Author: DaveC
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La Sportiva Boulder X Mid GTX: numbers and rationale
I recently bought the first pair of non-ski or snow boots I’ve had in a decade; the Sportiva Boulder X Mids. The reason? I wanted something that would be more comfortable than trail runners with strap on crampons, and I wanted the lightest and most hikable boot which would kick steps in moderate snow. In…
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Mental mapping
Our more rugged wild landscapes tend to generate obsession. Mountains are the worst for the human collectors: all the peaks over a certain elevation, each of those peaks in every season or month, every named summit, and so forth. The Colorado Plateau is in my experience the very worst; though the absurdity of trying to…
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Rossignol BCX11: not quite enough boot
There’s not been much to love about the BCX11s since I bought them almost exactly a year ago, but there has been a fair bit to like. They’re not totally waterproof, but they’re waterproof enough. They don’t have excellent control, but with skinny XCD sticks they have enough control for survival skiing just about anywhere. …
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Spring lakes and mountains
I had hoped to make it up to both Margaret and Cerulean Lakes this winter: two big sub-alpine lakes off-trail in two different drainages in two different corners of Glacier. Fatigue and conditions meant I didn’t even try to get close to Margaret last weekend, and the too soon march of spring made the snowpack…
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Progression in context
I’m not a big fan of the term progression as it’s most often used today; in so-called gravity or action (lets be honest and just keep the word extreme) sports to denote marginal gains in technical difficulty, consequence, or both. The term, and the human experience behind it, could mean so much given more thorough…
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The capture and flight of Joe Cosley
Joe Cosley was one of Glacier Parks original rangers. He had been a trapper in the area prior to the founding in 1910, and thus a natural choice. Cosley must have remained a rough character; while on his first trip around the park in the winter of 1913 Norton Pearl noted that Cosley’s cabin was…
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The feather-hammer of civilization
A winter garden in an alder swamp, Where conies now come out to sun and romp, As near a paradise as it can be And not melt snow or start a dormant tree. Last fisher trip of the year; with the best last: the Belly River. In fifteen southwesterly arching miles the aspen foothills rise…
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Wisdom from Norton Pearl
The Belly River ranger station, with Chief Mountain in the upper left. It is the only park facility which is both staffed full time (in summer) and not accessible by motor vehicle. Norton Pearl was one of the original backcountry rangers in Glacier National Park, though back then (the park was established in 1910) there…
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The Phinney Legend
He was twice world champion in the individual pursuit, before he was old enough to drink a beer. He finished fourth in the Olympic road race and time trial last August. He got second in the World’s time trial by 5 seconds last September. He is hilarious. His parents are both legendary American cyclists, and…
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Why
Skiing would be total bullshit if it weren’t so awesome. Photo by Danni, photochop by me. I’ve said it before; winter in proper mountains is at once the root of human civilization and the ultimate instantiation of the Other. The snowbound fastness above treeline makes us fear for our lives, which is why the rare…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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