The Ridge [003]. Wind by kissthemountain

[003] WIND

PHOTO Â© FABIO MENINO

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MOUNTAIN CULTURE MAGAZINE

IT IS NOT THE MOUNTAIN WE CONQUER BUT OURSELVES. Edmund Hillary

Advertising: theridge@kissthemountain.com MOUNTAIN CULTURE MAGAZINE

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CONTENTS

POSTCARDS TOR DES GEANTS. TOWARDS THE LIMIT.

100

116

138

SUMMIT TALKS FRANÇOIS D’HAENE. PURE INSPIRATION.

PARALELO 70 MONT BLANC. FROM THE SKY.

THE SCENE GORE-TEX TRANSALPINE-RUN. CROSSING PARADISE.

PORTRAITS PATXI USOBIAGA. OBSESSION AND INSPIRATION.

PORTRAITS MARCO DE GASPERI. AMBASSADOR OF SKYRUNNING.

THE CAMERA IRIS DAVID MUNILLA. CLIMBING PHOTOGRAPHY.

POSTCARDS PT281+ ULTRAMARATHON RESPECT.

156

PARALELO 70 MUSTANG. THE LAST LOST KINGDOM.

THOUGHTS

WIND

The inspiration of François d’Haene for many long distance runners in all corners of the globe; the respect in going beyond the boundaries in races such as the Gore-Tex Transalpine-Run, Tor des Geants or PT281 +; the beauty in the photographic work of Parallelo 70, captured this time in Mont Blanc and in Mustang; the mastery of genius Patxi Usobiaga´s every movement; the elegance and example of sacrifice and hope shown by Marco de Gasperi; the experience and fascination in David Munilla´s climbing photographs... All these are values and qualities to which The Ridge aspires and that follow in this third issue, which we have called “Wind”. Storms. Meteorological phenomenon caused by thermal imbalances in the atmosphere, which manifests itself in large clouds and culminates in violent precipitations accompanied by thunder and lightning. Often this definition can be applied to certain moments in the struggle to reach a goal or conclude a project. Sometimes it feels as if it will be impossible to win that battle and everything seems destined to a precipitous end. But suddenly, a wind comes that starts to drive away that storm and give us hope again. The Ridge [003] has been that wind for us.

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FRANÇOIS D’HAENE P U R E

I N S P I R A T I O N

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Talking to François D’Haene has been truly special and inspiring. Winning three editions of UTMB and Diagonale des Fous says everything about a person who today might be considered the best ultra-runner in the world. This chat of course covers the most recent Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, but also those feelings and a way of understanding the mountain and competitions that makes him such a unique and special person. Thank you François for sharing part of your philosophy of life and the mountain with us.

rançois D’haene: Can you see me? [We had this conversation over Skype]. Kissthemountain: No, I can´t. Can you see me? F: Yes, perfectly. Wait a minute, I´m going to try and fix it. K: François, first of all I´d like to thank you for talking to Kissthemountain. It´s very important for us, as well as an honor. I also want to congratulate you on your recent victory at UTMB [Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc]. It was super exciting to see how the race developed and in particular when you crossed the finish line. F: Thank you, Juanmi. K: Later we´ll talk about UTMB, but first I´d like to start off by talking about the mountain and your relationship with it. What is the very first memory you have in this environment?

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F: I was really young. It was with my parents. We arrived at the Alps during wintertime. I was really amazed by the brutal and wild surroundings, and with the vast number of mountains I could see. K: Have you always been linked to the mountain? F: I was born in Lille, in the north of France. I moved to the Alps with my parents when I was only three years old. Many of my memories are from Chambéry, very close to the Alps. K: Do you remember your first mountain race? F: Yes, the first long one was in 2006, the Tour de Glaciers de la Vanoise, about 70 kilometers. Before that I´d done many other shorter distances, but that was the first long one. A friend encouraged me to do it. I trained hard for it. We didn´t start out very fast. We were

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in eighth or ninth position. In the middle of the race my friend told me that I looked in good shape and encouraged me to go ahead and try to reach the top positions. I left him and started to gain positions until I managed to win the race. I was only 19 years old. It was an incredible moment for me. I thought it was crazy to have had run over 70 kilometers. I decided to try something longer and the following year I thought about UTMB, but I was too young to be allowed to take part in it, so I did the CCC and continued my adventure in ultratrail. Before entering this world, I did athletics from the age of seven. A lot of cross country running and 3,000m hurdles. At the age of 1012 I did many road races. Later, at fourteen I began to do nature running, a mix between road and trail. It would only be at 16 or 17 when

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I started to focus on smaller races more in the mountains. K: Since then your results have been incredible. To recap some, you´ve won the UTMB [2012, 2014 and 2017] and Diagonale des Fous [2013, 2014 and 2016] three times, Vibram Hong Kong 100 [2016], Madeira Ultra Trail [2017], Ultra Trail Mont Fuji [2014], Tarawera Ultra [2013] ... It’s really worthy of admiration. Many people consider you to be the best ultrarunner in the world. You´ve won everything. Where do you find the motivation to keep going? F: From 2006 until 2012, and with my victory in Tour de Glaciers de la Vanoise, I ran very progressively. Practically one major race per year. I could have run more but I preferred to do it that way in order to maintain my motivation, spirit and energy. In 2012 I won UTMB and in 2013 Diagonal e des Fous. In 2014 I told myself that maybe I could do more ultra-trails in the same year, but without thinking about winning them, although I finally won at UTMB, Diagonale des Fous and Ultra Trail Mont Fuji in that same year. I told myself that three were already more than enough and that I wouldn´t do more than two or three a year. This season, for example, I ran the Madeira Ultra Trail, Maxi Race Ultra and UTMB [François has won all three], and some smaller races inbetween to prepare for them. For me, this year is over. I will take on another project that is not racing. I keep my motivation by not doing too many races and taking time to recover from them, scheduling the season very well for just a few goals. It involves great stress and

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PHOTO: Â© MARTINA VALMASSOI

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preparation. Before UTMB there was a lot of media pressure. People don´t take this into account. There are many athletes who did lots of races in previous years who are now no longer around. It´s important for me to choose races carefully and to know when to stop. This is fundamental to keep my motivation going. Take for example my case with UTMB. I won in 2012 and 2014, and I didn´t return until 2017. I needed to stop to find motivation. K: I understand François. Will you do UTMB again? F: Perhaps, but I don´t really know. the physical pleasure and this in any ulterior motive. Just to live the Maybe with another motivation or turn reflects in my practice and race. This year at the starting line, with the same idea to win, but I performance…”. Can you go into I told myself that I was there to try don´t know. Next year I don´t think this a little more? to do my best, nothing else, and I’ll go. It’s the same with Diagonale F: Why have I waited three years during the race I could play with des Fous. I really enjoy that race since my victory in 2014 to return my position and give my best until and I’ve won it three times. May- to UTMB? If I had gone the follow- the very end. If I had finished fifth be I’ll go back and do it one more ing year my mind would have been or sixth or tenth, maybe it would time. on the victory of the previous year have been the best race of my K: You’ve life too. I try to talked about on my “Why have I waited three years since my victory in 2014 focus all the presbody and on sure and to return to UTMB? If I had gone the following year my myself. Evestress of winwho mind would have been on the victory of the previous ryone ning great finishes UTMB races like year and a time of 19 hours. But by waiting three years, is a winner. To UTMB. Let in Chamy mind and body became prepared to do it again. I start me read monix, cross some of your wouldn´t have had the same spirit if I´d gone the fo- three counwords: “Detries, with llowing year in search of victory or breaking a record”. spite the 10,000 meters stress, presof positive sure and standardisation of an and a time of 19 hours. But by wait- climb, through night and snow ... elite athlete’s life I try not to not ing three years, my mind and body It’s amazing. It´s an adventure. For let it over-influence me and re- became prepared to do it again. I me that’s what I want to keep in main myself, natural, according wouldn´t have had the same spirit mind when I do an ultra-trail. to my own values. By staying true if I´d gone the following year in K: So, you started UTMB 2017 to myself I believe I find a very in- search of victory or breaking a re- with no expectations? Not to win, tense emotional pleasure that is cord. In this way, my goal this year but not even to get a podium? nourishing and complimentary to was just to do my best, without F: I knew that I was in good shape,

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PHOTO: © MARTINA VALMASSOI REVISTA DE TRAIL RUNNING Y MONTAÑA

PHOTO: Â© MARTINA VALMASSOI

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that everything was fine ... My family, my friends ... I just had to give it my best, with no expectations. I insist, that even if I had finished fifth I would have been happy too. I just wanted to give it my all. When I saw myself running with Kilian [Jornet] and Jim [Walmsley] I thought “that’s a good sign. This is incredible”. How many runners would like to be in my place? Suddenly I saw myself first. How many people dream of that? I didn´t know how long it would last. At the time, I was just enjoying it and giving it my best. K: François, why do you do mountain races? What does this sport mean to you? F: It´s just my way of life. For me, it’s the best sport. When I was doing athletics and went skiing, cycling or mountaineering, I knew they weren´t the best sports for my performance; however, with trail running, when I now go out on the bike or do another sport, I know that they´re helping my training. Any mountain or outdoor sport is good for trail running. I enjoy training in the mountains as much as

