It’s the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Expedition of the Year – the Bell Island Mine Dive. Suunto ambassador Jill Heinerth is part of the team exploring the vast and submerged mine system. Scroll down to learn more and to see images of this incredible dive site. Canadian underwater explorer and technical diver Jill Heinerth is part of a team now exploring 100 km of long-abandoned mining passages beneath the seafloor of historic Bell Island, which lies off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada “The plan is to open this site for guided cave diving for experienced divers,” Jill says. “Ocean Quest Adventure Resort already boasts the ‘Truk of the North’ in terms of shipwrecks. Couple that with the mine, icebergs and humpback whales, and you have one of the finest diving destinations on the planet.” “Shipwrecks, the mine, icebergs and humpback whales – one of the finest diving destinations on the planet.” © Cas Dobbin 2016The plan for the expedition is to establish some primary guidelines for others to follow in the future and to get an idea of what was left in the mine when it was abandoned in 1966. So far, they have found everything from the remains of a miner’s lunch kit, an antique Pepsi Cola bottle, to large pumping equipment and pressure dampeners. “The walls of the mine also tell an important story; miners left behind basic graffiti on the walls such as columns of addition but also painted caricatures in lampblack and white crosses where their colleagues died. It all tells the anthropological story of mining.” Click for more about Jill Heinerth © Cas Dobbin 2016The expedition will also explore the island’s staunch local culture and WWII shipwrecks in its harbour. “The high-grade ore coming from the Bell Island mine was critical to shipbuilding during the war,” Jill says. “In 1942, a German U-Boat sunk four ore carriers and blew up the loading wharf on Bell Island. Seventy men died. The four shipwrecks are a part of this project and I will be back to document them in summer.” © Cas Dobbin 2016Engineers have helped the team assess and mitigate risks in the dry part of the mine. The hematite ore walls can collapse simply by leaning against them. Underwater, they have experienced whiteout conditions from inflowing meltwater. The remaining electrical supply line is an entanglement hazard. “We have to employ very prudent and conservative diving protocols to keep everyone safe and that means a big team topside to help in the logistics and safety.” “It all tells the anthropological story of mining.” The team includes some of the best technical divers in the world. Most are from Canada, and two others are from Britain and Germany. “The majority of the team is using rebreathers in order to lessen the impact of percolation from the ceiling and to increase warmth and comfort.” Click for 7 off-season tips for divers Fierce weather has created problems for the expedition. Blizzards, gales, floods and complete melts have each made things difficult. “The weather made travel across the Tickle to the island impossible on some days and on others we had a river of rushing meltwater flooding the infrastructure we had built for the project. It has not been easy, but we are learning about the forces of nature that will affect further exploration here.” To follow news about the Bell Island Mine Dive expedition, click here. Main image: © Cas Dobbin 2016

