Suunto World Vertical Week, the thrilling celebration of the uphill challenge, united outdoor enthusiasts from around the globe in a collective pursuit of elevation gain on March 18–24. All human-powered activities by the participants were counted and every hill was turned into an opportunity to conquer new heights. We have now analyzed the data to see which country and activity type climbed the most!   The usual suspects were on top of the country rankings In the country rankings, the usual suspects – countries in the mountainous regions of Europe – were once again on top. This time Italy dethroned Austria for the number one spot with over 400 meters of ascent per activity on average. Switzerland also broke its way to the top three. The only non-European nation in the top 10 was South Africa in ninth place. Greece made it to the top 10 for the first time.   Average ascent meters by country   When looking at the total ascent, meaning adding up the ascent in all the activities in a nation for the Vertical Week, France took the top spot from Spain and Italy climbed past Austria on the third spot. Top 10 for total ascent meters France Spain Italy Austria Germany Switzerland USA Poland United Kingdom Czech Republic   Skiers – and the Japanese trail runners – were above the rest In the activity type rankings, there weren’t any major changes: ski touring activities had the biggest average ascent, followed by mountaineering and trail running. The average ascent for all the ski touring activities came close to the magical 1000-meter mark but was still a bit below the summit. Maybe next time!   Average ascent meters by activity type   While the skiers had the biggest days on average, when looking at individual activities with over 1000 meters of ascent, trail runners were in the lead. In 2023 the order was the other way round. In the individual performances, four people really stood out: They all had tracked over 20.000 meters of human-powered ascent during the Vertical Week. Impressive! And while looking at the big picture, many people seemed to push it more than last year: For a top 10% placing, you needed to climb 2275 meters during this year’s Vertical Week. That’s almost 373 meters more than in 2023. The same change is visible in the top of the top: To make it to the top 3% of the Vertical Week participants, you needed to climb 4062 meters, 472 meters more than in 2023. The country rankings winner Italy is very strong also in different activity type rankings. They earned a podium spot in six out of ten different categories! Ski touring Slovakia 1160m Switzerland 1062m Poland 1051m(Average for all countries 953 m) Whoop whoop, we have a new winner in the ski touring category! The Slovakian skiers ascended more than any other nation in any of the categories. It’s also clear that the 1000-meter mark is a clear goal for skiers, and the entire top 3 broke that limit. Trail running Japan 1076m Italy 674m Greece 600m(Average for all countries 457 m) This is amazing: The Japanese trail runners were the only ones breaking the 1000-meter mark in any other category than ski touring. They kept their well-deserved top spot in trail running for another year. Congratulations! Mountaineering Italy 865m Finland 838m France 799m(Average for all countries 633 m) Italy continued their dominancy, but the second place was a surprise: How did such a flat country as Finland make its way to second place? Mountain biking South Africa 645m Italy 547m Slovenia 540m(Average for all countries 393 m) The South Africans were active on the bike, climbed more than any other nation and ensured that also the African continent was presented in the rankings. Gravel cycling United Kingdom 656m United States 440m Italy 421m(Average for all countries 298 m) Gravel cycling was a new addition on the list this time. And, not surprisingly, the ascent meters for gravel cycling fell somewhere between mountain biking and cycling. The UK took the top spot in the activity ranking clearly. Cycling Spain 435m Italy 335m Slovenia 286m(Average for all countries 210 m) Everyone knows that cycling in Spain in the spring is great. And they seem to know it themselves, too! Trekking Japan 850m Switzerland 575m Austria 541m(Average for all countries 351 m) The Japanese took the top spot in two categories, trekking and trail running. Two category wins was only matched by Italy (number one in mountaineering and hiking). Hiking Italy 438m Slovakia 386m Slovenia 351m(Average for all countries 240 m) Yet another category with a strong Italian performance. Forza! Nordic skiing Switzerland 363m Austria 324m Norway 305m(Average for all countries 216 m) While the top three countries in the cross country skiing category were expected, what was surprising was the change in the podium lineup from the previous year: None of these three were on the podium last year. Running Czech Republic 152m Switzerland 138m South Africa 130m(Average for all countries 95 m) Running, the most popular Suunto activity in general, is not focused on the vert. Despite the smaller numbers, there still is a winner: Czech Republic took the number one spot!