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in races. For me it´s important to enjoy my preparation every day and that´s why I do trail. I´m free to do whatever I want, which is to be in the mountains. I like being in it without knowing where I am going and to discover new paths and tracks. K: I´ll read again your words, François. This is relevant to the last UTMB: “I was not focused on Kilian’s time. I was just focused on my race. I knew we were 40 minutes ahead of the other runners. I said, don’t focus on Kilian. Just stay focused on the 40 minutes. You have to manage to keep this at least 20 minutes. That’s why I don’t make my race about Kilian but about the others”. These are very interest-

ing words. When did you realize that you could win the race? F: When we reached Courmayeur [Km. 78], I saw that Jim Walmsley was very fresh, and that if he left I might not see him again. I pushed myself a little but taking care. I went with him thinking that Kilian would catch us on the next descent and climb, but when we got to the top, Kilian hadn´t caught up with us and I saw that Jim was not so good. I told myself why not push some more as Kilian must be closing in. On reaching the top of Col Ferret [Km. 100 approx.] people were telling me that Kilian was eight minutes behind. I thought maybe he was having a bad moment. But I tried not to worry about him and to keep going. I saw that Jim was not at all good. I stayed with him because it was a bit dangerous with the weather and the

ahead. So, I did. They kept telling me that Kilian was 7 or 8 minutes away from me. I thought he would catch me up and that we´d continue together. My goal from then was to keep pace with the third position. I focused on my race and my pace, taking care with the terrain. Then I arrived at Champex [Km. 123] and saw that Kilian was not close by. I began to think that perhaps he would reach me. “Okay, maybe I’ll see him at the next checkpoint. Keep your pace and forget Kilian.” In Trient [Km. 140] my gap with Kilian had increased. Again, I thought I could win or at least come second. It was incredible. It was the moment when I told myself to push hard and to give it a go. Later I was informed that I

“When I saw myself running with Kilian [Jornet] and Jim [Walmsley] I thought “that’s a good sign. This is incredible”. How many runners would like to be in my place? Suddenly I saw myself first. How many people dream of that? I didn´t know how long it would last. At the time, I was just enjoying it and giving it my best”. fog. We couldn´t see more than ten meters in front of us. It was very cold and I didn´t want to get lost in the bad weather. Jim told me that I looked good and that I should go

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PHOTO: Â© CRAIG KOLESY, RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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had further increased my distance with him. “Maybe I can play with that difference and win the UTMB for the third time.” K: How did you feel when you reached Chamonix? F: In La Flégère [Km. 160 approx.] I saw that the work was done. Only the final descent was left. From Flégère to Chamonix it´s forty minutes. There were lots of friends waiting on that stretch, and I had time to get very excited and even to talk to some. In Chamonix it´s a different vibe because although everyone is very warm and encouraging, you don´t personally know them. It’s very exciting, but maybe less so. At the finish line, again you meet those people you know very well such as your family. It’s a mix between emotions and close friends and family. It´s incredible. It´s very difficult to describe. For 10 minutes, at the finish line, everyone was calling me... K: Did you cry? F: I don´t remember [He laughs]. Perhaps not on the outside, but on the inside, yes. K: I saw the pictures with your family and they are very moving. F: Whew! K: You´re now going to do the John Muir Trail in California [Over 330 kilometers and 14,000 meters of positive climb]. That’s not a competitive race, is it? F: No. It´s something a bit different. K: What are you hoping for?

F: To discover myself in a longdistance race. It´s over three days in the mountains with equipment, food, altitude ... I also want to discover an incredible place. People say it’s the most beautiful trail in the US. I want to see it. To discover the landscape and find myself. And share it with my friends. That is very important. My brother, my wife and three good friends will share the experience with me. It will be a great opportunity for eve-

“It’s part of my mountain philosophy. If I weren´t in them I wouldn´t be happy. I need to spend as long as possible in the mountains. I feel free in them. To put on my shoes without planning the time or even the route, letting go...”.

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ryone. Very exciting. My friends will run some stretches next to me. K: Are you looking to run it in a certain time? F: Yes, 3 days and 7 hours is the time to beat. People who know this project well believe I can do it in a faster time and set a new record. I will try, but that´s not the main objective. If I do it well, but I

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PHOTO: © JOSÉ MIGUEL MUÑOZ EGEA

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PHOTO: Â© CRAIG KOLESY, RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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can´t improve on that time, or even if I´m unable to finish it, I’ll still take away a lot of good stuff. Discover myself and share the experience with my friends ... K: When did you start your partnership with Salomon? Do you remember the first time they got in contact? F: It was eight years ago. Jean Michel Faure [Team Manager of Salomon France] called me. He told me that although I was very young, I had been running for some time and that he would like to talk to me to see if I was interested in joining the Salomon Team and growing together. At first, I wasn´t sure and I told him that. I wanted to be free, choose my own races and even my own equipment. For me, trail is freedom. I told him I was afraid of giving it up. He said that he liked what I was saying and that he wanted to meet up and talk. He didn´t want to limit my freedom, just give me the possibility of having their material and whatever I needed. He wanted me to stay the same and not have to give anything up. “You can

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keep doing whatever you want. You choose your races as you were doing so before.” They have totally fulfilled that promise. I am still free to do the trails as I wish. K: François, I´ll just finish reading some of your words again [Taken from www.calisthenicsmag.com]: “What inspires me is nature, the mountains and overall adventure. The feeling of being free when you are able to reach a summit and then another summit or a ridge behind that one…”. F: It’s part of my mountain philosophy. If I weren´t in them I wouldn´t be happy. I need to spend as long as possible in the mountains. I feel free in them. To put on my shoes without planning the time or even the route, letting go... There are many possibilities. There are so many mountains in the world, an infinite number. K: Thank you very much, François. This has been very inspiring and I´ve really felt at home talking to you. F: Thank you, and thanks to The Ridge.

PHOTO: ARCHIVE KTHEM

THE RIDGE MOUNTAIN CULTURE MGZN. MADE BY KISSTHEMOUNTAIN theridge@kissthemountain.com www.kissthemountain.com

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PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 | ALWAYS EXPLORING

MONT BLANC FROM THE SKY Sharp teeth arise from the dark mouth of the dragon, a prelude to personal feats that will either be remembered or drowned in time.

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PARALE

PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 | ALWAYS EXPLORING

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ELO 70

Text & photography: Fede Arcos

When Le Corbusier visited South America he decided to look down from the sky and so he chose to fly with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. From that aerial view the Law of Meander would arise, that would later inspire the model of a continuous residential ribbon, coined by Manfredo Tafuri, one of the most revolutionary urban visions of the twentieth century. Looking down from the sky has always been a desire longed for by human beings, an inherent need of man. We have always wanted to fly, to look down from above, to dream, because as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: “in order to see clearly you need to change the direction from which you are looking”.

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PARALE

A boy draws the mountain. Time goes by. He changes his way of looking, and after a complete at things in the same way as when he was a child, he draws the mountain again as he did 50 y

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ELO 70

PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

circle returns to looking years earlier.

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PARALE

The little prince climbed a high mountain. The only mountains he had e stool. “From a mountain as high as this,” he thought, “

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ELO 70

PHOTO: © PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

ever known were the three volcanoes that reached his knee. And he used the dormant volcano as a “I will see the whole planet and all men at once.” But all he saw were rocky peaks, highly sharpened. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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A cloudless day brings a clear and friendly target to the eye, but the heart of the mountain is untam

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PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

med, sometimes dark and terrible.

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PARALE

Perhaps it is the point of view, the human dimension su

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ELO 70

PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

uperimposed onto a wild landscape or the eye-to-eye contact with the climber taking a photo of us, or the contrast of white on a dark background, but either way this is still Mont Blanc.

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Flying between mountains and then climbing up and seeing the peaks from the top produces a ver A helicopter flight allows you to understand the topography, the formation of mountains and glacie

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ELO 70

PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

ry different sensation in us than a conventional flight that projects a flat image. ers from a closer and more authentic viewpoint.

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PARALE

Tiny specks of color walk up to the summit. The low-lying light of t that gives us an idea of scale. The sight of ourselve

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PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

the sun casts long shadows intensifying the human presence on the immense slope, the only object es from the air generates a feeling of being tossed there and a desolation that they do not perceive.

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PARALE

Looking to where the view reaches infinity and a landscape of watercolors, diluted into the distance

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PHOTO: Â© PARALELO 70 ALWAYS EXPLORING

e or perhaps in time.

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MOUNTAINREVISTA CULTURE DEMAGAZINE MONTAÃ&#x2018;A

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PHOTO © WISTHALER.COM

C R O S S I N G PA R A D I S E

GORE-TEX TRANSALPINE-RUN

KISSTHEMOUNTAIN

THE SCENE

Text: Jamie Ramsay

Team GORE Adventure Runners

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PHOTO © WISTHALER.COM

On Saturday 9th September 2017, I ran through the finish line of the GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run having run 267km through four countries with over 15,000m of vertical climbing. Before the race started I knew all the statistics and having run that distance before. I was fairly confident I was going to complete it. What I didn’t expect were all the other things I experienced, shared and learnt during the course of this epic week-long adventure.

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DAY ONE FISCHEN IM ALLGÄU — LECH AM ARLBERG DISTANCE: 42.7 KM. | VERTICAL: +2,101 M.

The start of the GORE-TEX® TransalpineRun is in the small town of Fischen, Germany, and on day one about 600 runners congregate at the start line, with a light drizzle coating the brightly courted array of waterproof jackets. You can feel the sense of excitement and trepidation for the seven days of running that lie ahead. As we were part of the GORE Running Wear Team, we had the privilege of starting at the front alongside amazing runners such as Sondre Amdahl and Zac Marion, who were running for the GORE Running Wear International Team. The gun fires and the runners are released onto a 40+km course that climbs up into the Alps for the first time.

