Beyond Boundaries: Mountaineering for Citizen Promaster’s 35th Anniversary
Press junkets are a particular beast on their own, but Citizen Promaster trips always take on a life of their own. From flying over glaciers in Squamish, B.C., to learning to scuba dive in the Bahamas, Citizen Watches loves putting its Promaster watches (and the reporters who cover them) right on the cusp of danger, where one’s risk analysis is promptly put to task. We’ve gone diving with sharks. We’ve raced UTVs up the back side of Whistler. And this summer, we were waiting for a helicopter to pull us into another great Canadian mountain range, alongside some of the world’s most impressive adventurers: Red Bull alumnus and ice climbing legend Will Gadd; award-winning nature photographer Jody MacDonald; paraglider, base jumper, climber, and mountaineer Jeff Shapiro; and scuba diver and underwater photographer William Drumm.
This fresh group of ambassadors had already been putting their respective Promaster watches to task, testing their mettle in all sorts of challenging environments, and this trek would be no different. Right out of the gates, it was clear that this was no ordinary junket. Straight from our first night’s hotel, the team departed for Lake Louise for dinner, with a surprise waiting for us on arrival. A gentle canoe paddle around the lake sounded almost relaxing until we were informed that a cold plunge into glacial waters would be on the menu before cleaning up for dinner. “Be prepared to be challenged to push your boundaries this trip,” we were told, “Go Beyond is one of the pillars of Promaster after all.”
Given the Promaster line’s three pillars of air, land, and sea, at least a momentary experience with water had to be in the cards, but our cold plunge wasn’t the only time we would find ourselves submerged. The next day’s canyoning experience involved heavy wetsuits, as we were led to rappel down a series of waterfalls. Only a few of our team had prior climbing experience, but with Gadd over our shoulder, the enthusiasm and excitement rapidly outpaced any trepidation. As we inched our way down some of the more treacherous passes, Gadd swung his way down an opposing rock face with reckless abandon, smiling and cracking jokes while putting to rest any lingering fears for our safety in the process.
Energized by this first immersion into our adventure, our crew piled into our helicopter and pointed toward the Bugaboos — a mountain range in B.C.’s Purcell Mountains — for a few more days of hiking and climbing with our respective new Promaster watches strapped on for the adventure. The CMH Bugaboo Lodge is the home of heli-skiing, however, its summer activities offer extensive high-elevation hiking as well as a via ferrata climb. Once again, the Promaster offering was more than up for the task as we tracked our elevations using the latest version of the Altichron (1,500 metres at base camp, and beyond 2,300 metres when hiking), as well as timing the duration of the climb on the all-new 35th Anniversary Promaster Land U822. This new reference is one of three anniversary models and offers a huge amount of functionality in a robust and lightweight titanium package. Multiple time zones, countdown timers, an alarm, and a chronograph are all on hand, with displays split between analog hands and a high-definition LCD.
Aggressive as these excursions were, and as rewarding of an experience as it was, the conversations to be had with the Promaster ambassador teams were an obvious high note. Each of these adventurers has incredible stories to tell, as much about their accomplishments as about their respective struggles. Talking with Jeff Shapiro about his climbs in the Himalayas, charting new routes up mountains, or being trapped and sleep-deprived on a climb not knowing if summiting was possible, the earnestness of his sharing of this lived experience in casual conversation was an eye-opening and humbling experience. His passion for adventure and facing new challenges is an inspiration, as is the way in which he’s continued to pivot from one form of adventure to the next. Over the course of one dinner, he and Gadd began excitedly discussing the idea of a combination parasailing and rock-climbing adventure in the months ahead, speaking in the same casual fashion that you’d ask a friend if they were up for grabbing cocktails this weekend.
The ability to pivot out of a bad situation seemed to be a recurring theme in stories told by our newfound friends; it makes sense, as all good stories involve overcoming adversity in some capacity. Lo and behold, we would have our own run-in of this nature as we landed on the mountain for what was meant to be one last leisurely hike on our last day of the trip. Inclement weather was on the horizon, and despite the plan to have a clear flight window in the afternoon, things quickly turned for the worse within about 20 minutes of our drop-off. A storm was moving in fast, and our only way out was the long way down. What was meant to be a two-hour hike at elevation spiralled into a five-and-a-half-hour march down the mountain, dropping nearly 1,000 metres in a heavy downpour.
What could we do but layer up, swap stories, and keep moving forward? The lessons shared immediately sunk in, and despite being a troupe of soggy wet rats by the time we hit base camp, with some of our gear looking worse for wear and watches ticking away like clockwork, we were all left smiling through the exhaustion. Go Higher, Go Deeper, Go Further, Go Beyond. This is the Citizen Promaster way, and I think we all lived up to the challenge nicely.
Photography by Justin Mastine-Frost.
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