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September 16th, 2011 / News + Outdoors + Running/Fitness + Water Sports
Icebreaker was very proud to co-sponsor Ö TILL Ö in Sweden a week or so ago, on 5 September 2011. It’s a great fit as this event is really something different…
Teams of two race together from island to island (Ö TILL Ö). The teams swim between the 19 islands and run on them. The total distance is 64 kilometres of which 10 km are swimming and 54 km are running.
The running sections are beautiful. At times they go though the wood without a trail but most of the time the course is on trail or gravelled roads. The swim sections are between 100 and 1600 metres long.
To manage to finish the course from dawn to dusk demands that the competitors are fit and that they have practiced a good technique to be quick in and out of the water as there are as many as 38 in and outs.
59 of the 96 teams that started finished the course within the time limits.
“Huge respect to all racers from near and far to venture into our waters and for the mega effort you all put into the day. It is inspiring to see how much you want to finish. We have three new winners in all categories and we would particularly like to congratulate Björn & Antti – Team Ekonomianalys – for setting a new course record in such tough conditions. I hope somebody bet on them on Betsafe as those bets payed 8 times the money ☺
We are also so pleased that more and more women are entering ÖTILLÖ and finishing ÖTILLÖ, often in better shape than their male partners in the mixed category.
One thing is clear ÖTILLÖ is not multisport and it is not triathlon, it is simply ÖTILLÖ.”
Check out ÖTILLÖ TV for coverage.
July 26th, 2011 / Biking + Our People + Outdoors
When I heard I had won a merino cycling top from the Travelling Two website I was pretty excited. I have been a big fan of merino for the last few years, but tended to stick to thermals for skiing and using it in sports where I wouldn’t get too sweaty, so I was intrigued to see what a cycling top would be like. The parcel soon arrived and inside was an Icebreaker SS Halo Jersey. On first impressions the fabric seemed quite thick (200 weight) so I thought it would be good for winter riding – I was living in the Austrian Alps at that point. But then I wimped out of doing much <0 deg.C riding so the testing never quite got going…
Since mid May 2011 I have been doing a bike tour around the western part of the USA; going from desert and temperatures above 30 deg. C in southern Utah, to mountain passes over 3,700m and with snow banks 5m high in Colorado. The merino cycling top has performed brilliantly in all places – it does what Icebreaker says it will: it keeps me cool in the heat and warm in the cold. I have two short sleeve riding tops with me on this tour and I reckon I wear the merino top five days a week. Normally I try and rinse it out at the end of the day, but I have gone five days without it seeing a drop of clean water and it hardly smelt.
I am really pleased with this top and I think having this one, in combination with a lighter weight (and quicker drying) top, is perfect for me. If I was doing a trip with just one cycling top this Icebreaker SS Halo top would be the one for me.
- Helena, Icebreaker Fan
July 20th, 2011 / Hiking + Mountaineering + Outdoors
“I just completed an unsupported trekking traverse of the Himalayas this past week. The hike was over 2,600 kilometers and a whole lot of elevation gain and loss, at least the equivalent of summiting Mt. Everest over 20 times. I hiked from the easternmost 8,000 meter peak to the westernmost 8,000 meter peak averaging about 40km per day and hiking for the past three months.
Thanks to Icebreaker merino I was able to wear the same baselayers for the entire trip only washing them out in creeks and rivers, never even using soap! Three months, 10-15 hour hiking days through hot and humid and cold and snowy, and using only 2 shirts and 1 pair of boxers!”
- Justin Lichter, Icebreaker Athlete
