SUUNTOブログ

William Trubridge prepares for a depth dive.   It’s the first international freediving competition since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic so a lot of excited freedivers are arriving at Dean’s Blue Hole pumped to dive deep at Vertical Blue 2021. Running between 13 to 23 July, it’s likely to be the most celebratory edition in the event’s 11 year history. The first Vertical Blue since 2018, organiser and Suunto ambassador William Trubridge has been working around the clock to make it happen. The ongoing travel and health restrictions due to the pandemic have increased his work load 100 fold. But knowing how much it means to the freediving community makes it all worthwhile. “In these last 18 months a lot of people have been trapped and locked down, not able to travel or go to the sea, but everyone has been continuing to train and they are all amped to get back into the water,” William says. “It's the first big freediving event since COVID hit so we will get a chance to see where all the top athletes are with their training, and what they have been able to improve on, or whether they are behind now because of a lack of depth training. First indications are that everyone has been training really hard and there are going to be some epic performances.”   Follow the action at Vertical Blue via YouTube live!     All the top athletes in depth freediving, in all three disciplines, are attending this edition. “All the current record holders will be in attendance and most of the people who are within reach of world records,” William says. “At the last Vertical Blue in 2018, there were some days when the average depth amongst men and women across all disciplines, including no fins, was deeper than 80 m. This year I think it could be even deeper. In training at the moment the dive line is rarely less than 100 m. We're going to see some mind blowing performances.”   Check out our visual guide to freediving    William and his arch freediving rival Alexey Molchanov will be competing – a now longstanding tradition – for the top spot in Constant Weight without Fins (CNF). The stress of organizing the event isn’t giving William the dedicated training and recovery time he needs to be at his very best. Moreover, he isn’t sure he’ll be anywhere near his best. Depth freediving is a sport where being in a relaxed state is essential for success. “My training was going very well up until about a month ago,” William says. “I was making steady progress towards attempting a world record in Free Immersion. I'd gotten within a couple of meters of achieving it. I was doing beautiful, comfortable, relaxed dives to that depth. That's when stuff started to go downhill with the organisation work and the stress ramped up. “Hopefully if I can get everything resolved, then take a few days rest, and then build my training back up again, maybe by the end of the event I might be able to do some kind of a dive,” William continues. “I doubt it will be a world record dive. But never say never, fingers crossed, let’s see what happens.”   All images: © Daan Verhoeven  

Tenji (middle), Kilian Jornet and David Göttler met while training in the Khumbu Icefall. © Tenji Sherpa Suunto athlete Tenji Sherpa recently returned home to Lukla in Nepal after a difficult start to the climbing season at Everest Basecamp.The COVID-19 Indian variant was running rampant there. “Teams were stuck to their own sections at camp, different from past years where I could interact with friends working with other companies,” Tenji says. “It’s certainly a devastating situation that I hope soon begins to settle so autumn climbing can go ahead safely.” Unfinished business It’s not only more guiding that Tenji, 29, is looking forward to; he has his sights set on some ambitious personal climbs. Tenji is part of a growing number of Nepalese sherpas who are breaking out of the mould of traditional Sherpa work and showing the world they can climb just as well, if not better, than many of their Western counterparts. At the top of the list of goals, Tenji has unfinished business on Lhotse (8516 m), the fourth highest peak in the world. In May, 2018, in the memory of his friend and inspiration the late Ueli Steck, Tenji attempted to complete the same daring traverse trip the “Swiss Machine” met his tragic demise on in 2017. “Inspired by his strength and support, I sought to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen and traverse to the summit of Lhotse,” Tenji says. “Unfortunately, the weather became too risky to finish Lhotse.” This photo was taken while filming the Everest VR movie. © Jon Griffith Humble beginnings Tenji was born and raised in a small village called Gudel in Solokhumbu district of Nepal. Life was simple, he had a three hour commute to school each day, at a time when sandals were considered a luxury and running shoes were unheard of. As a boy he watched as his brothers and other villagers set