This past weekend was the annual Mt. Washington Hill Climb bike race. Mt. Washington (just under 6300ft.) is the highest peak in the northeastern United States and the annual hill climb is known as one of the toughest in the world at 7.6 miles in length, with an average grade of 12% with extended sections of 18% and the last 50 yards is an oppressive 22%.

Polartec has sponsored the race for the past 10 years, donating Thermal Pro blankets to all of the riders. Due to the threat of hypothermia when finishing the race they are no longer allowed to even hold the race without these blankets. This year, John Brodie from the Polartec marketing department decided to give the race a shot.

“I finished at 1:31:04 at a 5mph average, which I was pleased with for a first time ride,” Brodie said in an email to the Polartec staff. “I wasn’t sure how the legs would hold over the length of the course so I kept an even steady pace, and had enough left to push the last 1/4 mile at about 10-12mph. The weather was perfect, actually a bit warm until getting above tree line. Views of the Presidential range were awesome, and there was a very large crowd at the summit.”

Congrats to John and all of the riders that attempted the Hill Climb! I was feeling pretty good about my 5 mile run this morning until just now.

The race, which took place this last weekend, was stopped after 15 hours due to inclement weather and Laurent and Julien were pronounced the winners of this epic road run, which included over 4500m+ elevation gain with two 2,800 meters passes, and Lombard pass at the bottom of Aiguilles d’Arves at 3,100 m. The route took runners through the Karellis, Valloire, Bonnenuit, around Le Galibieer, Besse Gerbier, and Albiez regions.

Laurent, a 39-year old accomplished ultra runner and adventure racer, lives in Rotherens, France. Congrats Laurent and Julien!

Earlier this month Kevin Back of Powder Magazine very graciously brought a few of us heli skiing in Girdwood / Alyeska, Alaska with the Chugach Powder Guides.

I took the opportunity to continue to put our new soft shell fabric, Polartec Power Shield Pro, to the test in the field (it’s tough work but has to be done).

We arrived on a rare blue-bird day in Anchorage with views of Denali and a beautiful ride south along the Turnagain Arm to the resort in Girdwood. That night the clouds picked up, a storm moved in and we were blessed with about 40″ of light fresh powder over the next 36 hours.

Alaska this time of year can be surprisingly warm and damp (tip – bring multiple pairs of goggles for cat / heli skiing in Alaska) – so it was an excellent environment to really put Polartec Power Shield Pro through its paces.

That’s me in the video tele skiing in the pinkish raspberry outfit (that’s what happens you let engineers pick the sample fabric colors). I took some heat from the guides and other groups of skiers – but all in the name of fabric testing…

We skied in a range of conditions from the high teens Fahrenheit to the mid 40’s – everything from blower powder to heavy wet snow – howling winds to baking sunshine.

Throughout the week, I wore the exact same set of clothes (occasionally adding another layer of Polartec Thermal Pro high loft when temperatures dipped). I was super impressed with the comfort range Polartec Power Shield Pro offers – wind resistant enough, yet allows some true airflow through the fabric to keep from overheating. The jacket and pants also did an excellent job of moving moisture vapor away and keeping me dry inside both by venting sweat vapor and by keeping the wet snow and water out (even when kneeling in slush to clamp down my Black Diamond O1 tele bindings and leashes).

Overall the trip was a total success – great conditions delivering over 80,000 vertical skied and Polartec Power Shield Pro outperformed what either a traditional hardshell or traditional softshell could have done. It was the perfect balance for widely variable conditions. This fabric is available Fall 2010 in North America from The North Face in the Kishtwar jacket and in Europe will be offered by TNF, 66 North, Eider, Millet, TrangoWorld, Norrona, Montura, and Lowe Alpine. Check it out.

PS – these photos and video were shot and edited by Adrian Glasenapp – thanks Adro!

Nate Simmons Heli Skiing Alaska

Photos by Adrian Glasenapp

With temperatures plummeting to an all-time low, a cutting wind and some powder still to be found on the Northern aspects, the clear blue skies watched as the gauntlets were thrown down for the ultimate challenge for Polartec® fabrics and skiing prowess.  This year saw the European pros testing their mettle against the honed talents of some visiting Americans:  Nick Devore, a former Telemark Freeskiing World Champion (and member of Polartec’s Athlete Advisory Board) Flylow’s Dan Abrams and Eben Mond and our very own director of marketing Nate Simmons battled it out on the slopes of San Pellegrino. In the overall ranking, the Europeans defended their home turf with a win in the Freeride Race with Italian Armin Senoner grabbing first place and Nick Devore nudging his boots with a second and “Best Trick” accolade. Nick Devore was also the winner of the Telemark category.  Germany’s Fritz Trojer came in third.

