Bestard through the mountains of the world with L.M. Lopez Soriano 2022

A year through the mountains of the world

Texts and photos by Luis Miguel Lopez Soriano

A few days before the end of the year is always a good time to look back and remember the moments lived in this agonizing 2022, in which I have not stopped enjoying my two greatest passions: the mountains and my professional activity with the camera.

Despite all the difficulties that can offer trying to make a living doing what one likes the most, which as a general rule is neither the most profitable nor what offers the greatest stability. I close the course of a year full of unique moments, for which I would not be willing to negotiate another more “standard” way of life. I have the feeling of having done what I really wanted to do, being where I wanted to be at any given moment.
This is how, the now dying 2022 has passed, giving me the possibility to enjoy my work and the mountains through such wonderful places as: Antarctica, Iran, Pakistan and India, without forgetting the beautiful mountain ranges of our geography.

My Bestard boots have been inseparable companions in all these journeys, adapting to the characteristics of each of the different environments and conditions.

Luis Miguel Lopez Soriano, Irán

January: Antarctica

The end of the year could not have been better. We said goodbye to the last hours of 2021 in Punta Arenas (Tierra del Fuego). We were not sure at what time we should eat our grapes, due to the big time difference, but with the certainty that in a few days we would depart from the southern tip of the continent to Antarctica, in a small sailboat, through the Drake Passage.

As on other occasions I was working with my camera on an audiovisual project directed by Sebastián Álvaro, with whom I have the pleasure of working regularly since the days of “Al Filo de lo Imposible”.

The plan could not be more exciting, to travel to one of the most exceptional natural sanctuaries on Earth; Antarctica, using a light sailing boat as transportation. Combining sea, ice and mountain, under a totally magical light.

In addition to sailing, our boat would serve as a base camp for some tremendously beautiful and rarely visited mountain ascents.

On this occasion the choice of footwear was very important, due to the low temperatures and high humidity. The decision to use the Bestard Top Extreme Lite was definitive, as it is a double boot, which offers warmth and protection thanks to its inner liner. Featuring a lightweight and technical design.

The mountain ascents we made on Melchior Island, Spigot Peak and Mount Bancke, gave us glacial terrain, subjected to a large accumulation of snow, barely transformed, having to make our way through a very deep track. Footwear was one of the keys to being able to do this activity safely and comfortably.

March/April: Mountains of Iran

With the first days of spring I set course, once again, to Iran. A land that is part of my life in a very close and special way. I would stay in this country for almost a month, with the main objective of accompanying a group of friends in the ascent of Shir Koh, the Lion Mountain, which with its 4,075 m represents the highest peak of the mountains surrounding the city of Yazd. I would make this ascent twice in a few days. Once to check the route, together with my partner Parvaneh Kazemi, and the second time to properly guide our group of friends.

In addition to Shir Koh, during these weeks, I would also share with three good friends coming from Spain the ascent to the summit of Damavand. This summit, with its 5,610 m, represents the roof of Iran and the highest volcano in Asia.

The terrain offered by the Shir Koh was practically free of snow and the temperature was not too low, but the Damavand, due to its greater height and great exposure to the wind, remained still with a wintry character. A few days before our visit the temperatures plummeted drastically and the force of the wind whipped very severely on the highest peak of Persia.

My choice for the ascent of Damavand, almost at the edge of winter, was the Bestard Elbrus boots. This shoe offers high protection against the cold, while maintaining the comfort of a classic high-mountain boot. I have always found it very versatile, using it for winter ascents and technical routes in different rock, snow and ice conditions.

For the Shir Koh I would use the Bestard Mestral. A lightweight shoe that adapts to a wide variety of terrains. Very practical as a regular shoe for all kinds of activities: walking, climbing, running … as well as for travel and street. It is probably the boot that I use the longest throughout the year, withstanding very well the passage of time and the great activity to which I submit it.

June/July: Karakorum, Pakistan

The summer season began with a very interesting project, accompanying with my camera the asturian mountaineer Rosa Fernandez in her attempt to reach the summit of the second highest mountain on Earth: K2, with the purpose of making a documentary about her mountaineering and human trajectory.

The Karakorum represents one of the most exciting destinations for a mountain photographer and videographer. It is undoubtedly one of the places in the world where some of the most beautiful and impressive summits on Earth are concentrated.

An expedition to K2, as a high altitude cameraman, means being subjected, for a long period of time, to adverse conditions at high altitude. The equipment, clothing and footwear that I normally use in mountains above eight thousand meters is very specific. For the approach march, walking for many days, through very rough and rugged terrain, such as that offered by the Baltoro glacier, I do not hesitate to use my Bestard Mestral, the most all-terrain shoes I know. After almost two months of expedition, walking on glaciers and moraines, the Bestard Mestral continue to hold up.

August/September. Mountains of Iran

One more visit to Iran. Another group of friends that we will accompany to the summit of Damavand, this time on the northern slope. In summer the conditions of this mountain change radically compared to the winter severity. But in any case its ascent, despite not offering technical difficulties, is developed on a high altitude terrain, long distance, subject to rapid and unexpected changes in the weather that should never be underestimated.

To climb Damavand for the second time in the same year, as well as for other mountain activities in the Zagros and Alborz ranges, I decided to use my Bestard Mestral shoes. They still seem to be in good shape after an intense season. Their lightness is perfectly adapted to the big classic ascents, such as the Damavand in summer, and also to other more technical routes that we did during these days, climbing on the aerial rocky ridge of Kol Jeno, in the Zagros Mountains.

In mid-September I return to Spain. I leave Iran with a terrible feeling of sadness and anguish. After the murder of the young Mahsa Amini, at the hands of government forces, the protest of a nation that is tired of enduring the tyrannical repression of a dictatorial government is unleashed throughout the country. After more than a hundred days of protests, arrests, crimes and tortures multiply every day. Under the slogan: “woman, life, freedom” this brave people continue to fight every day to change a destiny that they do not deserve, that no human being on Earth deserves. I return to Spain but my heart remains in Iran, with the hope that something will finally change.

Kol Jeno

November. Indian Himalayas

At the gates of winter, what looks like it could be the last big trip of the year. The main reason is not very usual, the wedding of the daughter of a good friend, at the beginning of November we head for New Delhi.

Of course we will take advantage of this trip to visit the mountains of the Indian Himalayas, in the north of the country. A place with many possibilities of ascents to very little known peaks, outside the most popular circuits.
We rushed the last days of autumn, but the heavy snowfall, accompanied by a tremendously low temperature, give the landscape a fully winter charisma. Despite the severity of the conditions, we spent several days in the mountains, searching and discovering new objectives for the future.

The harsh winter conditions in the Himalayas lead me to use the Bestard Top Extreme Lite, which I had already used in Antarctica with such good results.

Mountains of Spain

Throughout the year 2022 my steps have taken me to great and distant mountains, but, of course, during the time I have spent in Spain I have not stopped visiting the wonderful mountain ranges that we have in our country throughout the geography: Guadarrama, Gredos, Picos de Europa, Pyrenees, Sierra Nevada, Mallorca… always with my Bestard boots as inseparable companions.

Luis Miguel Lopez Soriano