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The first two articles (here and here) in this series on way-finding were about skills and preparation. In this one, our resident navigation guru Terho Lahtinen take the training wheels off. Now he distills the essentials to stay on track when you’re on an adventure out in the backcountry. Terho has been map reading and navigating since he was six years old, when his father taught him. His love of the outdoors grew in the Boy Scouts, and eventually he competed in orienteering at the national level for Finland for more than 20 years, and was lead navigator for adventure racing team Salomon X-Act which competed around the globe for eight years. “Mountain sports took on a bigger role in my life while adventure racing,” Terho says. “I was the lead navigator in our team. Nowadays, I’m hiking, biking and ski-touring in the mountains as often as I can get away with.”   Clearly explain the route ahead to your group. This ensures everyone learns. © Arc'teryx / Piotr Drozdz Do a gear check You’ve just parked at the roadend, get out of your car, and gaze up at the mountains around you. You and your group will be alone there. It’s time to get locked in. First things first: check you have all the essential gear packed. The right maps, head torches, first aid kit, your trusty Suunto 9 or other GPS, maybe your avalanche safety gear, and that all electronic devices are fully charged. Brief the group Before charging up the trail, get your group together and hold a short briefing. This ensures everyone is on the same page and means less questions or confusion later. Talk about your intention for the trip, for example to stay safe, have fun, and be patient with one another. Then do an overview of the days ahead; where you are going, distances each day, points of interests, and where you’ll be sleeping. Lastly, preview the day ahead, the first leg of the day and what you will be encountering, and when you’ll be having lunch.   Remember to factor in breaks and toilet stops. Photo by Ted Bryan Yu on Unsplash Keep a schedule Knowing what you should encounter on each leg of your trip is the key to staying on track. Terho advises scheduling check points (to reach specific locations at particular times), consider safety margins, and when to turn back or change plans, perhaps due to tiredness, darkness, or inclement weather. Review the second article in this series to consider pace and average travelling time. Pause for a few minutes between legs, look at your map, and identify what’s coming up. “It’s good to have an overall idea of the day, and a more detailed understanding of the next logical leg of the route (usually a few kilometers or the next hour or so),” Terho explains. “Always identify the next clear navigation point you are aiming at to make sure you are staying on the planned route.” Use handrails Handrails are distinctive, guiding terrain features that can guide you to your destination. For example, you might go off trail in a certain direction until you reach a creek you’ve identified on the map. Then, you might use the creek as a handrail to find a bridge. “Suitable handrails are hills, ridges, contours, ditches, lake sides, rivers, or any other long terrain feature that take you towards the desired location,” Terho says. “Be sure you follow the hand rail in the right direction!” Aim with landmarks In addition to hand rails, you can also use distinctive landmarks near your next destination as navigation aids. “Instead of trying to directly find your destination, identify a clear terrain feature on the map that’s near your destination and find that first,” Terho says. “Then you’re sure to get close to where you want and then use more detailed navigation for the last part of the leg.”   The direct route isn't always the fastest route. Study the terrain. © Arc'teryx / Piotr Drozdz Test your memory Building on the previous two tips, Tehro suggests you test your memory to see what you recognise. First, review the plan for the next leg of your journey. Look at your map and identify the handrails and distinctive features or landmarks you should see on the way to your next destination. After getting a handle on that, put away your map and follow your plan to the next destination. How many times do you need to look at the map? “Mentally visualizing the upcoming route in advance and memorizing the essential features, trail forks, points of interest, is a useful technique,” Terho explains. “It helps you to recognize those locations on the go and gives you freedom to put your map or navigation device away and enjoy the surroundings and the activity itself.” Be willing to hit pause If you start to get the feeling you have gone astray, don’t keep going. Pause and gather yourself. One of the things that gets people in trouble in the backcountry is when they go off course there they double down and keep moving forward rather stopping, taking stock, and turning back if need be. “If you are uncertain, stop and check the location with your map,” Terho says. “If you don’t know where you are, don’t continue until you find it out.” Technology rocks While for way-finding purists, navigation should only involve a map and a compass, let us speak honestly here; technology is awesome and makes things easier for many of us. “If you upload your planned route to the GPS in advance, you can immediately see from the