Autumn/Winter 2015
Where there’s love, there’s pain. Designing good technical equipment for the mountains is easy. Just take a look around you at what others are doing, play ‘me too’ and stick to the status quo. Creating the best mountain kit in the world is altogether a more bittersweet journey. It means taking a different route from everyone else. Following your heart as much as your head and hands. Just ask our designers, fabric technologists and testers who face the harsh realities of process, timelines and budgets, then overcome them with their unfaltering creativity and drive. Launching benchmark waterproof shells, insulated jackets, gloves, mid-layers and sleeping bags is what makes our journey. So, no matter how daunting and turbulent each step into new territory may be, it is exhilarating for everyone here.
D Nick Bullock
A search for solitude on skis.
David Steele
D Steven Gnam
D Max Lowe
When we climb, “we get to survey the world while it truly dwarfs us.�
David Steele grew up in Kalispell near the mountains of Montana, an area that he still makes his playground. In winter, his life consists of ski touring, snow camping, and coaching skiing. Ski mountaineering follows in the spring, usually running into July. David started skiing at three years old, competed in moguls during high school, and still enjoys playing on the piste and terrain park alongside his uphill projects.
D Grant Domer
D Clay Roehner
D Steven Gnam
A rope makes for a stiff pillow. Skins ice up. If it’s sunny on the glacier, the roof of my mouth could burn. Alder grabbing at the skis on a heavy pack. Creek crossings in ski boots mean frozen liners the next morning. The stove starts, but won’t go full power. Summits are high points geographically, but the time spent to get to and onto them are the high points in my life. In the mountains, I find the concentration and purity of purpose to feel secure. The peaks hold solitude to meditate on life’s mysteries. The people that frequent them are the kindest, most endearing souls. And when the tiredness and lunacy start to rev up, even the mascots on a box of cream cheese can make for thirty minutes of laughter.
When we climb, we get to survey the world while it truly dwarfs us. Seething masses of geology and water, held in temporary forms until they erode away, giant waves becoming flattened by each particle of rock carried down a stream – they hold such easy ability to keep us humble. Tiny. Permeated by wonder. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t think it right to call a mountain a canvas – we don’t affect them emotionally, and the marks we make on them are usually for the worse. Arena seems better, because when we go to these places, it is the climber that comes home so changed. It’s this possibility that I keep coming back to, the ability to fire ourselves in their crucible and come away that much more clean, simple, pure.
Atop one summit this year, the thunderheads built, but didn’t do anything more than threaten and look on. Winged ants flew everywhere. It was still. Peaceful. A quiet serenity pervaded the whole scene, the largeness of space and the towers punctuating it. Perhaps it is the lightness that comes with the shedding of cares. Perhaps, it’s truly fresh each time, if one is open to receive it. But in that exposed place, so naked to the volatility of nature and everything that could possibly go wrong on the rocky descent and in the woods alone, the clarity enveloped me. Maybe it’s something hokey, or maybe it’s the endorphins talking. But there was a burbling geyser of joy to just be there, winged ants and all. Joy to be able to feel that joy. To live out the life I have, I am given, I make.
The mountains demand focus. Held to a sheer wall by an axe and some crampons, I get to be right there, right then. Nothing else exists, or needs to. Skiing down, the world is just that little sphere of joy and concentration. Such luminous existence is hard for me to find in town. The last short walk to the summit is my favourite part of a climb. Cruxes are interesting, and route finding proves to be the worthy challenge. But the last few steps when you haven’t achieved what you’ve set out to do, yet know that there’s now nothing that can stop you – that moment is an easy, quick one. For more mountain adventures and insights, check out David’s blog at www.skinningwithbearspray.com or follow him on Instagram at @davidpowdersteele D Steven Gnam
D Max Lowe D Johnathan Finch
40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DISTILLED INTO ONE JACKET
A dedicated ski pant designed to offer Soft Shell legwear nirvana for committed ski mountaineers and backcountry enthusiasts. The new Spectre Pant is the optimum choice for all but the worst conditions, delivering weather protection, warmth, all-day comfort and function in painstakingly designed pants. Layering perfectly over thermals for early season missions to powder-filled back bowls, whilst excelling when worn alone on multi-day tours in early spring. Each feature is dedicated to versatile touring and backcountry performance. Constructed entirely from WINDSTOPPER速 and ergonomically shaped to accommodate both an upright and forward-lean position, they offer lasting comfort both up and down. The lower leg and internal gaiter are designed specifically to fit effortlessly over touring and lightweight freeride boots whilst still allowing quick access to buckles and straps for quick transitions between the up and the down on wind blasted cols. Venting thigh pockets provide crucial temperature regulation and conceal an integrated transceiver pocket allowing ready access should the worst happen. In addition Dyneema速 reinforced kick strips and hem reliably resist abrasion from razor sharp edges or crampons during critical jump turns or delicate footwork with skis on your back.