It was a race to the top! National and tribal pride was on the line as people around the world tried to prove their country or sport is king of the hill. World Vertical Week 2016 has closed and the stats are in so it's time to see who came out on top! WHICH COUNTRY CLIMBS THE MOST? Surely alpine nations have an unfair advantage? Mostly, yes, but not always. There were a couple of surprises! This visual shows the top 10 countries for average ascents in human powered outdoor activities. Congratulations Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia! WHO CLIMBS THE MOST? Trail runners, cyclists and trekkers were humbled as – maybe unsuprisingly – ski touring and mountaineering led the highest average ascents. As a consolation, remember there would be very different results in summer! Skiers climbed the most NUMBER ONE CLIMBERS IN THE WORLD The Swiss are on top again and nearly breaking the thousand-meter mark in both ski touring and mountaineering. The other two countries with two first places were more surprising: Colombia was on top in running and cycling and Hong Kong topped the chart in both trail running and trekking. The toughest mountain goats come from the Switzerland. TOP COUNTRIES IN DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES And to give you even more to speculate here are the top five countries in the activities mentioned above. Top 5 in ski touring SWITZERLAND 996 m SLOVENIA 941 m FRANCE 908 m ITALY 895 m SLOVAKIA 885 m Top 5 in mountaineering SWITZERLAND 971 m FRANCE 881 m ITALY 798 m AUSTRIA 710 m GERMANY 696 m Top 5 in trail running HONG KONG 890 m CHINA 684 m ITALY 640 m JAPAN 553 m SLOVENIA 543 m Top 5 in trekking HONG KONG 705 m SOUTH AFRICA 519 m MALAYSIA 428 m SLOVENIA 424 m NETHERLANDS 420 m Top 5 in snow shoeing ITALY 558 m AUSTRIA 488 m GERMANY 428 m SWITZERLAND 426 m FRANCE 416 m Top 5 in mountain biking PORTUGAL 533 m ITALY 518 m SPAIN 479 m SOUTH AFRICA 452 m SWITZERLAND 400 m Top 5 in cycling COLOMBIA 481m SOUTH AFRICA 409 m ANDORRA 403 m SLOVENIA 396 m SPAIN 391 m Top 5 in cross country skiing SPAIN 367m CZECH REPUBLIC 351m FRANCE 298m NORWAY 261m JAPAN 248m Top 5 in running COLOMBIA 193 m SLOVENIA 164 m ANDORRA 148 m HONG KONG 140 m PORTUGAL 140 m READ MORE 7 TIPS TO ACCELERATING YOUR UPHILL SPEED PERFORMING YOUR BEST WITH VERTICAL SPEED KIMBERLY, DAVID AND KYLE ARE THE VERTICAL WEEK PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS!

Where do you draw strength and solace amidst hardships, how do you turn fear into courage? Andy Earl, a Utah-based artist and adventurer shares his story and talks about his love for the mountains and how they have shaped his life. Watch the short film now: The Power of Mountains with Andy Earl

World Vertical Week was held last week and the hundreds of pictures tagged with #VerticalWeek give a wonderful look at what people were up to during the event. Thank you very much for participating and sharing the photos, everyone! The three lucky photo contest winners are Kyle Conway, David Jeker and Kimberly Strom. Congratulations! They all will receive Suunto Ambit3 Vertical GPS watches for their inspiring images.  putting in some more hard miles before #gorge100k @briehemingway @ultracrazychris #teamultracrazy #trailfamily #trailrunning #trailporn #training #suuntoverticalcanada #verticalweek #epictrailrunning #teamtransalpine A photo posted by Kyle Conway (@kc_lumberguy) on Feb 20, 2016 at 11:08pm PST Kyle Conway shot his winning photo at his local Baden Powell Trail in North Vancouver, Canada. “We ran about 30 km with about 1250 m of climbing, including two loops of the "Seymour Grind", a popular "climbing route" for trail runners,” Kyle tells about the day the photo was taken. Over the Vertical Week Kyle climbed 4700 m. “2016 has been a year with goals of improving my climbing, and Suunto's Vertical Week was a perfect opportunity to step things up.” Dream big. #trailrunning #catogne #trailvsb #whatanadventure #waaultra #waateam #verticalweek #livingthedream #jesuisloup A photo posted by David Jeker (@davidjeker) on Feb 17, 2016 at 8:11am PST David Jeker used the Vertical Week as his last week of hard training before tapering for Transgrancanaria in early March. “I ran nine times during the week, always near my place in Salvan, Switzerland. I kept the best training for the end and did some hill repeats on a very steep trail on Sunday. I ran up and down five times for a total of 2300 meters. Totals for the week were 122 km with 4350 meters of ascent.” David’s photo was taken during a 33 km long run with 1350 meters of ascent. “I had originally planned on doing an easy run down in the valley but when I saw that the snow had mostly melted higher up, I changed my plan. It was Vertical Week after all! I ran up to one of my favorite trails and took a picture of Catogne,” David says. “I’m running a race (X-Alpine / Trail Verbier St-Bernard) this summer that goes up, down and around that mountain. Since I’ve registered for that race, the sight of this impressive mountain is always a great source of motivation!” Finished the week with a big day, +2400m and plenty of sun. #verticalweek #suuntoski A photo posted by @kimberly.strom on Feb 21, 2016 at 10:38pm PST Kimberly Strom’s Vertical Week was a true multisport one: she ran in the Jura mountains, nordic skied, and had a big skimo day in the French Alps gaining a total ascent of about 5000 m for the week. In Kimberly’s photo her friend Noémie leads their climb to Col de l'Encrenaz on the way to Mont Buet (3096 m), in the French Alps. “The route allowed us a quiet morning, away from the busy ascent of Buet. With some extra skinning we earned the chance to be alone at the summit, arriving late in the afternoon after two long climbs (1300 m and 1100 m).” Along the way they saw many small avalanches as the sun heated the snow, watched a huge ibex perched on an impossible ledge, took a break to sit protected from the wind and enjoyed the view, kick-turned up icy slopes, and struggled to break through the crusty, crème brûlée descent. When they arrived back at the bottom the towering peaks glowed pink. “I can't think of a better day than spending all of it with friends in the mountains: working hard, feeling sun and wind burn, rewarded constantly with beauty, feeling accomplishment and the desire to go again.” Kimberly uses Suunto Ambit3 Sport to track her moves. “I never leave home without it. Track-back feature helps me find my way after some exploring!” 

