The World Vertical Week is about collecting vertical meters for your country and your sport. All moves in all human-powered outdoor sports count. To keep the playing field level, we were only comparing averages. A cumulative number of ascent meters per country would not have made sense as the population and number of Suunto App users varies.  Skiers are still quite clearly the queens and kings of the hill with 849 meters of ascent in average. The mountaineers climbed on the second spot with 636 meters and the trail runners rounded out the top three with their 400 ascent meters. Actually the order of the activities remained almost identical compared to 2016: the only difference was that mountain bikers passed the snowshoers in the listings. Average ascents in various activities Ski touring 849m Mountaineering 636m Trail running 400m Mountain biking 362m Snow shoeing 316m Trekking 293m Cycling 236m Cross country skiing 222m Running 104m   SKI TOURING IS NUMBER ONE – BUT WHO SKIS THE MOST? Now that we know that ski touring is the sport with the biggest average ascents, it is time to dig deeper. The snowy winter in the Pyrenees has boosted the skiing spirits of the Spanish and they were the only athletes to cross the thousand vertical meter mark – in any country and any activity. Felicitaciones, españoles! Top 10 countries in ski touring Spain 1034m Switzerland 938m Slovakia 936m Germany 927m Andorra 916m Italy 909m USA 883m Austria 877m Poland 874m France 858m   A SLIGHT SURPRISE IN MOUNTAINEERING Mountaineering was second in the activity listings. But the leading nation within that activity was a slight surprise: United Kingdom surely has a long mountaineering tradition, but only a few – at least here in the Suunto office – would have bet their money for the island nation. The UK was not among the top mountaineering nations last year, but still they took the first place with 836 meters in 2017. Top 10 countries in mountaineering United Kingdom 836m Italy 772m Switzerland 749m Germany 713m Japan 685m France 683m Austria 655m Taiwan 620m USA 600m South Korea 575m   ASIAN COUNTRIES DOMINATED TRAIL RUNNING It was clear already last year that China, Hong Kong and Japan are strong in the trail running segment. This year they occupied the top three with excellent performances and clear margins. Maybe having the Vertical Week in winter limits the possibilities for trail running in mountainous areas in Europe and North-America but still the Asian performance was impressive. Great climbing, China, Hong Kong and Japan! Top 10 countries in trail running China 887m Hong Kong 808m Japan 711m Italy 572m Portugal 540m Spain 524m United Kingdom 509m Slovenia 469m Greece 468m Austria 437m   CLOSE MARGINS IN COUNTRY COMPARISONS We also analysed the data for all human powered outdoor sports and compared the average ascents between countries. The margins were tight, but still there was one above the rest: The Austrians ascended on average more than any other nation, 320 meters per every workout tracked during the Vertical Week. Top 10 countries overall Austria 320m Italy 298m Switzerland 287m Spain 261m Slovenia 261m Portugal 258m Hong Kong 247m France 240m Norway 235m Slovakia 218m   TOP COUNTRIES IN OTHER ACTIVITIES And to give you even more to speculate here are the top countries in the other activities mentioned above.   Top 10 countries in mountain biking Italy 515m Slovenia 479m Spain 471m United Kingdom 465m Austria 461m Switzerland 443m South Africa 416m France 370m Germany 367m Poland 366m   Top 10 countries in snow shoeing Italy 564m Andorra 530m Austria 510m Germany 429m France 424m Switzerland 345m USA 228m Spain 213m Canada 178m Finland 163m   Top 10 countries in trekking France 406m Italy 397m Austria 353m Poland 322m Spain 307m USA 274m Germany 271m Norway 243m United Kingdom 229m China 141m   Top 10 countries in cycling Spain 405m Italy 403m South Africa 393m Colombia 392m Portugal 355m Cyprus 332m Switzerland 328m Czech Republic 308m France 298m Austria 294m   Top 10 countries in cross country skiing Czech Republic 391m France 312m Poland 286m Norway 270m Sweden 266m Italy 260m Austria 252m Canada 225m USA 222m Germany 221m   Top 10 countries in running Portugal 157m Hong Kong 151m Slovenia 148m Switzerland 136m France 128m Spain 127m Norway 126m New Zealand 124m USA 117m Czech Republic 115m   Main image © Patitucci Photo

World Vertical Week was held last week and the hundreds of pictures tagged with #verticalweek on Instagram give a great overall look into what people have been up to during the week. Three of the most inspirational photos were taken by Hollie Holden, Sami Renner and Christoph Oberschneider. Each one of the winners will receive a new Suunto Spartan Ultra to accompany them on their future adventures. 🌲// Legs/entire body felt like an 🐘 at this weeks @vanrunco trail ✈️ crew BUT I managed to hit my @suunto #VerticalWeek goal of 4000m (1k more than my 1st goal! 🙌) of climbing and we were blessed with a pretty layer of 'convenient snow', right @coralie2700 ? 