Spectre Pant
Ski Mountaineering
“You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves.� Lito Tejado-Flores
D Ole Marius Elvestad
Kyrgyzstan
Sigurd Løvfall, Erling Magnus Solheim and Ole Marius Elvestad. Kyrgyzstan. Warm-hearted people and breathtaking mountains.
D Ole Marius Elvestad
Kit for ups and downs
Set your own boundaries. Gear for people as committed to the ascent as the descent.
DIAMIR JACKET
DIAMIR PANT
ECLIPSE HOODED ZIP TEE
ECLIPSE 3/4 PANT
Storm-proof GORE-TEX® Pro protection designed specifically for those skiing the world’s most intimidating lines.
Full GORE-TEX® Pro protection and total mobility for ski mountaineers pushing the boundaries in the high mountains.
A close fitting hooded zip tee that provides the optimum base or mid-layer for winter and alpine climbing.
Semi-fitted 3/4 length lightweight fleece pant ideal for cold weather ski touring use.
With the best fabrics available the Diamir excels whether skinning into a remote basin in the Pacific North West or pushing hard down Les Courtes. A specially developed version of our Super Alpine Hood works perfectly with a ski helmet and our Alpine Fit ensures unhindered mobility.
Diamir Pants have been painstakingly designed to excel on long technical approaches and the ultracommitting descents that follow. High waisted protection and the perfect fit are combined with the finest materials available. An inner transceiver pocket provides security and instant access.
The Eclipse Hooded Zip Tee is a specialist piece designed for serious winter use. POLARTEC® Power Dry® fabric provides warmth without bulk whilst drying exceptionally fast after a strenuous approach. The close fitting hood with full face protection works perfectly under a helmet.
POLARTEC® Power Dry® fleece fabric is warm, highly breathable, quick drying and low in bulk for perfect layering. The Eclipse 3/4 Pant are an ideal layer for ski use where a full length pant can interfere with the fit of higher cut boots and socks.
SUPERCOOL BEANIE
RANDONEE GLOVE
A chunky knitted Pom Hat for big powder days and cold nights in the valley.
Exceptionally versatile, this warm and durable Soft Shell glove is very breathable and water resistant.
CONCORDIA JACKET
EPIC TOURING PANT
COMPRESSOR HOODED JACKET
PARALLEL LS TEE
A super-warm and incredibly fast drying hi-loft fleece jacket for cold weather mountaineering and ski touring.
A Soft Shell ski pant that thrives on committing ski tours and missions to powder filled back bowls.
Carefully refined to be an unbeatable and highly packable synthetic layer that keeps going in the face of the worst conditions.
A lightweight and stretchy long sleeved wicking tee that is perfect for skiing and rest days alike.
Using POLARTEC® Thermal Pro® Hi Loft fleece the Concordia is exceptionally warm for its low weight. Ultra-breathable and fast drying, it is a perfect layering piece in severe conditions. Lighter weight POLARTEC® Power Dry® panels aid fit and eliminate bulk for the most technical climbing.
On long ski tours clothing that can cope with a range of conditions is crucial. Freezing starts, sweaty climbs and epic powder descents place diverse demands on your layers. Hybrid construction and innovative ski specific design answers the needs of the most serious users.
Whether used as a highly insulating mid or outer layer in cold, damp and windy conditions, PrimaLoft® GOLD works wet or dry. With an adjustable hood and cutting edge fabrics it offers high levels of warmth and total protection from icy winds.
This comfortable long sleeved tee can be worn alone on spring touring days or far inside your layers early in the season thanks to its fast drying and stretchy DRI-release® fabric. Polygiene® antimicrobial technology gives permanent odour control that will be appreciated on long range trips.
