Now is the time to celebrate both the suffering and the flying. Welcome to the third annual Vertical Week!     Vertical Week 2018 starts on Monday, February 26 and ends on Sunday, March 4. Put on your running shoes, hop on your bike or release your heels and start skinning up the hill. Track your adventures with your Suunto watch, sync with Suunto App, and by the end of the week we’ll know which country climbs the most in a week.   Every move counts!     Share your Vertical Week experiences on Instagram or Facebook with #VerticalWeek. Three of the most inspiring posts will win Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR Baro watches. Terms and conditions apply. Read them here.      

Over at Suunto, we make our products to stand the test of time – but even we can’t demonstrate that as well as Walter Hassler, from Tirol, Austria. The retiree has taken his Suunto X6 on every single bike, ski tour, and hike since he got it thirteen years ago – and it’s still ticking, all the way up to two million height meters (now, more.) We stopped by for a visit to see what we could learn about him – and his thirst for adventure. As a young man my goal was getting faster and faster Now I am just happy to keep doing what I am doing. I grew up with nine siblings in the beautiful valley of Zillertal. Sports has always been important for us – I played soccer, biked, went swimming or skiing with my brothers and sisters. Now it’s mostly mountain biking and ski touring. On good days I am still able to achieve the same results (time) as 13 years ago when I first got my Suunto watch. 12 ski/bike tours a month are the minimum If the weather is nice I sometimes do up to 15 tours a month in summer.I don’t get on my bike (or my skis) for less than 1,000 height meters This is how I end up doing between 15,000 and 20,000 height meters a month on average. Whenever I am on my bike I am clocking between 2.5-3 hours minimum. The longest tours I am doing are up to 6 hours though. Of course I feel bad for my wife, leaving her alone for a couple hours every other day! On October 24th, 2009 I put 1 million height meters on to my Suunto When I downloaded the data 4 days later I already had 1,007,000 height meters on it. I wanted to put 2 million height meters on, and then stop – at least that´s what I said. When I downloaded the data it was already 2,007,000 height meters, so I just have to keep going, I guess. 2 million height meters are actually 2,000 kilometers That´s just crazy, isn´t it? It took me only 5 years to do my first million height meters, so maybe if stay healthy I can get up to three million. Bad weather has never been an excuse for me On one tour I was looking at my cell phone, then lightening struck so close to me that it actually knocked the phone out of my hand.I mostly exercise by myself Because I love getting on my bike right in front of my house. Waiting around for others to finish work, lunch or just better conditions isn´t for me. If I do go with a buddy, they usually are 20-30 years younger than me so they can keep up.I just turned 70 But I think I´ll still be on my bike 20 years from now.

Key components to improve your fitness are frequency, duration and intensity. Frequency and duration are easy to understand, but training intensity is a bit more tricky. How hard is hard? And why should I care? Read on to learn about intensity zones and about defining them.  That Janne Kallio works at Suunto on new product and solution concepts shouldn’t surprise anyone – after all, triathlon is his passion. Neither are we surprised that his book (Treenaa tehokkaasti, currently only available in Finnish) can help you learn to how to use technology to improve your endurance results. But the most surprising thing? Using training zones is easy. “Training does not need to be complicated,” says Kallio. “The key aspect of reaching progress in one’s fitness is the ability to increase the physical load over longer period of time. Research shows that for people who are only starting to train, the easiest way to progress is to simply add one more training session in the week. Running three times a week versus two will improve fitness.” But after a certain limit, simply running more is not enough. “Running speed increases quite linearly on all distances up to about 60–70 km per week. After that the correlation isn’t as strong. When