The Chronicles of the Moment [2/3]

At Samaya, we're big believers in the power of storytelling. It inspires our choices of outings, climbs, bivouacs and trips, and indirectly changes our lives. As the year draws to a close and the cold sets in and the snow glistens, a whole new relationship with the mountains is taking shape. We'd like to share this new vision of the mountains with you through a series of chronicles. Let us guide you to reclaim the present moment by looking upwards, to that place we love so much, to that unique place where the ground stops to meet the starry sky.

CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED & RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

The preparation phase, which links the dream and the ascent, happily materializes the beginning of the adventure.

 
A night out in the mountains - in which the ascent of an adjacent summit is ultimately just an alibi to spend a night closer to the stars - requires a bit of preparation. If there is only one step from the dream to the project, it is indeed through the organization that its realization is achieved. It's an opportunity to gather equipment which has an emotional charge that is closely linked to the actions and sensations it gives access to.

As you make your bed, you must lie on it. In the same vain, as you prepare your bag, make sure to avoid mistakes that could turn into disappointments when night falls. A checklist allows you to remember all the elements that need to find a place in the compartments of your backpack. Among these, your Samaya2.5 carries both technical features and an aura that no other tent can match.

It is certainly the most powerful "time machine" amidst all your equipment to anchor yourself in the present moment.

Beyond the preparation of the body and equipment, the main remaining obstacle is often psychological. Nevertheless, it must be said that the benefits expected from an immersion in the wilderness are so powerful that they eventually break the last locks. The reflection and purpose that one ascribes to the action to come allow possible apprehensions to be forgotten and alleviate the logistic constraints.

Well before the experience of the night starts, to leave to the mountains in winter and in total autonomy, is to seek and taste another relationship with time. A time indexed to that of the body and the asceticism; and no longer to that of the machine or symbolised by a click with instant effect. This relationship to time, far from being cumbersome, proves to be an airlock that allows one to gain height. As we progress, sweat evaporates along with the weight of civilization.

To rise, one must walk and, in doing so, isolate oneself. 

The approach is a gentle introduction to the world of altitude. As the slope steepens and your attention sharpens, other levers are activated. The ascent then throws you straight into the moment. This increased concentration combined with the beauty of the environment is an addictive mix. When sensations and contemplation come together, a memory of the body and the heart is structured. These mechanisms generate a lack when later life events "below" or our schedule take us away from them for too long. Once the summit is reached, pride and self-esteem fill the memory cards of the cameras. The peak is a high point that we would like to keep resonating for as long as possible.

On the descent, after a few sharp turns, suspended on a carpet of flakes, the arrival at camp is a second summit. It's a moment that holds the promise of something new. That of finding oneself for a moment in the shoes of pioneers for whom the tent was not a choice but a necessity. The ancestral gestures - probing, digging a cold pit - gradually prepare this unknown place to transform it into a familiar place. The Samaya2.5 and its treasures of innovation can then take over and make the link between the immutable tradition of winter camp and the modernity of this tool which is, to say the least, central to your equipment. Once the tent is set up up there, when the last lights are no longer in sight and the last sounds are now far away, it's time to raise your head. Taste the silence, allow yourself to do nothing but contemplate and enjoy the moment.