Red Bull X-Alps

The 9 Essential Items of Gear You Need to Cross the Alps

News Release / 26.05.2015

Covering a straight-line distance of 1,038km across the Alps by foot and paraglider is a huge undertaking. The equipment the athletes carry on the journey is vital. It has to be light, robust and adventure-proven. And to increase their safety, every Red Bull X-Alps athlete must carry nine pieces of mandatory equipment.

“We want the athletes to be as safe as possible so certain gear is mandatory,” Red Bull X-Alps race director Christoph Weber says. “We are proud the race is pushing the evolution of equipment to new levels, for example with paragliders, harnesses and rescue systems.”                                         
All of the gear is cutting-edge, offering athletes the greatest efficiency in terms of safety, functionality and weight, crucial considerations for hiking and flying across rugged alpine terrain for hours on end.

The required gear consists of a paraglider, harness, emergency parachute, helmet, MTT Smart Robust mobile phone, Flymaster live SD GPS-Tracking-Device, Garmin Oregon backup logger device, RECCO reflectors and a distress flare.

With the clock ticking until race day, all the athletes are training hard, each in their own way. Steve Nash (GBR) and Gavin McClurg (USA2) are typical in following strict training plans while others such as Nick Neynens (NZL) are just trying to get as much air-time as possible.

Check out their Athlete Diaries on redbullxalps.com to see how their training is going.     
  
ABOUT THE RED BULL X-ALPS

The 2015 Red Bull X-Alps will be the seventh edition of the world's toughest adventure race in which athletes must hike or fly 1,038km across the Alps from Salzburg to Monaco in the fastest time possible. The race starts on July 5, 2015. 

It's an epic undertaking that can involve hiking up to 100km of mountain terrain in a day – or flying at altitudes in excess of 4,000m. The race demands not only a very high level of endurance fitness but expert paragliding experience. The 2013 edition was the fastest on record with 10 athletes reaching Monaco. It was won by Christian Maurer (SUI) in 6d 23hr 40m.

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