training more than 100 km a week your running speed does not necessarily get any faster.” What Kallio is explaining is that adding volume to your training only helps up to a certain point. After that getting faster requires focus on other things, like the correct distribution of training intensity. “Quite common training model is the so called polarized model where a big chunk, i.e. 80 % of training, is done aerobically, and a small portion of training with high-intensity. In order to follow this type of model one needs to be aware of one’s intensity levels.” But what does intensity actually mean? Training on different intensities stresses your body in different ways and leads to different kind of physiological adaptation. During light or moderate efforts the energy is supplied by the oxidative system, burning fat and carbs, and your blood lactate levels remain the same as at rest (0,8–1,5 mmol/L). As the intensity increases, lactic acid starts to build in your muscles. Your body is still able to flush it out but the lactate levels rise above your resting levels. In training terminology this is your aerobic threshold (usually marked at 1,5–2,0 mmol/L). If the intensity of the exercise intensifies even further, at some point your cardiovascular system can’t supply your muscles with enough oxygen, and lactic acid starts to build in your muscles faster than it can be removed. This point is called your anaerobic threshold (usually at around 4,0 mmol/L). Based on these values, five zones are defined. Zones 1 and 2 are below aerobic threshold. Zones 3 and 4 between aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. Zone 5 is above your aerobic threshold. (Some of the zone-based models split zone 5 to fit dedicated sprint / explosive training into this intensity.) Zone 1 is for recovery and warm-ups/cool-downs, zone 2 for long endurance sessions, zone 3 for tempo work, zone 4 for high-intensity intervals and zone 5 for maximal, VO2 max efforts. The intensity zones are commonly defined based on heart rate, running pace or cycling power. Depending of the personal preference, type of training and equipment available one can use any of these models in their training.   How to define your personal heart rate zones? It is important to know your zones to be able to follow a training plan and to keep structure in your training. “Without this knowledge easy runs often become too hard and hard ones are not hard enough. Zones help you understand and commit to what you are supposed to do,” Janne Kallio says. There are basically three ways to define your heart rate zones: an estimate based on your max heart rate, a field test and a lab test. Says Janne: “Statistically an estimate based on your max heart rate is valid, but as we know, individual differences are large especially in anaerobic threshold. The first challenge is the estimation of maximum heart rate and then the percentage of this to set the right level for anaerobic threshold. The percentage is an estimation as well.” “The estimation of maximal heart rate is a good starting point. After some really hard workouts it’s definitely good to update your maximum heart rate based on personal experience. But for a goal oriented athlete, more accurate values are needed.” The best way to get to know your personal HR zones is to take a VO2 max test with blood lactate analyses at a lab. But that is not necessary for every athlete. You can get a good idea of your personal intensity zones with a fairly straight-forward field test: After a good warm-up, run a 30-minute, race-pace effort. 10 minutes into the test hit the lap button on your Suunto. After the test use the average heart rate of the 20-minute lap as your anaerobic threshold. Run hard the entire half an hour, but don’t start out too hard. After doing this test a few times you will learn to pace it better. “After you have got your anaerobic threshold, it is time to make some calculations. There is some published research done on where the aerobic level fits based on anaerobic threshold,” says Janne. “It’s good to understand that an accurate anaerobic threshold is the basis of good zone distribution.” Zone 5: Above your anaerobic threshold. Zone 5 ends at your max heart rateZone 4: 94–99 % of your anaerobic threshold. The upper limit of zone 4 is your anaerobic thresholdZone 3: 89-93 % of your anaerobic