off to the mountains to work as porters and guides. Village elders mentored Tenji to do the same and by 2007 he was working as a porter to pay to go to college in Kathmandu. “Moving to Kathmandu was a huge change from life in the shadows of Everest,” Tenji says. “I knew I belonged back in the mountains. As such, I started formal mountain training in 2012 while continuing to work as a porter in the high season.” Tenji gained his International Mountain Guide Qualification in early 2019. Tenji with the late Ueli Steck on Jungfrau in Switzerland in 2015. © Tenji Sherpa Meeting the Swiss Machine His work as a porter is how, in 2012, Tenji crossed paths with Ueli Steck, who had made a name for himself for his lightning fast solo ascents of some of the world’s most challenging mountains, culminating in his legendary solo climb of Annapurna’s (8091 m) south face. On the night of the climb, Tenji had a dream of Ueli standing at the summit. The dream turned out right. “From our initial meeting at Everest Basecamp, Ueli and I had a connection that sparked a great combination for climbing together,” Tenji says. “Learning from him when we climbed Everest together in 2012 was inspiring and confidence building, leading to our ascent of the renowned north face of Cholatse (6501 m). Teaming with Ueli on that technical ascent, I became the first and still the only Nepali to climb the mountain.” Tenji says Ueli became something of an informal teacher to him. He respected Tenji’s ability at altitude, his work ethic and drive to challenge himself. And Tenji was inspired by the Swiss Machine’s alpine climbing style – fast, light, and without oxygen. “Ueli taught me that if I have an idea, it’s up to me to put it into action.” In 2012, Tenji summited Everest without supplemental oxygen. Tenji climbing Manaslu (8163 m) in winter 2020. © Tenji Sherpa Guiding at the top Now doing his own private guiding and working with a Swiss company, Tenji has summited Everest seven times and Manaslu (8163 m), and many 7000 m Himalayan giants. He’s pumped to take on new personal climbing projects, but has to sit tight until the pandemic is under control. The technicality of Cholatse’s north face continues to hold special interest for him. When the pandemic first exploded Tenji was travelling abroad to meet climbers considering coming to Nepal. He got stuck in the U.K for five months before finding a way back to Lukla. He says the pandemic hasn’t been kind to Nepal’s guiding industry. “Essentially more than a year out of guiding made for some challenging times,” Tenji says. “But despite the pandemic, the spring season this year has brought even more international climbers than any other year given that so many lost their climbs last year and that the Tibetan side is closed to foreign climbers.” After years of climbing at the roof of the world, Tenji is perhaps better equipped than many to handle the unpredictability of living through the first global pandemic in more than a century. After all, what has alpinism taught him about life? “That it can change very quickly.” Lead images: © Tenji Sherpa © Jon Griffith

Paul climbs Titlis in Switzerland during Red Bull X-Alps 2019. © Harald Tauderer / Red Bull Content Pool   Paul Guschlbauer could kick himself. A few months back, he was skiing on his local mountain when bad weather hit and he found himself in a whiteout. “In the middle of it I suddenly skied over a little cliff,” he says. “I didn’t realise what happened. I fell down the five to seven metre-high cliff and hit ice and my foot broke.” That was three months ago, and has meant Paul lost two months of crucial training time in the build up to his seventh straight time competing in the world’s premiere hiking and alpine paragliding race. He has placed third in the last three editions, but this time can’t be sure how he will perform. “I feel I have good equipment, a good crew, I have a lot of experience with this race, but what I cannot know right now is how my foot will react, say, for example, after three days of walking 50 km,” he says. “I’ve had no time or chance to test it.” Mont Blanc looms large Red Bull X-Alps starts in Salzburg, crosses the Alps by foot or paraglider, and has, until this edition of the race, ended on the Mediterranean Sea in Monaco. But the race organizers – after looking for ways to make the 10th edition of the race tougher – have implemented what Paul says is the biggest change in race history; instead of making their way from alpine peaks to the Mediterranean Sea, the 33 competitors will complete a loop, starting in Salzburg, to Mont Blanc, which they must circumnavigate anti clockwise, before returning east to ultimately finish on the waters of Zell am See, Austria. “At Red Bull X-Alps you can never say one stage or another will be the most challenging,” Paul says. “It all depends on the weather. Of course looking at it now, and assuming great weather, the Mont Blanc circumnavigation, to turn around and go back to the goal, is definitely the most difficult alpine and mountaineering wise. That will be a challenging part. I hope I can get there.” If the athletes hit bad weather at Mont Blanc, and it’s not flyable, it’s going to be a huge challenge. Follow the journey and the adversity live here!   