Welcome to Suunto World Vertical Week – a thrilling celebration of the uphill challenge! From March 18 to March 24, outdoor enthusiasts from around the globe will unite in a collective pursuit of elevation gain, turning every hill into an opportunity to conquer new heights. The beauty of Suunto Vertical Week lies in its accessibility, taking place everywhere, and embracing all human-powered activities. Whether you're a trail runner, skier, hiker, mountaineer, cyclist, or any other adventurer, the Vertical Week invites you to climb as much as you can. The ultimate goal? To determine which nation and activity type emerges victorious, boasting the most elevation gain. Joining the Vertical Week is simple – just open the Suunto app and click 'join' in the Vertical Week message. All your human-powered activities during the week count. Join now and elevate your adventure! Follow your progress in real-time The Vertical Week sport app shows the current activity ascent (top), total ascent (bottom) and your total compared to Vertical Week participants in 2023.   You can follow your total ascent for the Vertical Week with the new SuuntoPlus Vertical Week sport app: The Vertical Week sport app will count every meter you climb and show your cumulative ascent for both the current activity and the entire week. You can also see how high you would be ranked in the previous Vertical Week challenge. Are you already in the top 30% or perhaps even the top 5% of participants? Go to the SuuntoPlus Store in Suunto app and sync the Vertical Week sport app to your watch. Before starting your first activity of the Vertical Week, select the sport app in the activity settings. Learn more about SuuntoPlus sport apps.    Join our community events in Innsbruck and Girona If you are spending your Vertical Week in or around Innsbruck, Austria, or Girona, Spain, you should check out our community events: In Innsbruck we will be running with BASEFIVE on March 18 and skiing on March 20 and 23. In Girona we will go on a community run together with the Overland crew on Saturday, March 23.  Learn more about Suunto x BASEFIVE Vertical Week events in Innsbruck and join! Learn more about Suunto x OVERLAND Vertical Week events in Girona and join!   Data from previous years Check out which sports and nations have captured the podium places during the past years. Will this year bring changes to the top places? Now is your chance to affect on this year's results by collecting as many vertical meters as possible.  2023 - 2022 - Summer 2021 - Winter 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016   Read more How to use the terrain maps in your Suunto Vertical 10 Suunto features for vertical gain Suunto World Vertical Week 2023 Big Data

Last weekend Jakob Herrmann, Austrian ski mountaineer and Suunto ambassador broke the 24-hour skimo world record. He ascended 24.242 meters (79.534ft) in 24 hours in Radstadt, Austria. To put that into perspective, Jakob’s average hourly ascent was over 1.000 meters, and the total ascent was more than equal to six laps up to Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, from the valley floor in Chamonix. The previous 24-hour world record was 23.486 meters set by Kilian Jornet. Jakob not only broke the record but was also the first person ever to climb over the 24.000-meter mark. Jakob skied all together 34 laps up and down a ski slope that has 713 meters of ascent. A single lap was 2,55 km and in total he skied more than 170 kilometers. During one of his descents, he hit a max speed of 108 km/h! We caught up with Jakob shortly after his record-breaking ski. Read on to learn more!   Suunto: When did you set the 24-hour record as your target? Jakob: I just love to spend time on my skis for hours! It has always been a dream for me to go on touring skis for 24 hours to see how many meters in altitude I can manage. I just want to know what limits I can reach and how far beyond them I can go. Did you do some specific training for it? In November and December, I did a lot of long and easy sessions on my skis followed by short and hard interval sessions to get the speed and strength. In the last two weeks before my 24h I only did short, easy sessions and some short, but hard ones and one race to get used to the suffering! Have you tried a personal 24h challenge before? No, but I did one session with 10.000m of ascent in 9h30m in the middle of December. I felt super strong although I did it self-supported. I think with more long sessions my head and muscles would have gotten tired and the pace would have gone down. So, I did more split sessions with 5.000m+ in the morning and a second session in the evening.   