PHOTO © WISTHALER.COM

The first day’s running is well suited to me as much of it is on the flat or with gentle inclines and on less technical terrain. This is not as well suited to Kev, my running partner, but he pushes on waiting for the mountains to arrive and provide some true tests.

FOTOGRAFÍA: LUIS ORDÓÑEZ

I was very aware that I needed to adapt my running for the mountains and when the trail started to climb I felt a surge of relief that all my work in the Alps, Pyrenees and the coast line of Great Britain had paid off. We arrive in the beautiful ski resort of Lech feeling pretty strong and by sticking to our plan of having a modest pace feel well placed to attack the next stage.

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THE SCENE

DAY TWO LECH — ST. ANTON AM ARLBERG

Day two started with an epic climb up into the snowy mountains. The first kilometre was a mad dash through the streets of Lech to the start of a single-track ascent. Due to our strong-ish finish the day before, we were in the first wave which allowed us not to lose too much time. Arriving at the summit was truly breathtaking with snow-capped mountains in every direction. Then came the first of the epic descents. With snow underfoot, majestic views and cheers from supporters we let gravity take over as we flew down to the second check point. The big test for the day was the second climb up to the highest point of the day. After such a quick descent, the race field ground to a slow march up the hill to the third check-point. Here it was evident who had trained for hills and who hadn’t – the banter died down and determination was fixed on everyone’s faces. From the summit, it was a long sweeping descent to the town of St. Anton.

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PHOTO © STEFFEN KORNFELD

DISTANCE: 24.2 KM. | VERTICAL: +1,987 M.

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THE SCENE

DAY THREE ST. ANTON AM ARLBERG — LANDECK DISTANCE: 39.9 KM. | VERTICAL: +2,019 M.

PHOTO © WISTHALER.COM

Day three combined distance with vertical climbing and muddy tracks. The first section climbed from about 1,250m to over 2,000m on gravel tracks and winding, cliff hugging paths before descending down gnarly trails to just over 1,000m altitude. From there, the trails meandered through woodland, over rivers and across amazing valleys, while all the time climbing up to just shy of 2,000m. The final descent was when the problems started. On the long 15km descent into Landeck, something in Kev’s leg started giving him sharp pains and running was no longer an option. For the last 8km we hobbled along the trails as other teams caught up and overtook us. Our priority had switched from rankings to getting home safely enough to continue as a team the next day. Once in the town, Kev sought help from the medics and team physio.

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THE SCENE

DAY FOUR LANDECK — SAMNAUN

With the help of stretching, strapping and anti-inflammatory drugs, Kev was able to start the next day and we were determined to get to the finish line. The trail ahead was mostly suited to what he was able to tackle quite comfortably. On the hills we made good progress, and managed to stick with the teams we had been running alongside for the first few days. However, the final ascent was not as well suited to Kev and while he heroically pushed on, it was evident that the pain was becoming unbearable. He adopted a one leg dominant running style and managed to cover the distance. When we arrived in Samnaun, Kev noticed that something was protruding from the front of his lower leg. Several consultations didn’t come up with a definitive diagnosis but Kev’s desire to finish was not going to let this be the end of his race.

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PHOTO © STEFFEN KORNFELD

DISTANCE: 46.5 KM. | VERTICAL: +2,930 M.

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THE SCENE

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THE SCENE

DAY FIVE SAMNAUN — SCUOL

PHOTO © STEFFEN KORNFELD

DISTANCE: 39 KM. | VERTICAL: +2,227 M.

FOTOGRAFÍA: LUIS ORDÓÑEZ

Day five had some of the most stunning trails I had ever run and I felt like it was tailored exactly to my style of running. The course combined long up-hills, with both technical and fast descents. The race was less ideal for Kev who was struggling with the down-hill sections. We agreed that our approach for the day should be to run individual stages and regroup at the check-points. At check-point one Kev needed to consult the medic and, while there was little they could do, they gave him the all-clear to continue onto the second stage. For me this was probably the most fun stage of the race but sadly for Kev it was to be his last. The medics attended him once more and the decision was made for him that his race was over due to the risk of further serious injury. Team GORE Adventure Runners was not going to finish as a partnership, but I was determined to get to the end. I managed to complete the last two sections of the day as 5th and 3rd fastest participant respectively as I let my legs fly after a couple of days running at my injured partners´ restricted pace.

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DAY SIX SCUOL — PRAD AM STILFSERJOCH DISTANCE: 44.1 KM. | VERTICAL: +1,692 M.

Today’s run was of two parts – a 1,000m vertical climb followed by a 20+km descent, playing into both my new teammates´ strengths. I set myself two goals, not to disgrace myself on the hill and to make it to the end. From the start, I latched onto Sondre and tried to use his experience to drag me to the top of the mountain. Sondre was the perfect running partner and coached me to the top, sharing tips and techniques that transformed my performance. The descent was relentless on the legs and as the finish line drew nearer, my legs got weaker. My determination took a hit when we passed a marker saying 10km to the end – I had calculated it should be only 8. Negative thoughts started rushing in but neither Sondre nor Zac would let them affect me, constantly pushing me on and encouraging me to get to the finish line. We fly over the finish line in 15th overall place for the stage. I felt I had done myself proud and was happy to see Kev standing at the finish line with his never fading smile, despite the disappointment I knew he felt.

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PHOTO © WISTHALER.COM

On day 6, I thought I was going to be running alone but an alternative plan was being hatched. I would be running with one of the other GORE Running Wear teams and more specifically Sondre and Zac. This news filled me with both excitement and dread. They were fast – really fast! Sondre is a relentless force on the trails and is hugely respected in the sport – his hill climbing is legendary. Zac is a speed runner with an awesome downhill pace. I felt I was out of my depth…

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DAY SEVEN PRAD AM STILFSERJOCH — SULDEN AM ORTLER DISTANCE: 31 KM. | VERTICAL: +2,600 M.

PHOTO © LESMOPHOTO.COM

The final day arrived too soon and after yesterday’s effort, I was feeling drained and stiff. My left calf muscle was tight and the weather horrible. This was to be my toughest day and I joined my team mates at the start. The total climb was over 2,600m, which is twice the height of the UK! I warned my running partners that I was going to be slow and even suggested I run alone but their unwavering support wouldn’t allow it. We were going to finish the race as a trio.

FOTOGRAFÍA: LUIS ORDÓÑEZ

The route ran up through the woods and onto the exposed rock of the mountain. On the way up, Zac and I were stung by bees nesting next to the trail. It was cold and wet and continually pushing at speed was tough. Small things along the route, such as cattle being herded and warm tea in a mountain refuge, lifted spirits and soon we were just 500m from the top. My legs started to wobble and Sondre could tell my energy levels were low. He insisted I take on more energy and I exhausted my supplies, trying to find the energy to get to the top. As we hit the summit, I let out a roar, even though there was about 7km till the end we were going to make it and all that stood between me and the finisher T-shirt was a fast-downhill trail to the finish line. Running over that finish line was filled with so many emotions – relief, happiness, sadness and realisation. The GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run had not just been about running but so much more.

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Jamie Ramsay - GORE-TEXÂŽ Transalpine-Run 2017 2013 m

Fischen im AllgĂ¤u Lech am Arlberg - Distance 42,7 km - Time 4:46.59,9 h

2787 m

2543 m

Lech am Arlberg St. Anton am Arlberg - Distance 24,2 km - Time 3:56.06,6 h

2051 m

St. Anton am Arlberg Landeck - Distance 39,9 km - Time 5:52.47,6 h

Landeck Samnau - Distance 46,5 km - Time: 7:40.24,3 h

WHAT I LEARNT AFTER 36 HOURS, 267.4 KILOMETERS AND +15,556 VERTICAL METERS

I came into this event as a solo runner. The comradery from the other competitors was infectious and uplifting. Everyone had a different reason to be there and for many that was just getting to the finish line. There were couples, friends, colleagues, professionals all together with one shared passion for running trails and pushing themselves to test their boundaries. On the final night, there was a video from the finish line that even the most emotionally strong would struggle not to be moved by. The release of emotions from all the runners, from winners to those further down the field, was humbling. It made me realise what running meant to people and it rekindled that feeling of why I run and why I push myself to train and to test my boundaries. Running is not just about speed and distance but about sharing an adventure, meeting likeminded people and living.

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Samnau Scuol - Distanc - Time: 6

2886 m

2730 m

ce 39 km 6:43.11,7 h

2359 m

Scuol Prad am Stilfserjoch - Distance 44,1 km - Time: 4:47.11,8 h

Prad am Stilfserjoch Sulden am Ortler - Distance 31 km - Time: 4:55.25,7 h

Fischen im Allgäu - Sulden am Ortler - Distance 267,4 km - Time 36 h - Meters in ascent 15.556 m - Meters of descent 14.450 m

The biggest lesson I learnt was about me and what I need to work on. The GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run is not just about strength, endurance and stamina it’s about team work and I learnt that I need to work on that. From running with Sondre and Zac, I realised that my support to Kev was not what it should have been. I was being driven by my desire to compete when I should have prioritised us finishing as a team. Injuries can just happen, especially when you are on technical trails but I question whether if I had been a better team mate, would Team GORE Adventure Runners have crossed the line together. Kev is true team mate and never made me feel guilty but it’s a skill I want to work on and just maybe it will help me improve for the GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run 2018.

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PHOTO Â© WISTHALER.COM

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“Coming back from my grandmother’s funeral, the car spins out of control. There seems to be oil or something on the road. It´s 8th June, 2010. A terrible accident. One of those in which you could easily be killed. I’m going 120 km/h. That day I´m not aware of how serious my injury is. The next morning I keep fighting and training.”

