ISC Magazine

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AUTUMN / WINTER

Magazine ISC Lady Ski: marathon for women only

Eveli Saue about biathlon

ThinsulateTM space age insulation Racing Latvians

In Nansen's footsteps skiing across Greenland

ISC (Ilves Sportswear Company) is the registered trade mark of Ilves-Extra Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adventure: conquering volcanoes in Ecuador

adventure  sport  fashion  innovation  materials  people

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5 Clothes for your company 6 In Nansen´s footsteps across Greenland Timo Palo and Norwegian adventurer Audun Tholfsen travelled almost 600 km across Greenland to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the first crossing by the world famous explorer Fridtjof Nansen.

14 Insulation material of the space age A space age conception which completely changes man´s understanding of keeping warm.

19 Alar Sikk gets dressed 20 ISC cooperation with Finnish Ski Association 22 Andrus Veerpalu gets dressed 26 From the valley into the mountains How a beginner learned snowboarding in just half a winter despite a bruised backside.

31 Deyvid Oprja gets dressed

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32 Volcanologists This time Jane Riga and her husband Tarmo travelled to Ecuador to see the volcanoes, a place where even the locals do not dare to climb.

44 Racing Latvians 49 ISC outlets 54 The three whales of biathlon Dedicated biathlonist Eveli Saue tells us about the races in Western Europe in the previous season – events that draw some of the biggest crowds and keep the audiences hooked till the last round.

58 Care symbols and size charts

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ISC Magazine:

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e are proud to present our brand new customer magazine, already the seventh. It may not seem much, but we are clearly getting better. Our magazine has often been compared with special interest magazines and has even been considered to be better than some of them! Yes, we want to be good in this field too, although it is not our aim to complete for a place in journalism. We try to promote an active way of life and explain to the reader why one or another product is good in certain conditions. Because if we do something, then we do it well, be it our magazine or our ISC collection. So we hope that the stories in this issue are fascinating and gripping too, so that you will feel that you have not wasted you time reading them, but have found something useful and well worth your time and effort.

The following pages contain stories from the adventurers who have wandered around the world in our clothes. The stories are as authen tic as possible, so as to bring you the real emotions experienced at hair-raising adventures. The exciting stories alternate with good surveys of our ISC winter collection and detailed descriptions of the materials used in the products. Our production, which today is definitely one of the top collections in the world, is often technically so complicated that it needs explaining! There is no point for our highly trained top specialists to work hard in search of the best technical solutions and materials if we cannot share this information with the customers.

A winter garment is technically so complicated that it is impossible to see the benefits just by looking at or touching the product in the shop. Materials alone do not protect you from the elements. The products have to be seam-sealed, with special zips, designed with the specific applications in mind, insulated with materials suitable for active sports, and so on. After all, you, dear reader, want to know what you are paying for, and whether the product will hold out when you pursue your hobbies. ISC products are often used in places where a wrong choice may put your life in danger. When you are in the middle of glaciers in Greenland, for instance, with nothing but cold ice, crevices and wild beasts within hundreds of kilometres, then it is too late to discover that you have made a wrong decision when it comes to clothes. One of the reasons why we started with this magazine is to bring to you this information as well as we can.

As new markets have opened for the ISC collection, we now publish the ISC Magazine in four languages: Estonian, Russian, English and Finnish.

Alvar Landson sales manager/ editor in chief Editor in chief: Alvar Landson Designer-stylist: Tiia Orgna Models: Janina and Risto / Beatrice Mass Modelnet, Helen Randmäe Make-up: Lana Vallo Thanks are due to: Extreme Sport (Flow and Rossingnol) Product photos: Jaan Künnap Layout: Profimeedia Issued by: AS Ilves-Extra, 42 Kastani St, 50410 Tartu Tel: 730 9900 Fax: 730 9930 e-mail: ilves@ilves.ee Website: www.isc.ee ISC Magazine is published twice a year. The magazine is not for sale but distributed to adventurers, sportsmen and other active people, offering easy reading straight from the adventurers. Enjoy your reading!

The photos in the catalogue are illustrative and may not correspond entirely to the range of colours in the shops, which is constantly changing.

Every item may come in up to seven different colour combinations!

Customer is the king!

Hi, called Jane. SerI went to your shop yesterday evening. The shop assistant was there just to try was I that ring conside , vice was knowledgeable and friendly and trousers jackets order to going is ny compa our , Namely some clothes on. on. things try to have for some of its employees, but to know your size you often email, positive a send to d decide (I .

Thank you again for the good service well. as others to you end recomm will I in). compla to write people only With regards, - Lemmi Subject: greetings from Ylläs! nasty weather yesI wish to give positive feedback. Here at Ylläs we had really and I had on that hours 3 for skiing went I Still terday, it was pouring with rain. ght. It´s so cool waterti tely comple was It it. tracksu p warm-u red-and-black that you can ski in the rain :) - Laura Dear ladies at the Ülemiste and Rocca al Mare Ilves-shops, n (one of them 2 In addition to being all very beautiful and kind, my childre to you help and thanks metres tall) got good ISC clothes in the right sizes professionalism.

With many thanks and kind regards, - Pille, a mum -

About our authors Timo Palo – a man who lives in extreme conditions beyond the Arctic Circle for most of the year because of his work and hobbies. In our last year`s winter issue you could also read about his six-month expedition on the ice breaker Tara on the ice fields of the Arctic Sea. This time Timo and his Norwegian friend Audun Tholfsen take you on a 600-kilometre journey through Greenland. The story is about their extreme adventures, which marked the 120th anniversary of the day when the world famous explorer Fridtjof Nansen first crossed Greenland.

Jane Riga – ISC Magazine has published her humorous stories in the Antarctic and Argentina before. This time the adventures took Jane and her husband Tarmo to the volcanoes in Ecuador, where even the locals dare not to climb because they fear the curse of the mountain god or because they can´t stand the smell of rotten eggs from the volcanoes.

Eveli Saue – a competent and courageous athlete that we have supported and whose career we have followed for yeto biathlon, Eveli gives a survey of her races ted ars. Dedica in Europe this season. It should make interesting reading about a winter sport which attracts some of the largest audiences in Europe. We hope that biathlon will gain popularity in this country too, as it is a sport where the tension builds up right until the last lap.

Grete Mäsak – a snowboarder who learned to ride in half a winter despite her bruised backside and now encourages others to take it up. You will also find out more about ski centres in Latvia, Slovakia and Norway, which we recommend for beginners with perhaps just basic snowboarding skills.

Order trendy high-tech ISC clothes for your company Customer service: Alo Abiline, tel +372 730 9902, e-mail: alo.abiline@ilves.ee Vesta Kiisler, tel +372 730 9907, e-mail: vesta.kiisler@ilves.ee Alvar Landson, tel +372 510 4855, e-mail: alvar@ilves.ee 4

ISC r e d Or

fashionable and stylish everywhere

The ISC collection is not just meant for sports, but these clothes can be used for much more important social functions.

Many companies, organisations and clubs have realised this and have been ordering their corporate uniforms from us for years.

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nd why shouldn´t they - ISC products are in constant development and this is why they are multifunctional and always with the best design. For instance, a mountain jacket in just one or two colours is with excellent technical qualities and extremely comfortable, but can still be worn with woollen trousers in town. The technical qualities of ISC-tech 8000 mm might be too good for everyday clothes, but if we look at the kind of winters we have had in recent years, then perhaps it is the only right thing to wear. It is quite easy to protect the body against the cold, but in wet winters ISC is the right thing in the right place. The thermal jackets that we offer will make outdoor activities a pleasure.

As a big manufacturer we can adequately respond to a growing demand. Ilves-Extra Ltd. has a flexible and reliable system for filling company and club orders. Today we are working on 320 to 360 special orders at any given time and we can manage very well. The order does not have to be large – our well-functioning system can handle orders starting from 20 pieces!

Considering the prices, technical characteristics, colours, embroideries and printings, as well as durability, you will pro- bably get the best possible offer. Our products meet all the important requirements for a proper corporate outfit: you stand out in a crowd, promote your organisation and create the sense of belonging to a group.

Reversed micro fleece shirts: FARO-3 for men and FLO-3 for women

For clubs a uniform in the team colours is the best way to stand out: you can find other team members easily, and the voices of fans in uniforms ring louder. UUsing the same style and colours is a good promotion and creates a positive image for prospective sponsors. And the most important thing is that it is always possible to order more of the same products when the team gets new members.

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In Nansen's footsteps across Greenland TEXT: Timo Palo

On 15 August 1888 the famous Norwegian Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his five companions set off across the ice of Greenland. Travelling from the east coast, they reached the western fjords on 26 September, being the first to cross the unexplored parts of Greenland. One of the most important problems in the history of Arctic explorations had been solved.

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20 years later, on a windless and foggy afternoon on 9 May, my good Norwegian friend Audun Tholfsen and I set out on skis from a small village called Isortoq on the east coast of Greenland to repeat Nansen´s great achievement and fulfil one of my big dreams. Our skiing trip was called “In Nansen´s footsteps - 120 years since the first Greenland crossing”.

I can´t remember since when, but I have always liked to browse world atlases and maps, looking for and discovering new fascinating places. I picture them in my mind, read about the more interesting ones in the books to find out more and think about the possibility of exploring these places in person. Our planet Earth and its nature fascinate me in all their glory. Arctic regions have been especially captivating for me – these white patches on geographical maps which seem so unattainable, desirable, challenging and in some ways even mystical or fabulous.

After all, journeys and adventures in Arctic regions have always been associated with mysticism, prejudices, mystery and even fear. These are the last grey areas in

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our geographical knowledge. These discoveries were made quite recently and Arctic regions were some of the last additions on the maps.

Even today we know relatively little about these areas. The world is so different out there. The books took me to the one-time Arctic explorers and their adventures, which have inspired me and given me courage to try too.

before he said yes. I was then convinced that we would do it.

The adventure begins And so we were on the east coast of Greenland on 9 May, turned our skis to the west and left behind the small village of Isortoq, the last inhabited place on the coast. We move along sea ice for a while, accompanied by the magnificent walls of the icebergs. As we find a place where we can turn inland again, we push upwards to get on the edge of the glacier. The first metres are steep, so we drag our two sledges together, one pulling from the front and the other pushing from the back. We soon become very hot, the sun is burning and the snow is melting. We are sweating heavily after the hard effort. The sledges are heavy, around 100 kilos each. When you are crossing Greenland, you must take into account an important fact. Namely, the first part of the trip is the most difficult. You have to start with the rise to the top of a glacier and that is when the sledges are the heaviest as they contain all the food supplies for the trip.

Why Greenland?

Greenland, the biggest island in the world and a white patch on maps, has fascinated me for years. In 2003 I made a firm decision: in five years, when it will be 120 years since Nansen´s first crossing, I will celebrate the event with one of my dream journeys and ski across Greenland.

I had been gathering knowledge about Arctic adventures before, but after setting the date, I concentrated on Greenland. If at first I had planned to cross the island alone, then because of the rules of the Danish Arctic Centre this was impossible, at least legally. Namely, crossing Greenland alone is considered too dangerous to allow it. Or at least all possible measures are taken to insure the safety and avoid accidents.

That is why all expeditions are firmly under the Danish control and certain conditions must be met to get the permission. One of these is the expensive SAR (search and rescue) insurance. In addition, certain special equipment is needed.

They also take into account your previous experience and make sure that you are well prepared. Anyway, as I couldn´t go alone, I needed a good companion. It was a setback, of course, because I had been mentally getting ready for a solo trip. In a way it is like starting all over again and mentally adjusting oneself to the new idea.

I started preparing the paperwork in the summer of 2007, when I was already on a six-month expedition in the heart of the Arctic, near the North Pole on a ship called Tara, drifting on a field of ice. I couldn´t have imagined a chance like this before going to Greenland. One of the

A careful start

ten crew members on the ship was a Norwegian named Audun. I learned about the new rules when I was on the Tara, so I started looking for a companion and thought of Audun. He is a good skier, has experience and Arctic survival skills, and what could be better than to celebrate the anniversary of a great Norwegian with a Norwegian companion. Furthermore, six months on a small ship was just the right time to test our compatibility and to get to know each other. A week to think it over was all that Audun needed,

As days go by, the sledges become lighter and the rise gentler, until we reach the flat top of the glacier and from there on the ground is descending. Therefore, when planning the trip, you must keep in mind that the distances that you cover are short at first and you will not travel a lot of kilometres. In the first part of the trip we make considerably less than our planned average journey, but this is only natural and taken into account. On the one hand it is good to know that it will get easier and you will travel more kilometres as days pass, but on the other hand we suffer all the hardships of the expedition to Greenland at the beginning, when our bodies have not yet got accustomed to the work load so well. Therefore you must start care-

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fully and dampen your enthusiasm so as not to exert yourself too much.

Before nightfall we reach a mountain lake with a beautiful view that we had longed for. A few kilometres further away the edge of an inland glacier is shining in the sun beams. The white slope rises up to the blue skies and disappears into the distance, where the sun sets. There isn´t a single mountain or rock in sight, only the seemingly endless white field. We sit down and have a rest. We discuss it and decide to set up the first camp on the edge of the glacier. I enjoy the moment that I had been waiting for and working for so long. “So we meet at last”, I say to myself.

At that moment I make friends with the ice field and promise to honour its magnificence and power, and to try and manage in all its moods. I always make a point of communicating with the forces of nature, in whatever form they may come. I always feel the presence of a higher spirit, which calms me on the one hand, but on the other hand gives me something to hold on to when I try to contact the surrounding world.

