Sportihome facilitates the connection between sports travelers and hosts for sport holidays, far off the beaten path and with an incredible spirit of hospitality. As part of Suunto Value Pack all buyers of new Suunto watches throughout the world will receive a 50 € discovery offer to book their adventure accommodation on the Sportihome.com platform. Sportihome offers secure payments, 24/7 assistance and 10,000 sport homes in 38 countries among 45 sports! "Exploring off the beaten path is part of our DNA at Suunto. With Sportihome, we will allow our community to live new experiences while sleeping in the homes of other sports enthusiasts. An attitude of sharing and camaraderie is what every adventurer is looking for,” says Janne Kallio, Suunto’s Head of partner product management. "We are enormously proud of this new partnership. To be able to collaborate with a brand so well recognized by adventure enthusiasts shows real trust in our platform and the community of passionate sports hosts. There are going to be some great adventures,” adds Sylvain Morel, co-founder of Sportihome. Learn more about Sportihome Learn more about Suunto Value Pack

For an increasing number of people today nutrition isn’t only a question of what food we eat, it’s also about where that food has come from and how it’s been produced. When she's not in the mountains, you can find Emelie in her garden or preparing delicious meals. © Matti Bernitz Eating seasonally For Swedish mountain running champion Emelie Forsberg sustainability plays an important role in her decision making around diet. For this reason Forsberg eats seasonally. “In the winter, for example, I try not to buy fruit or anything transported from far away places,” she says. “For me, the seasons are something to go through.” Fall, she says, is a time to begin spending more time indoors, thinking, reading and reflecting, slowing down after the summer. Winter, Forsberg says, is a time for taking care of oneself, resting, and recharging. Spring is a time of awakening, coming out of hibernation, and using more energy. Summer is a time of fun and intensity. Forsberg eats different foods during each season. “I really enjoy eating in the winter,” she says. “For breakfast, I eat porridge with berries on top. I’m living in Scandinavia, and we have many berries and greens, and a lot of herbs. In the winter we eat a lot of potatoes. The best is eating potatoes with olive oil and salt! In summer, we have smoothies, more salads, and colder foods.” Straight from the earth Forsberg is also an avid gardener. Her dream is to become as self sufficient as possible. Leafy greens, beans, potatoes, berries, carrots, you name it, Forsberg is growing it. Gardening, working with the earth, being in harmony with the seasons, is a form of spirituality for Forsberg. She believes the fresher it is the better. © Kilian Jornet Relaxed eating Listening to her body is a big part of how she eats, rather than following meal plans. “I never have a meal plan,” she says. “In the beginning you need to get into a routine, but now I don’t even think about it anymore. You just need to use your imagination. Some people get obsessed about eating healthy. I’m not like that. I’m relaxed in the way I’m eating.” Bean power She is a big fan of beans, and admits to eating them at least once a day. “Even bean cakes and bean cookies,” she laughs. “Like, everything beans – 10 different types of beans, five different types of lentils! When you are vegetarian it’s important to know where you are getting your protein from.” Easy, go-to meals Forsberg stores a lot of food in her freezer, including bean burger patties. If it’s going to be a busy week she’ll make a big meal on Monday and store it to have again later in the week. “I like to have back up meals. “I also make pesto out of everything, any type of green, even the tops of carrots,” she says. “A bit of garlic, olive oil, sun seed flower, nuts and seeds, and I eat it with pasta. I was eating it with bean pasta just now! Salad with carrot and lentil patties Salad (green salad, rocket, carrots, beets, brussels and onion from the garden) Patties: 3 carrots, grated4 dl of red lentils; slightly cooked, can be a bit hard.1/2 an onion2 tbsp spoon of tahinia little parsleychili, salt and black pepperMix it all together and fry, or bake them in the oven! Lead image: Photo by Blair Fraser on Unsplash.

Cartophile (map lover) and long distance hiker and biker Jean Hacquart grew up in the French Alps using paper maps, and ordinarily prefers having one in his hands when he’s navigating in wild and remote country. “I grew up with paper maps, my father teaching me how to read and to use them when we were hiking together,” he says. “There is something I love about the feeling of having them in my hands.” But some adventures are too long, too big, to carry a bevy of maps. That’s why for his latest epic adventure travelling the length of New Zealand one way by foot, then back again by bike, he’s using a Suunto 9 to do the job. Hacquart’s adventure begins in November 2018 and ends in April 2019. Follow his adventure on Instagram. It’s important to remember Hacquart’s decision isn’t a good idea for everyone. New Zealand’s vast mountain ranges and forests are places to treat with caution and respect. Rapid weather changes, and remoteness can catch people out. River crossings are the most dangerous factor in the outdoors, along with the risk of falling. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation recommends having maps and a compass when entering its national parks, and knowing how to use them. Good quality topographical maps are available online for free here. Having grown up in the Alps, Hacquart has experience with wild places. In 2016, he hiked the rugged 4300 km Pacific Crest Trail in the US. Paper maps were his navigation tool of choice. “I didn’t think twice and carried paper maps all the way,” he says. “With them and my old Suunto watch with a compass and a barometer, I was confident and efficient. But I was really heavy too.” To reduce his weight for his New Zealand trip, Hacquart tried to find a three-in-one device, and found it in a Suunto 9. Specifically designed for long distance adventures, the 9 is Suunto’s latest top line adventure watch. “It’s a GPS to follow the route I planned at home on my computer,” he says. “It’s a barometer to know the altitude and when the weather is changing, and it’s a compass to be sure to follow the right direction, even if I don’t have GPS reception. “I also needed a tool that was light, easy to use, weatherproof, with an amazingly long battery life. Not that easy to find!” Hacquart has been testing his Suunto 9 over the last few weeks before his departure to New Zealand. He says it exceeded all his requirements. “It’s a super reliable device and I never run out of battery during my multi-day hikes,” he says. “So goodbye paper maps, I am fully confident to begin my new project with it on my wrist. Let the adventure begin!”

You don’t have to be an extreme rock climber or cliff diver to experience the adventure mindset – and reap its rewards. You just have to say yes more, finds Tarquin Cooper. © www.davecornthwaite.comDave Cornthwaite was once a graphic designer in Swansea, Wales, a bad one, he freely admits. Then in 2005 he decided to try something radically different – and so he boarded a flight to Australia with a skateboard in his luggage and a crazy idea in his mind. Several pairs of shoes, approximately 2,911,500 pushes, and 5,822 km later, he successfully made it across the continent. It was the start of new beginning. “To many, this was a bizarre notion even to consider, let alone practice, but personally I had never been faced with a larger opportunity. It wasn't crazy, it couldn't have felt more sane. For the first time in my life, I felt I had purpose.” Cornthwaite has never looked back. He’s currently 11 journeys into Expedition 1,000, a mission to undertake 25 journeys of 1,000 miles (1,600 km). These have included swimming the Missouri, descending the Mississippi by SUP and crossing the Atacama desert by ‘whike’, a sail and pedal-powered recumbent tricycle. Over 500 people came out on 20 different camps, some had never camped before. He says he doesn’t see himself as ‘an adventurer’ or particularly brave. “I just made a decision to being open to more things. My curiosity has just grown and grown,” he says. Unsurprisingly, Cornthwaite is a massive advocate for adventure as a means of ‘facing Mondays with a smile’ as he puts it, helping to organise social projects, events, workshops and encourage others to find their adventurous spirit. © www.davecornthwaite.com This summer for example he decided to get to know his Facebook friends in person, inviting them to go camping with him over various weekends. The result was amazing, he says. “Over 500 people came out on 20 different camps, some had never camped before.” Such was the success, they formed their own tribe, the Yes Tribe and organized their first ‘Yestival’ in October. The idea is to encourage people to share ideas, whether adventurers or entrepreneurs and then learn how to take the steps to make things happen.” He says we have so much to gain from embracing our adventurous spirit and taking that leap into the unknown, and not just for the obvious benefits being in the outdoors brings. “As I meet more and more people I feel that curiosity. It needs to be brewed,” he says. “The human race is designed to evolve: curiosity and adventure – they’re both part of moving forward.” It’s the embodiment of the 7R gene spirit. © www.davecornthwaite.comSomeone else who lives by the adventure maxim is executive coach Matt Walker who believes the adventure mindset