How did you pace yourself? For 90% I listened to my feelings. When I felt strong, I went faster and when I felt tired, I went a bit slower! My supporters always gave me the lap times. In addition, I observed the vertical speed per hour on my Suunto Race. How did your pace change through the 24 hours? I did the first loops very fast – my first uphill was in 30’. The first 10 loops were all between 30-36’. After that, I was between 37-40’. My slowest uphill was 42’ on the 24th loop when I had my lowest point. The hardest part for me was the early morning when I felt the freezing cold temperatures of around -8 degrees, especially during the downhills. In the end, I was able to push again, and the last 7 loops were all between 38-40’. The average was 38’20”. So, I think the secret to my success was that I was able to keep the pace constant. Did you have some surprises on the way? I didn’t have any negative surprises – only positive ones! I was surprised that so many friends joined me on my way and so many people followed me on-site or in the live stream. Did you have anyone keeping you company? Yes! I was only 7 hours in total alone: 4 hours during the night and 3 hours during the day. I am super happy I had so many friends on my side, but I enjoyed also the loops when I was alone!   When did you realize that you would make it? From the beginning… No joke! I had a strong day, and after some laps, I knew, that I could do it. After 18h I was 100% sure that I would make a new record, but I wasn’t sure if it would be more than 24.000m. After 21h I was sure I’d do the extra lap to climb more than 24.000 meters. Which Suunto did you use? I had the Suunto Race – and it worked perfectly. The battery lasted unbelievably well; I had more than 40% of the battery left in the end even though I had the GPS on the best settings, the light was always on and I used the SuuntoPlus Loop sport app. What was your nutrition strategy? 100 grams of carbs per hour. I always had 300ml of Maurten Drink Mix320 with me. Every loop I had a Maurten gel and every 4th loop I ate a Moonvalley bar and no gel. After the 8th and 16th loops, I had warm salted potatoes and a warm soup on the top. For the last 6 loops, I stopped with Maurten Drink Mix320 and Moonvalley bars and changed to Red Bull, water, and Pringles!   Did you have a big crew supporting you? I had two supporters in the valley and two on the top. Philipp [Reiter] was everywhere taking pictures and pushing me! Also, my parents were nearly 24 hours on my side to give me a good feeling! How do you feel now, one day after the enormous effort? I feel super good. My energy and legs are strong – only my feet are swollen, and I have some blisters. I am surprised… but I think my nutrition strategy was really good. I never felt completely out of energy.   Check out Jakob’s record-breaking activity in Strava Follow Jakob’s adventures on Instagram All images by Philipp Reiter / The Adventure Bakery

Rise&Fall                                                                 Mountain Attack   Rise & Fall Mayrhofen Four people, one team, no mercy - on January 14th, everything will be demanded of the athletes. Each team consists of a ski mountaineer and mountain biker who will give their best in the uphill. A paraglider and skier cover the downhill and do complete the team and risk everything to be the first crossing the finish line. Among the more than 300 participants this year are Johanna Hiemer on touring skis, Aaron Durogatti and Judith Rubner on paragliders and Marius Quast on skis. The special thing about it is that both Johanna Hiemer and Judith Rubner will be competing in a women's team. "I'm looking forward to this unique event - 4 different sports combined in on event is unique. The atmosphere is amazing." - Johanna Hiemer We asked Chris Ebenbichler, the organizer of the event, a few questions in advance: What is important for the teams? The teams must form a homogeneous unit. The handover in the individual disciplines is crucial and, of course, the spirit within the team is always better when the athletes know each other. It's great to see how the team members cheer each other on, motivate and support each other. At the end of the day, they win or lose together and create unforgettable moments and emotions.  