SS 16
FRENCH ALPS - LA GRAVE
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHANDELIER
FULFILL
YOUR DREAMS #livewithoutlimits
INDEX
AIR
06–11 SKY RUNNER
ANDREAS STEINDL
ROCK
TERREX X-KING
24-25 RUN LIKE YOU RIDE
WATER
16–19 AMBITION TO FLY
SPRING SUMMER
ICE
12-15
SASHA DIGIULIAN
EIGER DREAMS
MUD
20-23 HAWAIIAN FUN
KEVIN JORGESON
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHANDELIER
SKY RUNNER
6
LIGHT, FAST, AND FEARLESS: ANDY STEINDL’S INCREDIBLE ULTRA-RUN ACROSS FIVE 4,000-METER PEAKS IN A DAY
Most climbers dream of climbing the Matterhorn once in their lifetime. For Andy Steindl, it’s just casual training. Only 26 years old, he has climbed the Matterhorn over 80 times and holds the speed record (2:57h) from Zermatt. He dreamed even bigger: running from Zermatt to Saas Fee, while crossing five 4,000-meter peaks, in a single day. Impossible? Andy, with an incredible time of 7:45:44, just proved otherwise.
30.66 KM
FROM ZERMATT NAME ANDREAS STEINDL
AGE 26
LIVING IN ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
PASSION TRAIL & MOUNTAIN RUNNING
ALPINE START
CHILD OF THE MOUNTAINS
At 2:55 a.m., Andy Steindl stepped out of his home and headed toward the church square of Zermatt. Wearing a 3/4-length tight, a longsleeve shirt, and trail-running shoes, Andy looked like he might be going for a simple jog before work, and not a serious alpine traverse of five 4,000-meter peaks. Andy carried a small backpack, too. In it were the bare essentials: gloves, crampons, a light ice axe, three energy bars, four gels, and a 1.3-liter water bladder. He was planning to run from Zermatt to Saas Fee, taking a 30.66-kilometer route that crossed five 4,000-meter peaks, including the Dom, which is Switzerland’s tallest mountain lying entirely within its borders. And while Andy might have felt a bit nervous, he was not afraid. “If you are afraid, you know that something went wrong or you made a mistake,” said Andy. “Preparation is therefore most important. When combined with proper respect for the mountains, you can minimize risk.”
Growing up in the shadow of the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Andy has always been in the mountains. From the ages of 8-13, Andy participated in ski races, and realized he was a gifted athlete. “Early on I realized that endurance was something I was naturally pretty good at,” said Andy, who won the Ski Mountaineering World Championships in 2013 with the Swiss national team. At 14, Andy climbed the Matterhorn with his parents, both mountaineers, for the first time. Over a dozen years later, he’s climbed the Matterhorn more than 80 times, including his speed record from Zermatt. As Andy grew older, his passions expanded. Ski touring, mountain biking, paragliding, and rock and ice climbing. And, of course, running. “The steeper the better,” said Andy. “The faster you are, the more you see, the more you experience.”
TO SAAS FEE
5 7
THE PERFECT DAY
8
“I can see Taeschhorn and the Dom from my home,” said Andy. “I was eager to climb them. But the descent from the Dom is quite tricky. I wanted to find a safe way down to the valley, since I’m on my own out there. That’s why I chose the route across the five peaks.” Those peaks are: Alphubel (4,206m), Taeschhorn (4,491m), Dom (4,545m), Lenzspitze (4,294m) and Nadelhorn (4,327m). In 2013, Andy made his first crossing and completed the route in nine hours and three minutes — an unbelievable time. But, for Andy, the experience only made him realize he could possibly do it even faster. “Many factors have to come together,” said Andy. “The weather needs to be good and I must be in excellent shape, both physically and mentally.”