Nick Devore celebrates his win

The Alpine category saw Italians Matteo Bordoni and Aldo Valmassoi bag first and second place respectively.  Canada’s Ross Janzen came third.  The Snowboard category was won by Italy’s Francesco Fersuoch followed by fellow Italians Maurizio Davarda and Mauro Tarter.

Eben Mond goes huge (he bashed his nose on his knee on the landing, kept it together and skied across the finish line gushing blood. Luckily he was fine and joined the crew for a 7 course meal Dolomites-style at lunch).

For those who attend the event but choose to watch rather than race, Scufoneda offers great guided tours at various skill levels throughout the week. The groups split up for a few hours in the mornings and then reconvene for Prosecco, salami and cheese in the afternoons.

As title sponsors of the event Polartec® was all over Moena.  From its welcome tent, banners and flags denoting the race routes to its competing staff. It was also a perfect testing venue for 20 European journalists to hit slopes and experience the performance of Polartec Power Shield Pro first hand. Garments will hit the consumer market in the Fall of 2010.

The Polartec® Scufoneda – Telemark & Freeride week was inspired by SCUFONS del COGO, a non-profit association based in Moena, Trentino (most of the original Scufons are local police officers and they also count a high-level regional judge and the mayor among its ranks – it’s good to have the law on your side when you throw a week long party).  Founded in the 90’s by a group of Telemark enthusiasts it is now the point of reference for Telemark fans worldwide.

Polartec Marketing Team - Left to Right - Alessandro Perseo, Allon Cohne, Eric Yung, and Nate Simmons

Oh, and the ripped pants?  Let’s just say, a Polartec® employee double ejected on a narrow couloir and went for a wild ride to the bottom on his backside. After a quick visit to the emergency room and 7 stitches later, he was back in business for the party that evening and skiing the next day.

Want to come next year?  Check out www.scufons.com or Polartec® Scufoneda page on Facebook for details on next year’s Polartec® Scufoneda Telemark&Freeride week.

(click to enlarge)

For many years the outdoor industry has relied upon the Water Vapor Resistance or RET (Resistance of Evaporation of a Textile) test to measure the “breathability” of water resistant/waterproof fabrics. This test,”compare(s) the ability of different materials to dissipate moisture vapor from the body of the wearer to the outside.” (WSA Jan/Feb2010)

However, in our opinion, the RET test (ASTM F1868 -09) does not accurately evaluative the true breathability of a fabric. In fact, “studies have confirmed that the test is predominantly influenced by the fabric thickness, rather than the pore characteristics of the fabric.” For example, the RET test yields a result that says a three layer hard shell/waterproof fabric is more breathable than a 200 weight fleece. Anyone who has ever worn either of these fabrics knows that’s not true – fleece is almost infinitely breathable (hence the reason Polartec has created other more wind resistant fabrics over the years). In addition, RET tests are affected by clothing weight, drape and tightness. Perhaps most importantly, RET not allow any air movement during the test, so you get some truly bizarre, lab-only results.

Another standard test used by the textile industry to measure breathability is Moisture Vapor Transfer Rate (MVTR). MVTR measures how much moisture vapor can pass through fabric in a 24-hour period and there are over 30 different tests to assess this transfer rate. However, these tests can yield wildly different results (as chronicled in this great post on Patagonia’s blog) and like the RET test, MVTR is static and does not account for real-world conditions where air flow is always present.

As an alternative, Polartec is promoting a better means of evaluating the breathability of water resistant and waterproof fabrics. The Dynamic Moisture Permeation Cell (DMPC) is an ASTM standard test that evaluates a fabric’s ability to move moisture vapor in dynamic conditions. The test can change air pressure and humidity on each side of the fabric and measure how well it truly breathes as conditions change (like the real world). DMPC was developed by Dr. Phillip Gibson, a civilian scientist working with the US Army. Click here to download an interesting story about Dr. Gibson’s testing from the June 2004 issue of Inside Outdoor magazine.

In the chart posted above as you move to the right on the horizontal axis, you can see that Polartec Power Shield Pro (the blue line) breathes more and more as you increase the pressure – this is roughly equivalent to increasing air speed or wind – like going from standing still to walking to a light jog. The harder you work, the harder the fabric works (both convection and diffusion are at work when air is moving). Meanwhile, the orange line represents a full-film softshell fabric – the line is flat meaning breathability does not change. This translates to a damp sweaty user experience as exertion levels increase.

