Suunto Blog

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  

An essential part of outdoor adventure is planning. The better you are at it, the smoother, safer and more relaxed your trips. Of course, there are many aspects to planning, from understanding the topography and distances, through to knowing your group and managing rest breaks. However, knowing your route is key. When that’s sorted everything else is more likely to flow. Whether you want to start from scratch, use an existing route or something in between, here are six different ways to create a route for your Suunto watch to guide your next adventure. Suunto app’s route planning capabilities are very versatile. Depending on the situation you can use the most suitable option – even on the go as all these work on your mobile. Planning a route from scratch is just one of the many route planning options on Suunto app.   Plan a route from scratch Just opening the map and starting to draw your own route is probably the first route planning method that comes to people’s minds. Just mark the starting point and key points along the way to draw the desired route to your destination. Tip: To help the route planning process you can choose whether you want to follow “any road or path”, “all road types”, “all road types avoiding hills”, “paved roads” or “free drawing”. Using the most suitable option will make planning more efficient.   Plan using heatmaps Suunto Heatmaps show the tracks frequently used by Suunto community all over the globe, based on millions of activities. Turn the heatmaps on and choose the desired activity type. Suunto heatmaps are sport specific. This allows you to differentiate between activities, for example, running and trail running. Heatmaps can be on while planning routes. This enables you to see where the popular trails are. Tip: Suunto app also has “My Tracks”, a new feature showing where you have been during the last week, month or a year. Compare your own tracks with the general heat to spot areas and trails you haven’t yet been to. Suunto app recommends popular routes for your location.   Use popular routes on Suunto app When browsing Suunto app’s map view, you can swipe up a menu of route recommendations: the app automatically generates popular routes for the location you have selected. Simply select an activity type, see what others have been doing and select one you like. Tip: If you want to see more route options, zoom out or change the location for your search and tap ‘Search here’.   Use an existing activity Would you like to do that awesome run from last year again? Or has your friend been to an interesting trail? You can use existing activities to create routes. All you need to do is tap the three dots on top right of the activity screen and select ‘Save route’. The route then opens in Suunto app’s route planner so you can name the route and sync it to your Suunto watch. Tip: If you want to find your old activities more easily,, add a trail name, location etc in the description field. You can then search for them in your Diary on Suunto app and create routes for navigation. You can sync routes to Suunto app from Suunto compatible route services, like Wikiloc, and get access to their planning tools and route libraries.   Sync from a partner service Suunto app is compatible with several route planning services, like komoot, Fatmap, Wikiloc, Twonav Land, Openrunner and2bulu (in China). Connect your Suunto app account with the partner service to get routes created there to be synced with your Suunto app – and your watch. You can find thousands and thousands of routes in the partner services and also use their tools, like route libraries, desktop apps and big screen solutions. (Learn more about Suunto's partners.) Tip: Some of our route service partners are included in Suunto Value Pack. Learn more about it here.    Import a GPX file Have you spotted an interesting route in the media or perhaps a race organizer has offered you the race route as a GPX file? To get that route on your watch, save it in a location you can access on your phone and open it using Suunto app. (Learn how to import a GPX file on Suunto app for iOS or Android.) Tip: You can also share or save your own routes as GPX files using Suunto app: Go to the list of your routes and click the sharing button. Then select whether you want to share the route or save the GPX file.

