Monthly Archive for July, 2009

OR Show – Dogs & Kids

Published on July 30, 2009 in Trip Reports. 13 Comments

I have both dogs and kids, so I like to check out what is new for them at the OR Show.

D-FA is a New Zealand based company out of Wanaka that makes some very nice dog products.  I thought their fit & finish were a bit better than Ruffwear (the doggie industry standard) and they also had some innovative ideas for new products.  Many of their items are made with Merino wool, which would be the ultimate test of its non-smelliness. Their line is a bit spartan right now as they are a fairly new company, but I’m sure it will fill out soon.  As an added bonus, the product all have classic humorous Kiwi names like The Snoodle, Puff-Doggy, Sub-Woofer and the Ice-Barker.  The products are available on-line through their North American shipping center, and with the “New Zealand Peso” being so cheap right now, the prices are pretty good.

Is this dog wired, or what?

Is this dog wired, or what?

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OR Show – Electronics

Published on July 28, 2009 in Trip Reports. 2 Comments

The Pelican case company has some bitchin’ little memory card holders.

memcaseclosedmemcaseopen

The exterior size is the same on all four versions, but the interior options allow for a variety of media options.  The case pictured above holds 16 SD cards and sells on Amazon.com for about $15.   As with all Pelican products, it is waterproof, shockproof and you can drive your car over it (why not?).

Brunton has continued to expand on its solar panels and personal power plants.  I haven’t used the Brunton panels, but similar units (SunLinq) will charge up a camera battery in almost the same time as a 110v wall unit.  Very impressive!  Brunton’s solar panel offering includes rigid panels (more for the RV crowd), fold up panels and roll-up panels.  I prefer the fold-up units, like Brunton 12w pictured below, as they pack well and can take a beating.

The Brunton 12w Solar Panel

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S09 OR Show – The People

Published on July 27, 2009 in Trip Reports. 0 Comments Tags: .

As usual, I started out thinking that I’d only go to a bit of the OR Show in nearby Salt Lake City and ended up going to almost all four days.  The purpose of the OR Show is to give manufacturers (Mountain Hardwear, Black Diamond, etc.) a chance to show their latest gear to buyers (REI, Wasatch Touring, etc.).  None of the gear is really for sale right at the show, but it gives buyers a chance to go back to their shops and decided how they are going to allocate their budget for the upcoming season. There are two shows per year – summer and winter.  The summer show concentrates on climbing and the winter one on skiing.

When I first started going to these shows almost twenty years ago, I was all about checking out every single booth for the latest in gear.   Nowadays, I tend to wander around, check out the gear, look in the remote corners (this is where a lot of the cooler, up & coming companies are) and catch up with friends.  While gear drives the outdoor industry and is the main reason for the show, the sports themselves are all about the people you meet and adventures you have with them.  I’d rather have great partners and crappy gear than crappy partners and great gear.  Ideally, you have the best of both.

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The temple with the outdoor goods...

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60 Second Bomber Tent Anchors in Snow

Published on July 22, 2009 in 02 Gear and Tips & Technique. 2 Comments

In general, tents are only as secure as their anchors.  In the past, I’ve used all sorts of tent stakes including a crop of sawed off ski pole tips, ice axe shafts and sections of tomato stakes.  While skis, poles and pickets make great anchors, when you pull them up to use them for the day, there’s nothing left holding the tent down.  Bummer.

After accidentally leaving some of the doily little 6″ aluminum stakes in my tent one time, I discovered that while they don’t work at all when they are pounded in like nails, they work really well when clove or girth hitched and buried as mini deadman.  The stakes are attached to the tent via a loop of thin accessory cord, which unlike buried stuff sacks or fabric deadmen, can take a direct hit with a shovel.  After a few hours of setting up, these little units become VERY solid in the snowpack, especially if they are set when it is warm, and then the temps drop.  Fer’get it – they aren’t going anywhere.  By attaching the accessory cord to the tent with a Trucker’s Hitch, you can keep tensioning the tent as it settles.

