enough. “Mountain climbing is dangerous,” he says. “Caving is relatively safe. During earthquakes not much moves. It feels like a subway is driving past you, but what scares me the most is loose rock. One time we were with a friend who hadn’t had much experience, and we discovered this crack in a tower of loose rock. There was this massive cavern behind it but the whole thing was too dangerous for me. I didn’t want to go through but he just disappeared into the hole. Shortly thereafter he yelled,
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where, either exploring or mapping, and although he earns his money as an outdoor guide above ground, underground is where he really blossoms. As a Kiwi he tends to prefer New Zealand. “We could travel to China, sure, but for the same money there is so much to discover right here in New Zealand,” he says, so he prefers to stay home. “I have the feeling we’re actually making a contribution here.” As a rock climber and mountaineer, the best anyone could do would be to establish a new route up an already known landmark, but as a caver he is constantly discovering new things. “It’s a truly unique experience. There is a sense of humility and happiness in experiencing something like that.”
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Photo: Neil Silverwood / Red Bull Contentpool
Camping for Minimalists Narrow passages in the cave force the cavers to pack pragmatically. Many sleeping bags have been in the cave for years and are used by all teams together.
Outdoor destination
LAVALANCHE ADVENTURES ON RÉUNION
Photo: Serge Gelabert
The volcanic island La Réunion with its breathtaking landscapes offers countless possibilities for your next outdoor adventure.
Southeast of Madagascar, La Réunion is officially part of France but this volcanic island’s secondary claim is as one of the world’s last adventure playgrounds. The diminutive speck in the Indian Ocean covers just 2,500 square meters, but its wildly diverse landscape makes it a little-known destination for unusual outdoor exploits. There, mountain bikers, climbers, gliders, canyoneers and hikers can still blaze their own trail through untamed paradise. Réunion features 3,000 meters of altitude difference with scenery ranging from high mountain peaks, lava fields and expansive plateaus to green gorges with tall waterfalls and colorful coral reefs lining the coast. Its three main valleys of Mafate, Salazie and Cilaos are lushly vegetated with tamarind groves and wild orchids, in stark contrast to the sparse landscape around the island’s volcanoes. The island’s main attraction, however, is its last active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise (2,631 m). Its eruptions – the most recent in June 2014 – are
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among the planet’s most impressive natural phenomena, and yet they are completely harmless. A demanding loop trail from the viewpoint, Pas de Bellecombe, to Dolomieu, the main crater, takes about five hours. After passing the small secondary crater, Formica Leo, you climb to the peak where white symbols on the path ensure you don’t lose your way in the fog. There, a staircase leads you down into the caldron at lava level. When the 1200-C° molten lava streams out to meet the cold ocean, the elements explode in a fiery battle to create picturesque formations and caves in the hot tubes within the flows. The cooled eruptions of the past are still visible here. In 2004, for example, one blast created a 4-km-long underground tunnel that is now open for exploration. Inside, the height inside varies from one to three meters. The volcanic region that covers nearly half of the island is a national park protected as a UNESCO Natural Heritage site.
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Brandon Semenuk‘s Rad Company
FULL THROTTLE
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Brandon Semenuk‘s Rad Company
The New World Disorder mountain bike film series by Freeride Entertainment set the standard from 2000 to 2009. Now the mastermind of the NWD series, creative director Derek Westerlund, is back with BRANDON SEMENUK’S RAD COMPANY.
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Photos: Scott Markewitz/ Red Bull Content Pool
Brandon Semenuk‘s Rad Company
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Brandon Semenuk‘s Rad Company
ISSUE 150: 18 YEARS OF BICYCLES & DIRT ACTION
What is your favorite segment? DW: The junkyard, I think. It has the right balance of riding and creativity.
What has changed since then? DW: The sport changed dramatically between 2000 and 2009. Today it is a lot harder to break ground from a trick and risk perspective, but easier from the creative film making side.
How did the NWD films influence you as a rider? Logan Peat: I would say pretty much all the tricks I have mastered today I got from the NWD films. I grew up in a small town in Ontario and just watched those films all the time to copy the tricks my favorite riders were doing.
That means the bigger the budget, the better the films? DW: Not really. The important thing is a good concept—and creativity. The days of just blowing money trying to get some next level shot seem to be over. I’m not even sure action sports films with production costs in the millions even have a future. Loads of videos start with a good idea but fall apart in the execution. Is it easier today to make a mountain bike film than 10 years ago? DW: It’s easier to prepare the filming of it. The cameras have really improved. The tools are better but the outcomes are not as surprising.
Without the New World Disorder series the mountain bike scene would likely be very different. Logan Peat, whose abilities are featured in the junkyard scene, recalls ...
COAST GRAVITY PARK / WORLD CUP DH MID–SEASON / BEN WALKER / FRENCH ALPINE ADVENTURE / ORBEA RALLON / FOCUS SAM / GHOST CAGUA
Does RAD COMPANY continue the tradition of NWD? Derek Westerlund: Definitely! Many of the folks involved back then are still the best in the business. Working with Brandon Semenuk was a big motivator for this film too. He came onto the MTB scene right about when we had wrapped up the series.
