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.