Helly Hansen

The final weekend of Aspen's Spring Jam went out with a bang! A full line up of activities from De La Soul on Friday night at the base of Aspen Mountain to Schnee Tag at Snowmass on Saturday afternoon to finally the Helly Hansen Battle in the Bowls. The final free Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series of the season featured the legendary hip-hop trio, De La Soul, celebrated for their hit songs, "The Magic Number," and "Me, Myself & I." De La Soul packed the base of Aspen Mountain and had everyone jumping and getting down. The Island Islanders soared and splashed their way to first at the inaugural Schnee Tag event in Snowmass today, Saturday, March 29. Seven teams of four battled for the championship as they rode human-powered crafts down Fanny Hill into, and sometimes across, a huge pond. The event required each craft to be entirely human powered with no external energy sources. The craft had to be less than 10 feet wide and weigh less than 400 pounds, including the pilot. Each team selected one member to fly their craft across the 75x20 foot pond. We made sure to provide safety for the event with a first aider in our Survival Suit. He couldn't wait to jump in and help the teams out of the water! The second place team was Captain Insane-O, featuring Jason DeCarlo, Justin Stardefer and John Skloven-Gill won paragliding flights with the Red Bull Airforce. These guys walked with a bunch of prizing including some H/H Lifa base layer which these guys were more than happy to throw on after the event to get warm. The final event of the weekend was the Helly Hansen Battle in the Bowls. Chris Davenport, Aspen/Snowmass and Helly Hansen team athlete, and Danny Brown dominated the inaugural Helly Hansen Battle in the Bowls on Sunday at Colorado's Aspen Highlands ski area, taking home $1,000 in prize money. Seven inches of powder fell on Aspen/Snowmass just in time for 29 teams of two to compete for $2,800 in prize money. The competition required the teams of two to drop-in from the summit of the Highland Bowl and from the main gate on the Highland Bowl as well as ski/ride Kesslers, Snyder's Ridge, No Name, Deception, Moment of Truth, Thunder Bowl and Powder Bowl. A couple of the shots show Dav and Brown with their fastest lap in the bowl with an awesome braid. Athletes could take any route they desired as long as they completed every run listed on the course. Flaik GPS devices tracked the athletes as they charged across the mountain. Each team's final time was an average of its member's times. It was great to see some of our grassroots athletes out taking part in the event like Danny Brown, John Nicoletta and Adam Moszynski. Special thanks to our creator of the Battle in the Bowls course and our newest addition to our international team, Aspens own Chris Davenport. A huge thanks to all the event/marketing staff at Aspen Ski Co. for all their hard work in this weekends event!

