During my time at Snowgum (an Icebreaker dealer in Australia) I’ve succumbed to an addiction so many people share. I can’t stop buying Icebreaker.
As an elite athlete the equipment you use becomes as habitual as the training routines you follow. This usually means that when I buy something to train with I use it until it truly dies. Thankfully I’ve managed to save quite a bit of money by using the seemingly invincible Icebreaker shirts, socks and jocks. Except now I am spending more money than ever before because my Icebreaker clothing is being “borrowed” by the people I train with.
It usually happens when I get to an event and it is pouring with rain and my “friends” haven’t brought proper clothing, or when there is a minimum requirement for safety gear and it hasn’t been met.
“Callum would you mind if I borrowed that shirt again? I forgot my warm gear”.
“Oh yeah cheers for lending that top Callum I’ll give it back after I wash it”…
“Lucky you had that jumper spare Callum. They wouldn’t let me run without it”.
These are just a few of the quotes I can remember from occasions when I have permanently lent my Icebreaker gear. The kind of thing I compensate for now by bringing along extra clothing wherever I go.
So now I have very little Icebreaker and a severely depleted bank account from constantly trying to replace gear that “must of gotten lost in the wash”. I’m going to have to give up endurance sports or win the lottery soon just to satisfy my addiction and the one my running mates now share.
Helen Danglmaier from Irdning, Austria, Europe (pictured below), is the lucky winner of the limited edition Icebreaker Whistler ‘10 gear, which includes a set of Bodyfit+, an Icebreaker “Whistler” Toque hat, Skier Mid Socks, the AC Glacier Scarf and the Long Sleeve Chase Crewe. Nice one Helen!
We received 255 fantastic entries to the competition — from goats to babies to boys and girls in their Nature and Beast knickers (and less). Take a look back at what was submitted here.
Icebreaker was honoured to be the Official Baselayer Sponsor of the New Zealand Winter Olympic Team, and we’re proud of the Kiwi team who competed in Vancouver last month. We had an awesome wrap up party on Monday. The band was fantastic and we sold the bar out of beer! Photos and video to come once Kent Hawkins, our marketing man in Canada, recovers from a chest infection that knocked him out that night (or so he says).
Let us know what you thought of the competition. We’d like to do again if you’re all up for it?
I live and train in Squamish, BC, Canada. It is claimed “the outdoor recreation capital of Canada”, and I am about to tell you why. I am a Junior Canadian biathlete (cross country skiing and shooting) training as a member of the Biathlon BC High Performance Team. With minimal funding for sport in Canada, our team is constantly searching for inexpensive but effective training opportunities.
Every fall season, the biggest struggle for our sport is to get as many on-snow training hours as possible. The benefits of skiing on snow at this time of year have to be considered against cost and difficulty to get there. I think we found the perfect solution.
The access road started about 2 km from my house, and travels straight into the surrounding mountains. It was foggy when I woke up, and no snow on the ground. In a matter of about 2 hours, my coach and I were hiking thru ankle deep snow, with our ski equipment and clothes for three days.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but it was about a 13km hike to Elfin Shelter (where we stayed for 2 nights). It was another 6 km to Bishop Glacier, where we found near perfect crust skiing! It was the biggest open glacier I had ever seen, and provided hours and hours of exploring. After the morning session, we would stop for lunch, and hang up our clothing to dry, before heading out again for the afternoon. I was so thankful to be wearing my Icebreaker Alpine socks. I would take them off from a two hour ski and in 20 minutes in the sun, they were dry and ready to be skied in again. I had more than one pair, obviously, but I used them for everything. The compression around the shin and calf lead for better muscle control during skiing. While on break, the same compression actually helped in quicker leg recovery. Try, if you don’t believe me!
Back to my story, it wasn’t so much as ski training as it was an adventure! It felt amazing to be the only people in the mountains, and still only 30 km out of Squamish. My coach and I trained there for three days before making our trek back down to the real world. I went on that season to win three gold medals at Canadian Championships and attend my first ever World Junior Championships.
I have just finished 7 weeks of straight ski racing that took me through 6 different countries around the world. Icebreaker was with me the entire time whether it was for my morning warm up jog or keeping me warm while hitting jumps at 50 MPH.
To go my fastest while racing I strip down to my team jersey, if I didn’t have Icebreaker on as my baselayer I don’t think my head would be half as clear, because it allows me to focus on the task at hand rather than the freezing temperatures. After a long day training or racing I can put on a clean layer and wear it to team dinner or media conference because the styles are just that cool.
Thank you Icebreaker!
PS: If you want to win a trip to Whistler click here to enter the Langley McNeal Ski Cross Challenge!