The horizon disappears We finally lose sight of the mountains. A pyramid-shaped peak accompanied us for a short while but then it disappeared as well.

We should see the mountains again on the west coast, more than 500 kilometres away.

The first days have been hard: the soft wet snow sticking to the skis, a heavy burden

and a foggy, cloudy day with zero visibility at times. When the sky is covered with clouds and shadows disappear, everything melts into the white surface of the glacier. Everything is just a mass of white milky stuff, and there is no sky or ground or a clear line on the horizon between them. In such surroundings it is very difficult to be on course, as the eyes do not have a point to fix on. There are no contrasts or details.

Arctic explorers call this phenomenon white out. Only a compass and GPS help you understand where you are going. In such conditions it is also interesting to see in which direction a person tends to move, because, as we know, a person´s body is not ideally symmetrical. This white out, which isn´t so much caused by blizzards or winds, but low clouds, accompanies us for several days at the beginning of the expedition. We take turns to be at the front, as it strains the eyes to look at the compass all the time. Contrary to the person who follows, the one who goes first does not have a fixed point to focus on. Once I even started seeing ghosts because I was straining to see so hard. I believed that I had seen a pack of arctic foxes running further away. Audun, of course, hadn´t seen anything when I mentioned it. So I realised I must have been hallucinating.

We make progress with our 7-hour days. We travel 10 to 20 kilometres on those days. Our only companions on the trip are some birds who journey into the inland glaciers and sometimes even cross them. These serious

ld and e fi e ic e th h it w ke friends a m I t r, and to n e e w m o o p d m n t a e c n At tha e s magnific it r u o n o h to e is prom ods. o m s it ll a in e g a tr y and man

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ď‚– ISC-tech 8 000mm is a symbol that marks the waterproof properties of the outer fabric and helps you find the right clothes from the ISC range of products quickly and easily. The methods for testing the water-resistant properties of a product are in keeping with the international BS EN 2008, AATCC testing system.Another important characteristic for a fabric is how breathable it is. In case of this material it is 8 000g/m2/24h.

The testing meets the ISO 15496 standards.

Both properties – waterproofness and breathability - are very important, and are also printed on the collar inside the jacket. In addition, the material has been treated with Suppleks R/S to give it water-repellent qualities. It also has a high UV protection (UPF 600-800), which stops the ISC-tech products from fading in the sun or from frequent washing.

Products marked with this symbol may be machine washed at 40OC and spin dried at 1000 rotations.

Thermal jacket ANDI with ethnic embroidery and trousers HANS

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travellers are mainly snow buntings. They are among those few passerines in the Arctic. Later we meet them further inland too and on a few times they bless us with their beautiful whistling tunes, which are so uplifting and homey in this icy silence.

At the mercy of winds On one of the days on the way to the top the snow conditions are so difficult that after travelling four kilometres in three hours we are forced to put up the tent and wait for the weather to get better. Fresh snow has covered the wet snow and it sticks to the skis, just like when you go with pasted skis on fresh snow at zero temperatures. Large packs of snow gather under the skis so that they threaten to break the legs. We decide to change the time on the watch, travel at night when it is cooler and sleep for some hours during the day. After several tests with time and watches we finally decide to stick to the time in Estonia. This means setting out very early in the morning and setting up camp in the afternoon. This way we have good snow conditions for at least half the day and the afternoon in the camp means that the sun heats up the tent and we can dry our equipment.

Going up from the east coast of Greenland expeditions sometimes have to face the much feared wind called piteraq, which descends from the glaciers. This may well be considered the biggest threat to the expedition. The maximum wind speed may reach 70 m/s and it will blow away everything on its way. At night on 11 May one of such weaker gusts hits us. Although the wind blows at 10 to 15 m/s, we have to get out of the tent and cut blocks of ice with a saw to make a wall against the wind. The blizzard wants to bury the tent under the snow. This is the first and last time that we need a wind wall. The tent that we have taken with us is simply wonderful and especially resistant to storms.

One early morning, quite far from the coast we have an unexpected visitor. A small bird has climbed in the tent with us. It is a passerine, and

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judging by its shocked and dishevelled state, it must have ended up here on the glacier because of a mistake or a navigation error. It flies out of the tent for a while when it gets frightened, but is soon back in the good sheltered place and squats there in our tent between the thermos flasks. We feel sorry for the little bird. Sooner or later it will have to leave.

As we were ascending to the top of the glacier we had wet snow and high temperatures, but one day at the height of 1700 metres everything suddenly changes. We can literally feel it the moment it happens, as if stepping outside from a room. Within that step the snow changes, the temperature changes and the wind gets stronger. From now on the warm days are behind us and we can expect cool air, typical on the top of a glacier, and quick changes in the wind direction. Although it is still quite a few days to go to reach the actual top at 2.5 kilometres, we can say that one stage in our expedition is over. A flatter part of the glacier begins, but it still

rises by almost a kilometre. We can feel the rise in our bodies, although it is not so apparent visually. Our sledges have become lighter too. We take turns to use food supplies from both sledges. We have both got rid of a 5-kilo bag. At first we had difficulties with the daily amount of calories (5000 to 5500 kcal), but now food goes down easily. The body is also getting used to bigger amounts of fat. We add oil or butter to our food and also eat home-made pemmikan. Pemmikan is an old dish from American Indians which Arctic explorers started using because of its high content of energy. Originally it was

dried minced meat mixed with fat and berries.

Today berries are mostly left out. This dish, rich in energy, has been with explorers ever since.

People get used to anything Day by day our skiing hours get longer and longer and new records in distances are set one after another. We travel for 8 or 10 hours a day and cover more than 20 kilometres, close to 30 almost. We slide on the snow much better now, although we have some difficulties on the dry and cold snow here as well due to low morning temperatures. Cold weather and often strong winds cause most of our discomforts. As we get up quite early at sunrise, freezing temperatures of minus 25 or 30 degrees greet us every morning here at the altitude of about two kilometres, which makes getting out of the sleeping bag especially difficult and unpleasant. At the same time it forces us to get going so that we would

In such windy conditions the windchill factor rises to minus 45 degrees due to the combination of the wind and temperature. get warm. On some days the freezing cold and strong winds of more than 10 m/s go hand in hand. Then the blizzard runs along the ground and the first four metres upwards are full of whirling snow.

Although above our heads the sun is shining and the sky is blue, for us visibility is poor

scending, little by little, but still steadily, and the journeys each day should get longer. Our next destination is BYE II in the middle of the glacier, a radar station from the cold war period which belonged to the Americans but has now been abandoned.

The old radar station The next few days are spent thinking about the kilometres that separate us from the radar. Our daily journeys are over 30 kilometres long and we often travel for 10 hours or more. In four days we can see the white dome of DYE II from

because of the snowstorm and moving on is painful. In such windy conditions the windchill factor rises to minus 45 degrees due to the combination of the wind and temperature, and this is already a real challenge to keep your peripheral body parts warm. All our heavy equipment is in use on those days. We don´t have a single exposed part of the body and we are covered with multi-layered insulation everywhere. Only the face mask has a tiny slit for breathing, which freezes over in just seconds because of the vapour in the air that you breathe out. We are out of breath a lot, because the high altitude is harder for the body to bear. The one at the front must look behind him all the time, because in such circumstances you may lose sight of each other easily and then it is really bad.

By the end of the 15th day we have reached the highest point on our way. GPS shows that we are at 2484 metres. From now on we start de-

the distance of about 20 kilometres. But before we get there safe and sound, we have a most unexpected misfortune. In the morning after a couple of hours on the move, when it is still about 15 kilometres to the radar, I can hear Audun shout that something has broken. My first thought is that it is a ski pole. “Not to worry, we have a spare one”, I think to myself. But when I look back, both his poles seem ok. “It´s the ski then”, I have time to think, and we can manage that as well. But Audun lifts his foot and announces that the metal bar at the toe of his boot which fastens it to the ski has broken. This is a blow. At first I cannot think of anything that would help repair it. We stop to think and decide to get to the American camp at the radar and then see what we can do. I fasten both sledges to my body and Audun starts hopping on one ski. These 15 kilometres with two sledges turn out to be more difficult than I thought, because the ground ascends a little before the radar. At

the end of the day we are there and just in time too, as the weather takes a turn for the worse.

The wind rises and it starts snowing.

Every summer the Americans set up a training runway near the old radar for five months, so that they can practice taking off and landing on powerful Hercules transport aircraft. The pilots of the national air force are trained here before they fly to the Antarctic to supply the research stations. For this reason they have set up Camp Raven here, manned by two people who are in charge of all the maintenance work at the runway. So they drive around in their two powerful mountain tractors nearly every day. Lou and Mark, a married couple who nearly all the passing expeditions visit, have, in a way, become part of the Arctic history in Greenland over the years. Their guest book is full of entries in different languages.

Visiting the Americans Lou and Mark greet us with a warm smile and give us hot tea and sweet snacks. When they see our unfortunate ski boot, we can see from their faces that it is not the first time that they come across a problem like this. Expeditions before us have had this problem too we are to learn later.

We decide to spend the next day at the camp and try and repair the boot, the more so that the weather forecast predicts a change for the worse and extremely strong winds. We put up our tent next to Lou and Mark´s and go and raid the radar´s warehouse 800 metres further away in the hope of finding something suitable to replace the metal bar on the ski boot. When we come closer to the station, we realise how small we really are next to this giant metallic monster on crutches. In the middle of the glacier the building seems really from the outer space, as if it

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boot toe. In the evening in the warm tent of the Americans we set to work and soon finish it. We put three more bolts into the bag just in case.

The next day the weather gets much worse and visibility is poorer with every hours. The weather forecast predicts that the worst is still to come, and to

has stepped out from a science fiction book. In 1988 the station was abandoned on orders at a moment´s notice and everything not worth taking was left behind. So the warehouse is full of all kinds of stuff, the kitchens and larders are full of food , there are frozen and broken beer bottles and coca cola cans in the bar and magazines and plates lying on the tables. It feels surreal wandering there in the light shed by headlamps. In those days up to 60 people might have lived and worked there at any one time. This gives you an idea of its size.

We find some useful bolts and screws which might fit in the

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prove it, the barometer is falling all the time. It is clear that we will have to stay there and wait. By the evening it has got so bad that you can´t even see twenty metres ahead and we carry GPS when we have to get from one tent to the other.

Once we even had to rely on it because we moved off course in only a few hundred metres so much that we would have got lost and ended up who knows where. The wind blows at 20 m/s and wet icy snow is falling, which freezes in a moment when it lands on our clothes.

During the next night and day the storm gathers strength and the wind rises to 30 and then 40 metres per second. Now it´s clear that we have been forced to stop by the fearsome Greenland

piteraq. Going out of the tent is out of the question because it is difficult to stand up on your feet and if you go out for just a second, you will get snow down your neck even though your storm jacket and trousers are zipped up with great care.

You can´t breathe outside properly either because the pressure of the wind and the air full of snow make it very difficult. We lie in the tent for twentyfour hours. The wind is so loud that we have to shout to talk to each other. The tent is shaking and trembling in the storm, threatening to fall into pieces any minute. Shivering, we crawl deeper into the sleeping bags. We don´t know how Lou and Mark are doing. Only after the storm abates do we learn that they too had had their share of problems. The snow had pressed into the tents and they couldn´t get out. So they had to use the tractor and free the tent from the snow. Their equipment had measured more than 40 metres per second for the wind speed and this set a new record for the base.

Nothing is too easy After staying put for three days and surviving the storm, we are ready to start the journey again. We push forward towards the edge of the glacier, which marks the end of our trip, full of energy. The following days are like consecutive skiing marathons: 51 kilometres, 59 kilometres, and so on. The journeys last long into the night, sometimes for 17 hours. We can feel the closeness of land and this makes us try hard. On 2 June, on the 25th day of the journey we can finally see the mountains on the horizon. We can see land and this brings out a cry of victory. We sit down and enjoy the moment and the view.

We know that soon we will be down at the edge of the glacier and can feel the ground under our feet. There´s only the descent left and as far as we know, it is going to be fun and an enjoyable finishing touch to our well-earned achievement.

We add more speed with the poles and literally fly on the skis. But instead of the expected easy finale we face the most strenuous and the most difficult part of the journey. After a while, when we only have about 25

 ThinsulateTM Insulation is a material for insulation which is based on the modern fibre technology and meets the 3M quality standards. This material is special because it makes use of everything that the human body produces to heat the garment, i.e. ThinsulateTM Insulation does not let the heat from the body pass through kilometres to go, we realise that something is wrong. The glacier becomes uneven and more difficult to pass. First we see smaller rivulets and ponds of melting water, whose thin ice breaks under the weight of the skis. We get past those, but then the rivers become bigger, the canals of melting water deeper and crevices appear. All of a sudden we are trapped, surrounded by huge ice walls and crevices as far as the eye can see. It is clear that we can´t go on. It is madness to enter this field of ploughed ice and it might be days before you get out of there. We must go back and find another way out. Now it´s clear that the summer has arrived earlier and we are running out of time. The steeper slope of the glacier changes completely as it melts. We feel like small helpless bugs on an icy field. Now we have to get out of a real maze. We can see land 10 kilometres ahead, but we don´t know how to get there. It takes us 27 consecutive hours on the skis to break out of this maze of rivers, crevices and ice canyons. The surge of adrenalin and excitement keep us going without thinking about hunger or sleep. We descended again and again, only to climb up once again and search for another option. At some point we leave the sledges behind and move around, looking for a way out.

it. However, the moisture produced by the body passes through very quickly. It works in the same way as when you come out of the bath – when you are wet, you will get cold, but when you dry yourself, you will get warm.

