ryanb

Really happy with my aging canon sd800 (28mm wide) but a wider lens would be nice. I'm waiting for some sample images but the canon sx260 looks pretty compelling in that it is cheeper then the s100 and has a 25-500mm equivalent zoom. Maybe add http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK to provide raw image support. I'm sure image quality won't be quite as good as the more expensive/less zoomy cameras but I like the idea of a tiny package that gives you 25mm for most mountain things and a big zoom for the occasional bird/animal/distant person on ridge line shot.

So it turns out a sawzall (reciprocating saw) blade fits rather securely in the flic lock mechanism on a current gen bd traverse ski pole (next years mechanism is different) with the teeth of the blade in the slot, no additional parts needed. Trying to attach an image. $4 bucks at stone way hardware, will test it snow this weekend. For the extended colmn test you want to isolate a 30cm by 90cm column as deep as the deepest layer you are worried about so you need that much reach. My real snow saw is about 30cm but I can cut deeper the that with it on a ski pole so I'll experiment with how short a sawzall blade I can get away with to save weight.

I rarely end up carrying my snow saw due to weight but having one that will attach to a ski pole does make extended column tests much easier. In soft snow you can get away with a ski or a pole to separate the column or use the probe/pole + string method. I've been thinking of making an ultralight snow saw out of a key hole or sawzall saw blade, some split aluminum tubing, a hose clamp and a bd flicklock mechanism. It would be much shorter then a real snow saw but I envision it locking securely onto the upper end of the lower section of my pole to make it easier to make a clean cut through buried crusts and all the parts are things it would be good to have as part of your repair kit. Hmm...maybe I'll go to the hardware store after work and see what I can figure out.

I've got some canada map layers on hillmap (see the ak/canada, nrcan, mytopo and arcgisworld for some diffrent options). They aren't up to the standards or loading speed of matt's caltopo layers (which he is kindly letting me use as well) and I'm really hoping he eventually extends his coverage.

My wife and I both have a couple of hoodies including the r1, a powerstretch and merino versions from icebreaker, stoic and io bio. The r1 is still the best though it does start to smell eventually and I've worn my fist one full of holes. Between winter bike commuting, ski touring and climbing I feel like I end up wearing one of these most days. For my use which is often high or varied output in cold conditions the partial zipper, stretchy hood that can go over or under a helmet and thumb loops are key to being able to adjust my temperature without stoping. I also like the chest pocket as I stuff my insulin and diabetes supplies in there to keep them at a usable temperature. I often find the r1 a bit warm to wear under a shell. I would be stoked on a slightly thinner version using a wool poly blend (maybe all polly in the hood, wrist, waste and shoulder areas which take more wear and get wet easier) but with the same fit and features but I haven't found it yet.

The TGR threads have lots of info on the failures and things to check on the plumbs (make sure your top plate screws are tight but not stripped, make sure the toe wing pin holes were peened). Failure discusion startes hereish: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/209661-Plum-guide-tech-binding/page6 I don't think anyone is saying dynafits don't break but there is some supposition that plum has qc issues with stripping screws and not peening pins and that the less elastic rear housing and lack of heel support from the brake is leading to heel pin failures and the machined toe wings are more subject to failure then dynafits. But still plum claims a <1% failure rate. Also lots of plum users including glen plake are mounting additional heel supports wich apparently solve many of the issues. The lack of brakes is really a deal breaker for me but, having grown up in a machine shop and being a hugh geek about gear, I also kind of feel that machined metal is overrated...machining is one of the cheapest way to do small batch stuff so lots of boutique shops use it but something with forged and molded components of different materials produced at higher volume can often achieve a better optimization of strength, weight and cost and the dynafit engineers aren't slouches.