"'The Endless Summer' ... it sounds like a cliché, even an endless dream - not even possible, but believe it or not, it exists. My endless summer first came in the form of an annual season of kayaking and rafting on the Zambezi river in Zambia, in between my adventures in the northern hemisphere's summer months. But in 2002 I visited Uganda for the first time. Imagine a river exiting Africa's largest lake, already big enough to offer some of the world's best big-water and freestyle kayaking. At times half a mile wide, the river braids into countless channels flowing in between islands and forming over thirty rapids that have drawn paddlers from all over the world. That river is the White Nile - at its source. Look at a map of Africa and you'll quickly spot lake Victoria central and slightly to the east. From its north end, the Nile exits and begins its 6000 Km journey to Cairo and then Alexandria, Egypt on the Mediterranean - The world's longest river! During the first time that I paddled on the Nile I was just starting to get malaria and stopped on a small island for a break. I thought, "Wow that's a pretty cool island!" The 40 km stretch of river offered such good paddling that I ended up returning at least once a year after that. Three years ago I bought the very island where I'd stopped on that first day. The price wasn't high but I was required to propose how I'd help the local rural community with my presence. The idea worked great and I've now created what I consider to be the ultimate paddling paradise. I'm typing these words as I sit on a white beach with palm trees, a hammock, a small house and the river passing by. After this I'll jump on my inflatable motorboat and fly up the rapids and channels to all the best 'play spots' for paddling. That makes it a great spot to rest from my world travels and go paddling every day. In addition to this particular stretch of river, Uganda also has a lot more to offer. It turns out that there're a number of unexplored rivers in the mountains to the east and more white water on the Nile River to the North (down stream). One key stretch is from Karuma falls to Murchison falls in the famed Murchison falls National Park. My 5-day descent was the forth on this rarely run section. The white water is spectacular with many massive technical rapids, but what makes every descent feel like a first is the dangerous and unpredictable wildlife. The run boasts the highest concentration of hippos in the world (20 000 in 80 km) and many crocs over 17 ft, not to mention elephants, buffalo, lions etc. all of which can kill you in a heartbeat. Whilst our team made it through in one piece, the trip wasn't without incident: Our support raft flipped four times^ I was approached by seven different crocs in the water and got scared off by a hippo in the jungle whilst scouting a rapid. Those were just a few of the stories that came from our adventure. By the time we made it to the end it was one of the best pieces of river that I've ever done, and the best part is...it's just in my back yard! But although Uganda is a great country with some of the friendliest people to be found in Africa, it's not all perfect and rosy. Over 50% of the population of 28 million is under the age of 15 years old. The average birth rate is 6.1 children for every female. That's a population explosion of note and, in terms of the environment^ this tiny country is struggling to handle that explosion, especially given that 98% of families use only an open fire as a form of energy. I've never been a particularly active environmentalist but after watching almost every tree along the river banks vanish over the last few years it's prompted me to at least try to do something. It's a loosing battle for sure but a few residents along the Nile, including myself, have been replanting trees along sections of the bank. The difficulty is that unless you own or lease the land first you have no control of the maintenance or regeneration. So we've bought up small pockets and next we plan to establish environmental education centers and arrange policing of the sound environmental laws that already exist. Hopefully we'll at least preserve a few small pockets of what used to be. Yet another good reason for me to keep returning to what used to be known as 'The pearl of Africa'. Over the previous two 'winters' much of my time in Uganda was occupied with building my island pad and getting generally set up in Uganda. This year was the first time that I arrived back to a home all ready to go. After settling in, the first order of business was the Nile Freestyle Kayak festival. About sixty paddlers from all over the world turned up for the event. I was nervous: Being that it's my 'backyard wave' about 300 yards from my house I'm always expected to win any event there. But it's tricky business. Obviously anything can happen on the day and there are definitely more than a few guys who are keen to take me out. In addition to that comes the pressure where, when you're expected to win, you must explain if you lose, but if you do win, well then it's just taken for granted. But I guess overcoming those mental games is all a part of the satisfaction. With up and coming paddler Sam Ward of the UK hot on my heels throughout the event the finals turned out to be the most awesome I've ever witnessed. We kept pushing each other higher and higher until eventually I squeaked ahead by the narrowest of margins. It was awesome but I would have been just as satisfied with 2nd place because the score sheet was ridiculous - We basically did every move in the book. For those who don't know, a freestyle kayak event takes place on a stationary wave in the river. Unlike in the ocean where the water stands still but the wave moves, in the river the wave stands still whilst the water passes under you. Other than that the concept is similar and you're able to perform various tricks on the wave. In the case of the 'Nile Special' wave down here, those tricks are fast and aerial - sometimes 3 feet off the water. The kayak festival continued with two races over the following day but I had to leave the country on my next quest - a scout trip to the Congo. For years I've had my eye on the Congo River - Africa's largest. It flows through the gnarliest of jungles and through a country where civil unrest and battles have raged on for years. We headed off to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of planning a future expedition on this mightiest of rivers. Apart from it being one of the toughest expeditions on earth, the amount of red tape, permitting and planning is mind-boggling. After a few weeks and dozens of meetings with government officials we're now a bit closer to launching on the world's wildest river. One of accomplishments was flying over some of the key sectors of the river as well as hiking in for a better look at the rapids from water level. Over flight and hiking in to the river was not only to get a look at the river but also to test ourselves and our permits gained so far to see that logistically we can in fact move around safely in what can easily be considered to be seriously hostile terrain. Watch this space! Once back in Uganda is was time for a well-needed Christmas break. This is where Uganda has always excelled for me over places like the Zambezi where it's slightly harder to go out and do other activities when you're not kayaking. Fishing for example. I've actually measured twenty steps from the water's edge to my stove where I can cook the fish I catch. Between paddling missions I dab a line in the river quite regularly and have also done a few trips on Lake Victoria. But the prime spot for sport fishing here is in Murchison falls national park. The fish get huge and it all takes place amongst spectacular wildlife. I did two trips down there this season and got to snap a few awesome pics of the surrounding wildlife as we fished. This year I also brought back my paraglider to check out the flying potential in Uganda. Over the last year I've been using a powered paraglider to help me with finding and scouting rivers. But the free flying is what I enjoy most. It turns out the conditions for flying are epic in Uganda. The area around the source of the river is a bit flat but you don't need to go too far to find awesome mountains with awesome air: Sipi falls and Mount Elgon to the East, and the Rwenzori's to the west with a great escarpment to the north along Lake Albert. Those spots will definitely become more a part of my future seasons spent here. All in all a great winter spent on the equator with out having to have an off-season as such. Now it's time to hit the airways to the next destination. The schedule for this year is packed with the next stops in South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. From there I'll be off to Canada to catch the flood runoff from one of the biggest snow packs in history. Later in the year I will of course also stop off at the home of Helly Hansen - Norway, which also happens to be one of the best white water destinations on the planet! Steve Fisher"

