NO RELIGIOUS CONTENT

WINTER SPECIALLAST FRONTIER HELISkIING REd MOUNTAIN FINLANd ICE CLIMbING IN THE dOLOMITES

3 AbOUT US 5 INTRO6 LAST FRONTIER HELISkIING AS bIG AS IT COMES

12 A ROAd TRIP ALONG THE AOSTA VALLEy20 REd MOUNTAINITrsquoLL SNEAk UP ON yOU

26 PHOTO GALLERyELLI THOR MAGNUSSON

35 FINLANdMAkING ALL THE RIGHT NOISES

41 ICE CLIMbING IN THE dOLOMITESbEAUTy ANd THE bEASTING

46 SkI bOOT FITTINGTHE SECRET REVEALEd

49 SHEFFIELd STARJAMES lsquoWOOdSyrsquo WOOdS INTERVIEW

53 ON TOP OF THE WORLdkENTON COOL amp LAkPA RITA INTERVIEW

59 GEAR REVIEWS THE bEST OUTdOOR GEAR FOR THIS WINTER

77 TOUCHSCREEN TRAVELS81 ROOM WITH A VIEW84 dVd REVIEW87 WINGMAN COMP

CONTENTS

WELCOME TO THE CHURCHThanks for taking the time to take a look at Church of the Open Sky First off letrsquos get the title out of the way

Wersquove taken it from a phrase used by pioneering Hawaiian surfer Tom Blake (1902 ndash 1994) to describe the outdoor playground that is a fundamental aspect of our lives and our sense of identity and well-being

Amongst his many achievements Tom invented the hollow surfboard

the surfboard fin and the sailboard and was also an accomplished contest surfer and all-round waterman His actual phrase was lsquoThe blessed church of the open skyrsquo but that would have been too long for a magazine titlehellip

What we hope your visits to the Church will provide are eclectic unusual and inspiring adventure travel features undertaken (on the whole) by ordinary dudes whose lives revolve around lsquothe outdoor lifersquo be that surfing skiing hiking

or just undertaking a funky road trip across some wild corner of the globe

Wersquoll also be reviewing the best outdoor gear cool places to stay hip joints to dine in good books to read and loads of other stuff to make your indoor life nearly as much fun as your outdoor life Well maybehellip

PeteThe designer of lsquothe Churchrsquo is Pete Roberts of Globe Orange (wwwglobeorangecom) a highly respected and innovative website development company As well as surfing the internet Pete also surfs real waves rides real snow and cycles real roads

AlfThe editor of the Church of the Open Sky is Alf Alderson (wwwalfaldersoncouk) an award winning adventure travel writer and author who has contributed to a huge range of newspapers magazines and websites around the world

VISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

3 AbOUT US 5 INTRO6 LAST FRONTIER HELISkIING AS bIG AS IT COMES

12 A ROAd TRIP ALONG THE AOSTA VALLEy20 REd MOUNTAINITrsquoLL SNEAk UP ON yOU

26 PHOTO GALLERyELLI THOR MAGNUSSON

35 FINLANdMAkING ALL THE RIGHT NOISES

41 ICE CLIMbING IN THE dOLOMITESbEAUTy ANd THE bEASTING

46 SkI bOOT FITTINGTHE SECRET REVEALEd

49 SHEFFIELd STARJAMES lsquoWOOdSyrsquo WOOdS INTERVIEW

53 ON TOP OF THE WORLdkENTON COOL amp LAkPA RITA INTERVIEW

59 GEAR REVIEWS THE bEST OUTdOOR GEAR FOR THIS WINTER

77 TOUCHSCREEN TRAVELS81 ROOM WITH A VIEW84 dVd REVIEW87 WINGMAN COMP

CONTENTS

WELCOME TO THE CHURCHThanks for taking the time to take a look at Church of the Open Sky First off letrsquos get the title out of the way

Wersquove taken it from a phrase used by pioneering Hawaiian surfer Tom Blake (1902 ndash 1994) to describe the outdoor playground that is a fundamental aspect of our lives and our sense of identity and well-being

Amongst his many achievements Tom invented the hollow surfboard

the surfboard fin and the sailboard and was also an accomplished contest surfer and all-round waterman His actual phrase was lsquoThe blessed church of the open skyrsquo but that would have been too long for a magazine titlehellip

What we hope your visits to the Church will provide are eclectic unusual and inspiring adventure travel features undertaken (on the whole) by ordinary dudes whose lives revolve around lsquothe outdoor lifersquo be that surfing skiing hiking

or just undertaking a funky road trip across some wild corner of the globe

Wersquoll also be reviewing the best outdoor gear cool places to stay hip joints to dine in good books to read and loads of other stuff to make your indoor life nearly as much fun as your outdoor life Well maybehellip

PeteThe designer of lsquothe Churchrsquo is Pete Roberts of Globe Orange (wwwglobeorangecom) a highly respected and innovative website development company As well as surfing the internet Pete also surfs real waves rides real snow and cycles real roads

AlfThe editor of the Church of the Open Sky is Alf Alderson (wwwalfaldersoncouk) an award winning adventure travel writer and author who has contributed to a huge range of newspapers magazines and websites around the world

VISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

WELCOME TO THE CHURCHThanks for taking the time to take a look at Church of the Open Sky First off letrsquos get the title out of the way

Wersquove taken it from a phrase used by pioneering Hawaiian surfer Tom Blake (1902 ndash 1994) to describe the outdoor playground that is a fundamental aspect of our lives and our sense of identity and well-being

Amongst his many achievements Tom invented the hollow surfboard

the surfboard fin and the sailboard and was also an accomplished contest surfer and all-round waterman His actual phrase was lsquoThe blessed church of the open skyrsquo but that would have been too long for a magazine titlehellip

What we hope your visits to the Church will provide are eclectic unusual and inspiring adventure travel features undertaken (on the whole) by ordinary dudes whose lives revolve around lsquothe outdoor lifersquo be that surfing skiing hiking

or just undertaking a funky road trip across some wild corner of the globe

Wersquoll also be reviewing the best outdoor gear cool places to stay hip joints to dine in good books to read and loads of other stuff to make your indoor life nearly as much fun as your outdoor life Well maybehellip

PeteThe designer of lsquothe Churchrsquo is Pete Roberts of Globe Orange (wwwglobeorangecom) a highly respected and innovative website development company As well as surfing the internet Pete also surfs real waves rides real snow and cycles real roads

AlfThe editor of the Church of the Open Sky is Alf Alderson (wwwalfaldersoncouk) an award winning adventure travel writer and author who has contributed to a huge range of newspapers magazines and websites around the world

VISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

PAULOur resident ski dude is Paul Garner a founder and director of The Development Centre (TDC)

based in Val drsquoIsere France

ELLIOur Nordic correspondent is Icelander Elli Thor Magnusson Elli is based in his home country where he works as a freelance photographer focusing (literally) on outdoor adventure sports

CHRISTIANOur North America correspondent is Christian Williams He currently specialises in Canada Germany and Scotland though hersquos written extensively on destinations in Austria Spain and the USA too He divides his time between

Queacutebec and Scotland

VISIT WEbSITEVISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

dANIELJoining the Churchrsquos contributors this issue is Daniel Wildey yoursquoll see quite a bit of his work throughout the mag Daniel is primarily a photographer specialising in adventure travel and hotels based in the Lake District he has no shortage of subjects and has worked with many well-known outdoor

brands

VISIT WEbSITE

Who reads an Intro Anyone Probably not so wersquoll dispense with it in this issueJust dive in and enjoy the feast of winter action we have for you from heliskiing to ice climbing Sibelius to ski boots interviews to gear reviewsGotta dash I have some skiing to dohellip

Alf Alderson Editor

INTROdUCTION

FOLLLOW US ON FACEbOOk FOLLLOW US ON TWITTER

Church of the Open Sky ndash winner of Best Digital Media Award 2013

Red Mountain BC

One of the biggest dangers encountered in the wilds of northern British Columbiarsquos Skeena Mountains is avalanches so it wasnrsquot looking too good as four heliski guides broke out probes and shovel and set to on a slide that had just settled a few seconds earlier

Not too good for the resident cats at Bell II Lodge that is for this particular slide had come whooshing down from the roof of one of the guest lodges at Last Frontier Heliskirsquos base in the foothills of the Skeena range and any cat dog (or even human for that matter) that had the misfortune to be underneath it was in serious trouble ndash really

Because it snows with conviction in this part of the world There was at least six feet of snow on that roof before it decided to let gravity do its thing and you really

wouldnrsquot want to be underneath it all ndash the guides calculated that around 150 tonnes of snow had thudded down from the roof

Fortunately neither guests nor pets suffered the ignominy of death by avalanche only 50 metres from the bar so all was well but it kind of put things into perspective ndash you

do all your beacon probe and shovel exercises on arrival (and if you have any sense before you get to the lodge too) you listen intently to everything your guides say before you set off on each run and you may get avalanched walking out of your lodge doorhellip

lsquoA dAy IN THE MOUNTAINSrsquoAlf Alderson heads to british Colum-biarsquos remote Skeena Mountains with Last Frontier Heliskiinghellip

OUT OF THE ORdINARyBut everything up here on the border of Alaska is out of the ordinary and one of the most extraordinary things of all is Last Frontierrsquos tenure ndash at 22 million acres or 9000 sq kms itrsquos the largest in the world If that doesnrsquot mean much to you thatrsquos over six times the size of Greater London all of it uninhabited by humans in which there are around 450 named runs

The superlatives continue ndash between 65-100 ft of soft fluffy BC powder floats down onto these limitless acres every winter the snow base is between 15-18 feet and an average dayrsquos skiing will see you cover 25000 ft of vert (although take my word for it there is absolutely nothing lsquoaveragersquo about skiing here)

Another splendid thing about Last Frontier is their helicopters ndash funky little Bell 407s flown by incredibly skilled pilots that take a maximum of five skiers and one guide which means very little down time after each run so you certainly get the miles under your belt

IT GOES LIkE THIShellipIn fact you clock up those miles a bit like this

Itrsquos 915am and Irsquom standing in blinding sunlight on the summit of 7582-ft Delta Peak the fourth highest summit in the Skeena Mountains with guide Colin Moorhead and fellow over-excited skiers Klaus Hosner and Helmuth Ainedter from Austria and Jaako Kaivonen and Risto Koivula from Finland

Pilot Michel Seguin has just left us in a blur of snow crystals to head down to the base of a 2600-ft run called Nunatak Right and in

between throwing our packs on our backs (everyone is provided with an avalanche airbag pack) and clipping into our big fat K2 skis we take the opportunity to gaze about us at the north-western reaches of a mountain range the like of which you just wonrsquot find in many other places on Earth

As far as the eye can see are snow plastered peaks inhabited only by wolves bear moose and approximately 18 other skiers in the other three groups that Last Frontier are taking into the mountains today That gives us around 375 sq kms each to play inhellip

Colin points out the line wersquoll be taking down the mountain states the blindingly obvious ldquoFollow merdquo ndash which wersquore only too happy to do and one by one off we go down soft delicate shin deep snow powder

The sheer and absolute joy of scything through untracked snow on a vast powder field in the middle of nowhere - in the sunshine - on a Wednesday morning in March - when normal life would have me sitting behind a desk tapping at a keyboard ndash well I canrsquot help thinking I may have inadvertently

slipped through a lsquowormholersquo into a parallel universe

HEROESTherersquos nothing special about my skiing abilities but snow like this allows you to ski like a hero in terrain that makes you feel like a hero and you even have lsquohero transportrsquo awaiting you at the end of the run After all is there any more macho adrenaline-rush-inducing kind of transport than a helicopter ride through wild mountains

This run is such ski perfection that were it the only one of the day Irsquod be happy - the snow is never less than perfect and you feel and hear the hiss of a million glittering dust-dry snow flakes against your thighs at each turn whilst the terrain varies from easy cruising to steep tight turns where the snow sloughs excitingly behind you as the landscape moves from high alpine glacier surrounded by purple walled mountains to fir bedecked valleys where the aroma of pine hangs in the cold blue airOver the course of a day bathed in brilliant sunshine we do fifteen more runs notching up just under 34000 feet of vertical and itrsquos all

so thoroughly brilliant that each of us Austrian Finn Englishman and Canadian share a universal language all day in the form of an inane ear-to-ear grin which says it all

Heck so good is the snow that the skiing is not even that tiring ndash well not until we arrive back at the lodge where beer in hand and body in hot tub yoursquore well aware that yoursquove had lsquoa day in the mountainsrsquoA day that yoursquore unlikely to forget in a hurryhellip

TRAVEL INFOAlf Alderson travelled with Elemental Adventure (wwweahelicom) the worldrsquos leading provider of heliski vacations operating in 15 countries The trip includedTwo nights hotel accommodation pre and post heli skiing at the Fairmont Airport (pre) and the Fairmont Waterfront or the Pan Pacific (post) Return flight from Vancouver plusto Bob Quinn Lake ground transfer from to Bell II Lodge 7 nights accommodation All meals 65 days heli skiing including 30500 vertical metres guaranteed Guide service Use of avalanche transceiver and ABS Airbags Use of powder skis

For more go to wwwlastfrontierhelicom

VISIT WEbSITE

OUT OF THE ORdINARyBut everything up here on the border of Alaska is out of the ordinary and one of the most extraordinary things of all is Last Frontierrsquos tenure ndash at 22 million acres or 9000 sq kms itrsquos the largest in the world If that doesnrsquot mean much to you thatrsquos over six times the size of Greater London all of it uninhabited by humans in which there are around 450 named runs

The superlatives continue ndash between 65-100 ft of soft fluffy BC powder floats down onto these limitless acres every winter the snow base is between 15-18 feet and an average dayrsquos skiing will see you cover 25000 ft of vert (although take my word for it there is absolutely nothing lsquoaveragersquo about skiing here)

Another splendid thing about Last Frontier is their helicopters ndash funky little Bell 407s flown by incredibly skilled pilots that take a maximum of five skiers and one guide which means very little down time after each run so you certainly get the miles under your belt

IT GOES LIkE THIShellipIn fact you clock up those miles a bit like this

Itrsquos 915am and Irsquom standing in blinding sunlight on the summit of 7582-ft Delta Peak the fourth highest summit in the Skeena Mountains with guide Colin Moorhead and fellow over-excited skiers Klaus Hosner and Helmuth Ainedter from Austria and Jaako Kaivonen and Risto Koivula from Finland

Pilot Michel Seguin has just left us in a blur of snow crystals to head down to the base of a 2600-ft run called Nunatak Right and in

between throwing our packs on our backs (everyone is provided with an avalanche airbag pack) and clipping into our big fat K2 skis we take the opportunity to gaze about us at the north-western reaches of a mountain range the like of which you just wonrsquot find in many other places on Earth

As far as the eye can see are snow plastered peaks inhabited only by wolves bear moose and approximately 18 other skiers in the other three groups that Last Frontier are taking into the mountains today That gives us around 375 sq kms each to play inhellip

Colin points out the line wersquoll be taking down the mountain states the blindingly obvious ldquoFollow merdquo ndash which wersquore only too happy to do and one by one off we go down soft delicate shin deep snow powder

The sheer and absolute joy of scything through untracked snow on a vast powder field in the middle of nowhere - in the sunshine - on a Wednesday morning in March - when normal life would have me sitting behind a desk tapping at a keyboard ndash well I canrsquot help thinking I may have inadvertently

slipped through a lsquowormholersquo into a parallel universe

HEROESTherersquos nothing special about my skiing abilities but snow like this allows you to ski like a hero in terrain that makes you feel like a hero and you even have lsquohero transportrsquo awaiting you at the end of the run After all is there any more macho adrenaline-rush-inducing kind of transport than a helicopter ride through wild mountains

This run is such ski perfection that were it the only one of the day Irsquod be happy - the snow is never less than perfect and you feel and hear the hiss of a million glittering dust-dry snow flakes against your thighs at each turn whilst the terrain varies from easy cruising to steep tight turns where the snow sloughs excitingly behind you as the landscape moves from high alpine glacier surrounded by purple walled mountains to fir bedecked valleys where the aroma of pine hangs in the cold blue airOver the course of a day bathed in brilliant sunshine we do fifteen more runs notching up just under 34000 feet of vertical and itrsquos all

so thoroughly brilliant that each of us Austrian Finn Englishman and Canadian share a universal language all day in the form of an inane ear-to-ear grin which says it all

Heck so good is the snow that the skiing is not even that tiring ndash well not until we arrive back at the lodge where beer in hand and body in hot tub yoursquore well aware that yoursquove had lsquoa day in the mountainsrsquoA day that yoursquore unlikely to forget in a hurryhellip

TRAVEL INFOAlf Alderson travelled with Elemental Adventure (wwweahelicom) the worldrsquos leading provider of heliski vacations operating in 15 countries The trip includedTwo nights hotel accommodation pre and post heli skiing at the Fairmont Airport (pre) and the Fairmont Waterfront or the Pan Pacific (post) Return flight from Vancouver plusto Bob Quinn Lake ground transfer from to Bell II Lodge 7 nights accommodation All meals 65 days heli skiing including 30500 vertical metres guaranteed Guide service Use of avalanche transceiver and ABS Airbags Use of powder skis

For more go to wwwlastfrontierhelicom

VISIT WEbSITE

so thoroughly brilliant that each of us Austrian Finn Englishman and Canadian share a universal language all day in the form of an inane ear-to-ear grin which says it all

Heck so good is the snow that the skiing is not even that tiring ndash well not until we arrive back at the lodge where beer in hand and body in hot tub yoursquore well aware that yoursquove had lsquoa day in the mountainsrsquoA day that yoursquore unlikely to forget in a hurryhellip

TRAVEL INFOAlf Alderson travelled with Elemental Adventure (wwweahelicom) the worldrsquos leading provider of heliski vacations operating in 15 countries The trip includedTwo nights hotel accommodation pre and post heli skiing at the Fairmont Airport (pre) and the Fairmont Waterfront or the Pan Pacific (post) Return flight from Vancouver plusto Bob Quinn Lake ground transfer from to Bell II Lodge 7 nights accommodation All meals 65 days heli skiing including 30500 vertical metres guaranteed Guide service Use of avalanche transceiver and ABS Airbags Use of powder skis

For more go to wwwlastfrontierhelicom

VISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

A ROUGH GUIdE TO THE AOSTA VALLEy

I guess itrsquos probably not as well-known as the famous ski resorts over the border in France but after a recent five-day road trip there I canrsquot recommend the area highly enough And the whole adventure is easy-peasy Herersquos how to do itFirst off take the short flight to Turin then rent a vehicle From there point your wheels north put your foot to the floor and some 90-minutes later you can be in Champoluc (wwwvisitchampoluccom) Once yoursquore checked in at your lodgings (Irsquod recommend the Hotel Castor ndash the friendly English owner may even show you around the local slopes) get a lift pass for the Aosta Valley region

This allows you to ski all the

resorts of the Aosta Valley (plus La Rosiere in France) ndash thatrsquos 800km of pistes served by 200 lifts in over a dozen resorts

Spend a day exploring Champolucrsquos superb mix of piste and backcountry skiing (or if your walletrsquos bulging you could try some heliskiing) then hop in your car for the one-hour drive to Cervinia (wwwcerviniait) Here you can enjoy a day skiing in the shadow of the magnificent Matterhorn where the altitude almost guarantees great snow conditions And at dayrsquos end it will only take you 90-minutes or so to get to Pila (wwwpilait) for your third dayrsquos skiing

Here book into the cool Hotel La Chance and enjoy a day of quiet slopes great side-country and some fine mountain dining before heading back down to the autostrada for the quick one-hour blast up to La Thuile (wwwlathuilenet)

Now herersquos a conundrumhellipwhy do so many British skiers head to Chamonix the Tarentaise or the Three Valleys when Italyrsquos Aosta Valley is just as accessible And itrsquos less busy and cheaper and the food and wine are arguably betterhellip

I guess itrsquos probably not as well-known as the famous ski resorts over the border in France but after a recent five-day road trip there I canrsquot recommend the area highly enough And the whole adventure is easy-peasy Herersquos how to do itFirst off take the short flight to Turin then rent a vehicle From there point your wheels north put your foot to the floor and some 90-minutes later you can be in Champoluc (wwwvisitchampoluccom) Once yoursquore checked in at your lodgings (Irsquod recommend the Hotel Castor ndash the friendly English owner may even show you around the local slopes) get a lift pass for the Aosta Valley region

This allows you to ski all the

resorts of the Aosta Valley (plus La Rosiere in France) ndash thatrsquos 800km of pistes served by 200 lifts in over a dozen resorts

Spend a day exploring Champolucrsquos superb mix of piste and backcountry skiing (or if your walletrsquos bulging you could try some heliskiing) then hop in your car for the one-hour drive to Cervinia (wwwcerviniait) Here you can enjoy a day skiing in the shadow of the magnificent Matterhorn where the altitude almost guarantees great snow conditions And at dayrsquos end it will only take you 90-minutes or so to get to Pila (wwwpilait) for your third dayrsquos skiing

Here book into the cool Hotel La Chance and enjoy a day of quiet slopes great side-country and some fine mountain dining before heading back down to the autostrada for the quick one-hour blast up to La Thuile (wwwlathuilenet)

Now herersquos a conundrumhellipwhy do so many British skiers head to Chamonix the Tarentaise or the Three Valleys when Italyrsquos Aosta Valley is just as accessible And itrsquos less busy and cheaper and the food and wine are arguably betterhellip

Check in at the convenient Planibel beside the slopes and have an international ski experience by heading up and over to La Rosiere (wwwlarosierenet) n the French side of the Alps ndash if the snow isnrsquot great in one of these two linked resorts it almost certainly will be in the other so this is a fine lsquotwo-for-onersquo option

Finally head for the iconic mountain town of Courmayeur (wwwcourmayeurit) in the shadow of Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco as itrsquos known hereabouts) Itrsquos only twenty-minutes from La Thuile and above the attractive car-free village yoursquoll find skiing that covers the whole gamut from easy cruisers to off-piste adventures amongst glaciers and beneath the highest mountain in Europe

Yoursquoll be feeling the strain of all this action on the slopes of course but you can refuel in style at excellent mountain restaurants at every one of these resorts ndash check out our recommendations below

But first here are my favourite bolt holes from the road trip

AOSTA VALLEy ACCOMMOdATIONHOTEL LA CHANCE PILA httpwwwhotellachancepilait

Tucked just beneath Pilarsquos lower slopes the Hotel La Chance has a very hip and contemporary design and is built on the site of an old alpine barn with superb views of the Mont Blanc massif and down towards the ancient Roman town of Aosta

Local craftsmen used traditional materials with an emphasis on wood stone and iron in building the hotel combined with very modern interior designs and simple but

contemporary furnishings in all 35 rooms Therersquos also a lovely spa which features a sauna Turkish bath whirlpool and chill out room whilst a variety of massages are available ndash I enjoyed a sports massage after skiing (if one could ever be said to lsquoenjoyrsquo a sports massage) which certainly left me feeling looser more relaxed and ready for a beer in the spacious bar where I chatted with the extremely welcoming half-Scottish owner Natascia Romeo and resident dog Iago (in my opinion a hotel without a dog is like a pint without a head)