IN THE WORLD SHOWCASE | UNCONFORMITY | MAXIMUM ASPIRATIONS | LONGINGS “In 2003 I sign up for an international competition reaching my first final in the Chamonix World Championship. For me, that second place is fantastic. My appearance on the international stage that I won´t leave behind. In 2005 I get second again. It´s rather a strange competition. I could have won. Some things happen that are a bit unpleasant for me and for others. I have to settle for second place again. In 2007 an injury sustained during training and which I don´t give much importance to, rears its head in the last few movements of the final. 2005 and 2007 feel like failures for me. In 2009 I´m already 28 years old. I´m 7th on the circuit and start to feel somehow that this might be my last World Championship. I don´t want to retire without winning.”

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Photography: Javipec | Text: Kuanoi

EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER | DOUBTS AND LACK OF MOTIVATION | CONVICTION | HARD WORK | OBSESSION | FOCUS “But two months before... I’m a very emotional person. I have my ups and downs. Highs are very high and lows are very low. That’s why I’ve gotten where I’ve gotten. When I’m high I can take advantage of it and when I’m down I know how to learn from it to move up again. Two months before the 2009 World Championship, in April, at a Master’s in Shanghai in which I was favorite, I get second place despite not being at my best. I don’t feel good and I go into a spiral where everything starts to get worse. Returning from there I go with

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friends to France. I’m in a bad way, especially mentally. I’m not comfortable and I start to lose motivation. It´s early May 2009. I spend some very bad days contemplating if I really want to enter the World Championship. I don´t feel like preparing for it. I don´t know if I want to do it or not. Emotionally, it´s a very hard time in my career. I wait a few days to see if one day I´ll wake up wanting to do it. I know myself very well. I´m like that. And so, one morning I wake up and I say yes. I want to do it. Two months of hard work, training and really looking after myself await me. I get into a tunnel vision of success, or work, I don´t really know how to define it, until the World Championship. Everything I do in those two months is focused on 5th July, 2009. I´m a

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little obsessed. A lot. The day I go to China I´m training at one-thirty in the morning. I´m already in that time zone. It’s the only competition I sense whilst getting on the plane that I’m going in order to win.”

OPTIMISM | DECEPTION | EXPLOSION | WORLD CHAMPION “In China every breath I take is positive. Everything goes relatively well but in the final I´m second. That means it´s likely I´ll repeat that position again. At least that’s what I think. But Adam [Ondra] gets nervous, jumps and does not hold on. I win the World Championship. It’s the end of my

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sporting career, but at the moment I don´t know it. I just crossed out all the international events I want to win. It´s incredible. It’s been two very hard months thinking only about that day, the final.”

ACCIDENT | UNCONSCIOUSNESS | PHYSICAL PAIN | DIAGNOSIS | LACK OF ACCEPTANCE “Coming back from my grandmother’s funeral, the car spins out of control. There seems to be oil or something on the road. It´s 8th June, 2010. A terrible accident. One of those in which you could easily be killed. I’m going 120 km/h. That day I´m not aware of how serious my injury is. The next morning I keep fighting and training.” In July, the World Cup begins. In the first competition I´m second. The next one is in August and there I´m first but have the worst sensations of my life. I should have stopped, but I don´t know how to. It’s a piece of shit. I go to doctors and ask them what the hell is wrong with me. When I’m at home they treat me every day. They loosen up my neck and then there is not so much pain. But in July and August when I go to those World Cup competitions in China and Korea, I don´t have my physio with me. I start to notice that my neck is stiffening up. I go training and feel my arms heavy like gas cylinders. I´m worried and above all I don´t get it. In those moments I don´t relate it to the accident. I don´t know what´s going on. In September I decide to go to Innsbruck to spend a season training there. With just two more World Cup events to go, in China, I get up one day in the morning and can´t move my neck. I’m totally stiff. Even my jaw is affected. In the last two competitions, I

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have to go out and visualize the routes through safety glasses. I can´t look up. I´m ninth and twenty-fourth. Even my hips are spent. When I return, I get a scan through a medical insurer I have as a sponsor, and on 3rd or 4th December I sit in front of a doctor who tells me I have a herniated disc that is pressing on a nerve. “You’re lucky it didn´t reach your arms. An operation isn´t necessary, but still, your professional life is over.” I can´t believe it. I tell myself that it won´t stop me. I have a constant battle with myself every freaking day of going to physiotherapists and doctors. There´s nothing I can do. That´s it. They tell me I´ve got to get used to another way of life. They´re all crazy. “How am I going to do that? You don´t know what you´re saying.” But who didn´t get it was me.”

FIGHT | ACCEPTANCE | WITHDRAWAL | SURF | GOODBYE TO CLIMBING “I fight it for months and in March 2011 I decide that I can´t keep going, that is enough. It´s a decision taken little by little and I formally announce it on 19th October. I´ve not worn climbing shoes for two months. I don´t know if I’ll be able to climb again. This means that all contracts with sponsors are likely to end. Only La Sportiva and Black Diamond continue helping me out with material. If I´m still with them now it´s because they supported me in those moments. You end up feeling very naked. But well ... we all have the ability to reinvent ourselves ... I take the caravan, some boards and start surfing every day. Around May or June 2011. Once again, obsessively. That’s my master. It stops me from losing my smile. The hardest part of the process is to realize it´s over. To realize that I´m no longer a climber. I try to convince myself. What do I do

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when a girl no longer wants to be with me? See you. Good bye. She disappears from my life. This is the same. I can´t climb? Well, I get rid of it and I’m not a climber anymore. I´m blind but want to see. Well, no. I can´t. What do I do? Well, I surf. It’s not good for the hernia, but I don´t care. I feel pain every day but I get used to living with it. I even stop seeing my friends. I can´t bear to hear about routes and grades. It´s not that I break up with them. I’ve always thought that real friendships will remain. But I pull away. I don´t want to know anything about that world.”

CLIMBING SHOES | 7C AND 8A | HOPES OF NORMALITY | EMBRACE SURF | LIFE ON THE BEACH “In September 2012, at 32, I start PUC Training. That year I don´t climb at all. In 2013, in August, a friend I train gets on my back to accompany him. One day, I assure him. Another day, in Zarautz, I put on my climbing shoes. The next day, and the next, and the next I’m back there. I can´t stop. I work at a surf school and in the down time I go and climb. There is some pain but the level is very low. I feel like I can cling to the rock, that I can move. Then I start to climb with rope. In one week I’m doing 7c; in two, 8a. I enter into this dynamic. But there is something that stops me from going back in an obsessive way. I give it all or I give it nothing. I don´t want to go down that road. I´ve also discovered surfing which I really like. I really believe I can become a normal person that can combine climbing, surfing ... But over time I realize that´s not the case. Today I am no longer a normal person. But in those days I live in a fairy world of being able to combine the two things. I enjoy training, but the demands I put on myself

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CHANGES | RETURN | LUIS RODRIGUEZ | PONTS “From 2015 I start to spend a lot of time in Catalonia and get back onto the scene. I’m in Siurana. I start training with Dani [Andrada]. A lot. I can´t stop moving. I spend five or six months living in a van. That year, after doing some routes, I do my elbow in and have to spend a few months doing nothing. During that time I don´t even surf. I dedicate myself to creating the PUC Series. The materials and all that. Little by little I get back into shape and at the end of 2015 my life changes again. In January I’m moving to Barcelona. I’m really motivated. I sprain my finger. Instead of stopping, I keep climbing and delay recovery for months. In July of 2016 I return to climbing. And so a process begins, which is where I am now. I´m lucky that Luis Rodriguez, who I train, is very close to me. He’s a very energetic person. We get on very well and understand each other. This motivates me a lot. I start look-

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to climb to the max are not just training, but also in your head, a little obsession, to give it your all. I had done that for many years and I don´t want to repeat that situation. So I embrace surf as a distraction. In 2013, 2014 and even 2015, I combine these two disciplines. I even do a 9a almost without any training. It’s autumn of 2015 when I start to focus more on climbing. At that time I meet a girl from the surf world. It’s a beautiful moment. We live on the beach and combine rock climbing and surfing. She is not really a brake. But I put it the brakes on myself. Like I said, I want to be a normal person.”

ing for a house near a climbing epicenter. I don´t care which town. What matters is the distance to the rock face. I go to Ponts in Lleida.”

MADNESS | THE ROCK FACE | SWEET MOMENT “It’s unrealistic to think now that I could be stronger than I was then. I know how I was at that moment. At almost 9 years older, to reach the same level, which is what I have done, and look at harder routes and think I can do it, is madness. Everything is much more relaxed now than before. It´s com-

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pletely different. Competitions are over. That moment´s expired. Now it’s the rock face. A passion. Competition is a fleeting moment. This is much harder. The real competition is here and now. Today I can attempt an 8c+ and if I´m unable to do it, I’ll go back tomorrow or next week. I´m in an incredible place to climb and enjoying a very sweet moment.”