» THE FASTER YOU ARE, THE MORE YOU SEE, THE MORE YOU EXPERIENCE. «
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN 4100M
THE
Ridge from Taeschhorn to Dom
NICEST LINE Also, the conditions in the mountains must be perfect, too, meaning not too much snow, and frozen terrain. It took two whole years for conditions to once again align. At 3:15 a.m. at the church square of Zermatt, Andy started his stopwatch and was off running into the dark. By sunrise, he was already on the Alphubeljoch glacier, moving like lightning. “The very first sun beams fill you with so much joy. It really makes you feel alive again.” By the time he reached his first summit, Alphubel, he was 22 minutes ahead of schedule. Next, on the summit of Taeschhorn, he was 41 minutes ahead. The next stretch, from Taeschhorn to Dom, is the most dangerous section. “The rock on this ridge is very brittle,” said Andy. “I must be very focused.” He completed this section in just over an hour, then continued down the glacier, passing several mountaineers, who were rather surprised to see a person dressed like a jogger blazing across the snow-covered peaks.
7H 45MIN
TRAIL At the six-hour, seven-minute mark, Andy stood atop his fourth 4,000-meter mountain. He was exhausted, and felt as if he wasn’t in good shape. But his time suggested otherwise. His legs were burning and his lungs were on fire. But he pushed on, crossing the top of Nadelhorn and descending down to the church square of Saas Fee. Exhausted, he pressed the stop button on his watch: 7 hours 45 minutes 44 seconds. He had just beaten his previous record by over an hour. He couldn’t believe it. “I thought my watch was broken at first!” Andy admitted. “It was an amazing day for me. I’m tired but satisfied.” For Andy, achieving new speed records is just a matter of having the courage to dream. “Only the ones who are brave enough to dream have the power to fight for their dreams,” he said. “You need to be brave to be able to fight again and again.”
DOM 20,86 KM 5:23’52.0 4500 M
ALPHUBEL 16,78 KM 3:11’20.0 4161 M
NADELHORN 23,54 KM 6:37’08.0 4278 M
10 ZERMATT 0,0 KM 0:0’00.0 1600 M
TAESCHHORN 19,53 KM 4:20’24.0 4446 M
SAAS FEE 30,66 KM 7:45’44.4 1834 M LENZSPITZE 22,89 KM 6:07’44.0 4245 M
» IT WAS AN AMAZING DAY FOR ME, I AM TIRED BUT SATISFIED. «
RUNNING
CONTROL THE GROUND TERREX AGRAVIC This lightweight but stable shoe is a must-have for everyone who loves to run in the mountains. The revolutionary BOOST™ cushioning technology provides more energy return than any other cushioning ma-
terial in the industry. In addition, the CONTINENTAL® rubber outsole ensures excellent grip even at the highest speeds - on dry as well as on wet ground.
FULL LENGTH BOOST™ MIDSOLE OFFERS ENDLESS ENERGY RETURN
11 ABRASION RESISTANCE WELDINGS FOR OPTIMAL PROTECTION
CONTINENTAL® OUTSOLE FOR EXTRAORDINARY CONTROL OF ANY TERRAIN
EIGER DREAMS
SASHA DIGIULIAN DREAMS BIG AND FINDS PATIENCE ON THE EIGER’S MASSIVE NORTH FACE
EIGER NORTH FACE
Eiger, 3,970 m SWITZERLAND
Sasha DiGiulian and Carlo Traversi, two of America’s best rock climbers, were looking for a new challenge when they decided to team up and go after the infamous Eiger North Face, with their sights set on the mountain’s toughest route. After a month of battling bad weather, the climbers settled for success on another route. The real reward, it turned out, was surviving a terrifying adventure of a lifetime.
THE WALL IS MASSIVE
DREAMING BIG The saying goes, you never know what you’re capable of achieving unless you try. In the course of her already remarkable climbing career, Sasha DiGiulian has shown that willingness to throw herself into the unknown. It’s a mentality that has earned her 9a redpoints, the World Championship Title and national championships. “My first impression of the Eiger was that it is massive, intimidating and just outright scary,” says Sasha. “I knew I was out of my element.” Sasha had her eyes set on the Eiger’s hardest route: La Paciencia (5.13b), a 23-pitch, 900-meter route that was first climbed in 2008 by Ueli Steck and Stephan Siegrist, two of Europe’s best alpinists. La Paciencia hadn’t seen a female ascent, and Sasha hoped to be the first. She enlisted the support of her friend Carlo Traversi, one of the strongest, and most motivated, climbers in the U.S. When Carlo and Sasha first began climbing La Paciencia, however, the reality of their objective began to sink in. “I just kind of freaked out and felt a little nauseous,” Sasha said on the wall. “I’m really scared.”