HOTEL CASTOR CHAMPOLUC wwwhotelcastoreu

The Castor is a family hotel in every sense of the word Run by the same family for four generations and popular with families from the UK Scandinavia Holland and elsewhere as well as couples and the occasional single guest (me) therersquos a welcome feeling and a pleasant hustle and bustle about the establishment from the minute you walk through the door

There are no airs or graces about

the Castor which is a traditional friendly Italian alpine hotel with menus based largely on local produce a busy and cosy bar where daily papers from all over Europe are available every morning and easy access to some marvellously varied skiing to suit all abilities

I skied with co-proprietor Herman Buchan who did a fine job of persuading me to return to sample the regionrsquos off-piste and maybe even some heliskiing later this winter ndash not bad salesmanship considering Irsquom based in Les Arcs for the season

And talking of off-piste a great value option that the Castor offers every Thursday is guided off-piste skiing amongst some of the best backcountry terrain in the northern Alps with affable local mountain guide Stefano Percino for just euro25 per person

And yes therersquos a resident hotel doghellip

ST HUBERTUS RESORT CERVINIA wwwsainthubertusresortit

If money is no object the St Hubertus lsquobio-resortrsquo will impress the most jaded of travellers Elegant and luxurious in the extreme skilled craftsmen from all over Europe literally built the St Hubertus by hand over a period of seven years

A combination of skilfully worked stone timber glass wrought iron and steel features throughout the hotel with each suite having its own individual design and simple yet classic furnishings along with an iPod touch entertainment system The lounge in each suite also features a fireplace with firewood provided for an even more cosy and romantic feel and bathrooms comprise marble suites hand carved sinks and a stash of Hermes toiletries

Clever touches abound ndash for instance one suite looks onto the north face of the Matterhorn

around which the main window frame has been designed to give a stunning view particularly at sunrise and sunset

There is also of course a fantastic wellness centre and swimming pool (which I most unfortunately didnrsquot have time to put to the test) and should you get socked in by the weather in Cervinia I really canrsquot think of a better place to sit it out ndash in fact yoursquod almost want at least one day of bad weather to give you the perfect excuse to idle in the lap of luxury in the St Hubertus

Right thatrsquos your gaff sorted out now where do you get some scran (food for our American friends)

AOSTA VALLEy dININGIrsquom not exactly a bon viveur when it comes to skiing and dining and am generally quite happy chomping on a cheese and ham baguette at a nice viewpoint in the

sun but my recent road trip along the Aosta Valley has changed all that

Why Well having skied at five different resorts and eaten at five different mountain restaurants not once did I come away with anything other than ecstatic tastebuds not to mention a wallet that still had a decent amount of euros within its moth-eaten covers

The secret of the Aosta Valleyrsquos fine mountain restaurants seems to lie in four things theyrsquore often run by the owner who is always on site and may well be cooking the food they specialise in local quality controlled ingredients prices are far from astronomical and yoursquore always welcomed with a smile

The raw ingredients of most meals are the time honoured specialities of most mountain regions ndash cheese and various meats particularly pork venison and beef along with regional specialities such as chestnuts in honey (a particular favourite of mine) mushrooms and various breads

And things are kept simple ndash one of my favourite dishes was lsquozuppa valpellinetzersquo a soup made from local Fontina cheese cabbage and bread which I enjoyed at Maison Carrell in La Thuile (which true to form is run by the owners and uses family recipes in its menu) A bowl of zuppa valpellinetze is a meal in itself and the ideal fuel for a day on the slopes ndash and costs only euro9 too

Fontina cheese features heavily in most local dishes with a sweet taste and a fragrant aroma which intensifies as it matures ndash itrsquos produced exclusively from the milk of Aosta Valley cows and is one of the best alpine cheeses Irsquove tasted

A more unusual option is lard drsquoArnad which is exactly what it sounds like ndash lard However this particular form of lard which is served with a selection of thinly sliced cold meats is far removed from the stuff wersquore used to in the UK As with Fontina cheese itrsquos a product with a protected designation of origin (PDO) and its obtained from the back of the pig then seasoned in old chestnut or oak containers for at least three months with a mixture of salt water spices and aromatic mountain herbs When served in thin slices it almost literally melts in your mouth and has a pleasantly sweet taste ndash a far cry from the stuff we fry chips in back home

Another very pleasant surprise was the local wine ndash I prefer reds and as such am not used to getting anything that special from the northern Alps but the Aosta Valleyrsquos warm and sunny summer climate seems to be ideal for producing crisp dry reds with a surprisingly full body which are in turn pretty good for producing spectacular wipeouts of an afternoon in Cervinia when one too many glasses has been downedhellip

One of my favourites was the Valleacutee drsquoAoste Torrette which by definition must include in excess of 70 of Petit Rouge grapes which can be blended with Pinot Noir Gamay Fumin Vien de Nus Dolcetto Majolet or Preumlmetta Irsquod advise going for the Supeacuterieur version which is produced from the sunniest vineyards and tends to have more body due to its greater concentration of grapes and longer aging

You can find out more about the food and wine of the Aosta Valley through a local organization called ldquoSaveurs du Val drsquoAosterdquo (wwwregionevdaitturismos c o p r i e n o g a s t r o n o m i a

saveurs_easp) which is committed to guaranteeing a high standard of food and wine presentation and quality among its ninety-plus members Here are my own top mountain restaurants based on my own whistle-stop tour of this superb corner of the ski world

COURMAYEUR Chateau Branlant Located close to the top station of the cable car with lovely mountain views and a traditional rustic feel my favourite dish was Chateau Quiche - puff pastry with mocetta (air cured goat meat) potatoes and Fontina cheese wwwchateaubranlantcom

LA THUILE Maison Carrel The affable proprietor Giorgio Carrel is an ancestor of the first man climb the Matterhorn from the Italian side and Mama Carrell is responsible for their excellent zuppa valpellinetze ndash soup made from cabbage Fontina cheese and bread using a family recipe wwwmaisoncarrelcom

PILA La Chatelaine A splendidly located mid-mountain restaurant with a friendly bustling ambience their top offering in my humble

opinion was actually a wine - La Source Torette Supeacuterieur (Irsquom afraid I didnrsquot get the price but am assured it can be purchased for around euro7 in local supermarkets)

CERVINIA ndash Bontadini Restaurant Packed to the rafters in the chaotic but jolly way thatrsquos unique to the Italians one of the Bontadinirsquos top dishes is Corn Cake Valdostana

(euro12) featuring Fontina cheese (of course) noisette butter and sage

CHAMPOLUC ndash Rifugio LrsquoAroula As rustic as it comes ndash set off the side of the piste on the edge of a centuries-old mountain village Rifugio LrsquoAroula served up a splendid selection of cold cuts also featuring a delicious vegetable quiche and lard drsquoArnad

wwwrifugioaroulait

PS One more thing I should point out ndash Irsquom addicted to my morning coffee (cappuccino or Americano Irsquom nae fussed) and never once paid more than euro2 for my fix in some place it was only euro1 Try finding that in France or Switzerlandhellip

VISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

COOL FOR CATSAlf Alderson enjoys some of the best value

cat-skiing on the planet in british Columbia

Therersquos a popular anecdote yoursquoll hear in Rossland a former gold mining town which sits beneath the small holistic ski resort of Red Mountain in British Columbia It tells of a local who once skied the ultimate steep powdery line between Redrsquos tightly packed trees emerging at the bottom as a gasping snow plastered beardy mess (beards are big in Rossland) to exclaim ldquoThat was the best run of my liferdquo after which he rushed back to the up the mountain to repeat his descent ndash but to no avail

This wasnrsquot because he was eaten by bears or swept away by an avalanche - he just couldnrsquot find the same run again For Redrsquos heavily wooded off-piste terrain is all but unmapped (the piste map indicates the vague whereabouts of named runs but there are few if any signs on the ground) and unless you know the exact two trees you snuck between to enjoy such a run the chances of finding the same line again are minimal

Ski Canada Magazinersquos writers who know a thing or two about gnarly skiing have voted Red Mountain as having the countryrsquos

lsquoBest Steepsrsquo lsquoBest Powderrsquo and lsquoBest Treesrsquo whilst Forbes Traveler regards the resort as being one of the top ten in North America for expert skiers and Canadarsquos most famous female skier 1968 Olympic gold medallist Nancy Greene grew up here and reckons that after having learned to ski at Red ldquoeverything else seemed easy and not very steeprdquo

lsquoPOSITIVELy HAZARdOUSrsquoHer legacy has been carried into the 21st century by hot young local freeskiers such as Dane Tudor 2009 Canadian freeski champion and Leah Evans one of the countryrsquos top big mountain skiers Redrsquos reputation and their talents are built on the back of terrain described by at least one North American ski guidebook as lsquodangeroushellipand positively hazardousrsquo runs like Cambodia with its mandatory cliff drops (small cliffs but cliffs all the same) Third Slide where yoursquoll easily lose your ski partner between the maze of trees and the pick-up-sized bumps of Red Towers which are conveniently located underneath

the rickety old Red Chair so that those gliding serenely uphill can be entertained by you sliding uncomfortably downhill on your backside

Irsquod always seen Red as a challenge that at some point in my ski career I had to face up to and despite having first visited in a previous century itrsquos only in the last few years that Irsquove felt I have the ability to really start to appreciate whatrsquos on offer here

For instance my first descent on this particular visit came in the form of an off-piste black diamond run called Powder Fields Mountain guide Roly Worsfold led the way between relatively open trees powder hissing over the top of our boots as we descended through a classic British Columbian landscape where summit after summit of forested mountains seemingly marched north towards us from the US border like an immense blue-green ocean swell

By heading away from the centre line of the run it was possible to find untracked powder stashes although this search for the fluffy stuff can make skiing at Red a

potentially solitary experience as I found the following day when I joined Roly and a couple of his mates to ski the more closely packed trees of Pale Face

LISTEN TO THE SILENCEWe all headed off on our own lines with an enthusiastic whoop or whistle to indicate our location as we snaked in and out of the trees Eventually I stopped mainly because a large conifer insisted that one of us should give way and slumped back into the snow to listen to the silence

It was so quiet I could hear the swoosh of the snow slicing off the skis of the other guys as they dropped gracefully away beneath me an occasional ldquoWho-hoordquo echoing back off the trunks of a thousand trees and then suddenly there was no sound at all other than my heavy breathing

Neither could I see Roly and co below me So I got back on to my skis and began the process of threading my way between tree trunks until like the local dude who skied the lsquobest line everrsquo I emerged at the bottom of Pale Face onto an empty cat track knowing I would never be able to find that exact line again

There was no sign of the others but more shouts soon brought us back together Wersquod all become spread out over about four hundred yards not one of us having come out in the same place at the bottom of the run ndash the search for your own best line and the hunt for hidden powder stashes ensures that tree skiing at Red often follows this format

CHEAP AS CHIPSAnd in the last few years Red has rather silently grown bigger and

bigger first opening up a third ski hill Grey Mountain (the original hills are Red ndash of course ndash and Granite) and then this season a fourth Kirkup ndash it shouldnrsquot go unnoticed that this has in fact been the largest expansion of any North American ski resort in some four decades

I skied Grey last year which has a rather special feature which this season moves to Kirkup ndash cheap as chips cat-skiing Just ten Canadian dollars in fact Elsewhere in the world this would cost you hundreds of dollars

Fair enough your ten bucks will get you just one ride up Grey Mountain but itrsquos quite possible to get in eight or more runs a day which is much the same as yoursquod get in a regular cat ski operation for three times the price

Each time you hit Grey in the cat yoursquoll be skiing with just the twelve other passengers so it takes ages for the terrain to get tracked out and pretty much ensures that wherever you choose to ski yoursquoll have it to yourself

Perhaps the only downside is that the cat operates on a lsquofirst come first servedrsquo basis so you have to wait in line for your ride but Red is such a quiet ski hill that you rarely have to wait for more than 20 minutes max

Red has also seen the recent development of some fine luxury ski in-ski out condos beside the slopes but this shouldnrsquot be seen as an excuse for neglecting the five-minute drive down into Rossland to wine and dine after your day on the hill

GIVE IT SOME GRUNTThis is the oldest ski town in western Canada and therersquos still

a hearty backwoods feel to it - lumber trucks grunt along the wide main street past ultra-cool ski and bike emporiums eclectic coffee houses and bookshops offer a warm invite and we found ourselves regularly drawn to the sushi restaurant Drift on Columbia Avenue for fresh sashimi maki or frazzled prawns

The whole set up of ski hill and ski town is small by European standards but good skiers who enjoy challenging terrain and want a taste of lsquorealrsquo British Columbia rather than the overcrowded glitz and razzle of Whistler wonrsquot get bored here especially as there are also the options of ski touring on neighbouring peaks day trips to the equally hard core ski hill of Whitewater and local cat and heliski operations if your wallet is feeling heavy

Not a sensation I can say Irsquove ever had ndash but then Irsquove been cat-skiing on Grey Mountain for ten bucks so who carehellip

GETTING THEREFrontier Ski offer eight-day package deals to Red Mountain including flights overnight stay in Vancouver transfers slopeside accommodation in Slalom Creek luxury condominiums and lift pass Go to for more details and prices (wwwfrontier-skicouk)

For more info on Red Mountain wwwredresortcom

VISIT WEbSITE

Therersquos a popular anecdote yoursquoll hear in Rossland a former gold mining town which sits beneath the small holistic ski resort of Red Mountain in British Columbia It tells of a local who once skied the ultimate steep powdery line between Redrsquos tightly packed trees emerging at the bottom as a gasping snow plastered beardy mess (beards are big in Rossland) to exclaim ldquoThat was the best run of my liferdquo after which he rushed back to the up the mountain to repeat his descent ndash but to no avail

This wasnrsquot because he was eaten by bears or swept away by an avalanche - he just couldnrsquot find the same run again For Redrsquos heavily wooded off-piste terrain is all but unmapped (the piste map indicates the vague whereabouts of named runs but there are few if any signs on the ground) and unless you know the exact two trees you snuck between to enjoy such a run the chances of finding the same line again are minimal

Ski Canada Magazinersquos writers who know a thing or two about gnarly skiing have voted Red Mountain as having the countryrsquos

lsquoBest Steepsrsquo lsquoBest Powderrsquo and lsquoBest Treesrsquo whilst Forbes Traveler regards the resort as being one of the top ten in North America for expert skiers and Canadarsquos most famous female skier 1968 Olympic gold medallist Nancy Greene grew up here and reckons that after having learned to ski at Red ldquoeverything else seemed easy and not very steeprdquo

lsquoPOSITIVELy HAZARdOUSrsquoHer legacy has been carried into the 21st century by hot young local freeskiers such as Dane Tudor 2009 Canadian freeski champion and Leah Evans one of the countryrsquos top big mountain skiers Redrsquos reputation and their talents are built on the back of terrain described by at least one North American ski guidebook as lsquodangeroushellipand positively hazardousrsquo runs like Cambodia with its mandatory cliff drops (small cliffs but cliffs all the same) Third Slide where yoursquoll easily lose your ski partner between the maze of trees and the pick-up-sized bumps of Red Towers which are conveniently located underneath

the rickety old Red Chair so that those gliding serenely uphill can be entertained by you sliding uncomfortably downhill on your backside

Irsquod always seen Red as a challenge that at some point in my ski career I had to face up to and despite having first visited in a previous century itrsquos only in the last few years that Irsquove felt I have the ability to really start to appreciate whatrsquos on offer here

For instance my first descent on this particular visit came in the form of an off-piste black diamond run called Powder Fields Mountain guide Roly Worsfold led the way between relatively open trees powder hissing over the top of our boots as we descended through a classic British Columbian landscape where summit after summit of forested mountains seemingly marched north towards us from the US border like an immense blue-green ocean swell

By heading away from the centre line of the run it was possible to find untracked powder stashes although this search for the fluffy stuff can make skiing at Red a

potentially solitary experience as I found the following day when I joined Roly and a couple of his mates to ski the more closely packed trees of Pale Face

LISTEN TO THE SILENCEWe all headed off on our own lines with an enthusiastic whoop or whistle to indicate our location as we snaked in and out of the trees Eventually I stopped mainly because a large conifer insisted that one of us should give way and slumped back into the snow to listen to the silence

It was so quiet I could hear the swoosh of the snow slicing off the skis of the other guys as they dropped gracefully away beneath me an occasional ldquoWho-hoordquo echoing back off the trunks of a thousand trees and then suddenly there was no sound at all other than my heavy breathing

Neither could I see Roly and co below me So I got back on to my skis and began the process of threading my way between tree trunks until like the local dude who skied the lsquobest line everrsquo I emerged at the bottom of Pale Face onto an empty cat track knowing I would never be able to find that exact line again

There was no sign of the others but more shouts soon brought us back together Wersquod all become spread out over about four hundred yards not one of us having come out in the same place at the bottom of the run ndash the search for your own best line and the hunt for hidden powder stashes ensures that tree skiing at Red often follows this format

CHEAP AS CHIPSAnd in the last few years Red has rather silently grown bigger and

bigger first opening up a third ski hill Grey Mountain (the original hills are Red ndash of course ndash and Granite) and then this season a fourth Kirkup ndash it shouldnrsquot go unnoticed that this has in fact been the largest expansion of any North American ski resort in some four decades

I skied Grey last year which has a rather special feature which this season moves to Kirkup ndash cheap as chips cat-skiing Just ten Canadian dollars in fact Elsewhere in the world this would cost you hundreds of dollars

Fair enough your ten bucks will get you just one ride up Grey Mountain but itrsquos quite possible to get in eight or more runs a day which is much the same as yoursquod get in a regular cat ski operation for three times the price

Each time you hit Grey in the cat yoursquoll be skiing with just the twelve other passengers so it takes ages for the terrain to get tracked out and pretty much ensures that wherever you choose to ski yoursquoll have it to yourself

Perhaps the only downside is that the cat operates on a lsquofirst come first servedrsquo basis so you have to wait in line for your ride but Red is such a quiet ski hill that you rarely have to wait for more than 20 minutes max

Red has also seen the recent development of some fine luxury ski in-ski out condos beside the slopes but this shouldnrsquot be seen as an excuse for neglecting the five-minute drive down into Rossland to wine and dine after your day on the hill

GIVE IT SOME GRUNTThis is the oldest ski town in western Canada and therersquos still

a hearty backwoods feel to it - lumber trucks grunt along the wide main street past ultra-cool ski and bike emporiums eclectic coffee houses and bookshops offer a warm invite and we found ourselves regularly drawn to the sushi restaurant Drift on Columbia Avenue for fresh sashimi maki or frazzled prawns

The whole set up of ski hill and ski town is small by European standards but good skiers who enjoy challenging terrain and want a taste of lsquorealrsquo British Columbia rather than the overcrowded glitz and razzle of Whistler wonrsquot get bored here especially as there are also the options of ski touring on neighbouring peaks day trips to the equally hard core ski hill of Whitewater and local cat and heliski operations if your wallet is feeling heavy

Not a sensation I can say Irsquove ever had ndash but then Irsquove been cat-skiing on Grey Mountain for ten bucks so who carehellip

GETTING THEREFrontier Ski offer eight-day package deals to Red Mountain including flights overnight stay in Vancouver transfers slopeside accommodation in Slalom Creek luxury condominiums and lift pass Go to for more details and prices (wwwfrontier-skicouk)

For more info on Red Mountain wwwredresortcom

VISIT WEbSITE

potentially solitary experience as I found the following day when I joined Roly and a couple of his mates to ski the more closely packed trees of Pale Face

LISTEN TO THE SILENCEWe all headed off on our own lines with an enthusiastic whoop or whistle to indicate our location as we snaked in and out of the trees Eventually I stopped mainly because a large conifer insisted that one of us should give way and slumped back into the snow to listen to the silence

It was so quiet I could hear the swoosh of the snow slicing off the skis of the other guys as they dropped gracefully away beneath me an occasional ldquoWho-hoordquo echoing back off the trunks of a thousand trees and then suddenly there was no sound at all other than my heavy breathing

Neither could I see Roly and co below me So I got back on to my skis and began the process of threading my way between tree trunks until like the local dude who skied the lsquobest line everrsquo I emerged at the bottom of Pale Face onto an empty cat track knowing I would never be able to find that exact line again

There was no sign of the others but more shouts soon brought us back together Wersquod all become spread out over about four hundred yards not one of us having come out in the same place at the bottom of the run ndash the search for your own best line and the hunt for hidden powder stashes ensures that tree skiing at Red often follows this format

CHEAP AS CHIPSAnd in the last few years Red has rather silently grown bigger and

bigger first opening up a third ski hill Grey Mountain (the original hills are Red ndash of course ndash and Granite) and then this season a fourth Kirkup ndash it shouldnrsquot go unnoticed that this has in fact been the largest expansion of any North American ski resort in some four decades

I skied Grey last year which has a rather special feature which this season moves to Kirkup ndash cheap as chips cat-skiing Just ten Canadian dollars in fact Elsewhere in the world this would cost you hundreds of dollars

Fair enough your ten bucks will get you just one ride up Grey Mountain but itrsquos quite possible to get in eight or more runs a day which is much the same as yoursquod get in a regular cat ski operation for three times the price

Each time you hit Grey in the cat yoursquoll be skiing with just the twelve other passengers so it takes ages for the terrain to get tracked out and pretty much ensures that wherever you choose to ski yoursquoll have it to yourself

Perhaps the only downside is that the cat operates on a lsquofirst come first servedrsquo basis so you have to wait in line for your ride but Red is such a quiet ski hill that you rarely have to wait for more than 20 minutes max

Red has also seen the recent development of some fine luxury ski in-ski out condos beside the slopes but this shouldnrsquot be seen as an excuse for neglecting the five-minute drive down into Rossland to wine and dine after your day on the hill

GIVE IT SOME GRUNTThis is the oldest ski town in western Canada and therersquos still

a hearty backwoods feel to it - lumber trucks grunt along the wide main street past ultra-cool ski and bike emporiums eclectic coffee houses and bookshops offer a warm invite and we found ourselves regularly drawn to the sushi restaurant Drift on Columbia Avenue for fresh sashimi maki or frazzled prawns

The whole set up of ski hill and ski town is small by European standards but good skiers who enjoy challenging terrain and want a taste of lsquorealrsquo British Columbia rather than the overcrowded glitz and razzle of Whistler wonrsquot get bored here especially as there are also the options of ski touring on neighbouring peaks day trips to the equally hard core ski hill of Whitewater and local cat and heliski operations if your wallet is feeling heavy

Not a sensation I can say Irsquove ever had ndash but then Irsquove been cat-skiing on Grey Mountain for ten bucks so who carehellip