screen if you are off course and where the right course is in relation to your current location,” Terho says. “Most GPS also have an off-course alarm, notifying you if you left the intended path.” A Suunto 9, or other GPS device, includes an altimeter, which is a useful navigational support. It tells you your current elevation to help you identify where you are on the map. You can then stay at the correct elevation for your course. For example, as you cross a mountain saddle. Getting back on track In the event you do go off course, remember that not knowing exactly where you are is not the same as being lost. It’s important to stay calm if you realize you don’t know your location. Take a break, sit down, and think things through. “Start off by spotting landmarks around you to match them with the map,” Terho advises. “Think about where the last point was on the map where you knew where you were, and how long ago, in terms of time, that was. Work out how far you have traveled since then, what you’ve seen around you, and where you might have ended up. When you identify your location, plan the best option to get back on track.” You have three options: You can follow your track back to the point where you made a wrong turn. Alternatively, you can follow a new route to get back to your planned course. And lastly, you can follow a new route directly to the next destination. “The tactic you choose depends on the terrain, the skills and experience of your group, and the time of day,” Terho says. “If you are losing light, or in rugged terrain, always take the safest option.”   Stay tuned for the final article in our series on way-finding: Tips and tricks for handling challenging situations in the mountains.    Lead images: Photo by Krisjanis Mezulis on Unsplash Photo by Fabrizio Conti on Unsplash Read more articles: How to find your way in the mountains7 tips to plan a route in the mountains8 avalanche safety checks to tick off before the ski season7 tips to find a safe route up the mountain  

Across the world athletes and adventurers are being confined at home. This does not come naturally to us, but like skilful outdoors people who know how to handle any eventuality in the backcountry, this situation also presents us with an opportunity to adapt, grow, and learn. That’s exactly what members of our Suunto community are doing. We reached out to a bunch of Suunto trail and ultra runners and asked how they are “making the best use of a bad bargain”. And it turns out there are some unexpected upsides Johan in France uses his trainer to stay active. Accept the disruption Everyone we spoke to reported their goals for 2020 have been disrupted. Johan in Nice, France was looking forward to a cycling race and to hiking the famous GR20 trail across the spine of Corsica – the race has been cancelled and the hiking trip delayed. Joaquin in Spain is confined at home and all his plans have gone out the window. “At first it took me a while to accept it, but after two weeks I am now quite well adapted,” Joaquin says. “I am aware that we have to overcome this together, and the best thing at the moment is social distancing and being confined at home so the virus doesn’t spread and affect more people worldwide.” Take it one day at a time The temptation for many of us at the moment is to worry about the future and to compulsively follow the news about each twist and turn in the battle against coronavirus. Giving in to this temptation saps us of energy and creates anxiety. Instead, it’s more helpful to relax and be in the moment. Majo is living in Manila and is quarantined at home, and only permitted outside to pick up groceries and medical supplies. “Things may change in 24 hours so I’m just taking it one day at a time,” she says. “I’m trying to make myself productive and sane until we can come back to our ‘normal’ life. We can use this time to reflect on what’s important in life and how we will spend it well after all of these unexpected events.” To pass the time, Joaquin follows a daily routine, including cooking and exercising. “We’re also playing a lot of old boardgames that I had forgotten about,” he says. “It is really is incredible to rediscover these and play them with my wife so the hours pass faster and our confinement is more enjoyable.” Joaquin is using his balcony to good end! Stay active It’s important to acknowledge training indoors just isn’t the same as running in a forest or hills. Acknowledge, accept and then move on. All of our community is keeping active in one way or another. Fortunately for Tobias, he can still head out for runs in a nearby forest. Majo, on the other hand, is making the most of being confined indoors. “I’m doing strength and conditioning exercises such as high intensity bodyweight training or interval training with dumbbells, yoga and stair workouts for cardio,” she says. “I don't have much workout equipment so I’m making the most of what I have.” Maja in Sweden is living in the countryside, which sounds idyllic, but actually involves a lot of work. "Our sheep will be having lambs any day,” she says. “We have 33 chickens waiting to crack out of their eggshells (9 days left now!), we need to take home and chop/stalk firewood for next winter, plant all the veggies we’re gonna grow this summer, do some renovations on and in the house. Plus, we have a one year old that doesn’t always want to do the things above!" Learn new