NAME SASHA DIGIULIAN
HOME TOWN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - USA
CURRENT JOB PROFESSIONAL CLIMBER AND FULL-TIME STUDENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK CITY
AGE 23
13
MAGIC SUCCESS Though it was a little difficult to switch objectives after investing so much work, Carlo and Sasha moved their focus to Magic Mushroom, which is nearly as hard and as long as La Paciencia, stays drier — and also hadn’t seen a female ascent. They rappelled in from the top, using fixed lines to return each night to their camp on the summit. After three days, they were finally rewarded with success when they climbed Magic Mushroom without a fall.
STARTED CLIMBING AGE 6
HARDEST REDPOINTS 5.14D
HARDEST ONSIGHT 5.14A
FINDING PATIENCE
14
All climbers know that sometimes you don’t get to choose when you climb a mountain. It’s the mountain that decides. Over the next three weeks, Sasha and Carlo battled the Eiger for that right to stand on top. However, they encountered numerous setbacks, from wet rock to sickness to bad weather. At one point, rock fall struck Carlo, leaving his face bloody. “It was quite apparent that the danger was real and imminent,” said Sasha. Soon, they realized they needed a new plan. That’s when Roger Schäli, a Swiss professional alpinist, recommended trying a different route: Magic Mushroom (5.13a), a 20-pitch, 600-meter sport climb that he and Christoph Hainz established in 2007. “We had accomplished almost all of the hardest pitches,” says Sasha. “It was really difficult to have waited for so long and to not have been able to go for the completion of the route, but we realized that we had less than a week left and the route did not appear to be drying.”
» IN ORDER TO EXPAND YOUR COMFORT ZONE, YOU MUST STEP OUTSIDE OF IT AND FACE WHAT YOU ARE FEARFUL OF AND WHAT IS UNKNOWN. «
“Ultimately, our goal was to free-climb the North Face of the Eiger,” says Sasha. “And we did that.” For Sasha, the trip was an important learning experience — and an affirmation of her core belief that you never know what you’re going to achieve unless you open yourself up to the possibility of failure.“
» COMMIT YOURSELF TO WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT. «
MAGIC MUSHROOM
“The Eiger was the epitome of being something beyond my comfort zone,” she says. “This was a challenging goal for me because it was a step into the unknown. Being pushed to exhaustion and realizing the dream encourages me to take more chances. You never know until you try.”
AMBITION TO FLY REALIZING HIS CHILDHOOD DREAM, JEAN-BAPTISTE CHANDELIER FINDS ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
NAME JEAN-BAPTISTE CHANDELIER
AGE 30
LIVING IN EMBRUN, FRANCE
PASSION PARAGLIDING
To see Jean-Baptiste Chandelier soaring and spiraling through the air in a paraglider is to witness a figure at once pushing the limits of life and living life to the fullest. But behind all those fearless flights through the air is both the playfulness of a child and the analytical approach of an engineer. For Jean-Baptiste, it all comes back to the one dream he has always had: the lifelong pursuit of flight.