GETTING THEREFrontier Ski offer eight-day package deals to Red Mountain including flights overnight stay in Vancouver transfers slopeside accommodation in Slalom Creek luxury condominiums and lift pass Go to for more details and prices (wwwfrontier-skicouk)

For more info on Red Mountain wwwredresortcom

VISIT WEbSITE

Each time you hit Grey in the cat yoursquoll be skiing with just the twelve other passengers so it takes ages for the terrain to get tracked out and pretty much ensures that wherever you choose to ski yoursquoll have it to yourself

Perhaps the only downside is that the cat operates on a lsquofirst come first servedrsquo basis so you have to wait in line for your ride but Red is such a quiet ski hill that you rarely have to wait for more than 20 minutes max

Red has also seen the recent development of some fine luxury ski in-ski out condos beside the slopes but this shouldnrsquot be seen as an excuse for neglecting the five-minute drive down into Rossland to wine and dine after your day on the hill

GIVE IT SOME GRUNTThis is the oldest ski town in western Canada and therersquos still

a hearty backwoods feel to it - lumber trucks grunt along the wide main street past ultra-cool ski and bike emporiums eclectic coffee houses and bookshops offer a warm invite and we found ourselves regularly drawn to the sushi restaurant Drift on Columbia Avenue for fresh sashimi maki or frazzled prawns

The whole set up of ski hill and ski town is small by European standards but good skiers who enjoy challenging terrain and want a taste of lsquorealrsquo British Columbia rather than the overcrowded glitz and razzle of Whistler wonrsquot get bored here especially as there are also the options of ski touring on neighbouring peaks day trips to the equally hard core ski hill of Whitewater and local cat and heliski operations if your wallet is feeling heavy

Not a sensation I can say Irsquove ever had ndash but then Irsquove been cat-skiing on Grey Mountain for ten bucks so who carehellip

GETTING THEREFrontier Ski offer eight-day package deals to Red Mountain including flights overnight stay in Vancouver transfers slopeside accommodation in Slalom Creek luxury condominiums and lift pass Go to for more details and prices (wwwfrontier-skicouk)

For more info on Red Mountain wwwredresortcom

VISIT WEbSITE

In this issue we feature the work of Icelandic photographer Elli Magnusson

If yoursquore a regular reader of the Church yoursquoll have already seen some of Ellirsquos surf and ski shots in the mag and theyrsquore so good we thought we should have some more

All the shots you see here were taken in either Iceland or Greenland You can see more of Ellirsquos work at wwwellithorcom

lsquoIn the Picturersquo is a new regular feature for the Church in which we present a portfolio of the work of a top outdooradventure photographer

IN THE PICTURE

Elli Magnusson

VISIT WEbSITE

VISIT WEbSITE

MUSICAL FINNISHAce outdoor photographer Jon Sparks explains

why for him music and Finland go hand in handWords and pics Jon Sparks

What makes you want to go to a particular place Seeing appealing images is a common trigger reading or hearing stories is another But there are many other ways in which the desire to go somewhere can be implanted For me for example the desire to explore Finland began with the music of Sibelius

This needs some explanation Listening to Ry Cooder didnrsquot fill me with the desire to explore Santa Monica California (or even Paris Texas) I loved Talking Heads but had no particular desire to go to New York But Sibeliusrsquo music seemed ndash and still seems ndash to be all about landscape Around the time I really got into Sibelius I was trying to be a landscape photographer too and I wanted to take pictures that looked like the music sounded airy expansive the sound of wide open spaces

It may seem odd to talk of orchestral music in relation to the outdoors the natural home of a symphony orchestra is the concert hall Some years ago I photographed a number of outdoor concerts ndash the sort where people take picnics and that ends with fireworks ndash and an abiding memory is the string players tying themselves in knots during rehearsals to keep the sun off their precious fiddles For the performance itself the orchestra were miked up and amplified and even so it only worked for short upbeat pieces

Irsquom not sure what would be the ideal music for performing outdoors (though I keep thinking of bagpipes) of course these days you can take any music you like wherever you go ndash but when I first heard Sibelius even the Sony Walkman didnrsquot exist But what Sibeliusrsquo music did was take me places in my head Imaginary

places for the most part vague half-formed visions of wide almost limitless landscapes The vision and the reality didnrsquot meet until many years later

discovering SibeliusI donrsquot remember exactly when I first heard Sibeliusrsquo music It must have been when I was at University I suspect it was a friend Mike Thompson who first played me the symphonies of Sibelius (Mike had quite a lot to do with my discovery of rock-climbing and serious cycling too where is he now) But also I was starting to listen to Radio 3 especially when studying in the daytime It was the inane prattle of Radio 1 DJs rather than the music that turned me off Steve Wright in particular would have me reaching for the dial and in those days Radio 2 didnrsquot play any decent music at all

I thought too that instrumental music would be less distracting But it didnrsquot always work that way Some pieces would suddenly catch my attention leave me transfixed for minutes on end It wasnrsquot only Sibelius but his music more than any other seemed to convey a mood an atmosphere even a sense of place that I connected with on a deep level Having no musical training I canrsquot properly say what it is about this music that has this effect Itrsquos purely a feeling And can I even say what that feeling is

Sibelius wrote a wide range of music ndash no opera thank goodness but songs solo pieces for piano and other instruments a violin concerto and morehellip but what I heard first and still listen to most are the symphonies There are seven of these composed between 1899 and 1924 (Hersquos believed to have worked on an Eighth Symphony but therersquos no trace of it) Compared to some other composers Sibeliusrsquo symphonies are relatively modest in scale Critics often describe them as lsquorestrainedrsquo or even

lsquoausterersquo (I think the word they are really looking for is lsquoNorthernrsquo) Apparently Sibelius once said that when more lsquomodernrsquo composers were engaged in manufacturing cocktails he offered the public pure cold water He also said that the Sixth Symphony ldquoalways reminds me of the scent of the first snowrdquo

If I felt echoes of landscape and nature in the music it didnrsquot take any special insight There were whopping great clues in the cover photos and Irsquom sure there were plenty of references in the sleeve notes too (Remember sleeve notes When all you had to do to read an essay on the music was look at the rear of the LP cover You donrsquot get that on iTunes) Sibelius loved nature and was a regular walker to the end of his life Most of his music was composed at Ainola a house among trees near a lake He kept binoculars to hand to watch for migrating geese and cranes

Sibelius and FinlandSibeliusrsquo music isnrsquot just about the Finnish landscape itrsquos part of Finlandrsquos national identity In fact itrsquos hard to think of any other composer and any other country which have so strong a link

Excuse a brief history lesson Finland is a comparatively young country The region known as Finland was a province of Sweden for many centuries before passing to Russian control in 1809 It had never been an independent nation until Russiarsquos internal strife and ultimate Revolution opened the door in 1917 However a sense of national identity of Finnish-ness had been growing for some time Poorer people especially in the generally backward rural areas had always spoken Finnish but Swedish had mostly been the language of the middle classes (Sibelius himself grew

up speaking Swedish) in the late 19th and early 20th century they began to embrace Finnish language and folklore Painters and poets celebrated the legends and the landscape and so in his music did Jean Sibelius His most overtly patriotic piece Finlandia was effectively banned for a time under Russian rule though it was often smuggled into concert programmes under the alias lsquoImpromptursquo

Landscape and nature seem to be part of the Finnish soul Even the blue and white of the national flag is said to represent the blue of its lakes and the white of its snows It is also one of the most northerly countries on Earth although Norway reaches further North a greater portion of Finlandrsquos area is north of the Arctic Circle and its most southerly point is further north than the Orkney Islands Helsinki is the second most

northerly capital (after Reykjavik) Finland has about 40 more land area than the UK but less than a tenth of the population Itrsquos a land of starkly-defined seasons and vast spaces All this was guaranteed to appeal to me but I felt it through Sibeliusrsquo music long before I knew the plain facts

Discovering FinlandNaturally I wanted to go to Finland but I was busy establishing myself as a photographer and writer and had to go where the work took me Ironically my first visit to Finland wasnrsquot in a professional capacity at all My partner was invited to a conference in Jyvaskyla and when she asked if I fancied coming along I took all of a nanosecond to agree

Jyvaskyla is a medium-sized University town in the Finnish Lake District (There are lakes everywhere in Finland the Lake

District just has more and larger ones) And as it was the middle of winter most of those lakes were frozen Daytime temperatures rarely climbed above ndash15o C but the air was still and dry and I found it surprisingly comfortable ndash though I do remember my fingers sticking to the metal body of my camera once or twice (That was pre-digital and I was using a Nikon FM2) While Bernie sat in conference rooms I wandered around photographing birch trees and people walking and cycling when she escaped for a few hours we played at the modest ski slopes a short bus-ride from town

We never got far from town and I didnrsquot really experience Finnish wilderness on that first trip but what I did discover was a nation that embraced the outdoors There were more people cycling to work school or pub over packed snow at ndash20 than yoursquod see in any

UK city even in lsquoperfectrsquo weatherrsquo Walk past a school at playtime and the kids would all be running around in the snow on the ski-slopes tiny tots whorsquod only just mastered walking would be snow-ploughing better than I could

It was a short and unstructured visit but it rounded off something that had begun with first hearing the symphonies I knew I wanted to know this country better and I began looking for proper professional opportunities to return The first of these came with a cycling trip around the Turku Archipelago and my tally of visits is now in double figures Irsquove even had the chance to write a travel guidebook which meant criss-crossing the country to all the towns and cities I hadnrsquot already visited (Sadly as Thomas Cook have recently pulled out of the guidebook business the fourth edition of Travellers Finland will be the last)

I still speak hardly any Finnish because everyone speaks excellent English and there are still vast areas of Finnish wilderness I havenrsquot explored but I do now know it better than any other lsquoforeignrsquo country Above all itrsquos a country where landscape and nature are integrated into normal life far more than they are in the UK This is underpinned and embodied by the long-established tradition known as lsquoEvery Manrsquos Rightrsquo (Jokamiehenoikeus in Finnish Allemansratt in Swedish) ndash though of course it applies to women too It sets the global gold standard for access to the outdoors and provided a model for the Scottish Access Code (itself far ahead of England and Wales) It includes the right to walk almost anywhere and to travel in other low-impact ways such as by bike on skis or by canoe It also includes the right to gather wild food such as berries and mushrooms

And this isnrsquot just a theoretical

right Taking the train and bus from Helsinki to Nuuksio National Park we were briefly bemused by the numbers of people carrying baskets and buckets It soon became clear that they were for collecting fungi Cross-country ski-trails thread through and around every city town and resort a common sight along these are simple wooden shelters with a fireplace and stock of logs enabling a hot al-fresco snack And if you want the true sauna experience take one in Finland in winter and when you need to cool off step outside and roll yourself in the snow

In winter the long darkness is moderated by the reflective power of the snow that blankets the land and bows down the trees and often brightened further by the Northern Lights In summer even in the south therersquos no darkness at all Midsummer is the great festival celebrated with bonfires and dancing (and yes just a little

bit of drinking) Staying up all night is just the natural thing to doNaturalhellip yes thatrsquos a key word Nature is in the soul of Finland and in the music of Sibelius Theyrsquore almost the same thing anyway

PlaylistDo you have to listen to all seven symphonies to get a feeling for Sibeliusrsquo music Irsquod recommend it of course but if time is too short try these shorter pieces and excerpts

Finlandia far more Finnish than the national anthem it mixes stirring almost martial passages with a glorious romantic melody Look out for the choral version to appreciate this tune to the full

Andante Festivo (1938 version for string orchestra and timpani) More lsquotypically Sibeliusrsquo than any other short piece I know itrsquos sparse evocative and lovely

At the Castle Gate You probably know this already as itrsquos been the theme tune for the BBCrsquos The Sky at Night ever since the Big Bang Itrsquos the opening movement of a suite called Pelleacuteas et Meacutelisande Symphony No 5 final movement one of Sibeliusrsquo most dramatic works He said himself he had an Alpine rather than a typically Finnish landscape in mind Its final six chords are simply the best ending of any piece of music in any genre ever

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

What makes you want to go to a particular place Seeing appealing images is a common trigger reading or hearing stories is another But there are many other ways in which the desire to go somewhere can be implanted For me for example the desire to explore Finland began with the music of Sibelius

This needs some explanation Listening to Ry Cooder didnrsquot fill me with the desire to explore Santa Monica California (or even Paris Texas) I loved Talking Heads but had no particular desire to go to New York But Sibeliusrsquo music seemed ndash and still seems ndash to be all about landscape Around the time I really got into Sibelius I was trying to be a landscape photographer too and I wanted to take pictures that looked like the music sounded airy expansive the sound of wide open spaces

It may seem odd to talk of orchestral music in relation to the outdoors the natural home of a symphony orchestra is the concert hall Some years ago I photographed a number of outdoor concerts ndash the sort where people take picnics and that ends with fireworks ndash and an abiding memory is the string players tying themselves in knots during rehearsals to keep the sun off their precious fiddles For the performance itself the orchestra were miked up and amplified and even so it only worked for short upbeat pieces

Irsquom not sure what would be the ideal music for performing outdoors (though I keep thinking of bagpipes) of course these days you can take any music you like wherever you go ndash but when I first heard Sibelius even the Sony Walkman didnrsquot exist But what Sibeliusrsquo music did was take me places in my head Imaginary

places for the most part vague half-formed visions of wide almost limitless landscapes The vision and the reality didnrsquot meet until many years later

discovering SibeliusI donrsquot remember exactly when I first heard Sibeliusrsquo music It must have been when I was at University I suspect it was a friend Mike Thompson who first played me the symphonies of Sibelius (Mike had quite a lot to do with my discovery of rock-climbing and serious cycling too where is he now) But also I was starting to listen to Radio 3 especially when studying in the daytime It was the inane prattle of Radio 1 DJs rather than the music that turned me off Steve Wright in particular would have me reaching for the dial and in those days Radio 2 didnrsquot play any decent music at all

I thought too that instrumental music would be less distracting But it didnrsquot always work that way Some pieces would suddenly catch my attention leave me transfixed for minutes on end It wasnrsquot only Sibelius but his music more than any other seemed to convey a mood an atmosphere even a sense of place that I connected with on a deep level Having no musical training I canrsquot properly say what it is about this music that has this effect Itrsquos purely a feeling And can I even say what that feeling is

Sibelius wrote a wide range of music ndash no opera thank goodness but songs solo pieces for piano and other instruments a violin concerto and morehellip but what I heard first and still listen to most are the symphonies There are seven of these composed between 1899 and 1924 (Hersquos believed to have worked on an Eighth Symphony but therersquos no trace of it) Compared to some other composers Sibeliusrsquo symphonies are relatively modest in scale Critics often describe them as lsquorestrainedrsquo or even

lsquoausterersquo (I think the word they are really looking for is lsquoNorthernrsquo) Apparently Sibelius once said that when more lsquomodernrsquo composers were engaged in manufacturing cocktails he offered the public pure cold water He also said that the Sixth Symphony ldquoalways reminds me of the scent of the first snowrdquo

If I felt echoes of landscape and nature in the music it didnrsquot take any special insight There were whopping great clues in the cover photos and Irsquom sure there were plenty of references in the sleeve notes too (Remember sleeve notes When all you had to do to read an essay on the music was look at the rear of the LP cover You donrsquot get that on iTunes) Sibelius loved nature and was a regular walker to the end of his life Most of his music was composed at Ainola a house among trees near a lake He kept binoculars to hand to watch for migrating geese and cranes

Sibelius and FinlandSibeliusrsquo music isnrsquot just about the Finnish landscape itrsquos part of Finlandrsquos national identity In fact itrsquos hard to think of any other composer and any other country which have so strong a link

Excuse a brief history lesson Finland is a comparatively young country The region known as Finland was a province of Sweden for many centuries before passing to Russian control in 1809 It had never been an independent nation until Russiarsquos internal strife and ultimate Revolution opened the door in 1917 However a sense of national identity of Finnish-ness had been growing for some time Poorer people especially in the generally backward rural areas had always spoken Finnish but Swedish had mostly been the language of the middle classes (Sibelius himself grew

up speaking Swedish) in the late 19th and early 20th century they began to embrace Finnish language and folklore Painters and poets celebrated the legends and the landscape and so in his music did Jean Sibelius His most overtly patriotic piece Finlandia was effectively banned for a time under Russian rule though it was often smuggled into concert programmes under the alias lsquoImpromptursquo

Landscape and nature seem to be part of the Finnish soul Even the blue and white of the national flag is said to represent the blue of its lakes and the white of its snows It is also one of the most northerly countries on Earth although Norway reaches further North a greater portion of Finlandrsquos area is north of the Arctic Circle and its most southerly point is further north than the Orkney Islands Helsinki is the second most

northerly capital (after Reykjavik) Finland has about 40 more land area than the UK but less than a tenth of the population Itrsquos a land of starkly-defined seasons and vast spaces All this was guaranteed to appeal to me but I felt it through Sibeliusrsquo music long before I knew the plain facts

Discovering FinlandNaturally I wanted to go to Finland but I was busy establishing myself as a photographer and writer and had to go where the work took me Ironically my first visit to Finland wasnrsquot in a professional capacity at all My partner was invited to a conference in Jyvaskyla and when she asked if I fancied coming along I took all of a nanosecond to agree

Jyvaskyla is a medium-sized University town in the Finnish Lake District (There are lakes everywhere in Finland the Lake

District just has more and larger ones) And as it was the middle of winter most of those lakes were frozen Daytime temperatures rarely climbed above ndash15o C but the air was still and dry and I found it surprisingly comfortable ndash though I do remember my fingers sticking to the metal body of my camera once or twice (That was pre-digital and I was using a Nikon FM2) While Bernie sat in conference rooms I wandered around photographing birch trees and people walking and cycling when she escaped for a few hours we played at the modest ski slopes a short bus-ride from town

We never got far from town and I didnrsquot really experience Finnish wilderness on that first trip but what I did discover was a nation that embraced the outdoors There were more people cycling to work school or pub over packed snow at ndash20 than yoursquod see in any

UK city even in lsquoperfectrsquo weatherrsquo Walk past a school at playtime and the kids would all be running around in the snow on the ski-slopes tiny tots whorsquod only just mastered walking would be snow-ploughing better than I could

It was a short and unstructured visit but it rounded off something that had begun with first hearing the symphonies I knew I wanted to know this country better and I began looking for proper professional opportunities to return The first of these came with a cycling trip around the Turku Archipelago and my tally of visits is now in double figures Irsquove even had the chance to write a travel guidebook which meant criss-crossing the country to all the towns and cities I hadnrsquot already visited (Sadly as Thomas Cook have recently pulled out of the guidebook business the fourth edition of Travellers Finland will be the last)

I still speak hardly any Finnish because everyone speaks excellent English and there are still vast areas of Finnish wilderness I havenrsquot explored but I do now know it better than any other lsquoforeignrsquo country Above all itrsquos a country where landscape and nature are integrated into normal life far more than they are in the UK This is underpinned and embodied by the long-established tradition known as lsquoEvery Manrsquos Rightrsquo (Jokamiehenoikeus in Finnish Allemansratt in Swedish) ndash though of course it applies to women too It sets the global gold standard for access to the outdoors and provided a model for the Scottish Access Code (itself far ahead of England and Wales) It includes the right to walk almost anywhere and to travel in other low-impact ways such as by bike on skis or by canoe It also includes the right to gather wild food such as berries and mushrooms

And this isnrsquot just a theoretical

right Taking the train and bus from Helsinki to Nuuksio National Park we were briefly bemused by the numbers of people carrying baskets and buckets It soon became clear that they were for collecting fungi Cross-country ski-trails thread through and around every city town and resort a common sight along these are simple wooden shelters with a fireplace and stock of logs enabling a hot al-fresco snack And if you want the true sauna experience take one in Finland in winter and when you need to cool off step outside and roll yourself in the snow

In winter the long darkness is moderated by the reflective power of the snow that blankets the land and bows down the trees and often brightened further by the Northern Lights In summer even in the south therersquos no darkness at all Midsummer is the great festival celebrated with bonfires and dancing (and yes just a little

bit of drinking) Staying up all night is just the natural thing to doNaturalhellip yes thatrsquos a key word Nature is in the soul of Finland and in the music of Sibelius Theyrsquore almost the same thing anyway

PlaylistDo you have to listen to all seven symphonies to get a feeling for Sibeliusrsquo music Irsquod recommend it of course but if time is too short try these shorter pieces and excerpts

Finlandia far more Finnish than the national anthem it mixes stirring almost martial passages with a glorious romantic melody Look out for the choral version to appreciate this tune to the full

Andante Festivo (1938 version for string orchestra and timpani) More lsquotypically Sibeliusrsquo than any other short piece I know itrsquos sparse evocative and lovely

At the Castle Gate You probably know this already as itrsquos been the theme tune for the BBCrsquos The Sky at Night ever since the Big Bang Itrsquos the opening movement of a suite called Pelleacuteas et Meacutelisande Symphony No 5 final movement one of Sibeliusrsquo most dramatic works He said himself he had an Alpine rather than a typically Finnish landscape in mind Its final six chords are simply the best ending of any piece of music in any genre ever

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

I thought too that instrumental music would be less distracting But it didnrsquot always work that way Some pieces would suddenly catch my attention leave me transfixed for minutes on end It wasnrsquot only Sibelius but his music more than any other seemed to convey a mood an atmosphere even a sense of place that I connected with on a deep level Having no musical training I canrsquot properly say what it is about this music that has this effect Itrsquos purely a feeling And can I even say what that feeling is

Sibelius wrote a wide range of music ndash no opera thank goodness but songs solo pieces for piano and other instruments a violin concerto and morehellip but what I heard first and still listen to most are the symphonies There are seven of these composed between 1899 and 1924 (Hersquos believed to have worked on an Eighth Symphony but therersquos no trace of it) Compared to some other composers Sibeliusrsquo symphonies are relatively modest in scale Critics often describe them as lsquorestrainedrsquo or even

lsquoausterersquo (I think the word they are really looking for is lsquoNorthernrsquo) Apparently Sibelius once said that when more lsquomodernrsquo composers were engaged in manufacturing cocktails he offered the public pure cold water He also said that the Sixth Symphony ldquoalways reminds me of the scent of the first snowrdquo

If I felt echoes of landscape and nature in the music it didnrsquot take any special insight There were whopping great clues in the cover photos and Irsquom sure there were plenty of references in the sleeve notes too (Remember sleeve notes When all you had to do to read an essay on the music was look at the rear of the LP cover You donrsquot get that on iTunes) Sibelius loved nature and was a regular walker to the end of his life Most of his music was composed at Ainola a house among trees near a lake He kept binoculars to hand to watch for migrating geese and cranes

Sibelius and FinlandSibeliusrsquo music isnrsquot just about the Finnish landscape itrsquos part of Finlandrsquos national identity In fact itrsquos hard to think of any other composer and any other country which have so strong a link