150 / AUGUST 2014
“We didn’t get nearly as wet as it looks in the film. During filming we always just rode really quickly through the rain machine.“ Nico Vink
MOUNTAINBIKE MAGAZINE Coastal Cruising THE AMAZING COAST GRAVITY PARK, CANADA Killer Bs BRYCELAND, BROSNAN, BRUNI & MORE… WORLD CUP DH MID–SEASON At Home With Ben Walker LIVING THE DREAM Four Tımes French ALPINE ADVENTURE On Test: ORBEA RALLON FOCUS SAM GHOST CAGUA
150
#
DT150 AUG 2014 WWW.DIRTMOUNTAINBIKE.COM
UK£4.25 USA$10.99 GER€5 CANADA$11.50 AUS$11.50 NZ$12.80
DIRT MOUNTAINBIKE MAGAZINE Dirt Mountainbike magazine has always been about the heart and soul of mountain biking. We are not just about product reviews and trail guides - we are about people and places, companies and characters. Founded in 1996, Dirt features articles from the world‘s top MTB journalists and photographers, capturing the essence and energy of the sport. As well as the action and personalities, Dirt covers the subculture and lifestyle of modern day off-road riding. To subscribe and get a FREE Dirt t-shirt and cap visit themagfactory.com and enter promo code DTEOFT
What has changed since then? LP: The focus used to be on big mountain freeriding. We’ve moved on a bit from that since then. But I feel like riders are all after the same thing, pushing themselves to get the sickest footage they can.
DIRT 100 Whether looking for the a new mountain bike, or just upgrading your current ride, the Dirt 100 covers all our best MTB products from the past year. 100 bike product reviews from shoes and accessories to frames, wheels and full bikes. The 2014/15 issue out on 20th Nov 2014 in all good bike shops, newsagents and WHS High Street stores
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 25
GoPro
FILMING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD There are areas so remote and uninhabitable that only the most daring explorers have set foot there. Antarctica is definitely at the top of that list. Yet for some people, merely exploring is not enough. Professional snowboarder and adventurer Xavier De Le Rue set out to capture footage of this extraordinary place that nobody had ever seen before – to film on a level that could compete with action movies. “We were truly in the middle of nowhere,” Xavier remembers. “The skidoos dropped us after a ten-hour ride and we had seen nothing but snow in what seemed like forever. In these conditions, everything becomes a battle against the elements. Camera cables were constantly breaking in -30°C, and it wasn‘t always easy to keep our spirits up and our ideas fresh.” “On some days we climbed and hiked until our lungs felt like they were filled with ice, but when the rocks open up and you see a 1000-meter line no human has ever done before, all is forgotten.” “Of course, we couldn‘t always bring all our gear
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to these places and we had to leave our cameramen at basecamp more than once. Without our GoPros, we could never have filmed the most breathtaking sequences of our adventure. I didn‘t feel their weight climbing up. Riding down, I could not have focused on filming from all the adrenalin rushing through my veins combined with the harshness of the elements. So it was great I could mount the GoPro, set it and forget it. As you will see in our movie, the quality of the resulting footage is amazing and speaks for itself. I am able to share exactly what I was seeing right in the middle of the craziest action. And all that from new points of view and new angles. Adding the camera mounted on drones to the mix makes for truly amazing images at a fraction of the cost and effort in a place, where you are just on your own and where bringing a heli is just out of the question. To me, it really brings so much to filming, and really allows telling the story of what happens from the inside. There is no way I can bring viewers closer to the action without disturbing the flow of the experience.”
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Photos: Xavier De Le Rue
New perspectives: Xavier De Le Rue is looking for the next big line
SPECIAL TOPIC
WHAT MOVES US? I AM MOBILE, THEREFORE I AM THE DECELERATION FORMULA
LIFE EN ROUTE MOBILITY IS FREEDOM DRIVEN
Special topic: What moves us?
I AM MOBILE, THEREFORE I AM Sometimes our memory plays tricks on us. We recall incidents that we didn’t even experience ourselves. The defect is in our brain. We can see the situation clearly in our mind’s eye, but the source of the memory is no longer clear. Then suddenly we’re unsure. Did I do that? Or did I see it on YouTube or read it somewhere? To our brains it doesn’t matter where it comes from. We store the memories the same way every time. Yet a moment passes in a heartbeat. Memories are all that remain. So why even leave the house when it feels like everything is available online? It doesn’t make a difference if the story is first or secondhand. But secondhand is not for everyone. Truly mobile people enjoy the here and now at the most beautiful places of the world. Our selfies show the ways that we have walked and the goals that we have achieved. They are proof of our personal mobility even though they cannot replace our personal experience. Regardless of how many photos or videos we bring home from our travels, they will never be more than a shell of what we really experienced out there.
28 I BMW SPECIAL
Special topic: What moves us?
Photos: Felix Starck/ www.pedal-the-world.de
Pedal the World Around the world on a bike: this had been Felix Starck's dream since he was 16 years old. In the summer of 2013 at the age of 21, he started out from his hometown in the Palatinate region of Germany with a camera and 55 kilograms of baggage. He covered 17,930 kilometers through 20 countries in 365 days. No obstacle could stop Starck - neither pneumonia nor monsoon rain nor roads full of potholes. You can read about his experience on Felix's blog www.pedal-the-world.de, and soon there will be a film about his bike journey around the world.
BMW SPECIAL I 29
Special topic: What moves us?
Photos: Christoph Rehage
THE DECELERATION FORMULA
30 I BMW SPECIAL
Special topic: What moves us?
Photos: Christoph Rehage, Jon Muir, Kyle Dempster
Mobility requires speed. We still know the formula from physics class: speed equals distance over time. These days we seem obsessed with shortening distance, reducing time and increasing speed. Faster is better. So we tighten the screws of our efficiency, weigh our opportunities according to the amount of time they take, and measure ourselves using tools that take no time at all: the information superhighway has no speed limit. But what happens when the magnitude of an anecdote becomes irrelevant to us?