We’ve all been there: you head out for a run, and it feels really good and turns into an exploratory run and before you know it you either have no idea where you are or you need to find a shortcut back because you’re running late. No need to fumble with your phone, the Suunto 7 has your back. Read on for its four ways to find your way. All these navigation aids can be utilized during any activity type with GPS. Suunto 7 has detailed terrain maps available for offline use. Breadcrumbs Like the breadcrumbs left by Hansel and Gretel, the Suunto 7 always draws the path you have travelled on a terrain map. This feature allows you to follow your tracks back to your starting point. And you don’t need to slavishly follow the exact same route back; if you like you can take a shortcut and merge back with the breadcrumb route later.   Terrain maps To aid with this on-the-go navigation the Suunto 7 also shows you detailed terrain maps that are automatically downloaded to your watch for offline use. Suunto 7 downloads and updates local offline maps with heatmaps automatically when your watch is charging and connected to Wifi. The downloaded map area is based on your last known location and varies from 35 km × 35 km to 50 km × 50 km (from 22 mi × 22 mi to 31 mi × 31 mi), depending on where you are located. You can also create custom offline maps for your travels and adventures away from home. Learn more about offline maps The more a route glows on a Heatmap, the more popular it is. Heatmaps Another option is to use activity-specific Heatmaps on your Suunto 7. Heatmaps are simply maps showing the most popular routes of the Suunto community. That’s really useful when you are deciding on route options or exploring a new area. Learn how to change map style during exercise. Create routes on Suunto app and select which ones you want to use on your Suunto 7. Preplanned routes Suunto 7 offers offline route navigation with detailed outdoor maps. The routes can be synced to your Suunto 7 via Bluetooth from Suunto app. You can create a route from scratch or use an existing route. Simply select which routes you want to have available on your watch on Suunto app and sync. When your Suunto 7 is charging and connected to Wifi, an offline outdoor map is downloaded for each route to your watch automatically. You can either start navigating with a preplanned route at the beginning of a workout or later during the activity. The selected route is visible in the map view of your Suunto 7. Zoom in and out with the top and bottom buttons, or tap to see an overview of the route and get notifications if you go off path. Learn more about Route navigation with Suunto 7 READ MORELearn six ways to create routes for your Suunto

Based in Vienna, Austrian Drum n Bass duo Camo & Krooked have been producing music since 2002 and have released four albums and played at dance parties around the world. Reinhard Rietsch (Camo) and Markus Wagner (Krooked) teamed up with Red Bull this year to create a one of a kind concert experience that paired Drum n Bass with a live orchestra. The incredible show was filmed and turned into a film you can watch here. Aside from performing or making tunes in the studio, their other lifelong passion is skateboarding. It takes more physical strength and mental focus than you might guess, they say. The talented duo prepared a playlist for us designed to get you moving! Read on for our discussion about balancing the party life and staying in shape ...   Camo & Krooked performing in Konzerthaus, Vienna © Philipp CARL Riedl / Red Bull Content Pool Play your own favorite tunes from your wrist With the Suunto 7 smartwatch you can connect your headphones to your phone and control music and other audio – adjust volume, pause and skip tracks – straight from your wrist without taking your phone out of your pocket. You can also listen to music without your phone: Spotify has just released an update to their Wear OS app that enables offline use. Simply connect your bluetooth headphones with your watch and download the tracks that you want to take with you! With this new feature, Spotify Premium users will be able to download their favorite albums, playlists, and podcasts to listen offline. Free users will be able to stream their tunes in Shuffle Mode using a WiFi or cellular connection, as well as download any of their favorite podcasts directly to the watch.   LEARN HOW TO USE SPOTIFY WITH YOUR SUUNTO 7   What are your favourite sports and workouts? We both love skateboarding and have been doing it for over 20 years, so that’s definitely our favorite sport. It’s great for training the whole body due to the body tension that gets generated when doing a trick, but also the mind doesn’t fall short. Every millisecond must be thought through. Timing and position are everything in skateboarding. But we also enjoy going on a bike tour, going for a run and hiking occasionally. How often do you workout each week? About every second day if time allows! If there is a deadline coming up, sometimes less. But we always try to squeeze in a skate session, a jog or a bike ride. It helps us clear our minds after a long studio session. Sometimes we come back from the workout and are more creative than before! How does staying fit help you as a DJ? Tour life as a DJ/musician can be very draining. A confused body clock due to jet lag and not enough time for a proper lunch can be devastating for both body and soul. Therefore it is of great importance to us to stay fit. Fitness gives us enough energy reserves in case things don’t go as planned or the schedule is just exhausting. Never underestimate the synergy between body and soul either! A fit body will support your stress threshold.   