The Plum has the shinny-looks-cool factor but has had numerous first season durability and quality control issues (go find the thread on teton gravity research) including toe wings snapping, toe wings falling off due to loose pins, and heel pins snapping. It also isn't compatible with a ski brake (they are working on one but it isn't clear when it will be out or if it will work with current bindings). People who haven't broken theirs seem to like them and hopefully they will work out all of these issues out eventually but I'd steer clear for now. More machined metal does not imply more durability especially when up against a proven design that uses forged parts and elastic plastic where appropriate. The g3 also had first season issues when they came out a couple of years ago so make sure you get the later ones with the red bit on the back (see the wild snow article) and i'd probably only recommend them if you can get them at deep discount (after the first season they were available for as low as 200 new). People have also had issues with swapping from plate t plate due to loose nuts. Dynafit radical's have short heel risers and some issues with housing exploding due to the new anti rotation pin. Dynafit has released a new pin with a break away area to prevent this or they can be skied without the pin. They are slated for a further design refinement and could be on clearance soon. The best combination of proven track record, available sale price, ski brakes, and light weight is the dynafit vertical...I'm heading up tomorrow on a pair I've put a lot of tours and some area skiing on and they have worked. They may disappear from the line as the radical takes over and are on clearance several places. The st is preferred to the ft due to more support for the toe wings though a retrofit power plate is available. If you want one pair on multiple skis check out the plates and inserts available at bindingfreedom.com etc. All frame bindings (frishi, marker) will be heavier.

I've got a redish beard and a weird but not painful bump on my palm between pinky and ring fingers that I've been assuming is dupuytren's. I've found irregular and poorly executed yoga with a lot of hands flat on the floor/forearm stretching poses helps with range of motion.

This is a cool idea and I agree with DPS about avoiding ESRI. My site hillmap lets you find slopes steeper then 30 degrees in google maps by doing a pixel by pixel analysis of raster dem data loaded from a usgs webservice in javascript and overlaying the results on google maps. I know other people are working on server side google map layers that incorporate aspect as well...feel free to hit me up if you want to talk about technical details. Also check out http://avalanchesafety.blogspot.com/ ... he has done some really cool terrain analysis including slope, surface regularity, line of site, and local wind pattern that suggest a bunch of things that contribute to avi danger more then general aspect. Edit: one thing i would try to be really careful about is preserving uncertainty. We don't have a great model for avalanches so you don't wan't to get too specific. Turbulence is hard to analyze/predict and you don't want to indicate that a SE slope is safe when wind eddying around a terrain feature and blowing against the prevalent direction could have wind loaded it. Or hoar frost could have formed on a south aspect in a clear cut shaded by trees. There is lots of great info about this on the blog I linked and in the Avalanche Handbook.

They made the manaslu stiffer last year by giving it the stoke construction and made the old version the new women's version.

I ended up with a pair of salewa "mountain trainer" boots (second ascent has them) this summer when i sprained my ankle and wanted the lightest pair of approach footwear I could find that offered actual ankle support and have been really impressed....the weird wire harness around the ankle offered more support then many other boots I've owned when tied tightly but they are also very comfortable for long flat trail miles when loosened up a bit. I think they own dynafit and pomoca (climbing skins) as well. This move makes them something of an ultralight technical gear powerhouse...

Try turning holds to force different body positions and use of core tension instead of just doing "small holds far apart" and get a set or two of screw on foot jibs. Try to set routes with twice as many feet as hands.

My wife has narrow heels and dynafit boots work best for her (scarpa let her heels move and give her blisters). She has zzeros which are good if you are on budget. People seem to love the pricey but ultralight TLT5p's if you aren't

There are lots of previous years model BD skis floating around for cheap if you don't mind designs without rocker or early rise tips. I got the voodoos for cheap and find them to be fairly versatile for an 88mm underfoot, relatively light ski...I'm thinking of cutting the twin tip tail down to make them better for ski mountaineering but I do think it helps there soft snow performance. They are a lighter version of the havok. Killowats and Havoks and a bunch of heavier/fatter skis got killed for this year and the drift (100 mm and light) will get tweaked for next year so this years should be available for deals soon. Check sierratrading post, evo and gearx.com.

I'll just leave this here: http://gearjunkie.com/water-resistant-down-jacket If the marketing pans out it could be awesome. I also love montbell's baffle construction down jackets (not the "light" series which are sewn through but the old "alpine" which I have and new frostline that has a hood) for warmth to weight to sale price but my synth stuff gets more use for typical "chance of snow or rain" cascade ski touring etc.

I've never had great luck with the factory leather treatments including some sportivas. They are going to be covered in mud, grime and glacial till after the first time you use them anyways so I'd just as soon treat them the one time in their life they are clean. My most recent pair of boots (salewas...they makes some awesome super light boots btw) I used some spray stuff before the first trip and, though the gortex works well, the leather was soaked by the end of three days of moist bushwhacking and kicking steps in the bitterroots. Snosealed them and been happy since.

