We always have to learn and try new things.
The next adventure is just around the corner.
You just have to dear to dream and then take a step outside into the great beyond,
because that is the place where the wild things are, where you want to be.
THE IDEA
The 2015/16 season was a weird one. Snow was illusive and it was quite tedious to get to the right spots at the right time. One evening I was sitting at home, procrastinating, browsing the web in search of new ideas for new adventures. Looking for lines at remote places, satellite images from high up in space of mountain ranges far far away. All of these had one thing in common. They were extremely remote and far off the grid. To get to ride them one would have to acquire new skills. Skills that were basic for our ancestors, for us digitized beings with everything available 24/7 thou, they seemed like a story of myth. Surviving with basics in the winter. Outside. That`s what we would have to learn to get to those lines. To climb those chutes, to make those ascends and steep descends.
THE PLAN
Take a small group of mountain and powder buddies, friends from Slovenia and Austria and try to survive ever longer in the back country in smaller and grater numbers. First with a bit off buffer close to civilization in case of an unforeseen event, every trip a bit further out. 2015/16 would be the first phase of the Project. Three trips to put the skills we tediously researched of books, the net and practical knowledge, to some use. An Adventure. Every single one documented with a article about all the things we learned while testing gear and seeing how we can adapt to these challenging environments. It would be and education on the practical side, something we could share with all of you in grater detail trough the blog and the articles :).
THE GOAL
Learning to survive outside in an expedition type environment by ourselves while finding nice powder lines away from the pack. Learning to pack, moving large amounts of gear, setting up a biwak, tent or base camp at medium to high altitude, eating, cooking, sleeping at -10 to -15, adapting to high altitude, traversing glaciers, climbing and such basics as creating water and staying properly hydrated… would we manage all that?
THE ADVENTURES:
Week after week I you will be able to follow our trips. For season one we had originally planed three trips. As it went so well we extended to six. Check them out as the reports come online.
Support and Gear
Of course a project like that can not be done all alone. You need gear that works well in extreme conditions. You need a tent that sustains high wind, sleeping bags that allow proper rest at low temps, Isolation, cooking gear that is light and handy, clothing that dries quickly after long ascends with a lot of weight.
Fortunately I have been cooperating well with a few brands over the years that for product testing, next to having really cool gear for freeriding and powder also excel at expedition type equipment. Thanks to the support of Ferrino from Italy and Carinthia from Austria, we would be able to test their gear in practical environments to learn how well they work and how well we can adapt to it.
If you wanna find out more on the gear we will have a comprehensive gear review article ready by the end of the trips.
THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN – “Phase two”
After completing this phase I can truly say that this is where the future lies. Away from the pack. Away from the crowded lift resorts and into the wild. After this experience and all the things we have learned and optimized next season the project will continue with phase two and I already have a few awesome ideas where that will take us. The only question is really just will there be more snow and how high can we go for those epic lines that no one has ridden before 🙂