What is the most challenging discipline? It's difficult to define. It's a high-intensity event and the short duration of the individual disciplines means that the athletes are constantly pushing themselves to the limit and in the red zone. There is no time to catch your breath and you have to stay focussed. It's a sprint for touring and biking, the paragliders are challenged by the running course and the difficult start section and for the skiers, with a 3-minute giant slalom and the obstacles before the finish, the lactate level is almost unbearable What is the discipline in which you can win everything and lose everything? The two RISE disciplines of ski touring and mountain biking certainly offer the most time. Unfortunately, you can lose everything if you fall in the last discipline, skiing. How do the teams prepare for this special event? The teams and athletes prepare very individually. For some amateur athletes, having fun comes first. The professionals, on the other hand, take things very seriously. For the ski tourers, it's a kind of benchmark for the start of their season and the mountain bikers see it as the starting signal for preparation and the first training courses in warmer climes. However, the same applies to everyone: Without adequate preparation, it will be a knife-edge ride. How many teams are competing? Men & women? There will be 80 teams and 10 individual starters on the day of the event. We hope to welcome around 20 women's teams to Mayrhofen this year. ©Michael Werlberger SATURDAY, 13.01.2024 Europahaus Mayrhofen From 16.00 to 18.30: Bib-Collection & Pastaparty19.00: Welcoming and briefing 20.00: "RED BULL X-Alps 2023": Multimediashow with Christian "CHRIGEL" Maurer in the Europahaus - Ticketinfo SUNDAY, 14.01.2024 Eventarea in front of Ahornbahn 11.00: Entrance - Warm up11.30: START - RISE&FALL KIDS-RACE 2024+ Prize ceremony: KIDS-RACE12.45: START - RISE&FALL SINGLE-RACE 202413.00: START - RISE&FALL TEAM-RACE 2024directly afterwards: Flower CeremonyFrom 16.00: Live music with the band "Jukebox Brothers"16.00: Prize ceremonyApprox. 17.00: RISE&FALL Afterparties in Mayrhofen   Mountain Attack The 26th Mountain Attack will take place on 19th of January 2024 and athletes will give their best over 6 distances. In Saalbach-Hinterglemm, hundreds of athletes will once again give their all this year - the 3-person relay over the marathon distance is new. Suunto athlete Jakob Herrmann is not only last year's winner and therefore Mountain Man 2023 with a time of 2:22:14 but will also be on the starting line again this year. "The challenge is definitely the first mountain! You tend to go too fast or lose a lot of energy because it's so steep. In 2020, I was almost 1,5 minutes behind the leaders on the first climb and I finished 2' ahead with a new course record," says Jakob Herrmann. It remains to be seen whether a course record will be set this year in addition to his preparation for the 24h project, but we will certainly be there. © Philipp Reiter   Roland Kurz and his team have been organizing the Mountain Attack for 26 years now and give us a closer look at the ski touring event of the year: How did the Mountain Attack come about? We started the first race in 1999. It was very well received internationally, the media reported on it and so the idea became a vision - the Mountain Attack. It has since become a touring ski cult event, the biggest and toughest night-time piste ski touring race in the world with participants from over 20 nations and numerous side events, a meeting point for the scene, business and sport. What makes the Mountain Attack so special? The Mountain Attack is a race over several distances (Schattberg Race - vertical, Tour and Marathon - individual) where it is possible for amateur and hobby athletes to compete with the best athletes in the world in a race at the same time, in the same weather conditions and with the same snow conditions. Thousands of spectators on the various peaks and in the valley are up close to the racing action and motivate all participants to achieve their personal best. A unique atmosphere for all enthusiastic ski mountaineers and fans. And: because the course has been the same for 25 years, everyone can compare their own performance with that of previous years. What is the biggest challenge and who is the Mountain Attack for? The route. The start on foot, running through the centre of Saalbach, with thousands of spectators, and especially the first steep climb up the Schattberg with over 1000 metres