PUC TRAINING | ADAM ONDRA | HAPPY LIVES | MOTIVATION “Cris Sharma, Sasha DiGiulian, Luis Rodriguez, Adam Ondra ... Of course I like training them. Last year when Adam won the World

Championship I was very excited. He’s an athlete I train and he’s my friend. I know what that is. But I also train many climbers who do 6b. When they tell me they´re content, that they feel good, that they´re progressing, that for me is as important as when Cris, Adam, Luis or Sasha do something impresive. It´s their lives and they do what makes them happiest. That´s what I want. That people get motivated with me. There are many coaches and many of them are very good, but I don´t know ... Maybe the experience I have as a competitor, my experiences, how I´m more than just being well-known or because I train Adam. People want trust, motivation and maybe they can relate to what I say and what

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FOTOGRAFÍA: © SWEET SHOT PHOTOS

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I do. You have to work hard to achieve what you set out to do. Whatever it is, you have to achieve what you are looking for, whether it´s climbing a route, scaling a mountain or catching a wave. I train people from all over the world. I´m missing, if anything, someone from South Africa. But there are people from Australia, Indonesia, the United States, South America ... “

LA SPORTIVA | BLACK DIAMOND “I am very grateful to La Sportiva and Black Diamond for having trusted me in the toughest moments. Perhaps they realized I would climb again whilst I did not. Maybe they know me better than I know myself.”

PHOTO © JAVIPEC

MIRIAM GARCIA PASCUAL | FLASH | IPURUA “My first memory of climbing? They are several but I always say that climbing came to mind when I saw Miriam Garcia Pascual on TV. Before then I have a flash image of going to an area in Huesca with my grandparents to see an aunt of mine who was at a camp. In it I see ropes on a wall and people climbing. I don´t even know where it is. But it´s stayed in my memory. I´m four or five years old. At the age of ten, I go to the rock wall where I´ve lived my whole life, 200 meters from home. It’s at the Ipurua Sports Center in Eibar.”

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330 KM. | + TOWARDS

PHOTO: © RUBÉN FUEYO

+24,000 M. THE LIMIT MOUNTAIN CULTURE MAGAZINE

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POSTCARDS

RubĂŠn Fueyo has been linked to Kissthemountain since we launched this project in January 2016. His photographs have featured on our pages in a large number of issues. Little by little, we have gotten to know each other. So, when we talked about the possibility of including this article on Tor des Geants, we soon realized that this work has meant something particularly special for him. Together with the photographs you are going to see, we received some others where the protagonist was the runner competing in his surroundings. They are spectacular; however, we are not going to show them in this article. The reason being? Tor des Geants is a special race. Very special. We believe the final classification, whilst important, is not everything. Here, all those who cross the finish line or even those who take the starting line at Courmayeur, are winners. We feel this adventure is not just a matter of speed or times, but rather of feelings, of suffering, of passion, of self-improvement, of respect, of joy, of fear, of doubts, of love... In short, a search for those limits that answer the eternal question of why we run in the mountains. Thank you very much for letting us share this work.

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Kilometers go by and the meters of cumulative elevation gain beat every cell of my being. I constantly ask myself what am I doing to my body, and in particular to my mind. Thoughts about the weight of my backpack, about the time I will run, about...

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I try to find answers to absurd questions among millions of excuses that are no longer just mine. I’ve been listening to other beings for hours on end. Many times, I don´t even know if they are real or not.

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I think about the consequences of early surrender. I can´t allow it. 15 degrees below zero makes me think it´s the ideal moment to put on my warm jacket. It´s difficult to breathe as I climb this mountain pass above 3,000 meters. Am I able to take another step? And another one. Little by little, I overcome those absurd excuses. And new steps are made.

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A waterfall full of motivations quenches each new movement of my legs. There have already been many today. And more still to come over the next few days. And at times, the sun comes out. I’m not sure if it´s just in my mind, in my aching body, or if the real heavenly body is what heats me up. The sun that invites me to savor sleep for a few moments then moves on.

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I open my eyes. It’s 10:19am in Courmayeur one Sunday morning, in the Aosta Valley. In a minute the Tor des Geants will begin. We will see how far I am able to put those excuses aside. I smile. I can´t wait to be part of it.

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MARCO DE GASPERI

AMBASSADOR OF SKYRUNNING Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;AMBASCIATORE DELLO SKYRUNNING

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Text : Fabio Menino

BEHIND THE WOODEN DOOR DIETRO IL PORTONE DI LEGNO

I wrote this article in February 2014. It was the first time I´d been to Bormio, and also the first time I met Marco and Elisa’s family.

Questo articolo l’ho scritto nel febbraio del 2014. Era la prima volta che mi recavo a Bormio ed era la prima volta che conoscevo il contesto famigliare di Marco ed Elisa.

With Alejandro and Paolo I visited, among other places, the town center, and when Marco opened his door, I began to understand more about his world. Even now, two years on, when I reread these lines, I still get excited reliving those beautiful memories.

Tra le altre cose, con Alessandro e Paolo visitammo il centro storico del paese e quando Marco aprì quel portone, incominciai a capire qualcosa del suo mondo. Ancora oggi, a distanza di due anni, lo rileggo spesso e continuo ogni volta ad emozionarmi al pensiero di quel bel ricordo.

If I had been walking alone on the street, I probably wouldn´t have paid any attention to that door. It is just one of many I have passed by until today. The umpteenth silent witness of a distant past forgotten over time.

Mi fossi trovato a camminare da solo lungo questa via, penso che non avrei prestato particolare attenzione a quel portone. Del resto è solo uno dei tanti portoni che oggi hanno accompagnato il mio cammino, l’ennesimo testimone silenzioso di un lontano passato sempre più dimenticato dal tempo che scorre.

We ought to stop and stand in front of ancient doors and contemplate their precious details that speak to us with precision of its long history. It could be an opportunity to discover something unexpected or even magical.

Invece, bisognerebbe sempre fermarsi davanti a un vecchio portone e contemplarne i preziosi dettagli che ne raccontano ancora fedelmente la lunga storia. Potrebbe essere l’occasione giusta per scoprire qualcosa d’inaspettato, meglio ancora, qualcosa di magico.

Stopping only for an instant, the same door paints itself in soft colors, softened by the changes of seasons in perfect harmony. We could also observe its wrought-iron handle and consider who has turned it with their hands so many times to wear it that way. We may notice that its disheveled wooden panels, though simple in appearance, are actually reinforced by a beautiful hand-carved frame; or that on the stone doorstep, also worn down by countless steps, there is an ancient carving that bears witness to its origins. This door in Bormio, at number seventeen

Solo fermandosi per un istante, per esempio, lo stesso portone si dipingerebbe di tenui colori, addolciti dal ripetuto susseguirsi delle stagioni e in perfetta armonia tra di loro. Si riuscirebbe anche ad osservare la sua ricca chiusura in ferro battuto ed a quel punto l’unico desiderio sarebbe quello di scoprire chi possa aver stretto così tante volte tra le mani quel suo grande anello ormai perfettamente consumato. Ci si potrebbe anche accorgere che i suoi trasandati pannelli di legno o che a fianco della sua soglia di pietra, anch’essa ormai levigata da chissà quanti passi.Questo portone di Bormio, al numero civico diciassette di

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of a narrow and anonymous cobblestone street, dates from 1690 and has many stories to tell.

un’anonima e stretta via in pavé, di storie da raccontare ne avrebbe molte visto che risale addirittura al 1690.

If the door burst open inviting us to discover the precious things that inhabit it, its simple contemplation could be something very much taken out of a fairy tale.

Poi, se lo stesso portone si spalancasse invitando a scoprire quanto di bello e prezioso custodisca al suo interno, allora la semplice contemplazione potrebbe addirittura trasformarsi in qualcosa di molto simile a una fiaba.

Closing our eyes, tradition would lead us directly to memories of the past that today have sadly disappeared, and unknown to its youngest bystanders. A stone staircase would lead us straight into the bowels of earth, into a place lit with just enough light, but warm and very alive. This is one of those places where we can immediately engage with it.

Chiudendo gli occhi, il profumo della tradizione porterebbe direttamente a flebili ricordi del passato, ormai purtroppo svaniti o addirittura sconosciuti ai i più giovani. Alcune scale in pietra, inoltre, condurrebbero direttamente nelle viscere della terra, in un luogo illuminato appena quel che serve, essenziale ma molto caldo e altrettanto vivo. Uno di quei luoghi dov’è possibile entrare immediatamente in armonia con il proprio spirito da quanto si è circondati.

In this tale, a man with his back turned away from us, more accustomed to talking constantly to his beloved animals, would be proud to welcome someone in, eager to hear his story.

In questa fiaba, un uomo girato di schiena, intento a parlare ripetutamente ai suoi amati animali, sarebbe orgoglioso di poter ospitare qualcuno desideroso di avvicinarsi alla sua storia.

But the most astonishing thing of all this history, and enough to turn it into magic would be

Ma la cosa più sorprendente di questa fiaba, quanto basta per renderla realmente magica, una volta ritorna-

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that, once back in the street, when gazing above at the beautiful rocky peaks, you can see them surrounded by a blue sky, a thousand meters above us. And we would be able to appreciate many other details no less important and jealously guarded by that door.

ti in strada, sarebbe quella di alzare gli occhi e di poter ammirare alcune splendide creste di roccia nel momento esatto in cui contornano il cielo azzurro mille metri più in alto. Lo sarebbe perché ci si potrebbe accorgere di molti altri particolari, non meno importanti di quelli raccontati dal portone e da quanto di prezioso custodisca gelosamente.

Looking carefully at the horizon, we would see that that little speck moving rapidly up the slope is no more than a young boy who has just come out of the stable after crossing through that same door. If we ask anyone in town, we could confirm that this child, day after day, takes the same route, trying to do it as quickly as possible before returning to his father and his animals.

