OUTDOOR RETAILER WINTER MARKET 2012 - PART 1

The Salt Palace in Salt Lake City is filled with new outdoor gear and old friends every January.  With a notebook in hand and an eye for game changers, I made my way through the hall, last week, and have a short list of my favorite things to share.

Paul Parker knows skiing and he knows how boots drive skis.  The new Garmont Cosmos is a lightish weight (3.2 lbs), 4-buckle AT boot that could be the best all-round boot choice on that big wall of boots for 2012.  Paul and his Italian cadre have taken a shell and cuff to a new place.  The benefits of the innovative metal spine design helps the scree descender and the hard-pack pounder with a long, fore-aft, cuff radius.  I wish I was a 27.5 instead of a 30.0 foot and could ski it tomorrow.

I was making some lift runs with pals, at the local hill, and K2 Way Backs were on my feet.  It was good to get back home and ski a foot of new after some rough conditions at the OR Demos, in Utah.  I would usually ski my K2 Side Stash, heavy metal cruise ships, but the Way Backs were the only skis in my box.  Friends said I was skiing "fast and frisky" on those "lightweights" and they did feel solid through the chop.  But, imagine that Way Back construction with 112mm under foot instead of 90 something.  The new Back Drop has width and will have better powder float yet the same holding power as the Way Backs.  Nice double-down from K2.

Kuhl does one of the best jobs in the industry of taking mountain style to the city.  Their Euro-alpine informed look is more refined now and their construction and fit have improved too.  Although I'm partial to the Italian wool sweaters, in the Kuhl rack, this Impakt soft-shell breaks away from the pack of black, soft-shell, look-alike and is a fresh stand-out.

You have to ask yourself "would I ski scarier stuff if I had an air bag pack on"?  Granted it's 5 or 8 Franklins to own an avalanche floatation pack and you might think it would even the odds on a sketchy drop but still it would be the option you don't want to option.  Like a collision air bag, in your car, it's a bad day when it pops.  BCA makes a solid air bag pack in 2 volumes (32 and 22).  They can also direct you to a place to refill your air tank, God forbid.

The Compactor ski pole from, that juggernaut, Black Diamond Equipment brings cool Z-Pole technology to the world of winter sports. The Compactor was originally a trekking pole that has strong ski pole cred, especially if you are a split boarder.  Those weird gummy bear connections are reason enough to buy it.

 Some good guerrilla marketing from Sole foot beds and footwear in the men's room.

Suunto has changed the wrist computer game with the full-feature, GPS navigation Ambit.  It runs around $600 and has a battery life of 15 hours when using the continuous GPS tracking feature.  Of coarse it tells the time and your altitude too but it can also get you home. 

Skiers Say The Darndest Things

Never good

Rain drops on the web cam lenses is never good.  A long drought has ended with rain on the mountain.  Where's the holiday love?

It's My Cup of Tea

I like a cup of tea, with milk and sugar.  My favorite is Lipton.  It's a hard cup to order in trendy Portland.  Waiters shoot you a look and recommend something better, from their list of "good teas", and Lipton is never on that list. Usually, I just go home, put the kettle on and brew some myself.

The smell of Lipton tea takes me back to my late, grandmother's kitchen.  She's dealing some gin rummy and we're drinking some Lipton.  She could drink it boiling hot cause she had a tongue like a furnace door.  A Canadian girl, one of eleven kids, Annie Parks Fletcher or Nan, as I called her, made it from Saskatchewan to the orchards of the Hood River Valley where she lived to be 92. Nan could pick fruit all day, drain long golf putts and kick your ass at any card game you might know.  I guess you could call her life rich.  She liked a cup of hot tea too and it was Lipton.

Soggy Nelson B.C. Greatness



JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.

Let's Get This Hard Pack Party Started!

This winter started with a wet, heavy, first coat, in the Oregon Cascadia but Dec. has given us such a long, dry-out that we're begging for the next shellacking.  Urban theatrics drove us out of town.  We needed to "occupy snow".  We hiked for harbor at Cloud Cap, on the N. side of Mt. Hood.  We were after some exercise, a look around and maybe avoidance of a road-rage homicide, in Portland.  The brittle blue sky was the show-off guest of the weekend.  Half a moon, casting vampire trees on the snow, at 3 a.m. and that stretch between 1 and 3 in the afternoon when the wind dies and the warmish sun races for the mountain's cold shoulder; were the high cards in a pretty good hand.

