3/27/12

The Vector Goes Green - Literally

The Suunto Vector HR takes you into the wild zone, coming out in a new forest green look to complement the existing colors in the range. It features a dark green face and housing, ratcheting up the choices for outdoor users who want Suunto’s classic altimeter, barometer, compass watch and want to make statement.


The Suunto Vector is iconic among mountaineers and has won numerous awards since it was launched in 1998. It remains a hugely popular watch thanks to its useful functionality, reliability and robust design.

The HR, with a comfortable heart rate belt, is a tool for explorers on the mountain or training to get there. It features all the essential functions required to survive and enjoy adventures.

3/19/12

Outside Magazine Features Ueli Steck


Speed Freak. The April issue of Outside Magazine uses those words to describe Suunto athlete, Ueli Steck. It's a good choice of words, as Ueli holds multiple world records in speed climbing. In 2008, he climbed the famous Eiger Mountain in the Bernese Alps - an ascent that most climbers take three days to complete - in two hours and 47 minutes, shaving a full hour and 7 minutes off of his own previous record.



Outside Magazine correspondent Tim Neville, puts it this way:
"Nobody climbs faster than Swiss superman Ueli Steck... Steck is a mutant combination of the finest climbers out there, past and present. He has Reinhold Messner's high-altitude endurance, can climb 5.13 without a rope, and has the brains and prudence of Ed Viesturs."
Ueli started his climbing adventures young, first tackling a rock face when he was 12 years old.
"At 18, Steck tackled his first real test, the north face of the Eiger, doing the Heckmair Route in a day and a half. By 21 he was racing up stiff lines on the Mönch, and in 2004, at 28, he and a partner linked the three north faces of the Mönch, the Eiger, and the Jungfrau in one 25-hour push. Things really picked up after he free-soloed a wildly exposed line called Excalibur—a 750-foot-long 5.10d over Wenden, Switzerland."

Pick up the latest issue of Outside at the newstand for the full story, or check out the online version here.

Thanks for inspiring us ever further upward, Ueli!

Remembering Steve Romeo

On March 7th, the world lost a true lover of the outdoors, a true pioneer, author of his blog, TetonAT and backcountry hound.
His close friend and Suunto athlete Kim Havell writes about his character, homemade lattes and the impact he made on her and other backcountry skiers. Excerpt from "My Mountain Brother" by Kim Havell:
"Steve, to me, represented the true love of backcountry skiing. His blog was his vehicle through which to express that passion. He shared beta and it was all from the complete joy of sharing epic days out in the mountains. He thrived out there. Many people won’t ever know just one of the kind of days he had almost every day.

He shied away from the limelight and crowds. I tr
ied to get him to come out to gatherings when I was in Jackson and he prefered to lay low, apres right after skiing, and then focus on the next day. He lived to ski and loved it."

Skiing Magazine put together an apt tribute as well- photos of Steve doing what he loved. Please see it.

We send our heartfelt thoughts to all of those whose lives Steve touched in any of a million ways.

A true user of Suunto products, Steve had written many reviews over the years. Here's one about him using the Suunto M5 to get ready for skiing in New Zealand.

Rest peacefully, Steve. We miss you already.



Photo courtesy of OuterTetonLocal.com. All rights reserved by them.

3/16/12

Kilian Jornet hits the PierraMenta

Image from www.pierramenta.com

The Pierra Menta is one of the toughest and most important races of the winter season, and where the best skiers of the moment meet up. It is a team race which is run in four stages from March 15-18th in the French town of Arêches-Beaufort.

Suunto Athlete, Kilian Jornet and his close friend March Pinsach teamed up to cover a total of more than 10,000 meters of ascent during the four days of competition.
After a very good start to the season and a few days before the start of PierraMenta, Jornet told us that: “The start of the season was perfect. The results couldn’t have been better and I have felt really good in all the races. In the last two weeks I have been training to get ready for the second part of the season, in which races are longer and more technical. Good weather conditions have enabled me to do sound mountain training, on technical routes in Mont Blanc, Aguille Verte, the Tacul, Tour Ronde and Buet. Last week I trained really hard a total of 30h and 20.000m. Now it’s time for me to rest and arrive feeling fresh on Thursday. Besides this, last week Marc Pinsach came to my house in Chamonix so that we could prepare the race together, especially the technical stretches and the descents.”

Kilian himself says how delighted he is to race alongside his great friend Marc Pinsach: “After winning the race 3 times (together with Florent Troillet and Didier Blanc) it is a great pleasure to run with a close friend this year. It’s a boost to my motivation. The goal is not to win the race, since there are some very strong teams, but to try and finish as far ahead as possible. Marc will be a great champion in forthcoming years and it is always highly motivating to give a hand to those who are coming up behind you. Florent Troillet did the same for me four years ago”.
All the race details are here: www.pierramenta.com

If you would like to keep up on all of Kilian's adventures, you can follow him:

WEB: www.kilianjornet.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/kilianjornet
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/kilianj

3/6/12

From Suunto's Kim Havell: Top Ten Tips for Beginning Ski Mountaineers

After a 13-day cruise to Antarctica to ski virgin powder with 22 of the world’s best guides, super skier Kim Havell has some advice to share.