Excuse a brief history lesson Finland is a comparatively young country The region known as Finland was a province of Sweden for many centuries before passing to Russian control in 1809 It had never been an independent nation until Russiarsquos internal strife and ultimate Revolution opened the door in 1917 However a sense of national identity of Finnish-ness had been growing for some time Poorer people especially in the generally backward rural areas had always spoken Finnish but Swedish had mostly been the language of the middle classes (Sibelius himself grew

up speaking Swedish) in the late 19th and early 20th century they began to embrace Finnish language and folklore Painters and poets celebrated the legends and the landscape and so in his music did Jean Sibelius His most overtly patriotic piece Finlandia was effectively banned for a time under Russian rule though it was often smuggled into concert programmes under the alias lsquoImpromptursquo

Landscape and nature seem to be part of the Finnish soul Even the blue and white of the national flag is said to represent the blue of its lakes and the white of its snows It is also one of the most northerly countries on Earth although Norway reaches further North a greater portion of Finlandrsquos area is north of the Arctic Circle and its most southerly point is further north than the Orkney Islands Helsinki is the second most

northerly capital (after Reykjavik) Finland has about 40 more land area than the UK but less than a tenth of the population Itrsquos a land of starkly-defined seasons and vast spaces All this was guaranteed to appeal to me but I felt it through Sibeliusrsquo music long before I knew the plain facts

Discovering FinlandNaturally I wanted to go to Finland but I was busy establishing myself as a photographer and writer and had to go where the work took me Ironically my first visit to Finland wasnrsquot in a professional capacity at all My partner was invited to a conference in Jyvaskyla and when she asked if I fancied coming along I took all of a nanosecond to agree

Jyvaskyla is a medium-sized University town in the Finnish Lake District (There are lakes everywhere in Finland the Lake

District just has more and larger ones) And as it was the middle of winter most of those lakes were frozen Daytime temperatures rarely climbed above ndash15o C but the air was still and dry and I found it surprisingly comfortable ndash though I do remember my fingers sticking to the metal body of my camera once or twice (That was pre-digital and I was using a Nikon FM2) While Bernie sat in conference rooms I wandered around photographing birch trees and people walking and cycling when she escaped for a few hours we played at the modest ski slopes a short bus-ride from town

We never got far from town and I didnrsquot really experience Finnish wilderness on that first trip but what I did discover was a nation that embraced the outdoors There were more people cycling to work school or pub over packed snow at ndash20 than yoursquod see in any

UK city even in lsquoperfectrsquo weatherrsquo Walk past a school at playtime and the kids would all be running around in the snow on the ski-slopes tiny tots whorsquod only just mastered walking would be snow-ploughing better than I could

It was a short and unstructured visit but it rounded off something that had begun with first hearing the symphonies I knew I wanted to know this country better and I began looking for proper professional opportunities to return The first of these came with a cycling trip around the Turku Archipelago and my tally of visits is now in double figures Irsquove even had the chance to write a travel guidebook which meant criss-crossing the country to all the towns and cities I hadnrsquot already visited (Sadly as Thomas Cook have recently pulled out of the guidebook business the fourth edition of Travellers Finland will be the last)

I still speak hardly any Finnish because everyone speaks excellent English and there are still vast areas of Finnish wilderness I havenrsquot explored but I do now know it better than any other lsquoforeignrsquo country Above all itrsquos a country where landscape and nature are integrated into normal life far more than they are in the UK This is underpinned and embodied by the long-established tradition known as lsquoEvery Manrsquos Rightrsquo (Jokamiehenoikeus in Finnish Allemansratt in Swedish) ndash though of course it applies to women too It sets the global gold standard for access to the outdoors and provided a model for the Scottish Access Code (itself far ahead of England and Wales) It includes the right to walk almost anywhere and to travel in other low-impact ways such as by bike on skis or by canoe It also includes the right to gather wild food such as berries and mushrooms

And this isnrsquot just a theoretical

right Taking the train and bus from Helsinki to Nuuksio National Park we were briefly bemused by the numbers of people carrying baskets and buckets It soon became clear that they were for collecting fungi Cross-country ski-trails thread through and around every city town and resort a common sight along these are simple wooden shelters with a fireplace and stock of logs enabling a hot al-fresco snack And if you want the true sauna experience take one in Finland in winter and when you need to cool off step outside and roll yourself in the snow

In winter the long darkness is moderated by the reflective power of the snow that blankets the land and bows down the trees and often brightened further by the Northern Lights In summer even in the south therersquos no darkness at all Midsummer is the great festival celebrated with bonfires and dancing (and yes just a little

bit of drinking) Staying up all night is just the natural thing to doNaturalhellip yes thatrsquos a key word Nature is in the soul of Finland and in the music of Sibelius Theyrsquore almost the same thing anyway

PlaylistDo you have to listen to all seven symphonies to get a feeling for Sibeliusrsquo music Irsquod recommend it of course but if time is too short try these shorter pieces and excerpts

Finlandia far more Finnish than the national anthem it mixes stirring almost martial passages with a glorious romantic melody Look out for the choral version to appreciate this tune to the full

Andante Festivo (1938 version for string orchestra and timpani) More lsquotypically Sibeliusrsquo than any other short piece I know itrsquos sparse evocative and lovely

At the Castle Gate You probably know this already as itrsquos been the theme tune for the BBCrsquos The Sky at Night ever since the Big Bang Itrsquos the opening movement of a suite called Pelleacuteas et Meacutelisande Symphony No 5 final movement one of Sibeliusrsquo most dramatic works He said himself he had an Alpine rather than a typically Finnish landscape in mind Its final six chords are simply the best ending of any piece of music in any genre ever

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

up speaking Swedish) in the late 19th and early 20th century they began to embrace Finnish language and folklore Painters and poets celebrated the legends and the landscape and so in his music did Jean Sibelius His most overtly patriotic piece Finlandia was effectively banned for a time under Russian rule though it was often smuggled into concert programmes under the alias lsquoImpromptursquo

Landscape and nature seem to be part of the Finnish soul Even the blue and white of the national flag is said to represent the blue of its lakes and the white of its snows It is also one of the most northerly countries on Earth although Norway reaches further North a greater portion of Finlandrsquos area is north of the Arctic Circle and its most southerly point is further north than the Orkney Islands Helsinki is the second most

northerly capital (after Reykjavik) Finland has about 40 more land area than the UK but less than a tenth of the population Itrsquos a land of starkly-defined seasons and vast spaces All this was guaranteed to appeal to me but I felt it through Sibeliusrsquo music long before I knew the plain facts

Discovering FinlandNaturally I wanted to go to Finland but I was busy establishing myself as a photographer and writer and had to go where the work took me Ironically my first visit to Finland wasnrsquot in a professional capacity at all My partner was invited to a conference in Jyvaskyla and when she asked if I fancied coming along I took all of a nanosecond to agree

Jyvaskyla is a medium-sized University town in the Finnish Lake District (There are lakes everywhere in Finland the Lake

District just has more and larger ones) And as it was the middle of winter most of those lakes were frozen Daytime temperatures rarely climbed above ndash15o C but the air was still and dry and I found it surprisingly comfortable ndash though I do remember my fingers sticking to the metal body of my camera once or twice (That was pre-digital and I was using a Nikon FM2) While Bernie sat in conference rooms I wandered around photographing birch trees and people walking and cycling when she escaped for a few hours we played at the modest ski slopes a short bus-ride from town

We never got far from town and I didnrsquot really experience Finnish wilderness on that first trip but what I did discover was a nation that embraced the outdoors There were more people cycling to work school or pub over packed snow at ndash20 than yoursquod see in any

UK city even in lsquoperfectrsquo weatherrsquo Walk past a school at playtime and the kids would all be running around in the snow on the ski-slopes tiny tots whorsquod only just mastered walking would be snow-ploughing better than I could

It was a short and unstructured visit but it rounded off something that had begun with first hearing the symphonies I knew I wanted to know this country better and I began looking for proper professional opportunities to return The first of these came with a cycling trip around the Turku Archipelago and my tally of visits is now in double figures Irsquove even had the chance to write a travel guidebook which meant criss-crossing the country to all the towns and cities I hadnrsquot already visited (Sadly as Thomas Cook have recently pulled out of the guidebook business the fourth edition of Travellers Finland will be the last)

I still speak hardly any Finnish because everyone speaks excellent English and there are still vast areas of Finnish wilderness I havenrsquot explored but I do now know it better than any other lsquoforeignrsquo country Above all itrsquos a country where landscape and nature are integrated into normal life far more than they are in the UK This is underpinned and embodied by the long-established tradition known as lsquoEvery Manrsquos Rightrsquo (Jokamiehenoikeus in Finnish Allemansratt in Swedish) ndash though of course it applies to women too It sets the global gold standard for access to the outdoors and provided a model for the Scottish Access Code (itself far ahead of England and Wales) It includes the right to walk almost anywhere and to travel in other low-impact ways such as by bike on skis or by canoe It also includes the right to gather wild food such as berries and mushrooms

And this isnrsquot just a theoretical

right Taking the train and bus from Helsinki to Nuuksio National Park we were briefly bemused by the numbers of people carrying baskets and buckets It soon became clear that they were for collecting fungi Cross-country ski-trails thread through and around every city town and resort a common sight along these are simple wooden shelters with a fireplace and stock of logs enabling a hot al-fresco snack And if you want the true sauna experience take one in Finland in winter and when you need to cool off step outside and roll yourself in the snow

In winter the long darkness is moderated by the reflective power of the snow that blankets the land and bows down the trees and often brightened further by the Northern Lights In summer even in the south therersquos no darkness at all Midsummer is the great festival celebrated with bonfires and dancing (and yes just a little

bit of drinking) Staying up all night is just the natural thing to doNaturalhellip yes thatrsquos a key word Nature is in the soul of Finland and in the music of Sibelius Theyrsquore almost the same thing anyway

PlaylistDo you have to listen to all seven symphonies to get a feeling for Sibeliusrsquo music Irsquod recommend it of course but if time is too short try these shorter pieces and excerpts

Finlandia far more Finnish than the national anthem it mixes stirring almost martial passages with a glorious romantic melody Look out for the choral version to appreciate this tune to the full

Andante Festivo (1938 version for string orchestra and timpani) More lsquotypically Sibeliusrsquo than any other short piece I know itrsquos sparse evocative and lovely

At the Castle Gate You probably know this already as itrsquos been the theme tune for the BBCrsquos The Sky at Night ever since the Big Bang Itrsquos the opening movement of a suite called Pelleacuteas et Meacutelisande Symphony No 5 final movement one of Sibeliusrsquo most dramatic works He said himself he had an Alpine rather than a typically Finnish landscape in mind Its final six chords are simply the best ending of any piece of music in any genre ever

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

UK city even in lsquoperfectrsquo weatherrsquo Walk past a school at playtime and the kids would all be running around in the snow on the ski-slopes tiny tots whorsquod only just mastered walking would be snow-ploughing better than I could

It was a short and unstructured visit but it rounded off something that had begun with first hearing the symphonies I knew I wanted to know this country better and I began looking for proper professional opportunities to return The first of these came with a cycling trip around the Turku Archipelago and my tally of visits is now in double figures Irsquove even had the chance to write a travel guidebook which meant criss-crossing the country to all the towns and cities I hadnrsquot already visited (Sadly as Thomas Cook have recently pulled out of the guidebook business the fourth edition of Travellers Finland will be the last)

I still speak hardly any Finnish because everyone speaks excellent English and there are still vast areas of Finnish wilderness I havenrsquot explored but I do now know it better than any other lsquoforeignrsquo country Above all itrsquos a country where landscape and nature are integrated into normal life far more than they are in the UK This is underpinned and embodied by the long-established tradition known as lsquoEvery Manrsquos Rightrsquo (Jokamiehenoikeus in Finnish Allemansratt in Swedish) ndash though of course it applies to women too It sets the global gold standard for access to the outdoors and provided a model for the Scottish Access Code (itself far ahead of England and Wales) It includes the right to walk almost anywhere and to travel in other low-impact ways such as by bike on skis or by canoe It also includes the right to gather wild food such as berries and mushrooms

And this isnrsquot just a theoretical

right Taking the train and bus from Helsinki to Nuuksio National Park we were briefly bemused by the numbers of people carrying baskets and buckets It soon became clear that they were for collecting fungi Cross-country ski-trails thread through and around every city town and resort a common sight along these are simple wooden shelters with a fireplace and stock of logs enabling a hot al-fresco snack And if you want the true sauna experience take one in Finland in winter and when you need to cool off step outside and roll yourself in the snow

In winter the long darkness is moderated by the reflective power of the snow that blankets the land and bows down the trees and often brightened further by the Northern Lights In summer even in the south therersquos no darkness at all Midsummer is the great festival celebrated with bonfires and dancing (and yes just a little

bit of drinking) Staying up all night is just the natural thing to doNaturalhellip yes thatrsquos a key word Nature is in the soul of Finland and in the music of Sibelius Theyrsquore almost the same thing anyway

PlaylistDo you have to listen to all seven symphonies to get a feeling for Sibeliusrsquo music Irsquod recommend it of course but if time is too short try these shorter pieces and excerpts

Finlandia far more Finnish than the national anthem it mixes stirring almost martial passages with a glorious romantic melody Look out for the choral version to appreciate this tune to the full

Andante Festivo (1938 version for string orchestra and timpani) More lsquotypically Sibeliusrsquo than any other short piece I know itrsquos sparse evocative and lovely

At the Castle Gate You probably know this already as itrsquos been the theme tune for the BBCrsquos The Sky at Night ever since the Big Bang Itrsquos the opening movement of a suite called Pelleacuteas et Meacutelisande Symphony No 5 final movement one of Sibeliusrsquo most dramatic works He said himself he had an Alpine rather than a typically Finnish landscape in mind Its final six chords are simply the best ending of any piece of music in any genre ever

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

bit of drinking) Staying up all night is just the natural thing to doNaturalhellip yes thatrsquos a key word Nature is in the soul of Finland and in the music of Sibelius Theyrsquore almost the same thing anyway

PlaylistDo you have to listen to all seven symphonies to get a feeling for Sibeliusrsquo music Irsquod recommend it of course but if time is too short try these shorter pieces and excerpts

Finlandia far more Finnish than the national anthem it mixes stirring almost martial passages with a glorious romantic melody Look out for the choral version to appreciate this tune to the full

Andante Festivo (1938 version for string orchestra and timpani) More lsquotypically Sibeliusrsquo than any other short piece I know itrsquos sparse evocative and lovely

At the Castle Gate You probably know this already as itrsquos been the theme tune for the BBCrsquos The Sky at Night ever since the Big Bang Itrsquos the opening movement of a suite called Pelleacuteas et Meacutelisande Symphony No 5 final movement one of Sibeliusrsquo most dramatic works He said himself he had an Alpine rather than a typically Finnish landscape in mind Its final six chords are simply the best ending of any piece of music in any genre ever

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

bEAUTIFUL PUNISHMENT

daniel Wildey kicks in his front points on some of the most beautiful icefalls in the world

words and pics daniel Wildey

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

ldquoMy brother says itrsquos the most beautiful ice he has ever climbedrdquo Encouraging words from some clearly experienced Germans as they abseiled down to our neck-craning position at the foot of Pisciadu icefall in the Val Badia

Those words genuinely calmed my nerves as I geared up for my first lead on ice Wersquod walked maybe 20 minutes from a chairlift in the village of Colfosco secretly basking in the curious attention from the skiers

Convenient access to the icefalls is a feature of much of the winter climbing in the Dolomites and the spread-out relatively quiet pistes donrsquot encroach too much on the peaceful joys of climbing - despite being only a few hundred metres from the skiers the snow seems to absorb sound to deliver that unique silence of winter And the proximity of civilisation is kind of comforting for a beginner

Except at the moment of tying in to the sharp end of the rope At that point civilisation is a foreign concept and only the climb exists Irsquod climbed ice before and always felt comfortable with tools and front points What I wasnrsquot relishing was placing ice screws - I found it hard enough removing them

dISCO LEGBut herersquos another confidence booster compared to winter climbing in the UK the ice forms fat and hard so placements are solid and Irsquod cunningly elected to lead the first pitch which was short and easy - well easier than the enormous WI4 pitches yet to come

A few warm-up moves on perfect ice and one easy placement led me to a kind of semi-cave which had to be bridged and with a short

steep section ahead to get above the cave I knew another ice screw was necessary Despite a bit of disco leg from the scary (but solid) bridging position the placement was straightforward and I was off onto the vertical with first-time axe placements and good footholds that needed much less of a kicking than I was giving them Then the safety of a huge ledge where the water runs flat for several metres in summer

Lead climbing on ice Tick The

whole first pitch is maybe only 15 metres but the quality of the ice and the varied climbing made for an ideal introduction to leading Starting at an easy gradient to find your feet bridging between alternative curtains of ice and a short steep section with an enormous ledge as reward Beautiful as wersquod been advised and typical of the Dolomites

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

STAGE FRIGHTAlong the north wall of the Sella Massif there are plenty of icefalls in the creases of that enormous face that are just as accessible both in terms of approach and climbing My first experience of ice climbing was on Sasso Ghiacciato down the road at Armentarola - literally five metres from the piste and maybe 200 metres from the best mixed grill in the South Tyrol at Rifugio Scotoni A morningsrsquo skiing on one of the most highly-rated pistes in the world (the Hidden Valley from the Lagazuoi cable car) makes a nice change from the approach slog that many winter climbers will be familiar with The constant crowd of open-mouthed skiers congregating at the base of the climb will either make you feel like Ueli Steck or more likely give you stage fright

For a little more solitude try Serrai di Sottoguda again a short ski-in from the Marmolada cable car at

Malga Ciapela or an even shorter walk from the car park at the village of Sottoguda From either direction you enter an enchanting crack that could be the very definition of the word gorge in places there is so little sky you might feel you are climbing out of a post box Except it is plastered with ice

Fewer skiers enter the gorge than descend the Hidden Valley but you will encounter more climbers and you may attract the occasional dog-walker a small price to pay when such beauty is so close at hand

At the Pisciadu icefall the pride of my first lead was short-lived as we wandered deeper into the crack that the water had carved and came face-to-face with pitch two I have no idea how high that section was because time and awe have distorted my memory but I would estimate 600 metres Give or take

These things always look bigger from below but it was an intimidatingly long piece of vertical ice that made my arms ache just looking at it Seconding it took all my energy and resolve and gave me my first taste of hotaches

Great preparation for the third pitch which was essentially more of the same punishment Beautiful beautiful punishmenthttpwwwcollettscoukwinter

VISIT WEbSITE

PUTTING yOUR FOOT IN IT

If yoursquore thinking of ski touring this season herersquos some useful advice from Chiz dakin

Therersquos nothing worse than getting half a day into a really good trip into the mountains and then spending the rest of the time cursing and hobbling from painful blistered feet Sometimes your feet just simply have to toughen up a bit and get used to the extra effort yoursquore asking of them but all too often the true cause is that your feet and boots do not fit well together

This is especially true of ski-touring boots so I went along to one of the UKrsquos leading boot fitters Backcountryuk wwwbackckountryukcomin Ilkley to find out more There I meet Andy their resident expert in ski-boot fitting

Foot StabilisationThe first thing Andy does is look at the shape of my bare feet Hersquos looking for any areas that have the potential to cause difficulties of fit or instability As well as typical heel spurs or bunions such difficulties can include particularly low or high volume feet or even a sixth toe

As Andy explains ldquoA stable foot is very important for skiing as skiing technique is all about power transmission from edge to edge of the ski An unstable foot will introduce unnecessary wobble which translates into loss of power and fine control over the skirdquo

There are various additional methods of checking stability which Andy can also use including Brannock devices thermal footprint plates or even his most fun toy in the box - a small round sphere which projects a vertical laser beam down the lower leg from knee to heel Although this looks to come straight from the props department of Dr Who itrsquos used for checking correct alignment of your lower leg

Whatever stability issues are found (and many of us have some) the normal method of control involves a pair of custom-made footbeds As I already have a pair that Andy deems suitable I get to escape that particular process

Outer Shells Now itrsquos time to play ldquoguess the boot sizerdquo which is made easier with the ldquoshell checkrdquo method of sizing outer boots

Standing barefoot in the outer shell of the boot with your foot just touching the front end the gap between heel and back of the boot

should be roughly 20mm (25mm max) for touring boots (5mm less for downhillpiste boots) Any larger gap will make it difficult to fit the boot snugly enough to the foot Much smaller and theyrsquore likely to be too tight

Because I have narrow heels and a fairly low volume but moderately wide front foot Andy reckons that a pair of Dynafit boots are likely to be the best fit for me As he thinks Irsquom just between two sizes we try the larger size first Theyrsquore too large but the shell check agrees the smaller size fits

Then he puts the inners into the boots and buckles them up around my feet to a moderately snug but not overly tight fit I wander around the shop for 10-15mins while the boots warm up and my feet get used to the feel of them

Already theyrsquore feeling far more comfortable than rental boots normally feel with none of the usual pinch points around calf arch or heel Andy asks whether therersquos any significant lifting of my heels Therersquos a little but no more than normal walking boots so thatrsquos OK

I also try some Scarpas for comparison but as Andy predicted it makes more sense to go with the Dynafits that are a naturally better fit for me

Inner ExpansionWhile the inners get heated in a special boot-oven (which allows their foam to expand and become

Therersquos nothing worse than getting half a day into a really good trip into the mountains and then spending the rest of the time cursing and hobbling from painful blistered feet Sometimes your feet just simply have to toughen up a bit and get used to the extra effort yoursquore asking of them but all too often the true cause is that your feet and boots do not fit well together

This is especially true of ski-touring boots so I went along to one of the UKrsquos leading boot fitters Backcountryuk wwwbackckountryukcomin Ilkley to find out more There I meet Andy their resident expert in ski-boot fitting

Foot StabilisationThe first thing Andy does is look at the shape of my bare feet Hersquos looking for any areas that have the potential to cause difficulties of fit or instability As well as typical heel spurs or bunions such difficulties can include particularly low or high volume feet or even a sixth toe

As Andy explains ldquoA stable foot is very important for skiing as skiing technique is all about power transmission from edge to edge of the ski An unstable foot will introduce unnecessary wobble which translates into loss of power and fine control over the skirdquo

There are various additional methods of checking stability which Andy can also use including Brannock devices thermal footprint plates or even his most fun toy in the box - a small round sphere which projects a vertical laser beam down the lower leg from knee to heel Although this looks to come straight from the props department of Dr Who itrsquos used for checking correct alignment of your lower leg

Whatever stability issues are found (and many of us have some) the normal method of control involves a pair of custom-made footbeds As I already have a pair that Andy deems suitable I get to escape that particular process

Outer Shells Now itrsquos time to play ldquoguess the boot sizerdquo which is made easier with the ldquoshell checkrdquo method of sizing outer boots

Standing barefoot in the outer shell of the boot with your foot just touching the front end the gap between heel and back of the boot

should be roughly 20mm (25mm max) for touring boots (5mm less for downhillpiste boots) Any larger gap will make it difficult to fit the boot snugly enough to the foot Much smaller and theyrsquore likely to be too tight

