Text / Yin Hang
Editor / Guo Yang
On March 22, 2023, French skier Simon Billy skied down from the summit at a speed of 255.5 km/h at the Alpine ski resort of Vals, winning the 2023 Speed Skiing World Championships and breaking the world record for speed skiing.
Of all the man-made objects above this speed, the only ones above this are Formula 1 cars, high-speed trains, airplanes and rockets. The human body can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h in low-altitude freefall – the speed of a skier is actually equivalent to falling from the top of a mountain.
Any movement at speeds above 50 km/h means that every second should not be taken lightly. Even if recreational skiers don't aim for speed, it's rare to find a sport so close to danger. It is precisely this stimulus that makes some people regard skiing as the light of life, while others avoid it.
Since the beginning of the snow season, there has been a lot of news about accidents at the ski resort. "Happiness without risk is not true happiness", but the safety of skiing is also a time to be taken into account.
Where are the limits of freedom and freedom in this sport?
Between mountains and snow: safety first, freedom second
In fact, before it became a sport, skiing had a history of 10,000 years – as a mode of transportation, as a life skill for everyone in a community.
In Burjin County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, Tuvans live here. The Altay region is mountainous and snowy, and the Tuvans used to live as nomads, especially on horseback riding and skiing.
Tuvan herders used to use fur skis as their main means of transportation. This ancient fur snowboard has a core made of redwood wood and wrapped in horseskin. When going up the mountain, it is reverse-haired to increase friction, and when going down, it can glide freely on the snow. The Tuvans, who are good skiers, use only a wooden cane to adjust the direction of the slide.
These skis made of fur are an essential means of transportation for herdsmen in the deep mountains in winter. "When I was a child, my father used to go hunting in the mountains, and that's when I got into the old fur skis. As a well-known skill and tool, Suke's father said, "We can't walk without fur skis. 」
"For example, if your horses run up the mountain, you have to wear fur skis to save the horses. In the Tuvan concept, a snowboard is something that is "worn" on the body, as everyday as shoes and clothes.
Later, Suker came into contact with professional snowboard teams and began formal snowboard training, and he became a master of mountaineering and skiing. Sooke will also continue to ski, passing on the ancient art of fur skis and his love of skiing to the next generation.
Unlike Suke, Dahuan is not a native of Altay, she is from Kashgar. After working as a designer in Zhuhai for many years, Dahuan decided to stay because of his love for snow and engaged in ski photography, where he met his partner Guancai, and thus came into contact with skiing.
When she first arrived in the mountains, the hard drive that stored her previous design work was broken. For a working person, that's all there is to work, but Dahuan suddenly felt at the time, "Those things don't mean anything to me."
Things that are so important in the urban workplace are insignificant in nature and the mountains. Dahuan said: "Through this sport, you may occasionally connect with nature and everything around you at some point. In the process of climbing, I will not be impulsive or impatient, because the descent is a very enjoyable, free and comfortable process. Living with the snow is a completely new experience.
When a friend asked her how long she would live this life, she laughed, "Of course I want to skate for the rest of my life. 」
also chose to stay in Xinjiang, as well as Peng Chao. In the past, Peng Chao spent most of his time in Beijing, but now he spends less and less time in the city and more and more time in Xinjiang every year: "It's nice to stay in the mountains. 」
During his time in the mountains, Peng Chao's most important job was to run his own semi-non-profit organization, AARE, an Altay avalanche research and education organization. In 2022, AARE set up two local observatories to record the weather, analyze the snow layer, and produce and publish avalanche risk forecasts during the snow season. At the same time, AARE also provides offline training for local police stations, ski patrol teams, meteorological bureaus, local residents, etc.
Although he has learned Xi about avalanche safety and has the ability to make predictions, Peng Chao never takes risks on skiing: "If I think it's a dangerous day and I might need to make some preparations before I can go out, then I might say to myself: I might as well not go out at all, or go on some safe slopes." Based on such caution and certainty, Peng Chao has never been in danger, but the joy of climbing has not diminished in the slightest.
Just as the Tuvans have used skiing as a mode of travel for generations, it is not the skiing itself that is at risk, but the skier's perception of nature. Peng Chao believes that the way to minimize the harm of avalanches is not a mature rescue system, but the awe of the skiers themselves: "Search and rescue is the last link, it is a means that will only be used in case it happens. We do safety training to help people avoid danger. 」
Mountaineers often say, "It's not me who conquered the mountains, it's the mountains that have accepted me." Skiing, a sport that goes hand in hand with mountain snow, also has this meaning.
Mountain snow is so complex for those who love it, often intertwined with multiple and even contradictory emotions. They yearn for and love, but they also respect and revere them. The above three groups of characters are from the documentary "The Way of Mountain Snow" released by Archaeopteryx. In the 7-minute short documentary, three groups of characters form a group portrait of people and mountain snow, in Altay, the birthplace of skiing, they represent inheritance, choice and mission. This is how people who really love skiing get along with the mountain snow.