Does the night life make it difficult to maintain a routine? We try to maintain our daily routine as best as we can, but sometimes we simply can’t since flight schedules can be tricky. Especially when travelling overseas, the jet lag can be a thorn in the eye for days. In these situations, it is important for us to eat healthy and keep being active throughout the day (even if it is just a walk through a city park), so both body and brain can acclimate to the new time zone quickly. Also, we avoid alcohol if we have jet lag. What is your approach to eating well and nutrition? Usually three meals a day. The breakfast being the most important of all and probably the richest in nutrition value. We avoid lemonades and juice as much as we can and try to eat as little meat as possible nowadays. Before a gig we always try to eat the lightest and most energizing meals available, and the last meal of the day shouldn’t be too late. Back in the days we used to go for the biggest steak on the menu, but we had to learn it the hard (and heavy) way and rethink our food habits. Having no energy after dinner and feeling like you have a rock in your stomach whilst DJing is one of the worst feelings. What does music and movement mean to you? Music and movement are two things that simply belong together. Music is frequencies moving through space, and these frequencies can make people move.Music can be listened to on any occasion, and that is the beauty of it. But for the genre we love and live for – Drum & Bass – it is all about moving your body. And that’s why we still can’t get enough of it after all these years. No other music genre contains so much energy and euphoria as Drum & Bass. See you on the dance floor!   Lead images: © Harry Tiits / Red Bull Content PoolBody images: © Alissa Tsuvilskaja Read more articles These Japanese DJs live for music and movement Meet the Mambo Brothers, two health conscious DJs living the night life The benefits of training to music and making your best playlist  

Ever since the first reconnaissance mission to explore climbing Mt Everest nearly a century ago, the world’s highest peak has loomed large in the minds of adventurers all over the world. From the first attempt in 1922 through to Suunto Ambassador Kilian Jornet summiting the 8848 m peak twice in one week in 2017, Everest has represented the ultimate challenge. Like so many things at the moment, Mt Everest is currently closed due to COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean you can’t conquer your own Everest. The closure of travel and racing represents an opportunity to imagine new adventures that inspire the heart and mind. One for the list is ‘Everesting’.   Karsten Madsen cruises on one of the laps in his first Everesting ride back in May. © @matthew.tongue What is Everesting? Simple really; pick any hill, anywhere in the world and complete repeats of it until you climb 8848 m – the equivalent height of Mt Everest. The challenge has become particularly popular with cyclists, but can be done on foot or even virtually in the comfort of your own home. Get the job done and you can get your name in the Everesting hall of fame. How did it start? The first Everesting event was in 1994. The grandson of the famous mountaineer George Mallory, who disappeared on Mt Everest in 1924, biked up 1069 m Mount Donna Buang in Victoria, Australia eight times. The format and rules were later developed by Australian cyclist Andy van Bergen, who was inspired by Mallory's effort. Andy also heads up the Hell 500 cycling collaborative which runs www.everesting.cc, the global hub for Everesting. Everesting boom time We all need goals to aim for. Otherwise our motivation wanes. For athletes and adventurers, COVID-19 wiped out the usual goals, including races and travelling to adventure destinations. Athletes and adventurers have had to find new ways to stay motivated. That’s why FKT (fastest known time) attempts have exploded in number this year. And for the same reason so have Everesting attempts. Already so far in 2020, the fastest known times for successful Everestings have fallen 10 times in the men’s category, and seven times in the women’s category. At the time of writing this, Irish road racing cyclist Ronan McLaughlin holds the men’s record: 07h04m. Brit and former pro cyclist Emma Pooley holds the women’s record: 08h53m.   Karsten says this Everesting attempt is so tough he might find his breaking point. © @matthew.tongue   Is this the most ambitious Everesting attempt ever? Professional Xterra triathlete 28-year-old Karsten Madsen has his work cut out for this coming Saturday. Starting at 3am – when the local bears are the most active – the Canadian Suunto athlete will set out on his MTB into the lush forests of British Columbia to attempt to pedal up Mount Sproatt (1826 m) seven times. He’ll start his ascent via the ‘Into the Mystic’ MTB trail which has four pitches so steep he’ll have to maintain 400 watts power to avoid having to push his bike. The descent, via the famous Lord of the Squirrels Trail, won’t afford him any real rest time because of the gnarly terrain, including rock rolls and slabs and a tangle of tree roots. To prepare for the bumpy descents, Karsten has been doing special training for his hands and arms. Each loop is 28.9 km, with 1200 m elevation gain. Karsten aims to finish it in 15 hours. “This project gets me excited because people who live here in Whistler know that trail well,” he says. “When you tell them you are going to ride it seven times, it blows their minds. We caught up with Karsten before the ride and asked him about his big adventure.   