When the distance is the distance no matter how long it takes? Our lives are the time we have, no matter how far they take us. So we decelerate automatically and find our way back to our own speed. Mobility today organically provides us with new impressions and encounters. It brings us back to the present. If the destination is secondary, then the here becomes important. If time is irrelevant, then the now gains in significance. And perhaps the result is the formula for happiness.
CHRISTOPH REHAGE The Longest Way Not wanting to arrive
JON MUIR Alone across Australia Finding his own rhythm
KYLE DEMPSTER The Road from Karakol Blazing new trails
Christoph Rehage knew he had a long way to go when he embarked on his walk from Beijing to Bad Nenndorf. It’s a path that people wouldn’t choose to take on foot anymore. Unless of course you wanted to get some exercise and at the same time delay your arrival by as long as possible. Unlike an intercontinental flight, a long hike may test old friendships, but it also pretty much guarantees loads of variety and new acquaintances. You can’t help but reorient yourself and get your bearings back—if you happen to have lost them in the first place.
The quest for the unknown right outside your front door is what drove Australian adventurer Jon Muir into the Outback. He surrendered himself to the brooding heat and loneliness of this desolate expanse. Every step he took away from civilization was a step toward himself. Compared to the hectic pace of everyday life, the rules of the Outback were at once tough but simple. There were only four constants on any given day: walking, eating, drinking and sleeping. Nothing more. So it was easy for him to find his own rhythm. Yet at the end of the journey it was that much more difficult to readjust to the tempo of everyday life.
Deceleration also works on two wheels. For example, when you’re riding your bike up a mountain in the smallest gear towing a trailer loaded with climbing and expedition gear. In summer 2011, Kyle Dempster pedaled through Kyrgyzstan and allowed all manner of things to slow him down, including steep inclines, bad roads and washed-out bridges. Then the road he was on disappeared between giant rocks and high grass and he didn’t see another person for seven days. That was the moment his sense of distance and time was well and truly recalibrated. After that, the joy of riding on a paved road again felt virtually boundless.
BMW SPECIAL I 31
Special topic: What moves us?
The frugal camper: Alex Honnold saves his energy for the world’s climbing spots.
LIFE EN ROUTE MOBILITY IS FREEDOM 32 I BMW SPECIAL
Special topic: What moves us?
Photos: Andy Earl
The 29-year-old lives in his van for most of the climbing season.
Alex Honnold wants to climb wherever and whenever possible. The priorities are crystal clear. Mobility trumps comfort, because being near a climbing spot is more critical than a bed big enough for his long frame. For eight years now the 29-year-old has spent climbing seasons in his customized camper van. Below the two sleeping berths is enough storage space for gear, food and clothing, and a stove is wedged between the refrigerator and water tank. The only thing missing is a shower. “Three weeks. That was
the longest time I’ve gone without a shower,” laughs Honnold. “Any longer would have been unjustifiable.” Unlike hygiene, communication is Honnold’s priority number one when he’s on the road. He uses his laptop and mobile phone to keep in touch with the outside world, but is unconcerned about dead batteries. For years now the climber has been thinking about environmental protection and clean energy. The power for his mobile lifestyle comes from solar panels on the roof of his van—a free luxury.
BMW SPECIAL I 33
Special topic: What moves us?
DRIVEN
Photo: Chris Bray/www.1000hourday.com
What has brought us here, and what will take us further? From the upright walk and the invention of the wheel to landing on the moon – progress can take different shapes and forms. It is the driver of evolution, of our ideas and our continued pioneering spirit. That means it is inevitably linked to our curiosity.
34 I BMW SPECIAL
Special topic: What moves us?
SWIM ’N’ ROLL
PLUG 'N' ROLL
Chris Bray and Clark Carter had a dream. They wanted to cross Victoria Island from East to West. An ingenious invention, the PAC, which could travel over land and water, was their key to success.
Maximum fun while driving with maximum energy efficiency. BMW’s plug-in hybrid technology combines a combustion engine with an electric drive: the interaction of two technologies to achieve maximum mobility.
THE PAC is an amphibious vehicle which was specially deBMW PLUG-IN-HYBRIDS BMW plug-in hybrids are all-round veloped for use on Victoria Island. The island is situated in vehicles: purely electric during every-day use, amazingly dythe far North of Canada and looks quite bleak at first sight: namic in your free time. Short trips can be emission-free there are neither mountains nor valleys, but it is covered by without problems. There is nothing stopping you from taking a patchwork of lakes. The terrain changes by the long trips, as the range is extended by activating hour. First bumpy rubble, then knee-deep mud the combustion engine. This technology saves fuAPPLICATION and then the next lake. The challenge was deel and avoids to exhaust gases without limiting signing a vehicle which could overcome any sort of terrain the distance. BMW combines environmental compatibility on Victoria Island. To manage this, it had to be light, robust and efficiency with the dynamic style of driving that is typical and able to swim. The first prototype looked like a kayak for the brand. If you take the BMW Concept X5 eDrive, for on wheels, which could be attached and removed. It was a example, this means: spontaneous and convincing acceleralong way to the final PAC, which took more then a year to tion makes long trips to the mountains enjoyable. The car develop. can go from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in around 7 seconds. BMW xDrive makes it even more dynamic.
