Feedback from another satisfied Icebreaker customer…:
“I cannot express enough my extreme satisfaction with your product during our 21-day trip to Mongolia. We were horseback riding, camel riding, kayaking and camping. The trip of a lifetime!
Since we needed to pack light - I was especially drawn to the low-stink factor of your shirts. Everyone else on the trip was spending time doing laundry when we got into camp - but I just kept on having fun because my shirts didn’t stink! (And I looked good and felt comfortable).
Hi everyone my name is Randy Schultz and I am writing to tell of an amazing adventure I have recently been on.
Two months ago a dream of mine came true. I was invited to join a team of elite athletes to go north of the Arctic Circle to spend 28 days living in tents on ice and climbing mountains to reach the summits so that we could jump off!
I am a Canadian BASE jumper and this wonderful area was not only one of my highest priority destinations but also a very rare opportunity to explore a northern region of my incredible home, Canada.
The trip by no means was easy or very comfortable, but more than anything it was completely amazing and fulfilling.
The trip started as such, Kamloops to Ottawa then private charter to Iqaluit and onto Clyde River, one of the last most northern habitations in Baffin Island. We spent a quick night there setting up tents on the frozen tundra, with a slap in the face realization of where we were. Two tents with bags in them lifted off the ground and flew a couple hundred feet away twirling like leaves in the wind. This wonderful place is truly rugged.
With an early rise and some boiled snow and dehydrated food we were on the snowmobiles and Kamoteks (special Inuit sleighs). A five to six hour ride across the tundra and ice fields guided at this point by wise Inuit guides. We stop for an excellent lunch of Arctic Char and Bannock right beside my first iceberg, beautiful and blue looming thirty feet out of the frozen ocean.
A couple hours later we arrived, mind blown, as the land had gone from flat to five thousand foot shear walls of glorious proportion. I have lived in the mountains most my life and travel to mountainous regions often but I have never seen such a display of our ice age, smooth paths carved into the mountains straight to the ocean. And not just a few - as far as you can see all around you. I was in a living piece of my own heaven.
We joined up with the other half of our team who had arrived the day before due to the amount of gear and size of group. We set up our tents and the team shut down, we all know tomorrow is jump day.
Our camp is situated right below some amazing 3500 foot cliffs with summits not far off, just a few hours to reach. As I lay going to sleep I realize how truly stoked I am to have geared myself the way I did, the wind blowing, the freezing cold setting in, and me comfy in my tent warm and safe from the elements.
For this I need to thank Icebreaker for my base layers, as well Taiga for my outer layers and sleeping bag, and Hillsound crampons for grip on ice later in the trip (so necessary for safety), and all my friends and family that helped me so much to make this trip a possibility. Thank you all for believing in your friends and sons dream.
In total - I climbed 18 mountains, 70000 vertical with 17 flights! This trip brought me so much, I am extremely grateful for my safe experience of this truly amazing rarely touched piece of our country and world…..YAHOO FREEDOM!
Below I have attached a link to our groups slide show compilation of our trip, put together by a fellow jumper and personal friend Douggs, it gives a view of our adventures, experiences, friendships, hikes, flights and camp site.
In an effort purely to make my Icebreaker colleagues extremely jealous, I thought I would share my recent experience of wearing our gorgeous Icebreaker products in extreme heat - and in a glorious location!
I have just returned from a month long holiday in the Greek Islands with my family (Mum, Dad and my brother Richard). For one of those weeks, we sailed our wee yacht, Mikinos (a Dufour 385), as part of a Nautilus Yachting flotilla around the Sporades Islands.
Highlights of the week of sailing were seeing various sites from the Mamma Mia movie - including THE church (and yes, humming the songs while we were there), having dolphins surround the boat and play around our bow, and visiting gorgeous quaint Greek villages on the islands of Skiathos, Skopelos, and Alonissos.
Greece was experiencing a heat wave in June (as most of Europe still is!) and temperatures averaged 35 degrees plus each day. To say that we lived in nothing but Icebreaker is an understatement!
I think our fellow yachties thought that dad only owned one t-shirt as his Icebreaker GT Velocity Crewe was pretty much his skippers uniform each day; Richard liked to pull out his Superfine tee’s or Stripe Club Polo for dinners at the local taverna’s each night; and mum and I (who are lucky enough to be the same size) simply shared Superfine tanks - together we had eight different colours!
