After eight days of running, covering a distance of 850 km and 55,000 m of elevation gain, the AlpFrontTrail relay team of 10 athletes made it to Stelvio Pass in northern Italy. On October 6, they had begun in Grado, an Italian seaside town, and finished in Stelvio Pass in northern Italy. “It was very challenging!” says Philipp Reiter, co-organizer of the adventure. “All the organizational work, the challenging and always changing weather, the deep historical stories, and the fact we were 10 top athletes with one common goal, but a lot of individual wishes!” Fom Germany, Austria and Italy, the passionate band of runners took turns to cover stages of the historic 850 km frontline in the European Alps where Italian and Austrian troops fought during the First World War. The goal of the epic adventure run was to observe Italy’s annexation of South Tyrol 100 years ago and to celebrate how far Europe has come since the hostilities and wars of the 20th century. While each pair ran, the rest of the athletes visited historic sites and talked to local people about the history. In this photo story, we share action and impressions from the adventure. For video action of the adventure click here. Day one “The AlpFrontTrail was hence a running adventure with a deeper sense,” says Caroline Gredler, one the field organizers. “It should remind us, that it´s not a given that we can nowadays run along or cross borders in freedom and peace. We should value what we have and respect one other.” © Philipp Reiter Day two “The challenge was to find the way on the borderline – even with my Suunto Baro 9 it was sometimes hard,” says Austrian ski mountaineer Jakob Hermann. “And the conditions were sometimes tricky; snow in altitude, destroyed forests (so there was no track), darkness and the physical stress with less sleep was also a challenge. The good thing was we had an awesome and strong team! So all were super helpful and we grew together!” © wisthaler.com Day three “A border, be it a wall, barbwires or trenches is never a solution,” says ultra runner Tom Wagner. “It is actually nonsense. Running along a former front was an intense way of learning from the past to potentially help us shape the future.” © wisthaler.com Day four “I had the opportunity to run a stage of the AlpFrontTrail together with Italian athlete Martina Valmassoi,” says Caroline. “It was the going over the Mountain Col Di Lana – a mountain which was fiercely contested in the Alp Front war – that had the biggest impact on me. Austrians and Italians stood facing each other within shouting distance and tried three times to blow each up with explosives. More than 8000 soldiers died and hence the mountain is nowadays also named Col di Sangue – the Blood-Mountain. There are still many tunnels and trenches which remind us of this horrible fight, as well as a memorial church on the top of the summit. It was a special feeling to run through this place, esspecially as Italian and Austrian friends here in peace together!” © wisthaler.com Day five “Seeing these beautiful place, but being reminded what happened here before is hard to grasp,” says Tom . “The places we visited should be walked, hiked, or run by so many more people to learn about the past and be aware that something like this should never happen again. Unfortunately it can happen more quickly than we want to acknowledge.” © Philipp Reiter Day six “It was so great to share this special project with different runners, from fast vertical runners to strong ultra runners,” Jakob says. “I learned a lot from all of them!” © wisthaler.com Day seven “At the beginning of WW1 at the alpine front it was not really a war as soldiers on either side often knew one other and were working colleagues, friends or relatives,” says German trail runner and fil maker Philipp Reiter. “They shot into the water or in the air not to hurt each other. The command had to exchange the soldiers and bring young men from other regions to make them shoot the other side.” © wisthaler.com Day eight “We have to be thankful with what we have now!” says Jakob. "We complain too much – particularly about irrelevant things! We have to try to stay positive and help one another.” © wisthaler.com © wisthaler.com To find out more about the AlpsFrontTrail relay, visit: www.alpsfronttrail.com Lead images: © wisthaler.com © Philipp Reiter

Gabe found his ultra legs deep into the adventure. It all started at a party when buddies Jody Bragger and Gabriel (Gabe) Ghiglione – both bored of their deskjobs and craving adventure – made a drunken bet; they’d spin a globe and wherever Gabe’s finger landed they’d go and run there. It landed on Tajikistan. Neither of them had the faintest idea about the landlocked Central Asian country with a population of 9.5 million or of its history as part of the ancient Silk Road. Neither of them had any idea what they were getting themselves into. So they roped ultra runner Jodie Gauld into joining them, and hopped on a plane. The Running the Roof feature film, made by film company Sourcy and sponsored by Suunto, is about the trio’s journey running 400 km, the equivalent of about 10 marathons, through eastern Tajikistan’s remote and desolate Bartang Valley. They faced intense heat and cold, 4500 m altitude, dust, Gabe’s constant antics, their own minds, and a lot of unknowns. We caught