D Nick Bullock
Five years. Two trips. One epic gully. In the winter of 2009, as high pressure sat firm and fixed over Scotland and low pressure dominated in the French Alps. Pete Benson and I, both resident in the Chamonix Valley, took the unusual decision to fly from France to Scotland for the week. The final climb of the week, a snatch in thaw conditions, was what we thought at the time to be Mick Fowler’s and Mike Morrison’s wild and only once repeated in twenty two years, West Central Gully on Beinn Eighe. Pete showed some pictures to Guy Robertson and it was discovered we had actually climbed a new variation, passing right instead of left around the large overhang. Pete Benson supplied Simon Richardson with the information about the ascent and named it The Bullhorn/Benson Variation. Nick Bullock
D Nick Bullock
D Keith Ball
Fast forward to 2014 and back on Beinn Eighe with Keith Ball this time, hood up, head bowed, torch glowing – I chuntered. The rain slapped into the saturated earth and the sodden snow sponged up the moisture. Slogging up the steep heather hillside, to reach the summit ridge, was not the place I wanted to be in this deluge. It was a wet, miserable morning at 7am but Keith was in front and try as hard as I could to catch him, he remained at a fair distance. And the reason he remained out of shouting distance was because he knew this was rubbish. The small streams running from high on the hill could have been canoed and thick black bands of clouds covered all of the summits. Not half way up this horrible hill, my feet slewed like greasy chips in a bag. An hour later and the summit ridge, clagged in cloud and swathed in sheets of spindrift, turned my nightmare into white buffeting reality.
Any heat that had not been sucked from my soul blew away on the body juddering gusts. Large wet flakes of snow slapped into both of our faces. After going around in little whiteout circles for a while we found the top of West Central Gully and decided to take a look. I abseiled the line of Blood, Sweat and Frozen Tears. The steep overhanging walls drooled blue strings of ice and out of the bruising wind my world turned pink. And as I abseiled my glasses became rose tinted and in some moment of madness, I suggested to Keith, when we both stood in thigh deep snow in the base of the gully, that we change from the cunning plan of a quick wiz up the Central Buttress, for a quick wiz up the Fowler/Morrison route, West Central Gully. “It’ll be quicker than plodding around to the Central Buttress, it’s only two pitches and I’ve done the first one before… how hard can it be… we’ll be up and out and back to the van, dried and fed and set up and ready for something
more tricky tomorrow.” I said, quicker than you can say the word ‘epic.’ “OK Nick, I’m psyched, but we don’t have any ice screws, do you think that’ll be a problem?” Keith looked up, into the depths of the mountain, to the back of the gully, the line of the climb. A cave, a third of the way up was capped by a massive roof and to the left of the roof, blossoming from the overhanging corner, were two ice drips marking the way we would climb. After the roof, thicker ice led to another overhang, and after this, steep continuous ice flowed to the top. “Naa, we’ll be fine, it’s got all of that rock around it and let’s face it, it’s ice up there, who needs screws to climb ice in Scotland – ice in Scotland is never more difficult than WI4 and WI4 is piss.” Keith thumped a track – knee-deep plunges into unconsolidated snow – and as I followed, I saw the temperature increase and in my worried wallowing, I watched the steep towering walls,
walls that had suddenly turned into our cloistering prison. I began to cry with laughter. Back in 2009, when Pete Benson and I climbed the Fowler/Morrison line, my contentment swelled – this climb was one of those that had engrained itself beneath my skin – everything about it – the line, the first ascentionists – but most of all it was the story written by Fowler of him being on the edge, pumped stupid – pumped and slumping and hanging from a chord leading from his axes attached to his rucksack strap. When I first read the account of West Central Gully I had imagined I could see him dangling from rucksack shoulder straps with legs kicking and now I had shared the same ground, or so I thought at the time. For more, check out Nick’s blog at nickbullock-climber.co.uk
D Keith Ball
D Keith Ball
Tupilak Jacket and Pant now with ultra tough GORE-TEX® Pro 80D face fabric throughout. There’s tough, there’s really tough, then there’s Bullock proof.
