Archive for October, 2009
Ski Bag Packing
Whether you like it or not, skis count as a piece of luggage when flying, so I always try to maximize my ski bags utility by both stuffing it full of 49.995 pounds worth of gear, and also using my gear to pad my skis.
Favorite Glacier Rope
I’m slowly assembling my Antarctica kit and pulled out my favorite glacier rope tonight. The sad thing is, I don’t even know the brand, but it doesn’t really matter – what is important is my fast and easy, do-it-yourself modification. Starting with a 60m dry 9.1mm’ish rope, find the center, apply a sharp blade to […]
Back from Alaska
I made it back from a quick trip to Alaska where, once again, I had a great time. I love that state. Thanks to Joe Stock and all of the Friends of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, the slideshow on skiing the AK Family was a success and raised a sizeable whack of […]
Alaska Family Slideshow in Anchorage Tonight (Thursday)
If you live in Alaska, I will be up there today giving a slideshow at the Beartooth Theater Pub on skiing Denali, Mt. Hunter and Sultana. Please stop by and say “hi” if you can make it!
New Addition to Glacier Kit
Much to the dismay of my partners, I am a minimalist when it comes to the amount of gear I bring for performing a crevasse rescue. I bring a snow pickett for an anchor, waist and foot prussick loops, a 20′ cordelette, about six Oz carabiners, a screwgate locking carabiner and 2-3 full-length Dynex runners. […]
Choosing Climbing Skins
There are many variations on the skin theme available nowadays – nylon, mohair, mixed, hybrids, domestic, European, tip catchers, tail rippers, no tails and everything in between. I’m partial and opinionated about what I like for the Wasatch, but am the first to admit that the best skin for the job is probably whatever the […]
Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop
I know – I’ve been a slack-tart on updating StraightChuter.com and apologize profusely. We had family in town last week, plus I’ve been working on a cool little website addition that has to remain top secret until our Antarctica trip. But, on to more important items. Taking a cue from the ISSW, the Friends of […]
Insoles
When I was into Alpine Racing, one sign of how serious you were about the sport was if you went to the trouble and expense of getting custom made orthopedic footbeds. The idea was that you wanted your foot perfectly supported, but more importantly, totally flat so you weren’t inadvertently riding an edge. We were […]
Thunder Skin
Another favorite image from my two day scanathon, which is now thankfully complete. From where I now sit I will scan no more forever.
The Future of Ski Areas
I attended a lunchtime presentation in Park City yesterday as the keynote speech by Michael Berry was “The Future of Skiing” and it promised to answer the question about why skiing growth was flat and what was going to happen when the Baby Boomers exited. I was eagerly awaiting the magic words “Resort skiing has […]
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