😉🤣❄️ A post shared by Hollie Holden (@holholden) on Mar 5, 2017 at 12:59pm PST “The Vertical Week was a great opportunity for me to start building my strength and climbing skills ahead of my upcoming training season for my 1st 50 mile Ultra Marathon - the Squamish 50 in August which is a tough, mountainous course with 11,000 feet (3350m) of climbing! I set myself the goal of covering a similar amount of climbing during Vertical Week so I spent a lot of time on a local trail called the BCMC which starts at the base of Grouse Mountain climbing to the top. This trail has 850m of elevation gain in just 3km of climbing! I ended up doing this trail 4 times in the week (3 times within one 24hr period!) then finished off the week running trails with my local run crew, Vancouver Running Company Flight Crew, surpassing my 3k goal and hit 4000m for the week instead! The weather in Vancouver has been unseasonably cold, with lots of snow & wet rain and I wouldn't have done anywhere near as much climbing last week if it wasn't for the awesome community of friends that I have here who are willing to come climb mountains in a snow storm with me!” –Hollie Holden, BC, Canada Cause she asked so friendly... 🐦 #lovemountains #skimo #verticalweek #collectingmoments #mountaineering #watzmann A post shared by Sami (@samirenner) on Mar 5, 2017 at 10:10am PST “The photo was taken on the last of three summits at the “Watzmann-überschreitung”, a famous summer tour in my hometown with over 24km and 2500m of climbing. The goal for me was to do this very technical tour with skis. As I reached the third summit, I shared my last Powerbar with a bird. A few days earlier during the Vertical Week I was in Zermatt, reaching Breithorn’s (4164m) west and east summits on skis, and on two more skitours. All in all, my Vertical Week was about 7500m of elevation gain over 65km.” –Sami Renner, Germany Welcome back, #winter! Yesterday was a great #powderday in @visitgastein. Can't wait for more! A post shared by Christoph Oberschneider (@coberschneider) on Mar 2, 2017 at 3:09am PST “I work as a backcountry skiing photographer in Austria, so my goal each winter season is to capture the beauty of backcountry skiing & ski touring, to share my passion for the sport with as many people as possible and ultimately to get more people to enjoy life in the outdoors. So far we have had a very dry winter here in the Alps, so getting good shots has not been an easy task. So when it finally started snowing 10 days ago, I headed out to Sportgastein (a freeride spot close to Salzburg) with two good friends. We found some beautiful lines in the backcountry with lift-supported ski touring and I managed to get some good shots. And that's how I also spent the rest of the Vertical Week, ski touring in the mountains around Salzburg and trying to capture the beauty of the winter landscape and some more skiing action before the snow starts melting again.” –Christophe Oberschneider, Austria Congratulations to our three winners and thank you very much everyone for sharing your Vertical Week moments!

Let’s talk about mountains. What do they represent for you? I grew up in Barcelona and when I was 18 I decided to live in the mountains. Since then, I have had a constant connection with them and they have been my school in life. The mountains showed me how to feel free; they showed me their power and taught me to find mine. In difficult moments, when I’ve been injured and frustrated, they’ve showed me that they are always there with the same intensity and energy. The mountains have become a constant in my life. Constantly liberating me in my best moments and sheltering me in the worst. They have been a continuous source to help me learn more about myself. Are you always in a constant state of training? Mostly yes. My life is organized around training: where I live, my social life, and my work. Sometimes I wish it was not like this and I could think less about training, but knowing that I have races on the calendar or that I want to be in the best shape, my mind stays connected to training and it never switches off completely. There are periods of the year that I take it much more slowly. I also need to feel that slowness in sometimes, like I’m disconnecting and taking it easy, even if it’s not always true. What are your most essential tools for the winter season? I mainly use the Atomic Backland UL 65 because it is the ski that I’m most comfortable with. I love feeling light on the up and with the Backland UL 65 I also feel very comfortable on the down (if there’s not too much powder, of course!) I use these skis almost every day from the beginning of November to the end of April! In one winter I use four pairs of Backland UL 65 skis:- One pair for training- One pair for competing in individual and teams races- One special pair for the vertical races- One pair that I use for both training and competing.- Plus four pairs of Backland UL 65 skins. “I like to combine ski mountaineering with cross-country and alpine skiing because they are great ways to cross train.” I couldn’t train without my Suunto watches. I use mainly the Suunto Ambit3 Sport or the Spartan. My skimo program was created with four essentials: chrono, heart beat, altitude gain, and distance. I have been using Suunto watches for eight years now, and I always have it with me no matter the sport or the kind of training, because they always provide useful information!  What does confidence mean to you? Confidence is about trusting in yourself, trusting in your inner power, and knowing what you are capable of; it is accepting yourself as you are and taking the best of it, knowing that you are always in the right place doing the right thing. Confidence brings you so many positive emotions, which in return help you to see life in a positive way. What is the significance of your mountain community? I’ve found a beautiful community that is based on the experiences and sharing of the mountains. Within the mountain community I’ve found my many of my best friends and my second family. #sheskis is a movement connecting skiers around the world. Skiing more confidently than we thought we could and crashing more than we should. We are a community of skiers, united by our love for skiing.    READ MORE Greg Hill's mountain rules 7 tips to keep a balanced training load

