It's only a couple of months since Suunto Vertical Blue but Will Trubridge is already looking ahead to his next record attempt. Here's what else the year has in store for the freediver. So what's up in 2015? 2015 is a busy year, with Suunto Vertical Blue happening at the end of April, then the Caribbean Cup in Honduras in May and the World Championships in Cyprus in September. I would like to perform well in all of these, but it's hard to maintain peak performance for long periods, so I will have to structure my training and rest carefully.Will you try again for another record?Yes, I hope so! Vertical Blue in April will have the best conditions for this, and with some solid training over the winter I would like to have another attempt at the 102 m [CNF – no fins, completely unassisted] and possibly try and push the Free Immersion record out some more as well. Will in action during Suunto Vertical Blue. ©Daan Verhoeven Looking back, what was the highlight of 2014? Winning Suunto Vertical Blue was definitely a great feeling, but I think the highlight would have to be seeing all the support for my world record attempt at 102 m, both before the attempt, when everyone was writing in with encouraging messages and leaving audio clips on the Steinlager site, and afterwards, when despite failing at my goal there was an even greater flow of support. Is it disappointing not to get the record?It can be a disappointment when you have trained hard for a long period, and there is a lot riding on your success. However you can learn as much from failure as you can from success, so I plan to use this disappointment as both motivation and a learning experience for the next occasion. A freediver in action during Suunto Vertical Blue 2014. ©Logan Mock-BuntingWas there a single thing that sums up the event?After last year's incident this VB was characterised by a more careful approach from the athletes, and enhanced safety measures from the team. In a way it was inspiring to see the prudence displayed by an athlete voluntarily sitting out the entire competition because they had suffered a lung injury in training, when the previous year they might have tried to push through regardless. But rather than sulking at home, this person, and others who had similar conditions, showed up at the beach to coach their fellow athletes and support the event. I think this demonstrates the spirit of VB, where everyone is supportive of each other, and the unique environment at Dean's Blue Hole allows for a warm and intimate event.Anything else that stands in the memory from 2014? I heard whalesong underwater for the first time, which is a magical experience, and encountered my first tiger shark (a fleeting visit, as it was a little timid). My 97m no fins dive in the Caribbean Cup, which is the deepest dive in this discipline during a competition, was one of the competitive highlights for me.

Scoring early season ice: it's always a challenge and a gamble – but one that paid off for Tanja Schmitt and Matthias Scherer, who ventured to Canada in search of cold November climbs. In their own words, they tell the story of their adventure below and scroll down to see the video: Reborn. The search for early season ice is always a voyage into the unknown. It causes many questions: has the ice already build up, how are temperatures going to develop, how many snow has fallen and is it going to be already a threat regarding avalanche risks? Whilst the winter in the Alps often doesn't come before December, it can often be found full-on in November in the canadian Rockies. And so both climbers heeded towards the Rockies in hope for early season ice. But this year the Rockies were also still dripping with water instead of solid ice.Matthias on Whiteman Falls ©Tanja Schmitt And so Matthias and Tanja found themselves Drytooling under a warm clear sky instead of ice climbing in cold winter light. The positive fact about that resulted in an enhanced training, and by the end of their Drytool-cycle both climbed 10 times M9+ in an hour: a fact which gave them confidence for what laid ahead. In the second week of November the cold finally arrived with icy temperatures around minus 25°C. The ice formed. On November 12th Matthias and Tanja could start their ice season together with Steve Swenson with the classic ‘Murchison’ on Icefields parkway. The climbs were freshly formed, kind of ‘shock-frozen’ and still thin. No traces indicated a previous climb, arising the common questions: is it already possible to climb? Might it not be a better idea to still wait? Is protection generally possible? Is the climb worth the risk? It is these questions early season ice climbing is all about. Pointing the way to the Sorcerer In the course of the second November week temperatures dropped even deeper: On november 29th the team climbed ‘Whiteman Falls’ with temperatures around minus 27°C, making the climb very interesting. Next day they went together with Canadian ice climbing legend Raffael Slawinski to Field for a longer gully climb. With temperatures around minus 30°C degrees thin icicles and pillars were no option and steady movement a clever choice. So they soloed the easier parts just to keep moving and not to wait too long. It is when ice screws start to stick on your mouth whilst cleaning and your complete movements start to get slower that a cold day indicates itself...a very cold day. The ice becomes difficult to climb. The air crystal cold. Days unforgettable! But no Canadian trip is complete without the ghost valley. And so at the end of their trip Matthias and Tanja once again teamed up with Steve Swenson for an adventurous trip. Next to hours long bush-walks and river crossings, ice climbing in the Ghost valley is all about getting in there first place with your car: snow packed roads, slippery river crossings and route finding in general are the challenges of the car 'pilot'. And so the four pitches of awesome ice were well earned: the ‘Sorcerer’ is by many means a great climb on an outstanding place and gave our trip an unforgettable ending! Main image: ©Tanja Schmitt

There is a thin line between triumph and disaster, as Kilian Jornet discovered this weekend at the opening ski mountaineering World Cup race in Puy Saint Vincent, France. In the opening race he went off course and was disqualified, despite finishing third. But on Sunday's vertical race there were no mistakes and he came home first to secure victory. “I'm happy with the result [of the vertical],” Kilian said. “My sensations were good. In the beginning Tony Palzer and I ran off ahead and at about half the race I managed to get away from him to finally achieve the victory. After the track error in the Individual Race I cannot assess the weekend positively, but I am very satisfied with the team's performance.” File image ©ISMF Press OfficeThe World Cup continues and the next stop will be the weekend of 24th-25th of January in Andorra, where an Individual and a Vertical Race will be held. The aim of Jornet will be “to be as high as possible" in both events. Earlier, the Suunto ambassador spoke of his disappointment after what happened on Saturday. “It is a pity what happened. I was feeling in shape during the whole race but on the last downhill I got confused in a part that was not marked and therefore I got disqualified. Now I’ll have to fight hard in all the races so that I can try to have a good overall position.” If there's one person who can do that, it's Kilian Jornet! Main image from file: ©ISMF Press Office

There are ultra runs and then there's the Race Across America. Kicking off on January 16, the race will see dozens of athletes attempt to run across the US, a total distance of 5,000km. Among them will be the 36-year-old Suunto supported runner Patrick Sweeney. We asked him why. So? A few years ago I wanted to run across the country by myself but had an injury. Then this opportunity came up. I'm excited to see the country and I've always been up for an adventure.I'm also raising money for a non-profit that's getting kids to run 100 miles in a school year, so that's a big motivating factor. I've seen it change lives. The details? It's 120 marathons over 140 days, mostly on the road.Ouch! Is it do-able? I'll find out! My best marathon time is 2:37 – on a hilly course – but we'll have eight hours to do the daily stages. Race strategy? My plan is to try and run in four hours and just find my groove. I don't know what my comfort level will be. The course is unmarked so having the Ambit will be very helpful. DietI'm vegan so that's going to be even more difficult but I'll eat lots of oils and high protein meals and plenty of veggie tacos. I'll also be eating 2-3 avocados a day. Biggest challenge? It's winter! We cross the Colorado Plateau which is 7,500 ft (2,286 m) and we could encounter blizzards. I'm more of a hot weather person. You ready? You can wait your whole life to be healthy but I'm in good shape. I've done a lot of ultras in California, including Leadville the last couple of years. You run in barefoot sandals, why? It's really all I need and works best with the running form of my body. I don't get blisters. But I'm also packing a pair of shoes with max cushioning just in case something goes wrong.

He's a week into his epic bid to run across America. Patrick Sweeney has so far clocked up 7 marathons – there's only another 113 to go! Below he gives us a little update on progress so far: “The race is going great! The weather has been sunny and relatively warm. I am enjoying the company of my teammates. 3,000 miles (approx 5,000km) is quite a long race! The brain wants to do it but the body after the first 130 miles in five days has yet to find a groove. “It's interesting trying to figure out how hard I can push without injuring myself. So far I have been taking it a little slower than I want to but I think it is smart to ease into this.” Patrick's marathon times have so far ranged from 4h 22m to 5h 15m. He adds: “The vibe of the event is much more of an adventure than a race. I look forward to each day's run and all the experiences ahead of me. My Ambit3 has already kept me from getting lost more than once and I am very thankful to have it!” We'll be giving regular updates on Patrick's progress. Stay tuned to find out more.

Like any successful diving trip, the moment you get home it suddenly feels a long time ago. But the memories from Suunto's exploratory trip to Ayada Maldives look set to remain for a while yet for the lucky winners who joined us on our photoshoot earlier this month.The trip explored diving sites that have yet to be dived in the beautifully warm and clear waters of the Indian Ocean island chain. Five Suunto fans were able to join after winning our #Paradise contest. They were not disappointed... Says Jen Weston: “The trip really was a dream come true – exquisite, easy-going diving with professionals in a gorgeous underwater environment.“The diving locations had great visibility, lots of beautiful coral, countless tropical fish all contributing to an environment bursting with color. The dive sites near Ayada were clean and well cared for. And the night dive was truly amazing. We saw a nurse shark, a sleeping pufferfish, crabs, and lobster.” Jen Weston taking a shot © Phil Davison“It was described as a trip to paradise,” adds fellow contest winner Mark Harris, “and I really don’t think I can describe it any better than that. “The diving was beautiful – there were large expanses of pristine hard coral reefs at most of the dive sites and most of the reefs we visited had very mild currents. Sightings of Eagle Rays were a daily occurrence with regular sightings of reef sharks, large rays and turtles.” Also on the trip were the Scuba Diver Girls. “There is something for everyone in the Maldives, from big animals to small macro life. You constantly find yourself not knowing what to look at first,” says Margo Sanchez. “Every divesite was teaming with fish, eels, and wonderful anenomies!...and then a spotted eagle ray or black tip reef shark swims by...”Flying in the ocean: ©Dapeng Juan She adds: “It was so amazing to wake up early, throw on a bikini, enter the water right from the deck of our bungalow, and snorkel the spectacular house reef.”There was one particularly memorable diving moment, she says: “Stephanie and I were on a dive over a pretty reef that dropped off in a sheer wall of coral to the deep. There was the perfect amount of current to where you floated along just fast enough to be able to stop and take pictures if you wished. We found the cutest turtle that really seemed to like us and swam with us for quite sometime. The team on the beach of Ayada Maldives resort. ©Brad Holland“Then we came upon a very large nurse shark under a ledge of coral that was obviously very pregnant. She turned her head and regarded us as if to say hello but was very comfortable in her bed. Although that dive was quite amazing, the most stand-out moment for us was the baby blacktip sharks that were 30 feet from our bungalow. We snorkeled with them daily and I could always hear Stephanie squeeling through her snorkel...CUUUUUUTE!!! I, of course, was making the same noises. Some days the larger sharks would come in to check us out as well and all of this was in 3 feet of water!!!” Everyone got the chance to dive with Suunto's new dive computer, Suunto EON Steel and photographers George Karbus and Predrag Vuckovic were on hand to capture some great images for our forthcoming campaigns and we look forward to sharing those images in the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone for making it such a memorable trip. Main image ©Steve Woods