Because I have narrow heels and a fairly low volume but moderately wide front foot Andy reckons that a pair of Dynafit boots are likely to be the best fit for me As he thinks Irsquom just between two sizes we try the larger size first Theyrsquore too large but the shell check agrees the smaller size fits

Then he puts the inners into the boots and buckles them up around my feet to a moderately snug but not overly tight fit I wander around the shop for 10-15mins while the boots warm up and my feet get used to the feel of them

Already theyrsquore feeling far more comfortable than rental boots normally feel with none of the usual pinch points around calf arch or heel Andy asks whether therersquos any significant lifting of my heels Therersquos a little but no more than normal walking boots so thatrsquos OK

I also try some Scarpas for comparison but as Andy predicted it makes more sense to go with the Dynafits that are a naturally better fit for me

Inner ExpansionWhile the inners get heated in a special boot-oven (which allows their foam to expand and become

soft and malleable) Andy pads out the pressure points on my feet with 3mm thick foam blobs and a toe-box for ldquowiggle-roomrdquo The heated inners are placed in the boots and then comes a delicate and quite awkward bit ndash stepping straight into the boots without twisting feet or inners in the process (as this would stretch the inners in all the wrong places)

With the buckles are done up gently on the outers it takes ten minutes for the heated inners to shape to my feet They should feel very snug at this point ndash not painful but not exactly comfortable either

Now itrsquos just a matter of dealing with any remaining pressure points Out comes Andyrsquos ldquoBackcountry Hi-tech Inner Boot Foam Compression And Remoulding Methodrdquo (aka small bits of wood G-clamps and a hot air gun) for one on my right calf The hot-air warms the foam to make it malleable again and the wood and clamps compress it over areas which are too snug a fit A rubbing bar moulds the outer right boot slightly wider at another point and finally a seam of the right inner near my toes gets the ldquoBackcountry Persuaderrdquo (a small synthetic mallet)

This process should work for most folks For the few who continue to experience problems one thing to check is whether changing the type of socks you use relieves any remaining issues - well-fitting merino wool based socks can sometimes be more effective against blisters than ldquotechnicalrdquo socks

Finally I just need to wear in the boots for a couple of weeks ndash allow them to loosen up a little bed down into their final shape and discover any hidden snags before taking them on a serious trip After all a remote glacier hundreds of miles from anywhere is the last place you want to discover there was a final pressure point that got missed in the warmth of the shop fitting room

As I stride out down Ilkley High Street Irsquom hoping the late afternoon darkness would help my shiny new skiboots blend in during their first steps of wearing in But Irsquod gone no more than 100m when I hear a very strange sound like air escaping through a narrow hole in my prized new boots then being magnified by the surrounding tall brick buildings I canrsquot help but giggle as I pass a van some 10m later ndash a carpenter was at work behind this sawing a length of wood in almost perfect time with my footsteps

GET ON THE GOOD FOOTBackcountryrsquos range of womenrsquos ski-touring boots include Dynafit and Scarpa boots costing pound265-pound470 Men get a wider choice with offerings from Black Diamond and Garmont also available from pound250

Custom-boot-fitting costs a very reasonable pound25 (note this usually takes 15 to 3 hours so itrsquos necessary to arrange an appointment - if you just turn up on the doorstep their staff may already be fully occupied with other clients)

wwwbackcountryukcom

See more of Chizrsquo work at wwwpeakimagescouk

VISIT WEbSITE

SHEFFIELd GOLd

We spend fifteen minutes with ace freestyle skier James lsquoWoodsyrsquo Woods

words Alf Alderson Pics daniel Wildey and Salomon

It must be a Sheffield thing ndash well two Sheffield things actually

The first is the hair ndash it wonrsquot have escaped your attention that James lsquoWoodyrsquo Woods Sheffieldrsquos world beating freestyle skier doesnrsquot wear his barnet like most of usAnd if yoursquore old enough to remember the 80s it also wonrsquot have escaped your attention that another Sheffield lad Phil Oakey of the Human League had a not dissimilar coiffure

There the similarities end of course although Woodsy does admit to liking his music and I dare say that a taste that takes in everything from the Beatles to Sheffield ukulele band The Everly Pregnant Brothers (httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=qhnkt82GGXc) would also find a soft spot for lsquot Human League

The other Sheffield thing is an inordinate pride in the Steel City Like every other Sheffield resident Irsquove ever met Woodsy loves his birthplace despite having spent only 36 hours there in the past year (ldquoFor my brotherrsquos birthdayrdquo) due to the demands of being one of the worldrsquos foremost exponents of flying through the air on skis

and landing safely

Most of the timehellip

Itrsquos inevitable that in his line of work Woodsy will be asked by interviewers what his worst injury has been ldquoA broken backrdquo comes the laconic reply ldquoAnd I once bit my tongue in half after a bad

It must be a Sheffield thing ndash well two Sheffield things actually

The first is the hair ndash it wonrsquot have escaped your attention that James lsquoWoodyrsquo Woods Sheffieldrsquos world beating freestyle skier doesnrsquot wear his barnet like most of usAnd if yoursquore old enough to remember the 80s it also wonrsquot have escaped your attention that another Sheffield lad Phil Oakey of the Human League had a not dissimilar coiffure

There the similarities end of course although Woodsy does admit to liking his music and I dare say that a taste that takes in everything from the Beatles to Sheffield ukulele band The Everly Pregnant Brothers (httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=qhnkt82GGXc) would also find a soft spot for lsquot Human League

The other Sheffield thing is an inordinate pride in the Steel City Like every other Sheffield resident Irsquove ever met Woodsy loves his birthplace despite having spent only 36 hours there in the past year (ldquoFor my brotherrsquos birthdayrdquo) due to the demands of being one of the worldrsquos foremost exponents of flying through the air on skis

and landing safely

Most of the timehellip

Itrsquos inevitable that in his line of work Woodsy will be asked by interviewers what his worst injury has been ldquoA broken backrdquo comes the laconic reply ldquoAnd I once bit my tongue in half after a bad

landingrdquo He reckons one if his favourite pieces of equipment now - other than his Salomon NFX skis - is his mouthguardhellip

But these freestylers are made of ndash well in this case Sheffield steel I guess since Woodsy carried on skiing for two months before his buggered back was diagnosed and he even competed at the 2013 European X-Games in Tignes

Fortunately hersquos now pretty well mended and of course looking forward to the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi I ask him how he feels about it ndash after all hersquos going to be carrying as much weight on his shoulders as any British skier ever has since this will be the first time in Winter Olympic history that Team GB has a realistic chance of medalling in a ski event

The affable easy-going 21-year-old is suitably relaxed about it ldquoNo one puts more pressure on me than myself Irsquove achieved world number one ranking in the

past and I feel I can do it again hopefully in Sochi

ldquoThis will be the first time the slopestyle event has appeared at the Olympics so itrsquos a lsquostatementrsquo event and I want to do my absolute best I enjoy the media attention itrsquos giving me but I just need to make sure I donrsquot get over-excited by it allrdquo

That he enjoys the media attention is obvious ndash when we met up hersquod just done two days of TV radio and press interviews in the run up to the start of the 201314 ski season yet was all smiles and eager to help I ran into him several hours later at the Ski Show in Olympia still chatting to the press fans and acolytes and still with a smile on his face

Add to that an intelligent considered approach to answering questions and Irsquod say that in the far distant future when his ski career is over therersquos a job for this lad on Ski Sundayhellip

Assuming of course hersquos actually residing in the UK For some time now Woodsy has made Breckenridge in Colorado his base The combination of one of the best terrain parks in North America great snow conditions a posse of mates who are also

supremely talented freestylers and ready access to sponsors makes it an obvious choice

Everyone remarks upon the blindingly obvious ndash that itrsquos a far cry from the dry slope he learnt to ski on in Sheffield ndash but this is one of the great appeals of freestyle skiing as long as you have a half-decent terrain park agrave la Sheffield Ski Village (before it burnt down a couple of years ago) itrsquos possible for lads like Woodsy to develop their talents to a level where they can take on and beat the best in the world despite growing up somewhere that sees snow on just a few occasions each winter

He also feels that being from Yorkshire helps ldquoIt must be something in the water here ndash after all had we been a country wersquod have come tenth in the medals table at the London Olympicsrdquo he points out with a laugh

Since both I and photographer Daniel are from Yorkshire too a brief moment of northern bonding takes place as we sympathise at the misfortune of those not to be born in the White Rose county but to be honest Woodsy is such a genuinely nice bloke I reckon hersquod get on with anyone ndash even a Lancastrian

Many of the questions I throw at him are somewhat trite for another interview for an in-flight magazine so there is a danger that Irsquom not really getting to know the man beneath the baseball cap and wacky hair do ndash and how well can you get to know someone in just fifteen minutes ndash but when Woodsy is called away for his next interview Irsquom sure of one thing yoursquod be hard pushed to find a nicer and more grounded athleteWhen you consider the poncing around you see from overpaid Premiership footballers then you meet an equally talented and far braver athlete who earns less than a fraction of a Rooney or Messi yet comes with no air and graces or sense of entitlement you realise that there are some sports where you can reach the highest level and still remain a real and genuine person

So herersquos hoping the lad with the Sheffield steel can transmute it to Russian gold this month

See Woodsy in action here h t t p w w w y o u t u b e c o m watchv=cAOvzz5-MjA

VISIT WEbSITE

past and I feel I can do it again hopefully in Sochi

ldquoThis will be the first time the slopestyle event has appeared at the Olympics so itrsquos a lsquostatementrsquo event and I want to do my absolute best I enjoy the media attention itrsquos giving me but I just need to make sure I donrsquot get over-excited by it allrdquo

That he enjoys the media attention is obvious ndash when we met up hersquod just done two days of TV radio and press interviews in the run up to the start of the 201314 ski season yet was all smiles and eager to help I ran into him several hours later at the Ski Show in Olympia still chatting to the press fans and acolytes and still with a smile on his face

Add to that an intelligent considered approach to answering questions and Irsquod say that in the far distant future when his ski career is over therersquos a job for this lad on Ski Sundayhellip

Assuming of course hersquos actually residing in the UK For some time now Woodsy has made Breckenridge in Colorado his base The combination of one of the best terrain parks in North America great snow conditions a posse of mates who are also

supremely talented freestylers and ready access to sponsors makes it an obvious choice

Everyone remarks upon the blindingly obvious ndash that itrsquos a far cry from the dry slope he learnt to ski on in Sheffield ndash but this is one of the great appeals of freestyle skiing as long as you have a half-decent terrain park agrave la Sheffield Ski Village (before it burnt down a couple of years ago) itrsquos possible for lads like Woodsy to develop their talents to a level where they can take on and beat the best in the world despite growing up somewhere that sees snow on just a few occasions each winter

He also feels that being from Yorkshire helps ldquoIt must be something in the water here ndash after all had we been a country wersquod have come tenth in the medals table at the London Olympicsrdquo he points out with a laugh

Since both I and photographer Daniel are from Yorkshire too a brief moment of northern bonding takes place as we sympathise at the misfortune of those not to be born in the White Rose county but to be honest Woodsy is such a genuinely nice bloke I reckon hersquod get on with anyone ndash even a Lancastrian

Many of the questions I throw at him are somewhat trite for another interview for an in-flight magazine so there is a danger that Irsquom not really getting to know the man beneath the baseball cap and wacky hair do ndash and how well can you get to know someone in just fifteen minutes ndash but when Woodsy is called away for his next interview Irsquom sure of one thing yoursquod be hard pushed to find a nicer and more grounded athleteWhen you consider the poncing around you see from overpaid Premiership footballers then you meet an equally talented and far braver athlete who earns less than a fraction of a Rooney or Messi yet comes with no air and graces or sense of entitlement you realise that there are some sports where you can reach the highest level and still remain a real and genuine person

So herersquos hoping the lad with the Sheffield steel can transmute it to Russian gold this month

See Woodsy in action here h t t p w w w y o u t u b e c o m watchv=cAOvzz5-MjA

VISIT WEbSITE

On Top of the Worldkenton Cool amp Lakpa Rita interviewInterview by daniel Wildey pics daniel and Sherpa Adventure Gear

2013 has been a remarkable year on Everest the 60th Anniversary of Hilary and Tenzingrsquos first ascent a disturbing report of violence amongst the climbers and some incredible feats of modern mountaineering

Church of the Open Sky talks to two legends of Everest Kenton Cool eleven-time summiteer and first to climb the three peaks of Everest Lhotse and Nuptse in a single push and Lakpa Rita a senior Sherpa who has clocked up a total of 11 years on the mountain in a 30 year career and is now the face of Sherpa Adventure Gear

Where does Kentonrsquos triple crown sit among the great achievements

in the Himalaya

Lakpa Rita A lot of people have been thinking about doing it I believe one or two people did the EverestLhotse combo but no-one was able to do all three in a season which is one of the biggest achievements so far in climbing history

Kenton Cool I think yoursquore being quite kind I know you would have done it quicker Where do I think it sits I just think I was really lucky I donrsquot think it really sits anywhereIrsquove always been to Everest for commercial reasons and for the first time ever I was allowed to climb on Everest for fun The very essence of why we do these

things is because we enjoy it and we go into the hills because wersquore looking for fun And thatrsquos what my Everest triple crown turned out to be I really enjoyed it

Does it sit anywhere I donrsquot think it needs to sit anywherehellipIs it a big achievement I steal this from Alex Lowe who once said ldquoThe best climber in the world today is the climber having the most funrdquo

Following Kentonrsquos triple crown Ueli Steckrsquos solo ascent of Annapurna and Sandy and Rick Allenrsquos traverse of the Mazeno Ridge where do you see the future of top level Himalayan climbing

KC I think what Irsquod like to see is the immense power and strength of people like Lakpa on the mountains because without a doubt the Sherpa people are more powerful at high altitude It would be fascinating to see very technically competent driven Sherpas in the high mountains because I think theyrsquoll be able to do quite incredible things You guys are powerhouses so strong in the mountains

Would you like the opportunity to climb for yourself Lapka

LR So far most of the climbs Irsquove done were for my work Irsquove been doing this for a living but if I get the opportunity definitely I would do a lot of my own climbing

KC Perhaps we can go and do K2 together Wersquoll all climb as equals apart from yoursquod have a bigger rucksack itrsquos the only way I can keep up

How has Everest changed since yoursquove been climbing thereLR My first expedition on Everest

was 1984 looking back from today a lot has changed Irsquove seen the glacier recede back a lot In 1984 we used to camp almost an hour down from where we are camping right now so much of the glacier has receded

In those days we didnrsquot have much technical gear these days we have lot of great tools and lightweight ladders and stuff like that it makes it a lot easier to set a route But again it depends on the season it can be harder or it can be easier

KC Itrsquos just a different place a mountain is a constantly changing environment and the dangers come and go with that

Where my team camps at Camp 2 we call it the ghetto down the hill a little bit underneath these big ice cliffs As Lakpa was saying in 1984 you couldnrsquot camp there whereas now the danger is these ice cliffs could potentially fall on you they do crack off sometimes Irsquove only been there since 2004 so Lakparsquos been an extra 20 years - itrsquoll be 30

years next year you could have a party at Base Camp Everybody come along

Things have changed even in the ten years that Irsquove been going there though On the positive side itrsquos got a lot cleaner I think the Dawa Stephen Sherpa has been very instrumental in tidying up the mountain and itrsquos got more professional in terms of commercial outfits on the mountain which has been driven by some of the guiding companies but also by people like Lakpa

Does being the face of modern British Mountaineering put extra pressures on you as a spokesman for the commercial interests on Everest

KC Well first of all I feel very flattered being called the face of modern British mountaineering Irsquom sure some of my peers would say something about that

But I do occupy this interesting niche that Irsquove come from a mountaineering background

where Irsquove climbed for fun I climbed for me all over the world with first ascents here there and everywhere And now Irsquom really quite commercial obviously and I do have this nice position where I can be quite vocal about commercialism in the mountainsI think ultimately itrsquos not just down to individuals but itrsquos opening up the whole panel to discussion with the likes of Dawa Stephen and Lakpa The Sherpa have a very good idea about what western clients like and need but also a very good understanding about what the mountains need and the demands that masses of people can put on the mountains

I do find Irsquove been blackboarded a little by certain people in certain associations because of my commercialism and I can be very outspoken which rubs people up the wrong way But Irsquom just passionate about the mountains and I want the best for people who go into the mountains I want the best for the mountains And maybe thatrsquos commercialism maybe itrsquos not but I do like the way that you think Irsquom the face of modern mountaineering

Does this yearrsquos negative press from Everest (the reported violence between a group of Sherpas and western climbers Ueli Steck Jon Griffith and Simone Moro) impact on the relationship between western climbers and Sherpas

KC Irsquom going to hand this one to poor Lakpa because we only hear in the west what the westerners say I know Ueli Simone and John Irsquove got a lot of respect for them and I consider them my friends But I also consider the Sherpas my friends And we never hear the Sherpa side of things

LR Like Kenton says I really respect Simone Ueli Steck and his partner John Ueli is one of the

greatest alpinists and has done some big solo climbing But I also respect those Sherpas who are working there

They were selected by a whole bunch of teams they are very experienced and they were trying to lay a rope to get hundreds of people safely up and down But unfortunately these two great groups of climbers lost their respect for each other After the incident everyone came down to Base Camp we brought Ueli and his team down and the leader of the fixing team came with the high

Sirdars and myself

We sat down and talked about how to solve this problem Both teams agreed on what mistakes they had made and both teams agreed to keep our relationship as it was for 60 years before like Tenzing and Hilary when western climbers and Sherpas climbed Everest hand to hand together

And they hugged each other and shook hands we offered a kata which is a traditional Sherpa white scarf Then all of a sudden the next day it comes up in the media and

it left a big question mark whether there is going to be less trust between the western community and the Sherpa community less respect for the mountain But I think from talking to a lot of the Sherpas instead of negative points I found a lot of positive points and Irsquom pretty sure it will not impact on the commercial relationship and it will not affect future climbs

KC I think itrsquos just a really unfortunate thing and in a year that should have been a celebration so much to celebrate so much to do

and there was this incident on the mountain which was a loselose situation

Irsquove spoken to both sides but we will probably never find out exactly why it became the incident that it did I spoke to John Griffiths only the other day and Johnrsquos still quite bitter about it he did feel like his life was threatened

But it was almost business as usual a couple of days later at base camp You kind of need to put that behind you and I think itrsquos

quite indicative of the press that they like to sensationalise things and pick up on all the bad things Great things were happening fund raising I did my Himalayan triple crown Ueli wanted to go there to do something really amazing and no-one picked up on that I mean Ueli went home a broken man

I think itrsquos a shame that Everest has become this sensationalised mountain because it is just a mountain Well itrsquos not just a mountain itrsquos the mountain itrsquos the Sherpa mountain itrsquos Sagarmatha itrsquos Chomolungma itrsquos the mother goddess of the earth a mountain that deserves respect

You should feel proud and privileged to be allowed to climb on her flanks and when something like this happens itrsquos a total disrespect by all parties on the mountain I really hope that we never see anything like that again because thatrsquos not what the mountains are about It really saddened me and I really hope the media especially the climbing media move on I see therersquos a film just been released the Reel Rock Tour that almost sensationalises what happened I just think thatrsquos so sad because thatrsquos not what we climb for thatrsquos not what Everest is about itrsquos not what she deserves I found the whole thing really sad Everybody lost Itrsquos a real shame

What rescue services are there around Everest and how have they adapted to the increase in trafficKC Well essentially they donrsquot really exist In so much as you canrsquot call a helicopter Simone (Moro) has been quite instrumental in long lining from extreme altitudes Itrsquos getting pretty high now stripped down B3 helicopters with a line coming out from underneath pretty much as a snatch rescue But the conditions have to be absolutely perfect Itrsquos at the max ceiling of the helicopters theyrsquore straining I

know Lakparsquos was involved quite famously in 1996LR Irsquove was involved in one rescue above South Col in 2005 One of the Nepalese women was left behind another climber and myself brought her down I think itrsquos pretty hard to do a rescue on a 8000m peak A lot of people have been asking whether those dead bodies can be brought down or not I mean itrsquos possible but you have to look at to bring one dead body down how many peoplersquos lives are put in danger

KC Just being at 8000m is dangerous whether yoursquore climbing or not just even existing I think climbers and Sherpas need to understand that by making a decision to go to high altitude that if something goes wrong at 8000m it compounds very quickly and the likelihood of effective rescue of someone who is critically injured is slim Itrsquos one of the few places on the planet other than maybe the depths of the ocean where you really do feel quite out on a limb Itrsquos a dangerous dangerous place Wersquove both seen successful rescues but unfortunately wersquove also seen the flipside when things donrsquot go well despite all attempts of near-superheroes like Lakpa and his colleagues

Is it a positive that therersquos a danger element is that what draws people

KC Therersquos a glamour to it to tread where the likes of Hilary and Tenzing trod 60 years ago to go to the highest point on the earth But many people wouldnrsquot be able to get to the top without our help and our support And I do sometimes wonder if the paying clientele - and I donrsquot want to lump everyone in the same boat - understand that They sometimes think that by employing Lakparsquos services with his phenomenal success rate

or myself that not only success is guaranteed but that safety is guaranteed In reality it should be the other way round they should be more concerned about safety than success

Itrsquos amazing how often you get asked lsquoso whatrsquos your success rate on getting people to the toprsquo nobody ever asks lsquowhatrsquos your safety recordrsquo that normally comes later which I always think is very interesting But itrsquos about being very honest with the clients theyrsquore paying a lot of money theyrsquore doing something potentially very dangerous taking them away from their families for a long time You would think that they would fully research this but not everybody does You still have to be very aware of the risks Look at 1996 some of the strongest high altitude leaders there have ever been succumbed in that storm took their leadership away and what was left was a disasterDoes Sherpa Adventure Gear have a role to play in educating westerners about the mountain and the Sherpa people

KC Obviously wersquore both ambassadors for Sherpa Adventure Gear Lakpa is the face of Sherpa Adventure Gear Do you think SAG has a role to playLR The main goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate the Sherpa kids who donrsquot have education back home Seven per cent of our sales go back to the Paldorje Education Fund And as well as that we want to be one of the best climbing outfitters

KC So many people recognise Nepal for what it is itrsquos a hub of trekking itrsquos a hub of mountains itrsquos a hub of the Sherpa people And as westerners we go there all the time and we go there with our western products and our western brands and I think itrsquos fabulous

now that there is a Sherpa brand Tashi Sherpa was born in Khumjung above Namche bazaar in the heart of the Khumbu he grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest As did Lakpa When I first met Tashi Sherpa a number of years ago he said to me itrsquos not about the money hersquos made his money through other means itrsquos about leaving a legacy

And I think thatrsquos a really cool thing to talk about in a day when we can look round the shops and we see these big corporate brands and what Tashi wants to do is to leave something for his people Lakpa how long did you take to walk to school

