Dynafit Press Camp 2016
Planning, implementing and hosting of the Dynafit Press Event 2016 was undertaken with great success by WayOut Adventures in the mountains of northern Greece, Smolika and Vasilitsa.
DYNAFIT PRESS CAMP REPORT
Samarina 6-8/1/2016
Extract from the relevant article by George Voutyropoulos on the site www.advendure.com
It is afternoon Friday 8/1 in Samarina. Inside the cozy tavern, Yiannis Kotileas pours tsipouro into the glasses. His smile has a touch of relief and satisfaction. Everything went as intended. Even the last ones … that is Akis and myself, we got off the mountain safe and happy. Along him and just as happy is the team of WayOutAdventures, who together carried the responsibility of organizing yet another important event with an international impact no less, the DynafitPressCamp 2016.
Choosing our country as the starting point of this year's advertising campaign for the top mountaineering company may seem quite unexpected. But Dynafit excels in that precisely, in taking a bold chance. However, the dry European winter and the necessary changes in the original plan, which included a climb to the mythical Mt. Olympus, to that of Samarina added additional risk to the project and was a bumpy road for the organizers.
Picture this if you can: about 15 journalists having just left their homes in Europe, and America, while the first snow, having finally coated the mountains, arrive in the square of the historic local community in a drizzle rain and come across grills laid about all around them cooking meat on the spit. And yes, instead of the usual seasonal snow at this 1600-meter altitude, they only find mold and meat smoke that night, on the Day of the Epiphany. I can’t imagine what their first impression must have been.
Luckily the Snow God would do his miracle. At midnight the temperature dropped significantly. The next day the village was dressed in white and the team, after the necessary information and equipment selection, moved to the nearby ski center of Vasilitsa for a first test of the new materials of the company. However, the storm was not giving any signs of letting up and the lifts were out of service, so there were but a few things that could be done safely outdoors; a brief climb on the hill above and an even shorter downhill ride to the welcoming V1850 shelter for tea and a tasty a snack from its remarkable cuisine.
In the afternoon, Dynafit's CEO Benedikt Böhm, one of the super sportsmen supported by the company for years, as head of the team, presented their new innovations for the 2016-2017 winter season. The emphatic new TLT ski climbing boot and the Carbonio range of ultra-lightweight materials, as well as the next ambitious Mountopia project. Our very own Michalis Stylas and Giorgos Rokas with their beautiful slides gave their guests a comprehensive idea of the possibilities by the mountains Olympos and Timphi offered to the skier, which they’re very well acquainted with. While the Greek-American filmmaker and our permanent winter visitor Constantine Papanikolaou presented the teaser of his experiential Frozen Ambrosia film, which is now in the final stage of production, one we hope we will soon be able to enjoy at a festival. The evening came to a close early with delicious dishes at the hospitable tavern Gero-Smolikas of our local and proud local hosts Avella brothers.
The clear morning sky on the last day of the event was to give the final and more interesting tone to the ever shifting Greek weather conditions, that the guests had the opportunity to experience in the few days of their stay on our country’s mountains. But also to justify Dynafit's, local agent’s and very soul of this organization, George Klaudatos for the selection of the place. With the skins on our feet from the bottom, our colorful team enthusiastically dove head on the slopes of Smolikas. The ascent between frozen rombola was duly captured, to be the hallmark of the event. The heavy snow cover between the trees alternated with a thin layer of ice, which made it problematic for some while many preferred the enjoyable descent among the trees to finish their day. The rest of us, led by Benedikt, continued towards the windy peak Mosia (2,600 m). The rapid descent into the hard-alpine terrain and the snow games later on in the woods enthralled even those who had no idea what could be expected from a Greek mountain during this mild winter. The activity would be completed with the necessary tsipouro-snack offering, which the people of the event had set up in the car park and the event would come to an end late in the evening, with the traditional feast in the tavern ... enjoying, meat to our hearts content!
As I type these lines, I look at the participants' messages on the computer, with the ample positive feedback. I do not know if it was a marketing trick or a simple coincidence, but I understand now that the goal has been achieved. And just maybe this projected our country as a notable destination for mountaineering skiing.
The event was attended by various counties representatives, with Lou Dawson being a prominent figure (wildsnow.com USA) who arrived with his son Louie for further exploration of the country's potential. Guido Valota (Skialper Italy), Arndt Ziegler (Mens Health Germany), Klaus Haselböck (Red Bull/Bergwelten Austria), Jürg Buschor (Outdoor Guide Switzerland), Tore Meirik (Fri Flyt Norway) Owen G. Cook III (EpicTV), Boris Dufour (Ski Magazine,/Wider France), Piotr Drożdż (Gory Poland), Petr Pravda (IDNES.CZ Czech republic), Elena Moro (OXIGENO.ES Spain) and Vassilis Sideris (SkiM.gr Greece) also attended the event.
Dynafit Team: Benedikt Böhm, Alexander Nehls, Maria von Kirschbaum
Organization: George Klaoudatos (Dynafit.gr), Yannis Kotileas (WayOut Adventures), Babis Gkriziotis (photographer go experience), Constantine Papanikolaou (Frozen Ambrosia), Akis Parousis (mountain guide olympus-guiding.gr), George Rokas Michael Stylas.
Photographs by Babis Giritziotis / Go Experience