The other members of the flotilla were amazed to hear that we had all been wearing nothing but Icebreaker for a couple of weeks, yet the garments didn’t smell.
When you are travelling and living out of a backpack, and then confined to a small yacht, space is of a premium. Being able to pack light and make the most of the garments we took was essential.
The fact that one t-shirt could take us from hoisting the sails and sweating during the day, being thrown on after a swim off the back of the boat, and then worn out for dinner at night and still look good was just awesome!
I have just completed a 869 mile, 6 day cycle trip across the UK (3-8 July), from Lands End to John O’Groats, which was done in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.
I wore my black Icebreaker baselayer for the entire trip along with a red GT cycling jersey and socks kindly donated by Icebreaker.
Unfortunately I tore my GT top on some thorns at the side of the road on day 2, but the merino worked its magic and I can honestly say that there was no stink at the end of the journey - unlike my synthetic waterproof!
That’s me at the start in the ‘Lands End’ photo (on the left). The ‘Harrowgate’ picture was taken on our trip home (by car!!) and features me with the other team members: my co-rider Dave Bowering, his wife Sue, their dog Izzy, and daughter Holly.
Sue, Holly and Izzy drove the back-up vehicle in case of emergencies, which luckily we did not need.
I have nearly reached my target of £1500.00 and my employer will match the sponsorship, effectively doubling it. Check out my fundraising here: http://www.justgiving.com/friendsoftheends
I would like to say a BIG thank you to Icebreaker for your support.
Icebreaker is supporting the 2010 Czech Seakayak Expedition which sets off on the 24th of July to East Greenland. Here is a short update from the team prior to their departure:
The first Czech seakayak-expedition in the coastal areas of East Greenland has the ambition to journey about 200-kilometers in the system of local fjords and islands.
Greenland is a place where local residents (Inuits) have been using kayaks as an aid in hunting whales and seals for over two thousand years. We’d like to meet them and compare our experiences. For this purpose, we developed a completely new type of sport seakayak.
Areas that we´d like to visit are some of the most photogenic parts of the planet, so the whole project is designed not only as a sport, but also as an ethnographic and documentary expedition. The expedition has already had lots of media interest in magazines, newspapers, and for talks on radio stations.
Icebreaker has provided us with premium quality merino underwear to keep us toasty warm in severe conditions of the Greenland. BF150 and BF260 tops and leggings paired with brand new RealFleece jackets and super, super warm and comfortable Hike socks will be our best fellows on the trip.
The three experienced paddlers on the team are:
Petr Novotný: photographer and journalist (more than 200 professional travel and outdoor publications in several journals in the country); organizer and popularizer of many first sea kayaking expeditions (including I. Czech expedition to Iceland 2002, as many others - almost always the first ones - trips to the region Skagerrak, Stocholm skargard, Aland - Sweden, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyclad islands - Greece, Costa Rica, Panama, Tasmania, Madeira). A former contestant on a wild Water (USK Praha Dukla Brandys), an international instructor rafting and canoeing IRF trip leader.
Standa Klokočník: Author and designer of the Czech-art prototype sea kayak. Instructor Guide and the sea kayaking, since 2003, passed 22 missions.
Jan Kolanda: Long-term representative of the Czech Republic in the many water sports; Canoe racing - multiple champion and participant in the World Cup marathon, the participant surfski Ocean Racing Australia, quadriathlon - world champion and winner of several World Cup races. Participant in a number of sea kayaking expeditions. Professional guide in Australia and the Pacific.
Check out the photos below of preparations and stay tuned for an update on their expedition.
We were contacted not that long ago by some Icebreaker fans, Friedel & Andrew, who were on a mission to find the best bike touring socks in the world. These guys are serious about their socks, they obsess about it and tell us “if my feet are happy, so is the rest of me”.
Friedel & Andrew think our socks are so great - now they want to let you experience the revolutionary product they discovered. Check out their blog, leave a comment telling them what you wear on tour or why you deserve some Icebreaker socks, and they will enter you in the draw to win one of three Icebreaker sock prize packs! Entries close Monday July 19th.
Last week, over three nights, Anne and Philip Todhunter from Lake Heron Station were very generous hosts to three separate groups from Icebreaker stores around NZ. They introduced us to their amazing property that sits in a wide, once glaciated valley inland from South Canterbury, and gave a snapshot of their lives and a much deeper understanding of the start point of the Icebreaker we were all wearing.
