Mountains to the beat of BPM
WORDS → Emanuele Castiglione
DATE → 2026-07-08
Listening to your heart when the incline increases. Salewa explores the evolution of speed hiking through three different frequencies and a vinyl record that connects technique and soul.
Do you remember the first sound your ears ever heard? It’s impossible to answer: it is a moment so hidden that it dates back to before our memory even began recording the world. And yet, that first sound was a heartbeat. The same muscle that today races and pulses inside your chest during a speed hiking outing. Perhaps, unconsciously, this is exactly what we look for when we push ourselves on the trails: the dull thuds of the heart, that sound so familiar because we have always known it, which makes itself heard again just as our breath gets short and the slope increases. To accompany the hiker in this sort of dynamic catharsis, Salewa presents its new collection dedicated to speed hiking. A segment that the South Tyrolean company began exploring decisively in 2022 and which today represents a true evolution of trekking, positioned exactly at the balance point between traditional hiking and trail running.
The collection was born from observing new generations of explorers, who experience the mountains through three different intensities, three distinct BPM frequencies. The Glimmer: the one who moves through space following the gentle rhythm of low frequencies, losing themselves in the landscape without being obsessed with the stopwatch. The Hiker: those who chase heart rate peaks, seeking a constant challenge with the terrain. The Escapist: those who need to feel that primal call in their throat, transforming fatigue into a total escape from urban reality.
Precisely to remain faithful to this “law of the beat,” Salewa chose an unprecedented creative path, relying on the support of Godblesscomputers. The producer from Ravenna translated these three frequencies into three distinct tracks, recorded on a physical vinyl. A choice that underlines the brand’s focus on tangible, organic, and non-abstract contact with the world.
On the technical front, the line is enriched by two fundamental innovations: the Pedroc 2 Max and the Pedroc 2. Designed to be lightweight and versatile footwear, these shoes were created with the idea of allowing anyone—regardless of their desired frequency—to find their ideal pace. In an era where performance alone is no longer enough to represent the complexity of the modern runner, Salewa launches its first winter speed hiking collection, making it a total activity capable of continuing all year round. A constant investment in an evolution that sees the mountain not just as a testing ground, but as the place to finally return to hearing your own inner rhythm.
