Just a few weeks ahead of the Olympic Games taking place in London, outdoor manufacturer Marmot has opened its second European Flagship Store at Westfield Stratford City. Situated to the North East of London, the centre is a key strategic retail location as a result of its scale, exceptional public transport links, and fantastic position adjacent to the London Olympic Park.



The Marmot store is on “The Street”, an outdoor boulevard that is one of the main access routes through the centre site, and the gateway to the Olympic Games in 2012.
Andy Schimeck, Managing Director of Marmot Mountain Europe, comments on the new London store: “The UK is one of our key territories. With our new store, we can showcase the depth and breadth of the collection and illustrate Marmot’s brand values to our British customers.”



Marmot Collection on Display
All areas of the Marmot collection will be represented over the 160 square metre store. This will include men’s and women’s technical mountain styles, in-depth multi-sport offering, sportswear, urban tech styles, complete children’s line, and highlights from the extensive equipment and accessory range.



Stunning and Sustainable In-store Environment
Marmot’s new store has a visually arresting design guaranteed to catch people’s attention and encourage them to visit. To reflect the brand’s focus on sustainability and the natural world, it is fitted out where possible using locally sourced and environmentally friendly materials, such as the nine metre high Evergreen moss wall and the silver birch trees. Two rock formations are visually linked by a special light system. The innovative lighting concept, which was planned by the firm Zumtobel, is visually impressive as well as being exceptionally energy efficient.



Limited Edition Charity Shirts – Revenue will be donated to Prince’s Trust/italic]
ZTo coincide with the opening event, Marmot has launched a limited edition Marmot Store London Shirt. These 100% organic cotton t-shirts for men, women and children fulfill the GOTS standard and are only available in-store. A proportion of the revenue from their sales will be donated to the Prince’s Trust (www.princes-trust.org.uk) which supports the young people who need it most.



[italic]Selected locations for Marmot flagship and partnership stores
In October 2011, Marmot opened its first European flagship store in Nuremberg, Germany. One month later, Marmot’s first European partnership store in Bolzano / Italy was opened. In April 2012, Marmot also opened a partnership store in the climbing and outdoor destination of Finale Ligure (Italy). For the future, Marmot is planning to open flagship and partnership stores in selected and strategically important venues.

MARMOT STORE LONDON – FACTS
Contact:
Marmot Store London
136 The Street
Westfield Stratford City
London E20 1EN
Tel.: +44 2085341207
Email: info@marmot-london.co.uk
www.facebook.com/Marmot.London

Contact Persons:
Store Manager: Pawel Olszanski (polszanski@marmot-london.co.uk)
Marketing Representative: Lucas Restrepo-Sylva (lrestrepo-sylva@marmot-london.co.uk)

Opening Hours:
Mo. – Fr.: 10.00-21.00, Sa.: 9.00-21.00, Su.: 12.00-18.00

Photos: Tim Glasby

A few days ago, Marmot PRO Sarah Seeger could tick "Kalte Sophie“ (Frankenjura), making it her first 8A+ bloc boulder problem. Read how she describes the day of the ascent:

“Heavy snowfall, strong winds, no sight, and the weather forecast predicting rising temperatures and heavy rain for the afternoon. Not the kind of conditions which make climbing fun. To be honest, I regarded the walk to the crag rather as a nice opportunity to get some fresh air and did not expect to be able to try my project seriously. Whatever, I thought, better than spending the afternoon in a crowded climbing gym. Yet, the boulder problem was surprisingly dry except for one hold which, after some toilet paper treatment, also became climbable.
Warming up was not better than the weather conditions, cold muscles, uncoordinated moves, shrinking motivation. But unexpectedly, my first go went relatively well and I only was stopped at the crux, a move going from a shallow pocket to a side pull which requires full body tension. I checked out the move again, dried and cleaned the holds once more and gave it another go without any expectations. Already the first part went quite well, the moves on some pockets and pinches were surprisingly solid. I got the shallow pocket perfectly, grabbed the side pull, then got the undercling with my left hand, going up right to the good hold, the final moves to the top were just flowing.
Due to the unfriendly weather conditions, the ascent of “Kalte Sophie” came quite unexpected for me and I am very glad about this very special Frankenjura winter afternoon."

The brand new editino of MARMOT LIFE is out now!

