Wow, what a weekend for Team CLIF. Four of us desk jockeys who work to keep our athletes fueled traveled to the Sierras for the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. We got to chat with our athletes and some of ultra running's best known names at a dinner co-hosted by our friends at Montrail the night before. We also attempted to make the smokiest camp fire ever and enjoyed some time sleeping outside.
With the constant physical demands of bottom-up approaches, Jeremy Jones (Team CLIF Bar) knows that reliable fuel is just as important as reliable equipment. When Jeremy sets off on another challenging ascent, CLIF SHOT Bloks and SHOT Gels are his go-to source for the full-force nutrition needed to top out, drop in, and get back to camp in one piece. Check out this episode of Further Unplugged and get a better sense for what's going into Jeremy's pack (and body) on his epicly long days deep in the backcountry.
Further Unplugged takes you behind the scenes of Jeremy Jones' two-year snowboarding film, Further. Get an inside glimpse of what goes on between the lines as Jones and other top riders including Terje Haakonsen, Xavier De Le Rue, Josh Dirksen and Forrest Shearer (Team CLIF Bar) travel to exotic locations such as Japan, the Arctic Circle and the Wrangell-St. Elias Wilderness. Challenges arise around every corner as this crew attempts to push their minds and bodies further.
In addition to supporting Jeremy and Protect Out Winters, CLIF Bar is a proud supporter of Further. No doubt we are as stoked as you to catch a glimpse of the final product coming this fall. We look forward to seeing you out there.
A couple of months back I got a call from Team CLIF Bar's Hilaree O'neill. Though we were set to talk about a couple of trips she had put in for with the North Face, that would be no small feats in themselves, our conversation quickly turned to something else that had come up and was quickly taking precedent. Everest!
As the conversation unfolded, Hilaree shared with me the plan. 6 North Face athletes (Cory Richards and Hilarre O'Neill both being CLIF BAR Team members) were set to embark on the experience of a lifetime. Seeking to repeat the historic climb of 1963 Nat Geo sponsored American Mount Everest Expedition, 3 teams of 2 have set out for 2 months to celebrate the historic 50 year anniversary of the original American expedition. Cory and Conrad Anker will be attempting the burly (and historic) West Ridge route and Hilaree and Kris Erickson plan to climb and ski the Southeast Ridge. The 3rd party consists of renowned rock climbers Emily Harrington and Sam Elias who will also take on the Southeast Ridge with Nat Geo writer and climber Mark Jenkins.
To date there has already been a ton of incredible content coming out of the journey and we thought it would be sweet to give you a taste below.
Starting first with a look at the gear and food that Hilaree will be using as compared to the expedition 50 years ago,
....to saying goodbye to loved ones that made their way to basecamp in support of the adventure ahead,
It’s been a busy time around these parts, and while you all have been getting out and getting after it, so too have a number of members of Team CLIF Bar‘s Free Sports roster. In this post you’ll find some of the latest happenings across all four of our Free Sports from a handful of our fine athlete ambassadors in the field.
Get stoked and then get back out there!
Han’s “No Way” Rey Rides India - VIDEO
Hans Rey (Team CLIF Bar), Richie Schley, and Joscha Forstreuter travelled to the Indian Himalayas. Their goal: to reach the mysterious Roopkund Lake, a glacial lake in the Uttarakhand region, famous for hundreds of ancient human skeletons at its bottom, and to ride down a sheer endless technical downhill over 3,500m/ 11'000ft on trails that had previously never been ridden.
*for another great Hans Rey adventure check out this article on Hansy from a trip to the Czech singletrack paradise Pod Smerkm
It’s not every day that the phone rings and we are given the chance to support a cadre of hard charging skiers and boarders in a totally fresh fashion. Well, maybe not entirely fresh, but certainly a way of embracing the winter that has all but died on the vine of how we look to get it done when the goods fall on the mountain towns that winter blesses with each changing season.
Armed with one rattletrap truck, a handcrafted tiny house on the trailer behind it, and who knows how many CLIF BARs, changes of gear, and pairs of gloves and goggles to get the job done, these professional ski bums spent the past two months chasing storms, making the most of some of America’s most iconic mountain towns, and mixed and mingled amongst the locals all along the way.
Brought to us by our friends at Outdoor Research, the Sidecountry Sessions inspires a new way of seeing and being in the mountain towns that so many of us call home while honoring the heroes that make each of these places so uniquely their own.
*You might have seen these along the journey on our Facebook page, but we thought it would be fun to put it all together in one big (reads like a ski bum’s diary) blog post. Check out the goods below and don’t hesitate to hop on over to the Sidecountry Sessions site at Outdoor Research to see it there as well. Read up, get inspired, and go make some greatness of your own!
TEASER
Session: noun \sesh-uh’n\ Any period of time devoted to a specific activity, such as slaying pow
We like getting our heart rates up, taking a big breath of fresh air, savoring delicious food. But we also love telling stories and here's where we type 'em up. (BTW, it works both ways; leave a comment—please and thank you.)