Paul soaring next to Mont Blanc in 2019. © zooom productions / Red Bull Content Pool Suunto has their backs Suunto is a race sponsor and the athletes will be using Suunto 9 Baro Titanium Red Bull X-Alps Limited Edition watches to guide their journey across the Alps and back. With a battery life of up to 170 hours, the sports watch tested to the extreme is designed exactly for this kind of epic adventure. “The most important feature, besides telling me the time and the sunrise and sunset times, which is really important, is definitely navigation in combination with the Suunto app,” Paul says. “It’s super easy to get all the tracks on the watch and then navigate with it. That’s the most time saving point overall.”   We are only producing 1238 of the Suunto 9 Baro Titanium Red Bull X-Alps Limited Edition watches. One for every kilometer of the race. Get yours here!  New hike and fly watch feature A new SuuntoPlus feature designed for paragliders will also support Paul and the rest of the athletes on their journey. The Red Bull X-Alps SuuntoPlus feature is a handy tool to keep track of vertical speed, similar to what a paragliding variometer provides. It helps the hike and fly community to see, feel and hear how fast they are climbing. “The new watch feature is pretty cool,” Paul says. “It’s like a back up that you always have with you for if you didn't bring your variometer, or any other flying device. You can't use it instead of a real flying device, but on a hike and fly, if you forgot your equipment, it's great to have it.” Follow the race live! This 10th edition of the race is likely to be the most action-filled yet. Millions of people across the world tune in to watch the progress of their favorite athletes live on the state-of-the-art Red Bull X-Alps live tracking tool. It shows you where the athletes are on the map, and keeps you up to speed with breaking news from the field. Find out about the athletes here, choose your horse, buy some popcorn so come race day on June 20 you’re ready to settle in and follow the action!     Lead images: © zooom productions / Red Bull Content Pool ©wisthaler.com

American photographer and artist Chris Burkard travels the world documenting amazing people, places and events. Recently he was visiting Iceland, a country he adores, to go on a bikepacking adventure. But life had other plans. A volcano erupted, and Chris knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to capture this incredible force of nature. It didn’t disappoint. Press play to watch the power of nature! What he witnessed blew his mind and got him reflecting on peak experiences, those almost altered states of consciousness characterised by euphoria and wonder. “I was just so honored to experience it,” he says. We caught up with Chris and asked him about the experience and what he’s learned about peak experiences through his years of travelling the world and witnessing incredible things. Do you often travel to Iceland? I do! In fact I have been there 43 times. In some ways it's an obsession and I think what draws me there the most is the landscape as it’s so visceral and ever changing. But honestly, it's the people that keep me coming back and that keep me engaged and interested. How did you feel standing so close to a live volcano? Oddly enough I truly felt at home. At peace.. Like it's something I have been doing for thousands of years. In many ways it felt incredibly calming. You mention peak experiences in your Instagram post – I imagine your work has brought you many – do these happen by chance or are there things, in your experience, we can do to invite them to occur? I think that a “peak” experience is the byproduct of the time you put in. You realize at a certain point that to truly experience the height of something you need to slow down, be patient and really recognize when a moment is special. Sometimes a peak moment won't slap you in the face or excite you right away. You realize it later. It sort of dawns on you. I like to give myself the time and patience to recognize these moments. Rarely, when I do recognize them in “real time” it can feel really special. What does a peak experience feel like to you? It's a moment when your mind and heart and body are all in sync, it’s the certainty of knowing that there is no other place on Earth that I should be right now. Do your peak experiences only occur in epic situations like your visit to the volcano, or, say, while surfing a perfect wave, or can they also occur in everyday life? Everyday life. With my kids, at my property. On my bike commute. It's just the knowledge that a moment is special, will rarely be repeated, and you sort of get a glimpse of the future. And realize I need to cherish this. You talk about the importance of giving yourself the space to experience before shooting – how do you personally approach this? Honestly in some ways it kind of sounds like voodoo, but I truly feel like the way to really experience a place is to make an offering. An offering of time and interest and engagement. Not hiding from its many moods and feelings. Its storms and high winds. That is how you find a connection. You have to go through those things to really feel a place. I firmly believe that if you invest that time into a place and put in that effort, you are rewarded. All images: © Chris Burkard