skills Based in the German Alps, Tobias is using the downtime to create his own topographical maps for future climbing trips. Majo is doing an online course to prepare in case her country requires more health workers to respond to the pandemic. She’s also taking online cooking lessons. Johan has taken up meditation. “I decided to use this time to start things I’ve wanted to do or learn for years, but never had enough time for,” he says. “There are tons of websites which give free online stuff to learn new skills.” Ryan has taken advantage of online communiation technology to build community. “One new item that I implemented three weeks ago is a virtual group run/walk for my colleagues,” he says. “Every Thursday at 5:00 PM, I host a virtual group run where colleagues run/walk with me as I lead everyone through a workout. It is a fun way to get outside by yourself and meet new people!” Fortunate to live in the German Alps, Tobias is still allowed outside to exercise. Get inspired Joaquin in Spain says for him it’s important to set and achieve a daily goal everyday. Ryan in California takes it a step further and says now is a time to set longer term goals, too. “This is a great time to set fitness goals!” he says. “Let’s use this time to consider what we want to accomplish in 2020 and 2021? Make clear, actionable, and attainable goals this year, and find a way to make yourself accountable. Share your goals with friends, workout buddies, or prospective coaches in order to help you stay accountable. Just because you can’t be in-person with someone right now does not mean you should lose your fitness accountability!” To stay inspired, Joaquin also looks out for community initiatives to help out. “A good source of inspiration and motivation for the community are the multiple solidarity initiatives that exist, for example in Spain last Saturday there was an initiative to raise funds for COVID-19 research where more than 7,300 athletes ran in their homes and raised almost € 83,000,” he says. Maja is staying inspired by following other ahletes online. "A lot of athletes are doing live sessions and Q&As in social media channels so take the time to ask them questions, train with them and make plans for future adventures, " she says. Look on the bright side Every cloud has a silver lining, they say, and even though this pandemic is causing so much suffering it’s causing a few positive things, too. Humans evolved what scientists call “negativity bias”; the tendency to be more attuned to spotting problems and threats than seeing the positive. This helped our species survive when we were regularly under threat. Now, however, we can turn this around and learn to focus more on the positive. “Even though my heart is really breaking seeing people and health workers get sick, die and starve because of this pandemic, a positive side of the quarantine for most parts of the world is less pollution and more healing time for the Earth,” Majo says. “Some families are spending more time together which is also priceless. We also get to realize we can live with less than the usual. Nevertheless, I am really hoping and praying desperately that this will end soon so we can get back to normal, whether that will be a new normal or not.” Lead image: © AlpineFex Read more articles 4 indoor workout tips for endurance athletes How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes 7 indoor training exercises to stay in shape 12 must-read running articles to booste performance

Well done to everyone who got out there and chased vertical meters over World Vertical Week 2020. We saw some inspiring efforts from people around the world. Two firefighters, for example, donned their heavy protective clothing and gear, and powered up and down the best training hill in their hometown of Helsinki, Finland. That’s going above and beyond the call of duty! Read their and two other cool stories from the week here. At Suunto HQ we are always excited to analyze the data and see how much our users have climbed over the week, and which nations and sports have sweated it out and gathered the most vertical meters. This year week has some exciting results. Over time, World Vertical Week has gradually been becoming a tradition; more and more people are participating and sharing their love of moving uphill. Return to the top Last year, one of the surprise results was that Austria lost it’s top place as the nation that gains the most vertical meters by average after holding it for two years. This year, the alpine nation has retaken the throne. The average climb among Suunto users in Austria was 457 m. Sehr gut Österreich! Notable mention to second place Switzerland (418 m) after dropping to eighth place last year. In the previous two years before that it was near the top. Italy (395 m) came third. These results prove once again that alpine nations know the best way to move is upwards! The overall kick ass nations Respect to our users in Italy, Spain, Austria, and France, all nations that came in the top five of five or more categories. Italy landed in the top five of 10 different categories, and Spain landed in the top five of seven. Skimo the go No surprises here; once again ski mountaineering accumulated the most vertical meters (838 m) on average out of all our activity types. Mountaineering (545 m) and trail running (466 m) came in second and third, as they did last year. Race to