With the help of this cosmic technology the products with ThinsulateTM Insulation are extremely lightweight, very thin, and above all thoroughly warm! In ISC collections we use 3-mm 120-gram ThinsulateTM Insulation, which is thick enough for winter jackets.

For years ThinsulateTM has been sponsoring the skiing teams of the USA and Canada, which have given them a lot of valuable feedback.

Men's long thermal jacket BISMARCK, women's thermal jacket MARIE and trousers HANNE

To the glorious end The ice keeps melting and with each passing day the rivers get bigger and the ice bridges on crevices thinner. We know that and hurry to get out of here. Who knows how many kilometres we have travelled before we reach the moraine edge of the glacier by the end of the 26th day.

We had made it. We had solved the last big problem. I fall on my knees and kiss the wet moraine. It feels so good to touch the ground again.

So we have travelled almost 600 kilometres in 26 days and reach the western edge of the glacier.

We learn two days later, when we register at the local police station that the conditions on the glacier towards the end of spring this year had been grave indeed and we had been among the few who had not been rescued by the helicopter. We had been the last persons who had stepped down from the glacier on the western side.

13

A N NI VE

RS

A RY

insulation

W

hen the material was introduced in July 1978 fluffy outerwear was common. Nearly everyone had a fluffy coat or jacket. Thirty years later the world has got accustomed to a thin lining instead of feathers. In 1978, however, it was a novelty and outdoor people were not quite convinced if it really worked. ThinsulateTM, which at first was used in outdoor accessories, became a much sought-after trade mark for winter sports and other outdoor activities.

ThinsulateTM was tested in the harsh winters of Minnesota on airport baggage handlers and postal workers, and on lift operators in ski re-

sorts in Lutsen, Northern Minnesota, but also by construction workers who were building pipelines in Alaska. Each test showed that the same amount of Thinsulate insulation worked twice as affectively in keeping the body warm as most ordinary insulation linings. The new kind of insulation fibres absorb moisture less than 1% of their weight, which enables the lining to dry fast and restore its shape.

After the thin synthetic lining was invented in 1978, Thinsulate insulation has become one of the best known trade marks on the market for outerwear, footwear and outdoor accessories.

1978: ThinsulateTM is used in outerwear and accessories

1992–95: ThinsulateTM becomes the official sponsor of Will Steger´s Arctic expeditions 1990: ThinsulateTM Lite LoftTM is introduced

1994: ThinsulateTM sponsors the US skiing team for the first time

The history of Thinsulate in brief TM

1983: ThinsulateTM lining is used in footwear

1993: ThinsulateTM Ultra is introduced

1992: ThinsulateTM becomes an Olympic sponsor

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1998: athletes at the winter Olympics wear clothes with ThinsulateTM insulation and the police makes it part of its uniform

WHERE WE WERE 1978

ThinsulateTM insulation is used in clothes and accessories for the first time

1983

ThinsulateTM footwear

1986

Mountaineers rise to El Plata in the Andes in parkas with ThinsulateTM insulation

1990 1992

is

introduced

for

ThinsulateTM Lite LoftTM is introduced ThinsulateTM sponsors the 1992 Olympic Games

1992–95 ThinsulateTM sponsors an international Arctic expedition lead by Will Steger 1993

1995

ThinsulateTMwith recycled fibres is used for the first time

1997

ThinsulateTM Acoustic is used by car manufacturers

1998

Pizza is delivered in bags lined with ThinsulateTM insulation, which keeps the moisture away and helps to keep the pizza crisp and retain an optimum serving temperature

1999

3M has a marketing campaign which offers leather clothes with ThinsulateTM lining, which is not fluffy but warm

2004

ThinsulateTM sponsors an Arctic expedition lead by Will Steger Select Comfort launches a new blanket with ThinsulateTM insulation. ThinsulateTM Premium Quilt Batting is available for patchwork quilt makers

2006

ThinsulateTM Acoustic is used in Honda, Toyota, GM and Ford cars

2007

ISC sponsors an expedition which takes the first Estonians to Mt Vinson, the highest peak of the Antarctic ThinsulateTM sponsors 101 Global warming expeditions to the Arctic Circle, lead by Will Steger and with Richard Branson and Ed Viesturs

WHERE WE ARE NOW 2000

ThinsulateTM insulation is worn on the oil fields in Siberia for the first time

2001

ISC collection is made with ThinsulateTM for the first time

ThinsulateTM Ultra is introduced

1994–99 ThinsulateTM sponsors the US mountain skiing outerwear

customers. ThinsulateTM Acoustic is used in vessels and special vehicles.

ThinsulateTM Supreme is introduced

2002

1999: workers on Siberian oil fields wear ThinsulateTM insulation

An advertising campaign in Russia introduces ThinsulateTM to Russian

2007–11 ThinsulateTM sponsors the US and Canadian mountain skiing teams, as well as their disabled mountain skiers.

2007: ThinsulateTM Insulation FR (inflammable) for work clothes is launched 2004: Select Comfort starts making bedding with ThinsulateTM insulation

2007–2011: ThinsulateTM becomes the official sponsor of the US and Canada skiing teams

2007–2008: ThinsulateTM sponsors Will Steger´s Arctic expeditions which look for the causes of climate change

2002: ThinsulateTM Acoustic is used in vessels and special vehicles 2006: ThinsulateTM Acoustic is used by car manufacturers

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Space-age concept revolutionizes the way people think about staying warm.

I

t was common knowledge in the late 1970’s: If you wanted to protect yourself in cold weather, goose down was the warmest material. The thicker the material and the puffier the jacket, the warmer you would be. That’s the price you paid for comfort. That is, until a visionary 3M research and marketing team turned conventional wisdom upside down and pioneered Thinsulate™ Insulation -- today, the most well-known synthetic insulation in the world.

Undaunted, the 3M team overcame each barrier, ultimately creating a material with the body, loft, structure and warmth that the clothing industry required. They conducted field tests in harsh winter conditions asking airport baggage handlers and postal workers in Minnesota to wear gloves lined with Thinsulate insulation. 3M even shipped gloves to construction crews working on the Alaskan pipeline. The response? They refused to give them back.

The creation of Thinsulate insulation was an inspired example of planned innovation. 3M scientists were looking for ways to make the most of the company’s nonwoven microfiber technology. The technology was already the basis for a material that was ideal for absorbing oil spills. The nonwoven material also made a very effective face mask, the cornerstone for 3M respirators. Peering through a microscope, scientists saw a material that looked like feathers – and the resemblance piqued their curiosity. Could the fibrous, feather-like material be warm as an efficient insulation? The answers didn’t come easily. The original substance was so flimsy that an errant sneeze could blow the feather-weight experiments around the laboratory. Wear a jacket once and the fibers flattened and fell to the bottom of the lining. Put a vest in a washing machine, and it was history.

3M had developed an insulation that had twice the warmth of other insulation materials of the same thickness, but the question remained: Would anyone buy it? 3M marketers recognized that their space-age concept must be sold with scientific research. First, the U.S. Army research lab in Natick, Massachusetts, conducted heat-transfer studies, verifying the product performance. Then, 3M, in a stroke of genius, used thermography to create colorfully memorable images of heat loss and retention.

Have your picture taken in a jacket half lined with goose down and half lined with Thinsulate insulation and the dramatic image of this innovative insulation became readily apparent.

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3M took its new innovation to those customers most likely to appreciate its high-performance capabilities: skiers, back-packers, mountain climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts who valued warmth, comfort and style. Head Ski was the first to launch a complete line of skiwear in 1978. Other outdoor rugged apparel companies followed and, close on their heels, the general clothing industry began to take notice. Famed Olympic skier Jean Claude Killy incorporated Thinsulate insulation into his ski clothing line and, soon, high-fashion models were strutting the latest Thinsulate insulation fashions on New York runways. Thinsulate insulation has even accompanied Artic explorer Will Steger on every polar expedition.

Thin synthetic insulation became a global phenomenon that the world embraced.

Forever synonymous with “warmth without bulk,” Thinsulate insulation today is one of the world’s most recognized brands in the outerwear, footwear and accessories markets.

Men's thermal jacket UKU and pro trousers DEYVID Women's thermal jacket ULLA and pro trousers TIIU

 RECCO® is a unique avalanche rescue system which enables to quickly find the location of the victims, using high-frequency harmonic radars. The two-way system consists of the RECCO® detector, which is used by organized rescue teams, and of the RECCO® reflector, which is sewn into the sleeve of the jacket.

RECCO® reflectors have no engines, so they never need to be switched on or lose the strength of the signal, nor do they need batteries to operate. This straightforward design eliminates all operational failures and ensures the efficient functioning of the RECCO® system. The products supplied with the reflectors are all machine washable.  Before you go on a trip, visit the RECCO® website at www.recco.com. It gives you the list of resorts on different continents where the rescue teams use this system

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 Soft Shell outer fabric with the Dialight membrane is a three-layered compound material – outer fabric + membrane + fleece base. This unique composition makes the material extremely resistant to wind, breathable and highly waterproof. However, one should bear in mind that after spending a few

hours in pouring rain the seams may start to leak, as the fleece-based garment is not seam-sealed on the inside. The Soft Shell materials used in the ISC collection have been produced in Japan in the laboratories of Mitsubishi Co, where the scientists have been able to combine a stretchy outer fabric, a unique DiALiGHT membrane boasting 200% elasticity, and a breathable micro-fleece (also available as fleece mesh). The result is a material which is superbly comfortable, perfectly windproof, elastic, and above all, with excellent technical qualities – it is 20 000mm waterproof and 10 000g/m2/24h breathable.

Men's Soft Shell jacket UNGRU and Soft Shell trousers Women's Soft Shell jacket UNGRU W and Soft Shell trousers BIRI

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Alar Sikk gets dressed A helmet to protect from falling rocks Sunglasses with nose protection Three-way adjustable hood Breathable Polartec micro-fleece Brynje mesh underwear ISC-tech 28 000 shell jacket Fully seam-sealed Water-repellent zips Thigh pocket Hiking trousers with zipped side vents Reinforced hem Adjustable stoppers on hems Mid-length Vibram Sole leather hiking boots

19

Only women on skis and 20-kilometre tracks you could choose a short lap around the skiing stadium and go straight to the grill stalls for sausages.

Some of the participants had chosen Nordic walking instead of skiing.

Emotions at the start

O

n 15 March 2008 a skiing event for ladies only took place in Jyväskyla. The event was sponsored by the Finnish Ski Association, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary, and a cross-country skiing club Huhtasuon Hiihto 2000 from Jyväskyla, which was responsible for the arrangements. The event was held at Laajavuori in Jyväskyla.

Warm-up lead by Eurooppa 4 ISC LADYSKI is meant for all the women who want to look after their health and well-being. A relaxing weekend with friends gives you energy and enjoyable experiences. Competing takes second place. Besides skiing the day´s program me included ski school, a warm-up session lead

by Eurooppa 4 and a party in the evening. The skiing route passed through the surrounding countryside of Laajavuori. In addition to the 10

20

of the first ISC Ladyski The mild winter with very little snow in Finland (and also in Estonia) put the skiers to the test. A lot of them had doubts whether they would go on the track. Many of them had had very little practice in winter. This affected the number of participants. The tracks in Jyväskyla, however, were in good condition.

The organising committee in Jyväskyla ISC Ladyski was a great success. In Mid-Finland and around Jyväskyla the countryside and the tracks are very good for skiing. Next winter the event will take place again on 14 March 2009.

The organisers extend a warm welcome all the ladies from near and from afar to Mid-Finland!

ISC and Finnish Ski Association in cooperation The Finnish Ski Association and ISC signed an agreement of cooperation in the summer of 2007. ISC´s partners in the cross-country sector of the Ski Association are amateur skiing, skiing clubs, youth skiing and the union of skiing coaches.

T

he cooperation mainly involves marketing activities through the Finnish Ski Association to promote the ISC trade mark and its products among those who go in for cross-country skiing. An example of our marketing is the Ski Association´s website, or other published materials such as newspapers and brochures where the ISC presence is clearly visible.

The event organised by the Ski Association and Huhtasuon Hiihto skiing club in Mid-Finland will now be developed into an annual mass skiing event for women. The Ski Association is going to organise local sports events for women throughout the 2008-2009 season, and promote and gather participants for the national ISC Ladyski event. It will be held in the middle of March in 2009 in Peurunga in Mid-

In the autumn of 2007 and spring 2008 we have concentrated on building up and finding retail networks for the ISC brand in the cross-country sector. In orienteering ISC already has long traditions and a good position on the Finnish market. And we have found good contacts and retailers. The cross-country sector in the Ski Association together with ISC is now developing various support services for retailers to help them in the sales process and in finding customer contacts.

Finland. In addition to Finnish women a lot of participants are coming from Estonia too. Without the cooperation of ISC and the Ski Association it would not have been possible to organise this new event.

The clubs under the Finnish Ski Association are an important target group as customers. Some clubs have already chosen ISC as the manufacturer of their uniforms. The key selling points of ISC are quality, closeness of factories, short lead time, price and reliable delivery. ISC clothes are fashionable and innovative, so they are equally suitable for amateurs, as well as professional athletes. Those who have ordered and used ISC products are really satisfied with them.

Competition on the sportswear market is tough in Finland too. The strength of ISC is the fact that it is a European manufacturer whose clothes are made in the EU. This is a kind of guarantee for the customer and the wearer.

Event cooperation In the spring of 2008 the first ISC Ladyski event, meant for women over 19, took place in Jyväskylä.

