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Watch Greg’s video below to learn the rules and find out why they are important for you too – then scroll down to our interview with Greg to learn more about the life experiences that shaped them.   Greg, let’s start with the obvious: tell use about that avalanche! May 15th 2014. Deep in the heart of Pakistan, at 5500m, as far from rescue as possible. I only broke my leg, but was very lucky to have lived at all. It was only 30cm high, but it was a few hundred meters across, but the entire feature that I was skiing slid for about 700m vertically.   What did you do wrong? There was simply nowhere to go – and that was my technical mistake. What I did wrong was skiing a feature with no escape routes or safe spots. I skied like I was able to outrun an avalanche. A small ski cut would have triggered the thing and I would have been on top. But the bigger rule I broke was rule number one – not being afraid enough. I also broke rule number two – the partners I had there weren’t my normal partners. My normal partners would have questioned me more. They didn’t question me enough. Did they learn something from this? I bet they did.   Why did you need to be in that avalanche? The funny thing is, I had lasted so many years without any issues – I needed that slide to keep my ego in check. There weren’t red flags popping up. We had waited a bunch of days for the snow to settle. The mountains were dormant. But I still broke the rules.   What’s your biggest tip to help you follow the rules? Keep asking yourself questions. As you’re hiking up. Am i being afraid? Am I well-trained? Do I have the knowledge to back my decisions? Are my partners adding more? Always remember – you don’t know you're making poor decisions, until you experience a consequence.   What can we learn from you next? This is a lead-in to my terrain tricks video – we’ll discuss concrete, tangible terrain decisions that will help you find ways to wander around the mountains and stay safe.   Stay tuned for more mountain advice from Greg Hill in December! READ MORE PREPARE FOR SNOW  

Kilian Jornet is returning from Mt. Everest without having been able to make a final attempt at the summit. Poor weather conditions during the final stage of the expedition forced him to abandon his climb of the world’s highest mountain via it's North Face. Though it was a difficult decision for Kilian and his team, he is as passionate as ever to continue to seek adventure through his Summits of My Life project.  “During the first few weeks we were acclimatising well and the conditions were good. However, when we were getting ready to prepare the attempt the weather began to change. There were some heavy snow storms and a large accumulation of snow. As a result, although we were in good physical shape, there was a high risk of avalanches and in the absence of good safety conditions it was impossible to climb,” Kilian explained.   In spite of not being able to complete the challenge, Jornet was happy with the experience. “There’s a sense of frustration because we’re well acclimatised and we feel good but it would have exposed us to too much risk. Nevertheless, we’re happy because it’s been a very positive experience in which we’ve learnt a lot. Being alone on Everest is incredible as there was no one else there. Now we’ll go home to recover and plan the future. I think that if we come back there are some things we would change but it’s been a great experience and a good lesson for next time.” So, having spent three weeks at base camp on the North Face of Everest (6,000m) acclimatising and preparing for the challenge of climbing the world’s highest mountain, Jornet and the Summits of My Life team postponed the the Everest challenge until a later date. With this challenge, Kilian Jornet intended to complete the Summits of My Life project in which since 2012 he has broken records for the ascent and descent of mountains around the world.  READ MORE KILIAN JORNET’S GAME PLAN FOR SPEED ASCENT OF EVEREST THIS IS HOW KILIAN PREPARES FOR EVEREST Main Everest image: © Daniel Prudek/Shutterstock.com

