Millet has spent over a century equipping alpinists and outdoors people with the ultimate clothing and gear. Located in picturesque Annecy France, the brand is just a hop, skip and a jump from their Alpine playground in the Mont Blanc Massif. They were one of the first European brands to embrace the potential of fleece, and became early adopters of PolarFleece back in the 1980s.

Today, their Alpine Trilogy Collection represents the pinnacle of fast-and-light mountaineering gear. A series of mix-and-match packs, sleeping systems and apparel that works together seamlessly—giving mountaineers the lightest, most capable kit for any mission. Millet has a simple philosophy for this collection: “Light, fast, fluid.” Gear that’s tough enough to withstand the mountains, but lightweight and breathable enough to get up a rock wall fast. Beyond that, these are pieces designed to be comfortable. Because comfort is freedom in the mountains.

This last winter brought exceptionally good conditions to the Alps for adventurers like Symon Welfringer, Charles Dubouloz, and Clovis Pauline. With stable ice opening up routes that are normally impossible, the team of Millet athletes took advantage of the moment by attempting something only climbed once before: The Direttissima route to Point Walker on the Grandes Jorasses. Mind you, this route was climbed in summer the first time. The route climbs to the same point where Christophe Profit famously stood 37 years before, but via a much more difficult route.

The trio spent five days on the route—sleeping four nights in tiny holes clawed out of cliffside snow and ice. They climbed countless hours with bare hands on freezing rocks, requiring the dexterity that only bare fingers could provide to complete these technical pitches. When the group finished, they stood atop Point Walker. There was no helicopter when they got there, and they didn’t paraglide off the top like Christophe. But they carried on a tradition of incredible Alpine firsts, empowered by the lightest, fastest, and most comfortable gear on the mountain: Millet!