Well the Icebreaker team have finished the last day of the Speight’s Coast to Coast World Multisport Championships on a high! They’ve had a fantastic time, battling some crazy weather conditions and many a course change, and they’ve come out the other side pumped full of wonderful memories from an awesome event.
It’s fair to say Mother Nature showed us what she’s got with the athletes battling extreme weather conditions in the last 24 hours - torrential rain and gale force winds put everyone to the test. Even the supporters suffered - check out the team trying to pitch the Icebreaker tent in the high winds! Lucky they were all wearing Icebreaker to keep them warm we think.
The team have seen lots of people wearing their IcebreakerGT baselayer that they received in their race packs, it’s great to see they’ve joinded the flock and experienced the revolution of merino!
We’re really proud of our guys and can’t wait to celebrate with them when they’re back in the office next week. Enjoy your merino BBQ at Sumner Beach tonight team, wish we were there!
The Icebreaker NZ team have gone down to the Speight’s Coast to Coast World Multisport Championships this weekend. Day 1 is underway and the crew are having a blast competing (and supporting) at the race. The event covers 243km across the Southern Alpine of the South Island in New Zealand and there’s still a long way to go, they’re set for a big weekend.
Our team is doing really well, there’s still even some with smile’s on their faces at the transitions. A few of the support crew have even managed to rest up with a bit of rexlexology treatment along the way - lucky! Big congrats to our first Icebreaker Runner home - NZ Market Manager, Jason Brown!
We’ve just finished 3 days of intensive shooting in Portland (and beyond), covering the new Spring/Summer 2011 IcebreakerGT Run and Commute ranges. It’s been super productive, as we build our library of compelling GT images.
Portland’s been providing us with a mix of weather which has made things interesting. We made the most of the fine spells, even some of the rain too.
Working with Berlin photographer Timm Koelln’s been fantastic, as he adds his own spin on the shoot. If you’re unfamiliar with his work - visit www.timmkoelln.com for a taste. We’re looking forward to seeing Timm’s edit of the last 3 days in PDX.
We’re about to board our flight to New Zealand where we’ll continue the SS11 GT shoot in New Zealand.
The Speight’s Coast to Coast traverses the South Island of New Zealand from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Over either two days (individuals or two person teams) or the one-day event (individuals only), competitors cycle 140 kms (three stages of 55km, 15 km and 70 km), run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and kayak 67kms of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge. Icebreaker is sponsoring this event in 2010, and a bunch of us are competing. Here’s an excerpt about the lead up from one of our team members:
So why am I doing the one day Coast to Coast? Mainly I believe, because it is a fantastic opportunity to learn about myself. I know that to get there I have to push myself to my physical and mental limits.
So with only weeks separating me and the start line, do I feel ready? Well yes I think I do, but I am sure there will be some nerves and doubts… But that is part of why I’m doing it really. We face challenges because they test us and make us stronger. In the act of thinking about the question of “am I where I want and need to be?”, I have to reflect on where I was when I was told I would be on the Icebreaker Team. I was nowhere fit enough (7kg heavier than I am now), and I had no kayak or decent road bike. All I really had was a desire to find a new challenge and a giant opportunity.
So now here I am, metaphorically putting the last strokes of the first rapid that we call preparation. The next rapid is more of the same but longer and I know from experience that to do well in a race, a rapid or life in general you need to be prepared, relaxed and focused on where we are going. Bring it on!
- Dave Tait, Speight’s Coast to Coast competitor - Team Icebreaker
On April 25, 2009 our two-man expedition reached its goal of skiing unsupported and unassisted to the North Pole. We are the first Americans to accomplish this feat, which has been called the ‘hardest trek on the planet.’
We knew that our success might just be dependent on our feet. We chose our socks carefully and loved the socks that Icebreaker provided for us! Our feet have never been happier on an expedition.
Together, the skier hyperlight and skier-midweight sock provided a very versatile layering system for our coldest days and our warmest ones. We had beautiful feet even at the very end.
The expedition took three years to plan. Our testing and research paid off. If we were to do the expedition over again we would have brought 97% of the same equipment.
Our 55-day expedition covered over 500 miles, faced -60 degree F temperatures, endless fields of ice rubble, open water and in the end a ceaseless southerly drift. During the exhausting sprint to the pole we slept only 3 of the final 66 hours of the expedition.
Our website www.northpole09.com contains our complete expedition blog and the most up to date news about the expedition project.
- John Huston and Tyler Fish, Victorinox North Pole 09, the first American expedition to reach the North Pole unassisted and unsupported
How can you run a marathon the green way? Fleet Feet Sports shows you how. And when you upgrade your gear, you can even recycle your old sneakers with them.
