Glacier Rope Set-up

Published on December 16, 2011 in Gear Reviews. 10 Comments

Because ski mountaineering is so varied, there is no one single “best rope” out there that covers all the bases.  Sometimes you want a short, light, skinny rope just in case, and other times you need a full length, beefy multi-fall lead line.  In the past I’ve carried a variety of 60m ropes  based on what I thought the worst case scenario might be.  If there was a chance of having to lead vertical water ice, I’d bring a 9.8mm lead line.  If it was mainly a glacier trip, I’d bring a skinny 7.8mm rope.  There were two problems with this set-up; the first was that if you misjudged the terrain, you were lead climbing on a skinny rope (yikes!) or dragging a huge rope on mellow terrain.  The second was that you were always coiling/uncoiling and carrying generally more rope than you needed.  30m ropes are great for ski mountaineering, except when you need 50m.

On our recent trip to Antarctica I ended up bringing two 30m ropes of different diameters and was very psyched on the flexibility of the system.  Glacier travel with 4-5 people on a 30m rope makes for some tight spacing, but then again, it depends on the terrain. Antarctica had lots of crevasses, but they weren’t the Mack Truck swallowing monsters that you can get up in Alaska, so the tighter spacing meant better communications and less rope work.  We used the Sterling 9.2mm Fusion Nano most of the time and swapped out carrying the lighter 7.8mm Sterling Fusion Photon as needed. Continue reading ‘Glacier Rope Set-up’

Ski Magazines Worth Buying

Published on December 8, 2011 in Random. 1 Comment

I was perusing the magazine stand the other day and ended up buying not only one, but two skiing magazines, which doubles my combined retail purchase of ski mags for the last two years.  The first one was the 2012 Skiing Adventure Issue which I bought mainly for the Grant Gunderson double fold-out cover photo.  It captures everything that is great about skiing in general and backcountry skiing in particular.  The magazine also has a nice profile on Bill Briggs, some good trip reports and a concise backcountry gear guide. Continue reading ‘Ski Magazines Worth Buying’

Antarctica 2011 – Trip Report

Published on December 7, 2011 in Trip Reports. 10 Comments Tags: , .

It seemed hard to believe that anything could ever top the 2009 Ice Axe Antarctica Ski Cruise, but I think this year actually did.  In 2009 we had freakishly good weather (clear, sunny and calm every single day), but in 2011, I think we were able to get into more interesting terrain.  Part of this had to do with the ice pack conditions, but another part was Doug Stoup and company knowing where to go and when. As with both trips, the people and the energy of having 120 like-minded skiers on board a boat cruising around at the bottom of the earth is really what makes it all worthwhile.  You go for the skiing, but in the end it’s the entire package that you remember.

We had six days of skiing in Antarctica with 2-3 in Ushuaia, Argentina beforehand.  I kept a photo, gps and written log of where we went, which is available by clicking the photo below (2mb pdf file). Continue reading ‘Antarctica 2011 – Trip Report’

Wilderness Ski Week – Wrangell-St.Elias Mtns

Published on November 2, 2011 in Announcements. 5 Comments Tags: .

Without a doubt, Alaska is my all time favorite place to ski as it has it all – huge terrain, the longest skiable lines on earth, three different snowpacks, massive glaciers and everything in between.  Within Alaska, the Wrangell-St.Elias (WSE) National Park & Preserve tops the list of best-of-the-best and is one of those places that is hard to put into words as nothing really compares to it.  If you have been heli skiing in the Valdez area, multiply that by 1,000, double (or even triple) the size of the peaks, erase all of the roads, eliminate 99% of the people and double down on the sense of commitment.  As far as AK experiences go, it’s the real deal.

The downside of the WSE is that it is difficult to access, to say the least.  There may be a few places where you can do day trips, but for the most part it is Expedition Central and to get anywhere beyond the fringes  often involves winter camping, sled hauling and lots of shivering. With this in mind, I’ve teamed up with Wild Alpine and the Ultima Thule Lodge  to put together the inaugural “Wilderness Ski Week” from April 1-7, 2012.  This will be my forth time up to the Ultima Thule lodge and I’m sure it will be the highlight of the 2012 ski season. Continue reading ‘Wilderness Ski Week – Wrangell-St.Elias Mtns’

3D Topo Maps

Published on October 31, 2011 in Gear Reviews. 4 Comments Tags: .

The first (and most likely only) time I went on a CMH trip, it gushed rain for the entire week. This was a tragedy and the lodge staff said that they had never seen anything like it in their entire history.  One of the saving graces was that I got to spend a lot of time marveling over the 3-D model of the surrounding terrain which was encased in a Stickley style floor table.  It was an beautiful work of art, and when I got home and dried out, I checked into making a similar version for the Wasatch.  The model alone was going to be many thousands of dollars, which put a crimp in the project, but not my desire.

This is perhaps a blessing as I recently had an opportunity to check out the 3D Atlas and posters from 2i3D, which provide a similar viewing experience for much less cost.  When viewed on a table, the images literally pop off the page in such clear, crisp resolution that it seems like you could slice your hand through them. This seems especially unbelievable as without the supplied 3D glasses, the images look fuzzy and muddled to the point that it almost hurts to look at them. Continue reading ’3D Topo Maps’

2011/12 First Day

Published on October 8, 2011 in current conditions. 11 Comments

I thought the skiing was pretty good for October 8th, but my skis disagree and still aren’t on speaking terms. Continue reading ’2011/12 First Day’

Snow in Park City – Oct 6

Published on October 6, 2011 in current conditions. 3 Comments

I don’t think it will stay for the winter, but it was a nice surprise to wake up to! Continue reading ‘Snow in Park City – Oct 6′

Haute Hut Cuisine

Published on October 4, 2011 in Commentary. 0 Comments

We recently spent a night in a hut and I was reminded of an excellent food trick I learned last season from “Goldie” up in Whistler. Time and powder are of the essence with a hut trip and it is a shame to waste them by washing dishes and doing endless clean-up, which takes twice as long if you don’t have running water.  Behold – burritos to the rescue. Continue reading ‘Haute Hut Cuisine’

“Breaking Trail” review

Published on September 30, 2011 in Gear Reviews. 1 Comment Tags: , .

I walked out of Brewvies theater last night after watching  “Breaking Trail”  expecting snow on the ground and found dry, hot asphalt instead.  Arrrg – pace thyself.  As penance, I swore it was going to be a crappy season with no skiing until early January. Continue reading ‘“Breaking Trail” review’

Rush v. Maestrale

Published on September 27, 2011 in Gear Reviews. 18 Comments Tags: .

The people of the backcountry will now hear the case of Rush v. Maestrale.  Please be seated.

I don’t think I toured a single day last year in anything but Scarpa Maestrale boots.  For resorts, I have a pair of Scarpa Mobe boots, but I have yet to brave any touring with them.  I come from a long line of Scarpa boots dating all the way back to the leather Tele Savauge (yes, tele…) and have been very happy with the Lazer/Matrix/Spirit line of three buckle boots.  My first impression of the Maestrale was dismay as it was a four buckle boot – gasp – but it turned out to be lighter and toured better than the Spirit 3 it replaced, so I never looked back.  But still, I secretly yearned for a three buckle boot as I seldom if ever adjust the toe buckle on a 4 buckle boot, so it is kind of vestigial and needs to be dropped. Continue reading ‘Rush v. Maestrale’