“This duffel has accompanied me on all of my expeditions, from Antarctica to Alaska, to Svalbard, to Chile, to Vanuatu. It carried all of my gear through really rough set-ups and scenarios like the Drake passage with 10 meters of swell for a 5-day boat traverse, to the jungle of Vanuatu to go and ride an exploding volcano, and across the ice cap of the island of Svalbard on a 200-km traverse at -30 degrees Celsius… So I guess that this bag is a piece of memory for me.”

“This jacket came up the Grand Capucin with me when I did the Voie Petit, considered to be one of hardest routes in Europe at that altitude. I slept in it inside my sleeping bag, when we spent a night half-way along the route on a tiny 80-cm-wide ledge. I didn’t have any energy to wiggle out of it. Having endured this crazy night, we reached the summit the next day.”

“I chose this jacket for the first ascent of the 2700 meter high West Face of Cerro Piergiorgio in Patagonia. An apparently blank and featureless wall, it is as high and vertical as the legendary El Capitan. The bitterness of reaching the summit at night with no chance to enjoy the view was overtaken by the happiness of having succeeded in such a dangerous and engaging climb.”

“This jacket was with me on a month-long expedition to Antarctica, aiming to reach as many summits of the Wolf’s Jaw massif as possible. It was completely outside of my comfort zone. The main thing there is dealing with the hazardous cold, living on a glacier and rock climbing in ski boots. It’s really wild out there; an adventure that gives you a complete sense of newness. To top it, I’ll have to go to Mars next.”

“This duffel was with me on the Nanga Parbat (8126m) expedition. This 8000-meter peak is known as the ‘killer mountain’. At about 7200m, the conditions were too dangerous to go any further; a hazardous combination of cold and wind forced us to turn back. A really heavy disappointment, but we instantly swore we would reach the summit one day. On the duffel, you find a number that stands for Nanga Parbat as a tribute.”

“Nanga Parbat. 8000m. I am all alone. The freezing wind has been blowing nonstop for 10 hours. The moment has come to make a decision: If I continue for the summit, I will never see my family again. I know the situation is very serious, so I decide to stop and descend. However difficult, this decision gained me a tremendous amount of strength and motivation. Of which this jacket became a symbol.”

“This jacket came with me to Antarctica. We’re ascending the Ulvetanna (2930 meters), at -30 degrees Celsius. The rock in this range is particularly abrasive. One might surmise sharp rock is solid rock, but we found the opposite. Every now and then, while shivering away, I would run worst case scenarios through my mind. What would we do if… we dropped a rope? If the rope was cut? It keeps you alert, but it should never stop you. It’s extra motivation to keep going.”

“This pack has been with me on many adventures. It’s very versatile and we took it with us on a lot of climbs. The most memorable being the ascent of the Punta Giradili, a cliff overlooking the Sardinian coastline. A gem under the rock climbs with two routes that were set up in 2006. We finished both in one day. Eleven long hours of splendid pitches and hard sections, all free climbing.”