up with Jody Bragger to talk about the adventure. Read on for our Q&A and watch the trailer below. The virtual edition of the Banff Film Festival will show the film on 31 October 2020. How does it feel having the film selected by Banff? We never went into this pretending we were anything other than just three mates who like running. The premise of this whole expedition was to go and have a great time. When we told our friends about it they wanted to make a film about it, but we never went in with this idea of creating another big adventure film with super, deep meaning. We went away to have a really good time, to have a laugh, and see what we can do. There was no pressure to scale this mountain, or be the first or the fatest or reach some arbitrary goal. It was just about being there together as friends and exploring this beautiful, remote and wild place. What were the most epic runs that each of you had done? Jodie Gauld and I both come from the ultra running discipline. Jody has run TDS at UTMB, I’ve done CCC at UTMB. Jody has run 25 ultras, she’s done 100 milers, some tough races. I’ve run a few of the big races, like Ultra Trail Cape Town. We were both aware of the pitfalls of ultra running and knew what to expect. Gabriel really was the archetypal North American university track athlete. He only started running distances further than 10 km in the last couple of years. He’s definitely a super strong, fit and fast runner. But he only ever ran one marathon previous to this and that was the Barcelona marathon and he had left a nightclub at 4am on the day. He really is someone who loves running, but never takes it too seriously. Jody (left), Jodie and Gabe all faced adversity on the adventure. What was the hardest part of the run? It was definitely the elements, the valley itself, and an unknown aspect that played in the back of our minds. None of us had ever run at 4500 m altitude. The psychological aspect was a big factor. We didn’t know what it was going to be like running at elevation, we didn’t know how the film crew was going to work, we didn’t even know where we were going to stay. Running is all about mind over matter and really believing that you can push on when you feel like you can’t. The heat and the cold, the elevation, the dust, the unknown – that’s what we were up against. What was the elevation gain? In total it was somewhere around 5000 m, over 400 km distance. We started at 2500 m and the highest pass was around 4700 m. We were running consistently above what some people call the danger zone where you’re likely to get altitude sickness. The altitude not only affected our running, but also our sleep, eating, and hydration. The Bartang Valley is located in the Pamir mountain range, the setting of the Great Game in the 19th century. Did you train for the altitude? We didn’t do any specific altitude training. Me and Jodie both ran TDS and CCC at UTMB around a month before we went. That was our way of training for the expedition. I remember on the first day there when we set off running thinking, “well, at least we can run, at least it’s working”. It sounds crazy, but when you’re planning something for so long, when there are so many unknowns, it’s the moment when you take the first step that you understand it’s really happening. Were the local people there hospitable? Yes. It was a lovely reminder of our shared humanity. We often go into these places as travelers feeling like we’re breaking new territory, but these places have a history for a millennia of hosting people on the move. Tajikistan and its culture has had people in transit ingrained into it. It was part of the route of the Silk Road. Hospitality for strangers just sort of shines through there. It really is the crossroads of the world. That culture of welcoming people in, allowing them to stay in your home, complete strangers who don't speak the language, and giving them a good meal and setting them off on the next day just seemed so natural. They also gave us so much knowledge about the route, the next village, where we could find lodgings, food and water. How was the food? I don’t think Tajikistan is known for its cuisine. But the food was always plentiful. It’s a place where resources are fairly scarce and completely based on self sustained agriculture. They grow what they eat, store what they don’t eat, and trade a little bit. Most places keep everything just for the community. They provided plentiful food for us. The three friends never took the adventure too seriously. What surprised you most there? Probably the relationship people there have with nature. The valley is a microcosm of all the issues we face as a species. They really do live in equilibrium with the valley so it’s almost like you don’t want too many travellers there because then they’re going to have to push the limits of what the valley can support. I spoke to one guy who told me he was really enjoying having tourists there because they pay in currency, which is something he hadn’t previously had much access to. He had a small self-sustaining farm and he occasionally traded with food at a market or occasionally sold a little bit for cash. Currency from tourists allowed him to buy some things for his family, like a mobile phone for communication. He told me all the energy they get is from the forest, from the wood. He