LR Four hours one way Five days a week

KC So thatrsquos eight hours a day just to get to school because Lakpa wanted to be educated Wersquore soft in the UK we have it on our doorstep Can you imagine having to walk four hours

And Sherpa Adventure Gear stands for the Sherpa people their morals their values theyrsquore a lsquoyes culturersquo people some of the friendliest most welcoming people in the world itrsquos all about community about family some of the values that unfortunately we lost sight of a little bit in the west Itrsquos owned by Sherpas itrsquos designed by Sherpas itrsquos made in Kathmandu And itrsquos distributed to everywhere else And therersquos nothing more that we like than to see the product coming back home

When you trek up the Khumbu and you see some Sherpa Adventure Gear coming towards you therersquos that common bond between you Itrsquos the little things like the little prayer flags on the zip pull and on the back the endless knot - the

little things that are really important to the Sherpa people and you see it all through the range Itrsquos hard to describe unless yoursquove spent time with Lakpa and Perba his wife and immersed yourself in the culture but as soon as you do then you get it You totally get it

LR I think we have 11 or 12 kids in education right now in Kathmandu through the Paldorje foundationsKC Children who otherwise just wouldnrsquot have a start in life

LR And the goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate more of those kids who donrsquot have the opportunity

KC Itrsquos great I feel very privileged to be part of it Privileged to be an ambassador Underneath Lakpa Hersquos big daddy Irsquom the little one You donrsquot see my face on the swing tags

See more about Sherpa Adventure Gear at wwwsherpaadventuregearcom

VISIT WEbSITE

KC I think what Irsquod like to see is the immense power and strength of people like Lakpa on the mountains because without a doubt the Sherpa people are more powerful at high altitude It would be fascinating to see very technically competent driven Sherpas in the high mountains because I think theyrsquoll be able to do quite incredible things You guys are powerhouses so strong in the mountains

Would you like the opportunity to climb for yourself Lapka

LR So far most of the climbs Irsquove done were for my work Irsquove been doing this for a living but if I get the opportunity definitely I would do a lot of my own climbing

KC Perhaps we can go and do K2 together Wersquoll all climb as equals apart from yoursquod have a bigger rucksack itrsquos the only way I can keep up

How has Everest changed since yoursquove been climbing thereLR My first expedition on Everest

was 1984 looking back from today a lot has changed Irsquove seen the glacier recede back a lot In 1984 we used to camp almost an hour down from where we are camping right now so much of the glacier has receded

In those days we didnrsquot have much technical gear these days we have lot of great tools and lightweight ladders and stuff like that it makes it a lot easier to set a route But again it depends on the season it can be harder or it can be easier

KC Itrsquos just a different place a mountain is a constantly changing environment and the dangers come and go with that

Where my team camps at Camp 2 we call it the ghetto down the hill a little bit underneath these big ice cliffs As Lakpa was saying in 1984 you couldnrsquot camp there whereas now the danger is these ice cliffs could potentially fall on you they do crack off sometimes Irsquove only been there since 2004 so Lakparsquos been an extra 20 years - itrsquoll be 30

years next year you could have a party at Base Camp Everybody come along

Things have changed even in the ten years that Irsquove been going there though On the positive side itrsquos got a lot cleaner I think the Dawa Stephen Sherpa has been very instrumental in tidying up the mountain and itrsquos got more professional in terms of commercial outfits on the mountain which has been driven by some of the guiding companies but also by people like Lakpa

Does being the face of modern British Mountaineering put extra pressures on you as a spokesman for the commercial interests on Everest

KC Well first of all I feel very flattered being called the face of modern British mountaineering Irsquom sure some of my peers would say something about that

But I do occupy this interesting niche that Irsquove come from a mountaineering background

where Irsquove climbed for fun I climbed for me all over the world with first ascents here there and everywhere And now Irsquom really quite commercial obviously and I do have this nice position where I can be quite vocal about commercialism in the mountainsI think ultimately itrsquos not just down to individuals but itrsquos opening up the whole panel to discussion with the likes of Dawa Stephen and Lakpa The Sherpa have a very good idea about what western clients like and need but also a very good understanding about what the mountains need and the demands that masses of people can put on the mountains

I do find Irsquove been blackboarded a little by certain people in certain associations because of my commercialism and I can be very outspoken which rubs people up the wrong way But Irsquom just passionate about the mountains and I want the best for people who go into the mountains I want the best for the mountains And maybe thatrsquos commercialism maybe itrsquos not but I do like the way that you think Irsquom the face of modern mountaineering

Does this yearrsquos negative press from Everest (the reported violence between a group of Sherpas and western climbers Ueli Steck Jon Griffith and Simone Moro) impact on the relationship between western climbers and Sherpas

KC Irsquom going to hand this one to poor Lakpa because we only hear in the west what the westerners say I know Ueli Simone and John Irsquove got a lot of respect for them and I consider them my friends But I also consider the Sherpas my friends And we never hear the Sherpa side of things

LR Like Kenton says I really respect Simone Ueli Steck and his partner John Ueli is one of the

greatest alpinists and has done some big solo climbing But I also respect those Sherpas who are working there

They were selected by a whole bunch of teams they are very experienced and they were trying to lay a rope to get hundreds of people safely up and down But unfortunately these two great groups of climbers lost their respect for each other After the incident everyone came down to Base Camp we brought Ueli and his team down and the leader of the fixing team came with the high

Sirdars and myself

We sat down and talked about how to solve this problem Both teams agreed on what mistakes they had made and both teams agreed to keep our relationship as it was for 60 years before like Tenzing and Hilary when western climbers and Sherpas climbed Everest hand to hand together

And they hugged each other and shook hands we offered a kata which is a traditional Sherpa white scarf Then all of a sudden the next day it comes up in the media and

it left a big question mark whether there is going to be less trust between the western community and the Sherpa community less respect for the mountain But I think from talking to a lot of the Sherpas instead of negative points I found a lot of positive points and Irsquom pretty sure it will not impact on the commercial relationship and it will not affect future climbs

KC I think itrsquos just a really unfortunate thing and in a year that should have been a celebration so much to celebrate so much to do

and there was this incident on the mountain which was a loselose situation

Irsquove spoken to both sides but we will probably never find out exactly why it became the incident that it did I spoke to John Griffiths only the other day and Johnrsquos still quite bitter about it he did feel like his life was threatened

But it was almost business as usual a couple of days later at base camp You kind of need to put that behind you and I think itrsquos

quite indicative of the press that they like to sensationalise things and pick up on all the bad things Great things were happening fund raising I did my Himalayan triple crown Ueli wanted to go there to do something really amazing and no-one picked up on that I mean Ueli went home a broken man

I think itrsquos a shame that Everest has become this sensationalised mountain because it is just a mountain Well itrsquos not just a mountain itrsquos the mountain itrsquos the Sherpa mountain itrsquos Sagarmatha itrsquos Chomolungma itrsquos the mother goddess of the earth a mountain that deserves respect

You should feel proud and privileged to be allowed to climb on her flanks and when something like this happens itrsquos a total disrespect by all parties on the mountain I really hope that we never see anything like that again because thatrsquos not what the mountains are about It really saddened me and I really hope the media especially the climbing media move on I see therersquos a film just been released the Reel Rock Tour that almost sensationalises what happened I just think thatrsquos so sad because thatrsquos not what we climb for thatrsquos not what Everest is about itrsquos not what she deserves I found the whole thing really sad Everybody lost Itrsquos a real shame

What rescue services are there around Everest and how have they adapted to the increase in trafficKC Well essentially they donrsquot really exist In so much as you canrsquot call a helicopter Simone (Moro) has been quite instrumental in long lining from extreme altitudes Itrsquos getting pretty high now stripped down B3 helicopters with a line coming out from underneath pretty much as a snatch rescue But the conditions have to be absolutely perfect Itrsquos at the max ceiling of the helicopters theyrsquore straining I

know Lakparsquos was involved quite famously in 1996LR Irsquove was involved in one rescue above South Col in 2005 One of the Nepalese women was left behind another climber and myself brought her down I think itrsquos pretty hard to do a rescue on a 8000m peak A lot of people have been asking whether those dead bodies can be brought down or not I mean itrsquos possible but you have to look at to bring one dead body down how many peoplersquos lives are put in danger

KC Just being at 8000m is dangerous whether yoursquore climbing or not just even existing I think climbers and Sherpas need to understand that by making a decision to go to high altitude that if something goes wrong at 8000m it compounds very quickly and the likelihood of effective rescue of someone who is critically injured is slim Itrsquos one of the few places on the planet other than maybe the depths of the ocean where you really do feel quite out on a limb Itrsquos a dangerous dangerous place Wersquove both seen successful rescues but unfortunately wersquove also seen the flipside when things donrsquot go well despite all attempts of near-superheroes like Lakpa and his colleagues

Is it a positive that therersquos a danger element is that what draws people

KC Therersquos a glamour to it to tread where the likes of Hilary and Tenzing trod 60 years ago to go to the highest point on the earth But many people wouldnrsquot be able to get to the top without our help and our support And I do sometimes wonder if the paying clientele - and I donrsquot want to lump everyone in the same boat - understand that They sometimes think that by employing Lakparsquos services with his phenomenal success rate

or myself that not only success is guaranteed but that safety is guaranteed In reality it should be the other way round they should be more concerned about safety than success

Itrsquos amazing how often you get asked lsquoso whatrsquos your success rate on getting people to the toprsquo nobody ever asks lsquowhatrsquos your safety recordrsquo that normally comes later which I always think is very interesting But itrsquos about being very honest with the clients theyrsquore paying a lot of money theyrsquore doing something potentially very dangerous taking them away from their families for a long time You would think that they would fully research this but not everybody does You still have to be very aware of the risks Look at 1996 some of the strongest high altitude leaders there have ever been succumbed in that storm took their leadership away and what was left was a disasterDoes Sherpa Adventure Gear have a role to play in educating westerners about the mountain and the Sherpa people

KC Obviously wersquore both ambassadors for Sherpa Adventure Gear Lakpa is the face of Sherpa Adventure Gear Do you think SAG has a role to playLR The main goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate the Sherpa kids who donrsquot have education back home Seven per cent of our sales go back to the Paldorje Education Fund And as well as that we want to be one of the best climbing outfitters

KC So many people recognise Nepal for what it is itrsquos a hub of trekking itrsquos a hub of mountains itrsquos a hub of the Sherpa people And as westerners we go there all the time and we go there with our western products and our western brands and I think itrsquos fabulous

now that there is a Sherpa brand Tashi Sherpa was born in Khumjung above Namche bazaar in the heart of the Khumbu he grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest As did Lakpa When I first met Tashi Sherpa a number of years ago he said to me itrsquos not about the money hersquos made his money through other means itrsquos about leaving a legacy

And I think thatrsquos a really cool thing to talk about in a day when we can look round the shops and we see these big corporate brands and what Tashi wants to do is to leave something for his people Lakpa how long did you take to walk to school

LR Four hours one way Five days a week

KC So thatrsquos eight hours a day just to get to school because Lakpa wanted to be educated Wersquore soft in the UK we have it on our doorstep Can you imagine having to walk four hours

And Sherpa Adventure Gear stands for the Sherpa people their morals their values theyrsquore a lsquoyes culturersquo people some of the friendliest most welcoming people in the world itrsquos all about community about family some of the values that unfortunately we lost sight of a little bit in the west Itrsquos owned by Sherpas itrsquos designed by Sherpas itrsquos made in Kathmandu And itrsquos distributed to everywhere else And therersquos nothing more that we like than to see the product coming back home

When you trek up the Khumbu and you see some Sherpa Adventure Gear coming towards you therersquos that common bond between you Itrsquos the little things like the little prayer flags on the zip pull and on the back the endless knot - the

little things that are really important to the Sherpa people and you see it all through the range Itrsquos hard to describe unless yoursquove spent time with Lakpa and Perba his wife and immersed yourself in the culture but as soon as you do then you get it You totally get it

LR I think we have 11 or 12 kids in education right now in Kathmandu through the Paldorje foundationsKC Children who otherwise just wouldnrsquot have a start in life

LR And the goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate more of those kids who donrsquot have the opportunity

KC Itrsquos great I feel very privileged to be part of it Privileged to be an ambassador Underneath Lakpa Hersquos big daddy Irsquom the little one You donrsquot see my face on the swing tags

See more about Sherpa Adventure Gear at wwwsherpaadventuregearcom

VISIT WEbSITE

where Irsquove climbed for fun I climbed for me all over the world with first ascents here there and everywhere And now Irsquom really quite commercial obviously and I do have this nice position where I can be quite vocal about commercialism in the mountainsI think ultimately itrsquos not just down to individuals but itrsquos opening up the whole panel to discussion with the likes of Dawa Stephen and Lakpa The Sherpa have a very good idea about what western clients like and need but also a very good understanding about what the mountains need and the demands that masses of people can put on the mountains

I do find Irsquove been blackboarded a little by certain people in certain associations because of my commercialism and I can be very outspoken which rubs people up the wrong way But Irsquom just passionate about the mountains and I want the best for people who go into the mountains I want the best for the mountains And maybe thatrsquos commercialism maybe itrsquos not but I do like the way that you think Irsquom the face of modern mountaineering

Does this yearrsquos negative press from Everest (the reported violence between a group of Sherpas and western climbers Ueli Steck Jon Griffith and Simone Moro) impact on the relationship between western climbers and Sherpas

KC Irsquom going to hand this one to poor Lakpa because we only hear in the west what the westerners say I know Ueli Simone and John Irsquove got a lot of respect for them and I consider them my friends But I also consider the Sherpas my friends And we never hear the Sherpa side of things

LR Like Kenton says I really respect Simone Ueli Steck and his partner John Ueli is one of the

greatest alpinists and has done some big solo climbing But I also respect those Sherpas who are working there

They were selected by a whole bunch of teams they are very experienced and they were trying to lay a rope to get hundreds of people safely up and down But unfortunately these two great groups of climbers lost their respect for each other After the incident everyone came down to Base Camp we brought Ueli and his team down and the leader of the fixing team came with the high

Sirdars and myself

We sat down and talked about how to solve this problem Both teams agreed on what mistakes they had made and both teams agreed to keep our relationship as it was for 60 years before like Tenzing and Hilary when western climbers and Sherpas climbed Everest hand to hand together

And they hugged each other and shook hands we offered a kata which is a traditional Sherpa white scarf Then all of a sudden the next day it comes up in the media and

it left a big question mark whether there is going to be less trust between the western community and the Sherpa community less respect for the mountain But I think from talking to a lot of the Sherpas instead of negative points I found a lot of positive points and Irsquom pretty sure it will not impact on the commercial relationship and it will not affect future climbs

KC I think itrsquos just a really unfortunate thing and in a year that should have been a celebration so much to celebrate so much to do

and there was this incident on the mountain which was a loselose situation

Irsquove spoken to both sides but we will probably never find out exactly why it became the incident that it did I spoke to John Griffiths only the other day and Johnrsquos still quite bitter about it he did feel like his life was threatened

But it was almost business as usual a couple of days later at base camp You kind of need to put that behind you and I think itrsquos

quite indicative of the press that they like to sensationalise things and pick up on all the bad things Great things were happening fund raising I did my Himalayan triple crown Ueli wanted to go there to do something really amazing and no-one picked up on that I mean Ueli went home a broken man

I think itrsquos a shame that Everest has become this sensationalised mountain because it is just a mountain Well itrsquos not just a mountain itrsquos the mountain itrsquos the Sherpa mountain itrsquos Sagarmatha itrsquos Chomolungma itrsquos the mother goddess of the earth a mountain that deserves respect

You should feel proud and privileged to be allowed to climb on her flanks and when something like this happens itrsquos a total disrespect by all parties on the mountain I really hope that we never see anything like that again because thatrsquos not what the mountains are about It really saddened me and I really hope the media especially the climbing media move on I see therersquos a film just been released the Reel Rock Tour that almost sensationalises what happened I just think thatrsquos so sad because thatrsquos not what we climb for thatrsquos not what Everest is about itrsquos not what she deserves I found the whole thing really sad Everybody lost Itrsquos a real shame

What rescue services are there around Everest and how have they adapted to the increase in trafficKC Well essentially they donrsquot really exist In so much as you canrsquot call a helicopter Simone (Moro) has been quite instrumental in long lining from extreme altitudes Itrsquos getting pretty high now stripped down B3 helicopters with a line coming out from underneath pretty much as a snatch rescue But the conditions have to be absolutely perfect Itrsquos at the max ceiling of the helicopters theyrsquore straining I

know Lakparsquos was involved quite famously in 1996LR Irsquove was involved in one rescue above South Col in 2005 One of the Nepalese women was left behind another climber and myself brought her down I think itrsquos pretty hard to do a rescue on a 8000m peak A lot of people have been asking whether those dead bodies can be brought down or not I mean itrsquos possible but you have to look at to bring one dead body down how many peoplersquos lives are put in danger

KC Just being at 8000m is dangerous whether yoursquore climbing or not just even existing I think climbers and Sherpas need to understand that by making a decision to go to high altitude that if something goes wrong at 8000m it compounds very quickly and the likelihood of effective rescue of someone who is critically injured is slim Itrsquos one of the few places on the planet other than maybe the depths of the ocean where you really do feel quite out on a limb Itrsquos a dangerous dangerous place Wersquove both seen successful rescues but unfortunately wersquove also seen the flipside when things donrsquot go well despite all attempts of near-superheroes like Lakpa and his colleagues

Is it a positive that therersquos a danger element is that what draws people

KC Therersquos a glamour to it to tread where the likes of Hilary and Tenzing trod 60 years ago to go to the highest point on the earth But many people wouldnrsquot be able to get to the top without our help and our support And I do sometimes wonder if the paying clientele - and I donrsquot want to lump everyone in the same boat - understand that They sometimes think that by employing Lakparsquos services with his phenomenal success rate

or myself that not only success is guaranteed but that safety is guaranteed In reality it should be the other way round they should be more concerned about safety than success

Itrsquos amazing how often you get asked lsquoso whatrsquos your success rate on getting people to the toprsquo nobody ever asks lsquowhatrsquos your safety recordrsquo that normally comes later which I always think is very interesting But itrsquos about being very honest with the clients theyrsquore paying a lot of money theyrsquore doing something potentially very dangerous taking them away from their families for a long time You would think that they would fully research this but not everybody does You still have to be very aware of the risks Look at 1996 some of the strongest high altitude leaders there have ever been succumbed in that storm took their leadership away and what was left was a disasterDoes Sherpa Adventure Gear have a role to play in educating westerners about the mountain and the Sherpa people

KC Obviously wersquore both ambassadors for Sherpa Adventure Gear Lakpa is the face of Sherpa Adventure Gear Do you think SAG has a role to playLR The main goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate the Sherpa kids who donrsquot have education back home Seven per cent of our sales go back to the Paldorje Education Fund And as well as that we want to be one of the best climbing outfitters

KC So many people recognise Nepal for what it is itrsquos a hub of trekking itrsquos a hub of mountains itrsquos a hub of the Sherpa people And as westerners we go there all the time and we go there with our western products and our western brands and I think itrsquos fabulous

now that there is a Sherpa brand Tashi Sherpa was born in Khumjung above Namche bazaar in the heart of the Khumbu he grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest As did Lakpa When I first met Tashi Sherpa a number of years ago he said to me itrsquos not about the money hersquos made his money through other means itrsquos about leaving a legacy

And I think thatrsquos a really cool thing to talk about in a day when we can look round the shops and we see these big corporate brands and what Tashi wants to do is to leave something for his people Lakpa how long did you take to walk to school

LR Four hours one way Five days a week

KC So thatrsquos eight hours a day just to get to school because Lakpa wanted to be educated Wersquore soft in the UK we have it on our doorstep Can you imagine having to walk four hours

And Sherpa Adventure Gear stands for the Sherpa people their morals their values theyrsquore a lsquoyes culturersquo people some of the friendliest most welcoming people in the world itrsquos all about community about family some of the values that unfortunately we lost sight of a little bit in the west Itrsquos owned by Sherpas itrsquos designed by Sherpas itrsquos made in Kathmandu And itrsquos distributed to everywhere else And therersquos nothing more that we like than to see the product coming back home

When you trek up the Khumbu and you see some Sherpa Adventure Gear coming towards you therersquos that common bond between you Itrsquos the little things like the little prayer flags on the zip pull and on the back the endless knot - the

little things that are really important to the Sherpa people and you see it all through the range Itrsquos hard to describe unless yoursquove spent time with Lakpa and Perba his wife and immersed yourself in the culture but as soon as you do then you get it You totally get it

LR I think we have 11 or 12 kids in education right now in Kathmandu through the Paldorje foundationsKC Children who otherwise just wouldnrsquot have a start in life

LR And the goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate more of those kids who donrsquot have the opportunity

KC Itrsquos great I feel very privileged to be part of it Privileged to be an ambassador Underneath Lakpa Hersquos big daddy Irsquom the little one You donrsquot see my face on the swing tags

See more about Sherpa Adventure Gear at wwwsherpaadventuregearcom

VISIT WEbSITE

it left a big question mark whether there is going to be less trust between the western community and the Sherpa community less respect for the mountain But I think from talking to a lot of the Sherpas instead of negative points I found a lot of positive points and Irsquom pretty sure it will not impact on the commercial relationship and it will not affect future climbs

KC I think itrsquos just a really unfortunate thing and in a year that should have been a celebration so much to celebrate so much to do

and there was this incident on the mountain which was a loselose situation

Irsquove spoken to both sides but we will probably never find out exactly why it became the incident that it did I spoke to John Griffiths only the other day and Johnrsquos still quite bitter about it he did feel like his life was threatened

But it was almost business as usual a couple of days later at base camp You kind of need to put that behind you and I think itrsquos

quite indicative of the press that they like to sensationalise things and pick up on all the bad things Great things were happening fund raising I did my Himalayan triple crown Ueli wanted to go there to do something really amazing and no-one picked up on that I mean Ueli went home a broken man

I think itrsquos a shame that Everest has become this sensationalised mountain because it is just a mountain Well itrsquos not just a mountain itrsquos the mountain itrsquos the Sherpa mountain itrsquos Sagarmatha itrsquos Chomolungma itrsquos the mother goddess of the earth a mountain that deserves respect

You should feel proud and privileged to be allowed to climb on her flanks and when something like this happens itrsquos a total disrespect by all parties on the mountain I really hope that we never see anything like that again because thatrsquos not what the mountains are about It really saddened me and I really hope the media especially the climbing media move on I see therersquos a film just been released the Reel Rock Tour that almost sensationalises what happened I just think thatrsquos so sad because thatrsquos not what we climb for thatrsquos not what Everest is about itrsquos not what she deserves I found the whole thing really sad Everybody lost Itrsquos a real shame