of altitude difference is a special challenge - affectionately called "Il Muro" (the wall) by the Italians. The steep climbs and the long and steep descents throughout the race are unique and very challenging. Everyone is welcome, even without a national or international athlete's licence, who loves the sport and is an experienced ski tourer. Numerous athletes from summer sports, such as triathletes, trail runners and cyclists, like to use ski mountaineering in winter as optimal training preparation and are represented in large numbers at the start of the Mountain Attack. © Philipp Reiter PROGRAM FOR FANS AND SPECTATORS FRIDAY, 19.01.2024 13:00: Start Junior-Sprint: Schattberg-Basisareal. Final 14:45 Uhr ca. 15:00: Attack-Party: Mountain Attack-ARENA Schattberg with DJ Musik & Expo 16:00: Mountain Attack - START at thee Dorfplatz in Saalbach 16:40: First finisher Schattberg Race 16:50: First estimated arrivals Hinterglemm 17:15: Prize ceremony Junior-Sprint, Stage Attack-Arena 17:35 – 18:25: First finisher in Saalbach – Mountain Attack-ARENA, Schattberg 17:00 – 22:00: Athletes crossing the finish line  - Moderation and Party 22:30: Prize ceremony on stage – Mountain Attack-ARENA, Schattberg  

Race to the Summit Two years ago, Dani Arnold completed the biggest project of his life: climbing the six large Alpine north faces – alone and in record time. The project occupied, accompanied and shaped him over a period of 10 years. Now the Netflix is devoting a 90-minute report to three of these climbs. Race to the Summit features the dizzying feats of Dani Arnold and the late Ueli Steck, two great Swiss alpinists and long-time Suunto ambassadors. Experienced mountaineers need a day or more to climb the infamous north faces of the Eiger or Matterhorn. But Dani and Ueli climbed them alone in less than three hours. The duel thrilled the climbing world and electrified the media. Watch the trailer above and the full film on Netflix.   Lost Then Found TDS winning athlete Christian Meier shares his inspiring story in Lost Then Found. Christian started his athletic career as a cyclist and has since made a transition from the pro peloton to the top of ultra-running. ”Life is a constant evolution of who you are as a person and Lost Then Found marks an important turning point in my life not only as an athlete but as an individual. From losing cycling to finding trail running this is a story of self-discovery and I am happy to be able to share that journey,” says Christian.   Arctic Lines – Sunny Car Center In the Arctic Lines video series, backcountry snowboarder Antti Autti explores the vast wilderness of northern Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The series is now in its third season, and in the latest episode, 'Sunny Car Center,' Antti seeks—and finds—a new special zone in Northern Norway. ”Exploring expands your horizons and finding new locations is one of the most important aspects of freeriding,” says Antti.   Balkan Express Ski mountaineers Jochen Mesle and Max Kroneck rode 2500 km from Greece to Germany – and stopped to ski along the way. Balkan Express, their film about the adventure, has won acclaim at international film festivals. “We really wanted to experience some mountains, cultures, people we didn't know. We looked at a map of Europe and saw that the Balkans are pretty interesting. The sport side wasn’t the main focus of the project. It was about getting to know the culture and people,” says Max.   Nomadland – Bikepacking in Mongolia Alba Xandri and Erreka Calmet found beautiful landscapes, friendly people and an epic adventure while bikepacking in in the Mongolian grasslands – and made a film about it. ”Mongolia far exceeded our expectations. It is a backcountry bikepacker’s paradise,” says Alba.   Ride to Ski – Bikepacking adventure through the Dolomites Lack of snow forced Henna Palosaari to think outside the box and led her to invite two of her friends, Sami Sauri and Malva Björkman, on a bike & ski adventure. The 9-day journey that combined two of her favorite sports, turned out to be a beautiful mix of sweat, laughs, ice, snow, and friendship. ”It wasn’t a pure sufferfest,” Henna laughs.   Max Ammer, Raja Ampat and the richest reefs in the world This is an oldie but goldie: Max Ammer, founder of Papua Diving and two Eco Resorts, Sorido Bay and Kri Eco Resort, shows us why these incredible projects are more than just places to stay, dive and enjoy the unique ecosystems. Over the past 30 years, a remarkable conservation project has unfolded. The local team, with unwavering dedication, has prioritized the protection of the flourishing ecosystem. This strategic focus has proven to be wise, as the tangible outcomes of their hard work, long-term planning, and precise execution are evident in the thriving fish and coral counts. This stands as a rare case where the reefs are experiencing unprecedented richness – and gives hope for other areas as well.   Lead image by Richard Bucher / Ride to Ski