the top In the race for most total ascents per country, France beat out Spain to win the country that climbed the most. Last year, Spain came out on top. And, once again, Italy came in third. Impressive individual efforts There were 1772 participants who climbed more than a thousand meters during the week, and 1095 individual sessions that included more than 1000 meters of climbing. That’s some solid training, folks. Well done! Top nations by sport Ski touring No nation cracked the 1000 m mark this year in the skimo stakes, but it’s clear many users are gunning for this. Keep pushing and nail it next time! 1. Spain 972m 2. Austria 948m 3. Italy 946m 4. Switzerland 921m 5. Slovakia 903m Mountaineering Kudos to Sweden, a small nation of 10 million, for coming out on top in the mountaineering category, and for breaking the 1000 m mark. Surprising given last year it didn’t even make the top five. 1. Sweden 1316m 2. Italy 1060m 3. Austria 666m 4. Spain 581m 5. Slovenia 494m Trail running People in Asia are crazy about trail running, and once again Asian nations won the podium this year and four were in the top five. Nice! 1. Japan 932m 2. Hong Kong 896m 3. Thailand 676m 4. Greece 649m 5. Malaysia 636m Mountain biking Austria won this one, followed by Spain and Italy; all nations in the top five last year, too. 1. Austria 582m 2. Spain 513m 3. Italy 469m4. Switzerland 375m 5. France 356m Trekking Notice anything? This time Italy wins and Spain and Austria follow. 1. Italy 559m 2. Spain 397m 3. Austria 375m 4. France 352m 5. Malaysia 316m Hiking Malaysia came out on top here, and, as a side note, also came in fifth place for both trekking and trail running. We can imagine exploring the incredible mountainous rainforests in Malaysia must be pretty motivating! 1. Malaysia 606m2. Italy 475m 3. New Zealand 453m4. Slovenia 352m5. Japan 343m Nordic skiing Go Canada! Last year Canada came second, behind France. This year they reversed positions. 1. Canada 438m2. France 268m3. Norway 233m4. Austria 218,0m5. Italy 217,6 Cycling Portugal won after not even making the top five last year. Spain, Italy, Israel and South Africa once again filled the rest of the positions. 1. Portugal 460m 2. Spain 390m 3. Italy 345m 4. New Zealand 316m 5. South Africa 310m Running This category had very narrow margins between nations, and a slight reduction in average meters from last year. Last year New Zealand won it. Congrats Norway! 1. Norway 156m 2. Switzerland 151m 3. Czech Republic 142m 4. Italy 140m 5. France 139m   Lead images: Photo by Klemen Tušar on Unsplash Photo by Jamie Davies on Unsplash   Read more articles On the rise: top stories from World Vertical Week 2020 How to find your way in the mountains 7 tips to accelerating your vertical speed

© Philipp Reiter World Vertical Week has become an annual tradition, and many Suunto users are finding creative ways to get the most out of it. The week is really an invitation to get outside, to push oneself, and find new resolve and strength. It’s also a chance to show that nearby hill or mountain who’s boss. This year, we again ran a World Vertical Week photo competition with three lucky people winning a Suunto 7 or a Suunto 9. We asked our Instagram followers to share an image with a Suunto app data overlay from one of their ascents over the week and tag #verticalweek. We received so many inspiring entries. Thanks to everyone who participated. Check out the winners and their shots below. Congrats!  Firemen to the rescue! Two firemen in Finland went above and beyond the call of duty for World Vertical Week. Henri-Aleksi Pietilainen, 29, and his room mate at the Rescue Academy showed their dedication by donning their protective fire gear and ascended the most popular training hill in Helsinki multiple times – and just after finishing a 24 hour shift. Respect guys! “We thought it was going to be easier (considering my level of training in the mountains and my friend’s latest expedition through Greenland), but the extra 25 kg of weight and unforgettable clothing and gear gave a nice extra ‘touch’ and was really good training,” Henri says. “We did this in a pair because in real firefighting rescue missions it’s good to have a partner to help each other out.”   Cooking up a storm It was Lukasz Bodaszewski’s first time participating in World Vertical Week. The 39-year old chef from Poland runs a catering company with his wife in the French Alps. He aimed to ascend 3000 m over the week, and managed 2300 “But I finished 1000 m in one day and I’m proud of that,” he says. “Vertical Week was good timing because I’m training for the 160 km Val d’Aran UTMB in the Pyrenees and for 145 km TDS at UTMB this year, so it was good to have a specific climbing week.”   Getting out there Casey Sackett didn’t hold back for World Vertical Week. From Hurricane, Utah, Casey aimed to achieve a mile of vertical gain (1610 m) over the week. He notched up a total of 1631 over a series of awesome trips, including mountain biking the Gooseberry Mesa and the rest what he refers to as “desert alpinism” (alpine style lines in a desert ecosystem). “Conditions were perfect all week out here and gave me the opportunity to get out every chance I had!” Casey says. “My favorite push was my last one, trekking/trail running up a mesa to the La Verkin Overlook. My eight-year-old daughter set the pace on the 4 km ascent with almost 243 m of gain. We did it in just 61 minutes! Her endurance blew me away, so proud!”     Thanks again to everyone who got out there and pushed their comfortzone for World Vertical Week. Keep it up!    Lead images: © Philipp Reiter Read more articles The nation that climbed the most in World Vertical Week is ... 7 tips to accelerating your vertical speed How to find your way in the mountains