Suunto アンバサダーであり、水中探検の先駆者、そして映像作家でもある Jill Heinerth は、氷山でのダイビングや深い水中洞窟の探査を行い、さらに近年では北極圏における気候変動の影響を記録してきました。 変わりゆく地球を記録し、深刻化する気候変動の脅威について社会に伝えることは、彼女がこの青い惑星で潜り、探究を続ける大きな原動力になっています。2021年の World Ocean Day にあたり、Jill が 20 年にわたるキャリアから得た気づきを語ります。   ぜひ再生して、彼女の驚くべき旅をご覧ください。 今はどこにいて、パンデミックの時期をどのように過ごしてきましたか？ 私はカナダのオタワ近郊にある小さな町で、築 200 年の製粉所に暮らしています。長い期間、夫と一緒に家で過ごせたことは、実際にはちょっとした贈り物のようでもありました。ただ、また旅に戻りたい気持ちは強くあります。この期間は、休息し、学び、新しいアイデアを育てる良い時間になりました。最近、あなたにインスピレーションを与えているものは何ですか？ Frauke Bagusche の新しい本に序文を書きました。タイトルは『The Blue Wonder: Why the Sea Glows, Fish Sing, and Other Astonishing Insights from the Ocean』です。とても興味深く、大いに刺激を受けました。 今、取り組んでいることは何ですか？ カナダ最長の水中洞窟システムを探査し、そこで見つけた絶滅の危機にある生物種の記録を進めています。また、五大湖流域に関するドキュメンタリーと教育プロジェクトにも積極的に関わっています。COVID の影響で多くのプロジェクトが保留になっている中、身近な場所で重要な取り組みに関われているのは、とても意義深いことです。これまで数多くの素晴らしい探検に参加してきたことに驚かされます。それらはあなたをどのように変えましたか？ 本当にそうですね。年齢を重ねるにつれて、本当に意味のある、そして教育的な遺産として残るようなプロジェクトに取り組みたいという思いが強くなっています。私は、水に関するリテラシーや気候変動を伝える仕事に惹かれています。自然界や探検から生まれる力強いストーリーは、重要な地球規模の課題と人々をつなぐことができると思っています。水中探検や遠征の分野には、今、より多くの女性が集まってきていますか？私の感覚では、十分に速く進んでいるとは言えませんが、探検の分野に関わる女性は確実に増えています。ただ、多くの女性が深刻な壁に直面しているとも感じます。キャリア上のポジションや機会を得にくいという問題です。 あなたは自分を “the canary in the coal mine” だと言っていますが、今どんな警鐘を目にしていますか？ 本当に、どこから話し始めればいいのでしょう。私は 56 歳ですが、自分の生きてきた時間の中で自然界に起きた変化の大きさに、心から衝撃を受けています。30年以上前に潜ったサンゴ礁は、今では死に絶え、魚の姿もほとんどありません。北の海氷は年々、形成が遅くなり、融けるのは早くなっています。私がダイビングを学んだ湖も、外来種の影響を大きく受けています。私たちは急速に姿を変える世界に生きています。恐ろしさは感じますが、それでも希望を失ってはいません。人類が転換点を越えないためには、何をする必要がありますか？ すでにその境界を越えてしまっていないことを願っていますが、私たち全員が前向きであり続けることが大切だと思います。世界の最も差し迫った問題に対する大きな答えを持っていないかもしれませんが、自分の暮らしの中でできる小さな行動や変化なら、誰もが知っているはずです。それらは人類をより良い方向へ進める力になります。地球温暖化と水質の問題には、今すぐ取り組まなければなりません。これらはすべてつながっています。COVID-19 への対応は、そのよい例です。以前なら開発と検証に 10 年かかっていたかもしれないワクチンを、私たちは実際に届けました。私たちには知恵があり、探究する人たちがいて、力を合わせれば大きな問題を解決できるのです。Suunto のダイブテックの進化は、あなたの旅をどのように支えてきましたか？ 私はキャリアを通じてずっと Suunto 製品で潜ってきました。いつも革新的で、堅牢で、信頼できるものでした。誰かが新しい Suunto 製品の箱を開けるとき、おそらく私と同じように感じるのではないでしょうか。このツールが、人生で最も素晴らしい冒険のいくつかに寄り添ってくれるのだと。1998 年に記録的なダイビングで使った Suunto のコンピュータのひとつは、今ではパタゴニアの若いクジラ研究者の腕にあります。古いデバイスを人に譲ってきましたが、それらは今も使われ続けています。これ以上ない推薦の言葉だと思います。いつか実現したい夢の探検はありますか？ 私はまだガラパゴス諸島にもココス島にも行ったことがありません。いつか必ず実現したいと思っています。それまでは、忙しくしてくれることがたくさんあります。 すべての画像と動画: Janne Suhonen, Divers of the dark  

Passionate runners don’t need an excuse to lace up and head out the door, but having the added motivation of cleaning up our oceans provides a welcome boost! More than five million runners across the world got that by joining Run for the Oceans 2021 and clocking up more than 56 million kilometers to help end plastic waste. The campaign, which ran between May 28 and June 8, is a joint initiative of adidas and its partner Parley, which is an innovative space for thought leaders to come together to save our oceans. Parley’s Global Clean Up Network is dedicated to removing plastic waste from beaches, islands and coastal communities. With every kilometer participants ran, adidas supported the clean up of the equivalent of 10 plastic bottles. After the huge turnout, adidas is now committed to cleaning up 250 tons of plastic waste to prevent it entering our oceans. What a success! Kimi Schreiber hit the trails between May 28 and June 8 to stack up kilometers. It also raises awareness German trail runner, blogger and Suunto athlete Kimi Schreiber participated in the global event and was excited to run a high volume of kilometers to help remove as much plastic waste from the environment as she can. “Sport can change lives and now it’s giving people around the world the chance to get actively involved in helping nature and preserving it,” Kimi says. “I think the most important argument for participating is the issue of attention. With such a large and global event, you can create awareness on a whole new level and bring the issue of environmental pollution into people’s minds.” How to participate Sync Suunto app with adidas Running app and make sure you track every kilometer you run with your Suunto! To sync your Suunto runs with adidas Running, connect your Suunto app account with adidas Running: Open Suunto app and tap “Profile”. Then click on “Connect to other services”. Select adidas Running and enter your adidas Running login details to connect the two apps. Get the adidas Running app here.