For the 11 world-class climbers, skiers, mountaineers, runners, explorers and adventure racers on the Polartec Athlete Advisory Board, there’s perhaps nothing as painful as sitting under the fluorescent bulbs of a conference room for an eight-hour meeting. But, if that meeting will result in warmer, drier and lighter fabrics that help them perform faster, longer and more efficiently, they’re happy to put in the time. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if that meeting takes place in the international capital of mountain sports – Chamonix, France.

This past week, the Polartec Advisory Board members traveled from around the world to Chamonix, carrying stacks of prototype baselayers, insulating layers and weather protection jackets they’ve been testing for past 6-12 months. The athletes joined a team of Polartec product developers and company leaders, including Polartec president Andy Vecchione and VP Jon Adelman, for a marathon meeting to discuss the latest in fabric technologies.

The athlete group, which was instrumental in the development of both Polartec Power Shield Pro and Polartec NeoShell fabrics, has been testing a wide variety of exciting new (and top-secret) Polartec innovations. The group has put those fabrics through the proverbial ringer, evaluating them for warmth, breathability, waterproofness and overall comfort. The athletes shared their opinions on their test garments and talked about what they would like to see in the next iteration of prototypes.

We can’t share exactly what innovations are coming from Polartec in the future, but based upon the enthusiasm at the end of the Athlete Advisory Board meeting, we can assure you that there are some really exciting, ground-breaking fabrics in the pipeline.

According to the website, “Climate Change has often been described as a slow-moving catastrophe. It’s the kind of issue that once you begin to feel any large-scale effects, it’s too late to do anything. Though science has been telling us this for 25 years now, this is what makes it a very difficult problem to communicate to the general public.

The Sherpa people are among the first to experience the tangible effects of a warming planet. For them this means living with the uneasy mix of the danger of flooding, from bursting glacial lakes, combined with drought, caused by a continued reduction in rain and snowfall, which is threatening their agricultural base. The likely fate of Himalayan glaciers is hugely important because they are the source for 10 of Asia’s largest rivers. Climate Change is not only causing glaciers to melt, it is also shifting the monsoon. In the short term at least, this looks like having a much bigger effect on river flow than the melting alone.”

Check out the most recent footage from the Himalaya Alert documentary, courtesy of EMS Films.

The below video features some of the stunning (and sometimes frightening) scenery Bernice has encountered at the bottom of the world, and the top. The dialogue is in Dutch at the beginning, but switches to English at the 2:30 mark. It’s definitely worth watching and seeing first-hand the effects climate change has had on some of Earth’s harshest environments.

“Yesterday morning May 24th, at 7.30 AM I reached the summit of Everest. Only two of our team made it up and two sherpas, one who was only 17 years old and now the youngest sherpa to summit. The climb did not come easy. At 10 pm, it was extremely windy at 8000 m, at the souh col and in our tent and the sherpas refuse to go. Except two of our sherpas who were eager to get their summit bonus. So in 60 km/hr winds at 10 pm we set off, the first party to go for the night. Around 11 pm in the triangle, the wind suddenly stopped. Just before the balcony we found a half-dead American who had run out of oxygen, rapped off and fell. He did not know how long he had been there but he had taken off his gloves and down jacket, a sure sign of hypothermia. His frozen hands and feet were unusable. We radioed for a sherpa to get him down, gave him heat packs, food and hot drinks before we continued up to the summit.

On the way to the South Summit the weather changed, clouds moved in and the wind picked up. Are we losing our one day window already? For the next days bad weather was forecasted with 100 km/hr and worse conditions, perhaps the monsoon has arrived. At the south summit at 8700 m my oxygen mask froze up, the intake for fresh air did not work. Panic. I had less air in my mask then when I took my mask off at this elevation. The ice inside was so thick, it had to get hacked out with a ice axe and this I did not know till we were back at the balcony. I summited Everest in gasping for thin air, in a snow storm and wind. It was not a good day for summit photos! The descend was painful due to low visibility and tiredness; in one day from camp 3 to camp 4, rest a few hours and continue. After 30 hours, I collapsed and somewhere in the middle of the night my oxygen run out because I woke up empty at 8000m. Descending down in vicious wind, the weather changed and we got lucky. Sagarmatha gave us an opportunity and maybe Lhapka kept an eye on us! Despite the challenges, I am super stoked that I did it, perserve the challenges. We are in camp 2 now, one more time through the icefall and then safe in basecamp. I will update this tomorrow with some images.”

The South Col and South Summit of Everest

Read more here.

Paul and Karen are using a Spot Satellite to update their progress on Nupste. Check it here.  Later this summer, Paul, Karen and Jordan are planning to summit the Carstenz Pyramid in Indonesia, leaving only the Vinson Massif and Mount Everest on 12-year-old Jordan’s list.

In the same zip code, but on a totally different mission is Bernice Notenboon. Bernice is in the Himalaya to research the effects of climate change in the Everest ecosystem. Check out the below video where she and her team are finding climbing artifacts unearthed by the rapidly melting glaciers.

Bernice is posting daily updates to her Himalaya-Alert blog, so check back for more news and interesting vids.

The first grant recipient is climber and writer Majka Burhardt. This spring, Burhardt will lead a small team of climbers into Namibia in the heart of Africa where they will attempt a first ascent on Van Zyl, a sheer, 2,000-foot granite face. Along the way, Burhardt’s team will document and interact with the Himba, an indigenous pastoral tribe whose way of life if threatened by western influence.

Majka Burhardt

The second grant is awarded to Himalya Alert, an expedition to Everest led by renowned Dutch adventurer and freelance writer, Bernice Notenboom. The objective of the expedition will be to report on climate change in the Himalaya and its profound impact on the Sherpa culture.

Bernice Notenboom

The final grant recipient is Jordan Romero from Big Bear, California who, at the age of 12, has already climbed the highest peak on five different continents. This summer, Romero intends to climb the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, leaving only Mt. Vinson in Antarctica and Mt. Everest on his list. In his attempt to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits, Romero has become a role model for and mentor for other children, speaking at schools about climbing, exercise and the outdoors.

Jordan Romero

“The Polartec Challenge celebrates the cultural and environmental aspects of adventure,” states Director of Marketing, Nate Simmons. “We believe Majka will draw mainstream attention to climbing in Africa; Bernice will use her trip as a powerful vignette on the impacts of climate change; and Jordan Romero will inspire a whole new generation of mountaineers.”

In addition to the grant money, all of this year’s Polartec® Challenge winners will be fully outfitted with Polartec® garments, designed to keep them warm, comfortable and dry in the harshest of climates.

About the Polartec® Challenge Grant
The annual Polartec® Challenge Grant seeks to assist frugal, low impact teams who respect the local culture and environment and serve as role models to outdoor enthusiasts worldwide. Applications are evaluated on the basis of their vision, commitment and credibility. Past recipients of the Polartec® Challenge Grant include outdoor pioneers and adventurers such as Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, Steve House, Marko Prezelj, Andrew McLean and John Shipton.