World Vertical Week started today! Share a photo showing your World Vertical Week spirit on Instagram or Facebook between February 15–21, 2016 and tag the photo with #VerticalWeek for a chance to win a Suunto Ambit3 Vertical watch. The three most inspiring photos will be chosen as winners. During World Vertical Week every move will add to your country’s totals and soon we’ll find out where in the world people push uphill the most. Track your adventures with your Suunto watch. Every move and every sport counts. The only thing you need to do to participate in the event is to make sure your country information in the 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 and can compare different sports, too. Have fun! Read the terms and conditions of the photo contest

Thought orienteering was a strange fringe sport for runners who like map reading? Think again! The guys competing at the top are phenomenal athletes. Suunto ambassador Mårten Boström is one of them. We asked him how he does it – and why he loves a good map, especially if it’s upside down. What’s your training involve? Whenever I'm healthy I am running around 140-170 km per week, but since my sport is not only about running, I do many other forms of training too. At the moment it adds up to 20 hours a week. Time in the gym?I am just in the midst of a speed strength period where I go to the gym for short and fast series of squats, one leg squats and calf-lifts. Towards the end of the period I transfer the gained power to running through jumps and 7x7 second hill sprints. How did you get into orienteering?My older siblings were practicing the sport so I followed their example at a young age and remember my first race at the age of five. What is the appeal? The dual-task to manage finding the best route through unknown terrain while you put your body under hard physical stress. Is it more important to be a great athlete or great navigator? The challenge is to stay focused in navigating while running as fast as you can, so both are important. Nowadays maps are so good at elite events that any small mistake in navigation will likely put you outside the podium. And you need to be good at math right? It's continuous thinking until the finish line. Your bio says you like making maps? Mapmaking is both professional and fun. I'm pursuing a PhD in Geographical Information Science at the University of Helsinki, where I research methods of using LiDAR data (laser technology) for mapmaking, but I have also drawn various maps around the world. The best situation is when I can combine running and work, which I have recently done in Taita Hills, Kenya. Why is navigating with a map and compass better than GPS? There is a place for both! Generally a GPS would show you the shortest way pointing you towards a POI, (point of interest) but with a map and compass I can find the fastest way. I do however also use GPX tracks guiding me on trail runs whenever out in unknown terrain, such as on remote islands in Thailand. Have you always loved maps?Maps are works of art! As a kid I used to admire maps depicting far-flung places and draw fantasy maps of my own, so yes, I have always loved maps. When one learns how to read a map it's like learning a new language – and a new world of possibilities open up. Do you have a favorite? I like maps which depict things other than purely geographical themes, like bulging countries to represent population, rather than land mass. My favorite map however would have to be "the Upside Down World Map" which challenges the cartographic rule of always having north up and Europe in the center. Can you give x3 tips to be a better map reader? 1) Study maps of different parts of the world2) Imagine what the terrain looks like, by creating a 3D image in your mind3) Keep your thumb pointing to your location on the map always moving it along as you run further. What are your goals for 2016?I’m aiming at reclaiming the gold at the World Champs at the sprint distance in orienteering. MAIN IMAGE: © Matleena Boström