Specialties

Here’s how it happens: the helicopter pulls away from the ridge, wrapping you in an envelope of swirling crystal. As the cloud dissipates and sound drifts off into the atmosphere like a wind dying in the treetops, a weight is lifted from your life. Maybe you don’t feel it at first because the void is instantly filled by what you see: mountains on every horizon; nothing and no one in sight. But you feel it after that first run. The one where you ski 1 000 metres in snow so deep it pours up and over your shoulders like water. It’s the best skiing you’ve done in a lifetime of great skiing. You feel it and you know this: It’s worth it.

Worth it. That’s the first, last and middle thing you find out about heli-skiing. After any hand-wringing over affordability or how good it might be or what the people will be like or whether you’ll be able to handle it well enough that the guides won’t just leave you in a crevasse somewhere, your preconceptions will be dashed on the rocks of reality. With heli-skiing, expectations are so often exceeded they’re almost irrelevant. You’re left with sore legs and a warm glow. A glow that can last a lifetime. And when you’re taking a dream holiday you’ve looked forward to forever, do you really want it any other way?download part 1 (PDF)

„Forty-eight year-old, Algeria-born Catherine Destivelle grew up in Paris, eldest of six children. From an early age on her father — who climbed and had a passion for the outdoors — made sure she was a regular visitor to the forest of Fontainebleau, where the bouldering delights helped root young Catherine in climbing’s great traditions of adventure and being at one with mountains. Good at rock-climbing, by age 15 she was being picked up every Sunday by a group of more experienced climbers and whisked off to Fontainebleau for the day. By 16 she’d climbed the Couzy-Desmaison route on the Olan and the Devies-Gervasutti route on the Ailefroide, followed the year after by an ascent of the American Direct on Le Petit Dru.

In 1985, at age 25 and after a break from climbing to further a career in physiotherapy, she entered the first International Climbing Competition held in Bardonecchia, Italy. At the time, the climbing community was divided over the idea of competition. Catherine just wanted to try it and quickly proved best in speed, style and difficulty. In 1988, she climbed the 13c route Chouca at Buoux, a radically steep line of finger pockets that became a symbol of the sport-climbing revolution—the hardest route ever climbed by a woman. This would become a theme. For five years Catherine focused on competition until retiring to focus on mountaineering.”download (PDF)

„The time has just hit 1 a.m. when we reach the summit after an unusually adventurous ascent. It’s mid-June and the midnight sun is shining brightly from the north. We’re on Kvaløya Island, 30 minutes west of the northern Norwegian city of Tromsø. With a modest height of just over 1,000 metres above sea level, the mountain we’ve ascended, Hollenderan, is not one of the highest in the area. The well-known Lyngsalpene (Lyngen Alps) appear in the distance to the south, dramatic mountains rising up to 1,800 metres for as far as the eye can see. Looking west lies the bluish-black water of the Atlantic, and for a boat, Iceland would be next. Even if the mountains aren’t especially high here, the experience is awesome. The combination of midnight sun, skiing and the closeness of the ocean creates a feeling I’ve never experienced before on an alpine tour. At the peak, I offer my bearded buddies an ice cold beer. We remain silent and contemplate life’s justices as sweat dries on our backs. Our reward — the downhill run — awaits.”download (PDF)

„Some folks have the idea that high-end mountain resorts are big on the comfort factor and soft on the sports. That may be true for a few places — especially in parts of North America where money is no object but big mountains are in short supply. As for other luxury destinations, it seems they may be back in style not so much because they’re posh places for posh people to see and be seen, but because they’re comfortable, contemporary, fun and full of great dining experiences. But most of all, they are real mountain resorts with classic alpine terrain and challenges for everyone both winter and summer. The following is a sampling of a few.”download (PDF)

After hitchhiking to the highest summits with some of the world’s greatest climbers, Alpina now plunges to the ocean’s depths with a new breed of explorers. This past May, Alpina sponsored a major diving expedition to Bikini Atoll on the Marshall Islands, site of many American nuclear tests in the 1940s and ’50s. The expedition received major media attention for it’s groundbreaking work in bringing the story of Bikini’s people to light, raising funds to fight cancer and promoting tourism to this beautiful destination.download (PDF)

„It all started in 1883 when Gottlieb Hauser, a watchmaker in Winterthur, founded the Swiss Watchmakers Corporation (“Corporation d’Horlogers Suisses”) to purchase components and organize their manufacturing. The concept was immediately successful, and the Association was soon developing and producing its own calibres. Branches opened in Germany as well as Eastern and Northern Europe. In 1901 “Alpina” was registered as a trademark. From the start, it was decided that the Alpina Brand would only encompass high-end watches.”download (PDF)

„For a watchmaker, the main commodity is time. And when you’ve been at it for 125 years as we have at Alpina, that’s a lot of sand run through the glass. Time may pass, of course, but it never entirely disappears: as it moves forward things evolve, leaving in their wake tangibles like tradition, heritage and accomplishment. Along these lines, the re-launch of a venerable brand like Alpina sees time moving in both directions at once. Into the past where craftsmanship and dedication first lifted an idea from paper to reality to notoriety, and into the future where a newly positioned sport and lifestyle brand — young at heart and with an attitude born of possibility — has already found a place with those in the know. Those who head their own tribes create the latest trends, work hard and play harder.”download (PDF)

„Brown may be the new black. But black will always be the highest fashion statement.

alpina avalanche extreme automatic

Magnibh essit, sim dio ea feu faccummy nit wisis dit, quis alit augait essed magnisi. Cumsan ut nulput velendit aci bla alis dolor sequat. Ut prat, quat. Ut inis nos nulpute venim duis ad elit, suscip ex enibh erae.”download (PDF)

„Even by the standards of the jaded expatriates who live near the Haute Route, the dawn is stunning. A full moon hangs like a mirror ball in a purple cloudless sky while the first sunlight paints the mountains in alpenglow.

We’re below 3,336-metre Rosablanche  Peak, at a hut called the Panatalons Blanc, in the Swiss Alps. Our packs are packed and skis are ready… to defy convention a bit, and go against normal ski-touring protocol. In other words, we’re cherry-picking the finest Swiss parts of the Haute Route, basing somewhat from Zermatt. I’ll explain how and why, below. For now, just know the following: by cutting out the French parts, yet still ending up at the traditional finish-line of Zermatt, backcountry skiers like my three partners and me can stay on the snow longer, and experience outrageous hours of incredible skiing.”download (PDF)

„A fine line - In 1883 a number of watchmakers founded the association that evolved into Alpina.

It’s members affectionately called themselves “Alpinists .” After more than a century
of research, development and craftsmanship, THESE ALPINISTS ARE STILL ON TOP.”download (PDF)