Archive for March, 2010

ColdAvengers are at Makalu

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Makalu Peak, known as the “Great Black” has only been summited 323 times and only 13 times by Americans. It’s not like it was ignored, it is just really hard and cold. Located 14 miles east of Mt. Everest, Makalu stands alone and the summit sits at 8,462 meters (27,765 feet). It is climbing season in Nepal and the ColdAvenger will be there supporting two teams–the Valandre and Shared Summits. Both expeditions are attempting Makalu’s summit.  The summit ridge marks the border between Nepal to the South and Tibet to the North.

SHARED SUMMITS EXPEDITION

Chris Warner, team captain of this year’s Shared Summits expedition to Makalu is pioneering a new route up the southeast ridge of Makalu. He is a ColdAvenger customer and is excited about his venture. His partner, Marty Schmidt, also a happy customer, along with a two-person camera crew will document the expedition. Chris explains, “We are planning on shooting the expedition, including the climbing in HD. Our hope is to create a film (or even better a short series) that captures the overwhelming power of the mountain and the strength a small team must harness to meet the challenge.”

Courtesy: Shared Summits

Chris tells us he is excited to be using the ColdAvenger in this harsh climate. Nothing beats cold weather airway injury at high altitudes like a ColdAvenger and we are happy to be a part of and help sponsor this monumental new route attempt. In a quote from ExplorersWeb Chris explains, “We are hoping to climb a new route to the summit of Makula SE (7803 meters) and then follow the SE Ridge to the (main) summit…Our planned route lies between the SW Ridge (opened by the Czechs in 1976) and the SE Ridge (Japanese climb in 1970).The route will ascend snow gullies and rock bands, up the 7000 foot face to Makula SE. Here is joins with the Czech and Japanese routes along the SE ridge, knife-edge and gendarme guarded all the way to the summit.”

Despite having a small team, Chris and Marty are among the leading 8000 meter American climbers with more than 40 years of experience in the Himalayas and more than 55 years exploring the planet’s tall peaks.

Courtesy: Shared Summits. Chris on K2's Abuzzi Ridge

Chris is the team leader and has been on more than 160 international mountaineering expeditions with 13 summits of 8000+peaks. When not orienteering in places with little oxygen, Chris is the owner of Earth Treks, Inc which operates three of the largest and best-known climbing gyms in the US, operates an  international guide service and a rock/ice climbing school. Then on the side, after work, he help pen and take photos for High Altitude Leadership, a top 25 release on Amazon.

Courtesy: Shared Summits. Marty atop Mount Cook, 208

Marty Schmidt has spent years guiding peaks such as Everest and Cho Oyu under his international guiding operation. He held speed ascent records on both Cho Oyo (which he then skied from summit) and Aconcagua. He then became a member of the Air Force “PJs” who are the only part of the military who are trained to conduct personal recovery operations in hostile or denied areas as a primary mission. He lives in New Zealand with his wife and has two children name appropriately, Denali and Sequoia.

VALANDRE EXPEDITION

ColdAvenger climber Chris Klinke

Dr. Eric Meyer and Chris Klinke, both world class mountaineers and ColdAvenger pro athletes are also headed to the Nepalese mountains this spring with the Valandre Makula Expedition. Both athletes are part of a five person team which includes Brad Johnson, Robbie Klimek and Sherpa Chhiring Dorje. Valandre is sponsoring this team to Makula and the expedition starts on April 14th.

Dr. Meyer studies how cold weather affects the respiratory system and has extensive experience climbing in North and South America as well as the Himalayas  with Chris Klinke, a passionate climber who has experience all over the world on 8000+ meter summits. His goals of mountain climbing are inspiring and he proves that you can get into the sport at any age. At age 35, Chris dedicated his passion full time to the mountains.

ColdAvenger climber Dr. Eric Meyer

Here at the ColdAvenger HQ, I’ll be waiting to hear for updates from both camps on how the trek is going! Updates to follow.

Good luck teams.  Return safely.

John B. Sullivan, III aka ColdAvenger Pro

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Posted in asthma, cold weather, March 2010, mountain climbing | 1 Comment »

New ColdAvenger Athlete Lorin Paley

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Lorin Paley, an 18-year-old telemark racer, from Steamboat Springs, CO is on board as a Talus-sponsored athlete sporting the ColdAvenger. She is a motivated  US National telemark ski racer who is dominating her sport this season. Lorin has placed in almost every race she entered.  Last season, Lorin won two gold medals at the Junior World Championships in Kreischberg, Austria in the Sprint and Sprint Classic. She also place second overall at the 2009 US Nationals in a tiebreaker based on overall time.