Crag Rat Rescue in Lindsey Creek

It was Tuesday morning, Aug. 2nd, 2011, and Pamela Salant had been missing from her camp, at Bear Lake, since Saturday afternoon.  I had a work project to finish but was now available to join the on-going search in a remote pocket of the Columbia Gorge.  I drove to Kingsley reservoir, geared-up and caught a ride to the SAR command site by the Bear Lake trail head with, Hood River County Sheriff (HRCS) deputy, Matt English.  The search briefing by HRCS Joe Wampler was about to start and fellow Hood River Crag Rats Craig McCurdy, Tom Scully and Asa Mueller were standing in the road with their packs on ready to go. 

Two Crag Rats were to follow a two person, search dog team down Bear creek to Lindsey creek.  Craig and I zigged and zagged down Bear creek, yelling PAM or PAMELA every so often.  The dogs and their owners turned back eventually when the terrain became too steep.  Hiking was mostly hanging from tree to tree and sliding down a duffy, 40 degree slope, at that point.  A good ski slope but a bad hiking one!  As I descended in and out of Bear creek, I saw foot depressions in the soft soil.  I was thinking it was bear or deer prints because there was plenty of scat around but the more prints I saw the more a human pattern emerged.  We were in constant communication with the National Guard chopper above us and let them know that the prints were still headed downhill.

Looking south to Mt. Defiance from Lindsey Cr.

From left, Scully, Mueller, Pamela (victim), McCurdy in Lindsey

Our Crag Rat team proceeded to the confluence of Lindsey and Bear creeks and used radios and GPS units to constantly update our location with the chopper and the SAR base.  Because we could not communicate directly with the SAR base, we bounced our transmits to the chopper or the relay person on Mt. Defiance.   The automatic repeater was not used all day because of it's annoying echo.

The rocky and log chocked Lindsey Creek was very greasy with moss and slim.  Many spills were endured by the team and McCurdy took one in a deep pool only to realize later that his Crag Rat radio stayed at the bottom of the pool.  Upon reaching a 15 ft. waterfall Scully and Mueller decided to rappel down it's side to the pool below.  McCurdy and I scrambled up the steep bank river left and made our way around it.  After more creek stumbling and another waterfall, we made it to the victim.  McCurdy surprised her and she was elated to see him.  Shivering in a tank top and shorts, Pamela was sitting on a rock, in the middle of the creek, alive, cold and shocky.  McCurdy immediately handed her a candy bar and a juice bottle and proceeded to put warm clothing on her.

Crag Rat Craig McCurdy with victim Pamela Salant

About 15 minutes after McCurdy and I stabilized the victim and Mueller accessed injuries, Scully was radio transmitting information to the HG Blackhawk chopper that was approaching for the hoist.  As the chopper hovered in the treetops, above the creek, a technician was lowered to the creek.  Prop wash blew small tree limbs and debris on us, as we bent to cover and protect the victim.  He land just uphill from us and began sorting gear for the hoist.

National Guard technician lowered from Blackhawk

We assisted attaching the technician and Pamela to the hoist seat, after he finished asking questions about her injuries.  Although her lower leg appeared broken and she had a deep gash on it, she was able to straddle the hoist seat without us splinting the leg or bandaging the wound.  The chopper hovered back into hoist position, dropped the hook to us and soon the two were air born and headed to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland.  I was thinking, at the time, how nice that exit plan would have been for us because we were faced with many more hours of bushwhacking to the Columbia River.  After some food, we climbed the 1000 ft. ridge west of Lindsey Creek and made our way down it's spine, with sore knees and ankles, to Sheriff Wampler and Deputy Frazier's rigs parked by I-84.  It was around 8:00 pm when they took us to Starvation Creek Rest Area to scarfed the sack lunch feast and water we had been hoping to see.  Like Sheriff Wampler said "it turned into a made-for-TV-movie with a happy ending."

From left, Deputy Frazier, Sheriff Wampler and Crag Rats

The passing of an Oregon mountaineer

I didn't know Hank Lewis, really.  He passes away last week, at 98, and I've been thinking about him.  I met Hank at Timberline lodge once, after a search and rescue, and drank a beer with him and some Mazama folks. I wish I could have interviewed him for my records.  My dad was a Mt. Hood ski patroler in the 70's and Hank's name would come up and was held in reverence.  He was one of the original hard men of the Oregon Cascades.  He did his time with the 10th mountain division and like many of those guys he made an impact on the mountaineering and skiing life we enjoy today.  I hope where ever he is that his pack is light and the snow is good.

Here is his obit, in the Oregonian, and also a good piece from 2007.