At present, the total number of views of "The Way of Mountain Snow" has exceeded 24.5 million, which has aroused the resonance of ski enthusiasts. With the help of the characters in the documentary, Arc'teryx spreads the brand's advocacy in the 2023 snow season -
"Reverence for nature, care for humanity, there are no trivial matters between mountains and snow. 」
According to the "2022-2023 China Ski Industry White Paper", in the 2022-2023 snow season, there will be 13 new ski resorts in China and 697 ski resorts that are actually in operation. From May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023, the number of skiers in domestic ski resorts is 19.83 million.
The booming snow and ice market is an inspiration for everyone, but at the same time, the growing issue of ski safety needs to be reaffirmed. In this context, Archaeopteryx began to explore the philosophy of coexistence between man and nature with "The Way of Mountain and Snow". This is not to set up an invisible threshold in the ski resort, but to maintain the healthy development of the ski ecology.
Brands need to "slow down" in the snow season marketing
In the environment of ice and snow fever, ski brands are in the midst of strong growth. Outdoor brands are unique in that they are most connected to nature. It can even be said that outdoor brands have only two missions:
One is to help outdoor enthusiasts enjoy nature safely through products. When Peng Chao translated the avalanche safety super-bestseller "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain", he was very impressed by the numerical assumption in the preface: if you walk/slide in the avalanche area for 100 days a year, 95% of the slopes have stable snow, which means that avalanches will occur in 5% of cases, and if they occur, there is a 1/3 probability of being buried, and if they are buried, there is 1/ There is a probability of 10 that he was not rescued, and under the probability calculation, this person will actually be taken away by an avalanche in less than a year.
"Even if it goes up to 99%, it's not much better. Only by increasing the safety probability to 99.99% can you have a chance to spend your life safely. Peng Chao added.
For brands, the priority is to maximize the probability of safety for consumers.
For example, the Archaeopteryx behind "The Way of the Snow" was born in the Vancouver Coast Mountains in 1989 and has always been accompanied by the mountains throughout the brand's development. In 2023, Arc'teryx launched the only snowsuit with the "SV" suffix on sale – the Sabre SV Hardshell Suit.
In Arc'teryx's product line, the "SV" suffix means built for extreme weather and has top performance. Sabre SV is a product that helps skiers cope with rocks, steep slopes, cliffs, woods and other difficult terrain and harsh environments. It aims to cope with the harsh snow environment with multiple protections and help skiers enjoy the mountain snow safely and freely.
Not only skiing, but also all outdoor sports require the assistance of equipment to push the limits. On August 2, 2023, Archaeopteryx athlete He Chuan successfully reached the summit of Kawaguchi Tower at an altitude of 6,241 meters. It has the world's largest near-vertical cliff at 1,340 meters and is known as the "hardest climb in the world".
In 1989, German rock climber Wolfgang Güllich and his party completed the "Eternal Flame" course, which is 650 meters long, 24 rope distances, and has a difficulty of 5.13A. This extremely difficult route has only been completed twice in history. He Chuan climbed the "Eternal Flame" route this time. This time, He Chuan finally asked for the top of the Kawaguchi Tower, fulfilling his long-cherished wish for more than 20 years.
Kawaguchi Toho
The second mission of outdoor brands is to preserve the natural environment through sustainable means. Outdoor sports is a proposition that accompanies and symbiotes with nature, and only by giving thanks and giving back, nature will return the joy and safety of outdoor sports.
In the development of the Arc'teryx brand, there is no shortage of sustainable practices. In 2022, Arc'teryx partnered with UCCA Lab to present ReBIRD, a sustainable art exhibition that explores the relationship between ReBIRD™™ and contemporary design and materials, translating the retail space of Arc'teryx House in Beijing into an art space that carries culture and ideas.
Like the seven-minute documentary, "The Way of the Snow", these measures may seem "slow" and "clumsy", but skiing is such a sport that needs to be experienced quietly: the process of climbing a mountain can often take several hours compared to a few minutes of skiing down from the top of the mountain, the patience to wait for safe snow conditions is more rare than rushing straight to the top of the mountain, and the process of gradually honing and improving from the beginner trail is long but necessary compared to the blind rush to the advanced trail.
Similarly, rather than making a quick buck, it is a long-term solution for brands to take root in popular training for a long time, so that skiers can enjoy the sport rationally and safely, and truly fall in love with it.
For skiers, it is forbidden to be impatient when it comes to getting along with nature, and only by waiting patiently can you have a good time. The same is true for brands. Only by stationing quality and symbiosis with nature can we be recognized for a long time.
In this snow season, the promotion of brands has jumped out of the homogenization cycle, moved towards the direction of diversification, and assumed the social responsibility of letting the public have a correct understanding of the sport, which has released a signal that the ski market is maturing again. Good season marketing, such as "The Way of Mountain Snow", can also have a positive and far-reaching impact on the ski market.
In the era of fast food, brand marketing has to slow down first.