Since Chris and Clark wanted to cross the island by fair Combustion engine and electric drive in one vehicle. Who means, any auxiliary means such as fuel, for exwould have thought that this combination ample gasoline or electricity, were out of the would one day become an alternative for tradiDRIVE question. The PAC is exclusively powered by tional combustion engines. You get almost unChris's and Clark's muscular strength. limited use in every-day life, sometimes low in emissions, sometimes emission-free. Individual, flexible driving on long trips and in restrictive inner cities – made possible by the plug-in hybrid technology. So it’s not surprising that provisions made up the biggest You don’t always go to a service station to refuel. But using part of the expedition luggage: Chris and Clark lugged a conventional wall socket? You have to get used to that around about one kilogram of food per day and person for first. The charging time for the high-voltage battery of an weeks, including 25 kg of chocolate, 10 kg of peanut butter electric motor is only two and a half hours, and it offers a and 200 freeze-dried ready-to-eat meals. Howcapacity of around 6 kWh (a range of about 30 ever, in the wild you quickly turn into a hunter km in the EU test cycle) – long charging times CONSUMPTION and gatherer. The two adventurers supplementare a thing of the past. The combustion engine ed their daily rations with freshly caught fish and various still relies on gasoline, but the BMW Concept X5 eDrive, types of game. A whole series of “nut breaks” marked the for example, only uses less than 3.8 liters per 100 kilomeway of the PAC along its journey across the Arctic tundra. ters. The intelligent energy management of the vehicle, After two hours of walking they had a ten minute break for which is represented by the on-board computer, decides a short snack. In this way, Chris and Clark made slow but when to use which drive and thus ensures a perfect interacsteady progress. tion to make sure you reach your destination in an (energy-) efficient way, but also quickly, i.e. within the optimum time.
BMW SPECIAL I 35
Special topic: What moves us?
The BMW Concept X5 eDrive, for example, can cover The PAC covered a total of 1,000 kilometers, and a lot around 30 kilometers running purely on electricity. This more wouldn’t have been possible. The highlight of the vetakes you pretty far in every-day life: to work, hicle – its oversized tires – turned out to be its shopping, the gym or the movies – every-day biggest weak point during use. They did roll RANGE mobility requirements in the city can be met over rough and smooth and could even swim, but the tire covers made from Kevlar – the material bulelectrically. If your destination is farther away on the weeklet-proof vests are made of – were completely torn up at the end, the combination with a combustion engine will take end of the journey. you as far as you want. Depending on the terrain, Chris and Clark were able to cover between 1.3 and 50 kilometers per day. In the water, the PAC was signifiTOP cantly faster than on land. The days on the Kuujjua River were among the easiest of the entire trip.
Eco-friendly driving does not mean that you can't have fun. The 70 kW / 95 PS electric motor by itself manages 120 kilometers per hour. SPEED If the combustion engine is added, it can even accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in less than 7 seconds.
BMW Concept Active Tourer eDrive
Photos: Chris Bray/www.1000hourday.com, BMW
Water or ice: no problem for the PAC
36 I BMW SPECIAL
Special topic: What moves us?
BMW Concept X5 eDrive
The PAC: always at the top of things
The constant grinding and scratching of the tires on the A vehicle that you hardly hear. Almost noiseless in the elecsharp-edged ground was quiet, but worrying. Up tric mode, but you can still enjoy the familiar to the end of the journey, the two adventurers sound of the BMW TwinPower Turbo engine NOISES were not sure whether the tires would withstand due to the combustion engine – the new BMW the continuous load. plug-in hybrid cars offer both. The PAC fully served its purpose. It made it possible for BMW has developed a trend-setting technology with the Chris and Clark to cross the island from East to BMW eDrive – eco-friendly and suitable for evWest. However, it’s doubtful whether the vehiery-day use. The best from two worlds on four CONCLUSION cle will ever be used outside the Arctic tundra, wheels. Unlike Chris’s and Clark’s vehicle, so the PAC will probably never be produced in series. which will not be produced in series, BMW is planning to offer the plug-in hybrid drive technology in future models of the BMW core brand – surely they'll also have the right vehicle for Chris and Clark!
Our curiosity has always driven us to discover the world. The challenges we have to face in a constantly changing world drive us to find new solutions.
BMW SPECIAL I 37
Better Places
37°44'55.12''N119°35'14.04''W
BETTER PLACES YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK CALIFORNIA, USA Alex Honnold Free solo climber
It’s just such an awe inspiring place. The walls are so big and clean, they’re perfect to me. So many classic routes and yet still so much room for first ascents or new adventures. Yosemite has been the site of almost all my best climbing, from learning how to place gear to learning how to solo walls. I also have memories of camping here as a kid with the whole family. It’s always been a special place. It still smells like home.
El Sendero Luminoso (E.O.F.T. 14/15)
38 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
ALL DETAILS AT WWW.EOFT.EU
Photo: Jimmy Chin
In their element ... Whether it’s a rock wall, a cave, a frozen waterfall or a desert sandstone formation, E.O.F.T heroes tell us their favorite spots around the globe. Five fantastic fields of dreams!
Better Places
Photo: Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
60°3'0''N7°25'0''E
HARDANGERVIDDA PLATEAU NORWAY Will Gadd Ice climber
My favorite place for ice climbing is Hardangervidda, a massive plateau in Norway that rises about 1,000 meters above sea level. It snows a lot on the plateau, and that snow makes for amazing waterfalls into the Fjords. It’s like it was designed to produce amazing climbs. There is unlimited potential for new world-class routes. You could spend the rest of your life climbing new routes around the Hardangervidda and never run out of options, so much ice!