Polartec has always emphasized air permeability. Even tiny, tiny amounts of air flowing through the fabric massively increases a fabric’s ability to move moisture vapor away from your body. Fabrics without airflow require a significant amount of heat and moisture vapor to build up inside the jacket before they start to work. We have all experienced the sweat-box feeling of a fabric that relies only on diffusion to “breathe.”

Fall 2010 a range of jackets will be available in the new ultimate soft shell – Polartec Power Shield Pro. For more on Polartec Power Shield Pro, scroll down to see previous posts on the fabric launch and on Polartec’s partnership with Finetex.

Ever wonder what goes into developing the high-performance fabric in your technical clothing? I talked with Karen Beattie, Product Marketing Manager at Polartec, to find out. Polartec (formerly Malden Mills) is a world leader in advanced performance textiles, manufacturing more than 300 different types of fabrics, mostly for the outdoor industry (though they also develop fabrics for military and industrial use). They design fabrics for conditions ranging from extreme heat to severe cold, from dry to stormy, and everything in between. Here’s a glimpse into how it’s done:

The TNF Kishtwar jacket, featuring Polartec's new Power Shield Pro fabric

Spadout: Polartec is credited with helping develop the modern fleece. How did that happen?
Beattie: Polartec, or Malden Mills as it was called then, was a mill that largely made fake animal fur products, with the core competency of surface finishing (raising pile and creating loft). A fledgling outdoor company – Patagonia – came and showed us a problem they had. It was a carpet-like polyester pile, with one side of fuzz and one side of carpet backing – it was a little more pliable than carpet, but the same sort of thing. They were like, “This stuff has some advantages over wool; it’s synthetic, breathable, and it dries quickly, but it’s pilly, it starts looking bad, and it’d be better if it were softer on the inside because it’s like – well, like carpet backing.” So we studied the concept, and had some constructions that lent themselves to double-sided surface finishings. We tried some out, submitted them to Patagonia, and they liked it a lot. That’s how fleece was born.

Spadout: What goes into developing a new product?
Beattie: We start with a defined problem, a customer need, and we have a body of knowledge on fiber choice and polymer chemistry – what’s great about polyester, what’s great about nylon, what’s great about polypropylene. Also, we have knowledge about yarn choice, yarn size, knitting experience, what kinds of constructions to use with these yarns to maximize their potential; and surface finishing, which is our core competency – how to create loft, minimize weight, and make something that performs and is durable for the long run.

For example, if the problem is defined as internal moisture management – keeping sweat away from your body and needing quick drying – there’s the thinking that went into Polartec Power Dry with polypropylene, where we’ve got bi-component construction with the polypropylene next to the skin and the polyester on the outside. So, a fiber choice was made (two different fibers actually); a construction choice (how to knit it, where to put the polypropylene and where to put the polyester); and then some finishing ideas (brushing the inside of the polypropylene to give a couple of little touch-points next-to-skin for active moisture transport).

You take all those little variables and you consider them like levers, which buttons do I push, which levers do I pull, and you put the package together.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Running the 4-miles and 1,500 feet up to our house.

It is finally feeling like winter and this weekend reminded me why I love Colorado so much. I spent much of my weekend teaching Juniper how to ski which has been one of the most fun and rewarding things I have done in a long time. The kid truly loves it and is able to ski all alone down short beginner slopes. Watching her learn and have so much fun is such an amazing experience as a mother.

Mixed in with the skiing, I was able to get out for a run and a skin to test out a new Polartec fabric. So far I have been very impressed and am excited to get out more to continue to put it to the test.

I continue to feel well and fit even as I’m at five and a half months pregnant. It’s a relief to be able to get out to clear my mind and do what I love.

Elinor, Sari & Wendy ready to skin in some fresh snow!

(Excerpted from The Alpine Briefs, the American Alpine Club’s blog).

Janet hard at work testing the technical features of her Polartec layering system

Newfoundland, new routes and exploration.

By Sarah Garlick, North Conway, NH; photos © Sarah Garlick and Kirsten Kremer

“What about Newfoundland?” I asked, spinning around on the bar stool to face Janet and Kirsten. “Aren’t there granite walls rising right out of the ocean?”

Janet Bergman, Kirsten Kremer, and I were sitting in my kitchen in North Conway, a few beer bottles and an old grade-school globe on the dark Formica counter between us. Kirsten was visiting from Alaska, and we were hashing out plans for our next climbing trip. Spinning the dusty globe to North America, I recalled vague images from a Climbing magazine article about Newfoundland: a climber run-out on a wind-blasted face; a steep rappel over gray ocean. And I remembered impressions from a novel placed there: the tiny, isolated towns; the bedrock landscape. And always, I thought, there were storms.

“I’ve heard it’s pretty wild,” I said.