Agreements to clothe top athletes A new marketing project is to sign personal contracts between ISC and our top skiers to provide them with skiing outfits. At the moments such contracts have been signed with Ville Nousiainen and Riikka Sarasoja. These athletes are good and visible promoters, testers and users of ISC sportswear. In the future we will bring some more top Finnish skiers under the ISC trade mark.

Long-term cooperation ISC and the Finnish Ski Association have a longterm and well-functioning cooperation. The key areas and projects will be developed as needed every year. Communication has been effective and the aims of our cooperation are well defined, so that both sides can commit to the work ahead. The most important aim is to see ISC well-known and established on the Finnish market in skiing clothes in a few years´ time.

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Lycra cap with sweat band Brynje mesh underwear

Andrus Veerpalu gets dressed Two-piece ski suit with excellent freedom of movement Breathable mesh in the hollow of the knee Wind-resistant knee pad material Elastic cord on trouser leg to keep it in place

22

23

R

 Sensitive® is a stretchy material, produced

by Eurojersey, the flagship in the Italian textile and fashion industry, created especially for sportswear. The material manufactured under the Sensitive® trade mark is silky and smooth with a four-way stretch, as well as extremely breathable. All this makes the products from this material superbly comfortable and gives the wearer freedom of movement, which is why Sensitive® products are widely used by professional sports teams.

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SPEED ONE 2 ski suit

 Superroubaix® Jerseylycra is created especially for stretchy winter clothes. It contains 85%PE and 15%EL. This material is manufactured in Italy by the Miti factories, known for their high quality.

The material has an excellent four-way stretch and is extremely breathable. In addition, this superb material is brushed on the reverse side, which is excellent for winter clothes. In ISC collections this material is used in the back parts of skiing outfits.

ď‚– WindTex is a special material for windproof sports clothes, produced according to the high European standards of quality. The material is made windproof not with the classical membrane, but using a special multi-layered weave. This technology helps to make the WindTex products windproof, as well as slightly stretchy and brushed on the inside. The result is a soft, warm and highly practical material. In ISC collections it is used in the font part of tracksuits for crosscountry skiing.

Skiing jacket DEVON, vest DEV and trousers POINT for men Skiing jacket DEVON W, vest DEV W and trousers POINT W for women

25

RUN to THE

my first sn

TEXT: Grete Mäsak

I promised to go to Slovakia for the Estonian Independence Day with a group of snowboarders without think ing it over. It was only a few weeks before the trip that it dawned on me that I couldn´t snowboard.

Moreover, I had only seen a snowboard and other snowboarding equipment in a shop window.

Prologue. Cesis, Latvia During the two-hour trip from Tartu to Cesis via Valga we drink coffee from thermos flasks and tell jokes about Estonians and Latvians. We have set off in the early morning darkness so as to make the first acquaintance with the snowboard away from the peering eyes. The main reason is simple – in the morning there are less people on the slopes. Although you shouldn´t underestimate the need to avoid embarrassing situations either.

Our dark pick-up with an Estonian number plate is stopped twice by

26

HILLS

nowboarding season the police in green uniforms. But we have our ID cards with us and the car papers in order!

The roads are bumpier than in Tallinn. No wonder, it´s the provinces after all. And yet there are two winter sport centres side by side in Cesis.

True, the centre which has more modern and longer winding pistes is open to visitors in the evening only.

My very first snowboard is chosen by a Latvian assistant at the ski rental. To my mind, it´s beautiful and feminine – neon pink on both sides, with a few white stripes and a well-known logo.

My friend, acting as my snowboarding instructor, who has been described as the most patient person in the world, approves of my choice, but for quite different reasons. „A soft board is easier for a beginner to guide“, he says. The strings for fastening the boots reach my chin. I also have great difficulties with the wrist pads, originally meant for roller-skating, as they don´t want to fit under the skiing gloves. „First fasten only one foot! Try to glide! How does it feel?” my „personal trainer“ enquires considerately. I´m allowed to fasten the other boot as well. At first the attempts to get on the feet remain fruitless. I wallow in the snow, eyeing the people around me bashfully. Fortunately, they have enough to do to stay on their feet. I notice that quite a few three-year-old skiers beat much older ones by a mile.

The children´s slope is almost flat and you can go up with a rope lift. I´m told to lean on the front leg and then turn my side forward. It sounds so easy, but I end up falling over again. I seem to be riding down the children´s slope at breakneck speed. I decide it´s better to land on the bottom just in case. At least until it gets too painful. Gradually I get the feel of it and the kid´s slope becomes more manageable.

The first impression from the real slope is frightening: high and steep. When I learn to control my speed, riding on the back edge, and to break quickly by putting the heel down quickly, my mo-

vements become more confident. The bottom hurts. I ride with my right side forward, which means that I land on my right hand. My legs hurt too – they say that riding on the edges is the most tiring activity in snowboarding.

A new way to ride is on the first edge. I can see snowboarders and skiers rushing towards me.

Terrified of being hit and perhaps too vividly imagining all the broken bones, I let out a cry.

They are free to bury me with my snowboard on the mountain for all I care and I threaten to keep away from the mountains forever. I suddenly understand why snowboards are colourful and full of logos on the bottom. A beginner is a living advertisement – the text is in full view of all the people queuing for the lift again and again.

A beginner is easily recognized on the slope.

They are the only ones who trudge warily up the hill carrying the snowboard. Riding more than 5 metres on the button lift and keeping my balance is beyond me.

Slovakia, Poprad At 8 o´clock in the morning a couple of dozen travellers with oversized bags are gathering at a double-decker bus at the car park near the railway station. Another skiing and snowboarding trip to the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia is about to start.

We are travelling with frequent stops but on schedule and reach the hotel in the suburb of Warsaw in the evening. A group of relentless travellers heads for a dim Warsaw night club to stretch the legs, shaped after the bus seat from the long journey. True, the Poles are not exactly overjoyed at seeing hiking boots at the disco.

The landlady of a nearby diner in Poprad on the other hand greets us with a warm smile. For the Slovaks an Estonian tourist has the same meaning as a Finn for the Estonians. Twenty-seven mates push the small tables together to make

a big one and drink up all the keg beer in the small bar. The spicy garlic soup with boiled eggs was also in short supply. Becherovka is ordered by the bottle and added to hot black tea or orange juice. Nevertheless, the landlady waves cheerfully as we leave and promises to order a new keg of beer for the next day.

As I expected, even the gentlest slopes in the Low Tarta ski centres were too steep for a beginner from the lowlands.

There are a lot of Estonians, too many, in fact. Six busloads of Estonians in the ski centre car park feel like an invasion on the slopes. Instructions in you mother tongue sound convincing, but when you follow them, you end up lying horizontally without fail. My backside, which first learned the meaning of touchdown in Cesis, now hurts so much that tears well up in my eyes.

How should you lean on your front leg when the next moment you rush forward? How can you turn onto the front edge and glide down the hill backwards? How can you overcome your fear of speed when the icy slope, clearly too narrow for a beginner, is lined by thick tree trunks?

Fortunately people are very nice to each other – when you brush against somebody you can always apologize in Estonian, as the majority of visitors at the ski centre seem to be of this nationality.

With each descent the beginners are becoming more skilful. “This round was half an hour faster than the last”, shouts a bright-eyed girl to her

27

ntains u o m e th in e rc a sc Snow is plain in h ic h w , n so a se is too th yer of la e th t a th s n a e m e g langua laces is p e m so in w o sn l) ia (artific two metres deep. mates, learning to tame her snowboard in Slovakia for the very first day. The experienced ones smirk. It takes them six minutes to get down.

It is more difficult to ride when your legs are tired. Black tea mixed with a swig of rum helps to ease the cramp in the body. The national drink called “Um” contains spirits, sugar and rum flavour according to the label. You can have some chocolate or chips with it. There are also more substantial meals available, but the adrenaline level is high and we have almost no appetite.

Slovakia in spring is paradise. There in now snow on the streets in Poprad, the air is fresh and smells of spring. Snow is scarce in the mountains too this season, which in plain language means that the layer of (artificial) snow in some places is two metres deep.

Cross-country tracks are also tempting.

In spite of the thick snow the sun warms up the air to six degrees. On the first day in the mountains the backpack with two fleeces turns out to be useless. Even my warm underwear and shell jacket are too much while I frantically try to keep the balance. A beginner however can´t ride with less than that – falls on steep slopes mean sliding along grainy snow for several metres at high speed. The helmet is not just a fashion item – a rescue sled with a stretcher rushes to help several times a day.

I manage to ride off the piste as well. Having learned the basic techniques, a beginner becomes a “pro”. Indeed – in speed I might have competed with the experienced riders, but the technical part leaves much to be desired. To avoid crashing into a skier who turned suddenly, I end up some metres off the piste. I´m stuck in the soft snow, unable to get out on my own. My companion rushes to help me and falls in up to the waist too. Fortunately we get away without a scratch – both the rider as well as the brand new snowboard.

Thermal baths soothe the exhausted body. The water, warmed naturally and full of minerals, is with a red tint because of iron. People in light swimsuits have every reason to eye the pools with suspicion. After a hectic day in the bright sun above the clouds this dim room with its mysterious underwater lighting feels somehow spooky, but once you´re in the pool, the body and mind can relax. The outdoor Jacuzzi is an enjoyable experience, where all the aching muscles and joints get properly massaged.

The Surprise nightclub is open seven days a week. The

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 Seam sealing is needed to restore the qualities of waterproof membranes after sewing.

Samples of fabrics with membranes are sent to the manufacturer of seam sealing tapes, who, using laboratory testing, prepares a suitable tape for each different fabric depending on the type of membrane used in it.

The tape is then vulcanized into the membrane of the fabric above the seams at extremely high temperatures (up to 550oC). The high temperatures are needed for the molecular structures of both materials to mix, so as to make sure that the tape is fastened securely. The result of this process is absolutely waterproof clothes!

Thermal jacket ANGE with ethnic embroidery and trousers HANNE

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flashing neon lights promise a dance floor, as well as a casino and a bar. A much-used staircase leads to the second floor into a spacious nightclub. The DJ´s desk is hidden behind a wall with a bust of Lenin on top of it. The stage with a pole lets the imagination run wild. The service is in the Slovak language, but the guests are the same familiar Estonians from the hotel and the ski centres. The choice of music surprises only the first-time visitor – Marju Länik takes turns with Meie Mees and the classic eighties disco music. On Friday night the locals arrive to spice up the Estonian style of group dancing. The party is over when the club closes. Estonian skiing tourists leave, sighing heavily. Typically for the slow valley people it feels as if the party has just begun when it already ends. Poprad, lying quietly between the mountains offers no other night-time entertainment. The town lies fast asleep when the partygoers head for the hotel.

Epilogue. Hemsedal, Norway Infected with the snowboarding virus, I book a plane ticket to Oslo for mid April. A short flight and a 3-hour drive later I arrive at Hemsedal ski centre in my rented car. As it happens, the small

30

village of Nesbyen, where hospitable Estonian girls put us up for a tin of anchovies and dark bread, has its own hill, called „Alpincenter“. The mountains around here reach about 1500 metres, but the snow is almost two metres deep. And it keeps snowing! On the second day there´s a real snowstorm at the summit – the weather, typical of mountains, changes within minutes. Yellow warnings in Norwegian appear at lift stations: skiing outside pistes at your own risk.

But the worst slopes in Norway are considerably better than the best ones in Slovakia. Unfortunately riding on the pistes is no longer fascinating. It´s much more exciting to go off piste – to devise your route down as you´re going up on the lift and then ride. The visibility is non-existent because of the raging storm and you can barely see the way down through the yellow goggles (sometimes getting the feel of the route with you bottom or wrist). It´s great fun snowboarding amid the trees in the thick snow, almost two metres deep, or in fresh powder snow. What makes off piste extreme is the unexpected, for instance the soft carpet of snow may all of a sudden reveal

a rock and behind it a free fall of a few metres.

In that case only quick breaks will save you from the worst. Falling has become less frequent but more serious in nature. I breathe a sigh of relief ,landing on the helmet after a fall. It could have been much worse. Norwegian after ski needs a separate chapter. In the small pubs at the foot of the mountains cool and modest Nordic people turn into real party animals. Norwegians have a party in skiing boots and tramp on the dance floor to live music just to get started. If there is such a thing as a baby´s starter kit, then it probably contains skiing equipment. The smallest skier I saw was sucking a pacifier in baby overalls while the parents were helping it to get on the lift.

Snowy mountains, nice companions and the indescribable freedom when you´re gliding – this is snowboarding summed up. Snowboarding in Estonia may quickly become uninteresting after seeing real mountains, but they say that in Norway and in the Alps you can ride on some slopes around the year, even in midsummer.

Deyvid Oprja gets dressed

Three-way adjustable hood

Woven ISC cap Brynje sports underwear Highly technical jacket material ISC-tech 8000 ISC mountain ski gloves Seamed seals Water-repellent zips Cuffs on sleeves Softshell jacket Snow skirt Scotchlite reflective fabric Ski trousers with detachable braces

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Volcanolo

When about six months ago Tarmo started humming "El Condor Pasa" in the evenings, I feared that something might happen, but when „The story of Mapuche, who climbed the volcano“ became his bedtime reading, I had every reason to suspect the worst.

TEXT: Jane Riga

3 January. Leaving home Now we are in Ecuador, planning to climb as many volcanoes as our health and time permit.

We had slight mishaps already on the flight from Amsterdam to Lima. First the steward forgot to give me my roasted peanuts and a napkin. Then he cruised past me without offering any drinks!