Osservando con attenzione l’orizzonte, si scoprirebbe che quel piccolo puntino che sta salendo velocemente per la linea di massima pendenza, è un giovane ragazzo partito poco prima proprio dalla stessa stalla sotto il portone. Basterebbe chiederlo a qualsiasi abitante del paese e si avrebbe la conferma che quel ragazzo, giorno dopo giorno, compie sempre lo stesso percorso, cercando di farlo il più velocemente possibile per poi tornare da suo papà e dagli animali.

In fact, someone might tell you that his dream one day is to be able to open that heavy door holding the handle firmly, to run downstairs quickly, enter the stable and gently whisper to his father that he finally did it, that he became the world champion. In this fairy tale, the man, still with his back turned to us, would whisper to his animals about the pride he feels for his son. Before turning around, he would wipe away the unexpected tears that had run down his face.

Addirittura, qualcuno potrebbe raccontare che il suo vero sogno è quello di poter aprire questo pesante portone stringendone con forza l’anello di ferro, di scendere le scale il più velocemente possibile, di entrare nella stalla e di dire timidamente a suo papàche finalmente ci è riuscito, che è diventato campione del mondo. In questa bella fiaba, l’uomo girato di schiena sussurrerebbe ai suoi animali che è fiero di suo figlio ma prima di girarsi verso di lui, si asciugherebbe quella lacrima solitaria ormai scesa inaspettata lungo il suo viso.

Today, this door hints to me, not only that this child was able to achieve his dream, but that he has continued running along that crest, even faster and still as keen as ever to make his father proud.

Oggi, questo portone di Bormio mi suggerisce, non solo che quel ragazzo sia riuscito a coronare il suo sogno, ma che abbia continuato a correre su quella cresta, ancora più veloce di prima, ancora più voglioso di rendere fiero suo papà.

Looking closely at the door, you realize this story could not have had a different ending.

Osservandolo meglio, è un portone troppo importante perché la fiaba possa avere avuto un finale differente.

Perhaps if I had read the name of this “anonymous cobblestone street”, Via Della Vittoria, I would have imagined many other things before crossing the threshold of the door.

Forse, avessi letto il nome di quell’anonima e stretta via in pavè, ovvero Via Della Vittoria, avrei potuto immaginare molte cose prima ancora di varcare la soglia del portone.

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Text: Gontxal K. N.

COME FORWARD, MR. AMBASSADOR AVANTI, SIGN. AMBASCIATORE

He could have emulated the ill-fated Marco Pantani, Stelvio up or Mortirolo down. Perhaps he could have opted for a ski discipline in his native Bormio, home to numerous white sport aces. In fact, it was in Nordic skiing that he debuted his first race at only six years old. A debut that burned in the memory of a tender Marco with bitterness, as he finished in last place in inconsolable tears that still bring remorse to the great Marco de Gasperi today.

Avrebbe potuto emulare lo scomparso Pantani, su per lo Stelvio o giù per il Mortirolo. O forse avrebbe potuto optare per qualche disciplina dello sci, nella sua natia Bormio, culla di innumerevoli assi dello sport bianco. Di fatto, fu nello sci nordico dove disputò la sua prima gara, avendo solo sei anni. Un debutto marchiato amaramente a fuoco nella memoria del tenero Marco, visto che concluse all’ultimo posto scoppiando in lacrime sconsolate che ancora oggi intristiscono il grande Marco de Gasperi.

Stubborn and self-disciplined, he insisted on rubbing shoulders with children who were a head above him and with a ton of horsepower. But the anxiety caused by these considerable disadvantages finally made him give up and look up at the haughty and intimidating peaks that encircled Bormio.

Ostinato e disciplinato, insistette nel accodarsi a bambini che gli davano una testa in altezza e una intera mandria di cavalli in potenza, ma la ansia che gli causavano questi chiari svantaggi lo fecero desistere ed alzare lo sguardo verso le cime alte ed intimidanti de racchiudevano Bormio.

Along with his father and his cousin Michele Compagnoni, he acquired the knowledge and skills to conquer the high peaks, each time with greater swiftness and stamina, unknowingly forging the thoroughbred he had inside.

Per merito del padre e del cugino Michele Compagnoni, acquistò le conoscenze e le tecniche per conquistare le alte vette, ogni volta con maggiore prestanza e resistenza, forgiando senza saperlo il purosangue che portava dentro.

Simultaneously, among the inexhaustible source of mountain skiers, and because it was not necessary to not stop training abruptly in the summer season, several visionaries emerged such as Fabio Meraldi, Marino Giacometti and Adriano Greco, who realized that in the absence of skis, rudimentary sneakers were good enough to tread the same peaks whilst respecting the same philosophy: to reach the summit as quick as possible and get down even faster, overcoming all sorts of challenges whilst testing the skill and strength of each person.

Allo stesso tempo, tra la fonte inesauribile degli sciatori di montagna, per la necessità di non smettere bruscamente gli allenamenti durante la stagione estiva, emersero vari visionari quali Fabio Meraldi, Marino Giacometti o Adriano Greco, i quali intuirono che anche in mancanza di sci, potevano andar bene le rudimentali scarpette per solcare le stesse cime e rispettando la stessa filosofia: giungere quanto prima in vetta e scendere ancora più velocemente, eludendo ogni sorta di difficoltà e mettendo ogni qual volta alla prova la destrezza e la forza.

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Skyrunning had been born, and Marco, an admirer of those sharp skiers kitted out in ski suits in the winter and in tank tops in the summer, could not help but try out the green summer pasture in a cross-country race. Marco no longer had to sweat cold drops of fear at the possibility of not classifying, but quite the opposite. Suddenly he realized his special ability to gallop upwards to the summit compared to being on flat ground. His affair with Skyrunning’s newborn and scarce races had been unleashed with feverish madness.

Era nato lo Skyrunning, e Marco, ammiratore di questi brillanti sciatori in tuta in inverno e in canotta d’estate, non poté trattenersi dal mettersi alla prova su per i verdi pascoli estivi in una prova di attraversamento sul campo. Marco già non doveva più sudare freddo per il timore di chiudere la classifica, ma tutto il contrario. Subito si rese conto della sua speciale abilità a galoppare fin su in cima piuttosto che per terreni pianeggianti. Il suo idillio con le neonate e scarse corse di Skyrunning era andato allargandosi con febbrile follia.

First were the agonizing vertical kilometers like those of Cervinia. Also, came his debut at the age of sixteen (in what today would be seen as real daredevilry due to its dangerousness and constant exposure) in the Alagna Monte Rosa Skyrace. A legendary thirty-kilometer race that culminated in the summit at 4,650 meters altitude, high above the town of Alagna at only 1,200 meters, and in which he passed through the never-ending glacier with its sharp final edge using just rudimentary equipment that today would bewilder the new breed of mountain runners.

All’inizio furono gli agonizzanti kilometri verticali come quelli di Cervinia. Anche il suo debutto a sedici anni (in quella che oggi sarebbe considerata una autentica temerarietà per la sua pericolosità e costante esposizione) nella Skyrace Alagna Monte Rosa, leggendaria prova di trenta kilometri che raggiungeva detta cima a 4.650 metri di altitudine dalla località di Alagna, situata a solo 1.200, e attraversando di corsa l’interminabile ghiacciaio e il suo affilato crepaccio finale con mezzi rudimentali che oggi farebbero mettersi le mani nei capelli ai novelli corridori di montagna.

From this point on everything else is history. A living legend of this indescribable sport: his six world championships, his records in routes such as Courmayer - Mont Blanc, his legendary duels with Kilian Jornet, “his best enemy”, in Canazei, Zegama or Kinabalu, his friendly and unassuming presence, an ambassador of Skyrunning since almost its very origins way back in the distant nineties.

A partire da qui, tutto è storia. Leggenda viva di questo incredibile sport: i suoi sei campionati del mondo, i suoi record in percorsi quali il Courmayer – Monte Bianco, i suoi leggendari duelli con Kilian Jornet, “il suo miglior nemico”, a Canazei, Zegama o Kinabalu, la sua amabile e semplice presenza, un perfetto ambasciatore dello Slyrunning quasi fin dalle sue stessissime origini dai lontani anni novanta.

We only hope that injuries and doubts that can creep into the mind of a warrior who´s fought so many battles, don´t stop us from applauding in the mountains that man who so elegantly wears the green-white jersey of Forestale.

Solo desideriamo che gli infortuni ed i dubbi che pervadono la mente di un guerriero di tante battaglie, non ci impediscano di applaudire per le montagne questo signore che porta elegantemente la maglia verde e bianca della Forestale.

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Text: Fabio Menino

RECORD COURMAYEUR – MONT BLANC DEAR RECORD, I AM WRITING TO YOU ABOUT

CARO RECORD TI SCRIVO …Your two reference times of 4h 13m 28s and 6h 46m 42s, that will remain engraved in my mind for a long time, as well as in those of fans and observers of this kind of mountain sport.

...Quei tuoi due precisi riferimenti di 4h13’28’’ e 6h43’52’’ rimarranno comunque scolpiti a lungo nella mia mente, in quella di tutti gli appassionati come in quella di tutti i curiosi di faccende di montagna.

However, I would have liked to have met you in the months leading up to that July 16th, during that journey and in the days that followed, but it was not meant to be. It’s not your fault. You did your duty. Even so, I’ll briefly tell you what you missed and what’s behind your precious numbers...

Però, avrei tanto voluto incontrarti nei mesi precedenti, quel fatidico 16 luglio lungo il percorso e nei giorni successivi, ma così non è stato. Non te ne faccio una colpa, tu hai fatto il tuo dovere più che egregiamente. Mi preme comunque raccontarti, per sommi capi, cosa ti sei perso e cosa si nasconde dietro i tuoi preziosi numeri....