Emelie Forsberg is not originally from the mountains – she’s from the hills. She was born in a hilly area on the east coast of Sweden called Höga Kusten. “There are no mountains, but the terrain is really playful with 300-meter-high hills,” Emelie says. Still she has become one of the world’s top mountain runners and ski mountaineers. How to do that? Do you actually need mountains to train for the climbs? Actually, not at all! If you have an uphill that is just 100 or 200 meters high – or even only 30 meters high – that’s ok. You just need to do more repetitions. But if you like mountains, I think it is important to also go to the mountains to train in the long climbs. Do you prefer more mellow or steep ascents? I like them both, because they are so different. I am quite powerful so the steeper climbs normally are a little better for me. But I have improved on the less intense climbs, too. When setting a skin track, do you head straight up or…? I did go really steep in the beginning! I was strong but didn’t really have the proper technique then. But now I like to set the track in a more mellow, comfortable angle. How do you pace yourself in the long uphills? First of all, I listen to my body because I think it is interesting to learn about my body. In training I always have my heart rate and analyse the data afterwards. That also helps me to understand my performance. But in some races, that are not so technical, I may have a more mathematical approach and use heart rate also while racing. I can just look at my heart rate I say: “No, this is not enough. I need to speed up!” Is training for uphill running and skimo the same? It’s more or less the same interval training that works for both. Maybe I train little shorter intervals in the winter. But all intervals are important for me; from one minute efforts, where I can really feel the lactic acid coming, to more manageable four minute efforts and up to ten minutes where it is like race pace. Interval training can be super fun. When you feel that you are in a good running form does that mean you are fast on skis, too? If I am in good shape for running, I think it is easier to transition to skiing. Going from skiing to running feels harder. Tips for increasing uphill speed? My tips are really basic, and more mental than physical: You need to like what you are doing and have continuation in what you are doing. Not to train super hard one week and then have three weeks without any training. Even if you only have time to run for ten minutes one day, go for that! It’s going to make you want to go out the other day, too. And try to make training a pleasure. For me interval training has really worked. It’s an easy way to improve because the sessions are manageable. The workout can be like one, one and a half hours, and you really feel like you have done something really good when you finish.   READ MORE World Vertical Week 2017 7 tips to keep a balanced training load How to run a sub-3h marathon

World Vertical Week will be held globally on February 27 – March 5. You can climb where ever and choose whichever human powered sport you want. Last year the biggest average ascents per Move were climbed in Switzerland, Austria and France. Ski touring and mountaineering led the highest average ascents for individual sports. Which countries and sports will lead the way this year? The only thing you need to do to participate is to make sure your country information in your Suunto App settings is correct. After that your ascent will automatically be calculated in your home country’s total figure. By the end of the week we’ll find out where in the world the real climbers live. Have fun! #VERTICALWEEK PHOTO CONTEST Share your Vertical Week experiences on Instagram or Facebook with #VerticalWeek for a chance to win a Suunto Spartan Ultra GPS watch. (Terms and conditions apply. Read them here.)   Read more How to enjoy the outdoors with your partner: a chat with Emelie Forsberg and Kilian Jornet Greg Hill's mountain rules 7 tips to accelerating your uphill speed