Kim has skied on all seven continents, with first descents on four, and adventured in more than 50 countries. During her travels, she has climbed and skied big peaks in the Himalaya & the Karakorum as well as the highest mountains across the US, with first descents both at home and abroad including in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Kim's tips, based on advice from ten of the world's greatest backcountry guides appears in Outside Magazine.

Noah Howell climbs steep snow on a windy day Photo: Jim Harris

The recommendations of famous guides like Doug Stoup, Kris Erickson, and others, really lays out the prime skills the novice backcountry skier needs to master for safety and to get the full experience.

It's great stuff from training to increase your mountaineering endurance, to avalanche safety knowledge, all the way to where to stash your mountain axe.


Chris Davenport belays Seth Wescott on a steep pitch Photo: Jim Harris

Apa Sherpa Takes Flood Warning Across Nepal

Suunto Ambassador Apa Sherpa has been listed by Guinness World Records for 21 Everest summits. Such accolades are not what drives Apa. For many years he has worked to raise awareness about issues that affect his homeland. Recently he has been speaking out about the flood risks in the Himalayan mountains as a result of changing temperatures.

Here is an Associated Press story from Newsday about Apa's efforts:



Before Apa became a guide in 1985, his village was devastated by a flash flood from a mountain lake that burst its banks. He is now trying to help his countrymen prepare for such a possibility again, and to warn the world that changing environments are making the danger greater than ever. From the Associated Press:

The 51-year-old Apa, who like most Sherpas uses only one name, is trekking the length of Nepal to warn villagers to prepare themselves for change. A third of the way along his 120-day journey, he has already seen many lakes that look ready to spill.

"If it happens again, many villages would be washed away and lives lost," he said during a break in his trek in Tatopani, a resort village near the Tibet border.

Apa's 21 ascents of the world's highest mountain have given him a unique up-close view of conditions in the Himalayas. Read the full story here.

Thanks Apa Sherpa for going where few have gone, and for carrying your message across the world.

3/5/12

Conrad Stoltz Wins XTERRA Grabouw

LinkSuunto Ambassador Conrad Stoltz just racked up another great win in the XTERRA race series, this time in South Africa.

The XTERRA Grabouw is described on the race site like this:

Grabouw, situated in the Western Cape atop the Sir Lowry’s Pass, is a mountain paradise for the outdoor enthusiast. It offers the opportunity to mountain bike in widely varying conditions, from gravel fire roads to rough jeep track and technically challenging single track, pine plantation to Cape Fynbos.

For the Trail Runners, the challenge does not stop.The trail run leg will take the Xterra athlete up slopes and along certain trails that are not accessible to the mountain biker, thus offering spectacular views not normally seen by the casual visitor to Grabouw.

This is how the Caveman recorded his thoughts about the race on his blog:

"Stunning bike course. Other than the all rocks and single track, I really like the Fynbos here. (Indigenous Western Cape vegetation) Checked it out on the pre rides as, there are more rocks and sand here than on the back of the moon."

Picture courtesy of ConradStoltz.com and from Total Sports and www.oakpics.com

"I had a 2 minute lead on Dan Hugo going into the final single track, but he chafed the sidewall on his rear tire and lost air and time the last few minutes. Too many rocks and ugly high speed sections to safely ride light weight Sworks tyres. A lesson learned before methinks."

You can read Conrad's full post and see some great photos on his blog, or see other photos at the race photo gallery.

Congratulations, Conrad! Another great victory - Four out of four in the series!


Our videos teach you all about the Ambit

MovescountbySuunto on YouTube is our resource to bring you useful and interesting videos about many Suunto products. Here is a link to our Ambit channel, with 10 videos (and counting) with all the details about how to set up your Ambit, use the great features, and get the most out of this premium instrument.



Features include basic introduction and set up, Peak Performance Training and Recovery, how to exercise with your Ambit, and many more. We'll continue to bring you informative videos, and if you have any ideas for vids you would like to see, let us know!

3/2/12

Peak Training and Recovery Time

Watch our Suunto Ambit videos to learn more about features such as Peak Training Effect and recovery time functionalities. These allow you to measure the impact of every training, and to help you reach your fitness goals.

The Ambit helps you achieve peak performance by measuring all the important impacts on your overall training effect. The mathematical model of peak training effect was developed at Suunto, measuring Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen consumption (EPOC, informally called afterburn) is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity intended to erase the body's "oxygen debt."

In addition, Recovery Time is an estimate of how long you need to recover from a particular workout.

Watch this video for the full details:

Seed People's Market Mixer

This weekend Suunto will be at the Seed People's Market in Costa Mesa, CA to share info about our outdoor products, and to share fun times with live music, beer, raffles, giveaways and more.

Suunto will be joined by friends from Salomon USA, and representatives from all of the top outdoor companies in the industry.



Great day of fun for all! Join us.

Saturday, March 3rd
3pm - 6pm
Seed People's Market at the CAMP
2937 Bristol, Suite C100, Costa Mesa