Marmot was created in 1974, born out of the idea of capturing intense moments in the mountains, nurturing them and using them to create energy for new adventures. Marmot PROs Albert Leichtfried, Stefan Glowacz, Alix von Melle, Nina Schlesener, Roman Rohrmoser, Lars and Niels Hoffmann, Robert Jasper and Jack Geldard are the living embodiment of this philosophy; indeed, they have arranged their lives around it.

The third issue of MARMOT LIFE is packed with stories about our fascination with the cold season. We hope you enjoy reading them.

You would like to order a free copy of MARMOT LIFE? Then drop us an email at magazine@marmot.de!

After his trip to China, the venue of this year's Petzl ROck Trip, Marmot PRO Steve McClure spent some great days at Costa Blanca / Spain. Read what he writes about the trip:

"A perfect recipe needs all the right ingredients. Miss some out and what you get might still be good but not quite right. The perfect climbing trip needs a lot of ingredients to come together. Good climbing most important, but feels empty without good people, beautiful surroundings and a comfy place to crash.

The Costa Blanca was my first Spanish climbing venue, back in 1985 when I was still at school and had no idea of sport tactics; it was double 9’s and crippling fear without a solid wire above my head! But I could already see I’d be back. More recently I found all the ingredients were on hand, bound together with the best weather in Spain. The Orange House is what really makes it work though, an amazing place to stay which is close to absolutely everything; airport, shops, beach, countryside and central to all the climbing. This isn’t an advert for them; it’s telling you what you need to know! I was in the Costa Blanca about 6 times over two years, until the key ingredient ran out: the climbing. Ticking the very last route at Wild Side was a sad day, I reckon its one of the best crags in the world. There was no need to come back!

So I’ve spent more time in Catalunya, the vast expanses of awesome cliffs taking all the attention. Rhodellar, Margalef, Siurana. These have held the action and quietened the Blanca. But a very last minute 4 ½ day trip took us back, stuck for a doss an email to the Orange house swung our decision on venue and we rolled straight in. A breath of fresh air! It was like returning home, and I surprised myself at just how good everything felt! And the real treat? A whole new supply of climbing, new routes at old venues, and complete new crags to get started on. If you have not been for a while, or never been before, remember, this used to be the premier venue in Spain, and in reality, it still is!

Things you should know!
Wild Side has a load of new routes
Cabezon also has new routes, but doing the old ones again is amazing!
Rincon De Bella is awesome for 40m routes of all grades
That massive wall up from Cabezon is ‘Sherpa’ and is as you always thought – amazing! Topo from me if needed!
theorangehouse.co.uk

Sherpa was the highlight, way up there with a cool wind. It’s kind of like Oliana, technical face climbing with the odd tufa. It’s blatantly sustained, 40 or 50 meters, almost no rest! The grades felt hard! Fill in the topo with your own ideas!"

You'll find more info about Steve at steve-mcclure.com.

Marmot PRO Sarah Seeger writes about her climbing year and the new bouldering season which she started with "Billard" (8A trav.) and "Walker on Earth" (8A):

The rope climbing season 2011 is over, it was an intense and instructional time. This year I have probably spent as much time on the rock as never before and I was quite motivated to try some harder projects. But maybe I was too impatient, maybe I had too few breaks in between – I couldn’t climb my too mayor projects for this year. At the end, my body and my mind were just not focused properly anymore. I finished my route climbing season with 16 routes between 8a and 8b+ on my list, knowing that the projects most likely also will be there next year…

However, as expected, I couldn’t stay without climbing for a long time. Time to start the bouldering season! November started extremely dry which was perfect for the start of the bouldering season. I managed to climb the nice pocket traverse “Billard” (8A) which for me as a passionate pocket climber is one of the most perfect boulders in the Frankenjura. Then we headed to Ticino. Sunshine, blue sky, dry air and temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees every single day – a boulderer’s dream made true! Besides some nice boulders such as “Atlantis”, “Sonnenanbeter”, “That goes left” and “Waldbrand” (all 7C), I also managed to climb “Walker on Earth” (8A). Middle finger stuffed into the mono, thumb and index somehow pressed against the rock, going with the left hand from the mini starter crimp to the 2 ½ finger pocket, jumping to the knob with the right hand, hitting the two intermediate holds with the left hand until getting the upper side crimp, reaching to the good sloper on the right and, with some knee work, wrestling around the bulge. And for the many remaining projects, we will come back soon!



