Over at Suunto, we make our products to stand the test of time – but even we can’t demonstrate that as well as Walter Hassler, from Tirol, Austria. The retiree has taken his Suunto X6 on every single bike, ski tour, and hike since he got it thirteen years ago – and it’s still ticking, all the way up to two million height meters (now, more.) We stopped by for a visit to see what we could learn about him – and his thirst for adventure. As a young man my goal was getting faster and faster Now I am just happy to keep doing what I am doing. I grew up with nine siblings in the beautiful valley of Zillertal. Sports has always been important for us – I played soccer, biked, went swimming or skiing with my brothers and sisters. Now it’s mostly mountain biking and ski touring. On good days I am still able to achieve the same results (time) as 13 years ago when I first got my Suunto watch. 12 ski/bike tours a month are the minimum If the weather is nice I sometimes do up to 15 tours a month in summer.I don’t get on my bike (or my skis) for less than 1,000 height meters This is how I end up doing between 15,000 and 20,000 height meters a month on average. Whenever I am on my bike I am clocking between 2.5-3 hours minimum. The longest tours I am doing are up to 6 hours though. Of course I feel bad for my wife, leaving her alone for a couple hours every other day! On October 24th, 2009 I put 1 million height meters on to my Suunto When I downloaded the data 4 days later I already had 1,007,000 height meters on it. I wanted to put 2 million height meters on, and then stop – at least that´s what I said. When I downloaded the data it was already 2,007,000 height meters, so I just have to keep going, I guess. 2 million height meters are actually 2,000 kilometers That´s just crazy, isn´t it? It took me only 5 years to do my first million height meters, so maybe if stay healthy I can get up to three million. Bad weather has never been an excuse for me On one tour I was looking at my cell phone, then lightening struck so close to me that it actually knocked the phone out of my hand.I mostly exercise by myself Because I love getting on my bike right in front of my house. Waiting around for others to finish work, lunch or just better conditions isn´t for me. If I do go with a buddy, they usually are 20-30 years younger than me so they can keep up.I just turned 70 But I think I´ll still be on my bike 20 years from now.

Now is the time to celebrate both the suffering and the flying. Welcome to the third annual Vertical Week!     Vertical Week 2018 starts on Monday, February 26 and ends on Sunday, March 4. Put on your running shoes, hop on your bike or release your heels and start skinning up the hill. Track your adventures with your Suunto watch, sync with Suunto App, and by the end of the week we’ll know which country climbs the most in a week.   Every move counts!     Share your Vertical Week experiences on Instagram or Facebook with #VerticalWeek. Three of the most inspiring posts will win Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR Baro watches. Terms and conditions apply. Read them here.      

Kat Schjei, California, USA Feeling inspired by @suunto #verticalweek ; in the last seven days I have climbed over 5,000 feet either wearing this adventurous toddler, or pushing him in the stroller. It isn't easy, but I thrive on the challenge and seek more adventures with my sidekick every day. 🗻 #verticalweek #noexcuses #motherrunner #BAMR #BAMRbassador #runitfast #irunhesleeps #saltymountainmamas #getsalty #trailrunner #ultrarunners #trailchix #lasthorse #r4twc #running4thosewhocant #nomeatathlete #ultrarunner A post shared by Kat Schjei (@smushtush) on Mar 1, 2018 at 6:15pm PST “I live in Southern California but have lived all over the US. I'm a mom of three small kids and work as a nurse at the children's hospital, but that doesn't stop me from exploring and climbing as much as possible. I'm currently training for my fourth 100-mile race, the Tahoe Rim Trail 100, which is located on some of my favorite peaks to climb. My Vertical Week was fun! I strapped my youngest son on my back and we climbed around 1500 feet a day, which is a crazy hard strength workout with his added weight. He loves taking in the sights as much as I do, and I know this is great race training because the added weight feels like double the distance. I'm very much an advocate for getting kids outside; my three have learned to fall in love with the beauty that is rewarded when you put effort into a steep climb. I live my life to lead them and other families by example.” Anna Persson, Norway Added 4000m to my vertical weekend today! It felt like 1000 😁 #verticalweek #timetoplay #romsdalen #uterauma #suunto 's #week #mountains #outdoorlife #training #sun #winter A post shared by Anna Persson (@anna_persson_) on Mar 2, 2018 at 11:23am PST “I came to Norway 12 years ago. A summer job made me come here and nature has kept me here. The nature of Rauma in Romsdalen, Norway is spectacular with its many high and steep mountains by the sea. The mountains are in my backyard so I can walk to them from my front door. My favorite training mountain in winter time is 1439-meter-high Kyrkjetaket – and the mountains around it. I often climb it two or three times before I go to work in the afternoon. The same mountain feels different every day. Snow and weather conditions may vary from day to day but when I`m at the top, it’s always the same; magical, wonderful feeling of freedom. My #verticalweek was pretty hectic because of work. I also caught a cold. Luckily the snow and weather conditions were perfect this week so it was easy for me to do some vertical meters every day.” Hannes Gehring, Colorado, USA It’s been nearly 7 months since I’ve raced. Following my last race I found myself fighting demons, questioning and challenging my dreams and pursuits in ultra-running. I ballooned from a race weight of 168 to 206 lbs by mid December. It has been snail-crawl back to fitness but my focus has never been more deliberate. Yesterday’s 24 miles and 7,000 feet of climbing capped the week at 100 miles and 20k of vertical gain and felt like an unleashing of a few months worth of frustration, angst, and doubt. Sometimes following your passion, your crazy, and your heart is the only way to dig out of that hole you’re in. I’ve been digging for a few months. I’m back and there’s a fire 🔥🔥🔥coursing through my veins. (📷 Yesterday circa my 41,288th step 📸captured here by ninja photographer @itsmarincita) #uphillswagger A post shared by Hannes Gehring (@uphillswagger) on Mar 5, 2018 at 10:46am PST “Last March I decided to pursue ultra-running full time and moved into my truck with my two rescue dogs. They are the reason I found mountains; once I had rescued my first dog he led me to trails and helped me find my passion in mountain running. Suunto's Vertical week went great for me. I was fortunate enough to climb over 20,000 vertical feet and cover over 100 miles, including a summit of the 14,035' Mt. Sherman here in Colorado. I think any climb that gains 4,000 feet or more feels like a really burly climb. Typically, for my big days I aim for over 10,000 feet of uphill climbing. The steeper the better as far as I am concerned! Ultra-running is my biggest passion (other than my dogs). So, my biggest motivation when a climb gets tough is that I want to do this professionally at the highest level. It keeps me humble and hungry grinding up a steep trail, knowing my dreams are lofty, but attainable – if I just keep pushing up that hill. Plus, my dogs make every climb look like it's a cake walk and that's a humbling motivator as well!” Congratulations, Kat, Anna and Hannes! Your new Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR Baro watches are on their way to you. And a big thank you to everyone who participated in Suunto World Vertical Week and shared photos and stories. Happy adventures to you all – both in the ups and downs! LEARN MORE ABOUT SUUNTO WORLD VERTICAL WEEK 2018

The 2018 Suunto Summiteers are: Aniol, Spain Daniel, Switzerland / Spain Dmytro, Ukraine Julia, Finland Leonardo, Italy Maggie, UK Patrick, France Patrik, Slovakia Sherry, USA Tara, USA Teoh, Malaysia Valentin, Romania Verónica, Ecuador (All participants have been individually contacted by Suunto.) Welcome to #suuntosummit, everyone! ***** 5 February 2018 ***** Suunto Summit 2018 Do you want to be a part of a weekend full of trail running in the Finnish forest, workshops on Suunto products, and a little sauna too? If you can get to Helsinki for 4-6.5, we’ll do the rest!If this sounds like your kind of weekend, fill in the application below and tell us why you’re passionate about sports and Suunto, and share your story with #suuntosummit Applications are due by 22.2.2018. (Amer Sports employees are not eligible for this Suunto Summit) APPLY NOW Here's what the Summit looks like in action!   In 2017 we hosted an inspiring group of 16 Suunto fans from around the world for a weekend of sharing experiences – and some muddy Finnish trails.   Summit team gearing up for the start of the trail race   Serene moment for Sante in the forest   Ready for orienteering?   Summiteers celebrating at the finish of Bodom Trail   All images by Philipp Reiter

WHICH COUNTRY CLIMBS THE MOST? No big surprises here. The Austrians took the top spot again by a clear margin: on average they climbed almost a hundred meters higher than any other nation. Congratulations! Also Switzerland was once again very strong: they have placed in the top three in the World Vertical Week ranking every year. Overall the top four was dominated by people living in countries with the Alps. The popularity of ski touring, once again the activity with the most average ascent, surely contributes to these countries’ ranking. Which country climbs the most? (average ascent per activity, top 20 countries) Austria 472 m Switzerland 375 m Italy 360 m Slovenia 338 m Slovakia 281 m Spain 263 m Norway 255 m France 250 m Portugal 229 m Germany 222 m The Czech Republic 210 m Mexico 189 m South Africa 177 m Singapore 176 m Canada 170 m New Zealand 169 m The United States 167 m Hungary 161 m Republic of Korea 151 m Sweden 150 m BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES? WHO CLIMBS THE MOST? We tracked all human-powered outdoor sports and looked at eight of them more closely: running, trail running, trekking, mountaineering, cycling, mountain biking, ski touring and cross-country skiing. A special shout-out goes to Japan and Italy: they both were on top in two different activity rankings. Italy even managed to get six top fives out of eight possible ones. Skiers climbed away from the others also this year with the highest average ascent per activity (867 m). Also the number two, mountaineering with 688 m on average, kept its spot. Trail running (380 m) defended its third spot even though the trail runners didn’t reach the 400-meter mark this year. To keep the playing field level, we were only comparing averages. A cumulative number of ascent meters per country or activity would not have made sense as the population and number of Suunto members varies from nation to nation. YOU DON’T NEED MOUNTAINS AT HOME TO ENJOY BIG ASCENTS The biggest surprise this year was the winner in ski touring category: the skiers from the Netherlands toured the biggest average ascents! It seems you don’t need mountains to enjoy big ascents. The highest point of their country rises only to 322 meters. However, it is hard to believe that the Dutch would have collected all that vert back at home. One explanation for their success is that they didn’t actually tour at home, but had mostly traveled on a holiday to bigger hills and had had time to really record some vert. The same must be partly true to Great Britain that took the second spot in the ski touring ranking. Countries like Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France had tens of times more ski touring activities during the week than the Dutch or the Brits but their averages were still lower. It seems that it is hard to beat someone enjoying a holiday even if you have mountains in your backyard. More dawn patrols and headlamp tours will be needed for the locals if they wish to beat their guests next year! This analysis is not meant to take anything away from the Dutch and the Brits. There seems to be an active ski touring community in both countries that know that you need to go out during the World Vertical Week! Good job! Ski touring (average 867 m) The Netherlands 1160 m Great Britain 1130 m Switzerland 996 m Spain 953 m Italy 951 m JAPANESE ON TOP IN MOUNTAINEERING Japanese mountaineers recorded the highest average ascents during the week-long event. They added about 150 meters to their last year’s average and went from fifth to first. Well done! Mountaineering (average 688 m) Japan 846 m Switzerland 799 m Italy 765 m Austria 746 m France 743 m ASIA DOMINATED TRAIL RUNNING DURING THE WORLD VERTICAL WEEK It has been clear every year that Asia is strong in trail running and the same trend continues also this time around: The crown for the most average trail running ascent goes to Japan! That’s a strong performance considering the Japanese were number one also in mountaineering. Top spots in mountaineering and trail running, activities with the second and the third biggest average ascents, is an excellent demonstration that the Japanese are really strong in the uphill. Winter in the mountainous regions in Europe and North America may limit the trail running ascents but never the less the Japanese and Chinese runners were very strong. Trail running (average 380 m) Japan 731 m China 653 m Portugal 547 m Italy 523 m Spain 508 m Mountain biking (average 323 m) Italy 482 m Spain 479 m South Africa 382 m New Zealand 378 m Brazil 377 m Trekking (average 315 m) Italy 436 m Austria 426 m France 357 m Spain 354 m USA 246 m Cycling (average 214 m) Spain 411 m Italy 363 m South Africa 328 m France 301 m Austria 264 m Cross-country skiing (average 199 m) The Czech Republic 374 m France 316 m Norway 259 m Austria 219 m Sweden 213 m Running (average 103 m) Slovenia 192 m Norway 151 m Switzerland 146 m Croatia 142 m Portugal 139 m READ ALSO: THREE INSPIRING STORIES FROM SUUNTO WORLD VERTICAL WEEK

Ueli, may your spirit forever guard others who live their dreams in the mountains. We miss you – and your broad smile.