When we reached Quite and my baggage didn´t arrive, I was no longer surprised. But Tarmo was, wondering where our

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transfer to a fancy hacienda called San Jorge was. So we took a taxi to San Jorge, which was outside the city at the foot of the mountains.

It was 1.30 at night, it was dark and you could hear the cries of terrible birds and/or animals. We knocked

on the doors and windows. The taxi driver did the same and shouted something in Spanish from time to time. Finally a light went on and an elderly man appeared at the window, looked at me for a while ( a white woman in a white jacket standing in the beam of the light), must have decided that I was a ghost, left and turned off the light.

Our helpful taxi driver called from his mobile to San Jorge several times, but there was no reply.

Tarmo suggested putting up the tent there as the only possible solution. But I started whining and wasn´t prepared to sleep in a tent after 30 hours of hardships in airports and planes. So we took out the Lonely Planet and found a hotel named "Real Audencia“, which we translated as „real welcome“, in the old part of Quite and asked the taxi driver to take us there.

ogists 4 January. Beautiful colonial Quito I must say that I forgot about all the worries and misfortunes when, having just arrived from the Heart of Darkness, i.e. December in Estonia, I stepped outside into the blazing morning sunshine under bright blue skies and, perfectly content, put on my sunglasses.

We bought some gas for the cooker and some provisions, as we were planning to camp at some volcanoes. We walked in the old town, which was pretty, ate a lot and well. Tarmo had potato and corn snacks and I had ceviche. We climbed on top of a gothic bell tower, which looked amazing from afar and a wonder inside. We met a big gang of tourists: young and very large Americans. Some seemed to be stuck in the narrow winding stairs and were sliding down on the bottoms. „So young and already in-

valids“, thought Tarmo. To mark the Friday night Mass we had a few beers on the square at the town´s oldest church. In the evening we admired the leaps and turns of the local folk group, which, I admit, was quite gripping.

Naturally, we telephoned the two airlines we had used to find out where our baggage was and when it was arriving. The answers were evasive.

5 January. Leave the city, arrive in the country Since the time in Estonia is 7 hours ahead of Ecuador, we became sleepy at eight and were up at 6 in the morning, like two early birds. As they didn´t serve breakfast so early at the hotel, we wandered the streets of the old town and found a nice diner, where the locals were eating soup. Tarmo ordered a bowl of some stuff with shrimp and turned to me six times asking me

to guess the identity of a particular chunk in his dish. We disagreed on most ingredients of the meal. The airlines were still giving evasive answers and things seemed bad. KLM blamed TACA and vice versa. Neither of them could explain where my bags were. We were already considering whether I would be able climb the mountains if I sewed Tarmo´s hiking pants to my bra. We decided to go to the airport and not leave until things were clear. After several hours we finally got my bag. It had arrived already the next morning after our flight, but they just hadn´t found it.

We took a taxi and drove to a volcano-based hosteria called Papagayo, where we had booked a room for several days and transportation to some volcanoes and back. Luckily for us, Papagayo turned out to be a well-functioning and open establishment. It was a relief to get away from Quito. Our taxi driver, however,

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We were escorted by a dog from our hosteria, which we named Rumiñahui (it´s a volcano visible from here). turned out to be a bore who played a typical taxi trick on us: agreed on the price at first but half way there started whining and demanded extra. We have a well-tried strategy for situations like these: I say (in Spanish): „Condiciones sont bestiales!“(conditions are bestial, i.e. inhuman) and Tarmo adds: „viva la revolution!“ If this is not enough, we both say : „Cuba libre!“ There aren´t many taxi drivers who would risk a further argument.

6 January. The first

Pashochoa turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant training place. A jeep dropped us off at about 3500 metres in the middle of exotic bush with nice green farmlands with cows showing in the distance. Amidst the cows there was a gentleman in a hat waiting to cash in ten dollars on us for passing through his land. I asked him whether his cattle was lomo, i.e. beef, but he imitated milking and said that it was "solo leche", meaning „only milk“. With this important culinary problem solved, we moved on towards the top of the mountain. As usual in that area, we were caught in a proper shower at lunchtime and some hail at the top. As it was, the path on the way down was muddy, and so was I by the end of the day. The sports day lasted till three o´clock. Afterwards we ate as much as we could, and then a bit more.

volcano - Pashochoa!

7 January. The second

We had chosen a small volcano called Pashochoa to be the first, at just about 4200 metres. Let me point it out that our acclimatization programme was extremely con-

volcano - El Corazon

We went for a long walk straight away, along village streets up the hill until 3500 metres, escorted by a dog from our hosteria, which we named Rumiñahui (it´s a volcano visible from here). Rumiñahui was following at our heels and every time I posed for Tarmo, it determinedly pushed its way into the picture. When we passed the territories of other farms (and dogs), it very wisely hid behind our backs.

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servative, with quite a few small volcanoes before bigger ones. Anyway, our daily routine started to resemble a sports camp where I´d once been: get up at 6.30, breakfast at 7 and training at 8.30.

For the second volcano we had chosen a bit higher peak – about 4800 metres. The feeling of

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being in a sports camp got stronger, as the start of the day was identical to the previous one. This time we started at 3600 metres, so we had quite a long way to the top. At first we went along a typical Andes vegetation (a strong crust of shiny leaves without thorns, pleasant for bare feet), then we moved along paramo, with giant wisps of grass here and there, reaching up to your chest and livening up the scene. In the end we had to go on hands and knees on the rocks. As usual, it rained a little at the top and you could only see the clouds. Coming down I became painfully aware why Tarmo says that my legs are like bread sticks.

Unlike on the previous sports day I´m not hungry like a wolf at lunchtime, but shiver with cold and have a headache. (This didn´t stop me from eating the vegetable soup that Tarmo had ordered for himself.) As night fell, all the unpleasant symptoms get worse and I felt I had a raging fever. I was sulking as well. In short, it was „mountain disease vulgaris“, or ordinary mountain sickness in its pure form. Let me add that Tarmo hit his knee on the jeep door too, so he wasn´t quite well either.

8 January. Ouch!

We had actually planned to climb again to 4800 metres, to stay the night there and early the next morning rise to the third volcano - Illiniza Norte at about 5200 metres. In was clear from the start that I was going to torpedo this plan in full. Tar-

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mo tried to lure me with hot coffee and pancakes, but I told him to try his tricks with Rumiñahui and started talking about a hammock under a palm tree, a gentle ocean breeze and an ice cold cocktail glass with umbrellas in my hand. Tarmo was not thrilled with my fantasies and left me alone for a while, but when he came back, he had come up with an idea that would perhaps leave a couple of beach days at the end of the holiday, unlike our original plan.

I was feeling really bad actually. Come to think of it, I hadn´t felt so bad because of the height before. I thought for a while that I wasn´t going to get better ever again. But surprise, surprise! Already in the afternoon I was craving for some watermelon. As time went by, I was able to cram more food in and before night fell I agreed to go for a walk, with Rumiñahui of course. So, I didn´t have any excuses left for not going climbing again.

9 January. Incident with a posh gentleman As we were not going to climb to the top, we started the journey at 12, at the height of about 4000 metres, with a refugio, or a small hut between Illiniza Norte and Illiniza Sur as our destination at 4800 metres. The route took us to the clouds, which at first meant a few sparse drops of rain, but later it brought along heavy rain and finally

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snow. We both think we are quite experienced climbers, but at times lazy and stupid nevertheless and for this we paid dearly. Tarmo didn´t bother to put on his waterproof overalls and I didn´t bother with the mittens when it started raining, because the refugio was „just round the corner“.

As a result, rain poured into Tarmo´s boots and I could hardly feel my little fingers when we got up. On top of everything we discovered that my little backpack, which theoretically was supposed to be waterproof, was soaked and it meant that my long underwear, fleece and feather vest were wet through and through. Being „experienced“ climbers we hadn´t thought it necessary to put anything apart from chocolate into plastic bags.

Fortunately the refugio had a gas cooker, which we could use to dry our things, and Tarmo´s body is very similar to a radiator – he put on my fleece and vest and placed the socks and gloves on his stomach to dry them.

Weird people had gathered at the refugio, a Frenchman among them, alone, because his companion´s plastic boots had broken and their guide had turned back with the barefooted climber. The French gentleman, called André, peeled off his wet clothes and put on icy white cotton underwear and socks. On top of everything he fished out pure white embroidered terry cloth slippers, taken from the hotel. We were speechless with admiration. I wondered why on earth I hadn´t taken such nice slippers with me.

In about half an hour André stumbled out of the cabin and when he came back in, he almost fell over. Fortunately Tarmo caught him and André, his face as white as his underwear, confessed that he was feeling really bad. Everyone became busy. Fortunately André knew some English.

We put him on the floor and told him:“Breathe!

Breathe!“ I asked him how high he had been before and fancy that! He had come straight from the Galapagos! He had never been to the mountains before and his guide had said that climbing first to 4800 metres and then to 5200 metres is a good way to acclimatize if you come from the sea level! In all the hustle and bustle a small wrinkled character got up from a bunk. He turned out to be the guard at the refugio and radioed to André ´s guide. We packed André with his white socks (the slippers, by the way, he forgot), gave him something to drink and some chocolate to take with him and so he went, accompanied by the guard to meet his guide half way down.

I didn´t sleep at night, my head ached and I was feeling bad. Tarmo was hot, as always, and I was cold, as usual.

10 January. It gets going We were awake anyway. Tarmo started bustling around at about five. Nobody else moved, neither did I. Tarmo was actually ready to go alone,

but I thought my headache might go away in the fresh air. And it did. If until now we had been climbing most of the time in the clouds, which meant that there was practically no visibility, we saw mostly green pastures, which could just as well have been in Ireland, for instance, then before sunrise and at this height we finally saw what we had come here for: Cotopaxi, Cayambe and Chimborazo were all visible, proud, magnificent views above the clouds. It felt great. And it wasn´t very far from here to the peak of Illiniza Norte, where the views were said to be even more dignified.

The first hour and a half passed quickly. Then it was Oh No. I´m not a mountaineer, so a 50-degree snow slope and a 60-degree cliff without crampons is a terrible place. It had been snowing more than usual and the route seemed more difficult than in the description. Fortunately Tarmo had an ice pick and he tied a rope around me, which held me when I fell over again and again. The views from the top were spectacular, but I kept thinking about the descent and how many times I would fall over.

Do I need to add that Tarmo was grinning from ear to ear the whole time we were up there? He also scurried along the thin rock edge to the neighbouring peak, which was lower, but still good for taking pictures. Afterwards he said that I had never been so obedient, that I had said

„yes“ to everything, or „yes, coming“, „yes, right there“, „yes, foot here“, „yes, understood, rope fastened“. On the way from the refugio to the road we met moving upwards guess who? André! He was wearing a brand new golden yellow raincoat.

We decided to find a new place to stay for a change and had the driver take us to a bit posher hacienda called El Porvenir. We saw at once that it was a really fine place: we hadn´t even had a chance to take off our sweaty clothes when a señorita brought a tray with two cups of tea, four pies and ...a jug of hooch! It tasted good!

Dinner was served by the owner of the hacienda in person: coriander soup, fried trout with mashed potatoes and fruit salad. Very tasty! All the time they asked if we wanted more and if so, then what. I confessed to Tarmo that I could almost become a mountaineer. We slept well at night. In the morning the horses started neighing under the window.

11 January. Washing and resting So, it was a day for resting before the rise to Cotopax. (All the other volcanoes had been just for practice). It was important to dry the equipment too, because we had got caught

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in the rain again when coming down from Illiniza. The first question when we arrived at El Porvenir (muddy, sweaty, wet and cheesy) was: is there a fireplace? There was, but you weren´t allowed to make a fire, as the roof of the hacienda was of paramo grass and it was windy. (Who would build the roof from wisps of hay so that you can´t even heat the room?) There was nothing else to do but drive to another hacienda, whereas I booked the room in fluent Spanish by phone, stressing the words con fuego, i.e. with fire, because our dictionary didn´t give the word for „fireplace“. Without any embarrassment we picked the only room with a balcony and decorated the facade with wet boots, socks, jackets and underwear. We spent the day eating, drinking beer and sunbathing. At the dinner table we met two civilized Germans and it took quite a few beers until we went to bed.

12 January. Meeting the indefatigable André Already at eight in the morning our cheerful jeep driver picked us up to take us to the refugio at the foot of Cotopax at 4800 metres. On the way from the car park to the refugio we met ...André, our French friend, who said simply:“If I could do it, you can do it!“ In fact, the indefatigable Frenchman had climbed to the top of Cotopax. He thanked Tarmo tearfully, because Tarmo had told him to do whatever he had to do, as long as he kept breathing. It had helped him a lot. The refugio was taken over by 30 or 40 American teenagers, who had decided to climb on top of Cotopax as well, since they were already in Ecuador. I was terrified: in ordinary sweat suits, or not even that, dragged to the glacier and see

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Haciendas are stylish, rustic and cosy. Fascinating beasts are kept there and you feel as if you're visit ing relatives in the countr yside. ice picks or crampons for the first time, whether they know how to use them is another thing.

We ate as often as we could manage and then at seven in the evening hit the bunks, because at midnight we had to get up again.