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Climbing with Joe Stock

Published on July 15, 2009 in people. 6 Comments Tags: .

One of the great things about living in Salt Lake City, or at least nearby, is that it is both a north/south and east/west crossroads of recreation.  Because of this, a lot of people stop by on their way to and from other destinations to go climbing, skiing or biking and come fully loaded with all of their toys.  Such was the case yesterday when Joe Stock passed through on his way from Anchorage down to Red Rocks where he is going to take (and pass) his AMGA rock climbing exam.

Come on Joe - at least try to look scared. JS near the top of Pentapitch.

I’ve known of Joe for a few years as he often goes on trips where skiing is a means to a bigger goal of general exploration, which is something I like as well.  Joe has also won two Hans Saari Exploration Grants, of which I am on the selection committee.  At one point, there was some discussion about whether or not we could keep awarding the same person grants year after year, but it came down to Joe consistently putting together innovative, safe trips with an excellent success rate and follow up, so it was an easy choice to allow it.  In the climbing world, Mike Libecki is kind of the same thing, with cool trips, well written proposals and very well thought out expeditions, which is probably why he has won so many grants and seen so much of the world.

Joe only had a few hours to go climbing, which was enough for an outing to the Pentapitch area in Little Cottonwood.  I was psyched to see that he shared the Alpinist climbing attitude of efficiency over etiquette and we were able to rack up a bunch of pitches in a short time.

"I'll ski that for a dollar."

The rock exam is Joe’s last discipline (Skiing, Alpine & Rock) before he becomes a full-blown AMGA guide which means he will be able to guide anywhere in the world, including his backyard, Alaska.  If you are looking for a guy to organize a trip to some remote corner of the world and break trail with a smile, check him out.

Joe’s website – http://www.megatraverse.blogspot.com/

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Stella Arrives

Published on July 11, 2009 in Random. 19 Comments

The latest family addition arrived the day before yesterday, 9 July 2009.  After a very brief but intense 4-5 hours of labor, Polly gave birth to Stella Rose McLean at 18:35.  Stella came out kicking and screaming, which is a good thing with babies and now both Mom and mini are doing fine.

Polly, Mira and Stella.

Like Mira, it looks like she is going to be a little red head with blue eyes.

Happy turns,

Andrew

Alaska Range Fly Over

Published on July 9, 2009 in Trip Reports. 2 Comments Tags: .

Bush pilots might get use to it, but the thrill of flying over wild, mountainous terrain in a small plane is one of my favorite parts of going to places like Alaska. The video below captures a bit of what it is all about.

This flight took place on the way out from the Kahiltna Glacier back to the town of Talkeetna.  Our pilot, Tyler from TAT, was mildly disappointed when he showed up and found out that the Swinging Sultanas (our official team name) was four stinky guys, not a group of girls.  Fred Marmsater asked if we could fly back via the famous “One Shot” gap, but Tyler said, “We could… but I know an even better way.”   He wasn’t kidding – I have no idea where we were or the names of the peaks, but they were mighty cool and beautiful. At about the 20 second mark, a random point release avalanche cuts loose from near the top of a peak.

On the flight in, we flew in TAT’s Turbine Otter, (aka “Precious”), but on the flight out, we were in a classic old Beaver, complete with Jonny Cash in the headphones, wood dashboards and the throaty, roaring engine.

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Straightchuter gets a summer tune up

Published on July 6, 2009 in Random. 2 Comments

StraightChuter.com has hit a few too many rocks and is in the process of getting a summer base cleaning, edge sharpening, hot waxing and binding check.  Updates will be sporadic while it is in the shop, but it will soon be back better than ever.

Andrew

Sultana Ridge Photo Trip Report

Published on July 1, 2009 in Trip Reports. 6 Comments

Photos and captions from the 2009 Swinging Sultana expedition to climb and ski the Sultana Ridge on Mt. Foraker, Alaska.

http://straightchuter.com/am-content/sultana_webgallery/index.html