The Frozen Titans (E.O.F.T. 14/15)
ALL DETAILS AT WWW.EOFT.EU
EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 39
Better Places
BULLWINKLE TOWER UTAH, USA Cedar Wright Climber and filmmaker
El Sendero Luminoso (E.O.F.T. 14/15)
40 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
The Arches National Park is truly one of the most timeless and beautiful landscapes in the world. You feel like a dinosaur could go walking by at any minute. Bullwinkle Tower is one of 45 towers Alex Honnold and I climbed during Sufferfest 2, which took us on a 780 mile ride through Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. And just to make things more challenging we climbed the most difficult route on all 45 towers.
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Photo: Samuel Crossley
38째37'1.87''N109째37'15.77''W
Better Places
Photo: Neil Silverwood/ Red Bull Content Pool
41°2'0''S172°51'0''E
MIDDLE EARTH CAVE SYSTEM NEW ZEALAND Kieran Mckay Professional caver
Cave Connection (E.O.F.T. 14/15)
ALL DETAILS AT WWW.EOFT.EU
The caves in New Zealand are truly special. I have the chance to go places no one else has ever been. Our lights illuminate a landscape that has never seen light and has formed before mankind existed on this planet. Finding beautiful formation like in the photo is nice, however traveling kilometres and kilometres through a new world is better. Exploring down rivers, huge shafts, diving through underwater tunnels, walking out into chambers so big you cannot see the roof or walls ... People climb mountains as Mallory famously said „because they are there“. We explore caves because of what „might be there“. EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 41
Better Places
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OREGON, USA
Amber Valenti Kayaker and Adventurer
The Columbia River Gorge is magical. Not only is it my home, it also encompasses all the things I love in one place: you can ski a volcano, kayak world class rivers, sail, hike, climb, and play outside. Some of my best memories are swimming in beautiful mossy, carved out swimholes with waterfalls pouring in, stand-up-paddling up local rivers to explore and finding endless wild blackberry patches and empty sandy beaches.
Nobody´s River (E.O.F.T. 14/15)
42 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
ALL DETAILS AT WWW.EOFT.EU
Photo: Justin Reznick
45°42'17''N121°47'30''W
MORE ADVENTURE. MORE ACTION. MORE OCEAN LIFE.
A BRAND-NEW PROGRAM FOR OCEAN LOVERS COMING SPRING 2015
INFORMATION AND ONLINE-TICKETS:
WWW.OCEANFILMTOUR.COM OM
A MOVING ADVENTURES MEDIEN PRODUCTION
THE BEST OF VOLUME 1 NOW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY
MAMMUT - #Projekt360
THE ADV #PROJE BEGINS 44 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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MAMMUT - #Projekt360
VENTURE EKT360 S HERE Up the mountain with your mobile – not a first? That depends. MAMMUT’s #PROJECT360 opens up entirely new views: with your smartphone or laptop, the vertical is suddenly within reach ... Start your tour at www.project360.mammut.ch
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 45
Photo: Daniel Bartsch, Christian Gisi
MAMMUT - #Projekt360
46 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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MAMMUT - #Projekt360
Dani Arnold
Stephan Siegrist
Born in Switzerland, Dani has been climbing since he was fourteen and holds the record for the fastest solo ascent of the Eiger North Face – 2.5 hours.
This Swiss alpinist has made a living off his sporting activities since he was 26, and in 2008 he pioneered a new route up the Eiger North Face (La Paciencia).
A gentle click and the pickax is in the ice. Ice chips go flying in all directions. We look down. First the right and then the left crampon jam into the frozen wall of water. The most dangerous part of the second ice field on the Eiger Nordwand is complete. Time for a small break and a gander down into the valley. Everything looks so small from way up here! This panorama was traditionally reserved for mountaineers, but now just about anyone can enjoy the Alps’ most famous north face close up and get the buzz of climbing the legendary Heckmair Route – right from the comfort of the sofa. It’s all made possible by a fully automatic 360° camera system in a backpack developed by MAMMUT just for the purpose. The idea was to share the experience of two extraordinary alpinists, Dani Arnold and Stephan Siegrist. It’s not a first ascent, and they aren’t trying to break a record, but it is a premiere. Both these guys have done this route numerous times. But this is no normal climb. For the first time, a camera system documents the endeavor so viewers can enjoy the virtual experience on their video screens. It’s like vertical Google street view. What better mountain to kick off the project than the legendary north face of the Eiger? The peak has been shrouded in mystery since 1936, when two Germans, Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoißer, and two Austrians, Willy Angerer and Eduard Rainer, died on the same day during independent first attempts to conquer it. Yet the scene of one of mountaineering’s most horrible tragedies is also the stage for a long list of speed records. The current record is held by Dani Arnold himself, who ascended the north face of the
Eiger in 2 hours and 28 minutes on April 20, 2011. Three years later, on April 16, 2014, he and Stephan Siegrist once again headed up the north face. It wasn’t to beat Dani’s record, but to capture the ascent on video. When MAMMUT showed Dani the centerpiece of “Project 360” for the first time, he thought, “These guys are crazy.” The 360° system was developed especially for the project in conjunction with photographer Matthias Taugwalder. The device needed to be durable and light for climbing. Arnold and Siegrist carried the 3.5-kilo setup on their backs up the 1,800-meter rock wall. A telescope arm extended oddly out of the climbing packs. On the end was a sphere nearly the size of a soccer ball containing the precious technological gem. The climbers don’t have to do anything but concentrate on the climb. Meanwhile, six GoPro cameras take regular pictures that are later compiled into a panorama and allow the viewer to see the climb from every possible angle. “Begin your tour,” reads the MAMMUT website headline, as you stand at the foot of the wall. Whether you watch on your laptop or on your phone, before you follow the mammoth mascot on the backpack over the snowfield, you take a last look over your virtual shoulder. No fog in sight. It wouldn’t have mattered for this climb, but it would have caused problems for the six cameras taking the pictures. No, today a steely blue sky stretches out over white-capped peaks and green valleys. It’s perfect. The legend is within reach. For everyone.