HELLY HANSEN WILL BE PRESENT IN BEIJING FOR THE XXIX OLYMPIC GAMES THANKS TO ITALIAN GUYS, DIEGO NEGRI AND LUIGI VIALE Miami, 9th March After eight months of top-level regattas, the crew of Team Helly Hansen, formed by Diego Negri and Luigi Viale, has finally won the Italian Star selection after taking command of the standings since the first race. The final standings saw them, in fact, winners with a wide margin on the second one. The athlete of the Sezione Vela Fiamme Gialle, Diego Negri, told directly from Miami: -At the end of the five regattas we collected 3rd placement at the Spring of Palma de Mallorca, 5th in the World Champiobnship in Cascais (selecting the Italian country), 8th in the European Championship in Malcesine, 19th placement at Miami OCR, a result that we have discarded, and finally 8th right at Bacardi Cup in Miami. Now we have a few days of rest before starting to work to defend the colours of Italian flag in Bejing 2008. Next week we will try the new boat built by the shipyard Lillia and after in Miami again to run 2008 World Championship, which starts from 7th April.- The Bacardi Cup has proven once again a complex race as well as for the very high level, as well because there were 114 boats. The highly variable weather conditions were added to make more intriguing this final regatta of selection. The first day with a light wind have opposed the latest race with strong wind up to avoiding the fourth race because of a storm that was shot down on the race area with gusts over 30 knots. Viale, excited because Beijing will be his first Olympic experience, continues, -Our goal was to finish in the final classification before of Francesco Bruni and consolidate the advantage gained. At the end, the goal has been reached with our 8th placement. I am really happy especially because the tension before of the Bacardi was high after exploit Bruni in Miami two weeks ago. I must really say thank to our sponsors: Helly Hansen, Harken, Gottifredi & Maffioli, Latte Alberti and Velocitek clearly beyond the Sezione Vela Fiamme Gialle and the Federazione Italiana Vela who believed in us from the beginning and even more will help us to try achieving a prestigious medal that Italy is lacking for more than thirty years.- The last medal won in the Italian Star class is Dodo Gorla and Alfio Peraboni one in Los Angeles in 1984, where they won a bronze medal. We hope that this time the East is a good-luck charm for the Team Helly Hansen. For any more news, see www.negri-viale.it Final Ranking of the Italian Star Selection class: Diego Negri-Louis Viale 460 points Francesco Bruni-Gilberto Nobili 210 points Alberto Barovier-Nando Colannino 180 points Final Results of Bacardi Cup 2008: 1 - POR 8309 - Domingos Afonso - Santos Bernardo, 12-9-7-2-2, 20 pts 2 - GBR 8345 - Percy Iain - Simpson Andrew, 20 pts 3 - USA 8230 - Dane John - Sperry Austin, 30 pts 4 - POL 8209 - Kusznierewicz Mateusz - Zycki Dominik, 32 pts 5 - AUT 8226 - Spitzauer Hans - Nehammer Christian, 33 pts 6 - BRA 8255 - Scheidt Robert - Prada Bruno, 38 pts 7 - ITA 8313 - Barovier Alberto - Colaninno Nando, 41 pts 8 - ITA 8266 - NEGRI DIEGO - VIALE LUIGI, 16-7-12-14-8, 41 pts 9 - IRL 8261 - O'Leary Peter - Milne Stephen, 42 pts 10 - USA 8285 - Diaz Augie - Trinter Phil, 42 pts

GOOD START OF HH SAILING TEAM IN 2008 VOLVO CUP In the last week end the 2008 Volvo Cup starts in Scarlino (Tuscany). The first two days there was a grey, cold weather with just light wind so only two races ran. The last day a sunny weather assured a good sea breeze that blew up to 10 knots. Melges24 class is most popular in Italy and here there were 64 boats from nine countries. HELLY HANSEN SAILING TEAM lined up two crews ALINA and UKA UKA that are favourite to win the 2008 circuit and the World Championship that will be in Porto Cervo in July. Our team Uka Uka started this series with a fantastic second place but in the other races his crew Bressani-Chieffi-Michetti-Benussi-Prina wasn't continuos so they have closed in ninth placement. Alina started not well but every race is better than earlier one so Valerio-Cassinari-Dal Ferro-Abbà-De Paoli finished fouth. The Swiss World Championship team of Blu Moon won the leg breaking the tie with Sherakan because a better discard. Third Alfa Spider. Federico Michetti, Uka Uka Team Manager and Melges Europe dealer tell us after the race: - On the start line there were 64 very fierce crews from ten countries. This is a fantastic result for this exceptional monotype. The only problem has been the weather condition. Because the lack of wind on the second day just 5 races have been completed. Only the last race ran with some gusts up to 10 knots. We have two new members of crew (also the tactician) so our chemistry was not yet perfect.- On board Alina the new gear from Helly Hansen just delivered before the race. Tactician Daniele Cassinari said: -We are always very happy with our gear. Every year is better and better. Lighter and warmer.We feel very confortable while racing.- Next appointment will be Marseille Snim regatta during Easter. MPZ

HH crew of Città di Milano - Team Hiroshi conquers the Dubai RC 44 Cup Dubai, March 7, 2008 The Italian boat, dressed by Helly Hansen, left no chance to the opposition, winning two out of the last three races and finishing the fleet race event with a comfortable margin over Team Ceeref and Team ES Bankers Dubai. The wind had shifted to the left for today's last races, and the chop made it a significantly different race course than the one experienced during the previous days. This novelty didn't disturb Città di Milano - Team Hiroshi, with Armando Giulietti at the helm and Sébastien Col at the tactics. Indeed, the Italian team clearly dominated the fleet in this series, taking excellent starts, sailing fast and at the right place to win the event with a massive 15 points margin over Team Ceeref and Team ES Bankers Dubai. The team worked hard at bettering its speed thanks to the use of video, photos and daily de-briefings. There is no secret to victory, but a simple method and a lot of hard work. Armando Giulietti, owner, Città di Milano - Team Hiroshi: -We didn't have too much pressure today as we were comfortably in the lead. It helped us to sail well and be relaxed about it. Somehow, it felt easy but there is a lot of work behind it. We always go out early on the water to practice. For us, preparation is the key to success." Sébastien Col, tactician, Città di Milano - Team Hiroshi: "We spent five days training with James Spithill before this event and this is the key to our success. We are still new to the Class, and we are not yet sure how to trim the boat in various conditions. We have definitely improved a lot." Fleet-racing, final results (no discard) 1) Città di Milano - Team Hiroshi (1, 1, 2, 4, 3, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1) 21 points 2) Team Ceeref (5, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 5, 2, 3, 1, 4) 36 points 3) Team ES Bankers Dubai (3, 4, 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 5, 5) 40 points 4) Team Aqua (DNF, DNF, 3, 6, 6, 3, 1, 3, 4, 3, 2) 45 points 5) Cro-A-Sail (4, 5, 4, 5, 1, 5, 6, 4, 2, 6, 3) 45 points 6) Team Sea Dubai, (2, 2, 6, 3, 4, 6, 2, 6, 5, 4, 6) 46 points