Walker on Earth


Walker on Earth


That goes left

All photos by Manuel Brunn

Marmot PRO Jorg Verhoeven is currently on a six-month climbing trip in the US. His first stop was the sport climbing paradise Red River Gorge in Kentucky. There he crushed "Pure Imagination" (9a) in only 5 tries. He also added some further hard ascents to his tick list, among others:

• "50 Words for a Pump", 5.14c (8c+)
  
• "Southern Smoke", 5.14c (8c+)
  
• 25 routes graded 5.13 (7c+ to 8b), mostly on sight or flash.
  

Now Jorg will head to Yosemite. More info on his trip can be found at www.jorgverhoeven.com.

Foto: Roman van der Werf

Pure Imagination 5.14d (9a) from jorg verhoeven on Vimeo.

Marmot PRO Steve McClure is currently exploring the endless rock potential in China. In the following, he wraps up his first impressions from the Petzl Rock Trip 2011:

China. A country just over the edge of the radar. A little exploration here and there. But it is vast, and only just opening up. Are we in for a surprise as the view unfolds! People talk of our rock running out, but here in China we have not even begun. The Petzl rock trip is beginning at the area of Getu, a national park, only opened up maybe 10 years ago. Before that the only eyes that passed over the mind blowing scenery were that of the locals. But we are privileged to be here and to witness something totally off the scale with a natural arch that sinks all others dead in the water.
There is so much potential for climbing here that it makes my head spin. Petzl have done a massive effort to put up and clean a lot of routes ready for this trip, and to put the place on the map. And it deserves its place on the map; the map of wonders of the world, the places that climbers just must visit to be complete. Yosemite, Fontainbleu, Verdon, Kalymnos, Horseshoe, whatever your list, this one just got added!

There is pretty much every style at every grade, short intense hard 8’s, long multi-pitch 6’s, and the reverse. There are crimps and tufas and jugs. There is also a world of slopers and this stuff is shutting me down. Those with lots of compression and pinch and undercut strength will do well, if you are a crimper you need not apply. Just off vertical walls that look anything from 6a to 7a turn out to be 8c, the intensely scalloped surface offering endless holds, all of which are useless, like holding onto the inside of a breakfast bowl. Its totally unique. I’m crap at it, but I love it!

For more info on Steve, have a look at www.steve-mcclure.com.

Skiing? In summer? Yes! Marmot PRO Teresa Brenner is currently on a road trip in South America. Read what she writes about her experiences and adventures:

"In July this year I was just more than happy to go to Chile to enjoy the winter there, since I wasn’t able to ski the whole season in Europe after an accident in December that left me with a torn ACL. On my first day I went to Valle Nevado, close to Santiago where I had blue bird, powder and just a perfect day for skiing again after the long break. Also I met Rodrigo, the owner of the Heliski company Powdersouth (www.heliskiguides.com), who was a Telemarker as well and apparently liked my style of skiing. A few days later he invited me to a day of Heliskiing in the Andes around Mt. Jose. Again an amazing day with blue bird, powder, 8000 meters of descent and 4 of the 8 mountains we landed were never skied before by anyone else!



After this, I’ve tried to get as many days of skiing and hiking up as possible in the mountains and ski fields around Santiago, like La Parva, El Colorado and Valle Nevado. Also I took part in a trip with the Chilean Photographer Juan Luis de Heeckeren (www.freestylemedia.cl) and some other guys to the Nationalpark Huilo Huilo, for taking some pictures around the two Vulcans Mocho and Choshuenco. We had pretty good snow, a great time and some really nice pictures!



Another highlight was to meet the Chilean Marmot Chicka Ines Dussaillant by chance, while skiing. And because we did not only have the same taste regarding to clothing in common, but also a pretty good relationship from the first moment on, we decided to go to the south of Chile together for climbing up some Vulcans. And so we did. Last week we were proudly reaching the peaks of Lonqimay (2865m), Lanin (3776m) and Laima (3125m). Not just my Spanish has developed during this time, but also my knowledge about the mountains, Vulcans, and the Andes. I love being in Chile!!!"

Marmot PRO has climbed "No Siesta", one of the hardest routes on the Grandes Jorasses and maybe in the Alps. On his blog, he tells the whole story about this great adventure. Great job, Will!

On October 1, the first European Marmot Store has opened its doors in Nuremberg.



The new store is at 35 Kaiserstraße in Nürnberg in a central and easily accessible location. "With our new store, we would like to create a lively platform for exchanges between outdoor fans and mountain lovers", says Andy Schimeck, Managing Director of Marmot Mountain Europe.