What rescue services are there around Everest and how have they adapted to the increase in trafficKC Well essentially they donrsquot really exist In so much as you canrsquot call a helicopter Simone (Moro) has been quite instrumental in long lining from extreme altitudes Itrsquos getting pretty high now stripped down B3 helicopters with a line coming out from underneath pretty much as a snatch rescue But the conditions have to be absolutely perfect Itrsquos at the max ceiling of the helicopters theyrsquore straining I

know Lakparsquos was involved quite famously in 1996LR Irsquove was involved in one rescue above South Col in 2005 One of the Nepalese women was left behind another climber and myself brought her down I think itrsquos pretty hard to do a rescue on a 8000m peak A lot of people have been asking whether those dead bodies can be brought down or not I mean itrsquos possible but you have to look at to bring one dead body down how many peoplersquos lives are put in danger

KC Just being at 8000m is dangerous whether yoursquore climbing or not just even existing I think climbers and Sherpas need to understand that by making a decision to go to high altitude that if something goes wrong at 8000m it compounds very quickly and the likelihood of effective rescue of someone who is critically injured is slim Itrsquos one of the few places on the planet other than maybe the depths of the ocean where you really do feel quite out on a limb Itrsquos a dangerous dangerous place Wersquove both seen successful rescues but unfortunately wersquove also seen the flipside when things donrsquot go well despite all attempts of near-superheroes like Lakpa and his colleagues

Is it a positive that therersquos a danger element is that what draws people

KC Therersquos a glamour to it to tread where the likes of Hilary and Tenzing trod 60 years ago to go to the highest point on the earth But many people wouldnrsquot be able to get to the top without our help and our support And I do sometimes wonder if the paying clientele - and I donrsquot want to lump everyone in the same boat - understand that They sometimes think that by employing Lakparsquos services with his phenomenal success rate

or myself that not only success is guaranteed but that safety is guaranteed In reality it should be the other way round they should be more concerned about safety than success

Itrsquos amazing how often you get asked lsquoso whatrsquos your success rate on getting people to the toprsquo nobody ever asks lsquowhatrsquos your safety recordrsquo that normally comes later which I always think is very interesting But itrsquos about being very honest with the clients theyrsquore paying a lot of money theyrsquore doing something potentially very dangerous taking them away from their families for a long time You would think that they would fully research this but not everybody does You still have to be very aware of the risks Look at 1996 some of the strongest high altitude leaders there have ever been succumbed in that storm took their leadership away and what was left was a disasterDoes Sherpa Adventure Gear have a role to play in educating westerners about the mountain and the Sherpa people

KC Obviously wersquore both ambassadors for Sherpa Adventure Gear Lakpa is the face of Sherpa Adventure Gear Do you think SAG has a role to playLR The main goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate the Sherpa kids who donrsquot have education back home Seven per cent of our sales go back to the Paldorje Education Fund And as well as that we want to be one of the best climbing outfitters

KC So many people recognise Nepal for what it is itrsquos a hub of trekking itrsquos a hub of mountains itrsquos a hub of the Sherpa people And as westerners we go there all the time and we go there with our western products and our western brands and I think itrsquos fabulous

now that there is a Sherpa brand Tashi Sherpa was born in Khumjung above Namche bazaar in the heart of the Khumbu he grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest As did Lakpa When I first met Tashi Sherpa a number of years ago he said to me itrsquos not about the money hersquos made his money through other means itrsquos about leaving a legacy

And I think thatrsquos a really cool thing to talk about in a day when we can look round the shops and we see these big corporate brands and what Tashi wants to do is to leave something for his people Lakpa how long did you take to walk to school

LR Four hours one way Five days a week

KC So thatrsquos eight hours a day just to get to school because Lakpa wanted to be educated Wersquore soft in the UK we have it on our doorstep Can you imagine having to walk four hours

And Sherpa Adventure Gear stands for the Sherpa people their morals their values theyrsquore a lsquoyes culturersquo people some of the friendliest most welcoming people in the world itrsquos all about community about family some of the values that unfortunately we lost sight of a little bit in the west Itrsquos owned by Sherpas itrsquos designed by Sherpas itrsquos made in Kathmandu And itrsquos distributed to everywhere else And therersquos nothing more that we like than to see the product coming back home

When you trek up the Khumbu and you see some Sherpa Adventure Gear coming towards you therersquos that common bond between you Itrsquos the little things like the little prayer flags on the zip pull and on the back the endless knot - the

little things that are really important to the Sherpa people and you see it all through the range Itrsquos hard to describe unless yoursquove spent time with Lakpa and Perba his wife and immersed yourself in the culture but as soon as you do then you get it You totally get it

LR I think we have 11 or 12 kids in education right now in Kathmandu through the Paldorje foundationsKC Children who otherwise just wouldnrsquot have a start in life

LR And the goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate more of those kids who donrsquot have the opportunity

KC Itrsquos great I feel very privileged to be part of it Privileged to be an ambassador Underneath Lakpa Hersquos big daddy Irsquom the little one You donrsquot see my face on the swing tags

See more about Sherpa Adventure Gear at wwwsherpaadventuregearcom

VISIT WEbSITE

know Lakparsquos was involved quite famously in 1996LR Irsquove was involved in one rescue above South Col in 2005 One of the Nepalese women was left behind another climber and myself brought her down I think itrsquos pretty hard to do a rescue on a 8000m peak A lot of people have been asking whether those dead bodies can be brought down or not I mean itrsquos possible but you have to look at to bring one dead body down how many peoplersquos lives are put in danger

KC Just being at 8000m is dangerous whether yoursquore climbing or not just even existing I think climbers and Sherpas need to understand that by making a decision to go to high altitude that if something goes wrong at 8000m it compounds very quickly and the likelihood of effective rescue of someone who is critically injured is slim Itrsquos one of the few places on the planet other than maybe the depths of the ocean where you really do feel quite out on a limb Itrsquos a dangerous dangerous place Wersquove both seen successful rescues but unfortunately wersquove also seen the flipside when things donrsquot go well despite all attempts of near-superheroes like Lakpa and his colleagues

Is it a positive that therersquos a danger element is that what draws people

KC Therersquos a glamour to it to tread where the likes of Hilary and Tenzing trod 60 years ago to go to the highest point on the earth But many people wouldnrsquot be able to get to the top without our help and our support And I do sometimes wonder if the paying clientele - and I donrsquot want to lump everyone in the same boat - understand that They sometimes think that by employing Lakparsquos services with his phenomenal success rate

or myself that not only success is guaranteed but that safety is guaranteed In reality it should be the other way round they should be more concerned about safety than success

Itrsquos amazing how often you get asked lsquoso whatrsquos your success rate on getting people to the toprsquo nobody ever asks lsquowhatrsquos your safety recordrsquo that normally comes later which I always think is very interesting But itrsquos about being very honest with the clients theyrsquore paying a lot of money theyrsquore doing something potentially very dangerous taking them away from their families for a long time You would think that they would fully research this but not everybody does You still have to be very aware of the risks Look at 1996 some of the strongest high altitude leaders there have ever been succumbed in that storm took their leadership away and what was left was a disasterDoes Sherpa Adventure Gear have a role to play in educating westerners about the mountain and the Sherpa people

KC Obviously wersquore both ambassadors for Sherpa Adventure Gear Lakpa is the face of Sherpa Adventure Gear Do you think SAG has a role to playLR The main goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate the Sherpa kids who donrsquot have education back home Seven per cent of our sales go back to the Paldorje Education Fund And as well as that we want to be one of the best climbing outfitters

KC So many people recognise Nepal for what it is itrsquos a hub of trekking itrsquos a hub of mountains itrsquos a hub of the Sherpa people And as westerners we go there all the time and we go there with our western products and our western brands and I think itrsquos fabulous

now that there is a Sherpa brand Tashi Sherpa was born in Khumjung above Namche bazaar in the heart of the Khumbu he grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest As did Lakpa When I first met Tashi Sherpa a number of years ago he said to me itrsquos not about the money hersquos made his money through other means itrsquos about leaving a legacy

And I think thatrsquos a really cool thing to talk about in a day when we can look round the shops and we see these big corporate brands and what Tashi wants to do is to leave something for his people Lakpa how long did you take to walk to school

LR Four hours one way Five days a week

KC So thatrsquos eight hours a day just to get to school because Lakpa wanted to be educated Wersquore soft in the UK we have it on our doorstep Can you imagine having to walk four hours

And Sherpa Adventure Gear stands for the Sherpa people their morals their values theyrsquore a lsquoyes culturersquo people some of the friendliest most welcoming people in the world itrsquos all about community about family some of the values that unfortunately we lost sight of a little bit in the west Itrsquos owned by Sherpas itrsquos designed by Sherpas itrsquos made in Kathmandu And itrsquos distributed to everywhere else And therersquos nothing more that we like than to see the product coming back home

When you trek up the Khumbu and you see some Sherpa Adventure Gear coming towards you therersquos that common bond between you Itrsquos the little things like the little prayer flags on the zip pull and on the back the endless knot - the

little things that are really important to the Sherpa people and you see it all through the range Itrsquos hard to describe unless yoursquove spent time with Lakpa and Perba his wife and immersed yourself in the culture but as soon as you do then you get it You totally get it

LR I think we have 11 or 12 kids in education right now in Kathmandu through the Paldorje foundationsKC Children who otherwise just wouldnrsquot have a start in life

LR And the goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate more of those kids who donrsquot have the opportunity

KC Itrsquos great I feel very privileged to be part of it Privileged to be an ambassador Underneath Lakpa Hersquos big daddy Irsquom the little one You donrsquot see my face on the swing tags

See more about Sherpa Adventure Gear at wwwsherpaadventuregearcom

VISIT WEbSITE

little things that are really important to the Sherpa people and you see it all through the range Itrsquos hard to describe unless yoursquove spent time with Lakpa and Perba his wife and immersed yourself in the culture but as soon as you do then you get it You totally get it

LR I think we have 11 or 12 kids in education right now in Kathmandu through the Paldorje foundationsKC Children who otherwise just wouldnrsquot have a start in life

LR And the goal of Sherpa Adventure Gear is to educate more of those kids who donrsquot have the opportunity

KC Itrsquos great I feel very privileged to be part of it Privileged to be an ambassador Underneath Lakpa Hersquos big daddy Irsquom the little one You donrsquot see my face on the swing tags

See more about Sherpa Adventure Gear at wwwsherpaadventuregearcom

VISIT WEbSITE

Herersquos our regular review of some of the finest outdoor kit on the market Anything that features here is pretty much guaranteed to be worth checking out ndash you can take the word of the Church for thathellip

GEAR REVIEWS

Being the lucky people we are we actually got hold of the Caden last winter in order to put it through its paces in (lucky for us yet again) the best winter in years

And like last winter the Caden is a delight in the snow Itrsquos made from hard wearing Whiteline Gore-Tex which is significantly more breathable and also more durable than previous incarnations which makes it ideal for the big mountain style skiing and riding its built forThe Caden has been designed with an lsquoarticulated patternrsquo that anticipates the posture of a skier or boarder in motion and allows winter layers to move freely inside the shell

If this sounds a bit far-fetched it did feel significantly lsquolooserrsquo in use (in a good way) than other jackets without being in any way bulky ndash this is great when you have several layers on which can be potentially restrictive even uncomfortable

As ever Arcrsquoteryx has included additional touches such as micro seam technology which further aids breathability and reduces the overall weight

Features include a watertight Vislon front zipper which operates smoothly in cold temperatures and is easy to use with gloves a helmet compatible hood thatrsquos designed to rotate with your head generously sized internal mesh dump pockets zippered hand pockets and a powder skirtAdd to that great looks and the Caden is definitely up there as one of the top options for serious skiers and boarders this winterwwwarcteryxcom

ArcrsquoteryxCAdEN JACkETpound520

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Being the lucky people we are we actually got hold of the Caden last winter in order to put it through its paces in (lucky for us yet again) the best winter in years

And like last winter the Caden is a delight in the snow Itrsquos made from hard wearing Whiteline Gore-Tex which is significantly more breathable and also more durable than previous incarnations which makes it ideal for the big mountain style skiing and riding its built forThe Caden has been designed with an lsquoarticulated patternrsquo that anticipates the posture of a skier or boarder in motion and allows winter layers to move freely inside the shell

If this sounds a bit far-fetched it did feel significantly lsquolooserrsquo in use (in a good way) than other jackets without being in any way bulky ndash this is great when you have several layers on which can be potentially restrictive even uncomfortable

As ever Arcrsquoteryx has included additional touches such as micro seam technology which further aids breathability and reduces the overall weight

Features include a watertight Vislon front zipper which operates smoothly in cold temperatures and is easy to use with gloves a helmet compatible hood thatrsquos designed to rotate with your head generously sized internal mesh dump pockets zippered hand pockets and a powder skirtAdd to that great looks and the Caden is definitely up there as one of the top options for serious skiers and boarders this winterwwwarcteryxcom

ArcrsquoteryxCAdEN JACkETpound520

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Ha I challenge you not to pick up a Cerium jacket and covet it slip into it and yoursquoll be desperate for sub-zero temperatures to descend so you can enjoy its warmth to the max

This streamlined lightweight (275g) down hoody uses a mix of 850 fill-power white goose down and Coreloft This is Arcrsquoteryxrsquo lsquoDown Composite mapping systemrsquo which places Coreloft synthetic insulation which retains warmth when wet along the hem collar sleeves and underarmsmdash areas prone to contact with moisture ndash whilst the down lines the core and sleeves where warmth is most needed

Itrsquos ideal as a mid-layer in cold conditions or a stand-alone item in dry cool conditions and it looks so good yoursquoll be quite happy to wear it down the boozer or around town in winter too

ArcrsquoteryxCERIUM LT JACkETpound240

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These stylish pantaloons are just the job for the more discerning skier cos not only do they feel great and keep you warm should you at any point find yourself bereft of your ski pants (well it could happen in all sorts of ways) yoursquoll still cut a dash

The 260gm2 Merino wool tights are medium weight and thus versatile enough to be worn in most conditions other than when itrsquos exceptionally cold and the contrasting colours of the flatlock seams also make them look good

Merino provides great insulation has good wicking properties and even stays warm when dampwet making the Kreklings a good choice for heavy winter use And you can also get a nice matching shirt to go with them

bERGANS kREkLING MENrsquoS TIGHTSpound60

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The NFX is not a pair of goggles for the retiring type - indeed when mankind eventually sets out to conquer Mars it would be no surprise to see the space age looking NFK in the adventurersrsquo backpacks next to their cheese sarnies

The NFX features Dragonrsquos anti-fog technology using - how appropriate - the same anti-fog chemicals as used by NASA for spacecraft windshields and space helmet visors - see we werenrsquot kidding with our Martian reference

The goggles are frameless so you get a great field of vision and theyrsquore helmet compatible and very comfy in use ndash we especially liked that wide field of visions as therersquos nowt worse than the sides of your goggles restricting your view Bear in mind that theyrsquore designed for a lsquolargersquo face though - if you have a small face they may look more like a space helmet on you than ski goggles

You also get a spare lens meaning you can use the NFX in pretty much any conditions and they come with a two-year warranty to go with their cool looks

dragon NFX GOGGLESpound125

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You probably need to be either a very good skier or not in the least bit arsed to wear the Vassi II since theyrsquore brighter than the midday sun - but hey we think thatrsquos great cos when else other than whilst skiing do us blokes get to wear cheerful happy coloursMade from taped Gore-tex 3 layer fabric which has also been DWR-treated the Vassis have a generously sized super-tough scuff guard at the ankles to stop your skis and boots shredding them and a very comfy loose fit

You get hip-to-knee zippered vents on the outside leg and two funky-looking good-sized bellows pockets on the front of the thighs below which are articulated knees for additional comfort

The waist has large Velcro adjusters as well as big belt loops and can be zipped to its partner Vassi jacket to keep snow from getting into places where you really donrsquot want it and the relatively simple design and loose light fit makes for an excellent ski pant which will especially appeal to backcountry riders

Wersquod have liked some more pockets other than just those on the thighs but there again itrsquos not like you have your hands in your pockets when yoursquore riding anyway so itrsquos really no big deal

Haglofs VASSI II SkI PANTSpound380

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This is definitely one of our favourite garments so far this season Build quality is bombroof and you can see that the Compound has been designed with thought and consideration for the realities of backcountry skiing

Utilising super-breathable and super-waterproof award-winning Polartec Neoshell fabric the loose fit is comfortable and itrsquos easy to layer up underneath which is a good thing since the light weight of the Compound means you will need to do so

The pants have all the features you need for a hard day away from the lift lines ndash waterproof full-length side zippers and short crotch zippers for easy ventilation (without sacrificing comfort and durability during a storm) reinforced knees five zipped pockets large Cordura cuff reinforcements internal ankle gators to keep snow out and snazzy belt loop snaps that connect to your jacketrsquos powder skirt

The seams are fully taped and all the zips are waterproof and the fabric is also DWR treated for additional water repellency

Flylow COMPOUNd SkI PANTSpound500

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AVAILAbLE ONLINE ONLy

If yoursquore serious about your riding and you give your gear a lot of stick yoursquoll love the Lab Coat from Flylow relatively new kids on the block from the States who are well into their backcountry skiing and make gear designed specifically for that activity

The Lab Coat is built from the multi-award winning Polartec Neoshell fabric the most breathable waterproof fabric currently available and ideal for the particular demands of skinning up a mountain and tearing back down through powder

The design is really well thought out and features articulated sleeves and shoulders to maximize fit and range of motion a removable powder skirt a

helmet-compatible hood huge pit zips and zipped core venting pockets

Therersquos also one chest pocket (all outer pockets have waterproof zips) and three zipped internal pockets including two huge stash pockets for all your gear when you choose to ski without a pack

This is all rounded off with a removable powder skirts adjustable hem and cuffs and great looks At the time of writing itrsquos too early to have tested the Lab Coat fully in the conditions for which it was intended but after a summer of disappointment at the performance of various Gore-tex products Irsquom looking forward to trying what looks set to be a better performing alternative

Flylow LAb COATpound499

VISIT WEbSITE

AVAILAbLE ONLINE ONLy

Joumlttnar is a British company (despite the name) that launched just two months ago and to judge by this jacket theyrsquore one to watch

Joumlttnar donrsquot produce their gear in bulk and itrsquos also designed in close partnership with their team of sponsored athletes so you end up with a garment thatrsquos thoughtfully designed to work in the harshest mountain conditions over many seasons rather than simply look good for one season

The Fjoumlrm uses seriously warm eco-friendly 850-fill power 973 premium gooseduck down (the numbers are the ratio of goose to duck down) to provide great warmth for weight

In addition the down is treated with DOWN-TEK water repellent insulation which means that if it gets wet it dries more quickly than regular down and it also maintains its loft and insulation properties for longer (the first time I wore the jacket was in pretty heavy rain and although it was only for about 20 minutes or so there wasnrsquot the slightest sign of dampness anywhere)

Indeed this is one of the nicest down jackets Irsquove ever used ndash it doesnrsquot just feel lsquorightrsquo it works properly in that the articulated cut effectively moves with you so that for winter climbing backcountry skiing and the like in especially cold conditions itrsquos just the job

The filling is lsquobody mappedrsquo to provide maximum insulation where you need it most as well as having a box wall construction and oversized zipper baffle to minimise cold spots and the cuffs hem and collar which are the most likely areas to absorb moisture are reinforced with Duoregulation ADVANSA Thremo-cool which probably means no more to you than me but apparently gives great moisture protection

The fit is lsquostreamlinedrsquo but still loose enough to layer up underneath and once yoursquore zipped up and have the super snug Rentex lined collar pulled up and the helmet compatible hood in place you really do feel totally insulated from the elements whilst at the same time being able to operate efficiently whether climbing skiing or drinking a beer

Little things like the oversized insulated storm baffle on the main zip the two zipped handwarmer pockets with front facing insulation Rentex cuff liners and glove compatible zipper pulls all combine to make the Fjoumlrm a jacket thatrsquos a delight to wear

And it compares extremely well in terms of price when compared to similar products so wersquod advise you to listen to the Church when we say check it out if yoursquore looking to go down (as it were) this winter

Joumlttnar FJoumlRM dOWN SkIALL MOUNTAIN JACkETpound295

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This three-section ski pole from MSR has a really useful one-handed trigger-release adjustment which makes it great for winter backcountry adventures when you need a quick adjustment for summit approaches and side-hilling even with your gloves on

You just trap the pole basket beneath your footski pull up on the trigger below the grips and adjust the length to suit Once locked in place the shaft is sturdy and secure

You also get really nice straps with the TR-3s which are very easy to adjust and cradle the outer and heel of your hand very comfortably when poling uphill Even better theyrsquore designed to force-release if the pole becomes lodged in a fall which will prevent injury to you and damage to the pole

Obviously all this technical jiggery-pokery means the TR-3s are not as light as one-piece ski poles (the weight is 599g) but then regular ski poles donrsquot do all the things the TR-3s do ndash and therersquos no reason why you canrsquot use them as walking poles come the summer

MSR dEPLOy TR-3 SkI POLESpound105

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The Lightning Ascents are real snowshoes ndash 22rdquo or 25rdquo in length made from high quality steel (which admittedly makes them relatively heavy ndash almost 4 lbs a pair) and rugged as Grizzly Adams

The price alone tells you that this is a pair of snowshoes that should last for years and should take you anywhere although yoursquore gonna have to be well into snowshoeing to want to splash out to that extentAssuming you are you get frames with excellent edge-to-edge grip and the split teeth of the Ascentrsquos crampons are designed to better distribute forces and offer more continuous contact ndash especially important on hard packed snow and ice

The two-piece independently conforming bindings give a secure freeze-resistant and comfortable attachment regardless of what footwear you wear with them (within reason ndash trainers or flip-flops ainrsquot gonna be a good idea)

However they do take longer to fasten than the

bindings on cheaper snowshoes since there are three forefoot straps and one heel strap ndash hence the security of said binding

I also liked the steel lsquoTelevatorsrsquo set behind the bindings which can be engaged with the flick of a ski pole grip on steep slopes to reduce fatigue and increase traction

And if you decide that some two-feet of snowshoe isnrsquot enough for you you can buy the Lightning Tails add-on lsquoflotation tailsrsquo which give you a further 5rdquo of float in deep powder and can be attached with gloved hands

If yoursquore new to snowshoeing the Lightning Ascent may seem like overkill but as someone with almost 15-years-experience of plodding around in snowshoes I have to say that this is a top quality piece of kit that will probably last a lifetime and for anyone planning on getting seriously into snowshoeing they have got to be worth checking out

MSR LIGHTNING ASCENT 22 ANd 25 pound28000

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MSR LIGHTNING TAILS (SOLd SEPARATELy) pound4500

Right here you have our favourite ski pants this winter Insulated with Primaloft for the cold mid-winter days ahead of us but also waterproof and breathable thanks to the Gore-tex outers the Roslashldal gets it all just right

The cut isnrsquot too loose nor is it too tight the lsquoforest greenrsquo model we tested was neither too bright nor too dull and the features are absolutely bang on