would chop down trees at a rate he knew was sustainable for the valley to replenish itself so the next year there would be enough wood. Even that little extra amount of tourists coming through required more wood. He noticed he was cutting more wood. He was interested in getting a small hydroelectric pump you can put on rivers to generate energy. It was almost like going back in time and seeing how things were in many places not so long ago. It made me realise how unique that part of the world is. These sorts of wild, high mountain, desert areas are teetering on the edge of remaining that way or having to modernise. Now that a year has passed since you finished it, what are your thoughts looking back? As we all locked ourselves inside because of the pandemic, and as our horizons have closed and our expectations have shrunk, the film has come into its own, strangely. Our worlds have become smaller and often based around a laptop screen. The film is a nice reminder of the world we left behind. And maybe flying around the world and doing crazy things isn’t the most sustainable long term. But the film is a reminder of that freedom of being young, throwing some things into a bag, jumping on a bus, a train or a plane, and going out there and pushing yourself to your limit. I look back at that adventure with a heavy sense of nostalgia. I miss those days a bit. Any other comments? I guess I want to say to people watching it that these kinds of things are possible. Neither Jodie, myself or Gabriel are pro athletes, we aren’t sponsored by anyone, we aren’t paid to do this, we haven’t got a brief from a firm to create content around. We are none of these things. We literally got drunk, spun a globe and decided to do this. It shows what’s possible. And running through a landscape is an amazing way to connect with people. When you’re on two feet, you feel more connected to nature, the flow of the river, the way the sun rises, the plants and animals, and the connection with humans is more real than travelling by car. Running the Roof will be screened at this year’s virtual edition of the Banff Mountain Film Festival on 31 October, 2020 and available to download online. All images: © Alex Mundt

One of the fun activities to do in the outdoors is identifying different species of flora and fauna. It’s about more than knowing names; the process of identification brings us closer to the world around us and tells us what’s going in that habitat. The same can be said for knowing the different species of cloud. Being able to recognise the different types of clouds and what they’re doing tells us what’s happening with the weather, and when our risk is increasing or decreasing. This is an especially important skill for those who spend a lot of time in the mountains. We talked to Sarvesh Garimella, the chief scientist and COO at MyRadar, a Suunto partner, about the different varieties of clouds and what we should look out for when we’re planning to head into the great outdoors. A keen hiker since his field research days at university, Sarvesh has a Phd on ice clouds in the atmosphere. Who better to ask then? Here are Savesh’s 10 tips.   Click to find out more about MyRadar’s detailed local weather forecasts!   Download MyRadar Wear OS app here. Respect the mountain At a really high level, clouds are one type of information your surroundings are giving you. We can also look at recent weather and trail reports about an area. And one of the most important recommendations that has been echoed to me again and again is to know your limits and respect the mountain. There could be hazards you are prepared for and others you aren't prepared for. No climb or trip is worth your life. Be smart and live to climb another day. The trend is your friend In forecasting we like to say this phrase a lot: "the trend is your friend." If you’re just looking at what the barometer is saying in one moment that’s less informative than observing what the trend is. Or if you’re looking at a model of rain output, the model that came out an hour ago might not show as much output as the model that came out just now does. If you look at the next model an hour later it might be showing more rain. Each successive model is showing more and more rain or whatever phenomena. Whether it be simple observation of the environment or more sophisticated analysis of weather models, the trend is your friend. Just because you have a snapshot of what’s going on now that doesn’t mean you have a complete idea of what it could turn into, especially in a complex environment.   Sarvesh regularly hikes in the Pacific Northwest. Know your cloud The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has an International Cloud Atlas that consists of 10 genus of clouds within which there are many species of cloud. Within the species of clouds there are lots of different varieties. The WMO website has flow charts and guidance to help you identify what specific types of clouds you are looking at. The big three For most people I say there are only three types of clouds to think about. Those are the cirrus clouds, which are the wispy ice clouds that tend to be higher in the atmosphere. Most of the clouds you see that are puffy and popcorn-like are cumulus clouds, and those tend to be scattered and independent. Then you have stratus clouds, the decks of extensive, and low to medium altitude clouds. These are the low clouds that stretch out as far as you see that produce gentle spitting rain. There is a qualifier for various types of clouds: whenever you hear the word nimbus it refers to rain. Cumulonimbus clouds, for example, can turn into a thunder head. So the big three are: cirrus, cumulus, and stratus clouds. 