13 January. I can smell rotten eggs!

At about half past two at night, clambering up the snow-covered slope, I began to understand why some real party animals were also top mountaineers – it made no difference whether you ruined your health by drinking or clim bing. Anyway, for me it was difficult. The first hour or so passed in elation, the weather was quite warm and the stars were shining through the clouds, but the higher we got, the more I wanted to lie curled up on the slope. The weather changed for the worse, a heavy storm broke so that I put on my jacket and my three pairs of gloves. We got to the top in six hours, faster than we had thought and before sunrise. In the darkness you could smell rotten eggs, which was to be the only sign that we had been to the top of one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. There was zilch to see with the clouds and the snowstorm. We could barely see each other from a few paces and we could only imagine the famous crater. We crouched in the wind and cold for half

an hour until it got a bit lighter. When we understood that there was nothing else to see, we clambered down again.

When on Illiniza snowy slopes the main advice from Tarmo was to ram with the toe, then this time he had a new command: „trust the front teeth“ (on crampons that is). Trust isn´t easy to come by, knowing that the steep and icy slope where the teeth are stuck leads across a horrible crevice in the glacier. After all, how can you see where you´re going exactly when you´re moving with your back forward and your face turned to the mountain side? In a situation like this the early bird may not catch the worm but the pit.

At one point Tarmo summed up our efforts: „Today we had an interesting day, we might just as well have been on the treadmill blindfold. This is life for mountaineers.“ Then the discussion turned to the problem whether and to what extent the life of a mountaineer’s wife should be like this. We are still arguing about that and there seems to be no end in sight.

After nine hours of hard effort we were back at the refugio, exhausted, but compared to the latecomers, I could walk quite a straight line. From the forty Americans two sportsmen reached the top.

I firmly insisted on leaving the haciendas this time and we descended to 2000 metres to stay the night in the lowlands. Haciendas or local farms are nice places. Most of them are stylish, rustic and cosy. Fascinating beasts are kept there and you feel as if you´re visit ing relatives in the countryside. But they are as high up as 3300 or up to 3600 metres, which means that the evenings are cold and even the fireplace doesn´t make the room any warmer. Your only resort is hooch and a poncho made of llama wool, or as it was for us, a feather sleeping bag.

So we descended a whole kilometre to a lower resort, where we arrived, typical for us, looking a total mess. Picture this: a beautiful Sunday afternoon in a blooming garden full of palm trees and a pool with water slides among the trees where families in white shirts and shorts have gathered. And then two sweaty characters turn up, in fleeces and overalls, wearing gigantic boots smeared heavily with mud and dog poo (the previous place had three St Bernards).

It didn´t matter that later we had a white shirt and a long dress too, first impressions count. We never got to the pool, by the way. We ate and celebrated, then we slept for three hours till the evening , then ate some more and slept till morning. So much for relaxing at the resort. The life of a sportsman is really limited, we are turning into nerds.

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14 January. In a health spa You can never do too much for your health, so we decided to go to the spa waters at Baños, where the water heated by the volcano and full of useful minerals comes out of the ground, and have nice soak. The volcano unfortunately does not know its limits, so some of the water was so hot that we couldn´t even tip our toes in. Baños is a nice place, like for instance the town of Kathmandu or other such tourist traps: half of the buildings are hostels or restaurants and music comes floating out of every door. On every street corner you can have a massage that will open your chakras so that they might never close again. And all the tourists have a look on their face that says “aren´t we great guys in a great place”. Baños, however, stands out from other similar places because it lies at the foot of the Tungurahua volcano, which a few years ago erupted with a big bang and hasn´t still quite calmed down. Anyway, the whole town was evacuated and people could only go back after a lot of begging (i.e. rioting). Tungurahua is such an important character here that half of the dishes in the town are named after it and every evening there´s a Mass in the church where people pray that it would leave the town alone.

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15 January. Carefully approaching Chimborazo First thing in the morning Tarmo started complaining that he couldn´t sleep at night because of my coughing. True, I had managed to get a bad cough with bouts of rasping and hacking

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resembling the growls of a huge beast in agony.

You don´t win the sympathy of other people with this kind of repertoire. On the contrary, I´ve noticed that they eye us with fear. Anyway, we had one more day of pampering and recovering from the cough at the beautiful town of Baños.

For there is no better treatment than an ice cold drink decorated with these little umbrellas and a hammock under a palm tree. In short, I was eager to go to the beach and this time the imaginary sounds of the sea muffled the voice of reason completely.

Before we set off, we had breakfast and an early lunch. Strangely enough, Tarmo, who as a rule greedily devours even my flight meal desserts, which resemble plastic, had difficulties with his bowl of soup, so I had some of his vegetable and shrimp broth.

We had agreed with a man called Angelo the day before that he would pick us up from the hotel at 12.30. Logistics are relatively simple here in the mountains if you can find a clear-eyed driver with a decent jeep. We can both manage the phrase „we would like transport to volcano x and back tomorrow, if the weather is fine, or the day after tomorrow if the weather is bad and we´ll definitely call you“ in fluent Spanish. The locals are impressed with our ability to contact the outer space, i.e. the satellite telephone, partly because we have bothered at all to carry such a heavy thing into the mountains.

Angelo raced to the foot of Chimborazo in just two and half hours and took us to a hut named Carrel at the height of 4800 metres. He also gave us a lot of advice and information about the route. From the hut we marched for 40 minutes uphill to another hut called Whymper at 5000 metres. It was rather lonely up there. Besides us,

there was only the owner of the refugio called Washington and a tiny Yankee called Mike. We said hello to Mike, nothing more, and for a reply we heard a lecture on the topic „Mike, his 52 years on this earth, beautiful women in his life, the beautiful dark Anna who is waiting for him on Miami beach, 20 years of climbing in Alaska, his two failed attempts to climb Chimborazo with his two friends and how astonished he is because of that, his bride in Moscow and another in St Petersburg“. Anyway, it all seemed somehow familiar: an elderly chap boasting about his macho-like achievements in the mountains and adventures with young girls.

He was actually a nice guy, and not only did he amuse us with his stories for several days to come, he also knew our Antarctic guide Vern very well, who is also based in Alaska. His misfortunes on Chimborazo, especially the technical details, namely how difficult it is to get onto the glacier, how long the 60-degree ice slope is and how they had tried several times without success, made Tarmo furrow his brow. As Mike´s companions had decamped, he had no use for his 60-metre rope. We, on the other hand, could use it, so Tarmo hurried back to the lower hut to get it. Considering that we were at 5000 metres, we slept like logs. A soft mattress always helps.

16 January. How to get to El Castillo?

We woke up at six, hugged Mike, let him walk with us and lead the way for a while, hugged him again, and, to complete the cliché, he pressed two packets of sweets into my hand. And so we parted. The sweets, by the way, were very good, almost like energy gel in the form of fruit gums.

Our plan was to rise to a flat rock plateau called El Castillo at the height of 5500 metres, where we were going to camp and wait for a good moment to climb to the top. The question was which way to go. The usual route takes you along the quickest way to El Castillon through a rock formation called El Corridor, but there you risk being hit by boulders during the day. The unusual route recommended by Angelo was longer and lead you along a rubble slope to the ridge and then round El Castillo.

dings: we lay in our tiny Bibler tent and I read to Tarmo the information on our three Travellunch packets in all the languages. He even corrected the one in German. Before dark I passed the test on the rock face on how to „descend with the fire-fighter and ascend with the catcher“, so that it would be easier at night.

We tried to find a short cut. We ended up struggling on the rubble slope for three hours and I was covered in bruises. Even Tarmo, who always runs up the slopes bright and cheerful, was somehow gloomy. From the ridge we could see El Castillo all right, but what we couldn´t see was a clear route round it or to climb on top of it.

Tarmo went off to take a look at the route and was gone so long that I could take a nice nap. It turned out that there was no easy way to reach El Castillo. However, we could climb down a 20-metre rock face using our rope to get to El Corridor, but at night or early in the morning when the sun wasn´t shining on the wall and melting the rocks. Actually we could hear the rocks falling at night too, because the hot ashes blown out of Tungurahua day and night are even more powerful than the sun. In the afternoon Tarmo set out to investigate the route (namely, his head is strong and falling rocks mean nothing) and came back in high spirits with the news that there were no impossible and impenetrable places on the route as Mike had described, at least not on the glacier. However, he had fastened Mike´s rope up there, but fortunately not all the sixty metres.

At one o´clock Tarmo started fidgeting and announced that he could hear voices (voices of people that is, moving from the Whymper hut towards the summit). As the sky was covered with clouds, I replied with a whine that I wasn´t going to have another night on the treadmill a la Cotopax, as we had enough food and time.

This didn´t ease Tarmo´s anxiety. Saying something about the exact route on the slope and the need to see where the guides were taking their commercial groups, he climbed out of the tent.

When I woke up it was light outside, but cloudy (as I was pleased to see), but the one I couldn´t see was my husband. I can´t say that I was really worried about him and at times I seemed to catch sight of a lonely figure among the clouds.

At half past ten he was back and explained that he hadn´t been able to resist the temptation and he had got carried away (there are different kinds of addictions). Anyway, he´d been to the top, so he thought, as visibility had been poor.

We spent the afternoon in idyllic surroun-

17 January. Who´s not afraid of the treadmill?

An hour-long family argument followed about what to do next. The one who´d been keen to go to the top had already been there, never mind that there´d been nothing to see. There were arguments for and against from both sides and many of them coincided. Tarmo thought

the glacier had been more dangerous than the descriptions had said. Tungurahua, the devil, had melted the snow on Chimborazo so that there was only ice sloping at 45 degrees on most of the route. To tell the truth, I can´t even skate on the ice, not to mention climbing.

So we had two options: to go back to the hacienda La Cienega to celebrate and then to sunbathe on the beach, or to stay on the mountain in the tiny tent on a patch of three by six metres, eat Travellunch and wait for the weather to clear up. I´d already checked out the menu in La Cienega and chosen the starters. We´d agreed with Angelo that we would call him at 11 and let him know how things stand, to come and fetch us or not. We also had a reservation at La Cienega for that night. Tarmo got out his space machine, pressed some buttons and ...asked Angelo to come the next day. La Cienega didn´t mind seeing us the next day either. We spent the day catching snow, melting it into water, sleeping and eating. We were also amazed to see how much ash had gathered on our tent.

18 January. Forget about Everest!

The closest place on earth to the sun is not there, but at the top of Chimborazo (the Earth, as we know, is not round but flat and stands on three whales and a few tortoises).

So, it was one o´clock in the morning, clear and windless, the slopes gleamed golden in the moonlight and I was rolled out of the tent, a mixture of instant cappuccino and chocolate cream was pressed

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place on earth to t es os cl e Th t! es er Ev t ou ab Forget himborazo!

C of p to e th at t bu e, er th t no is the sun into my hand and before I knew it I was in the middle of the glacier. Below I could see some villages and a small town. The moon hid behind a cloud and then went down. Just before the 6000-metre line I was forced to say to Tarmo something meant for taxi drivers only: "condiciones sont bestiales". It was hard. Tarmo replied in a piercing voice: use all the ten teeth on the crampons, plant the foot firmly, don´t try to stand on the front teeth, hit with the ice pick too, do you want a power bar? There were moments when I only wanted to go home and get under the blanket. When I took too long on the slope, I could hear Tarmo kicking his boots against the ice: his toes were freezing.

of the main reasons why we had dragged ourselves there was to change the rings at sunrise on top of Chimborazo. We saw Cotopax and a great many other volcanoes. Only Tungurahua, the blighter, was hiding behind a cloud.

But still, it got lighter and Tarmo´s claim that the slope would get gentler, turned out to be true. In six hours we reached Veintimilla, the peak next to Chimborazo. It was still quite a long way along and up some bumpy ground to Whymper, the main peak. Those few miles of jogging under the pine trees at Nõmme made all the difference at that point. So the flag has been raised closer to the sun than ever before and we also did the Lord-of-the-Rings trick - one

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We got down in three hours and for me it was quite an effort. While climbing up a 20-metrecliff wall near our tent, although Tarmo had warned me not to grab the stones as they might fall on top of me, I still fell on my back and lay there until I could breathe again. In four hours we were in Angelo´s car, who didn´t spare the gas pedal as he raced us back. He probably had some plans for Friday night as well.

But at 5 we were sitting at a table with a white tablecloth, raising glasses of champagne and waiting impatiently for our palmito ceviche, carpaccio, salad and seafood vol au vent.

The fire in the fireplace kept burning because we were put out at half past nine.

19 January. La dolce vita We woke up with birdsong, as many times before. We doubted whether we would get breakfast at six o´clock, so we slept a bit more. After a long breakfast I posed in a long fluffy skirt on the manor and Tarmo took pictures.

After a short delay the plane took us to the coast, to a town named Manta. The plane was quaking as we were flying over the coastal mountain range. We found a lively taxi driver in a clean shirt who wanted 35 dollars for the 100-kilometre journey. After a while he asked us if his friend could come too. We exchanged glances and became suspicious. But then gave way. So his friend joined us. We realised that we had come from the mountains into a valley from the fact that the taxi had at least two windows wide open all the time.

We parked in front of a hosteria called Mandala in the tropical darkness and rainstorm. The bar was playing good music and 4 Baskerville dogs were lying

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at the front door (the fifth was locked indoors because of the mating season). Even a long-legged person like me had to jump over the dogs.

The Italian owner of the hosteria was jovially drunk. We put our feet up on the terrace and ordered three beers and a heap of ceviche. It was 28 degrees and the roar of the breaking waves was so loud that I said to Tarmo that we were not likely to have a swim there.