is not just a tool for adventure sports but as a way of facing life, and all that entails. “My life revolves around adventure,” he says. “It is my livelihood: Adventure in the classic sense of scaling high mountains in remote regions of the world and adventure in the mindful sense of living each day, each project, and in each relationship with intention, focus, and humor.” Adventure is the willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart. He says it’s hard to live out the philosophy of adventure in our day-to-day lives. “It is the hardest thing I have ever attempted,” he says. “Bringing adventure into the core being of my life has been fraught with challenge and learning. The reward though is a level of engagement and awareness that is deeply satisfying and joyous.” And what is the elusive essence of adventure? “At the core, adventure is the willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart and a willingness to learn and engage,” he says. “It is the ability to take a leap into the unknown with mindfulness and grace. Framed this way, opportunity for adventure presents itself to us everyday.” © www.davecornthwaite.com He says there are five key components of adventure: ‘high endeavor', the ability to think big; ‘total commitment’, the willingness to embrace challenge; ‘an uncertain outcome’, a necessity to keep us engaged and aware; ‘tolerance for adversity’, the ability to remain resilient; ‘great companionship’ to make the journey not just possible but also worthwhile. He adds: “Adventure is not reserved for the extreme athlete or the daredevil. It is an attitude and lifestyle choice. It is an expression of your heart's intention and passion for life.” Adventure is not reserved for the extreme athlete or the daredevil. It’s a view echoed by by psychologist, leadership coach and adventurer Sarah Fenwick who also says adventure doesn’t have to be climbing Mt Everest. “It all depends on the personality,” she says. “Some people are happy to ski to the North Pole who’ve never skied before, while others might want to at least complete a ski journey in Norway for example before going.” It’s all about getting out of your comfort zone, but by the right margin, she says. “I like to think of fear and excitement as different ends of the same continuum. When you do a challenge which you perceive as just outside your comfort zone, where your skill set is just below or 90% of what’s required, that’s when you get that little bit of excitement. Then, when you do achieve it, you get that great feel good factor. I think everyone should experience that fear-excitement zone!” © www.davecornthwaite.comFenwick has plenty of personal experience herself of that fear-excitement zone; in a sail boat on many expeditions around the world, including to Antarctica; in the air as a record-breaking paraglider pilot which included becoming the first person to launch from the true summit of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. The secret to embracing your inner adventurous spirit, she says, ‘is making sure that when you stretch, it doesn’t become a negative experience’. “For some people it might only be 5% or 2% out of their comfort zone. But it’s a positive thing. There are so many stories of how people have grown and gone on to do bigger and better things. The more people who do that the more we’ll have an aspirational and achieving society.” Some people just wanted to go hiking while others talk about climbing Everest and cycling across continents. Cornthwaite is used to listening to his audience’s own goals after the motivational talks he gives. “I was at an event last night,” he says. “Some people just wanted to go hiking while others talk about climbing Everest and cycling across continents.” © www.davecornthwaite.comHis advice for taking that first step? “Find a group or an event that echoes your passion or go along to a talk. Surround yourself with people who share that passion. Then naturally, having that support and encouragement helps you make the next step.” And one more thing he says: “Just say yes more!” Walker has a word of caution however: “Adventure is work – but the pay-off is well worth the commitment. Your summits await.” Lead image: © www.davecornthwaite.com

In the mid 1980s the Chinese government offered Italian alpinist Reinhold Messner permission to climb Mount Kailash. He declined. “If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people’s souls,” Messner said in 2001 when asked about a Spanish team’s plan to climb it. “I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder. Kailash is not so high and not so hard.” After protest from mountaineers around the world, the Spanish climbers abandoned the plan. The Chinese administration got the message and banned any future attempts. Messner, who has twice trekked around it, is right. At 6, 638 m, Kailash is minor compared to the giants of the Himalaya. In terms of technical difficulty, there are more challenging mountains to climb. “Kailash is about the journey and opening yourself to new perspectives.” For the followers of four of Asia’s great religions, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Bon, Kailash is the centre of the universe, the seat of all spiritual power, the summer residence of Shiva and home to the Buddha of supreme bliss. It’s not something to