Tupilak Jacket and Pant GORE-TEX® Pro 80D
When we went in search of feedback on the Tupilak Jacket and Pant, we went to some of the keenest, most active and ardent destroyers of kit that we knew. Professional guides and instructors who were out climbing under the siege of the Scottish winter, sometimes for 30 days in a row, were unanimously positive. Even our most trusted destroyers of prototypes seemed unable to find any chink in the Tupilak’s armour. Then Nick Bullock arrived, his test jacket delivered personally by the man himself with a glint in his eye, its main body a fragment of its former self. He and his battle-weary Tupilak had fought their way up some of the biggest and baddest hard mixed climbs going and the scars were evident for all to see. Back to back days at grade VIII and above, hooking,
thrutching, clearing and simply grovelling on desperate repeats and hard-won first ascents on a seminal line-up of venues, Dubh Loch, Ben Nevis, Stob Coire nan Lochan, Beinn Eighe. That no one else had managed to even get close to this point of destruction was hardly the point, our finest climbing jacket had to be truly Bullock proof. And so, for this coming season, the Tupilak Jacket and Pant have moved up a gear, now constructed entirely from the one fabric that didn’t falter or flinch under the onslaught of a Bullock test piece. With our battle-proven GORE-TEX® Pro 80D face fabric throughout, the best designed hard shell jacket and pant available for the most serious climbing is now more than tough enough even for the one person who is hardest on their kit that we know.
D DĂśrte Pietron
Welcome to Germany’s climbing college, where a team of girls have their sights set on becoming the next big names in the sport.
D Charlotte Gild Collection
D DAV Collection
D Yvonne Koch
D Dörte Pietron
The DAV (German Alpine Club) mountaineering and expedition course is reserved for those who are young, talented and live to climb. Here a student’s lecture hall is a mountain and their desk a cliff ledge. This unique course began back in the 90s with the simple yet ambitious aim of creating the alpine celebrities of tomorrow. It achieves this by taking 17 to 23 year olds who are already good climbers, putting them into an expedition team, then spending the next three years giving them hands-on experience.
When the programme started it only attracted male climbers. Then, in 2002 things changed when Dörte Pietron joined as the first female student. Later, as more girls followed it became difficult creating mixed teams, so in 2011 the decision was made to create the first women-only team. It proved such a success that a second female team was created in 2014. And what’s the difference between the girls and the boys? Absolutely nothing. They both have three years to reach their common goal of taking a major expedition that will put all they’ve learnt to the test.
Their training isn’t for the faint hearted, as teams can expect to be climbing the Himalayas, Karakorum, China, Kyrgyzstan or Peru at the end. All the time encouraged to use their planning and logistics skills to try to do first ascents and new routes. Every three years fifteen to twenty female climbers enrol. Twelve are invited to have an intense seven days of alpine activities in Chamonix under the watchful eye of trainers who assess their alpine and social skills. That’s some freshers’ week. After that, they are whittled down to a team of six.
Then, training begins in earnest with everything from alpine climbing and big wall training (including several nights on the rock face) to ice climbing, high altitude climbing and even how to deal with sponsors and budgets. In their last year, the team goes on a four to six week expedition that will push them to their limits. The second women’s team are taking this ‘final exam’ in 2016. We wish them all the very best and look forward to seeing them achieve great things in the world of mountaineering.
D Ulrich Vertier
If your game is winter alpinism or polar travel and you want to learn to love the cold, then you’re going to need some serious kit. The K7 is a an expedition jacket that weighs less than a kilo. A highly water resistant and windproof Drilite® Loft Outer protects our finest Down and a box wall baffle construction spreads warmth evenly over the torso. There are two proper hand warmer pockets plus an internal mesh water bottle holder and to keep your important stuff safe, there’s a zipped security pocket. And adjustable cuffs and dual tether hem drawcords mean that you can batten down the hatches efficiently and effortlessly in strong winds.
WOMEN’S SIGMA JACKET
WOMEN’S LUMIN JACKET
WOMEN’S DEWLINE JACKET
WOMEN’S ARETE JACKET
BECAUSE WINTER ISN’T JUST CRUXES AND COULOIRS
We may be known for making the most technical, hard working gear on the mountain but we realise that kicking-back can be just as important as kicking turns. And steady days, rest days and weather days are just as much of a reality as the hardest climbing days. The Litmus Jacket is perfect for getting there, getting prepared and chilling out afterwards. It’s soft, good looking and friendly – just a pity it’s only a fleece really.
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