20 January. And finally those umbrellas The tropical rain continued all through the night. In the morning the birds were making loud noises. No-one here has ever heard of the term „the silence of the woods“. Tarmo chased the little crabs along the sandy beach until they hid in the holes. We had oysters, shrimp and fish for lunch. We passed the afternoon in hammocks drinking cocktails. We mixed all the local fruits with tequila. And even Tarmo, a newly recruited windsurfer, forgot about climbing when he learned that somewhere in the ocean there´s a thing called the ultimate wave, which you can meet after hours and hours of floating in the water.

Men,s Soft Shell jacket ADO with transparent prints Women's Soft Shell jacket AARI with transparent prints

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The victory of the Latvian 4-man bobsled team at the 2008 FIBT European Championships, on the Cesana Olympic track was a pleasant surprise, but another first-place finish on the legendary St. Moritz bobsled track a week later didn't leave any room for doubt: Janis Minins, a 27-yearold fire-fighter from the small town of Kuldiga, and his partners in the Latvian four-man bob, Daumants Dreiskens, Oskars Melbardis, and Intars Dambis, have taken their place amongst the leaders of the international bobsledding community.

Racing Latvians

C

ompetition in bobsledding rivals is getting tougher, and the officials responsible for the development of bobsled racing are smiling contently, because the appearance of new stars always attracts larger interest to the sport. ”I still have great reserves, and so does the entire crew and our equipment;' said Minins, who isn't going to stop at what he's achieved. In this sport experienced men win and Minins's best years are still ahead.

Born in Kuldiga on August 15, 1980, Minins took the wheel for the first time when he was only two years old - the wheel of his tricycle, that is.

When he was five, the future champion was already steering a moped.

His father Sergjs wanted his young son to compete in motor sports. At the age of eight Minins was already successfully competing against boys three years his senior. Still, he soon had to abandon his beloved hobby - during the difficult period of economic transition, Minins senior, an ordinary worker, was no longer able to provide his son with a competitive bike.

Minins couldn't imagine his life without sports, so over the next few years tried out a variety of different activities: cycling and table tennis, weightlifting, fire-fighting games and handball. His cycling coaches praised his talents, yet Minins himself didn't like to race in a crowd, side by side with other competitors.

Minins wasn't fascinated by competitive games either, though when he had to select a speciality at the Latvian Academy of Sports Education, the young man from Kuldiga chose handball. One day, during a practice session, Minins was discovered by instructor Vita Kotane, who has an eye for finding young athletes suitable for bobsledding, since her husband, Rihards, was the coach of the Latvian Junior Bobsled Team.

"There were a few vacancies in the training camp, so I took him -I let him have a go," says Rihards Kotans, who recalls that during the first test runs Minins

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didn't stand out much from the other beginners. It soon looked like Minins wouldn't make much of a pusher. But then a vacancy for a pilot opened up in the team and Janis took on his coach's challenge: If you want to stay in bobsledding, YOU'd better take up steering.

Minins proved to have a knack for piloting. In his first bobsledding season he came sixth in the World Junior Championships, though had learned the basics of steering on his own.

Minins recalls that he wasn't shy about asking for advice from the pilots of other national teams, who weren´t yet aware of a dangerous rival in the young beginner. But Minins always made the biggest decisions himself. "Janis always thinks that his driving style is the most correct,” said Janis Skrastins, who was then the coach of the Latvian team, suggesting that the athlete´s independence isn't always a positive thing. Minins has never lacked self-initiative: he used to organize a summer training camp for his team in the yard of his family home in Kuldiga, while other athletes were still busy enjoying the summer holidays.

Those bobsled fans who regularly follow competitions and have already got used to the Latvian team's battles for the top places, probably don’t even realize that during the short Eurosport broadcasts almost the entire bobsled community is appearing before their eyes. In Latvia bobsledding has only been developed at the national-team level because good equipment and funds are scarce for a wider range of participants. This is why young bobsledders have a narrow and winding path to the top. Minins himself was forced to spend several seasons racing in second-class competitions while he was waiting for a vacancy in the national team.

In the autumn of 2003 the long-time leader of the national team, Sandis Prusis, bid farewell to sports and his departure seemed to signal a crisis in the Latvian bobsledding community.

Yet Minins succeeded in clearing up the overall pessimism at the beginning of the season by steering his bob into the top ten in the Bobsledding World Cup tournament. The follow-up was spectacular: two gold medals in the World Junior Championships on the complex track at Cortina d'Ampezzo and, best of all, a third place at the World Cup event in Igls, where he beat

45

In the autumn I thought that it would be good if we finished in the top six.

But now even the fourth place in the World Cup rankings seems too little! several Olympic champions. Minins has become the leader of the Latvian team. "I already saw a promising pilot in him three years ago," said Zintis Ekmanis, the Vice-president of the Latvian Bobsled Federation and a bronze medallist at the Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games, in an interview for the newspaper Diena. Ekmanis also pointed out that Janis's swift climb to the top has been fostered by his willpower, his fighter's character and his ability to learn from his mistakes.

Each of these three admirable qualities has helped Minins in the next seasons too, when his swift progress was replaced by stagnation and even a step back. Janis was troubled by various problems, though his coaches saw the causes of his misfortunes in the athlete's own mistakes; others tended to find fault in the construction of the bobs and the sleds. Misfortunes ruined Minins preparations for his first Olympic Games in Turin. Finally, this season he was able to fix his equipment and speed and the thrill of racing returned to the track. On the track at Cesana Minins and a former basketball player Daumants Dreiskens finished in a high sixth place in the two-bob competition. This convinced both the racers and the people responsible for raising funds for bobsledding that their hard work has paid off and their money has been well spent if the world's highest peaks are right here, just at arm's-length.

In the 2007 season the experienced pilot Sandis Prusis became the head coach of the Latvian national team, giving the squad a new impetus. "A big plus is that he only recently stopped racing and can still clearly remember the feeling of being on the track. He is strict and demanding, but he also knows how to be flexible," says Minins, admitting that their mutual understanding continues to improve. In the winter, Minins's daughter was born, and Janis and his partners stood on the victory pedestal four times in World Cup events on both sides of the Atlantic. The only thing needed for his total happiness was an achievement in the season's most important competitions - the World Championships and European Championships - as well as a few first places. "In the autumn I thought that it would be good if we finished in the top six.

But now even the fourth place in the World Cup rankings seems too little," said Minins after the season, admitting that his appetite is growing each day.

"I apologize for my poor speed in the start. I'm still troubled by my back injury," Minins announced after the first competitions of the 2008 season in Calgary and Park City, where the Latvian quartet finished "only" in fifth and fourth places

46

respectively. At Cortina in January the team finished third in the first run and placed seventh after two runs. This was followed by two gold medals - one at Cesana and one at St. Moritz, a track where the Latvians had always had difficulties. This double victory made bobsledding statisticians put in long hours in the archives until they finally confirmed that the last time a Latvian pilot had clinched two victories in a row had been in 1984, the season when the future Olympic champion Janis Kipurs had been unbeatable.

"There are many different reasons why we succeeded in winning our gold medals," said Minins. "But first and foremost, it's the work of the entire team: a good partnership with our coach and the efforts of the team's mechanics and doctors. Of course, the pushers did a great job too.

One might say that luck was on our side." After descending from the winners' pedestal, Minins thanked all his co-workers and stressed that his athletic appetite was growing with each passing day. And it will continue to do so, at least until the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Some historical background: Bobsleighing in Latvia goes back 25 years.

The first sled was designed and built by coaches and enthusiasts at the VEF factory and in 1984 Janis Kipurs and Aivars Snepsts won the European Championships. In the same year Zintis Ekmanis won bronze in the Olympic Games in Sarajevo and in 1985 became the European Champion. Maris Poikans and Ivars Berzups came first in the 1986 World Cup. In 1988 Janis Kipurs was the winner of gold and bronze medals. It is only natural that bobsleighers have carried the Latvian flag at the three Olympic Games: Janis Kipurs in Albertville, Zintis Ekmanis in Lillehammer and Sandis Prusis in Nagano. In 2003 Sandis Prusis piloted the Latvian four-men bobsleigh to the title of European Champions and in 2004 Janis Minins became one of the few pilots ever to have won a double title at junior sports competitions. In 2008 Janis Minins and his team won bronze in the World Cup final standing.

KARLA jacket

 ISC-tech 8 000mm is a symbol that marks the waterproof properties of the outer fabric and helps you find the right clothes from the ISC range of products quickly and easily. The methods for testing the water-resistant properties of a product are in keeping with the international BS EN 2008, AATCC testing system.Another important characteristic for a fabric is how breathable it is. In case of this material it is 8 000g/m2/24h. The testing meets the ISO 15496 standards. Both properties – waterproofness and breathability - are very important, and are also printed on the collar inside the jacket. In addition, the material has been treated with Suppleks R/S to give it water-repellent qualities. It also has a high UV protection (UPF 600-800), which stops the ISC-tech products from fading in the sun or from frequent washing. Products marked with this symbol may be machine washed at 40OC and spin dried at 1000 rotations.

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It’s freezing outside and you’ve got nothing to wear.

No problem – visit the ISC online shop and get everything that you need without leaving home!

Click on the link on our website www.isc.ee, order what you like and enjoy the winter!

You can pay for your purchases in the internet banks of Hansapank and Ühispank.

With the best solutions Yours, ISC

The same discounts for regular customers apply as in the outlets: 5% off from every purchase, 10% off from a purchase over 5000 kroons.

For deliveries within Estonia our company pays the postage.

Delivery time in Estonia is 7 days.

For international deliveries we make a transport offer with the cost and time of delivery.

outlets Why exactly outlets?

But why not? Being the biggest ever Estonian sportswear trade mark it is only natural that our own outlets are the best way to offer our full collection. We produce it, we sell it and we boldly take full responsibility for it. Today we have three outlets in Tallinn, two outlets and a factory outlet in Tartu, and to obey the wishes of all the other people in Estonia, an online shop.

design your product there and then and send the order to the factory. So the ideas and logos come from you and the professional skill from us.

After-

How worthwhile is ISC?

sale

With our own retail outlets we can control and direct the retail price, keeping it as affordable as possible. With resale the round of people who want to profit is considerably bigger and this, undoubtedly, increases the retail price for the customer. We try not to sell air in our outlets, but quality products with everything that goes with it. On the scale of quality-material-characteristics-design, ISC products have always been with considerably reasonable prices. Customers who value their health and money and have taken the trouble to look at things more closely, have done wisely and benefitted from this. This can also be seen in the growing numbers of people who register as our customers.

service

Information is free!

Price is one thing, but what is more important is the information that our shop assistants pass on to the customers. As creators and producers of ISC, we know our products in detail. Our trained salespeople know the products thoroughly and are always ready to share this information with the customers. Before you go outdoors, it is good to know how your clothes can protect you. One mistake is all it takes! After all, you cannot buy the missing piece of clothing on the glacier in Greenland or in the Antarctic! Therefore, feel free to turn to our shop assistants. Together you can find the best product for you needs and lifestyle.

Can it be ordered?

Now you can order the unique ISC products in our outlets. If you have a club, a group of friends or a team who want to stand out in a crown in the same uniforms, then come and ask. When you turn to our staff in the outlets, you can

In addition, it is possible to have ISC products repaired for a fee. We offer this service because in case of most of our products the technical solutions are so complicated that it is not possible to get them mended properly elsewhere. Firms that repair clothes do not have such materials or equipment. For instance, if you accidentally rip your jacket, the whole detail may have to be replaced, not to mention the sealed seams. For this you should take it to one of our stores and complete a form. Then it is taken to the factory to be repaired.

The shop assistants may not be able to tell you the price for the repairs.

Our specialists will tell you that in a few days by phone.

For six years Nikwax care products have been available in our shops.

When they are used properly, they help to prolong the life of your clothes considerably. We offer TechWash速 detergents, TX.Direct速 Wash In for waterproofing, TX.Direct速 Spry On for surfaces, and a new wash-in product specially for Soft Shell clothes to restore their water-repellent qualities.

Women's sweater SAXBY W

Another new product is the detergent KW Sport, specially designed for the hard Estonian water and which will greatly help to retain the fabric卒s technical qualities and is therefore superb for sports clothes.

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ď‚– Schoeller represents the highquality knitting yarns produced

by Schoeller factories in Germany. The yarn contains 50% acrylic and 50% merino wool.

Jumpers and hats made of this material are warm, soft and user friendly, but above all, they retain their initial good shape. A typical problem with jumpers is that they start pilling very quickly. With the Schoeller yarns this is extremely rare. Even if the garment starts pilling slightly after vigorously rubbing its surface, it is easy to collect the fluff so that the appearance of the product is not damaged in any way.

Men's sweater SAXBY and women's sweater SAXBY W

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See also the back cover for store locations Be our customer – it´s easy!

ISC registered customers can buy our goods at a discount. You do not need to make any extra efforts – it has all been made very easy for the customer. The ID card in your wallet is your Ilves-Extra customer card!

To activate it, you need to fill in a short form at one of our outlets and you can start using the benefits right away! No more wallets bulging with unnecessary cards, no fear that you may forget it. For who would give up the benefits when buying high quality ISC products? It is mostly because of our products that customers come back to the shops. Hearing about our good points from others my count for nothing, but when you test it yourself, you will soon find out the truth. This is why we want to give the vast army of ISC fans certain benefits.

Economising We continue to offer a 5% discount to Ilves-Extra registered customers on all their purchases in our outlets in Tallinn and Tartu. On purchases of 5000 kroons or more the discount is 10 %. These discounts also apply when the stores have a sale on the items that are soon to be out of stock.

When you have filled in the registration form and given us your email address, we want to let you know about our bigger campaigns.

We will not write to you very often and burden your mailbox. We will only do it when we really have something useful to offer.