conquer. It’s a symbol of transcendence. To climb it would be to profane what is sacred to millions. “For all mountaineers who appreciate the mountains of the Himalaya, we feel a special connection to the people there, and for them Kailash is the head mountain and the centre of all the religions,” says Suunto ambassador Kilian Jornet. “We don’t climb it out of respect for them.” © Markus Person Besides, not all adventures are about getting to the top, he says. “The summit of Kailash is not as interesting as the amazing journey pilgrims make there,” Jornet says. “Kailash is about the journey and opening yourself to new perspectives.” In a tradition that began in the distant past, thousands of pilgrims travel to Kailash each year to complete a “kora”; walking 52 km around its base. Tibetans believe it takes seven lifetimes to accumulate enough merit for the right to travel there. Some pilgrims drop to the ground and offer body length prostrations each step of the way in a deeply devoted act of prayer and submission. Each kora, it’s believed, amasses good karma and blessings. “There's an attraction to this place coming from the heart.” Located in a remote area of west Tibet, near the border of Nepal and India, Kailash is about a 1200 km from Lhasa, the administrative capital of Tibet. It’s about 800 km from the border to Nepal. It takes between two to five days to drive there. As the region has opened and as word about and images of the incredible pyramid-shaped mountain have got out, adventurers, trekkers, spiritual seekers and devotees of the various faiths have begun travelling there from all corners of the world. Some keep returning, again and again. Markus Person, for example, has walked around the sacred mountain 20 times. He hasn’t been there for two years and says he now understands what homesickness really means. “Mount Kailash is one of the most auspicious, powerful places you can be,” Person says. “But I can’t tell you why. I’m not a Buddhist or a Hindhu, but there is an attraction to this place coming from the heart.” © Markus Person Person grew up in a small village in the mountains of Germany’s Black Forest. Wandering the hills and forests has always been a cherished part of his life. Back in 2000, he was a managing director of an IT company, earning good money and enjoying worldly success. But something else began calling him – a powerful desire to travel and explore. Annual trekking vacations to Asia weren’t enough to satisfy it. A three-month sabbatical wasn’t either. After two years, he could no longer ignore the call. He and his wife quit their jobs in 2002, put the contents of their apartment into storage and bought one-way tickets to Tibet. “It was a very deep longing I carried within myself.” “It’s what I always dreamed of,” Person says. “Just packing the rucksack and travelling without a final destination and a limited time window. “It was a very deep longing I carried within myself.” It wasn’t until he and his wife were travelling that they heard about Kailash. They met people in Lhasa who were planning to go there and were convinced to make it a “side excursion”. “I had no idea what it was about until I walked around the mountain for the first time,” he says. “I only realised how lucky I was afterwards.” © Markus Person “The kora opens your perception, changes the way you look at and appreciate life.” After Kailash, Person continued his adventures and eventually all of his travelling and trekking experience led to him landing a job as a tour guide. In 2005, he made an acquaintance who runs Snow Jewel, a business leading tours to Kailash and other destinations in Tibet. The two became friends and Person began leading trekking tours to Kailash. Since, he has completed 20 koras, 12 of them as a guide. “Kailash is like a guru; everytime you go, there is another lesson you learn” From one perspective the 52 km trek around the mountain is easy. Many people complete it in a day. Some jog around it. From another perspective, however, it’s anything but easy. The altitude of 5000 m can cause headaches and sickness. The harsh environment, cold temperatures and sleeping in tents with strangers can take their toll. “There’re guys who think it’s no big deal and arrive all cocky, but then they get into some kind of emotional loop with their fears, and some turn back often for silly reasons that only existed in their minds,” Person says. “If there’s no space for humility, the mountain will show you who’s boss. Photo by E v a [1], via Wikimedia Commons “Kailash is like a guru; everyone time you go, there is another lesson you learn, another obstacle that gets removed from your way to finding your inner truth.” Person has witnessed a Chinese girl with one lung complete a kora after doctors had told her it would kill her. He’s seen housewives with no background in the outdoors do it because they have a strong, inexplicable desire. He’s also seen grown men break down and weep. All of them had one thing in common; they had reached an important junction in their lives and at that time Kailash mysteriously called to them. “There’s a deep fascination with the mountain and you don’t know why, you just feel it and know it in your heart,” Person says. “There’s a driving power inside us which we can either supress or follow. “Anyone who goes to Kailash never returns the same.”