1. Cirrus clouds 2. Cumulus clouds 3. Stratus cloud Watch the low clouds In addition to those three main types of clouds you can also classify clouds by their altitude. Low, medium and high clouds. It’s good to identify what could be happening in the low cloud decks versus the middle or high cloud decks. If you see there are a few wispy cirrus clouds in the morning, and then you see a few more in the afternoon, that could suggest there might be more moisture entering into the region, but it might not pose an immediate risk. But if your low cloud decks seem sketchy and visibility is poor you might like to wait another hour or two for the sun to come up to see if it burns off the fog. I’ve been on climbs where we’ve definitely had risk issues with the low or medium cloud deck, especially on Mt Rainier. Not all clouds are bad When I see a stratus deck that is low and consistent, with spitting rain, that’s a good sign for me because it means it’s not the nicest from a hiking standpoint, which means there is going to be less people out on the trail. Just because you see rain it doesn’t mean you are going to have a bad time. Beware of lenticular clouds Here's one particular example especially relevant for mountain climbing; a lenticular cloud. These are the lens shaped clouds that sit on top of mountains. They tend to form when you have moist air moving across the landscape, which gets kicked upwards by the mountain itself. They are pretty to look at, but what you have to keep in mind, especially on the leeward side of the mountain, is it means you get lots of vortex shedding from wind coming over the mountain. Pilots know to stay away from lenticular clouds because the turbulence there can be really bad. Wind risk can be more significant than any other type of hazard depending on the mountain you are on. If you see a lenticular cloud it suggests that there might be windier conditions as you get closer to the summit.   Watch for vertical extent The thinner, wispy clouds higher up are less of an issue to look out for than low clouds. The stratus decks can produce steady, low intensity rain, but from a hazard standpoint they aren’t particularly dangerous. If you have instability in the atmosphere or the chance for developing thunderstorms, that is the sort of hazard you want to look out for. If you notice the cloud cover is significantly higher than it was first thing in the morning or the vertical extent of the clouds is increasing then its ability to start producing rain also increases. Be aware of cooling If you feel the air getting cool and if you can see the pressure is dropping this might be because a weather cell is moving towards your area. The up and down draughts and the rain and the cooling effects of the rain can change the weather pretty dramatically. That can be a sign of quickly changing weather. This is one of the reasons why My Radar has the precipitation nowcasts; they warn you when it sees a cell on a radar that you might not necessarily be able to pay attention to. Remember, the trend is your friend. Read trail reports The trail reports put out by the fire service, the AllTrails App and such are definitely important as well. Many of the hazards are only present if the trail is in a certain condition. If you have lots of wind that might be okay if you have lots of traction. But if you have ice on the ground and also gusting winds that’s another issue.   Add MyRadar Wear OS app on your Suunto 7 to get detailed local weather forecasts on your wrist.  Lead image: ©Philipp Reiter Other images by Marc Thunis on Unsplash  

Hill repeats are an essential part of an outdoor athlete’s workout repertoire. To make the hard work pay off, pacing is key. The new Climb SuuntoPlus™ feature does just that: it gives you real-time insights on your effort and motivates you to keep going. The same goes for longer hikes, too: once you learn what kind of ascent speeds are sustainable for you, you can use this feature to pace your way up accordingly. To use SuuntoPlus™ features on the Suunto 9 or Suunto 5, activate them before starting an activity: Select your preferred activity type and – before hitting start – go down to the options menu and select your preferred SuuntoPlus feature, like Climb. The SuuntoPlus feature you chose, will be added and available as an extra screen during the session.   © Philipp Reiter Top left: Ascent and climb counter After you have activated SuuntoPlus Climb your watch will automatically detect the uphills and also create laps of them. The first climb is triggered after ascending for 10 meters. During the climb you will see the ascent you have covered during that particular uphill on the top left on your screen. Once the climb ends, the ascent number will switch to the total number of climbs you have covered. When the next climb starts, you will again start to see the vertical meters for that individual climb. Top right: Grade % On the top right you have the grade of your uphill in percentages. The same goes for the downhill, too. The arrow shows the direction of the hill. The grade is based on your progress during your recent efforts. Bottom left for running: Normalized Graded Pace During trail running and running your running speed is shown as Normalized graded pace (NGP). Normalized graded pace is the adjusted pace, that reflects the changes in grade and intensity that contribute to the physiological cost of running on varied terrain. Bottom left: Total vertical meters For activity types other than running this view shows the total vertical meters covered during the activity. Bottom right: Vertical speed Vertical speed is a great way to pace an effort in an uphill lap. This also helps you estimate how long the climb will take for you – if you know the total ascent. The vertical speed is shown as meters per hour.    Note: SuuntoPlus Climb works best with watches that have a barometric sensor, like Suunto 9. Products without a barometer rely on GPS based altitude. This will require longer climbs as small changes in elevation may not be identified. Lead image: © Philipp Reiter Read more about hill repeats 7 tips to accelerating your uphill speed Improve your running with high intensity hill repeats  

© Nicolas Holtzmeyer Ten athletes from Germany, Austria and Italy took turns to run the historic 850 km frontline where Italian and Austrian troops fought during the First World War. They have completed the epic adventure run that aimed to observe Italy’s annexation of South Tyrol 100 years ago and to also celebrate how far Europe has come since the hostilities and wars of the 20th century. Teams of two took turns to run, carrying a baton with a Suunto 9 attached, while the rest of the athletes visited the historic sites of the former frontline and talked to local people about the history. The 850 km run, with 55,000 m of elevation gain, began in Grado, an Italian seaside town, and finished in Stelvio Pass in northern Italy. AlpsFrontTrail initiators Philipp Reiter and Harald Wisthaler shared updates about the team’s progress and experiences. Check out short videos from each of the seven days running below! Day one Day two Day three Day four Day five Day six Day seven Day eight Review the adventure on Instagram or at AlpsFrontTrail! Lead images: © Philipp Reiter

© Kilian Jornet Foundation Suunto ambassador and mountain athlete Kilian Jornet has spent all of his life exploring, training and racing in some of the world’s most beautiful mountain landscapes. He started out life in a mountain hut in the Pyrenees, spent his youth training there, and then went on to set FKT records on many of the great summits of the world. Up in the mountains, far away from the madding crowds, is where he feels most at home. Which is why now he wants to give back to the incredible environments that have sustained him. Climate change, pollution, habitat and biodiversity loss, are all degrading mountain and alpine ecosystems. Over the decades of racing and performing, Kilian has witnessed this firsthand. “I’ve been climbing mountains and crossing glaciers my whole life, and I have observed how the effects of climate change have been devastating,” Kilian says. “We all have a role in reversing this tendency and ensuring that the next generations are able to not only play in the mountains, but are able to live on a healthy planet.” © Matti Bernitz Inspired to try to be part of the change, Kilian has founded the Kilian Jornet Foundation, which aims to preserve mountain environments through research, direct action and education. “I have been taught since I was a kid about the need to protect the environment, and I have done as much as I can with my own hands,” Kilian says. “Now, I want to take a step further and help projects, organizations and individuals that dedicate themselves to preserving the planet. The planet needs all the help we can give it.” The first project the Kilian Jornet Foundation will support is the study and investigation of one of the most visible victims of climate change: the retreat of glaciers. Studying this is key to developing projects to conserve these ice masses that hold between 60 and 80% of the planet's freshwater. To do this, the Foundation is partnering with the World Glacier Mountaineering Service (WGMS) of the University of Zurich in Switzerland. For more than 125 years, this program has been gathering standardized observations of glacial change, and their fluctuations. The funds collected will go to different initiatives promoted by the World Glacier Mountaineering Service, from measuring devices and equipment for researchers to education programs for schools, among other things. “The Kilian Jornet Foundation is born to reach goals that individually we’re not able to achieve, to share knowledge and skills for the common goal of preserving the mountain environment and fight against what endangers it,” says Pau Ylla, director of the Foundation. “Climate and other changes need to be addressed comprehensively and it is essential to gather data and raise awareness of the importance of small actions for the change of the global system affecting mountains.” Lead images: © Kilian Jornet Foundation Read more articles Run wild for nature! Six ways to plan a route for your next adventure Start your path to mountain navigation mastery here