thresholdZone 2: 83-88 % of your anaerobic threshold. The upper limit of zone 2 is your aerobic thresholdZone 1: <82 % of your anaerobic threshold. Zone 1 starts at your resting heart rate. Note, these % values are from anaerobic threshold heart rate, not from maximal heart rate. There are also other zone models that you can use. For example some of the zone models place your anaerobic threshold within zone 4 and in some models zone 1 does not start at rest heart rate but above it at 55 % of maximum heart rate. Kallio says that’s not really important – it’s about the concept: “What one needs to understand is that the role of the zones is to ensure you train in different intensities.”   Different activities, different intensity zones “It is also good to know that your heart rate zones differ slightly in different endurance sports. Activities where more muscles are working also require more oxygen meaning your anaerobic threshold is higher in these sports. You will reach your anaerobic threshold earlier in swimming than in cycling, running or cross-country skiing – in this order,” Janne reminds us. “So if you are, let’s say, a cyclist and a runner, you should test and define your zones for each of the sports to target your training intensities correctly.” It’s just one example of how a little knowledge can help out a lot – a whole lot.   LEARN HOW TO USE SUUNTO VERTICAL'S INTENSITY ZONES Main image © Philipp Reiter

Kilian Jornet has spent a lot of time in the mountains since he was a kid and has been training to improve since he was a teenager. All the hours, days and years of training have made him one of the best all mountain athletes ever. Whether running, skiing or climbing Kilian is breaking records, winning races and inspiring others. Kilian, in the video you say: “If you don’t have pleasure when you train, you will never improve!” What makes training fun for you? You don’t train to have fun but to improve, to reach goals or to adapt, but it is important to have pleasure doing the activity you do to spend this amount of time easily. I love to ski and run and to be in the mountains and I’m enjoying when I do that and it is part of my training. How do you turn tough days into good ones? Some days you just switch to work mode, listen to music in your headphones and watch the watch count the time and meters you need to do that day. Sometimes it’s more hard than fun but it is important to do. A good or bad day is not fun or not fun. Some training session can be hard and fun, fun but not hard, hard and not fun or not fun and not hard. Good or bad depends on what you have improved or learned, what have you experienced. How has your training changed over the last 10 years? Not much in big lines, I like the principles of training I do, like quantity over quality and specific training. They seem to work for me. I try to be open and look at new ways to train and test different things. How is it possible to be fast from short races, like a vertical km, to super long ultras? Train different situations, train some long days, some short. It does demand a lot of time (years) and time (hours a year) to do all different kind of training. What are your strengths? In physical capacities, recovery rate and VO2 max. Then psychologically I can enter a non-emotional state that helps me in stress situations. Now also my experience. What would you still like to improve? Many things. It’s important to work to improve both the weaknesses and the strengths. What are you focusing on this year? Mostly rehab and recovery from my shoulder surgery that I had in October. Then I’ll see how it goes. I had a ski fall some years ago and dislocated both of my shoulders. Since then I have dislocated them several times and knew I needed to get the operation done at some point. I don’t really focus but try to be in good shape on average and adapt depending on the next goal that can be a long or short ski mountaineering or trail running race or mountaineering. What motivates you to keep pushing your limits? I just think it is great to know yourself. Watch Kilian's video "How do I train (again and again)" Kilian Jornet started training the day he was born. The mountains were his playground and without realizing it he created his own training philosophy that is based on repeating, trying and failing. Watch Kilian’s How do I train now!