Full range of products in all colours
The entire Marmot collection with all models and colour variations will be on display over a 500 square meter sales area, split over two floors. The range includes technical women’s and men’s functional-wear, casual urban styles, children’s functional clothing, gloves, sleeping bags, tents, backpacks and other mountain sports accessories.

Welcoming, sustainable in-store atmosphere
Marmot’s new store reflects the brand’s interest in sustainability and naturalness. The shop has been fitted out using environmentally friendly, sustainable materials. All floors are laid in Franconian marble and part of the wood used was sourced in Franconia. The innovative lighting concept, which was planned by the firm Zumtobel, is visually impressive as well as being exceptionally energy efficient.
The store is modern and light with its large glass frontage and its central staircase and galleries provide views through the building and out the other side at every turn. A first floor lounge invites visitors to linger a while and to enjoy a cup of coffee from Christoph Feichtinger - Café de Guatemala or one of the refreshing drinks from the eco-brewery Neumärkter Lammsbräu.



Experienced Team dedicated to the outdoors
The sales team at the new Marmot Store is made up of seven experienced outdoor enthusiasts. Store Manager Julia Weyh will be placing the focus on service and personal interaction with customers: “We would like to offer customers expert advice in a relaxed atmosphere.” The team will also benefit from the close proximity to the outdoor scene in the Frankenjura.

Regular functions and events
Part of the philosophy behind the new store is that it should not just be a sales area but also a lively platform for exchanges between outdoor fans and mountain lovers. The large Event Space can house creative and exciting events, which will range from a series of lectures or fashion shows right through to travel tips or cookery courses.

Limited edition Store Shirts – Revenue goes to SOS Kinderdorf Nuremberg and Bluepingu e.V.
Right on schedule for the opening, Marmot is launching its brand new Nürnberg Marmot Store Shirts. These t-shirts for women, men and children are a limited edition production and will only be available in the Nürnberg Marmot store. Five Euro of the revenue from sales of each t-shirt will be donated to SOS Kinderdorf Nürnberg and to Bluepingu e.V.. The t-shirts are made from 100% organic cotton.

At a glance: The Marmot Store Nuremberg
Contact:
Marmot Mountain Europe GmbH
Marmot Store Nürnberg
Kaiserstraße 35
D - 90403 Nürnberg
Tel.: 0911-80199070
Fax: 0911-80199079
Web: www.marmot.eu

Contact Persons:
Julia Weyh (Store Manager), Susan Faatz (Assistant Store Manager)

Opening hours:
Mo.-Sa., 10.00-20.00

Links:
Trend-Store
Zumtobel
Die Möbelmacher
Christoph Feichtinger - Café de Guatemala
Neumärkter Lammsbräu.




Marmot History


Marmot Mission Statement


Marmot Shells


Marmot Urban Styles


The kitchen from "Die Mäbelmacher" in the event space


Marmot PRO Stefan Glowacz during the opening ceremony


Marmot PRO Stefan Glowacz during the opening ceremony


Marmot Store - fascinating light effects in the dark


A variety of insights and perspectives


The event space of the Marmot Store


Marmot Gloves


The lounge invites visitors to enjoy a cup of coffee


The Marmot Store Nuremberg Shirts

The Marmots are set to conquer Nürnberg! On October 1st, outdoor manufacturer Marmot is set to open its first European flagship store right on the doorstep of the hiking and climbing paradise of the Frankenjura. The new store is at 35 Kaiserstraße in Nürnberg in a central and easily accessible location. For the opening day, Marmot will feature a wide ranging program for all outdoor pros and mountain sports fans. “We are looking forward to this new challenge and will be tackling it with our customary high levels of motivation and quality”, says Andy Schimeck, Managing Director of Marmot Mountain Europe.

Full range of products in all colours
The entire Marmot collection with all models and colour variations will be on display over a 500 square meter sales area, split over two floors. The range includes technical women’s and men’s functional-wear, casual urban styles, children’s functional clothing, gloves, sleeping bags, tents, backpacks and other mountain sports accessories.