It was late February in Innsbruck. Henna sat at her desk, browsing the map to see what destinations were close by, destinations with great skiing opportunities that could be easily reached by bike. The winter in the Austrian Alps had been the worst in living memory. The usual endless fresh snow had been replaced by grass and mud. Normally, at this time of the year, we were too busy to enjoy the powder days in the snowy resorts to even think about wasting this precious time riding bikes that could do plenty over the summer months. This year was different; it was time to slow things down and finally see if combining two sports, bikepacking and snowboarding, could actually be truly enjoyable. Malva, Sami and Henna.   "We're actually doing it!" Malva exclaimed as we hopped on our bikes in Innsbruck. "My bike shakes like crazy, is this normal?" Henna asked, seemingly nervous after the first 500 meters. Sami reassured her that she'll get used to it by the time we reached the Dolomites. Dolomites, a destination with iconic sharp-toothed, sheer-sided mountains that stand enormously tall as the background whether it’s summer or winter. And most importantly, only a couple of hundred kilometers away, making it reachable by bike. The only question was whether our plan of a 5-day cycling and 4-day skiing journey from Innsbruck to Lago di Garda actually was realistic without being only a sufferfest?   Snowflakes and sharks “It’s definitely a first, biking up to go ski touring,” Henna gasped as we made our way up to our first skiing spot. This winter, the snow line had been even higher than normal, at around 1000 to 1500 meters. Normally, we would drive up to the snow line and start touring, but not this time. Now, it meant first climbing 600 meters from the village with bikes before changing into skis and tackling the rest of the 750 meters with skis and splitboards. Our bikes were loaded with skis/splitboards, ski/snowboard boots, backpacks, poles, skins, ski clothes, crampons, and sleeping bags, all secured with many, many straps. “At least the body is already warmed up by the time we start touring,” Malva smirked. As we arrived at our accommodation the previous night, the snow had started to fall, giving hope for some fresh lines the next day. The trees and roofs were covered by a thin layer of snow, making the whole town glisten in the morning sun as we hopped on our bikes the next morning, excited for the first ski day. “Watch out for sharks,” Henna shouted as all three of us cruised down a fresh line from Vennspitze. That was the reality; there was still not enough snow to cover all the rocks, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the first turns of the trip. “Shitty snow but so much fun to be riding!” Malva summed it up as we were riding the last meters down. With smiles or without smiles, the reality was that we still needed to bike another 31 kilometers to our next accommodation. Exhausted, we crossed the border to Italy in the dark, dressed up in all the layers we had, and descended down towards Vipiteno. “I don’t think we can keep on doing this for 7 more days in a row,” Sami said, and we all nodded in silence. Lesson learned - while enjoying a hearty dinner, we decided to split the rest of the days between the two disciplines to make it a smoother and, most importantly, more enjoyable experience.   