Come to our stores! Together we will find the best solution!

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Women's casual jacket VELA with 170g FIN-FIL insulation. Sleeve embroidery: stylised wild rose

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The three whales of biathlon Oberhof 2008. At ten o´clock the first ones go out to train. It´s 7 hours and 20 minutes till the start of today´s event. People are gathering on the stadium and entertainment starts.The track is already lined by the audience. Drums, trumpets, bells and whistles are taken out. "Heia-heia, auf gehts..."

TEXT: Eveli Saue

How can you relax and do your job? It gets especially crazy when you happen to ski side by side with a German, then you have great difficulties hearing your own thoughts. And this is not the competition yet, when the crowd is five times bigger. "Autogramm, bitte, autogramm!" No, you can´t afford that mistake, or you´ll be under siege. Let them find another victim. "Eveli, Eveli" – this is another story when you´re being called by your first name. An elderly gentleman, whose Tyrol hat is decorated with biathlon badges from the times when I wasn´t born yet, opens his file at „Estland“, and – surprise, surprise – even my pictures are there. An

autograph, a few words, good luck and the training goes on.

Ruhpolding 2007. The first mass start I´ve ever had.

The body hasn´t quite recovered from the illness last week, but the mind refuses to give up a chance to start among the best thirty in a World Cup event. As it was, the body was right: from the third lap onwards I´m the last and I can´t even see the one before me. I arrive for the third shooting in total silence, there isn´t even anyone on the penalty lap. The whole stadium is looking at me. A good audience knows how to react. With each hit you can

hear a cheerful “Hei!” and with a miss a sad “Oh!” The last shooting is quick and clean and the audience gives me a big round of applause.

Anterselva 2008. After dinner everyone is busy with their own things – learning, reading, playing. On TV "Star Biathlon” starts. It´s a show held on the same stadium where we had been racing during the day. The teams consist of German celebrities and former biathlonists. The picture from the tribunes shows that vacant seats are scarce. It´s fun. A man weighing about 150 kilos leaps up in the air and seems to attempt a backward jump. He falls and his ski pole is in four pieces. 52-year-old Olympic winner, world champion and

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The entertainment programme lasts from morning till late at night, the small towns live for biathlon and the population is doubled for a while. world cup winner Fritz Fischer is sharper in shooting and better at skiing than some of today´s athletes. The crowds are cheering and nobody is bored. The broadcast finishes, sportsmen go to bed, but the party on the stadium goes on for hours.

Oberhof, Ruhpolding and Anterselva are the three whales, or the three holy cows of biathlon, which are milked again and again, but are cared for as well. In the old days the trio was known as „Biathlon Trophy“, but in recent years as „IBU Golden Classics“. The competitions take place in any weather. When necessary, broken ice is brought from the Arctic Sea. Competitions cannot be cancelled. The German events in Oberhof and Ruhpolding attract around 100,000 spectators in 5 days, even 25,000 per day. Anterselva in Italy draws a bit smaller crowds, but this is com-

56

pensated by the temperament, invariably good weather at 1600 metres above sea level, and mountain tops with white snow in the background of bright blue skies. The entertainment programme lasts from morning till late at night, the small towns live for biathlon and the population is doubled for a while.

Important World Cup events

These three World Cup events follow the title events. They draw wide audiences and competitors. After all, we, athletes, are a bit vain too and it is more fun to exert yourself in front of cheering fans than alone in the woods. Since the next title events are on different sides of the world – the World Championships in 2009 in Pyeong Chang in South Korea and the Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver in Canada, the World Cup events will be the highlights of biathlon in Europe.

Ruhpolding, Bavaria, Germany (near Munich) 13-18.01.2009 http://www.biathlon-ruhpolding.de/

Oberhof, Thüringen, Germany (between Frankfurt and Berlin) 7-11.01.2009 http://www.biathlon.oberhof.de/

Antholz/Anterselva, Trentino-Alto Adige (in the corner of Italy, Germany and Austria) 22-25.01.2009 http://www.biathlon-antholz.it/

supports Main sponsor

Ville Nousiainen personal partner of cooperation

FIS Saku Suverull major sponsor

Eeri Vahtra personal partner of cooperation

Club Tartu Marathon major sponsor

Tiiu Nurmberg personal partner of cooperation

Finnish Ski Association partner of cooperation

Finnish Orienteering Association partner of cooperation

Pakilan Veto partner of cooperation

ISC Adventure Team supporter

Orienteering event in Lithuania supporter

Orienteering Club Ilves sponsor

Kuutsemäe Recreation Centre partner of cooperation

Estonian Academic Sports Association partner of cooperation

Non-profit organisation Sports Club Tallinn Kalev supporter

Deyvid Oprja personal partner of cooperation

Estonian Biathlon Federation major sponsor

27.06. – 29.06. 2008. VENTSPILS, LATVIJA

Orienteering event in Latvia supporter

Estonian Ski Association official sportswear manufacturer

Estonian Judo Association partner of cooperation/supporter

Jukola–Viesti, relay orienteering event in Finland main sponsor

Club Kekkose Rada supporter

16th Student World Championship in Orienteering main sponsor

Judoklubi DO sponsor

Andrus Veerpalu private sponsor

Kaspar Kokk personal partner of cooperation

FIS World Cup event in Otepää major sponsor

Riikka Sarasoja personal partner of cooperation

Helsingin Kisa-Veikot partner of cooperation

Finnish Orienteering Week partner of cooperation

SA Tartu Sport partner of cooperation

Haanja Marathon supporter

VK Janika partner of cooperation

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Body Measurements Children Size Height Chest Waist Hip Inseam Sleeve lenght from neck to wrist

104 104 58 55 62 44 44,8

116 116 62 57 66 51 49,6

128 128 66 60 70 58 54,4

140 140 72 64 76 65 60,2

152 152 78 68 82 71,5 66

164 164 84 72 88 77,5 72

Women Size Height Chest Waist Hip Inseam Sleeve lenght from neck to wrist

32 164 76 61 87 79 72

34 166 80 64 90 80 73

36 168 84 67 93 81 74

38 168 88 70 96 81 74

40 170 92 74 99 81 75

42 172 96 78 102 81 76

44 172 100 82 106 81 76

46 172 104 86 110 80 77

48 172 108 91 115 80 77

50 172 112 95 119 80 77

52 172 116 99 123 80 77

54 172 120 103 127 80 77

Men Size Height Chest Waist Hip Inseam Sleeve lenght from neck to wrist

44 172 88 73 92 72 76,5

46 175 92 78 96 79 78

48 178 96 83 100 80 79,5

50 181 100 88 104 81 81

52 184 104 93 108 81 82,5

54 186 108 98 112 82 84

56 188 112 103 116 82 85,5

58 190 116 108 120 83 87

60 190 120 113 124 83 87

62 190 124 118 128 83 87

64 190 128 123 132 83 87

66 190 132 128 136 83 87

Care symbols Washing

Tumbler Drying

Dry Cleaning

95

Boiling wash 95o C Normal process

Normal drying process

Normal professional dry-cleaning in perchloroethylene, hydrocarbons

95

Boiling wash 95o C Mild process

Mild drying process

Normal professional dry-cleaning in hydrocarbons (heavy benzenes)

60

Coloured wash 60o C Normal process

Do not tumbler dry

Mild professional dry-cleaning in perchloroethylene, hydrocarbons

60

Coloured wash 60o C Mild process

Ironing

Mild professional dry-cleaning in hydrocarbons (heavy benzenes)

40

Coloured wash 40o C Normal process

Iron at maximum sole plate temperature of 200o C

Do not dry-clean

40

Coloured wash 40o C Mild process

Iron at maximum sole plate temperature of 150o C

Bleaching

40

Very mild wash 40o C Very mild process/wool wash cycle

Iron at maximum sole plate temperature of 110o C

Any bleach allowed

Handwash Maximum temperature 40o C

Do not iron

Do not bleach

Do not wash

58

More about care labelling: www.ginetex.org

59

ISC General Stores in Estonia Tallinn

 Ülemiste Shopping Centre

 Lõunakeskus,

 Rocca al Mare Shopping Centre,

2nd floor in block C, 102 Paldiski Rd phone +372 6659 154 open Mo-Su 10-21 e-mail: rocca@ilves.ee  Järve Shopping Centre 238 Pärnu Rd phone +372 6140 323 open Mo-Su 10-21; e-mail: jarve@ilves.ee

4 Suur-Sõjamäe Str phone +372 6034 600 open Mo-Su 10-21 e-mail: ylemiste@ilves.ee

Tartu  Ilves Factory Store, 42 Kastani Str

phone +372 7427 502 open Mo-Fr 10-18, Sa 10-16; kastani@ilves.ee

Resellers Stores Russia

Finland

 “Sportivnaja Linija”, Vladimirsky pr.,

 Tampereen Suunnistajan Kauppa Oy

1/6 Sankt-Peterburg phone +7-812-713-3647  “Sportivnaja Linija”, Novosibirskaya ul., 2 Sankt-Peterburg phone +7-812-492-5069  “Sportivnaja Linija”, Vyborgskoe sh.

13 TC "Kosmopolis", 1st floor, Sankt-Peterburg phone +7-812-336-9660

Resellers Latvia  LUSIS EXTRA SIA office address:

Bezdelīgu iela 12, Riga, LV-1048, LATVIA, Jolanta Lamberte e-mail: lusis.extra@gmail.com phone +37126481818  KRUMS SIA, Janis Krumins, Stirnu street 47-58, Riga LV-1084, LATVIA, phone +371 29176890 e-mail krums@maxim.lv

Lithuania  SILVA A.Ambrazienes I.I., J.Jablonskio g.16,

Siauliu Arena, Siauliai, Lithuania, tel +370 699 691 94 e-mail: aine@silva.lt, www.silva.lt

Austria  Linord Export-Import, Kirchfeld 7, 6112 Wat

tens, AUSTRIA phone/fax: +43 5224 93 748, Mob. +43 66 45 36 70 22 Jelizaveta Hagleitner, e-mail: info@linord.net

Germany  Ol - Shop Conrad, Dorfstrasse 16c,

01814 Bad Schandau, GERMANY Helmut Conrad phone +49 35022 413 05 e-mail OL-Conrad@t-online.de www.ol-shop-conrad.de

Sammonkatu 66 b 33540 TAMPERE phone +358 3 2613 200 fax +358 3 2613 320 e-mail: tampere@suunnistajankauppa.fi  Helsingin Suunnistajan Kauppa Oy Museokatu 34 00100 HELSINKI phone +358 0 444 894 fax +358 0 449 885 e-mail: helsinki@suunnistajankauppa.fi

Great Britain  Ultrasport Ltd, Nova House Audley Avenue

Enterprise Park Audley Avenue Newport, Shropshire TF10 7DW phone +44 1952 813 918 fax +44 1952 825 320 Simon Broad e-mail: simon@ultrasport.freeserve.co.uk www.ultrasport.co.uk

Switzerland  McPearson AG, Büelweg 4, 6222 Gunzwil,

SWITZERLAND phone +41 41 450 30 08 fax +41 41 450 00 57 e-mail info@mcpearson.ch www.mcpearson.ch

Italy  Orisport snc, via Del Capitello 126, 38070

Cadine -Trento, ITALY; Tiziano Serafini phone +390 461 865 269 e-mail: orisport@orisport.it; www.orisport.it

Denmark  O-butikken, Højager 21, 2980 Kokkedal,

DENMARK phone +45 49 149809 fax + 45 49 149 801 e-mail: o-butikken@mail.dk www.o-butikken.dk

Finland  Westervesa Oy Sammonkatu 66 b 33540

Tampere, FINLAND phone +358 3 2613 230 fax +358 3 2613 320 e-mail: info@westervesa.fi

75A Ringtee Str phone +372 7383 333 open Mo-Su 9-21 e-mail: lounakeskus@ilves.ee  Tartu Department Store 1 Riia Rd phone +372 731 4888 open Mo-Sa 9-21, Su 9-18 e-mail: kaubamaja@ilves.ee

 Turun Suunnistajan Kauppa Oy

Stålarminkatu 1 20810 TURKU phone +358 2 2535 061 fax +358 2 2535 061 e-mail: turku@suunnistajankauppa.fi  PKL Neon Sport Puistokatu 24, 38200 Vammala, Finland phone +358 40 7010139 e-mail. pkl@neonsport.fi www.neonsport.fi

Lithuania  Sport shop ,,S-SPORTAS", J. Jablonskio g. 16, Siauliu arena, Siauliai, LITHUANIA

 SKISC OY Kaakkuri 18

FI-40340 Jyväskylä, Finland phone + 358 40 037 8440 skiscoy@gmail.com www.skisc.fi  PKL Neon Sport Puistokatu 24 38200 Vammala, Finland phone +358 40 7010139 e-mail: pkl@neonsport.fi www.neonsport.fi

Norway  JARVIS X4 O-SPORT

Fjellveien 30, 5034 BERGEN, NORWAY Owen Westergård phone +4790615850 e-mail: jarvisx4@gmail.com  High Tech sport og fritid Barkveien 4c, 1659 TORP, NORWAY Harald Aasen phone +4795094753 e-mail: harald@conseptbygg.no

Sweden  Klas Nilsson, Skare of Sweden,

Klövervägen 4, 93145 Skellefteå SWEDEN phone +46702838621 e-mail: skare@klasnilsson.com

Russia  Gais Sport, Tikhoretskiy pr. 9/5, 194064

St. Petersburg, RUSSIA phone +7812 550 7842, +7812 556 2796 e-mail: info@skiline.ru; www.skiline.ru