I was first approached by Lorin’s parents at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City in 2009.  Lorin competes all over the world she felt the ColdAvenger would be useful. In an email she sent to me she asked whether the ColdAvenger would be appropriate for her. “…because temperatures were 25C while I was racing down the course at high speeds… I have never raced in such severe temperatures. As it turned out I took 3rd place, but find myself sick for the next set of races in Rjukan. Perhaps if I had your ColdAvenger face mask I would not be sick.”

courtesy: Lorin Paley

Now fully protected with the ColdAvenger Pro, Lorin is racing all over the world in World Cup Telemark races in Norway, US, Spain, France, Bjorli, and Rjukan. A number of these races resulted in some impressive podium stands for Lorin. This is quite a great accomplishment for a young woman competing on a global stage. Not only is she busy training and racing, she is working to bring a telemark introductory class to middle school students in Steamboat Springs, CO and helps to organize a regional races in that state. She also works as an Outdoor Ambassador in the Outdoor Nation Program which focuses on getting youth involved in the outdoors.

I just received an email from Lorin in Europe updating me on her races and what she’s up to.

courtesy: USTA website

Hi John,

Today was a beautiful day in the Pyrenees. There was no rain and the sun was shining. I didn’t think telemark races could occur during good weather, but alas, today proved me wrong. Since I took so many days off healing my calf and didn’t do the gates during the training day, I skied the same way Serena Williams plays tennis: it took me a set to warm up. The first course was super quick and turny, an unforgiving situation for my sluggish feet. I made the jump line way too easily (men’s line plus), but overall I was in fifth (after three mystery penalties). Second run was a taste of redemption. I executed a strong run in the gates, getting good angulation at the tops of my turns, and had another strong skate, but since they moved the jump line down I didn’t make it. Amelie won(of course), Sandrine came in second, Susan Scheller, who was in third, crashed, and Katinka had a bobble, so at the end of the day, I ended up in third.

So that’s the update folks. In between cheese tastings, shopping in Barcelona, and otherwise getting lost somewhere in the Spanish countryside, a telemark race broke out and I did pretty good. Looking forward to another sunny day.

Hasta luego,

Lorin Paley

Results: http://home.online.no/~tgunlei/wcspa110w.pdf or telemarkski.org

Thanks Lorin! Good luck with the rest of the season and stay warm over there in Europe Look forward to your next update.  And congratulations on joining the ColdAvenger team.

John B. Sullivan, III aka ColdAvenger Pro

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Posted in cold weather, March 2010, Recreational Health and Performance, skiing, Uncategorized | Comments Off

ColdAvenger Goes the Freezing-Cold-Bike-Race Distance

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Guest blogger: Andy Magness– Andy competed in the Arrowhead 135– an ultra distance winter mountain bike race in International Falls, MN. It’s fondly referred to as the “icebox of the nation.”  Andy tried the ColdAvener in the sub-zero endurance race.  The document above is the “face” of an endurance race like this.  Andy is pretty amazing, and things went well for him and the ColdAvenger–read on for his experience.

From Andy Magness: Before I got my hands on the ColdAvenger, I’d been using another type of balaclava with a different type of ‘re-breather’ technology.  It worked reasonably well but wasn’t particularly comfortable to wear, required a bit of extra effort to breathe through (not great for high aerobic endeavors), and developed quite an odor after only mild use.  Still, I stuck with it, thinking that this was the trade-off for breathing slightly warmer and moister air during the winter months up here in North Dakota.  I was wrong.

The ColdAvenger arrived only days before my race so I didn’t have a chance to seriously try it out before lining up at the start line.  I wasn’t sure how it was going to work – it was absent the insert that I was used to.  I was trusting my brother’s glowing recommendation – he’d just returned from a 4 day adventure race in the Middle East where he’d been given one by a team-mate.  He hadn’t ever put it to the test in extreme cold though, and was in turn relying on testimony from Eric Myers, one of the Talus Outdoor Technology athletes.  I was hoping this house of cards wouldn’t come crashing down – I was going as light as possible and didn’t have a back-up in case this critical piece of gear failed.