It may seem old-school but using a map and compass, and gaining a little knowledge on your surroundings, will add to your outdoors experience, finds Tarquin Cooper. I emerge out of a forest into thick mist – visibility is reduced to around 50 m – and the way ahead to the summit is not clear. There’s something that looks like a path ahead but it’s easy to get disorientated and I want to double check. And that’s when I do something that amazes my ski-touring partner. I pull out a map and compass. He makes a strange snorting noise – a mix of derision and laughter. The irony is, I was wearing my Ambit3. In just a couple of button pushes I could have checked the waypoints I’d inputted the night before. But the truth is, there’s just something mentally satisfying about working out where you are on a map, aligning it alongside a compass, and checking the bearing. Despite the disparaging comments from my companion, I’m not the only one who’s a fan of the lost art of navigation. Alastair Humphreys British adventurer Al Humphreys, who has popularized the concept of ‘micro adventures’ – short escapes from the city, also agrees. “I get quite lazy,” he says. “When I use a GPS I just press go and follow the instructions and pay no attention. For me, part of the experience of being out in the wilderness is moving competently, interpreting funny bits of the map. It’s more about the aesthetic and challenge than the practical, and it adds to the experience.” Henrik Palin, Suunto’s product manager for compasses, says navigating with a map and compass can be more rewarding, in the same way it is to cook your food over an open fire. “It can be a bit more exciting,” he says. He adds that there are also safety advantages to using a map and compass. “There’s the convenience and simplicity – you don’t have to wait for anything to switch on,” he says. “It also gives you more freedom for ad hoc navigation. If you’re relying on waypoints that’s all you have, whereas, if you have a big map, you can see interesting features like a nice lake, for example, which you can then navigate to using the compass.” Today, most adventurers view a map and compass in the same context as other safety equipment such as first aid or an emergency blanket – something that always goes in the rucksack. An old map from Al Humphreys’s office. Maps themselves also have an intrinsic value beyond navigation, adds Humphreys. The walls of the log cabin where he works and writes his books are plastered with maps from around the world. Humphreys says maps serve two purposes, as a means to navigate, but also as objects, like books. “I love maps for daydreaming about future trips and about reminiscing about old adventures,” he adds. “Some maps are things of artistic beauty. Tristan Gooley One person who has taken the art of navigation to a new level is Tristan Gooley. As an adventurer he is the only living person to have flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. (The other person to have done it is the late billionaire businessman and multiple record breaker Steve Fossett). But arguably a far greater distinction is that he is the author of two of the only books about natural navigation. Natural navigation, he says, is ‘the art of finding your way using nature – the sun, moon, stars plants, even buildings. He says it’s not about survival – although of course such knowledge would come pretty useful if you ever got stranded in the wild. Rather, he says the knowledge adds to the experience of being in the outdoors. “Natural navigation is a culturally and scientifically enriching way of looking at the outdoors,” Gooley explains. “It is only necessary the way the arts are – they make life more fascinating and richer.” “For most people there’s a joy and satisfaction in following the northern star for two kilometers and then, finding yourself two kilometers further north. We’re now so modern that the idea it might work is weird but it’s deeply rewarding to see that it does!” Alastair Humphreys Natural navigation is much more than using natural signs to pick up north, south, east or west, he adds. “It becomes much more interesting when you’re using plants and animals as a map.” As an example, he says the brain is very good at pattern recognition. “Every time you come across water, whether that’s a pond, river, lake, have a look at the trees lining that water. You don’t need to be able to identify them. Then have a look at the trees around dry ground.” He says that very soon you’ll be able to spot when water is nearby. “It’s surprisingly easy.” Other indicators Gooley likes to demonstrate is how the roots of a tree will reveal the direction of the prevailing winds. In England (where he is based) this means stronger bigger roots on the south-west side, where the wind is coming from.” And if you’re ever caught trying to orientate yourself in an urban environment, a favorite tip he likes to point out is to look at the satellite dishes. “Everywhere has a trend. In England they point reliably south-east but they will broadly point to the equator.” “For me the excitement of the outdoors comes from the comfort of knowledge. It gives you a warm feeling,” Gooley adds. And that neatly sums up my own feeling as I put the map and compass back in my jacket. “It’s this way,” I say with new-found confidence, and start making tracks into the mist. This, and many more adventure stories, can be found in the 7R Magazine that is published quarterly with-in the 7R App. Download the app at the App Store to read the latest issue.