Photo: Daniel Bartsch
A 360° view Follow Arnold and Siegrist to the top of the Eiger Nordwand at www.project360.mammut.ch.
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 47
MAMMUT: Reclimbing The Classics
LA ROSE ET LE VAMPIRE
“Antoine told me there were 300 tents littered through the valley here thirty years ago! But we were here all alone. I really enjoyed that,” said Anna Stöhr. The Austrian pro climber met Antoine near Buoux in April 2014 to repeat the route that Antoine had successfully mastered for the
first time way back in October 1985. The trip wasn’t just a journey into climbing history but also an encounter with a fascinating man. “Antoine is a climber through and through. But he is also an artist and he lives that to the fullest.” The master himself doesn’t argue the point. “This line awakened the artist in me because I was able to manifest my visions of extravagant moves here. Until then, I had let the rock itself inspire the climbable route. But here I wanted to create the line that pushed me to my absolute limit. That is why I created the
Photos: Rainer Eder
Two generations, one language: Climbing connects people – Mammut plays the untrammelled younger generation off against the legends who first climbed these six classic routes
There are many milestones in the history of sport climbing. The ascent of “La Rose et le Vampire” in the mountains of Luberon is one. In the 1980s, climbers came from all over the world to test their mettle on this 8b route in southern France, Antoine le Menestrel among them.
48 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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MAMMUT: Reclimbing The Classics
Two climbers, one route: Anna Stöhr (2014) and Antoine le Menestrel (1985) both master the same challenge.
handholds. This was the last route where I did that. And making this crusade a reality instilled an enormous amount of energy and motivation in me.” No wonder, then, that Antoine travels France today as a choreographer and dancer with the “Les Lézards Bleus” dance troupe.
Photos: Rainer Eder, Françoise Pevsner
„The route is the vampire, and the rose is for the victor.“ Antoine le Menestrel In the meantime, his “crusade” – the key section of the lower portion of the historic route – became the pinnacle of sport climbing in the late 1980s. What is frowned upon today was totally normal in those days: handholds that were too small
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or nonexistent were artificially changed in order to measure rope lengths and make a non-climbable route climbable. With regard to the difficulty rating, Anna feels 8b is still accurate. “I would give it the same rating now. It’s a very powerful climb, which suits my style pretty well, but it’s a bit of a shame there are artificial holds, that people had to add assistance.” She also knows that climbing techniques have changed dramatically since then and that we can’t possibly know what they will be like thirty years from now. Anna needed four days to conquer the Vampire’s porous limestone. The long stretches between finger holes and the dynamic movements on the smallest of ledges posed significant challenges, even for this four-time bouldering world cup champion. In the end she managed to get the proverbial rose that climbers receive at the end of the route.
“The hardest part was moving over the ledge of the roof,” she recalled. Anna won’t soon forget her first attempts at the “danse verticale” – upside down. After a bit of advice from Antoine, whose dramatic vertical theatrics here made him famous, she risked abseiling head first down the face. It was the first and likely the last time. “I’m a climber, not an artist,” she says laughing and letting herself dangle toward the ground, “but I tried it!” Antoine doesn’t seem to hold it against her either.
“La Rose et le Vampire” is one of six Reclimbing the Classics projects. The video and other information can be found along with all the other episodes at www.mammut.ch/ rockclimbing.
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Don‘t look down / El Sendero Luminoso
DOWN
50 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
ALL DETAILS AT WWW.EOFT.EU
Photo: Firecracker Films
“What’s the point of going up, if I don’t look down?” James Kingston
UP
Don‘t look down / El Sendero Luminoso
Skyrunning vs. free-solo climbing: James Kingston and Alex Honnold test their limits beyond fear and consciously go without protection. Both move along the edge of possibility, but people react very differently to them. Is there a reason for this?
Photo: Renan Ozturk
“There is no adrenaline rush. If I have a rush, it means something’s gone horribly wrong.” Alex Honnold
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 51
Don‘t look down / El Sendero Luminoso
A hand blackened by urban dust grabs the white cross-member of a crane. The other lets go. The city dangles far below. A hand whitened by chalk reaches for an overhanging rock. The other lets go. The Mexican jungle awaits 530 meters below. Some feelings are archaic, imminent and irrational. Take “vertigo,” for example. According to definition, vertigo is common, but it usually occurs as an overreaction to a situation, in which there is little or no actual danger of falling. “Fear is a choice,” says freerunner James Kingston. “Risk and consequence – those two things shouldn’t be mixed up,” says free-solo climber Alex Honnold. These two have a habit of choosing confidence over fear.
They minimize risk by means of their abilities, but the consequence of one wrong move are the same for both. For Kingston, scaling urban structures is the path to ultimate freedom. For Honnold, climbing without ropes or protection in remote areas, known as free-soloing, maximizes the difficulty level of a route on both a mental and physical level. So why do we have such different reactions to their activities? Why would some people call Kingston crazy for climbing a 77-meter crane and at the same time admire Honnold for his 530-meter free-solo climb of El Sendero Luminoso? Is it our familiarity with urban structures that bothers us
Photo: Firecracker Films
James Kingston Age: 23 years Climbs: bridges, towers, cranes all over Europe From: Southampton, UK
52 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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Don‘t look down / El Sendero Luminoso
Alex Honnold Age: 29 years Climbs: all around the world, but preferably in Yosemite Valley From: Sacramento, California, USA
are often unpredictable. We are amazed by both of them. Yet for some observers this amazement is mixed with horror, and for others admiration. Why Kingston and Honnold do what they do remains unfathomable. When they talk about their passion, notions about ambition, self-control and presence become blurred and incomprehensible to those of us who stay on the ground. Perhaps it is the fear of that which we cannot understand or the fear of the unknown that inspires these reactions in us. “Nobody can assess your abilities or the risks you take for you. Only the climber knows that,” explains Alex Honnold soberly. “It is what it is.”