CLOTH, STRINGS AND SKY Like most young boys, Jean-Baptiste wanted to grow up to be just like his dad. His father, a helicopter pilot, instilled a strong respect for flight in Jean-Baptiste, while also introducing him to many other outdoor sports, such as climbing and skiing. However, Jean-Baptiste’s dreams of flying a helicopter came to an end when his eyesight tested slightly below the acceptable standards needed to become a pilot. Aviation, it seemed, wouldn’t be part of his future. At 18, however, Jean-Baptiste discovered paragliding, and the sport would forever change his life. “From the first flight, I fell in love with paragliding,” he says. “With just a piece of cloth and strings, the sky opens to you and the possibilities are endless.” Being alone, up in the air, was intense, especially as a beginner. “The paraglider was in the middle of nowhere,” says Jean-Baptiste. “I had a feeling of floating. It was really soft. I was being carried away without much control and was completely bewildered.” Committed to improving his skills, Jean-Baptiste took a three-week intensive training course. He cites his analytical approach to risk for being the reason he stays safe up in the air. “I anticipate and calculate,” he explains. “There is no room for the unknown. Before I start a new maneuver, I watch a lot of videos to understand the technical and theoretical aspects of it. This is also why I am never in a stressful situation and I never get scared. I am confident and in control.”
CAN’T GET ENOUGH
» I WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE DREAM OF FLYING. «
Soon Jean-Baptiste gained recognition for his aerial feats and maneuvers. Paragliding has opened up a whole new world of adventure and travel that would make his father proud. He also continuously practiced his ground-handling skills with his paraglider. He improved his aerobatics, taking the time to perfect his approach. He bought an inflation sail and spent a lot of time practicing how to maneuver the wing close to the ground, something most paragliders don’t usually do.
NEW WINGS Jean-Baptiste always had a vision: to fly a paraglider really close to the ground, heightening the sensation of speed and flight — like in his childhood dreams. One day, he forgot his normal sail and had to use a different one, which wasn’t suited for aerobatics. The experience brought him back to that original childlike love for flying. Starting from this day, he developed a completely different way to fly. “On that day, I had an amazing time,” he says, “flying down the mountains, close to the ground, slaloming between the trees. I remembered that in my childhood dreams, that was the way I wanted to fly. Experiencing it made me realize I had the technical level to fly like in my childhood dreams. Now I am an optimist and I am convinced that if you surround yourself with positive people and things, you can fulfill all your dreams.”
17
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climbing small passages, the TRAXION速 outsole helps control the ground on short runs and when moving fast in the mountains.
STEALTH速 RUBBER CLIMBING ZONE IN THE FOREFOOT FOR UNBEATABLE GRIP
INCREASED FLEXIBLITY AND LIGHTWEIGHT
TRAXION速 OUTSOLE TO ENHANCE GROUND CONTROL AND GRIP
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POLARTEC® ALPHA® OFFERS SUPERIOR BODY CLIMATE REGULATION
19
HEAT SEALS HOLD IN HEAT
THERMAL ZONE TERREX SKYCLIMB ALPHA JACKET The terrex Skyclimb Alpha Jacket is an active insulation jacket offering the advantages of the POLARTEC® Alpha® technology. While keeping warm like a thick fleece when you are not in motion, it won’t let you overheat during highpulse activities thanks to optimized breath-
ability and moisture management. With this piece you don’t need to change clothes during on and off activities, which means less weight and less to carry while ski touring or mountaineering.
HAWAIIAN FUN NAME
KEVIN JORGESON
BORN
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA - USA
AGE 31
AFTER THE DAWN WALL, KEVIN JORGESON FINDS NEW MOTIVATION WHILE DEEP-WATER SOLOING IN HAWAII
Last year, Kevin Jorgeson dug deep and completed the most difficult route of his life: the Dawn Wall (5.14d/9a) of El Capitan in Yosemite. Months earlier, Kevin had lost a dear friend, who died in a climbing accident. Kevin knew he needed a break. Finally, nine months after the Dawn Wall, Kevin traveled to Hawaii to try deep-water soloing. A little stress-free fun on the Big Island ended up being just what he needed.
STRESS-FREE FUN AFTER DAWN After seven years of continuous effort, Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell finally completed the Dawn Wall (5.14d/9a) of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. After 19 days of living on the wall in January 2015, Jorgeson and Caldwell achieved their hard-won dream of sending the hardest, steepest big-wall free climb in the world — while the entire world watched as every major newspaper and television network covered the climb. In climbing, the biggest projects can sometimes take much more out of us than just ripped skin, torn muscles and sore feet. They can take a lot of mental energy, too. But as Kevin Jorgeson discovered, resetting that mental energy can take a lot longer than you think. “The Dawn Wall was such a high-pressure situation,” says Kevin. “As soon as we finished the Dawn Wall, I said to myself, ‘I want to go deep-water soloing’. I wanted to do some climbing that was just mellow, not be stressed and not climb at my limit. Just go out and have fun.”