The day beforehand you would have heard Elisa´s doubts, unsure, in secret, about whether to confront or not the long journey to Courmayeur with little Lidia.

Il giorno prima, avresti anche potuto ascoltare i dubbi di Elisa, indecisa se affrontare o meno, di nascosto, il lungo viaggio fino a Courmayeur con la piccola Lidia.

You would have seen her arrive in the city late at night happier than ever, just wanting to hug Marco and help him through the long and difficult hours of waiting as swiftly as possible.

A tarda notte, nvece, l’avresti vista arrivare in paese più felice che mai, desiderosa unicamente di abbracciare il suo Marco e di far trascorrere il più velocemente possibile le lunghe e difficili ore d’attesa.

At the campsite, you would have laughed with Michele, Fabio, Nico, Alessandro, Martin, Franco, Denis, Matteo and the rest who seemed even more nervous than Marco.

In campeggio avresti riso con Michele, Fabio, Nico, Alessandro, Martin, Franco, Denis, Matteo e con le altre persone che sembravano ancora più emozionate ed agitate dello stesso Marco.

Already up in the Gornella refuge, you would have seen Marco disappear behind a rock ready to face the walls of ice and the abysses.

Sopra il rifugio Gonnella, avresti visto Marco scomparire da solo dietro una roccia, pronto ad affrontare dei muri fatti di ghiaccio e di abissi.

You would have seen his jersey drenched in sweat even before the sun had kissed the day.

Avresti visto il suo sudore impregnare la sua maglietta quando il sole non era ancora spuntato.

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You would have suffered the feeling of anguish as you left him to face his destination.

Avresti provato un senso d’angoscia al pensiero di starlo abbandonando al suo destino.

From the sharp crests, looking down from above the glacier and battered by the heat, huge cracks had opened up, and you would have been afraid, like Adriano, Michele and Lucio, and you would have come to the same conclusions and had to take comfort in the instincts of Marco.

Su quelle creste affilate e guardando dall’alto il ghiacciaio martoriato dal caldo che ne ha allargato gli enormi buchi, invece, avresti sicuramente avuto paura come l’ha avuta Adriano, Michele e Lucio e saresti arrivato alle stesse loro conclusioni istintive, ovvero ti saresti aggrappato con tutte le tue forze al solo istinto di Marco.

In each slip, you would have held your breath as they did.

Ad ogni sua scivolata, avresti trattenuto il respiroesattamente come hanno fatto loro.

And so, you would have enjoyed it all that much more...

E poi, poi avresti assaporato molto altro.

PLAY VIDEO

Récord Courmayeur -Monte Bianco.

Sources Menino F. Un anno in giro per il mondo. 2016 Courmayeur - Monte Bianco record - Marco De Gasperi. by Nereal. | www.boymountaindreams.com

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“Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve never stopped dreaming. I still do it today, and even more so whenever the mountains catch my eye. These dreams have always been the driving force of my life, whether I have already experienced them or they still lie dormant. To be honest, these unfinished dreams tend to reflect the regrets I have in my life. Today I feel compelled to live out those dreams. I have decided to start with the very first of them all. The one of a child who did not dream about anything else than running in the mountains”.

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David Munilla (Madrid, 1965) is a journalist, photo reporter and mountain guide. Magazines as varied as Altäir, De Viajes, Nomadas, Viajar, Natura, Wild spaces, GEO, National Geographic, etc., have all published his work. His reports have featured on the pages of Sunday magazines and special supplements of prestigious international newspapers. His images illustrate more than a hundred books of all kinds, advertising campaigns and calendars. He has four climbing guides which, as he himself considers, are more a journalistic than photographic work. He is sponsored and supported by Nikon, Julbo, Extrem Isard, Singing Rock and Boreal.

Text & photography: David Munilla www.davidmunilla.com | instagram.com/munillaphoto

“I saw the birth of mountain photography and have watched it grow”. “I look back and, whilst not that much time has passed, I´ve seen photography mature. It´s moved closer to an art form than simply documenting events, as in the past. With climbing, an even more specific branch, the same thing has happened”. “Its greatest growth coincided with the birth of sports climbing from 1986. It was a really exciting moment of creation. We had a new world full of color and passion before our very eyes. “We invented” techniques to capture what that new sport was creating and representing”.

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“Knowing how to look. Photography, fortunately, has returned to its roots of “lines” and “light”. For me, I come from an analogue background, light control is still essential. It´s my challenge. I still try to “nail the photo”, as we say, as if shooting with a slide, with no margin for even a diaphragm of half up or half down”. “To have lived through the analogue stage, and in which limitations on sensitivity forced you to work more in outdoor spaces, combine interesting lights and wait for the critical moments of light plasticity, helps a lot. You analyze the overall image. You predict the result because you have memorized it. I hate taking photos in machine gun mode to “see what comes out”. I love listening to the shut-

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ter in that moment when you think «I’ve got it»”.

“I´m not demonizing digital photography. I think it´s given us excellent progress and, above all, helps lower production costs, improve storage and achieve faster speeds. I love doing black and whites in the lab and playing with Photoshop when I’m commissioned for an advertising job. Perhaps the side I least like is the excessive intervention in the image that you can find in many climbing and mountain photos”. “For me there´s nothing like spending a bit of time studying the terrain, the track and the climber. You need to understand that a photo must tell a story in a frame and summarize everything there. A track may have several interesting points, but surely some are better than others. That is the one to be discovered and photographed. The rest is excess. It’s not a video”. “Personally, I try to get away from popular views, because it is precisely what is always seen. I love vertical framing. However, the art directors of magazines and digital platforms are too inclined to fill the space horizontally. Television and computer screens have trained us to look at things differently than from a book”.

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PT 281+ ULTRAMARATHON R E S P E C T

BEIRA BAIXA

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Respect. I try to imagine the faces of those sailors in the Boa Esperança caravel ready to enter the realms of the Cape of Good Hope whose fame was not precisely that of keeping hostages. The “Cape of Storms” annihilated anyone who dared to breach it. Respect in the eyes of the crew heading towards the unknown. Respect towards a more than likely death.

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Respect. I try to imagine the pride of the children of Portugal upon receiving the news that the caravel had managed to overcome strong winds and storms and that their country, as such, had discovered a new route to the Orient. The respect the sailors had felt towards an unchartered sea was exactly what they had now earned from each of their compatriots.

PHOTO ÂŠ THIAGO DIZ | DIZZ MEDIA

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Respect. The faces of those firefighters ready to battle hand-to-hand with a fire that began in Pedrógão Grande in June this year. I am sure that the huge scale of it and its devastating force provoked, in those anonymous heroes, a feeling both close to and far from fear: respect. Respect towards a murderer of forests, animals and human beings, who they would have to look straight in the eyes and know it wouldn´t even have the slightest compassion.

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Respect. For those men who fought without rest to put out the flames that devastated the center of Portugal, not only felt by their compatriots, but also by the rest of the world who saw it on their televisions, saddened by the injustice of it all, and that brought tears to a strong nation accustomed to struggle.

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There have been many moments in which Portugal has shown itself to be a is full of cases in which the Portuguese people have had to reinvent themse Boa Esperança sailors or of the firemen at Pedrógão Grande, respect always to fight against; and secondly, that which is earned from all those who observ

PHOTO © THIAGO

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hardworking nation, used to suffering and having to fight for survival. History elves time and time again. In each of these heroic acts, as in the cases of the goes in two directions. Firstly, felt by the heroes towards what they are going ve their deeds.

O DIZ | DIZZ MEDIA

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In order to run a 281 kilometer race it is not only enough to have undergone a perfect physical and mental training, accompanied by an ideal nutrition plan and plenty of rest. It is just not enough. Towards a race of this distance you have to have a lot of respect. Those who do not have it, will not reach the finish line. That is for certain. And once again, respect travels in two directions. Those who have crossed the finish line, whether it be in forty-odd hours or in sixty plus, will earn it from all those who love ultra-distance races. That is also certain. Long live PT281+.

PHOTO ÂŠ THIAGO DIZ | DIZZ MEDIA

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RESPECT. FINISHERS 2015-2017

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Ana Luis Anibal La Bassit Br Bruno Bo Bruno Lo Carlos Gu Carlos Je Constant Danilo Ro David Fa Fernando Filipe Co Francisco Gonzalo Isabel Mo Javier Az Jesús He João Oliv Joaquim José Fari José Gar José Ser Levi Rizk Leonie V Lino Luz Mauro Ch Miguel G Moura Je Paulo Fe Paulo Go Pedro Ba Rodrigo N Rui Luz Rui Manu Rui Roch Sérgio M Vitor Rod

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Penamacor, Vila Velha de Ródão, Idanha-a-Nova, Proença-a-Nova, Oleiros and Castelo Branco, towns of Beira Baixa, take pride in their heroes.

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MUSTANG

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PARALELO 70

Nepal, three months after the earthquake. The image I have before me could have come from a war scene: destroyed buildings, mountains of rubble, and people who are unable to erase from their faces the reflection of what surrounds them. The image is plastic, even aesthetic, however it is the representation of horror, darkness and death. The problem is that this is real. Bhaktapur, Nepal. Agosto de 2015.

