Author: DaveC
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Ultralight is dead
“To me, whoever would go backpacking with a hundred pounds of lightweight equipment is missing some of these things and consequently a good deal of the primordial experience.” –Backpacker, 1974 There is a futility to contemporary ultralight backpacking which I’ve always found puzzling, as though I’m several steps off base during discussions and debates. I’ve…
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Lance
This evening, while out for a stroll, two mountain bikers passed going the other way. Decked out in the obligatory Whitefish Hammer kits, they were of course talking about Lance. A cultural phenomenon which needs no last name. USADA’s Reasoned Decision (which is well written and rather interesting reading) has been met with awe and…
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Money for something
Most readers will be familiar with the Andrew Badenoch/77Zero/Fatbikerafting the Arctic/Kickstarter debacle. For those who are not, the short version is as follows. In January Badenoch, with no endurance or wilderness palmares that I’ve been able to dig up, went live with a funding proposal for a scandalously ambitious loop trip from Seattle to the…
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NRASW: the best 20 dollars I spent this year
Yesterday I attended the Northern Rockies Avalanche Safety Workshop; and was thoroughly impressed. Avalanches are unique in the world of objectives hazards. There are no books which use hundreds of pages to discuss rockfall. There are scientific conferences on Grizzly behavior, but none which are targeted for passionate lay hikers and focus on attack avoidance. …
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Pretty damn Pam
:40 til 1:30 really needs viewing a few times over. Let’s assume it is way, way, way harder than Ms. Pack makes it look. Phenomenal climbing. Dig the taped rope while you’re about it.
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Making television about television
The modern circus came to our new town yesterday evening, and we went to watch. There had been rumors for weeks, starting with a letter from the chamber of commerce asking downtown businesses to support closing main stream for the event, and culminating in confirmatory speculation on various gossip blogs earlier this week. The Bachelor…
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Skis, ski swaps, mounts, and demounts
Though the start of a real ski season could still be over two months away, it is ski swap time in most mountain towns. I still have a hard time getting my head ’round how expensive these fancy sticks can be, and generally prefer to spend money on trips rather than gear for trips, so…
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Yellowstone NP winter use plan, Comment
Yellowstone National Park is in the final public comment period for their new(est) winter use plan. Given how long this process has taken, and the good chance of it being controversial, comment now. Whichever plan is settled upon is likely to be in effect for a while. You may comment (easily) and read the very…
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The 6-year sock roundup
An inevitable part of moving, beyond surliness and interrupted internet access (and thus blog posts) is a reexamination of all your possessions. Or perhaps it is really a first examination, carrying something up the steps in a shopping bag does not rate for introspection compared to carrying everything in an endless train of boxes. The…
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They’re out there
Black Bear and Big Fat Larry tracks. Down by the river about 2.5 straight line miles from our house.
Bedrock & Paradox 
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