Photo: Franz Faltermaier, Renan Ozturk
about Kingston’s feats? Perhaps vertical rock walls, with their inaccessibility, are somehow less alarming to urbanites. Or maybe because most of us are surrounded daily by Kingston’s “playground,” parents and the authorities see inexperienced copycats as more of a danger than the fewer people who might try to emulate Honnold? Either way, seen objectively we can’t dispute the fact that Honnold’s risk of reaching for a loose stone is greater than Kingston’s risk of grabbing an in-stable arm of a crane. Kingston climbs cranes, bridges and towers, structures that many others rely on for stability. Honnold, on the other hand, moves in terrain whose integrity and condition
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EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 53
Photo: Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
The Frozen Titans
54 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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The Frozen Titans
NEW TERRITORY Will Gadd is a living legend in the mountaineering world. Few have won as many big competitions or climbed as many ice and rock walls as this 47-year-old Canadian. In 2014 he successfully completed the most difficult mixed-climbing challenge of his life, the “Overhead Hazard.” An interview with ice climbing legend Will Gadd.
Will climbs anything he can get his hands on, from icebergs off the coast of Newfoundland to unusual desert formations in Moab.
Photo: Francois Portmann/Red Bull Content Pool, Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
“Some people believe getting older is a bad thing. But I’m proud to have gotten this old,” Will laughs. “It’s the best thing I’ve managed to do in my life – having come this far.” The Canadian adventurer probably has a point. Will grew up in a family of mountaineers and adventurers and delved into the “Freedom of the Hills,” a classic among North American mountaineering and climbing books, when he was still a kid. When he was eight, he strapped on his first pair of crampons to climb a 3,000meter peak. At twelve he completed his first major ski tour and by sixteen he had climbed his first ice wall. It wasn’t long before Will was spending more time in the mountains than in the classroom.
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“I’m an okay athlete, but neither the strongest nor the fastest. What differentiates me from others is my total obsession, and I work really, really hard. When I started paragliding, I flew every single day for two years. It was the same with mixed climbing, ice or rock climbing.” Over the course of his career this passion and relentless obsession drove Will to achieve all of the major titles in the mountain sports scene: winner of the Ice Climbing World Cup, three gold medals at the Winter X Games, two-time world-record holder in long-distance paragliding, four-time winner of the Canadian National Sport-Climbing Championships, and victories at the U.S. and Canadian Paragliding Nationals.
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The Frozen Titans
„Overhead Hazard“ A departure from top-level mixed-climbing?
Admittedly, the man is not to be measured by normal standards. He is extreme. A driven person who is constantly on the hunt for adventure and new firsts. With “Overhead Hazard” (M13+), which he himself called the “most difficult, most incredible and most exciting mixed climb in the world,” Will once again proved just how much he loves taking on uncharted territory. Even the setting was a masterstroke: a dramatic overhanging rock 200 meters in height, hidden behind the thundering waters of Helmcken Falls in British Columbia. There, icicles extend like daggers from the overspray ice and threaten at any moment to fall. The
ropes freeze constantly. Some of the holds only endure because the mud is frozen. “The route at Helmcken Falls is truly severe and really dangerous, but it was the perfect moment for me,” says Gadd. “I had trained hard and at 47 years of age I was fitter and stronger than ever.” On February 13th, after several weeks of preparation with his team, the Canadian managed to do the entire multiple-rope route in a single day. Temperatures hovered around -30 degrees Celsius. “I don’t think I’ll ever find a better route and at the same time have the same physical fitness to actually climb it,” says Will. Yet his voice betrays no melancholy. Even if “Overhead Hazard” proves to be the peak of his performances in mixedclimbing (hard to believe), Will still percolates with new ideas. “I just discovered a spot in China that looks incredibly exciting and where nobody has ever climbed before. I would also like to ice-climb the peak at Kilimanjaro soon. And then we’ve got this paragliding project in Africa.”
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To be continued, for sure…
Photo: James Beissel/Red Bull Content Pool, Johnston Press
It’s not just titles and records that motivate this all-round athlete. Will is also a book author, TV personality, motivational speaker and world adventure traveler. He created a real stir when he and his buddy Ben climbed a series of floating icebergs around the Atlantic. So why does he do it? Simple. Because the challenges are there and no one else has taken them before!
JOHNSTON PRESS
„Most people probably would not enjoy doing what I do. It’s difficult, dangerous and painful. But it’s also really rewarding.“ Will Gadd
56 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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RALPH BACK STROM Photo by: Ralph Backstrom
HARLE Y INGLEBY Photo by: Harley Ingleby
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GET Project – History Session
GORE-TEX® EXPERIENCE TOUR LUCY’S TRAIL: ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP WITH A STRONG WOMAN
Edurne Pasaban: the Spaniard taking on the Balmhorn in the footsteps of mountaineering legend Lucy Walker 58 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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GET Project – History Session
APPLY NOW Historical black-and-white photos of the Golden Age of Alpine sports: the Balmhorn and its first known human visitor, Lucy Walker.