© Philipp Reiter For us mere mortals, the Hoch Tirol ski route in the Austrian Alps usually takes six days of gut busting effort and every ounce of our endurance. German ski mountaineer and trail runner Philipp Reiter and fellow runner and ski mountaineer Frenchman Francois D'haene aim to cover the 100 km and 10,000 m vertical gain in 24 hours starting this coming Monday. Both men enjoy a challenge. “There’s a saying that it’s well known that something isn’t possible, and then someone comes along and just does it,” Philipp says. “You set a new limit and show that something once considered impossible is possible.” To Philipp, this is what Suunto World Vertical Week is all about; taking on personal challenges. “For myself, when I have overcome a challenge like this, and I have other challenges not connected to sports, I understand if I just keep taking steps towards the goal I’ll eventually reach it.” You can follow their adventure live and enjoy the beauty of the Austrian Alps; Philipp and Francois will be posting shots live from their adventure to our Instagram feed. Click to find out about the Suunto World Vertical Week 2020 photo contest! © Philipp Reiter When Philipp isn’t out training in the hills, he works as a photographer for Salomon, capturing the action at big races in Europe. Over the last few years Francois noticed that he won all of the races when Philipp was at them working. “Eventually we decided to do something together, which is quite nice,” Philipp says. Considered the queen of all ski routes, the Hoch Tirol route begins in Kasern in South Tyrol, and traverses Austria’s fourth highest mountain, Großvenediger (3657 m), and ultimately ends on the summit of the nation’s highest mountain, Großglockner (3798 m). Philipp and Francois will start their journey around 9am on February 24, pushing hard to cover as much ground as possible before night falls and the going gets tougher. “The second stage will be the toughest,” Philipp says. “Navigation will be a challenge. It will be cold and we will be tired.” Follow Philipp and Francois's adventure live here. Lead images: © Philipp Reiter Read more articles This challenge will take you higher! Must run routes around the globe! Which nation runs the fastest? 10 fun facts from 2019.

© Phillipp Reiter   Believe it or not, there’s a hill or mountain somewhere that’s looking down at you laughing. It believes you’re a weakling. Do you have what it takes to shut it up? That’s what Suunto’s annual World Vertical Week is about for the thousands of fans who participate each year. They find a nearby range, hill, or mountain that’s looking at them disrespectfully, and show that large mass of rock and earth who’s boss. As Sir Edmund Hillary famously suggested, there’s something satisfying about knocking the bastard off. Seriously though, World Vertical Week is about the joy of a challenge, of sweating like a beast, and overcoming one’s resistance to fighting gravity to reach a summit. It’s an inexplicable human urge. All we know is we feel incredible after. To make it even more fun, we give you three incentives below to participate! To participate in Suunto World Vertical Week 2020, open Suunto app and click the Vertical Week link in your inbox (the bell symbol on the top of your screen takes you to your inbox).     © Phillipp Reiter New decade, new challenge Starting on Sunday, February 23 and ending Sunday, March 1, this fifth edition of Suunto World Vertical Week also marks the first of a new decade. That’s why we want it to be the best ever. For this reason we are sending out two special, optional challenges: climb 1000 m of vertical in one day during the week. Or, if that’s not possible, climb 1000 m over the whole week. That’s only a puny 150 m a day! Just imagine that arrogant hill sniggering if you fail! Be in to win a Suunto watch To give you extra incentive, we are running a photo contest on Instagram over the week, and will give away a Suunto 7 smartwatch or a Suunto 9 to three of the most inspiring photos that enter. All you need to do is share an image with a Suunto app data overlay and tag #verticalweek. We will decide the winners at the end of the week! Click here to learn how to share your activities with Suunto app. (Terms and conditions apply. Check them here.)  Rep your nation and sport You can join the challenge on Suunto app, log all your efforts, and also compete for your nation and activity type. Last year, Italy came out on top for average ascents during the week. Spain also kicked ass; it came first in three divisions, and was also in the top five for four different activities. Will they continue to dominate? To kickstart your competitive spirit, click here to see the results of last year’s Suunto World Vertical Week! Lead images: © Phillipp Reiter Read more articles! Raising the stakes for Suunto World Vertical Week 7 tips to plan a route in the mountains Which nation runs the fastest? 10 fun facts from 2019 10 ways to make your adventures more sustainble How to find your way in the mountains.