Mountaineer Luka Lindič has been climbing one of the toughest peaks on the planet – Gasherbrum IV in Pakistan. Climbing Gasherbrum IV © Luka Lindic He and Aleš Česen made it to the North Summit, around 20metres below the 7932-meter-high main summit, after battling fierce weather that made reaching the summit impossible. Of course the guys are pleased with how far they reached on this treacherous route, in difficult conditions. They originally planned to take a new route, via the North West face but that was completely impossible in bad weather. Before tackling the G4 they scaled Broad Peak, making them the only team to successfully summit that mountain this season. This climb was used to acclimatise, and got the guys in the right frame of mind mentally for the big route, Luka says: “Some people might think using a climb like Broad Peak to acclimatise might take away a lot of fitness, but I think if you plan to climb a route like we did on G4 then it shouldn’t be a problem. If it makes you tired, then you are not prepared enough! It took away a bit for sure, but we benefited lots more than we lost. A climb like that is also important from a mental point of view, as a final check.” Luka Lindič and Aleš Česen © Luka Lindic The weather in the area meant the Alpine style of climbing the pair used gave them an advantage over other teams climbing differently. Luka says: “The other teams were climbing in a classically Himalayan style and spent lots of time and energy preparing. Now, it seems this is how it will be in Pakistan. The weather is not stable and you get a window of maybe two days. If you climb Alpine style like we did you are flexible and it’s easier to get up and go when there is a good weather window. With Himalayan climbing that’s a lot more difficult to try. That was our advantage this time.” Feeling strong after Broad Peak they started on G4, dubious they’d make it far in bad conditions. However, they managed to climb through the weather and pushed on until they made the North Summit. The guys tried to wait for bad weather to pass © Ales Cesen Luka says: “It was pretty bitter sweet. On one side you know you will not climb G4 but you know inside you did the maximum you could. It was a cool experience after struggling all day to reach the North summit we had sun for a few minutes, we could even see the summit for a few minutes. We had pushed hard already and decided the summit wasn’t possible, but were happy with what we did.” The guys had to rappel back down to avoid being swept away by avalanches. Now back from the trip he can contemplate the attempt, and he knows he’ll go back. He’s got some technical climbing planned in the meantime, he says: “I will go climbing in China for one month in September then my plan Is to spend some longer time in the Alps. I’ve been on expeditions this year so I feel like I have missed some technical training in the Alps and I want to get back to the level of climbing I want to be at, as doing expeditions you lose a bit of that.” Main image ©Luka Lindic

Suunto ambassador Kilian Jornet is acclimatizing in the Himalaya so he can attempt to set a fastest known time (FKT) record on the highest mountain in the world – Everest. We caught up with him and found out the game plan for his daring project. It’s literally the “high point” of his Summits of My Life project – alpinist, runner and adventurer Kilian Jornet’s personal mission to set ascent and descent records on the most important mountains on the planet, culminating with Everest. Denali, Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro – all have seen records fall to Kilian. But now he’s readying himself for the ultimate challenge. He has been preparing for months. Intense training, sleeping nights at 4500 m in the European Alps, and now he's in Nepal, doing the same at 6000 m. “The highest I have been is 7700 m,” Kilian says. “I was feeling good then, but there is a big difference after 8200 m and after 8500 m. “It’s really important to be well acclimatized to around 6000 m. So I will spend many nights at around this altitude. And then it’s important I go to around 8000 m before the attempt.” Kilian and his team has arrived in Kathmandu and is getting ready for the expedition. Depending on how well he acclimatizes, Kilian expects to make a FKT (fastest known time) attempt around mid September. It also depends on weather and snow conditions. The plan is a light and fast, alpine-style ascent. He will carry only what he can fit a backpack. To keep weight down, he and his team have designed light, but warm boots made for purpose. He won’t be fixing ropes or using supplementary oxygen on the ascent. He will attempt the ascent from the north side, via either Norton-couloir or Horbein-couloir depending on conditions. Two previous ascents are in the back of Kilian’s mind as time references. The first is a speed record set by Italian mountaineer Hans Kammerlander in 1996. Hans climbed from Base Camp to the summit of Everest via the North Col in 17 hours. The second reference is an “unprecedented and unrepeated” ascent in 1986 by Swiss climbers Erhard Loretan and Jean Troillet. They climbed the North Face via the Hornbein-couloir in a single alpine-style push without oxygen, ropes, or tents and descended again – all in 43 hours. “It’s good to know these times as a reference for pace at altitude,” Kilian says. “I will take this as knowledge and will see how far I can go." “It’s a big mountain, and we have a long term perspective. We will try this year, but probably we will need to come again next year." “You need to go for it so if conditions are good and if I’m feeling good, I should try. But it’s important to have the patience to wait for this good moment.”  READ MORE This is how Kilian prepares for Everest   Main image: © Daniel Prudek/Shutterstock.com  

