Posted on 13th Sep 2009 @ 11:03 AM

Timex WS4 Field Report

Meru, India
Conrad Anker

Conrad wrote: "During September of 2008 Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk and I attempted Meru, a 6330-meter peak in the Garwhal Himalaya. Our goal was to climb the Shark’s Fin, a granite wall rising above the Gangotri Glacier that had yet to be climbed despite repeated attempts by many in the climbing world. It was one of the toughest expeditions of my life, and one of the most rewarding. A week-long storm pinned us down (three men wedged into a 2-man portaledge at 5300 meters) and we ended up spending 19 days on the route with 10 days of rations. Climbing is about trying challenges with an unknown outcome. If this was the case, the Meru trip was a veritable bonanza of challenges. Yet in the course of our attempt we became better friends, learned about the skills needed to climb peaks of this nature and suffered a bit."

Conrad had with him on this expedition a prototype of the Timex WS4 adventure expedition watch. Conrad has been working with Timex to develop an instrument that provides the required features in a watch for expedition climbing. The Timex WS4 stands for widescreen four functions – the watch includes an altimeter, barometer, thermometer and compass—all of which provide key data points when making decisions on the mountain. And the widescreen dashboard allows you to view this key data at a glance, which is important when you have to make quick decisions. Cold temperatures, extreme altitude and a variety of weather conditions all conspired to make Conrad Anker's journey an epic – apparently the Timex WS4 held fast.

Conrad had received the Timex WS4 only a few days before he left for India. This however was not a problem as the user - interface for the Timex WS4 is the same as all other Timex watches. So as Conrad is a regular user of Timex products throughout his lifetime,  he had the Timex WS4 up and running on the mountain in no time.

Conrad's report on the Timex WS4 offered a few of the ways he found the WS4 to be particularly useful on this expedition to Meru:

• During the course of the climb Conrad would check the altimeter on a regular basis. Whether at the top of a pitch to see how much elevation the group gained or at their camps, the altimeter provided us with accurate readings from the plains of Delhi to the high reaches of Meru.
• With the barometer and the graphical display of 1 hour increments he was able to track how rapidly a low pressure was moving in. If the pressure dropped quickly and stayed low – beware the storm was likely to be pretty serious. If the pressure moved higher slowly it was a good indication that the weather stood a chance of remaining clear.
• Of course dawn-starts are part of the climbing experience. When he needed to rise early for a day of climbing, the multiple alarms never let him down. At times you want to burrow deeper into your sleeping bag and ignore the harsh reality.
• The Indiglo button was very easy to press—even with big gloves on—and provided a little extra light at dawn and dusk.
• Communications for the expeditions web page were made via a satellite phone, and we needed to align the transmitter with the direction the satellite orbits in. The compass in the WS4 did this flawlessly.
• In Review Mode Conrad could check our accumulated altitude, scan the barometer function and check the exposure of our camp. Our route faced east and a few degrees north meant less sun and a colder bivy. All good information to know.

Just as the expedition group learned about the mountain and their limits, Conrad learned about the Timex WS4. This information was fed back to the designers at Timex, so that improvements could be made before launch. For example, by wearing the watch around one's neck we are able to keep our hands and wrists unobstructed. With this feedback, Timex quickly developed a lanyard which will be launching in September. Conrad also noticed the buttons were a bit sensitive – for an adventure timepiece they also needed to be tough and durable. The developers listened, and incorporated his suggestions into the final design.

Conrad's expedition didn’t make the summit. But at the end of the journey the expedition group had a fantastic experience, and enjoyed being in the mountains. The time the group spent was remarkable in its intensity. Conrad wrote; "These experiences are rare in life and one wants to find them and cherish them. And knowing that you have gear you can trust makes it all the better."

Check out the Timex WS4 - widescreen four function expedition watch < click here WS4 Timex Expedition >

Timex WS4 expedition adventure watch