Opening ceremony with exclusive presentation by Stefan Glowacz – Free entry!
To mark the occasion, Marmot PRO Stefan Glowacz will give an exclusive presentation of previously unseen images and film footage from his Roraima Tepuis expedition in Venezuela. His presentation will take place at 11 am and 3 pm in the new Marmot Store, with free entry. Stefan has long been recognized as one of the world’s best climbers. Starting out as one of the most successful international competition climbers, he has increasingly been drawn to natural rock in recent years. Stefan undertakes expeditions to the most far flung and toughest big walls on Earth.
The opening day will also feature other attractions and a children’s program.

Exclusive Store Shirts – Revenue to go to charitable organizations
Right on schedule for the opening, Marmot is launching its brand new Nürnberg Marmot Store Shirts. These t-shirts for women, men and children are a limited edition production and will only be available in the Nürnberg Marmot store. A proportion of the revenue from sales of the t-shirts will be donated to regional charitable organizations. The t-shirts are made from 100% organic cotton and are Fair Trade certified.

Welcoming, sustainable in-store atmosphere
Marmot’s new store reflects the brand’s interest in sustainability and naturalness. The shop has been fitted out using environmentally friendly, sustainable materials. All floors are laid in Franconian marble and part of the wood used was sourced in Franconia. The innovative lighting concept, which was planned by the firm Zumtobel, is visually impressive as well as being exceptionally energy efficient.
The store is modern and light with its large glass frontage and its central staircase and galleries provide views through the building and out the other side at every turn. A first floor lounge invites visitors to linger a while.

Experienced Team dedicated to the outdoors
The sales team at the new Marmot Store is made up of seven experienced outdoor enthusiasts. Store Manager Julia Weyh will be placing the focus on service and personal interaction with customers: “We would like to offer customers expert advice in a relaxed atmosphere.” The team will also benefit from the close proximity to the outdoor scene in the Frankenjura.

Regular functions and events
Part of the philosophy behind the new store is that it should not just be a sales area but also a lively platform for exchanges between outdoor fans and mountain lovers. The large Event Space can house creative and exciting events, which will range from a series of lectures or fashion shows right through to travel tips or cookery courses.

 
At a glance: Marmot Store Nürnberg
Opening Day: 1st October 2011, 10am – 6pm
Opening Schedule: 10am: Start
11am & 3pm: Stefan Glowacz exclusive presentation: Roraima Tepuis – Climbing the Lost World (free entry)
All day: Further attractions and children’s program
Contact: Marmot Mountain Europe GmbH
Marmot Store Nürnberg
Kaiserstraße 35
D - 90403 Nürnberg
Tel: 0911-80199070
Fax: 0911-80199079
Website: www.marmot.eu
Contact Persons: Julia Weyh (Store Manager)
Susan Burghardt (Assistant Store Manager)
Opening Times: Mon-Sat, 10am-8pm

More information:
Zumtobel
Trend.Store
Die Möbelmacher

Marmot PRO Jack Geldard (UK) has made the first ascent of "The Bigger Bang", a fantastic line at Craig Dorys on the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales.

"I would say it's certainly one of the hardest routes I have done on the Lleyn. However I didn't do it in the onsight style, so I'm not sure of the E grade. It's UK tech 6c ish, got okay rock, but with the odd suspect crimp and fairly pants gear until about 12m where you get a good wallnut 1. The top bit is like a nice E6, with spaced but okay gear and awesome climbing. I'll go with HXS 6c. I opted to pre-place some gear on the lower section of route," said Jack, "You could hammer a peg or two in to that bit, but I have never placed a peg on a sea cliff as I think they rot too quickly and leave an unknown for future climbers, so personally for me some pre-placed removable gear was preferable. Neither option would be the best of course."

Regarding the character of the route, Jack said: "It's pretty solid, with exquisite technical climbing on crimps and slopers, totally different to most of Craig Dorys. It really is an awesome route. 3 stars."

Read more about the route and Jack's other climbing adventures at UKClimbing.com or at Jack's Blog!

Welcome to the brand new Marmot Fall/Winter 2011 catalogue. For the new season we have focused our efforts on several key areas for improvement, refinement, and emerging innovation. Our professional Shell Line has been expanded with new high-end models. The Components range also welcomes a number of new additions and innovative updates. Furthermore, Marmot is launching several new innovative Snowsports styles. Bring on the powder!

You can order a copy of the catalogue by sending an email to katalog@marmot.de. Why not check out the online version of the catalogue? Enjoy your reading!

Marmot PRO Steve McClure had a very successful climbing week in the Dale. Read how he describes his experiences:

A certain climbing wall cancelled me last minute leaving me out of pocket but richer in terms of time. The place to be at the moment in the Peak is The Cornice. It is completely dry, and misses any sunshine so is in great condition. Over the last month it’s been all action down the dale! I had a week free to sample the delights.