Janet heading into unknown terrain, Chaleur Blow Me Down.

A year later, the three of us loaded my 1991 Toyota van with two and a half weeks worth of food and enough gear to handle big aid lines, blank granite slabs, and fifth-class traverses—all of which we’d been told we could encounter. But, like any good trip, the first crux would be just getting there.We drove 15 hours straight from New Hampshire to the tip of Nova Scotia, making the overnight ferry by less than 30 minutes. The ferryboat had eight floors and accommodated more than a hundred vehicles—even tractor trailers. Lucky for us, there was also a bar.

We landed on “The Rock” at dawn the next day and pushed the van for one more sprint to link another ferry leaving from Burgeo, a town literally at road’s end. Here, a few nice ferrymen Saran-wrapped a pallet of our gear and loaded it into the ship’s hold for a six-hour ride up the coast.

Read the rest of the story here.

Janet testing Polartec's new polypropylene fabric

(From L to R) FRONT ROW: Allon Cohne (Polartec), Bill Belcourt, Janet Bergman, Kelly Cordes, Sari Anderson, Nate Simmons (Polartec) SECOND ROW: Nick Devore, Antoine Barthelemy, Michael Silitch, Mike Kloser, Laurent Valette, Doug Heinrich, Eric Yung (Polartec) Gord Betenia

This past weekend, Polartec organized the first meeting of its new 11-member Athlete Advisory Board. The group met in Boston and then traveled to HQ in Lawrence, Mass. to tour the Polartec plant. After the plant tour, the group of world-class climbers, skiers, alpinists, cyclists, guides and adventure racers sat down with Polartec’s product development team to provide feedback on current performance fabric technology and discuss some of the ‘dream’ layers they would all like to have in their packs.

The group gelled really well and by the end of the trip, lots of people were planning ski rendezvous and climbing get-togethers. The meeting exceeded everyone’s expectations and we’re all excited about the potential for real fabric innovation this group can help Polartec to create. The group consists of:

- Sari Anderson (30, Glenwood Springs, CO) is a national mountain bike champ, a world class adventure racer and randonnée ski racer.
- Antoine Barthelemy (54 of Annecy, France) is an accomplished alpinist and ski mountaineer.
- Bill Belcourt (45, Salt Lake City, UT) is a crusty alpinist and champion paraglider pilot.
- Janet Bergman (29, Madison, NH) is an accomplished all-around climber and consultant to outdoor nonprofit organizations.
- Gord Betenia (47, Vancouver, BC) is a talented ice climber, mountaineer and gear flogger.
- Kelly Cordes (40, Estes Park, CO) is a renowned alpinist, climber, writer and self-proclaimed dirtbag.
- Nick Devore (24, Aspen, CO) is a telemark freeskiing world champion and ski mountaineer.
- Doug Heinrich (47, Salt Lake City, UT, is a world-class all-around climber and multi-sport athlete.
- Mike Kloser (49, Vail, CO) is a world champion mountain biker, adventure racer and legendary multi-sport athlete.
- Laurent Valette (39, Rotherens, France) is an accomplished ultra runner and adventure racer.
- Michael Silitch (48, Chamonix, France) is a certified international mountain guide.

Checking out the huge dye jet machines

Learning about the napping and shearing process

Inside the testing lab

Look for updates, fields tests and other cool content from our Athlete Board in the months to come. Incidentally, if you’d like to learn more about Polartec’s manufacturing process, check out these videos.

Jordan and his family are in Nabire in western Papua – their basecamp to climb Carstensz Pyramid.

Here’s an excerpt from Jordan’s blog, just before leaving their home in Big Bear.

Jordan sleeping in his altitude at home

Summit for this mountain would set all NEW world record for age.

Regarded the most technical climb of all the Seven Summits, Carstensz Pyramid located in western Papua, is no ‘gimme’. It is big, steep, arduous and will have at the top, 3000′ of vertical granite to negotiate. Rope work and team work will be essential. Safety is our most important concern, and trust that this team will return in one piece- with or with out the Summit.

Weather will be a constant factor, this region and mountain is known for rain. Lots of rain. Considering that it’s nearly equatorial, getting up to near 16,000 the sight of freezing rain and snow is not uncommon. One could say miserable conditions persist, Jordan lives for being tested. It builds his character and hardens him for bigger challenges in life.

Jordan, his father Paul, and friend Karen have been in Nabire for four days now, waiting for the weather to break enough so they can get a helicopter drop to the base of the mountain in the jungle. They got shut out yesterday…we’re wishing them clear skies for another attempt today.

Follow the team’s adventures here.

Jordan and Karen in Nabire