Have you ever thought of BASE jumping? With a wingsuit? In full winter conditions? In the dark? With two burning torches? Neither have we. But Patrick Kerber and his friends did – and the result, a photo by Christian Meier, looks amazing.  © Christian Meier / www.chrigel.li “My friend Simon Wandeler and I have wanted to do a wingsuit BASE flight at night during winter for a very long time. But somehow we never really managed to do it,” the Swiss wingsuit flyer says. The idea picked up momentum after Kerber’s friend, photographer Fabian Wyss approached him with an idea of attaching some kind of light to the jumper. “When he told me his idea, I instantly understood what he wanted to do and could envision how this picture could turn out.” FLYING WITH A TORCH The first problem they faced was how to attach a light to the jumper that would be bright enough to be seen from a distance of about two kilometers. And of course it is not easy to attach a light to a wingsuit without changing the flying characteristics of the suit. “Then I had the idea of attaching flares to myself, exactly like the ones used for rescue missions or emergencies. But flares burn very, very hot and my biggest fear was burning holes or melting the suit. That would have been super dangerous.” Another challenge was finding a proper location that could be accessed in winter conditions at night and also photographed. After some research and tests they chose one of Kerber’s regular jumping spots, the east face of Titlis in Engelberg in Switzerland. The two photographers, Fabian Wyss and Christian Meier, stood on the other side of the valley on the Fürrenalp. “There definitely was a lot of pressure – even though we did intense testing before, I did not know for sure how it would turn out. Having fire really close to you on a wingsuit BASE flight leaves no margin for error. Everything has to work out.” EVERY SECOND COUNTS The big challenge for the image was timing. One single torch would burn for exactly one minute. “I definitely did not want to open up my parachute with fire still around me, as this could be very dangerous. I only have one single parachute attached to me. If this one burns or melts, it's over!”  Kerber decided to use two torches. The first one he ignited before he took off and held in his right hand so it would be visible to the photographer. When the torch burned out, he quickly opened up his parachute and ignited a second torch attached to his foot. (That’s the break in the red line in the image.) “I only had 20 seconds to ignite the second one as it also burned for one minute and I only had 1 minute and 15 seconds to the landing area. I did not want to land with a flare still on fire, as this could be very dangerous for my gear and for myself. Even though there was snow where I landed, those torches burn so hot that they even burn underwater!” Patrick Kerber has jumped at night before, but not in winter and only at full moon. “The feeling was very intense and amazing. It is much harder to orientate yourself, as you can't see as well. It feels much more intense because you fly with more feeling and awareness of your body and movements.” For Kerber wingsuit flying is about freedom. “For me freedom is a moment of pure perfection and pure happiness, a moment where all that matters is now.” Watch a behind the scenes video of Patrick Kerber’s flight.

Now's the perfect time to be out there running, says Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes, well – at least it is in the southern hemisphere. The Cape Town based runner is making the most of mid-summer weather to gear up for a couple of big projects for 2015, as he tells us below. What's in your sights: I'm very excited by the challenge of new races. I'm looking forward to TransVulcania in May. The distance of 83km will suit me. What else?The Western States. I've done it twice so I'm going there with high expectations! I've never run the UTMB and hope to run that in 2016. Another key 100 miler on my list is the Raid Reunion. Ryan during the Grand Drakensberg Traverse FKT ©Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool Racing or FKT, what makes your heart beat? I enjoy racing but what drives me is the FKT movement. [Fastest Known Times: the challenge of setting a record time on a set route, typically up or across mountains, organised independently.]I enjoy the whole adventure of setting yourself a challenge, the whole behind the scenes thing, checking maps, preparing, not knowing what lies ahead, it beats my soul. That really excites and motivates me. In a race you know you will finish. With an FKT you don't actually know if you will and that's really exciting. There are a few FKTs I'm looking at. Most are in Africa around Kenya and Tanzania. Ryan pictured at home in South Africa ©Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content Pool Tell us about the Grand Drakensberg Traverse. [In March 2014 Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel smashed the FKT for the 204km traverse of the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa, running the wild mountain ridgeline in 41h and 49m.]It was really cool to achieve but it wasn't just about running the fastest time. It was the whole experience of crossing the mountains north to south.What was the hardest part? The preparation when we scouted the route! We had really bad weather – I've never seen anything like it. There was snow, hail, lightning and torrential rain. It was pretty scary! The next time I got hammered by the altitude. Every time an element humbled me. Peak or Sport?I'm using the Ambit3 Sport Blue and really enjoying that. The Suunto Movies are really cool. But for my longer runs I'm more of a Peak guy for the longer battery. It's really useful to be able to track my distance and climbs. Ryan running the Fish River canyon in 2012 ©Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content PoolWhat's next? I'm setting up an FKT that other people can try but can't say any more at the moment! Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes, 32, won the 4 Desert series in 2010 and won the Leadville 100 in 2011.