Kristian Clemmow is the dude down there. Responsible for much cleaning and bolting and many new routes. He has upped the overall quality of the crag! His routes have seen a load of attention. ‘Brick Top’, at 8b, is a burly monster, all good holds but far apart. This one was tough for me! Then ‘32’, a bouldery 8b+ that has seen some epic attempts and thought solid for the grade with a Font 7c+ crux! I got to within a move on-sight, which might just have been one of my best performances ever, but never mind. It went next go.

‘Dreadnaught’ has seen some attention. I made the first ascent of this 8c about 12 years ago and it’s still holding out for a second ascent. Apparently holds had come off, but for those interested, all the ones I used are still there, so the challenge stands!

Kristian can spy a good line. And the route ‘K3’ looks like it should just keep traversing leftwards where it inevitably heads on upwards, like routes generally do. So Kris set about linking between neighbouring routes to join the start of ‘K3’ to the end of ‘Powerplant’ to give ‘K5’ (K5 is higher than K3). It looked awesome. I pumped my arms to the max on the flash of this 8b, but it looked like this diagonal line should go further, in fact why not all the way? So yesterday I climbed the first moves of ‘K3’ into the last move of ‘Bored of The Lies’. A mega endurance route with a considerable amount of new climbing, this is not a link up of existing lines. ‘K2’ because it’s the highest ‘K’. 8b+ probably, maybe harder. But don’t try it on a busy day...

Some mountain info:
K2 is 8611 2nd
K5 is now known as Gasherbrum I (8068 11th).
K3 is addressed as Broad Peak (8047 12th)
K4 is called Gasherbrum II (8035 13th).

The photo shows Steve back in 1999 in ‘Dreadnaught’ (8c). (c) Keith Sharples

More about Steve at steve-mcclure.com

Film maker Ian Burton has been accompanying Marmot PRO Ricky Bell on his climbing adventures in Northern Ireland. The result: "The Frontier Club", an inspiring video about climbing in a pretty unknown climbing destination. Check out the trailer now!

Marmot PRO Jorg Verhoeven spent some time in the huge granite cave of Flatanger / Norway to bolt some new routes. Jorg was overwhelmed by the impressive size of the cave which he describes as "the next level of astonishment".
During his stay, he managed to do the first ascent of "Nordic Flower", for which he proposes the grade 9a. It offers 55 metres of roof climbing, on all natural fantastically shaped features and holds. Well done!
Check out Jorg's blog for more details on this amazing place!

Photo: S. Korosuo

In MARMOT LIFE #2, we asked our readers to send us their best outdoor image. Pro photographer Klaus Fengler together with the MARMOT LIFE editorial team selected the three best shots which will be published in the next MARMOT LIFE edition – due out in November, stay tuned!

As the quality of the contributions for the photo competition was overwhelming, we decided to publish one more picture in the next MARMOT LIFE edition.

It’s up to you – select your favourite picture from the contributions published below, send an e-mail to magazine@marmot.de (Subject: Photo contest / Name of photographer) until August 31, 2011 and decide who will win the MARMOT LIFE Photo Competition Joker!

The candidates for the MARMOT LIFE Photo Competition Joker are:


Photographer: Anne Huber


Photographer: Bernhard Lienerth


Photographer: Felix Müller


Photographer: Jerzy Lapinski


Photographer: Maria Rosenwirth


Photographer: Sebastian Schuster


Photographer: Thomas Schwinlin


Photographer: Timo Kaartinen


Photographer: Wojciech Olejniczak


Photographer: Wolfgang Rosenwirth

After climbing the scary multi-pitch route "Irrfahrt der Jugend" in the Zillertal Alps, succeeding in the World Cup in Briancon with a great 6th place and making a quick ascent of "Hades" / Nassereith (9a), Marmot PRO Jorg Verhoeven striked again and sent "Never Ending Story" (8B+) in Magic Wood - in only three tries! Very impressive ;-)

More information on Jorg's Blog.

Photo: Reinhard Fichtinger

Marmot PRO Matilda striked again! At the European Youth Cup in Imst the young Swede finished third - great job!