Of course, it didn’t (or else I wouldn’t be writing this!). I found it to be comfortable, odor-free (long past the time when all of my other clothing reeked of damp sweat that never evaporates), and most of all, warm.  My guess (and the folks at Talus Outdoor Technologies can correct me if I’m wrong) is that the medical-grade ‘pocket’ in front of your mouth and nose retains some of the warm exhaled air, which serves to re-warm and humidify the air of your next inhale.  I didn’t experience any labored breathing as I had with the other mask.  One other unexpected perk of the ColdAvenger was that the ice doesn’t freeze on your face!

The difficult part of a race like this occurs in the middle of the first night — after more than 16 hours of constant activity, the body’s ability to thermoregulate diminishes.  When that happens in conjunction with decreased activity due to sleepiness and decreased temperatures (like -15 F) it can spell trouble.  Add to this a situation in which the decision to travel as light as possible (as they say, if you bring all gear required to spend a comfortable night out, you’ll use it) is made, and gear choice is a true matter of survival.  I didn’t have a big parka, no down jacket, no full sleeping pad.  When my body temperature dropped after the sleep-monsters attacked, the ColdAvenger was more than a nice thing to have along, it was an essential one.

Thanks Andy! What an amazing story and amazing race. Good luck to you in future races.  No go get some sleep!

John B. Sullivan, III aka ColdAvenger Pro

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Posted in cold weather, March 2010 | Comments Off

ColdAvenger in The Polar Challenge

Monday, March 1st, 2010
Training Norwary-Dell Wiengarten

Training Norwary--Courtesy Dell Wiengarten

The ColdAvenger is headed north.  Way north.  We’re helping a racer protect his lungs and airway in The Polar Challenge this spring, and we couldn’t be more excited.

The Polar Challenge is a 320-nautical mile race from Resolute Bay, Canada to the 1996 position of the Magnetic North Pole.  Racing in teams of three, participants cover some of the most extreme, beautiful terrain on Earth. The race has been held between mid-April to mid-May every year since 2004 and is a televised event in 107 countries. Teams take approximately four weeks to complete the race. Teams usually Nordic ski between 14-18 hours per day with minimal sleep.

Training Norwary-courtesy of Dell Wiengarten

Training Norwary-courtesy of Dell Wiengarten

Here’s what Philip Hayday-Brown, the Operations Director says about the training that goes into this challenge:

First step is the Norway training which happens in January, during the training they learn all the skills they need to be able to survive and race in the arctic environment. The main skills being learning how to cross country ski, work the stoves, set up the tent and how to deal with polar bears.

Second step is the training in the Arctic, the teams are based in Resolute Bay, one of the most Northerly communities. While there they undergo more of the same training they had in Norway but this time in the actual environment they will be racing in. A number of different skills will be taught here such as shot gun practice, making ice runways and a lot more on polar bear drills.

After 2 days training around the hotel they are then taken out on a mini expedition (which lasts 3 days) to test their equipment and to acclimatizes to the conditions. The teams then have 1 more night in the hotel before setting off on the 5 day acclimatization ski to the start line – this is where the teams iron out any problems and get used to traveling for 10-12 hours a day.

Once at the start line they get one nights rest then they line up, we shoot the gun to start the race and they’re off and for the first time they are on their own in one of the worlds last real wildernesses. There are 2 checkpoints on route where they are resupplied with food and fuel before heading out again, eventually reaching the 1996 magnetic North pole position.

Once finished they are picked up by a twin otter aircraft and flown back to Resolute Bay, then on the next flight back to Ottawa then home. The next time they will meet the other racers is at the awards dinner, where the winning team receive the trophy.

Race Route-Courtesy of Polar Challenge Dell Weingarten, from Nevada, is one of this season’s competitors, and used the ColdAvenger while training in Norway. He loved it and is planning to take it with him for the duration of the expedition. His two teammates are Debbie Halbert from Hawaii and Ellen Piangerelli from Rhode Island. All three entered a contest from Wired Magazine to qualify for the Polar Challenge.  His team beat out hundreds of applicants and was chosen as the first all-American team to enter.

Dell says, “I had a great training week in Norway, I liked the mask, but was only able to try it out to -10 F.Skiing and hiking 368 miles in the arctic, pulling a 100 lb sled, melting snow for our water and keeping an eye out for polar bears.  It is amazing what some people do for fun.”

Good luck Dell! Watch out for Polar Bears and wear your mask!

Training Norwary 078

John B. Sullivan, III aka ColdAvenger Pro

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Posted in cold weather, February 2010 | Comments Off