Latest Adventure News: November

YOUR LATEST ADVENTURE AND OUTDOOR NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD…

This month, watch a snowsports movie by pro freeride skier Nikolai Schirmer, find out about the latest Fastest Known Times (FKTs), sign up for exciting outdoor events and races, and check out a sensational Australian adventure we believe you'll love - read on!

MOVIEs TO IGNITE YOUR SENSES

Nállangáisi by pro freeride skier and FATMAP Pro Ambassador Nikolai Schirmer and his crew will have you grabbing your winter gear and rushing to snowy peaks pronto.

The movie was released this month and tells the tale of how Nikolai and three fellow riders conquered the “Jewel of Lyngen” in Norway - AKA: Nállangáisi. Heading up the steep mountain from two sides, via the North Face and the West Face, the quartet broke up into duos to demonstrate their different experiences. Spoiler alert: Not everyone made it to the summit before heading down.

Breathtaking snowy visuals, uplifting music, and epic ski and snowboard lines await you. So sit back and enjoy the show!

And that’s not all…

Nikolai dropped another epic steep skiing and snowboarding film this month, called No Fall Zone. Skamtinden: A First Descent. It depicts Nikolai, Merrick Mordal, Øystein Bråten, and Krister Kopala conquering a seaside first descent of Skamtinden in Norway during a mid-season hot spell.

The result is a story of overcoming fear, decision-making, camaraderie, and being confronted with the question: "If you survive a fall in the no fall zone, is it really a no fall zone?".

Fastest Known Times

These three FKTs blew us away

Andrea Sansone

A new women’s supported FKT on the Nolan's 14 route was set by Andrea Sansone in 45h 52m. Her time shaved almost off 3 hours from the previous women’s supported mark, conquered two years prior.

The challenge consists of hiking/running/climbing in one foot-powered push under 60 hours, covering 14 peaks over 4,267 metres in central Colorado’s Sawatch Range. The elevation gain is roughly 13,411 metres.

Andrea tackled the epic route in the northbound direction, beginning her journey on October 12th. Given there’s only a 15% finishing rate, Andrea’s time and effort are impressive!

Stephen Ross

Stephen Ross completed the River Tweed - Source to Sea route in 27h 50m. Covering most of the border crossing between Scotland and England, the 164-km trail starts at the source of the river above Moffat and ends at the North Sea at Berwick Upon Tweed.

Stephen’s challenge was supported by a number of runners who joined him along the route. He completed the route non-stop, finishing on October 23rd.

Erin Ton

Erin Ton completed the Grand Canyon Crossings' 2xR2R2R route variation in Arizona in 1d 2h 11m 25s, giving her the FKT record in the solo self-supported women's category. Erin went through some ups and downs, literally and figuratively, on her route. In her own words, she started off feeling “strong and controlled my first lap, getting back to the top of South Kaibab in just shy of 10 hours.”

But after her quick resupply stop her second lap had her feeling “much weaker descending into the canyon at sunset. Felt very lethargic running through the base of the canyon at night, especially given the fact that this would be the longest I had ever spent on foot. Around mile 63, I was having a difficult time breathing and started coughing up a little blood. Despite wanting to quit, I knew that I could grind out the climb to the top of the north rim no matter how slow.”

Dizziness and strong winds didn’t stop her, though, and she felt much better on her final climb out of the canyon - in time for a warming sunrise at the top of the south rim.

Erin bagged her FKT title on October 30th.

RACES YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS

COAST MOUNTAIN TRAIL RUNNING

It's never too early to start training! Prep yourself for what are known as “British Columbia’s wildest trail running events” by signing up to Coast Mountain Trail Running’s (CMTR) 2023 events below.

Choose trail runs ranging from 13km to 100km and from relay races to a blend of SUP, Bike, Run ones - there’s something for everyone:

Squamish 50: These are tough, truly unforgettable trail running experiences. Registration for these races opened just last week on November 18th and the 50km already sold out. Don’t miss out and sign up here now! Distances vary from 23km to 80km.
Race weekend: Aug. 19-20, 2023

Diez Vista: Be one of the first to sign up for this iconic 50km race, considered to be one of the most historic ultras in Canada. It’ll be its 25th anniversary next year so the celebrations are sure to be exciting! Registration opens this week on November 25th. Sign up here.
Race day: April 8, 2023
All CMTR races: Guess what, you can sign up for all CMTR 2023 races as of December 2nd! Check out their incredible list of races here and find something for you.

Outdoor Events Coming Near You

What’s on in November & December

BLANK Collective film release

BLANK Collective Films is back with an absolute dream of a ski movie, Feel Real. Featuring a number of iconic snowsports athletes carrying out awe-inspiring stunts in perfectly powdery conditions - including two Friends of FATMAP Anna Segal and Alexi Godbout - this movie is a celebration of life.

From embracing vulnerability to engaging in exploration, opening your eyes and ears, and never taking oneself too seriously, Feel Real represents the past and present moments, memories and friendships that have shaped The Blank Collective into the skiers they are today.

Be one of the first to catch it as it releases today at 6am Pacific Time (9am EST; 3pm CET). Try some of the epic lines from the film yourself.

Where & When: Worldwide, 22 November, 6am PST

How: Watch it on BLANK Collective’s YouTube channel here

MOUNTAINS ON STAGE - WINTER EDITION

Prepare yourself for some serious outdoor adventure footage at this year’s Mountains on Stage Winter Edition. The film selection promises to inspire and move you. The worldwide tour kicks off at the end of this month, so find your nearest show location, grab your tickets, and get watching!

Where & When: Various locations around the world, late November until January

How: Click here for more information and tickets

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL - FALL SERIES (VIMFF)

It’s not too late to watch VIMFF’s Fall Series online! The festival’s adventure-packed programme includes 6 curated shows, with incredible guest speakers, panel discussions, over 25 films about snowsports, climbing, cycling, exploration, and the environment, and more, showcasing powerful stories that will inspire you to go on your next adventure.

Online tickets are still on sale for the film festival and Explore members get 20% off.

Where & When: Online, 14 November - 12 December

How: Click here to buy online tickets

Epic Results

The latest race results at your fingertips

RED BULL RAMPAGE VIRGIN, UTAH

Brett Rheeder was crowned the two-time champion at this year’s Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah. Second place was awarded to Szymon Godziek, and third to Brandon Semenuk. The world’s best freeride mountain bikers came together to put the sport in the spotlight in this iconic location, and spectators weren’t disappointed.

Given Rheeder hadn’t competed in three years and had suffered a number of setbacks during that time, including a broken femur, his victory is doubly impressive. His run was “the perfect recipe of complex tricks and steep technical riding, rightfully earning him a 90.66 score to secure his second Rampage win,” wrote Red Bull.

The Piolets D’Or

The winners of alpinism’s highest honour - the Piolets D’Or - was awarded to a Belgian adventurer who climbed the Moonwalk Traverse in Patagonia and to a team of three Georgians who ascended Saraghrar’s Northwest Face in Pakistan. The award ceremony will take place in Briançon, France, this month. The award group also gave a unique Jury Award to a Ukrainian team’s ascent of the 7,552-metre Annapurna III in Nepal.

Saraghrar Northwest, Hindu Kush, Pakistan: From September 3–10, 2021, Georgian climbers Archil Badriashvili, Baqar Gelashvili, and Giorgi Tepnadze climbed and created a new route of the northwest face of the imposing massif that straddles Pakistan and Afghanistan: Saraghrar Northwest (7,315 metres). Archil wrote that the team faced “Steep faces, isolation, undescribed areas, and neither an easy way up nor down—it felt almost like going to our home mountains in Georgia!”

Moonwalk Traverse, Cerro Chaltén Group, Patagonia: Belgian national, Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll, impressively carried out a solo traverse of the Cerro Chaltén Group (Fitz Roy) in February 2021. Sean did the traverse South-to-North, which is nearly 5km long with over 3,900 metres of elevation gain, and goes over 10 Patagonian summits. He rope soloed the majority of the traverse and core shot his rope in a few sections, dropping several cams afterwards.

The Drankensberg Grand Traverse, South Africa

The Drankensberg Grand Traverse (DGT) ultra trail is the mother of all ‘Berg events. It is a 210km-long single stage, self-navigated and self-sufficient foot race that takes teams of two participants across southern Africa’s highest and most remote mountain range, the Drankensberg Mountain Range, bordering South African and Lesotho. Only 50 teams are accepted each year.

This year, Matthew Bouch and Colin Van den Bergh took home the gold medal in a time of 63 hours and 50 minutes. The runners up came in at 76h 36m, and third place took 80h 02m to complete the challenge. As it stands, the ultra’s FKT team record stands at 41h 49m and solo record at 45h 08m.

A sensational adventure story

Video: We Are Mobilise

Nedd Brockmann ran nearly 4,000km in 47 days in the name of charity. To be exact, the 23-year-old from New South Wales ran across the entirety of Australia from Perth to Sydney. Nedd crossed the finish line in Bondi Beach on Monday 25 October, having raised AU$2 million for homeless charity We Are Mobilise.

Breaking that down, Nedd ran roughly 80km each day for 47 days. To say he put his body through the wringer would be an understatement. He suffered innumerable injuries, aching joints and limbs, chronic lack of sleep, painful blisters, and even maggots growing in his toes. However, put in his own words, “If you’re going to get injured, you’re going to get injured with the amount of kilometres that we run. It’s in your head then – it’s got nothing to do with physicality, it’s a mind game.”

If his injuries didn’t manage to stop him, the harsh Australian conditions couldn’t either. He faced the sun beating down on him, strong headwinds, heavy rain, and road trains and heavy lorries rushing past him at ridiculously close proximity and speeds. Ultimately, his mantra of “Get comfortable being uncomfortable” pushed him along.

“I think 70-80% of it was like: we’re in the depths of hell,” Nedd said, and “20% of it was pretty okay.” Even though it was a ridiculously tough challenge, we’re sure part of him will miss the highs and the lows such an adventure brings.