This summer Kilian Jornet takes on the challenge of climbing Mount Everest, the final peak in his Summits of My Life project. Kilian will try to establish a record for the ascent and descent by a little-used route on the north face of the world’s highest mountain. To be ready for the challenge, he has spent a lot of time high in the Alps. Here are two of his training days on the Mont Blanc massif. Physical training in the Alps: 6500 meters of climbing. (10.7.) Kilian Jornet is taking on Everest with the purist and minimalist philosophy that is the trademark of the Alpine style. This means that, as with other challenges in the Summits of My Life project, he intends to complete the ascent in one go, without stopping at high-altitude camps. This is different from the classical Alpine approach but he has also acclimatizing himself in a different way. Kilian Jornet and his team intend to spend the last few weeks before they go to the Himalayas at a high altitude in the Alps. Kilian’s training day high up on Mont Blanc Massif with over 3500 meters of climbing. (25.7.) "It’s a new approach to acclimatization. Before we set off for the Himalayas we will have partly acclimatized having spent some days at altitude. This means we won’t have to wait so long to start when we arrive at the Everest base camp,” explains Jordi Tosas, Kilian’s teammate on Everest. "This means we’ll be stronger when we begin the ascent. It can make you weaker if you spend several days acclimatizing yourself on the mountain. With this type of acclimatization we can begin the challenge with more energy and a better chance of success,” Kilian adds. Main image: © Lymbus Create Suunto Movies of your adventures with Suunto App.

Top alpine climber Luka Lindič says learning to move fast and fluidly in the mountains has been the foundation of his success. © Aleš ČesenSlovenian climber Luka Lindič, 27, sees becoming a skilled alpinist as similar to building a house. With a strong foundation, the rest is possible. Without it, you’ll eventually run into difficulties. “It's really important to spend a lot of time in the mountains moving in all kinds of terrain, learning to be comfortable, because only then can you climb harder routes,” Luka says. “For me, building a foundation has been about climbing many, many relatively easy classic routes in the Slovenian mountains. “Many times I’ve realised I can do hard climbs, but if I don’t move a lot in easy terrain for a while then I lose this feeling of moving fluidly. You get stiff. You become slow. You don't have the flow to just move. I think it's really important to keep that.” © Aleš ČesenHis approach of building the basics has clearly paid off. In 2015, he became one of the youngest people to win the prestigious Piolet d’Or Award, considered the “Oscars of alpinism”. Luka, and his two climbing partners Marko Prezelj and Aleš Česen won the award for their ascent of the north face of Hagshu (6515 m) in India. Always coming back to relatively easy routes also reminds Luka why he fell in love with climbing in the first place. “I can’t deny that when I have a really ambitious project that’s on my limit it’s also stressful. If I would do only this, I would forget the feelings that originally brought me into climbing – the simple joy of being in the mountains.” © Aleš ČesenLuka’s love of the mountains began as a child. Hiking is one of the biggest sports in Slovenia and his hiker parents took Luka whenever they went. He remembers walking past rock faces and looking up in wonder at the climbers scaling them. It's really important to spend a lot of time in the mountains moving in all kinds of terrain, learning to be comfortable, because only then can you climb harder routes. His curiosity grew and at 14 he joined his local climbing club and was fortunate to be mentored by some of Slovenia’s most experienced alpinists, particularly Marko Prezelj. They not only taught him the skills, but also brought him into the strong Slovenian climbing tradition.“We live in such a small place, a small community, and we meet day-to-day in crags because the distances are so small. That's one of the reasons we have so many good alpinists here. I’m very lucky.” © Aleš ČesenOne of his toughest climbs was what was dubbed the “alpine ascent of the season” in 2014; the first free ascent of Rolling Stones on the north face of the Grandes Jorrasses, Mont Blanc massif. “Some people said it's wasn’t possible to do it in the style we did,” he says “But it was just a question of self-confidence.” This summer he is going to Pakistan and has climbing permits for Broad Peak (8051 m) and Gasherbrunn IV (7925 m). However, he wants to keep his plans open. “The reason is I want to be more free and not fix too much before I go,” he explains. “Many times when you are in big mountains you need to change your plans because of different factors. It's really important you feel free to do so, to play, to follow some crazy ideas, to think out of the box, and not be too fixed.” Luka's climbing achievements: Bhagirathi IV (Garhwal Himalaya, India) 6200 m, September 2009. Bhagirathi III (Garhwal Himalaya, India) 6546 m, September 2009. Bhagirathi II (Garhwal Himalaya, India) 6612 m, September 2009. Hagshu north face (Zanskar, Himalaya, India) 6657 m, September 2014. Main image: © Aleš Česen