We struck it lucky with the weather, clear, calm and COLD!! The fringes of Lake Heron were frozen over, as was the smaller lake behind their beautiful house. This cold weather served to somehow amplify the beauty of where we were, and clearly illustrated how valuable our Icebreaker layering system can be.
Each of the three groups was treated to a tour of their 100 year old woolshed, gaining insights about when and how the fleece leaves the Merino and enters the Icebreaker supply chain. Lake Heron is one of a dwindling number of stations that still blade shears most of its flock. The blade shears are essentially a large, hyper-sharp pair of scissors that the shearers work over the sheep by hand - hard work indeed!
After seeing the woolshed we walked up a back track to a point where the expanse of Lake Heron Station was easily seen. Philip explained where the Summer and Winter country are - along the 40km of valley that is the backbone, and main “highway” for the property - and how the flock of 10,000 Merino are moved with the flow of the seasons to maintain quality feed and keep them off the higher country, away from the worst snows of Winter. Speaking of snow, this place is home to some incredible heli-skiing - Philips “other” job being the lead Pilot for Methven Heli Ski…
Evenings were spent enjoying the families beautiful home, Anne’s amazing cooking, and on one night a 9pm football match “curtain raiser” to the All Whites first match at the World Cup, played at brisk -5oC. Of course there were some other very real shenanigans - but we won’t go into that here!
Every group left with a feeling of awe, and very real respect for the people and places that we draw both inspiration and the raw material for Icebreaker from.
If you want to know more about Lake Heron Station, and the Todhunters themselves, please visit www.lakeheron.co.nz and discover more about where we were. A huge thanks again to yet another high country family for opening their home and lives to us.
Jem Culpitt - Sales Manager, Icebreaker New Zealand
Four of our staff members - Rob Achten, Hamish Allan, Jason Brown and Mike Stepanek are currently competing in the Race Across America - one of the world’s toughest endurance races, an epic non-stop bike race across the US from June 12-20.
One of the best things about Icebreaker is our relationships with our merino wool growers. Last weekend I was lucky enough to get invited to spend some time at Cluden Station with Anna (our New Zealand Corporate Account Manager) and her partner Sam. We started off by having dinner with some farmers from a neighbouring station. Incredible company, a great roast meal and some wine made for a fun night.
Although it rained the entire time I was there, when we made it up to the high country (via a very bumpy and exciting ride in a ute), I saw one of the most incredible sights ever. It was snowing all around me and when I looked down the mountain it was completely green. For many people who live near or experience the mountains on a regular basis, this may not be a big deal, but for a “townie” like me it was pretty special.
Lucky for me my IcebreakerGT Base Layer 200 Crew paired with a Superfine LS Hood and topped off with Real Fleece kept me toasty warm in the snow at the top of the mountain. Sam was kind enough to stop the ute a few times so I could take photos. I was totally a tourist and very much appreciated the patience of my hosts.
In the high country, the merino sheep were a bit difficult to spot, but thanks to some very skilled and lovable dogs, I was able to see two merino running down the mountain. It was awesome to see the source of the merino that was keeping me warm in all that snow.
Overall it was a great trip where I learned heaps about what life in the country is like here in New Zealand, and I was lucky enough to experience some spectacular scenery and hospitality.
- Swave Szymczyk, Global In-Store Marketing Manager
A team from Icebreaker’s head office in Wellington is about to take on one of the world’s toughest endurance events - Race Across America, an epic, non-stop bike race across the US.
Mad, huh? We think so, but our team is committed to putting our gear to the test, taking it to the limit and getting back to nature.
Last weekend, the team - Rob, Hamish, Maureen and Jason - completed a test run, cycling from Wellington to Taupo in some of the worst weather we’ve seen in a while. They battled the elements in preparation for the race, rocking out their IcebreakerGT gear and showing us what they’re made of. The pictures speak a thousand words - see for yourself. Shot by Fred l’Ami our Identity Design Director, he’ll also be covering the Race Across America.
The team and support crew will be wearing Icebreaker for the duration of the event. We’re looking forward to putting our gear to the test during this 8 day non-stop epic Race Across America.
You can watch the progress of the team, send messages of support, ask questions, enter to win Icebreaker gear and entries to the Speight’s Coast to Coast via the following website: http://raam.icebreaker.com
We’d love you to join in and support our guys - highlight June 12 in your diaries for the start of the race!