HELLY HANSEN Match Racer, Claire Leroy, wins the Harken Women's International Sydney, 19 March 2008 - The world's number one woman match racer, Claire Leroy of Helly Hansen Team, has become the first overseas competitor to win the Harken Women's International Match Racing Regatta, which wrapped up on Sydney Harbour this afternoon. With two races apiece in the best of five finals, Leroy and Australia's Nicky Souter went into the starting sequence for the sudden death final race and immediately following the start gun, a second signal was sounded and Souter was recalled for being OCS (On Course Side). After their costly error Souter and her Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club team threw everything they had at Leroy but the current ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year wasn't about to give up the early advantage and ran away with the win by 10 boat lengths in the shifty ESE breeze. Following on board celebrations, Helly Hansen Team formed by Leroy and her crew of Elodie Bertrand, Marie Riou and Claire Pruvot abandoned their Elliott 6 for a dip in Sydney Harbour - until the foreigners suddenly remembered Australia's reputation for somewhat unfriendly marine life and quickly clambered back aboard. A delighted Leroy commended Souter on the standard of competition she provided. "She is a great opponent and a very good chance for the Worlds," said Helly Hansen athlete dockside at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia this afternoon. She gave us very close matches. She didn't give us many opportunities and I had to think very differently sailing against her". The final podium place went to Katie Spithill and her RPAYC crew who beat Lotte Melgaard Pedersen (DEN) 2-0 in the petite final to finish third. Race three of the finals provided some interesting challenges for Leroy and Souter when the Middle Harbour Yacht Club and Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club's afternoon race fleets suddenly converged on the Harken Women's course off Shark Island. PRO Denis Thompson monitored the situation closely and was ready to abandon the race if the large keel boats looked like they might affect the final outcome but the two skippers managed to weave their Elliotts up to the Rose Bay top mark without interference. CYCA Commodore Matt Allen was aboard one of the spectator boats, commenting "Congratulations to Claire and to all the teams. It was great to see Australia so well represented in both the petite finals and finals". The majority of the teams contesting this grade 2 regatta will shortly head across the Tasman to Auckland for the ISAF World Women's Match Racing Championship to be hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's from 1-6 April. Having won the New Zealand Women's Match Racing Championship and now the Harken Women's International, Helly Hansen Team is aiming for a hat trick at the Worlds before returning to Europe for the summer

Davenport is continuing the high alpine assault of his Colorado 14er mission with the California 14er project. So far he has skied, Langley, Whitney and Williamson. Tomorrow he's heading for the South Face of Split Mtn. Below. Photos courtesy of Christian Pondella. Check out Ponella's site at: http://www.christianpondella.com/sierra14/

HH and Baerum Sailing Club has today engaged in a 3 year sponsorship deal regarding one of the largest offshore sailing events in Scandinavia^ Helly Hansen Skagen Race - previously Hovdan Skagen Race. The regatta has become a tradition for many sailors in the region and 300 boats are expected to be seen on the starting line April 30th. The entry is open, and enrollment starts Monday March 10th at noon and last until April 16th - the first 30 boats that sign up will recieve a brand new pair of HH Helly Welly sailing boots. For more information and entry forms, please use the following link: www.baerumseilforening.no or http://idrett.speaker.no/Downloads/62866/docs/2008_HHSR_INVITASJON_080304.pdf See you in Skagen!

Julie (33) and Colin (36) Angus from Vancouver Island, British Columbia have departed today from Britain's north easternmost point, John o'Groats and are travelling 7,000 km to Syria. The duo is using amphibious rowboats for the journey and will follow an interconnected route of canals, rivers, lakes and coastlines through Britain, Continental Europe, and the Middle East. The two 18 foot vessels were designed and constructed by the team, each able to carry a bicycle and boat trailer. Although most of the journey will be on water, the team has the option of travelling overland pulling the boats behind their bicycles. Over the next seven months the Angus's will pass through four seas, three major rivers and sixteen countries while only travelling by human power. Colin Angus' family is from the far north of Scotland and Julie's is from Germany and Syria. The journey will link these three countries, and a key component of the expedition is to explore their ancestral roots. The other focus is to promote active living and environmental stewardship in schools and an adventure learning program based on the expedition has been developed (details at www.rowedtrip.com). Julie and Colin departed from the coast near John o'Groats at 10:30 GMT pulling the boats behind their bicycles. They will cycle until Inverness and launch their boats in the Caledonian Canal. When asked of their decision to cycle instead of row for their first leg, Julie replied: "There's a gale hitting the coast of Britain tomorrow. I think we'll make better progress on land." A small crowd of well wishers, mostly extended family who still live in the region, waved the duo goodbye as they pedalled into stiff west winds. If all goes according to plan Julie and Colin Angus will pedal and row into Aleppo, Syria in mid-September. The journey will end at Julie's family's olive farm on the outskirts of the city. The team will be posting weekly updates, video logs, and pictures on the expedition website www.rowedtrip.com. Enjoy the trip, guys!!

Helly Hansen Team wins the RYA Women's Winter Challenge Match Racing Championship in the last weekend. Helly Hansen athlete Claire Leroy, who was named the ISAF World Sailor of the Year in November following her World and European match racing titles in 2007, made a perfect work at Queen Mary Sailing Club because she achieves her third Championship victory without losing a race over the three days. The Frenchwoman won her first Women's Winter Challenge Championship in 2005 and successfully defended it the following year but she lost the title the last year when Finlandd's Silja Lehtinen won it. Claire tells us: "This weekend there were 6 of the top ten sailors in the world: me, Lotte Melgaard Pedersen n°2 from Danish, Jenny Axhede n°6, Silke Hahlbrock, n°7 and Linda Rahm n°9 from Sweden and Silja Lethinen n°10 from Finland. There also was Luce Mac Gregor GBR who won Silver medal at the European Match racing Championship. Our fantastic team: me, Marie Riou, Morgane Gautier, Elodie Bertrand and Claire Pruvot won the Round Robin with 9 wins, and 0 defeats so we get very exalted to the final series. In the meanwhile the Mermaid Sailingteam had a semifinal against the swedish team Linda Rahm and she won 3/0. Lethinen was the same finalist of last year but we didn't have any fear. We raced a good series and we won 3 at 0. During the race there were no defeats. Just 15 wins. It is incredible !!! Leroy's victory has now qualified her for the RYA Winter Challenge Match Racing Series Grand Final at Queen Mary in the next weekend where the winners and runners-up from all the Series qualifiers over this winter are scheduled to battle it out for the overall title. MP RYA Women's Winter Challenge Match Racing Championship final results: 1. HELLY HANSEN TEAM Claire Leroy (FRA), Morgane Gautier, Claire Peuvot, Elodie Bertrand, Marcie Riou 2. Silja Lehtinen (FIN) 3. Linda Rahm (SWE) 4. Lucy Macgregor (GBR) 5. Jenny Axhede (SWE) 6. Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) 7. Silke Hahlbrock (GER) 8. Gemma Farrell (GBR) 9. Josie Gibson (GBR) 10. Lotte Meldgaard Pederson (DEN)

The 2008 heli ski season in Cordova and Valdez started with a bang. I have been at Points North in Cordova since February 22 and have experienced some of the best snow of my life. The snowpack and stability has been solid and hopefully stays that way. I am guiding for the first 4 weeks and then will film with Rage Films and Warren Miller for the next 3 weeks. I did a trip to Juneau Alaska a month ago which was spent exploring the Coast Mountain Range. It's been years since these mountains were explored by heli skiers so it was a pretty cool yet spooky feeling standing on top of a peak for the 1st run. The snow was some of the deepest snow of my life...scary deep! The mountains in the range were huge beauties with 3,600 vertical ft. runs. There were ton's of peaks, but not as many lines to ski as many of the peaks ended in 500ft. cliff drops. It made me realize how amazing the Chugach Mountains are and fired up to get back to Cordova! It's great to be back in Alaska and in the Chugach Mountains, it's truly a special place that stays in your heart and keeps you awake at night for the 10 months prior. I attached a few photos of myself from the first few days in the zone! Jessica Sobolowski

After a successfull naming ceremony, Ericsson 3 had its first maiden trip to the ERT training facility in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote. Check out a few images from the voyage.

Almost ready for departure, here is their latest update^ Happy Leap Day! We're currently in London, England awaiting the release of our boats. Due to a broken loading crane there has been a slight delay, however, we are expecting to have our rowboats freed by Monday. Our departure date from Dunnet Head, Scotland is now anticipated to be about March 7-9. In the meantime Colin and I are keeping busy in London organizing the rest of our equipment and preparing for the journey ahead. We are staying at Colin's brother's home near Camden Town. We have been looking at the Camden Canal and locks with great interest knowing we will be voyaging similar waterways in our journey ahead. The tranquil flowing waters, overhanging trees, and quaint architecture alongside this canal is a contrast from the bustling city it is situated within. - Julie Check out their website: http://www.rowedtrip.com

After killing it all summer on his bike all around the world, Matt spend a few winter months down in Costa Rica - just chillin'- here is one of his travel stories^ We had been watching the surf forecast for 3 weeks. It was the best prediction seen during that entire time. Perfect offshore winds, 2 metre swell, 17 second interval, perfect direction. Amazing. The timing of the waves was disappointing. It looked as though the swell would be a 3 day window that matched exactly the three day weekend holiday being celebrated in Costa Rica. We expected to find a lot of other surfers camping out at the park campgound. We were stoked for perfect waves but not for the crowds that would surely be there. We packed up the van anyways and floored it to Witch's Rock. The crew was a four pack of Canadian boys, happy to be escaping the short cold days of home in favour of some warm water surf. The road to the beach is a nasty trail 14km long that takes 2 hours to drive. Witch's Rock is in a National Park and the only place to stay is a very minimal campground where raccoons are savage thieves and huge iguanas roam everywhere. The emptiness of the parking lot at the end of the road went unnoticed when we heard the surf booming. When we got to the break we couldn't believe our eyes. The waves were absolutely flawless - big, glassy A frames barreling hard. But the really unbelievable part: there was noone else out. Empty, perfect waves. After a month of fighting through a crowd for every wave, the excitement of having waves to ourselves was almost too much to bear. There were definitely some serious dance moves that went down on the beach. Three days of perfect empty waves, and noone else but a few friends to share them with. After 3 days, we were sunburnt, out of food and water, and it felt like our arms were falling off when we tried to paddle. We headed back to our cabina with big salty smiles and great memories. Pura Vida Matt Hunter

Colin and Julie Angus just had visit from CHEK news. Check out the interview and learn more about their new adventure! More info also on http://www.rowedtrip.com

"After great second place in the Adventure Race World Championship in Scotland last year, team captain of the Wilsa Helly Hansen Adventure Race Team, Karine Baillet, just signed on it's new memeber - New Zealender^ Marcel Hagener. " Marcel is a really good athlete. He wants to run with us, and we want to run with him" - says Karine Baillet. Their schedule going forward is very hectic as they are charging up for the 2008 World Championship. All the best to you this season!!!"

This poster was created by Echo Mt to promote their new expansion into the woods. If you have not been up there you should check it out. So much fun. The other day you could get faceshots through the woods as you lined up for a mix of log rides, wall rides, wood pyramid and other sorts of natural fun. Marc Vitelli is featured in the shot rocking some Helly gear. Marc is kills it on the board, rides about as much as anyone, has kids that follow of him to learn but believe it or not this is all part-time to him being a dad, boot designer and brand manager for Sims Snowboards. Marc out there giving inspiration to everyone that there is no mandatory 9-5 or weekend warrior syndrome as long as you don't give in. Find out more about Echo at: http://www.echomtnpark.com/

Colin and Julie Angus wore the first to cirucumnavigate the earth by human power. Check out this clip and fin out why they did it!!! All information about Colin and Julies new trip can be found on http://www.rowedtrip.com

Whilst in Las Lenas last August, I bumped into a flashy, yet modest Norwegian by the name of Pedro Matos. Have you heard of him? Probably not. He has only been skiing for 2 years. In those 2 years though, Pedro has landed Helly Hansen as a sponsor, filmed a segment for the Scandinavian film company BigTrix and traveled the world. Pedro makes for an interesting story to say the least. http://www.biglines.com/blarticles/3984/Rising_Star-_Norway's_Pedro_Matos-_VIDEO

Shin Campos recently guided an all girls snowboard trip to Russia. Check out some of the photos and video of Shin slaying the Russian arm wrestling scene. http://www.futuresnowboarding.com/2008/03/a-russian-odd-yssey http://www.futuresnowboarding.com/photos?g2_itemId=16075