Text & photography: Fede Arcos

While in Granada, I received an email from the Spanish Council of Architects echoing the Nepalese governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request for help. A few days later, they were calling on all government organizations and NGOs based in Spain to collaborate. I would go there at a key moment to be able to work, three months later, after the initial intervention and as the diagnosis and reconstruction phase was commencing. At that time, no Spanish organization had anything planned, so after learning from the experience of some friends, I thought of directly helping. Three months after the earthquakes, Omar Havana guides us through Patan, a population on the outskirts of Kathmandu that was greatly affected by the earthquake. A while

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later we had coffee in his modern apartment while looking through some of his photos. As a photojournalist, he tells us many things about the situation he experienced in those days, the repercussion in the international media, the governmentÂ´s position and his own personal experience. He paints a rather black picture. Apart from the endemic problems of logistics and management, the government taxed international aid at 48% of its estimated value, as an airport charge. NGOs could not send back aid that had arrived in huge amounts, because they did not have enough economic resources to do so. And so, food rotted in airport hangars, perishable medicines expired as minimal conservation measures could not be guaranteed, and the best material goods were shared among members of parliament. Upon learning about that, some organizations dropped cargo mid-flight, trying to reach the people directly.

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LWAYS EXPLORING

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Amit Bajracharya, executive member of the Association of Nepali Architects (SONA), is working on rebuilding the temple in Durbar Square, Kathmandu. After discussing details of the construction process and with some degree of confidence, he confesses that the real problem there is a lack of training of the technicians when faced with an earthquake. 81 years after repeating the same tragedy, protocols for an immediate action plan are still inexistent. Walking around Durbar Square and later traveling around the country, I can corroborate Amitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s words. The problem is inherent to the building process, there are no robust construction systems, outside the capital there is no technical supervision on-site and traditional buildings do not follow basic standards. Of all the natural disasters, earthquakes are the only ones that canÂ´t be predicted. The geopolitical location of Nepal, with the Indian plate embedded in the Himalayas, makes the country an area of great seismic instability. What happened this summer will happen again, as in 1934, and which will devastate the country again in the future. Nepal has an urgent need for an action plan, ready-prepared emergency services and technical reconstruction guidelines. These actions are not taking place. The government has prioritized reconstruction of monuments over residential houses, under different programs managed by two architect organizations of Nepal and the UNESCO program, which in spite of many difficulties is making some progress. However, there will be no assistance for rebuilding private properties. It is the old complaint of humanity. Feast today, famine tomorrow.

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There are other interests given priority over training the next generation of architects: the need to recover tourism fast, an activity which, according to the World Trade Organization, is the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second largest foreign income. The request for foreign architects was just a timely gesture in the face of the international community. Indeed, a few days later I could confirm it with some local architects. Nevertheless, there is enough work there for thousands of technicians. A government that treats its people like this cannot then hold out its hand and ask for help that it does not share. A lot of help has arrived, perhaps because of the character of its people, from the mobilization of climbers and mountaineers, because Nepal has been good to them. The mountain and its raw materials generate many benefits that do not reach rest of the population, and so the number of those displaced by the earthquake is compounded by the phenomenon of economic migration. Each day several direct flights leave to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, filled with young and old workers who will roam the streets of the Arab Emirates in an attempt to settle there and live in miserable conditions, trying to save as much money as possible to send back to their families. Perhaps the UN could place more pressure on the government to force it to open up and invest in its own country, to improve social services and its infrastructure, thus taking its people out of poverty and generating profits in the medium-term. However, the political situation is somewhat more complex. There are many interests in the region. Nepal rises up from the

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jungle to the summit of the Himalayas, it has vast natural resources and lies in a strategic geopolitical position, critical to the Asian giants. China is investing huge amounts of money in the region, building infrastructures, installing tents in refugee camps, opening up safer passages, but this is not free and investment should be programed and fall within a set of guidelines, as many ethnic groups live there, all with their different customs and needs. We travel around the Last Lost Kingdom

thinking about these issues, trying to retain in our mind the timelessness of the region, because itÂ´s likely to be the last time we see it so pure. Soon these territories will be connected by highway with Tibet, that is to say, with China. The consequence will be irreparable, they will lose their traditional way of life and ancestral customs, living tied to a communication route that will impoverish them. And if this is the case, how long will it take for Nepal to become just another province of the dragon?

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In Kagbeni, a Tibetan boy shows us the historic center. A small cluster of houses built with earth that in any European country would enjoy the maximum level of urban protection. The village is located in a remote area in the Upper Mustang, in the valley of the Kali Gandaki River. In the past, it was one of the main trade routes of salt and barley between Tibet and India. The route was permanently closed after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. This factor, together with the overthrow of the Mustang King, has

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turned it into a harsh region swept by dust from the prevailing winds, far removed from the system and with minimal subsistence levels. Here there are no so-called refugee camps, perhaps because the whole Mustang area is a huge Tibetan refugee camp that migrates to Pokhara in the winter. This season is so tough that it leaves the region empty for three months. Even so, the local population, as much as they can, has adjusted itself among the rubble because here are their houses, their animals and their livelihoods.

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The need to invest in social services should not mean a loss of cultural identity of its inhabitants. They need hospitals and fuel with which to warm up, not limits in their territory. We managed to drink the only decent coffee in weeks at Luigi Feni´s home, an Italian guy who has been working for 17 years on restoring the mural paintings at the monastery in Lo Manthang, capital of the Upper Mustang, located very near the Tibetan border. In fact, it is a small village situated on a

strip of cultivated land snatched from the desert, where the monastery and palace seem to occupy almost half its surface area. Lo Manthang, like Tsarang, is a lost settlement from the dawn of time, a journey that we count in centuries rather than kilometers and helps us understand the concept of timelessness. Luigi began working for the royal family through a program at the Italian university. Today, after the ousting of the king, he continues for the love of his own work to pay the $50 daily fee the current government requires from every foreign citizen for each day they stay in the Upper Mustang. But Luigi not only restores works. Since he began his work, he´s been training pastors in the art of painting and restoration. Today many of them work together with him in his company. After chatting a while, we leave his house. The sun is starting to hide behind the mountains. Luigi asks two child monks for the keys and takes us to the temple. As the two huge solid wood doors opened at the same time, we glimpsed the golden silhouette of Buddha, illuminated by a faint light that filtered from the roof´s skylight. Our eyes had just begun to adjust to the darkness when a flashlight turns on and illuminates the wall closest to us. A chill runs through us as our eyes follow the light and we realize exactly what we are seeing. The feeling is so strong that I need some time before I can even speak. It is a sensation deep within that I´ve been pursuing for years, familiar yet remote, ancestral, one which only makes

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sense on the grassy plains of Mongolia, or in the frozen Baikal, reminiscent of the beating of eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wings or the howling of wolves in the Siberian winter. The sensation is the same, primeval and pure. The other is emptiness. Now I understand Luigiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to live in this place and continue developing the company. The paintings we see there could live up to the Renaissance frescoes by the great classical painters. The difference being that the atmosphere has remained unchanged for the last seven centuries, yet it has also felt the effects of the earthquake.

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Throughout our journey we have been able to perceive to a greater or lesser extent the consequences that earthquakes have left on the buildings and the local population, and how it has united people to reconstruct the houses and surrounding buildings with their own hands. There is no machinery here, no auxiliary equipment, not even a wheelbarrow. It is the women who carry the stones and bricks in baskets hanging from their forehead. And after everything, perhaps the most

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impressive observation was how dozens of free men, without technical supervision or help of any kind, were working together to rebuild a social center. Because, for the Nepalese, the shared goal prevails over individual ones and community is more important than singularity. I cannot imagine this mentality of submitting to the common good over private property in our civilized Europe, and yet we saw this attitude wherever we went, from the refugee camps to the urban centers. The Nepalese people are cheerful, res-

olute and proud, and knowing that they have nothing, neither asks nor acts like a victim. And therein lies the key to their mental freedom.

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ON THE COVER Marco de Gasperi. FOTOGRAFÍA Photo: DE Fabio PORTADA: Menino. UTMB. Fotógrafía: Issue [003]. Fede Arcos Wind.(Paralelo October70). 2017 PUBLISHER www.kissthemountain.com Número #08. theridge@kissthemountain.com Horizonte. Septiembre 2016 Granada. Spain EDITOR EDITA IN CHIEF kissthemountain J. M. Ávila juanmi@kissthemountain.com C/ Albaricoque, 18 18198 Huétor Vega – Granada ART info@kissthemountain.com DIRECTION & DESIGN LAYOUT Kiko Cardona kiko@kissthemountain.com REDACCIÓN Juanmi Ávila juanmi@kissthemountain.com TRANSLATION Liz Barrass Leticia ARTE S. Balsalobre Kiko Vittorio Cardona Vecchione kiko@kissthemountain.com ADVERTS & MARKETING MAQUETACIÓN theridge@kissthemountain.com Y DISEÑO Kissthemountain (+34) 670013576 PUBLICIDAD CONTRIBUTORS publicidad@kissthemountain.com Gontxal K.N. (+34) David 670013576 Munilla Fabio Menino COLABORADORES Paralelo 70 Guillermo JamieOlcina Ramsay Maite Rubén Maiora Fueyo Aritz Urdampilleta PHOTOGRAPHERS Pipi Cardell Fede Arcos Fabio (Paralelo Menino 70) Rubén Fueyo FOTOGRAFÍA Thiago Dizz Paralelo Javipec 70 Carlos Franck Llerandi Oddoux Iosu Martina Juaristi Valmassoi Rubén Pascal Fueyo Tournaire José KilianM.Jornet Muñoz Egea Luis Paralelo Ordóñez 70 Mikel Wisthaler.com Besga Pipi Steffen Cardell Kornfeld Jordi García Lesmophoto Localpres Fernando Andrés Guevara Núñez Pyrene David Media Munilla

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