Carefully monitoring his time and watts on his Suunto 9 will play a key part on the day. © @matthew.tongue We heard you Everested another peak recently? Yes, I Everested Whistler Peak (2181 m) in Kadenwood on May 22. I did it on a road bike on local roads. Each of the 39 laps was 6.4 km, with 321 m elevation gain. The total distance was 247 km and my average watts was 300. It took me 11 hours and change. I decided to do it only four days prior to starting. How is Everesting with a mountain bike on a MTB trail going to be different? It comes with a logistical nightmare. The loop is a lot longer so I have to be a lot more diligent to make sure I have everything I need on each lap. I need to be self sufficient out there and make sure I get everything I need when I go through basecamp. With this one I'm not totally sure I can pull it off. On the MTB, I don't know. The trail down is really physically hard. Why did you choose this next trail for an Everesting attempt? Personal draw. I use it for training a lot. The climb portion of it is very indicative of a lot of the races I do. Plus, growing up in Ontario we didn't have mountains, and the first time I rode up into an alpine environment was up on this trail. It was one of the top five best days in my life. It made me feel amazing in my very soul. I’m also King of the Mountain, or the person with the FKT (fastest known time) on it.   Unlike most Everesting adventures, this one will be tough on the way down, too. © @matthew.tongue Are these sorts of long adventures your focus now? Yes and no. COVID opened a different window into another life. These are the sorts of things I planned to do after my racing career ends. I’m in the prime of my endurance life and my goal is to win an Xterra World Championship. Early in the COVID lockdown, we had no idea whether we could race, so we’re just trying to find ways to stay motivated and get in some big blocks of training. If you’re a solutions based person, you'll find a way to make the best out of a terrible situation. I got thinking about how to create an event that is COVID appropriate and that people find interesting. I realised people find long adventures inspiring. Thing is I can do this now because I’m in the prime of my life and have time to recover. It all developed into an opportunity for sponsors to showcase something inspiring happening. How can people follow your attempt Saturday? Follow along via my Instagram feed: @karstenmad. I'll be posting updates when I can. And to support, please consider donating here. My lofty goal is to raise $8848, covering every meter of the adventure. Best thing is there is a laundry list of prizes people can win. All the proceeds go to WORCA (Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association) In 2019 they were granted a $120,000 annual budget, and this year, due to COVID, it was slashed to $40,000. I rely so much on these trails. MTBing gives people in this town a break from all this COVID chaos. It's pure therapeutic fun. You aren’t following the Everesting rule that requires the way up to be the same as the way down? That’s right. It’s a simple decision really. Part of it is forced. On most MTB trails the trail up is only for climbing. You don't descend it. I understand I'm not following the correct Everesting rule, but literally no one could climb the descent trail. It's so gnarly. Even to go down is full on. You'd be hiking your bike up.   Karsten's family are supporting him, including making sure he gets plenty of calories. © @matthew.tongue   How have you been training for this? I've done 15 or 16 laps up this year. I know every inch of it. Over a weekend recently some friends and I did a huge gravel ride, including some bushwhacking. We were gone from 6am, to 09.30pm. It was a super hard day. The next day I rode my pacing laps. I have years of endurance training under my belt. I’m also getting plenty of rest. The cool thing about this project is I have learned a lot about training.   What’s your plan for the ride in terms of food and pacing? Pacing will come from knowing the lap time, and really following power data. If I hold 300 watts I know what that lap time will look like. Having a Suunto 9 will help me keep an eye on the data. I’ve set it up so I can see all the important data fields: time, current power, average power, current heart rate, and elevation gain. I really have to make sure I'm on time with my laps. One risk is riding too hard too early or, alternatively, maybe I let the power slip. In terms of food, basically every lap I'll be eating a bunch of Cliff bars, blocks, and cookies and drinking a 750ml bottle with 320 calories. Then I’ll introduce flat coke, pretzel sandwiches, and Pringles. I want to have a little real food because I'll need more calories for the way down.   What have you learned from Everesting? To be a good racer you have to have a robotic feeling. We shut off emotions, like feeling nervous, and get into a kind of tunnel vision just to execute. Then we only start feeling again at the finish line. These Everesting projects are a super soul fulfilling thing. Such a different experience. They can bring a community together, and rally for a cause that’s bigger than yourself. It's not about me, it's about raising money for a cause. Whereas with racing it feels more selfish, just thinking me, me, me, and how can I be better. Lead images: @matthew.tongue Read more articles Welcome to the season of the FKT Start your path to mountain navigation mastery here How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes