SKIING THE CLOUDS
ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB & SKI EIGHTEEN 4000M PEAKS IN 5 DAYS
the hard work
THE PLAN
OUR MISSION
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18 x 4000M PEAKS
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7000M+ ASCENT
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5 DAYS
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2 COUNTRIES
The team aim to use a blend of climbing and ski touring techniques to summit eighteen 4000m peaks around the Monte Rosa Massif.
The Monte Rosa Massif is home to some of the most distinct terrain in Europe, and includes the famous peaks of Breithorn, Castor, Pollux and, of course the second highest peaks in the Alps - Durfourspitze (4,634m).
Our route will take us out of Zermatt and across 18 UIAA 4000ers, clocking up over 7000m of vertical ascent. The traverse will expose us to a mixture of challenging terrain - ranging from heavily crevassed glaciers, to steep mixed climbing - giving us the opportunity to take in some of the finest scenery in the Alps and ski some truly unique high altitude lines!
ROUTE
> Breithorn West Summit4164m
> Breithorn Central Summit 4159m
> Breithorn Twin Peak West (4139m)
> Breithorn Twin Peak East (4106m)
> Roccia Nera (4075m)
> Pollux (4092m)
> Castor (4223m)
> Lyskamm West Summit 4479m
> Lyskamm East Summit (4527m)
> Punta Giordani (4046m)
> Vincent Pyramid (4215m)
> Corno Nero/Schwarzhorn (4322m)
> Ludwigshohe (4341m)
> Parrotspitze (4432m)
> Signalkuppe (4554m)
> Zumsteinspitze (4563m)
> Dufourspitze (4634m)
> Nordend (4609m)
WHO ARE WE?
OUR STORY
The British Adventure Collective was created to demonstrate and the best of British Adventure, at home and abroad. We are a collaboration of straight talking athletes looking to inspire others to sharing our passion for all things outdoor. This project combines our love for skiing and mountaineering in the most serious of Alpine environments.
As well as climbing and skiing this high altitude challenging route, we also aim to document our experiences through a love of photography and film.
CREDENTIALS
We strive to exhibit the very best of adventure sport and inspire others to take advantage our natural habitat, at home and abroad. Over the past number of years, we have enjoyed a huge breadth of challenges. Some of our most notable achievements are listed below.
Endurance
• Classic Haute Route ski mountaineering tour
• GR20 (totally unsupported)
• Annapurna Circuit
• World Series Adventure Race ITERA (660km in < 6 days)
• 7x Ironman Triathlons
• Great Glen kayak tour (under 48 hours)
• Official Guinness World Record holders – Most countries cycled through in 7 days; 1800km & 14 countries
• National Three Peaks challenge in under 24 hours
• 23x Marathons
• Breca SwimRun, Jersey (2nd female team)
• London 2 Italy on fixed wheel bike (1200km, < 7 days)
• British C2C cycle Challenge (< 11 hrs)
• Welsh Diagonal cycle Challenge (355km, < 24 hrs)
• Fred Whitton Round cycle sportive (4000m+ ascent)
Notable Summits
• Aneto, Spain
• Mulhaccen, Spain
• Mount Teide, Spain
• Mont Blanc (< 24 hours)
• Mont Maudit
• Mont Blanc du Tacul
• Rucu Pichincha, Ecuador
• Toubkal, Morrocco
Notable Summits (over 5000m)
• Pico de Orizaba, Mexico
• Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
• Mount Kenya, Kenya
• Ilniza Norte, Ecuador
• Cayambe, Ecuador
• Mount Elburus (attempt), Russia
• Chimorazo, Ecuador
THE TEAM
AARON ROLPH
team leader
Aaron’s passion for the outdoors was born and bred in the English Lake District, where he summited his first significant peaks at the age of 5. He has since taken on everything from competitive mountain biking at a national level to high altitude expeditions around the world. His ‘can do’ attitude has endowed him with an impressive list of adventure credentials, including an Official Guinness World Record, having cycled through 14 countries in seven days, averaging 260km per day. He possesses a flagrant disregard for the realms of possibility, and Aaron is always the man to throw down the gauntlet, challenging the team to plan, execute and succeed at what others might have previously deemed the unthinkable.
GERALD MCHUGH
technical & safety
Adventure has been a lifelong passion for Gerald, but it was whilst at university in Aberdeen that he really cut his teeth in the wild. Taking advantage of the proximity of the Scottish Highlands, Gerald developed a strong winter skill set and spent much of his time at the local crags and walls, transferring his rope-work capabilities from his earlier sailing days climbing. A ardent lover of the mountains, Gerald makes it his personal mission to spend as much time skiing as possible. Gerald’s extensive winter climbing experience has given him a high level of technical ability, which he uses to help keep the team safe in dangerous terrain.
PAUL LANGE
planning & logistics
Paul, a native of Toulouse and a lifelong snow sports enthusiast, has a unique blend of high-altitude experience and snowboarding prowess. Paul has an untouchable work ethic and can grind out even the toughest days in the worst conditions. Paul is marrying his two passions and taking split-boarding to increasingly high heights. His appearance in remote alpine huts never fails to shock, and his style on the drop provides an undeniable cool to the traditional stay of the ski tourer. The hard work begins well in advance of the trip for Paul, where he puts his background in logistics to good use, making sure we always know what’s coming and have somewhere to rest our weary bodies at the end of long days.
EMILY SCOTT
TRAINING & WELL BEING
Scottie is a true adventure athlete and suffer specialist. Multiple Iron ‘woman’ and Team GB triathlete, she is always striving to find new limits and applications for her fitness. This has pushed her to enter a number of endurance races and also pursue significant solo ultra-distance runs of her own making. Emily brings much more than a formidable endurance CV to the team. Her unique ability to encourage and inspire has helped see each member of the team through moments of doubt and anguish. Emily uses her knowledge of endurance sport to advise on our individual training requirements, and is always on hand with a kind word or Mars bar at exactly the right moment.
JAMES NORBURY
MEDIA & CONTENT
James has been ‘adventuring’ since a young age: whetting his appetite romping in the Brecon Beacons and Dartmoor as a child. In recent years he has cut his teeth on some more ambitious trips; from high altitude Himalayan hiking to Nordic cross country ski slogs. Recently he has moved into the social media world; combining his experience within film and video production (founding production company, Zebrafish Media, in 2015) with his passion for the outdoors, anything adventurous and an unhealthy obsession with skiing. As well as oodles of wit and charm, James will be bringing his photography and video equipment (Sony A7S, GoPro Hero 4, DJI Mavic Drone) to the party and will be one of the primary avenues for social media content and contact on the expedition.