Sno seal original is bees waxed based and is awesome for leather. I used it on gloves and boots. I don't think the sprays work at all for this application as they just seem to wear off. The nikwax in a tube is okay too. Either way, the key is to warm the boots up in the hot sun or by a heat vent, rub it on thick and then put them back in the wam spot to let the leather suck the stuff up. Repeat 2-3 times for true waterproofness. It will change the color and texture of the leather.

Was that carabiner loaded in 3 directions? Ie did your friend run a long runner around a tree clip it together and then tie the line off to it? I also ovals or old style D's for slacklines partly because they seem to have a wider loadable area for the one inch webbing (compared to the rope notch on many modern biners) which, wether it makes them stronger for this or not, makes it easier to keep the webbing flat and set up the tensioning system I use and partly because I've retired them from normal climbing use. I also double them up, partly for redundancy and partly because it makes it easier to get the knots undone. My tensioning system requires double carabiners on the tensioning end.

If alpine and long trad means lots of semi hanging belays and not just walking up hill then the arcteryx harnesses are hard to beat. They aren't cheap (though old models have been showing up on steepandcheap etc) but do the best job of meeting the criteria you set out and are worth it if you spend enough time hanging in them.

Same side though I used to do opposite 10+ years ago. I think same has become recommended by manufactures because it reduces the chance of the bolt end carabiner opening itself as the draw twists around a bolt due to rope travel.

The patagonia thatcher was perfect (stiff sole but folded flat) but wasn't that durable and got discontinued. I'd probably try the five ten daescentes or guide tennies (now in a vegan version that might be better for the desert) plus some seem grip over the threads and save yourself a resole.

You can get the 1.8 L sumo cup for the jetboil. I think they are even supposed to start selling it in a package with the sol base eventually. Last winter I used a standard jetboil for melting snow during one of the cold snaps for two people and the (1L) pot was a bit small. Keeping the canister warm enough was also a pain. I bought the sumo cup this summer and it is great for cooking enough water to do a meal, drinks and have soem left over for washing or bathing but I haven't melted snow with it yet. The sol is supposed to be more cold resistant and I will probably upgrade at some point.

Just to offer a disenting opinion, my wife and I have been learning to ski mostly in the backcountry for the last few years. She skied a season in colorado a few years ago and I'm transitioning from a bit of XC and the occasional tele turn at huricane ridge as a kid. It is definitely not the quickest approach to downhill mastery but, if your main goal is to get out in the woods and you have willing partners, there are lots of great mellow tours that blur the line with cross country skiing (the seabury blair book is full of them: http://www.amazon.com/Backcountry-Ski-Washington-Free-Heelers-Snowboarders/dp/1570611513)...we have spent many a happy day lapping powder bowls in out of the way clear cuts. We did get season passes this year to snoqualamie to accelerate the process a bit...my first time on a char lift was a few weeks ago and we picked our way down a couple of black diamond in crudy cut up and refrozen conditions saturday. As far as turning in more conditions. I am probably the worst skier on this thread but I've discovered that stem cristies and hop turns are your friend for dealing with variable conditions on light gear or steeper stuff...they won't get you in ski videos but they work. Good four post series on the subject here: http://straightchuter.com/2009/03/steep-skiing-101/ Martin Voleken's "Backcountry Skiing Skills" also has a chapter on the stem cristie and its application to variable backcountry snow...

It all comes down to which fits more places. I actually like the grey and purple master cams better then the equivalent black and blue aliens. The heads are narrower on the master cams in these sizes and I feel I can wiggle them into narrow seems and still see in to inspect the heads. Yellow and up it is close to being a wash with a slight edge to aliens. The green alien is far far better then any other cam in that size. For whatever reason the blue master cam just seems to get jammed oddly in a marginal placement too often. The added range and narrower head of the alien let you wiggle it into a good placement and the flexy stem and long sling lets you clip it and go. It practically turns tips cracks into sport climbs. I love the blue fcu's for index cracks (clean and parallel) and I don't hate the master cam but the green alien rocks.

The last couple of years i have been skiing more then bouldering in the winter but I'll seek out dry granite if we get another powder free spell this year (OlympicMtnBoy had my contact info). Most of the stuff with southern exposer and few trees is good in the winter my favorites being the pretty and carnival boulders as they get sun longer thanks to the mountaineers creek valley. Forest lands and upper mad meadows can be good too thanks to the lack of trees and south facing problems if you are willing to posthole up to them. Twisted tree icehouse and the ridge are all right by the road which is nice.