In their latest update from Greenland, the Under the Pole team share their adventures, which included violent Arctic winds, and a memorable Christmas party.“We say that the Arctic is the school of patience,” writes expedition leader, Ghislain Bardout in his latest newsletter. “It takes us 20 minutes of preparation to get out the boat, one hour to remove the snow from the deck every morning, four hours to prepare a scuba dive, and we haven’t seen the sun in four months.” This is a day in the life of Ghislain Bardout and his team of French explorers, as they wait patiently for spring to arrive and continue their ambitious scientific expedition off the Greenland coastline. Diving base camp next to the iceberg. © Lucas Santucci / Under The Pole He says: “While we waited for the sea-ice and sun to come out, we had some great Christmas parties at Uummannaq. And New Year’s Eve was one of the best we’d ever experienced: locals launched hundreds of fireworks into the sky – it became a magical show above the snowy city.”The team then headed to their winter location and had a three-day stopover at Ikerasak to lend the locals a hand. “Véronique, our physician, examined several local people, and Sylvain, our fixit man, repaired the local school’s informatics network.” Ghislain says.January proved to be a difficult month for the team, as they endured several days of violent Arctic winds, halting all activity. “We registered averages of 50 knots and gusts up to 80 knots. It’s in these kind of situations that we’re happy to have two anchors!” adds Ghislain. The team is now planning for the next leg of their exhibition – the sea-ice scientific program.Under The Pole is a series of submarine polar expeditions aiming to explore the hidden face of the Arctic and Antarctic Polar Regions in their diversities. Suunto is an expedition partner. Main image ©Under The Pole

There are a lot of similarities between cave diving and developing a new product. Pushing the limits is one of them. Explore the world of a cave diver, tech dive instructor and Suunto EON Steel test diver Sami Paakkarinen. Sami Paakkarinen was one of the field testers that supported Suunto's internal test team in the development of EON Steel, our new fully customizable dive computer. Paakkarinen is an advanced dive instructor who teaches technical, cave and rebreather diving. He is based in Finland but can be found diving all around the world in places like Plura in Norway, Pozo Azul in Spain and Orda in Russia. In this video filmed by the Divers of the dark Sami introduces us to the world of cave diving – and finds similarities between cave diving and developing a new dive computer. “Big projects take years and years of preparation. Only then you are ready to push the limits,” he says. Explore the world of cave diver, tech dive instructor and Suunto EON Steel test diver Sami Paakkarinen.  

Speight’s Coast to Coast is an iconic multisport race across New Zealand's South Island. Every year, more than 800 competitors line up to run, cycle and paddle the 243km width of the island. No one knows more about the event than 5-time winner and current race director, Richard Ussher. He explains its enduring appeal. Why is the race so iconic?What really sets it apart is the concept of crossing a country in a day (or two). New Zealand’s South Island is the perfect distance – long enough to be a real challenge, yet short enough to be achievable by more than just the truly insane. Is it more adventure-race or triathlon?I’d say it falls between the two. Top competitors certainly treat it more like a triathlon, where further down the field you probably get more into the adventure-racing realm. Richard also created a Suunto Movie of the Coast to Coast Mountain Run course with his Suunto Ambit3, which you can see here. Post by Richard Ussher. Which discipline decides who wins?You really have to be an all-rounder to win. The two sections that tend to decide the race are the Mountain Run and the Kayak. But then there’s still 70km of cycling to finish it off – normally into a stiff headwind. Did you record the Running Stage time yourself?Yes. It’s probably close to what the bulk of the better two-day runners will set. The top one-day and team competitors are closer to the 3-hour mark though. Last year’s winner Braden Currie clocked 2:49 for the run. How did you become race director?The event was sold to a company called Trojan Holdings in 2013. They contacted many former participants and asked them where they thought the race needed to go. I was a little vocal in my opinions, and after talking with them, ended up in the role. It certainly wasn’t something I thought about before, but it’s a great opportunity. So you’re retired?No, I’m not retired. I had a very tough 2014 because of injury, but I can finally see light at the end of that tunnel. My focus is obviously on the management side of Coast to Coast now, but I still love getting out and competing. Nowadays, I’m more focused on competing in races that I’ve always wanted to do. How do you like the Suunto Movie Tell us about Suunto Movie on the Ambit?I really like this feature, especially where you get to see the whole course in the revolving view. I can see it being really useful for multisport athletes, as it gives you an idea of what the course might be like, and to a certain degree helps create a picture of the gradients involved. Have you used Suunto products before?Yes, I’ve been using Suunto products from early on in my adventure-racing career – starting with the Suunto Advizor, which I still have. I also use the global compass range and orienteering compasses as well as Suunto’s Ambit and Core watches. Suunto products have always been fantastic. Follow the race here: www.coasttocoast.co.nz All pics ©sportzhub.com

What a weekend for Suunto Ambassador, Kilian Jornet. His victory, combined with his remarkable Vertical Race win on Saturday, leaves the Catalan athlete as the interim leader in the overall rankings with two races left to go in the Championship. An elated Kilian said afterwards: “A gold medal in the star race is very stimulating. I won this race in 2011 and attaining this medal after four years means something special to me. The Individual Race is the most important race and that is why I am so happy to have won a second gold medal in these Championships.” Kilian on his way to victory in the Vertical Race.  © ISMF / Verbier 2015 Kilian still has two more shots of winning a medal when he participates in the Team Race with his friend and colleague Marc Pinsach on Wednesday, and the Relays to end the World Championship on Thursday. Kilian added: “I am very pleased to have achieved the two victories. Now it's time to think about the Team race, which will surely be quite spectacular.” Emelie on the ascent in perfect conditions © ISMF / Verbier 2015 Jornet wasn’t the only Suunto Ambassador tearing up the mountain on Sunday – Skyrunning World Champion, Emelie Forsberg competed in the ladies’ Individual event, and managed to secure a 4th place finish. She said: “I'm very happy with the results, especially after the individual race. I'm on my way back to shape after a long summer break. Also the ambiance and organization were perfect in Verbier. The crowds cheering us were so inspiring, I love all the things around races,” she added. For more race info go to: www.verbier2015.ch