The North Face Partners with Sonos Radio to Premiere Nine Soundscapes

In celebration of the new portable smart speaker, Sonos Roam, The North Face and Sonos are premiering Never Stop Exploring, the first-of-its-kind station on Sonos Radio featuring nine different soundscapes created by composer and multi-instrumentalist Mikael Jorgensen of the Grammy Award-winning band Wilco.

“What we’ve created with the Never Stop Exploringstation on Sonos Radio is so much more than the reimagined audio itself. The creativity of Mikael Jorgensen combined with the openness of the athletes reminiscing on their experiences has allowed us to create something sonically adventurous, offering fans and outdoor enthusiasts a truly immersive listening experience,” said Dmitri Siegel, VP of Content, Sonos Radio.

Each of the soundscapes on the radio features original audio combined with new original scores to transport listeners into The North Face’s most incredible expeditions. One particular soundscape includes a journey up Shomyo Falls, the tallest waterfall in Japan famous for its massive drop.

Long before climbing waterfalls became a sport, it was a way of life. For centuries, Japanese people in the Tateyama Mountains travelled through dense forests to neighbouring villages, following streams to protect their borders. The journeys involved skillfully traversing ravine walls, swimming through gorges, and most spectacularly, scaling waterfalls. Today, this activity is known as Sawanobori, or stream climbing. In the spring of 2018, three The North Face athletes Matty Hong, James Pearson, and Caroline Ciavaldini traveled into the spectacular Japanese wilderness to attempt this ancient practice.

The full itinerary for the Never Stop Exploring Sonos Radio station includes:

● “Thanks for the Beta” featuring the sounds of The High Sierra, California with Alex Honnold and Emily Harrington
● “Skiing Lhotse” featuring the sounds of The Himalayas with Hilaree Nelson
● “Sawanobori” featuring the sounds of Shomyo Falls, Japan with Matty Hong and James Pearson
● “Dirty Gnar Gnar” featuring the sounds of Mount Poi and Mount Kenya with Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright
● “Sending El Cap” featuring the sounds of El Capitan, California with Emily Harrington
● “Towers of Tigray” featuring the sounds of Ethiopia with James Pearson
● “Life Coach, Alaska” featuring the sounds of Ruth Gorge, Alaska with Alex Honnold and
Renan Ozturk
● “Pitumarca” featuring the sounds of Peru with Nina Williams
● “Expedition Antarctica” featuring the sounds of Queen Maud Land with Alex Honnold, Cedar
Wright, and Savannah Cummins

View the recap of the Sawanobori expedition here, and check out the Never Stop Exploring soundscapes July 26 on Sonos Radio.

In August 2018, a handful of The North Face climbers travelled into the spectacular Japanese wilderness to dive into the realm of ‘Sawanobori’ – the revered art of scaling mountain streams, despite Mother Nature doing all she can to push them back. #NeverStopExploring. pic.twitter.com/WhkL2wmsHP

— The North Face (@thenorthface) March 21, 2019

Sawanobori: @thenorthface team guide us through the art of climbing up flowing waterfalls: https://t.co/vEg6zLkprC pic.twitter.com/61nxgFP2ne

— Red Bull UK (@RedBullUK) March 28, 2019

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