EOFT 14/15

Four women, three countries, two months, one river. Their search for a river which still flows freely from its source to its mouth took the American Amber Valenti and her three friends Becca Dennis, Sabra Purdy and Krystle Wright into one of the remotest corners of the world. The headwater of the Amur River rises in Eastern Mongolia, and the river sends the four women on a 5,000-kilometre adventure full of contrasts: pain and happiness, discoveries and farewells, beauty and decay all lie close together and weld the team together. The river and their journey from the heart of Asia to the Pacific teach them one thing in particular: No matter where, when and how—there is always reason to celebrate.

Free solo - that’s climbing without a safety rope, one of the most dangerous sports in the world. There’s nobody who is as good at it as the American Alex Honnold. With perfect preparation, maximum concentration and absolute trust in his abilities, he tackled the El Sendero Luminoso route in Mexico, a 762-metre rock face of compacted lime, in January 2014. His climbing partner Cedar Wright helped him dog the route, but during the critical free solo Alex was completely on his own...

James Kingston never plays it safe, but still pulls out all the stops. The 23-year-old Brit climbs cranes, bridges and skyscrapers—unbelayed and without batting an eye. In his view, rules are made to be broken. Different standards apply to someone who dangles off a crane at a height of 50 metres, holding on with only his left hand because he needs his right hand for the obligatory selfie.

"Most people wet their pants when they look down,” he says, “but why shouldn’t I look down after taking the trouble of climbing up."

Mustang Wanted from Ukraine, himself one of the very first "roofers", is one of the few who shares James’s passion and even challenges him. But is there anything at all that can impress somebody who lives according to the motto "fear is a choice"?

It’s a route that you cannot climb in summer and that you don’t really want to climb in winter: Helmcken Falls. But ice-climber Will Gadd knows that the technically challenging mixed route on the rear wall of the 141-metre waterfall can only be mastered at sub-zero temperatures, because that’s when the loose rock is literally frozen up by the spray. However, what works for the route doesn’t necessarily help the athlete. The centimetre-thick layer of ice which Will has to remove from his safety rope at regular intervals doesn’t really make it easier for him to warm up to the route.

They love working the terrain under their pedals and cutting capers at the scrap yard. We have always suspected it: Mountain bikers never grow up. But still Brandon Semenuk and his little rascals—excuse us, his RAD COMPANY—are so hard-boiled that no trick causes them to wet their pants. Playing in the rolling hills of the Fiji Islands, they are in full control of their bikes and show us how to turn a scrap yard into a slopestyle course.

Kayak extravaganza: Ben Marr is standing on the river bank and cannot find a way in, neither into the river nor into the kayaking community. He dreams of belonging and blossoming from a shy greenhorn into a celebrated white-water cowboy. Everything’s possible in his imagination: illuminated waterfalls, a fancy-dress party in the forest, including dancing, a champagne shower and fireworks. In DREAM, professional kayaker Ben Marr combines his skills with lots of imagination and a good dose of irony, creating a fun water-sports spectacle.

A simple question has been on Kieran McKay’s mind for years: is there a link between the two extensive cave systems of Nettlebed and Stormy Pot on the South Island of New Zealand? Their search for the answer takes him and his team one thousand metres below the ground.

Down there, where it makes more sense to measure distance in hours and days rather than in metres, the cavers close in on what they refer to as the "connection area" from both sides—the area where, according to their calculations, the two caves are likely to meet. The way there is stony, wet, cold and dirty. But the thought of discovering this link, and with it possibly the largest cave of the Southern hemisphere, pushes the adventurers on, even though they are up to their necks in water more than once in the underground passages and halls, and the expedition takes them to their physical and mental limits.

In Shades of Winter - PURE Sandra Lahnsteiner and her all-female freeskiing team travel around half the globe to Japan and Alaska. On the two planks that mean the world to skiers, we accompany them on their moonlight rides in the Land of the Rising Sun, and explore the wilderness in the far North of the United States with them.

After all, Alaska is a country that you cannot miss if you really love skiing. The landscape is rough, but this only strengthens their team spirit—even if things get risky.