They consist of a custom-fit waist system utilising big Velcro tabs mesh outer thigh zips for ventilation on warmer days really nice effective gaiters and a lsquozip-seal systemrsquo to keep moisture out along with a lsquosnap seal systemrsquo to keep warmth in if yoursquore wearing a compatible Norrona jacket

There are two lined handwarmer pockets a rear pocket and two cargo pockets all zipped and build quality is rock solid ndash when yoursquore wearing the Roslashldal you really do feel like the weather can do its worst and you couldnrsquot give a toss

Norrona RoslashLdAL SkI PANTSpound399

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As a newcomer to a crowded market Jottnar have made a bold statement of intent with extensive marketing a website with gravitas sponsorship of Kendal Mountain Festival and this the most eye-catching piece in their small collection

A confident entrance

The Alfar is a hybrid with a clear purpose of design Warm and light synthetic insulation in the core and low bulk high mobility Polartec Powerstretch Pro in the arms and side panels A high collar frogman hood and genuinely slim fit immediately mark this out as a midlayer for serious alpine pursuits And the colourway is another demonstration of confidence theyrsquore pretty sure they got it right

The fit is crucial for me - many premium brands use the term lsquoalpine fitrsquo and the like but they must be modelling that on body builders Irsquod describe myself as athletic to malnourished but that is not an uncommon physique in the outdoor world If yoursquore similarly skinny then maybe Jottnar is for you

In use the Alfar is warmer than it looks I spent an autumn day filming in North Wales howling winds and much standing around were barely a challenge for this alpinists insulator - and neither should they be But one or two colleagues in down jackets complained of being cold (Highly scientific I know)

Jottnar are aiming high in every way and from this debut it seems therersquos every chance they might conquer the industry giants

Daniel Wildey

Joumlttnar ALFAR MIdLAyER

VISIT WEbSITE

Along with transceiver shovel poles and insurance an ABS pack is something that costs a lot yet you hope yoursquoll never have to use

Well not for itrsquos main purpose although the Patrol is a fine day pack in itself As for the ABS system well at the time of writing it boasted a 97 success rate in the 262 documented cases of it having been used in an avalanche

That alone has got to be worth the cost of the pack if you ski off-piste

If yoursquore caught in a slide you simply pull on the ceramic handle on the left-hand shoulder strap which deploys two high-volume airbags to keep you on top of slide debris by increasing flotation as well as improving your visibility for rescuers

I tried it out with the spare gas canister which is included (although I should point out that I was in my garden rather than in an avalanche) and found it easy to grip and pull the handle (Irsquove had earlier model avy bags on which the handle wasnrsquot that easy to grip) the bags inflated in no time (well three seconds actually) and it gave me the confidence to feel that should the worst happen Irsquove considerably improve my chances of survival if Irsquom wearing the Patrol

The gas canister which inflates the bags is easy to attach as is the handle (you can use the Patrol without them as a regular day pack) and the airbags could be re-packed easily in just a couple of minutes ndash with my previous avy bag it took literally hours to re-pack the bags

The Patrol 24 isnrsquot just a potential lifesaver though itrsquos a great day pack Build quality is pretty bombproof as you might expect given its intended use and although therersquos obviously a weight penalty (the whole shebang weighs 6lbs 9oz) therersquos also a fine range of features including

The North Face PATROL 24 AbS PACkpound750

The Patrol 24 isnrsquot just a potential lifesaver though itrsquos a great day pack Build quality is pretty bombproof as you might expect given its intended use and although therersquos obviously a weight penalty (the whole shebang weighs 6lbs 9oz) therersquos also a fine range of features including

Snow shedding back panel materials to prevent build-up of snow and ice Metal hip-belt buckle for superior breaking resistance during an avalanche Simple stable tuck-away skiboard carry systemBig avalanche tools pocket with organization sleeves and backcountry essentials checklist Internal pockets for gear organization Dual hipbelt pockets Reinforced high-abrasion zones on pack face Safety whistle located on chest buckle The gas canister I mentioned above is provided for practice deployment purposes ndash yes you have to pay to get it refilledreplaced but Irsquod strongly advise using it as intended rather than saving it for the real thing

Yep the Patrol costs a lot - but isnrsquot your life worth pound750

VISIT WEbSITE

The Patrol 24 isnrsquot just a potential lifesaver though itrsquos a great day pack Build quality is pretty bombproof as you might expect given its intended use and although therersquos obviously a weight penalty (the whole shebang weighs 6lbs 9oz) therersquos also a fine range of features including

Snow shedding back panel materials to prevent build-up of snow and ice Metal hip-belt buckle for superior breaking resistance during an avalanche Simple stable tuck-away skiboard carry systemBig avalanche tools pocket with organization sleeves and backcountry essentials checklist Internal pockets for gear organization Dual hipbelt pockets Reinforced high-abrasion zones on pack face Safety whistle located on chest buckle The gas canister I mentioned above is provided for practice deployment purposes ndash yes you have to pay to get it refilledreplaced but Irsquod strongly advise using it as intended rather than saving it for the real thing

Yep the Patrol costs a lot - but isnrsquot your life worth pound750

VISIT WEbSITE

For advanced and expert skiers wanting a boot with a bit more internal space and the best custom fitting the X Pro 120 is a great choice

Backbone Twin Frame and Oversized Pivot technologies are combined to produce powerful energy transmission and outstanding control for fast all condition skiing

The 3600 Custom Shell is heated and moulded in-store to your feet evening out pressure and maximizing retention the 3D Custom Fit liner is heated too further increasing the quality of the fit and ensuring a comfortable precise foothold

Size 245-290 300 315Flex 120Last width 100106

SALOMON X PRO 120

VISIT WEbSITE

Get all the small things right and you make a huge difference says Daniel Wildey

I recently ran a beginner course for adventure photographers and started with a very basic but often overlooked principle if your camera isnrsquot to hand you wonrsquot take pictures Skiing is the worst I remember taking off my pack removing my gloves pulling the case out retrieving the camera etc etc I think I got one shot that day You need to eliminate as many of those steps as possible which is easy with a compact Add in lenses maybe a flash and a tripod at the bare minimum and you donrsquot just need bigger pockets you need a solution

There are hundreds of camera bags out there and plenty of them are called lsquorucksacksrsquo But we adventurers know the difference between a bag with two shoulder straps and a rucksack I own more packs than my girlfriend has handbags and all of them have their use so to build a 48 litre pack with the scope of the f-stop Tilopa BC is an impressive feat

Herersquos the single best compliment I can give the Tilopa BC Even if I wasnrsquot a photographer I would still use this pack for hiking climbing and backcountry skiingmountaineering Before f-stop I had never seen a camera rucksack that could function to the same level as those from the outdoor brands Rather than a camera bag for the outdoors this is mountain gear for photographers

So what makes it a mountain pack Itrsquos tough DWR treated 330D double ripstop nylon with EVA shoulder straps hip belt and raised padded back panelling for ventilation plus ldquoindustrial cross-stitchingrdquo in key areas A good start Then therersquos the features that have come to be standard on mountain packs hydration compatibility (with a mesh holder for the hose) ice axe attachment (with Hypalon garages for the picks) shovel pocket A-frame ski carry and compression straps snowboard carry lightweight aluminium frame to support heavy loads etc

And what makes it a photography pack Lots of well-thought-out features like a square hypalon base to allow it to stand up myriad MOLLE attachment points for any accessory you can imagine ski and board carry doubling up as tripod attachments and even a laptop sleeve for lower altitude use My favourite is the full zip back panel which provides easy access to all your gear - it means you can dump it in deep snow and grab a quick shot without digging through the bag and without worrying about things falling out or snow falling in

The real flexibility of the pack however comes in its interchangeable Internal Camera Units (ICUs) which come in many different sizes to allow a bespoke balance between camera kit and personal kit Most camera bags have customizable padded dividers but being able to change the units altogether is what takes

FSTOP TILOPA bC-1AdVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHERrsquoS PACk

VISIT WEbSITE

pound300

this pack from wild camping with minimal photography kit to full-on mobile studio for a mountain fashion shoot

Irsquove used the Tilopa BC for both those purposes Irsquove used it winter climbing on Ben Nevis and backcountry skiing in the Dolomites Itrsquos not ideal for resort skiing as itrsquos fairly big and heavy compared to what you would usually carry - but that goes with the territory of being an adventure photographer you have to do what your subject does but with three times the gear That said itrsquos a great size for hut-to-hut ski tours and is very compressible Packing this many features into 179kg still impresses me

Success in photography as in mountaineering often

comes down to small factors Since using this pack I have taken photographs that I simply would not have gotten without it because it made the shot easier to get I canrsquot ask for anymore

httpwwwnaturallyparamocoukGarmentsFstop-Shop

VISIT WEbSITE

TOUCHSCREENTRAVELSSmartphones have revolutionised hiking and biking for many of us but what about ski-ing and snowboarding Being able to call and text to find your friends on the slopes certainly make phones invaluable but what about the apps

In this issue Christian Williams has a look at whatrsquos out there for iPhones (with links to Android where available) and if they are really any good

image Dave Silver

Get psychedWith the Church of the Open Sky being only quarterly you may need other publications too UK ski amp snowboard magazine In the Snow (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappinthesnowid329974601mt=8 ) produces a good app ndash full of features deals and news ndash thatrsquos of particular interest to UK readers though itrsquos still worth a look for others Freeskiier (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappfreeskierid516022756mt=8) is similar and also good with many gear reviews though my phone had technical difficulties with much of its content

Limber UpIf yoursquore like me then the first couple of days on the slopes each season get a little more painful each year Then things improve ndash but you can short-circuit this process to not lose valuable slope-time with a bit of physical prep

This is where Skiing Fit (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappskiing-fitid377684671mt=8 ) comes in The apprsquos layout and delivery are a bit dry but all the most useful exercises are in here Squats are the most effective exercise for me so Irsquod recommend a dedicated squats app like Squats 0-100 (pound149 Apple

httpsitunesapplecomgbappsquats-0-100-legs-butt-workoutid612920406mt=8 )

Zero InFor help with planning your ski holiday you can pretty much forget the app world though the slick Skiresortinfo (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappskiresort info-ski-app-skiid493907552mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=deappaffairsskiresort) comes close with all its tick-box-style info and trail maps for hundreds of resorts

Liftopia (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappliftopia-ski-reports-snowid485587348mt=8 ) also deserves a mention for its clean interface short write ups and useful lift-ticket lsquodealsrsquo feature

These deals are probably only of interest if yoursquore lucky enough to have several resorts an easy day- or weekend-trip away though If you are weather and snow report apps are invaluable My pick is the clean and attractive All Snow (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappallsnow-ski-reports-snow-forecastsid417601403mt=8) with its at-a-glance convenience and handy browseable map

image Dave Silver

Get psychedWith the Church of the Open Sky being only quarterly you may need other publications too UK ski amp snowboard magazine In the Snow (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappinthesnowid329974601mt=8 ) produces a good app ndash full of features deals and news ndash thatrsquos of particular interest to UK readers though itrsquos still worth a look for others Freeskiier (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappfreeskierid516022756mt=8) is similar and also good with many gear reviews though my phone had technical difficulties with much of its content

Limber UpIf yoursquore like me then the first couple of days on the slopes each season get a little more painful each year Then things improve ndash but you can short-circuit this process to not lose valuable slope-time with a bit of physical prep

This is where Skiing Fit (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappskiing-fitid377684671mt=8 ) comes in The apprsquos layout and delivery are a bit dry but all the most useful exercises are in here Squats are the most effective exercise for me so Irsquod recommend a dedicated squats app like Squats 0-100 (pound149 Apple

httpsitunesapplecomgbappsquats-0-100-legs-butt-workoutid612920406mt=8 )

Zero InFor help with planning your ski holiday you can pretty much forget the app world though the slick Skiresortinfo (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappskiresort info-ski-app-skiid493907552mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=deappaffairsskiresort) comes close with all its tick-box-style info and trail maps for hundreds of resorts

Liftopia (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappliftopia-ski-reports-snowid485587348mt=8 ) also deserves a mention for its clean interface short write ups and useful lift-ticket lsquodealsrsquo feature

These deals are probably only of interest if yoursquore lucky enough to have several resorts an easy day- or weekend-trip away though If you are weather and snow report apps are invaluable My pick is the clean and attractive All Snow (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappallsnow-ski-reports-snow-forecastsid417601403mt=8) with its at-a-glance convenience and handy browseable map

image Dave Silver

Ski and Snow Report (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappski-and-snow-reportid299120437mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=comzumobisnowreport) is also good but its look is fussier

Ski amp Snow Report (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappski-snow-reportid300412347mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=comskireport) lacked at-a-glance info for my chosen resorts but provided a quick overview of snowfall over the last five days a useful feature the others donrsquot have

Stats are all well and good but sometimes you just want to eyeball the place ndash enter handy and quick Ski Webcams (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappski-webcams-freeid454175434mt=8 ) though its resort list is far from comprehensive And you can lose the apprsquos ads for pound069

Yoursquoll also find webcam links at the Ski Club Snow Reports (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappski-club-snow-reportsid350781416mt=8 ) the app of the of the Ski Club of Great Britain which also features international snow reports so should have it all but it feels a bit too clunky for my liking

Snow SupportA few apps aim to help once yoursquore on the snow

The simple and free Skiing Fit (above) carries quite a few technique tips but yoursquoll have to be good at visualizing body actions based on text Meanwhile at the other end of the all-singing-and-dancing scale is Ski Tips 1 (Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappskitips1id351635939mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=comconjureskitips) the first of a trilogy of technique apps (each pound299) whose video tutorials make it one of the best smartphone instructors out there Of course it canrsquot flag bad habits that may be holding you back but it does provide a no-pressure self-guided learning environment ndash which is ideal for some ndash and itrsquoll save the cost of a few lessons for most others A lsquolitersquo version of the app (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappskitips-liteid477034411mt=8 ) provides a taster

If your mind and body are well beyond the need for lessons and have started to wander off-piste then check out Mammut Safety (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappmammut-safetyid316156014mt=8 ) It offers guidance and tools that help with the avalanche risk assessment process ndash but only in the hands of those who already have a

image Dave Silver

clear idea of the dangers and procedures

Far more universally useful is iTrailmap (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappitrailmap-ski-snowboard-trailid299785387mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=combigairsoftwareiTrailMap) a neat little app which simply allows you to download resort maps to your phone Basic yes but appealing to anyone whorsquos ever struggled with a torn damp paper version in fading light

Track itTracking where how far and fast your activities were has become a big part of the smartphonersquos usefulness in many sports For skiers and boarders Ski Tracks (pound069 Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappski-tracks-gps-track-recorderid365724094mt=8 Android httpsplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsid=comcorecodersskitracks) is the market leader in these things and the yardstick for all the others

A slightly lesser but free alternative is iSki Tracker (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappiski-tracker-for-real-skiersid476298379mt=8 ) which also offers something slightly different in its quest to be a sort of skiersrsquo Facebook If itrsquos just the basics you want then the activity tracker within the All Snow (above) may be enough

Off the snowItrsquos hard to believe the world needs as many racing games as are offered to virtual skiers and snowboarders My pick of the bunch for stunts is Fresh Tracks Snowboarding (free Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbappfresh-tracks-snowboardingid490129379mt=8 ) which is intuitive enough though mastering the moves sometimes becomes a finger version of twister But since I can grind ollie and grab far better here than in reality I probably shouldnrsquot complain

For straightforward racing therersquos Touch Ski 3D (pound199 Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbapptouch-ski-3did309936844mt=8 ) where you control your skis tips with your finger tips Itrsquos an interesting way of doing things but you may end up obscuring much of the screen in the excitement of it all so this is probably best saved for the iPad A free version (Apple httpsitunesapplecomgbapptouch-ski-3d-presented-byid312291745mt=8 ) allows you to try a few courses before committing

Does it stay or does it go Once this article is done Irsquoll be keeping In the Snow Ski Tracks Squats 0-100 iTrailmap Ski Webcams and the All Snow apps And if I was being minimalist about it then only All Snow would stay

image Dave Silver

Cordeacutee des Alpes Verbier You could be forgiven for thinking Verbier has more than enough high end hotels but there again you could also be forgiven for thinking you can never have enough of a good thing

And since here at the Church we are very much in favour of good things the addition of the Cordeacutee des Alpes to Verbierrsquos pantheon (nice wordhellip) of classy hotels last winter was something we could but praise ndash especially since we got an invite to check it out

Naturally enough we hastened forth at maximum velocityhellip

Swiss-Australian owner Marcus Bratter opened the Cordeacutee just before Christmas 2012 with the intention of combining the rich mountaineering history of the re-gion with modern international design

The lovely larch and pine wood exterior offers a modern take on alpine style whilst the rooms fea-ture warm and welcoming deacutecor such as old wood cupboard doors

image Alf Alderson

ROOM WITH A VIEWIn which we sample a very nice hotel with a very nice view

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hand-applied stucco wall finishes hand-planed wood planked floors and hand-knotted Nepalese car-pets

I had space to scatter my ski gear randomly around my large lounge before lighting the fire to add that essential cosy alpine touch then a brief snooze on the king size bed before the tricky decision of whether to enjoy a bath or shower in my large and appropriately lux-urious bathroom or head off for a massage in the hotelrsquos Spa Cinque Monde

I find that tricky decisions are ac-tually quite easy when it comes to spoiling myself so the spa it washellip

The Cinq Mondes spa has a 15 meter swimming pool sauna steam and chill out areas mak-ing it the perfect place to relax and unwind after a solid day of

smacking through the pow like wot Irsquod just had That said I made the perverse decision to go for a sports massage that peculiar mix of relaxation and masochism but it certainly did the trick

I had an appointment with friends at a mountain restaurant not long after wobbling out of the spa oth-

erwise I would have dined in the Cordeacuteersquos restaurant which I am assured by those who have eat-en there is little short of excellent ndash but not to worry it gives me the perfect excuse to return again this winter

wwwhotelcordeecom

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hand-applied stucco wall finishes hand-planed wood planked floors and hand-knotted Nepalese car-pets

I had space to scatter my ski gear randomly around my large lounge before lighting the fire to add that essential cosy alpine touch then a brief snooze on the king size bed before the tricky decision of whether to enjoy a bath or shower in my large and appropriately lux-urious bathroom or head off for a massage in the hotelrsquos Spa Cinque Monde

I find that tricky decisions are ac-tually quite easy when it comes to spoiling myself so the spa it washellip

The Cinq Mondes spa has a 15 meter swimming pool sauna steam and chill out areas mak-ing it the perfect place to relax and unwind after a solid day of

smacking through the pow like wot Irsquod just had That said I made the perverse decision to go for a sports massage that peculiar mix of relaxation and masochism but it certainly did the trick

I had an appointment with friends at a mountain restaurant not long after wobbling out of the spa oth-

erwise I would have dined in the Cordeacuteersquos restaurant which I am assured by those who have eat-en there is little short of excellent ndash but not to worry it gives me the perfect excuse to return again this winter

wwwhotelcordeecom

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A surf movie shot in Russia isnrsquot the commonest thing out there and when the part of Russia thatrsquos featured is Kamchatka yoursquore getting into territory thatrsquos pretty near being a parallel universe

Located in Russiarsquos far east Kamchatka is at the same latitude as Alaska and Norway itrsquos the most volcanic region on Earth it teems with grizzly bears has virtually no roads once you get away from the capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the only way to access the surf in some cases is by helicopter ndash which is what Chris Burkard Ben Weiland and their surf buddies did in order to

shoot much of this movieThat in itself would be enough to pique the interest of both surfers and travellers alike and to be honest this is more of a nicely shot travelogue than a surf vid and therersquos nothing wrong with that Seeing a bunch of American surfers adapt to a world thatrsquos harsh wild beautiful and has water temperatures that never get above 7C is full of interest

Indeed the waves Chris Ben and co discover (literally) rarely get over head high although they are invariably clean and crystal clear the surf sessions that are featured reminded me of cold late winter

days at home in Wales with just a few friends enjoying shapely fun waves

The film catches this well and also succeeds in getting across what a very different place Kamchatka is whether yoursquore a surfer or not I was fortunate enough to visit some of the beaches featured in the movie whilst heliskiing there a few years ago and the sense of isolation and wildness that is the essence of Kamchatka came flooding back to me

The style of footage harks back to surf movies from the 70s as does the laid back acoustic soundtrack

dVd REVIEWRUSSIA THE OUTPOST VOL 1

and I guess for 21st century surfers the only way to emulate our forebears from the previous century is to paddle out at remote locations like the Kamchatka Peninsula

It comes in a nicely presented package including a small booklet of words and pics from the trip and it goes without saying this would make a great Christmas present for the surf explorer in your life

That said I doubt that many surfers would be tempted to make the long and arduous journey to this unique corner of the globe on the strength of the waves alone but if yoursquore looking for a surfari like no other Russia The Outpost certainly points you in the right direction

Available from httpwwwarcticsurfblogcomSee more at httpvimeocom70995691

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VIMEO

and I guess for 21st century surfers the only way to emulate our forebears from the previous century is to paddle out at remote locations like the Kamchatka Peninsula

It comes in a nicely presented package including a small booklet of words and pics from the trip and it goes without saying this would make a great Christmas present for the surf explorer in your life

That said I doubt that many surfers would be tempted to make the long and arduous journey to this unique corner of the globe on the strength of the waves alone but if yoursquore looking for a surfari like no other Russia The Outpost certainly points you in the right direction

Available from httpwwwarcticsurfblogcomSee more at httpvimeocom70995691

VISIT WEbSITE

VIMEO

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Wersquove got samples of the cool new menrsquos toiletries from Wingman wwwworldofwingmancom to be won in the taxing competition below

If you know the answer e mail us at infochurchopen-skycom and the first correct ones out of da hat will soon be looking fresh and smelling good courtesy of Wingman

WINGMAN COMPA lsquowingmanrsquo is

A Your best mate in an emergencyB A bloke who fixes aircraftC Someone who leaps of cliffs without a parachute

Tough hey

Send your answer to compchurchopenskycom

laquo THE 1000 SURFERS PROJECT raquo is a cultural initiative which aims to highlight todayrsquos world surf culture Through a photographic exhibition piecing together 1000 portraits collected on our Facebook page we want to show the diversity of the surfersrsquo profiles from all over the world

Up to now the community has already gathered 250 portraits more than 1200 fans in 40 different countries

To be a part of the project is very easy you just need to like and post a picture of yourself in our Facebook page mentioning your age location and activity Itrsquos not about surfing pictures we want to see who you really are and what surfing means to you It could be a picture of you at work during your free time your travels or whateverhellip Be creative

Be part of this community Itrsquos free easy and open to everyone

Hope to see you soon in our facebook pagelaquo The 1000 Surfers Project raquo team

W W W F A C E B O O K C O M T H E 1 0 0 0 S U R F E R S P R O J E C T

CONTACT

Tom Turner - co-creator+33 6 48 38 46 461000surfersgmailcom

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