Ian Hall finished second overall in the 6633 Ultra in March 2013. We want to say congrats on the amazing accomplishment! The 6633 Ultra is a 352-mile race from Eagle Plains in the Yukon to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk which is through the Arctic Circle. This race is a non-stop, self-sufficient foot race. At the beginning of the 2013 race there were 20 starters and only four that finished. Hall’s race time was six days and 19 hours which earned him second place. Check out the pictures below of him at the Arctic Circle and during the race wearing his favorite cold weather face mask, the ColdAvenger!
Reasearcher and ColdAvenger athlete, Hari Mix, is attempting to climb Lhotse without oxygen this spring with Chris Klinke and Dr. Eric Meyer. Hari is also a part of the The Extreme Environments-Everyday Decision (Triple ED) Mt. Everest research project that aims to study decision-making processes in the dangerous context of Mt. Everest. The team of six researches will interview guides, climbers and sherpas during their two-month expedition to the Mt. Everest base camp. During an acclimatization climb Hari also gathered information for Adventurers and Scientist for Conservation. Just below the summit of Lobuche East he rappelled off the lip of a crevasse to gather snow and ice samples for a colleague that is focused on the thinning of Himalayan glacier due to climate change and the role of dust and other particles in accelerating the melting. To hear more about his research projects and see his postcard like pictures go to his website and read his blog here.
It’s spring time and here at Talus Outdoor Technologies we are doing some spring cleaning. Check out our store for great sale prices while supplies last. #StayOutLonger
January 23rd-26th is the giant Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City. We’ll be there!
If you are going to be visiting the OR Winter market at the Salt Palace Convention Center, come visit the Talus at the Snowsports Zone and see how improved lung function can be a reality.
We’ll be doing all sorts of fun live demos, and our CEO John Sullivan III will be available to answer your questions and chat about what makes the ColdAvenger such a great product.
We are also hosting a happy hour with Klean Kanteen at the Snowsports Zone on Friday, January 25th so stop by and buy a cup for $10 plus all proceeds will be benefiting 1% for the Planet.
December 2012 was a great month for us here at Talus Outdoor Technologies and one highlight would be readying about ourselves in our Sunday paper, the Missoulian. We got a chance to sit down and and talk with reporter Jenna Cederberg. This article focused on the ColdAvenger being used by Sir Ranulph Fiennes as he sets off to lead the first winter expedition across the Antarctic. Read the full article here.
100 years ago Roald Amundsen and a team of four determined men planted the Norwegian flag at the South Pole, the first people to ever make that journey.Their expedition was careful, extremely precise, and perfectly executed. While they made the journey and back with little incident, their rivals in the race to the pole, the British team, paid the ultimate price and died in the effort.
Today, several brave explorers are following the path that Amundsen forged in 1911, recreating that historic trek across the bottom of the planet. And many are learning the travails of such a difficult adventure. Many of the teams have been forced to abandon their attempt. Here’s an excerpt from a piece in the Washington Post about the effort:
“Fierce, icy winds have delayed some of the teams skiing across Antarctica with the aim of reaching the geographic South Pole for the anniversary celebration on Wednesday. Some explorers gave up and were picked up by airplane so they could make it in time for the ceremony, according to their blogs and the Norwegian Polar Institute.”
We are proud to say that ColdAvenger Team member Felicity Aston continues her battle to the pole. She won’t make the ceremony, but she is determined to finish the challenge, despite the tough conditions. The Expedition Balaclava is helping her on her way.
“It’s a bit of a shame because originally I was hoping to arrive by the 14th … and I hear there’s going to be a bit of a party, but unfortunately I’ll still be out here skiing, so I’m going to miss the party,” Aston told the Associated Press.
In our last post, we challenged you to get out on your bike with your ColdAvenger on as the temperatures dip. The folks at Geargals.com appear did just that. They recently did a review of the ColdAvenger Expedition Balaclava for cold weather bike rides.
We couldn’t put it better than this–from Geargals:
“This is the best one I’ve tried so far, since it lets the moisture-laden exhalations out instead of funneling them up to fog up my goggles and build up inside in the form of sweaty slime. It took a full hour to get a fog started on my goggles today in single digit temps which was a nice change from the mere ten minutes of open vision I usually get with my regular balaclava.”
Up here in NW Montana, you never know what (whom?) you might encounter when you hit the mountaintops. For anyone who has schushed The Big, just off Chair Two, Mountain Jesus is a familiar companion.
A statue installed in 1955, and viewed by many as a memorial to WWII Veterans, it’s no surprise that the news it might be taken down has stoked some serious controversy in these parts. The National Forest Service heard the wrath of a large number of folks when they announced they would not be renewing the permit for the statue on NFS land. A “save Jesus” Facebook page has erupted (the irony here is too thick to even touch!), and so much outcry has been heard that they have decided to reopen the consideration of a lease renewal.
For us, we like Mountain Jesus because he’s been there as long as we can remember, and it’s always fun hitting the powder with Jesus at your back.
No politics, no religion, just cool dude up on the mountain, giving us that comforting look as we tempt death once again with some lumber strapped to our feet.
Marek Klanowski is a badass. Among many things, he bicycled his way through the Russian Caucuses, culminating in a climb of Mt Elbrus (by number of deaths, Elbrus is one of the World’s deadliest mountains.) Marek Klonowski is a man of action and of many talents. Traveling, taking still images and shooting films is his passion, and climbing mountains, hitchhiking, cycling long distances and sailing is his way of traveling. Marek climbed in the Tatra Mountains, in the Dolomites in Italy, in the Kackar Mountains in Turkey, in the Caucasus Mountains, and in Alaska (first solo Denali traverse in history – from Wonder Lade to Base Camp). He traveled solo by bicycle from Poland to the Adriatic Sea (3000 km), around the Black Sea by bicycle (6700 km), and around the Baltic Sea with a 45 kg dog on his trailer (5600 km). He raced in the Olympic class 470, sailed to Svalbard twice, and has worked on the biggest sailing ship in the world. Last year he spent in Ireland working as an engineer…
So, yeah, Marek is ColdAvenger material. This year Talus is sponsoring Marek on his attempt at a winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. ColdAvenger will give him the edge as he attempts this never before completed feat. Check out the video from his attempt last year.
You can visit his website. It’s in Polish, but the amazing films require no translation…