Who would have thought: a relationship interview with Kilian? Strange things happen on Valentine’s Day! But don’t worry, both Emelie and Kilian were ready to chat about the topic without hesitation. We caught up with them in Andorra, after the first ski mountaineering world cup races of the season where they both finished on the podium. Emelie and Kilian, do you train a lot with each other? Kilian: Maybe once a week we do a full training session together. The other days we often start and end at the same place and make loops. Emelie: Yes, we often start together but he will do more. Sometimes, if I want to do intervals, I ask him to go before, so he can make the tracks. But I often catch him so the intervals often aren’t super good. If he goes with me, he goes easy. Kilian: And if there’s a nice, more technical summit, we do it together and take a nice tour out. How has training together changed during the five years you have been together? K: I don’t think it has changed that much. We know each other a bit better now. We feel more comfortable if we see the other one wants to go faster or slower and we don’t always need to talk or say things. And when we go to more technical places, we know how the other is doing and reacting. I think that is mostly what has changed. E: Maybe now I ask you to do more intervals with me? Kilian can help me do well in the intervals. "Kilian can help me do well in the intervals." Are skiing and running together different? K: Skiing is always a bit more tricky. E: When you go running you don’t need to worry about avalanches. K: If we go to a summit with some climbing or some steep slopes with Emelie, my brain is working much more. It is not the same feeling when I am with my friends. With her I think more. I mean, when I am with my friends, I take good care, but am less stressed. E: Not me! I know that you will be fine! K: It’s not that I don’t care [when being out with friends] but the pressure is not the same! E: But you don’t need to feel that! K: I think it is just natural. What’s the difference in being out with your partner or your friends? E: When I go out with Kilian he’s always very comfortable. He takes the rope and everything. But when I go out with my friends, it’s often the opposite: I’m the one who is more comfortable. Talking about confidence, are there some activities you do together where Emelie is the one feeling more comfortable? K: Yea, one time we were swimming in a lake and I almost died. Then she was definitely more comfortable! E: We wanted to go to a mountain, but there was no trail, so we decided to swim. K: And it was a big, big lake. I don’t know how long, maybe four kilometres? Emelie needed to put some of our stuff, like the phone, on her head, like a turban not to get them wet. I was just looking for some wood or something to grab! E: And maybe when we go cross-country skiing, I am also more comfortable. But you never want to do that! You don’t want to feel uncomfortable! K: Oh, I like to feel uncomfortable – if I am in the mountains. If I am cross-country skiing I am only looking up to the mountains, but don’t go to the summits. E: But you go so much faster, just enjoy the speed and the surroundings! "Just enjoy the speed and the surroundings!" Emelie, do you carry a Clifbar with you so you can give it to Kilian when he starts to get grumpy? E: He doesn’t like to eat when he is out! I take some food with me when I am out longer, like eight hours. And sometimes I wish that Kilian had some. I have been telling him that why can’t he have some chocolate in his backpack for me. Just in case. But it has not happened so far. So, I often take my own. K: But some days in the mountains I take food – and water. Is finding a schedule that works for both of you hard? E: I think we are spending much more time with each other than many other couples since we don’t go to work from nine to five every day. K: There can be like a month when I go on an expedition or you go to a race in the US but… It would be hard if the other one wouldn’t do this. We don’t stay at home all that long. But we are both travelling – and doing it also together. Are there some things you don’t do together? K: She really wants to do base jumping, but I have told her she really shouldn’t do that. E: No! I hate base jumping. It’s playing with your precious life. K: (Seriously). I think we both have the confidence to say when we feel uncomfortable. She’s very good at that, I am worse. If I see the summit close but the conditions are so-so, I can be pushing more, but Emelie can still say, no, it does matter, we go down. E: And Kilian is very good, when he needs help with the rope. (general laughter) No, it was not a joke! K: You do yoga at home and I am really bad at that. I may do it for five minutes but then start doing something else. E: But you should really try it. K: I think it is really important for the body, but it is hard when I am at home. E: Yea, but you won’t follow me to the gym either where they have a really nice yoga studio. I've even asked you because I need practice. (Ed. note: Emelie is a certified yoga teacher.) I should have given you ten yoga lessons as a Christmas present! "I should have given you ten yoga lessons as a Christmas present!" Any tips or learnings you wish to share with other outdoor couples? E: I’ve heard that many couples don’t like to be out with each other because they’ll get angry. I think in that case they push themselves to where they don’t want to be. But if you really know the other one’s limits and your own limits – and are able to talk about them – then it’ll be better. K: Maybe you plan one day that you don’t have any expectations. You just go out together and enjoy the company. Not like “I want to run 10K or do this or that”. E: It is important to make it nice when you are out together. It is such a nice way to spend time. Try to make it nice and comfortable. It can be good for your partner to know what are the reasons for you to go out together. READ MORE Meet the endurance super-couple aiming to do 100 triathlons in 100 days Kilian's Everest Dream Lives On