During the recent OutDoor trade fair in Friedrichshafen (July 14-17, 2011), the German B2B magazine for industry and retail outdoor.markt for the first time awarded prices to leading outdoor brands, retailers and personalities. We are very proud that the jury selected Marmot to be the most innovative outdoor brand!

Marc Wachter, Director Markjeting & Sales, commented: "As we could observe during the recent OutDoor trade fair, the whole outdoor industry currently is in a very healthy position. We are glad we can contribute to this trend with our innovative and high-quality products and materials.

For more information, go to www.outdoormarkt.com.

Photo: outdoor.markt

Seiland National Park is in the far north of Norway on the island of Seiland. Even by Norway's standards, this park is very wild which makes it the perfect destination for those looking for beautiful landscapes and great trekking possibilities.

A film by Lars Schneider / www.outdoor-visions.com.

"Marmot Rocks North Wales" - The classic routes and mountains of North Wales were in the focus of the 2011 Marmot PRO climbers event. Thirteen of Marmot's top European climbers came together for four days of physical and mental punishment whilst attempting some of North Wales hardest sport and trad climbing routes.

Check out the video on "Marmot Rocks North Wales", featuring a historic on-sight of "Strawberries" (E7) by Jorg Verhoeven and the first ascent of all pitches in a day of "The Quarryman" (E8) by Steve McClure.



Photo: Tim Glasby

Marmot PRO Will Sim and his partner Jon Griffith made an impressively fast ascent of the famous Cassin Ridge on Denali (Mt. McKinley) and broke the existing speed record set up back in 1991.
Will reports about the ascent:

"I've just returned from a semi-successful trip to the Central Alaska range with Jon Griffith, and our Chamonix-based swedish friends Magnus Kastengren and Andreas Fransson. Although we didn't manage to set foot on the main event, we had an awesome time with lots of friends and did some great climbing.

In the process of acclimatising Jon Griffith and myself managed to climb the super-classic, 2.700 metre monster "Cassin Ridge" in its fasted recorded time to date, 14 hours 40 minutes, beating the previous record set by Mugs Stump. We hadn't planned to better the record, we simply wanted to climb this classic route in a single push, (normal ascent time 3-5 days). But it certainly was a pleasant surprise!"

Read more about Will and his trip to Alaska at willsim.blogspot.com/.

"The Quarryman" (E8) is the stuff of legends! And first climbed by the legend Johnny Dawes. Blasted into fame in the film Stone Monkey with a Zappa sound track that elevated the route above every other in the quarries. Even the simple name blatantly indicates that this isn’t just another slab or wall. This is THE masterpiece, climbing out from the biggest hole via the biggest challenges.

The Quarryman has four pitches, but it is really all about the famous groove pitch. An incredible natural feature; huge in both stature and status. Intimidating as hell! After being very close on climbing all four pitches alrealy on their first day in the route, the Marmot PROs Steve McClure and Neil Mawson came back a few days later to finish what they had started. Steve managed to climb all four pitches in one single day - a huge achievement which none of the very few other repetitors of the route were able to do. Great job! Neil was also very close on ticking the route, but unfortunately an open fingertip stopped him. But he will be back for sure!

Steve's ascent of the Quarryman took place during the event "Marmot Rocks North Wales", a gathering of Marmot's top class climbers. A complete report on the event as well as many photos and a video clip will be out soon!

For more info on Steve's ascent, go to steve-mcclure.com

Photo: Tim Glasby

The Marmot PRO climbers are back from "Marmot Rocks North Wales" - with a very nice tick list! 24 years after Stefan Glowacz's onsight of the ultra-classic 'Strawberries' (E7) at Tremadog, Jorg Verhoeven also ticked the route in the most elegant of all styles. Great effort, Jorg!

Stay tuned for more pics and a video clip about the trip - featuring the Marmot PROs Markus Bock, Lucy Creamer, Jack Geldard, Stefan Glowacz, Gerhard Hörhager, Robert Jasper, Dodo Kopold, Oscar Krumlinde, Albert Leichtfried, Neil Mawson, Steve McClure, Sarah Seeger and Jorg Verhoeven.

Here you can read more about Jorg's ascent of Strawberries.

Foto by Jack Geldard

While most of us are enjoying the sun and the nice temperatures at the moment, Marmot PRO Gilles Sierro once again put on his skis, this time to ski the steep north face of mount La Luette in Swiss Valais. The run is about 50 degress steep and seldomly skied due to the unstable conditions. However, with 20-30 cm of fresh powder, Gilles had a really nice ski day!