I wonder if I could...? Fill in the… with any sort of challenge and that is the beginning of something great. I am not saying that every dream I have ever had I have accomplished. Not even close. But the dreams I have realized, mean so much to me. They are the ones that have made me who I am, and helped direct me to where I am going.   My dreams in the mountains are endless. There are lines that I have dream skied so many times I sometimes wonder if I have actually skied them. Seriously. Occasionally when I get deeply into a dream about skiing a line, I can get all adrenalized and excited, just knowing what the feelings would be dropping into such a line. These dreams sustain me for hours while I skin up mountain sides, often I flip between the realization of the dream I am on and wondering about future lines I could ski.   The West face of Mount Macdonald, one of Greg’s dream lines. A possible ski descent? (Image by Bruno Long)   There are dream lines that are realistic and then those that are not…well maybe not… and that is the fun, as our skills progress, what was once an unattainable line suddenly becomes possible. And then the other dream lines can also become reality.   I distinctly remember when my first dream ski line became reality, and how fulfilling it was. In 1998 I was learning to backcountry ski when someone pointed up at Aymers Couloir on Mount Temple in the Canadian Rockies. They mentioned that people had just skied that line. I looked, up and up, and saw this crazy looking couloir that started from a ridge off the biggest mountain I had ever seen. It seemed almost impossible that such a line was skiable.   And my dream began. For years I progressed my ski mountaineering skills, always with this nagging memory of a dream line in the Rockies. Then in the spring of 2005, my skills were good enough, my knowledge solid enough, and my partners ready. We ventured towards this impressive couloir and the second I got to the fan of the line I knew I would set the boot pack the whole way up. I had so much energy from years of dreaming about visiting this place that nothing could stop me.   The 900 m couloir could not stop my endless drive, the thigh deep snow was not enough to convince me to turn around, I was living my dream. Standing on top I was able to reflect on all the progression that had allowed me to grow from a fledgling backcountry skier who couldn’t believe this line was possible, to someone who had the skills and strengths to get to the top and with those great thoughts in my mind I tipped the balance and shredded down.   Checking out some a potential descent at the Stiftons in British Columbia, Canada. (Image by Bruno Long)   Every day that I tour around I am always looking and wondering. For sure many of the lines I will never ski, but if even 10% of them become reality then I am happy. Rogers Pass has been my stomping grounds for 19 years, and I never walk anywhere without looking up at the potential places I have yet to visit. I love skiing the “Ramp” but what about that line above that ends in cliffs? It’s so similar to the Ramp, it just requires a little rope work at the end. Or what about the West Line off Mount Macdonald, will it ever fill in enough for us to venture down?   Or really what about that line on the Siftons, should we go there tomorrow? Dreams are the seeds of adventure. Never stop dreaming.     To prepare you for your dream line, watch Greg’s “7 terrain tricks” that he (literally) can’t live without.   All images by Bruno Long

Freediving is not, as one might expect, a journey of meters or minutes – it’s the journey of a lifetime. While in the global scale of distance and time, a free diver’s trips to the relative shallowest depths of the oceans are small – the position one must put one’s self in to make such a dive requires immense dedication, patience, training and time. Few can tell that journey better than world champion William Trubridge. In his new book, Oxygen, he invites us to join him for his life’s journey, and trust us when we tell you, what a journey it has been. To call his childhood ‘unorthodox’ would be putting lightly, or perhaps politely – born in England to world-wandering parents, he was traveling the world before he could walk. About that, in fact – he had to learn to walk twice. The first time on a boat – and the second time when the ground wasn’t moving beneath his feet. With his older brother and parents, they traversed the world, taking harbor in the Galapagos, the British Virgin Islands, South Pacific, and more. There were times where they wouldn’t see land for months at a time – including a 5500 km crossing to the Marquesas. The obsession with the deep came early. Diving was a necessity of boat life. He recalls being impressed with their father, who dove 18 m to work on the boat’s anchor. When they met another boat family, led by a Frenchman named Benoît who could dive to a depth of 27 m, that depth seemed as deep as the sea would go. Little did William know he’d be trying for four times that depth a couple decades later. Will sat down to write the book – for several hours a day, over many months after encouragement from friends and his agent Jason Chambers. He’s long-held fascination with the written word – something he delves into over the pages of his memoir – but the long format was something yet untried. One thing should be made clear: although you can learn a lot about the sport, it’s not a tutorial on free-diving. “I tried to write it in a way that would explain the sport to those who haven't encountered freediving, giving a glimpse of how beautiful and peaceful it is,” says Will. “I also tried to include descriptions that might allow other freedivers to get a feel for my approach, the way I train, and why I've stuck with the sport.” The meandering pages take you both through the days of Will’s life and the depths of his dives, digging into both the mindset he needs to be in to make them, the risks of being underwater, and how free diving happens mostly in your head. For someone who’s already gotten a taste of the deep, or someone who wants to, it’s a must-read. Find Will’s book available as paperback or eBook on Amazon.com.