» I BELIEVE THE HARDEST CHALLENGES PRESENT THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES. «
21
HAWAII 5.0
22
The cold mist swayed gently all morning before the sun finally burned it away and revealed the black volcanic sea cliffs of South Point, Hawaii — named as it is the southernmost point in the United States. The cliffs are popular among the cliff-diving locals, who leap into the Pacific waters from a diving board constructed at the rim. Climbers have begun to explore the deep-water soloing potential on the sharp volcanic cliffs, too, establishing various routes up to 5.11 and 35 feet tall. Nothing extreme — just a perfect introduction to the wild world of deep-water soloing. “Going deep-water soloing for the first time was all about starting down this path of possible reinvention, to see if I would like it,” says Kevin. “And you know what? I liked it a lot!” Being free above the water, climbing easy routes to 5.11, and enjoying the unique beauty of climbing in an ocean environment was exactly what Kevin needed. But for Kevin and his fiancée, Jacqui Becker, the trip to Hawaii wasn’t just about climbing. It was also about visiting the family of Brad Parker, his dear friend who had died while soloing Matthes Crest in Tuolumne in 2014. “Brad fell right before the Dawn Wall season,” says Kevin, “and that derailed a lot of my motivation. I just couldn’t focus. I had never grieved before.” Spending time with Brad’s brother and his family in Hawaii was Kevin’s opportunity to finally grieve. “It was healing for both me and Jacqui to be with Brad’s family. I think we needed that more than we knew.”
DEEP-WATER
» I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO DEEP-WATER SOLOING. «
RESETTING THE MOTIVATION “Hawaii was a reminder that there are other ways of experiencing climbing that are not so crazy and intense,” says Kevin. “It was about just going climbing because I love climbing.” Finally, nine months after the Dawn Wall, Kevin is beginning to feel that swell of mental energy rising up like a wave. And now, that old drive to tie into a big project is beginning to emerge. “After Hawaii, I’m finally psyched to go back to El Capitan and look around up there. I think there are a lot of other routes to do on that wall.”
SOLOING
»
STARTED CLIMBING AGE 10
HARDEST BIG-WALL FREE CLIMB DAWN WALL (5.14D/9A)
HARDEST HIGH-BALL BOULDER AMBROSIA (V11 X)
RUN LIKE
YOU RIDE TERREX X-KING
Engineered together with the CONTINENTAL速 wheel experts, the terrex X-KING offers the ultimate grip to run on the same trails where you ride your mountain bike. The terrex X-KING offers everything for your perfect mountain run: light weight, ground control, protection and extraordinary grip through CONTINENTAL速 rubber. SPEED LACES FOR FAST AND SNUG LACING
24
TIRE-SPECIFIC MOLDING CONSTRUCTION FOR MAXIMUM STABILITY AND WEIGHT REDUCTION
FULL LENGTH CONTINENTAL速 OUTSOLE FOR EXTRAORDINARY GRIP IN WET AND DRY CONDITIONS
25
SWITZERLAND - NORTH FACE EIGER
SASHA DIGIULIAN
STEP
INTO THE UNKNOWN #livewithoutlimits
IMPRINT live without limits – spring/summer 2016 is the official adidas outdoor catalogue with editorial content of adidas AG. The catalogue is published twice a year.
PUBLISHED BY adidas AG World of Sports Adi-Dassler-Straße 1 91074 Herzogenaurach Germany
C O N C E P T & R E A L I S AT I O N Ludwig / Studio Polenta
PHOTOGRAPHY Tristan Lebeschu, Keith Ladzinski, Frank Kretschmann, Julien Becker, Michael Portmann
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