Mt. St. Helens

The beautiful volcano of Mt. St Helens is best skied in the month of May.  We enjoyed its sweet corn last Friday and it retains a reputation as one of  the best ski descents in the Northwest.  It's such an easy day up (5 hrs) and a great bunch of turns down to the car.  They do charge you $22 for the experience but it's a nice bathroom at Marble Mt., I guess.

Short Skis Don't Have To Suck - Altai Skis

 

   

The Hok

I had heard, through a mutual friend, that our buddy Nils Larsen was working on a new ski idea.  Nils and his business partner, Francois Sylvain, had worked for Karhu together and have spent many years in the ski business. I figured something was up when he came through Portland, last week, and the skis fit in the trunk of his rental car.

Nils has made many trips to the Altai region of China documenting the skier/hunters there and who were, possibly, the originators of skiing (sorry Norway).  Essentially, in the Altai, they chase down deer on these short, horse hair base skis, until the deer are exhausted and drag them back to the village for dinner.  These skis and the single pole, that's useful for turning and poking your buddy, are also used recreationally for practice.  Nils's ski-shoe idea arose from this experience.  Imagine that...a snowshoe with glide!  The Hok model is short (125 cm and 145 cm), has a metal edge and a section of skin material on the base for climbing.  OK, I'm a snowshoe hater and also no fan of skinny nordic skis when the going gets tough, so these little guys were more fun than a waterslide.  You can motor through tight trees and brush, on the up-track, and assume a good, bent knee and ankle ski position for a turny downhill run.

Check out the Altai Skis site and look for the skis next Fall at quality ski retailers or order on-line.

Closing Day Vail, CO

Too much snow to go

Retro suit of the day

Pond Skim on Gold Peak

I have never attended the famous "Last Day" of the season in Vail, CO, even though my brother lives there and I visit, to ski, every year I can.  This year it was like an 11" of new, Winter day on Mt. Hood.  Plenty of heavy snow for my liking.

It was also my first pond skimming event.  The video attached is from 2009 and a much warmer day.  This is Chris Anthony (Vail local, pro skier and Warren Miller talent) showing great form and flair. 

Out of harm's way

Racing for bikes

Spring makes the mind turn to other pursuits.  I like the trash talk here...

April-uary

A foot of new fell last Thursday and we tested skis in it.  It's rained on the cake since but that's the way it goes.  There are those, among us, that are tired of Winter but I'll take a stray powder day, anytime.

Cascade climax avalanches

It's not just the Oregon Cascades that have had some climax avalanches this season but it's endemic up and down the volcano chain.  Here is a good slide video from Crystal Mt., WA.  Although it was set-off by an explosive, it could easily have been us jumping into that slope.
 

The Man and the Mammoth

If you haven't seen this  ski animation feature movie you are in for a treat.  It looks like some Vancouver, BC folks had some time on their hands, during the summer.  I'm troubled by the ending, however.  I would have preferred a "shaggy dog" ending where they high five and enjoy a smoking campfire. 

Seth Morrison - The Ordinary Skier

The irony of this title cracks me up. 

Off-Piste Magazine Ski Test

Dave Waag, Off-Piste magazine publisher and testing task master, myself and two Hood River locals tested some 2011 ski models, at Mt. Hood Meadows, on Mon. and Tues. this week.  Conditions were a little new on a not-so-new base.  We traded off skis from Movement, Faction, G3, Prior and Dynafit.  Next month K2, Rossignol, Volkl, Voile and others are slated for the local hill trials.  Reviews will be printed in the first issue of the mag this Fall.  2010 review downloads are here.

Michael Becker, me, Dave Waag, wall o' skis

Dave's garage

Ski tech and trusted assistant Fergus

North Cascade ski touring with lookouts

Two buddies and I climbed up to Hidden Lake fire lookout, a few years ago, on our annual North Cascades Spring ski touring weekend.  It was kind of epic getting up into the place.  We had to dig a snow cave bivy the first night because we were whited-out, nighted-out and had left the tent in the car because we had planned for a cabin stay.  But once in the "alpine bedroom" we couldn't have been happier and had some good skiing down to Hidden Lake the next day.  You can check with the ranger at Marblemont R. S. for availability and info.

These guys made a nice video of that fire lookout and a couple more.

More natural flow

I'm continuing the thread of big flows of snow, ice or water.  This river, the Ammonoosuc, that runs from Mt. Washington, NH, to the Connecticut River and eventually to Long Island Sound has that bust-loose quality that eastern US river have during melt-out.  Tip of the hat to the camera guy for a steady hand or tripod for this shot.