Ice and Dolomiti peaks "No way, is that a ski slope?" Sami shouted after we had just managed to get through a closed trail with hundreds of fallen trees. Route planning on a winter bikepacking trip was a lot different from a normal bikepacking trip. The nice small gravel roads that were usually preferred might be covered by snow or turned into a nordic ski track that had melted into a shiny ice field. Both of these we had to learn the hard way on our trip. “No braking,” Henna screamed as she balanced on the ice field that previously served as a nordic ski track. We survived but decided to reroute the rest of our route to the bigger roads to avoid more such surprises. We pushed our bikes across the ski slope while gazing at the first Dolomiti peak on the horizon. The 90-kilometer journey to Camping Sass Dlacia was a full day mission, but the sheer-sided mountain peaks colored in shades of pink and purple created a warm and unforgettable welcome into the Dolomites. The drumming of the raindrops the next morning not so much. The campsite was located at 1500 meters, but still, it was not enough to turn the rain into snow. “That is usually rideable,” Henna said, pointing out to a peak on our left side as we toured towards Lavarella hut. The lack of snow made it necessary for us to adjust the next day’s plan. There was simply not enough snow to ski the run we had planned to. “The rest of the face is pure ice from here to the top,” Malva said. The snow that had started falling after our arrival at the hut had come with too much wind to stick on the icy slopes. Creativity had been the key this winter, finding a way to make the most out of the current conditions no matter how bad they were. After looking around, we found an interesting-looking small couloir and a snowy-looking bowl that we decided to ski. “Go girls,” Sami wrote on the snow as Malva and Henna hiked up to the couloir. The wind was chilly, but the sun was shining as we rode down. "Not perfect but way better than I expected," Henna said, content for the day. The setting sun colored the sharp-toothed mountains in warm tones, giving the final confirmation for a great day in the mountains.   Cheating to maximize the down time “I’m not feeling that good,” Malva said as the highest massif of Dolomites, standing over 3000 meters above sea level, looked down at us. The climb was famous among road cyclists, now tackled by three girls with 40-kilogram bikes loaded with ski gear. “2 kilometers in an hour,” Sami laughed out loud as she looked down at her watch and saw the pace we were moving. “But look at that,” Henna pointed out in awe towards Marmolada as she saw the majestic peaks glowing in the evening light, covered in fresh snow. At that moment, everything made sense, even doing a 9-day ski trip by bike.   After seeing the fresh snow on the Dolomiti queen and knowing it was all accessible from the resort’s cable car, we decided to reward ourselves and maximize the time spent skiing down instead of spending it touring up. It was our last day of skiing on this trip after all. “This is why we do it,” Henna screamed out of joy. We found fresh lines between the cliffs, fun turns beside the already tracked ones, good snow and bad snow as we enjoyed the beaming sun and took in the magnificent views overlooking the Dolomites. Smiles bigger than any of the day, we packed the skis on the bike and started a short descent to the next accommodation, only to notice we had booked the wrong one from a village on the other side of Marmolada. Even that, could not ruin our mood that day, we kept riding to the next village and booked a new one from there. The last majestic peaks of Dolomites on our sides and the warmth of the sun growing more intense as we headed towards our last destination, Lago di Garda. Soon the only evidence of the snow and winter was the melting nordic ski tracks. As we passed by the Italian Vineyards, we felt light and relaxed, shed some layers, and chatted with the local cyclists as they passed by us. We knew that we were getting closer to our end destination. Whether it was the tailwind or knowing we could soon pop the champagne bottle gifted to us by our last accommodation, the last kilometers to Riva del Garda flowed in ease. “We actually did it,” Sami shouted as she popped the champagne bottles and sprayed it on Henna and Malva. “And it wasn’t a pure sufferfest,” Henna said, the taste of champagne in her mouth. A 9-day journey combining two of our favorite sports turned out to be a beautiful mix of sweat, laughs, ice, snow, and friendship.   Ski to Ride: Watch the entire film here Skiing and bikepacking isn’t something that usually goes hand-in-hand. Henna Palosaari, Malva Björkman and Sami Sauri thought differently. Ride to Ski film takes you through the iconic Dolomites on a 426 kilometer journey full of sweat, laughter, skiing, snowboarding, ice and snow, done solely by bike. Riders - Henna Palosaari, Malva Björkman & Sami Sauri Cinematography & Editing - Mikko-Pekka Karlin Production - Henna Palosaari Photography - Richard Bucher Graphic Design - Henna Palosaari More to watch: Bikepacking the Arctic Post Road