Edurne Pasaban knows her way around mountains. She is among the first women to have climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks. In June 2015 the powerful Spaniard arrives in the Alps to take on a very special project with GORE-TEX®. Pasaban will follow in the footsteps of another amazing woman with a truly pioneering Alpine history, Lucy Walker. One-hundred fifty years ago, Walker was the first person to climb the Balmhorn, a mighty peak of rock and ice in Switzerland’s Bernese Alps. The fearless English woman’s successful ascent immediately became mountaineering history.
Photos: Joachim Stark, Eduard Spelterini
In June 2015, esteemed Alpinist Edurne Pasaban will attempt to shadow Walker’s path to the top of the Balmhorn. As part of the GORE-TEX® Experience Tour (GET), she will climb with a group of carefully selected mountaineers. You, dear reader, have a chance to get in on the action. At www.experiencetour.com you can enter to win a trip for two to accompany Pasaban and her team to Balmhorn’s summit. Lucy Walker as a role model? Of Walker, Pasaban says, “With that spirit, will power and those skills – absolutely! Even today, 150 years later, the mountaineering feats of women are judged differently than those of men. All of that makes Lucy’s achievements in the mid-nineteenth century even more amazing.” Walker built on her success on the Balmhorn in 1864 with a series of other incredible ascents. She wasn’t the first human to reach the worldfamous peaks of the Wetterhorn, Liskamm or Piz Bernina, but she was the first woman to conquer these giants of the mountain realm. If it hadn’t been clear what she was capable of at that point, then there were no
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more doubts when she stood atop the Matterhorn in 1871. In terms of her mountaining apparel and equipment, however, she no longer constitutes much of an archetype. Scaling the icy crags of the high mountains, Walker was dressed in the contemporary garb of the time: flowing skirts and dresses. Even her diet on the trail was indicative of the times. At the top of the Eiger, the team enjoyed champagne and biscuits. Respect, appreciation, adventure and enjoyment Some things are different these days, but much is still the same. Says Edurne Pasaban, herself a role model for many aspiring mountain climbers, both male and female. “What matters when you decide to take on a challenging peak is that you have the notion, the desire and the enthusiasm to do it. What matters, if you intend to succeed, are your ability, the conditions and your gear. The latter has made peaks like the Balmhorn a fantastic recreational tour for experienced modernday climbers, who obviously have a massive advantage over Lucy Walker with regard to equipment – if the conditions are right!” GORE-TEX® athlete Edurne Pasaban and her GET team, which was formed at the beginning of the year with applicants from all over Europe, will not be taking a new route to the top of the Balmhorn. There will be no adventure into the unknown and hopefully no incalculable risks. No, this time they will be enjoying beautiful scenery with light equipment and good shoes as they wander along the path Lucy Walker trod in leather hobnail boots, flowing dress, and a lady’s hat, to become the first person ever to stand at the peak – over 150 years ago!
www.experience-tour.com: two mountain climbers have the chance to win a trip with Edurne Pasaban to hike in Lucy Walker’s footsteps – this time with modern GORE-TEX® clothing. GORE-TEX® outdoor apparel is not just durable but also easy to maintain. Regular washing and drying guarantees optimal functionality and increases the life span of your gear.
EDURNE PASABAN Edurne Pasaban (*1973) grew up in Tolosa in the Basque region with the Pyrenees at her doorstep. In 2001 she took the opportunity to participate in an expedition to Mount Everest – her first 8,000-meter peak. Just nine years later she had conquered all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter giants – the sixth fastest time to complete them all. These days she is also an active speaker and is part of the GORE-TEX® athletic team.
GORE-TEX® EXPERIENCE TOUR “Experience that money can’t buy”: Whether it’s a transalpine crossing, a sailing trip around the world, a photo expedition on the Lofoten Islands, or designing your own GORE-TEX® shoes or jacket for a well-known outdoor equipment brand—outdoor enthusiasts from all over Europe can enter to take part in the GORE-TEX® Experience Tour. Make the adventure of your dreams come true alongside celebrated professionals!
EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15 I 59
Last Picture
We live in a day and age when our lives become more and more user-defined, customized to our every wish and altered to whichever target group we’re in. Before we can make up our own mind, algorithms suggest what to want next. Yet, Alex Honnold comes into his own as he scales big heights free solo. At 30 degrees below zero, ice climber Will Gadd is at his ideal operating temperature. Others like James Kingston find their comfort zone in airy heights. Why do some people find their comfort zone in such extremes and uncomfortable places? Of course, each person’s comfort zone is an individual affair. Where do you feel in your element? Caver Kieran Mckay’s comfort zone begins,where most people’s fun ends: It’s dark, dirty, cold and narrow. The only way
forward is to hold your breath, suck in your tummy, and then wiggling through tiny loopholes, squeeze underground. In caving there is literally no space for claustrophobia. Like these idiosyncratic athletes, you too may search for a new comfort zone, far off the beaten track: Squeezing through a narrow cave passage or balancing on a thin line high above the ground forces you to adapt to your environment, not the other way round: When we stretch our limits, our experience becomes a contrast agent defining who we are, what’s important, and what’s not. Experiencing these differences might be a bigger comfort, a bigger convenience in life than dry clothes and a warm shower.
Caver Kieran Mckay finds it in the deep darkness underground, free solo climber Alex Honnold high up in the mountains: Why does our comfort zone become more and more uncomfortable?
Photo: Neil Silverwood / Red Bull Content Pool
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
60 I EUROPEAN OUTDOOR FILM TOUR 14/15
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