Leading by Example
We rely on our athlete ambassadors to not only test our kit in the world’s toughest environments, but to be our eyes and ears on the health of the planet.
They inspire us to do better, to take sustainability to the next level.
In summer 2022, Dutch mountain guide and Rab athlete, Roeland van Oss, summited all 82 4000m peaks in the Alps - in just 78 days.
His Climbing4Climate project was even more extraordinary as Roeland self-powered his way between mountains by bike - keeping his carbon footprint to a minimum.
As the effects of climate change were felt across Europe, Roeland wanted to set an example of how we can all do small things to impact change.
“The summer of 2022 sadly demonstrated what the big issue is. It was extremely hot and dry; many routes were closed due to rock and ice fall, with several major incidents in the mountains that could be directly related to climate change.”
Roeland became the first Dutch person and only the fourth climber ever to achieve the challenge of all 4000m peaks in a single expedition.
Throughout the trip, Roeland van Oss:
Biked more than
1300km
Walked more than
600km
Ascended
100,000
Vertical metres
But he insists:
“For me, it was purely about the climate. After my journey, I think that the problem is even bigger than we actually thought. As an outdoor community, we need to think about the future – what we can do; how we can change.
Starting in May 2022, Roeland chose Piz Bernina as his first Climbing4Climate summit. Shocked by the difficult conditions he was faced with – huge crevasses, rock fall, and challenging rocky approaches due to relatively high temperatures – as well as due to pushing too hard for the first day, the start of his project was anything but easy.
Moving on to Valais, unstable weather and unforeseen storms further challenged Roeland’s plans, yet he was still able to complete 33 peaks in just the first 23 days of his project. Next were the mountains around Chamonix. From day 37 to 51, Roeland climbed all big 4,000 metre peaks around Mont Blanc, together with his 3rd and 4th climbing partner. Aiguille Verte, Diable Ridge, Grandes Jorasses, the 4,000 metre peaks on the Brouillard and Peuterey ridge, and Mont Blanc itself.
Continuing with the mountains around Grindelwald and Zermatt, Roeland finally completed his ambitious project by summiting the last two 4,000 metre peaks in the French Ecrins mountains on 12th August. All in all, Roeland biked more than 1,300 kilometres, walked more than 600 kilometres, and ascended more than 100,000 vertical metres. With that, he became the first Dutch person and the fourth climber ever to achieve this performance.
However, as Roeland states:
“This was not why I set out to complete the challenge. We can have a big mouth about the climate, point our finger at someone else, look away…but the problem of climate change is there and only WE can change it. By climbing all 82 x 4000m peaks of the Alps, self-powered, I wanted to show that it is possible to do things differently. Try to be the best example, in every little thing you do.”
Find more information on Roeland and his Climbing4Cilmate project here: