Category: Climbing
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Shit that works week: Suunto Observer
Over eight years ago I paid 300 dollars for this watch, which seemed like the height of self-indulgence. M and I had just moved to Arizona for my first truly adult job, and were living in a spacious duplex which was almost empty. We had moved out with a full Xterra and 3 bikes on…
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Shit that works week: the Thermarest Prolite
The gift guides this time of year become too much very quickly. While your loved ones no doubt deserve plenty, and there is little more fun than a good gift given, most of the talk here too baldly feeds consumerism and is often just an amalgamation of press releases in disguise. To honor this bullshit,…
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Banff 2014: Turning the Corner
It’s been plain for a while now that the Banff Film festival is in a perilous position. The relative accessibility of video equipment has made outdoor films more common than ever before, thus in theory increasing both the breadth and depth of the pool from which an official fest like Banff has to draw. At…
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Becoming a competent outdoorsperson
Discretion may be the purview of a gentleman but hyperbolic modesty is not something to be proud of. I am a competent outdoorsperson, having spent decades and lot of time and effort becoming one. Cast your net across the broad enough range of outdoor pursuits and do them all long enough to learn more than…
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A note on poststructural wilderness
Last night I had something of a fever-dream flashback. It was no doubt enhanced by the sinus cold which has had me on the couch for the last 72 hours, but the effect was unmistakable: all of a sudden I came out of the haze of this weekends illness, through the chilly fog of coastal…
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How to make Cowboy coffee
I grin a little everything some new gadget comes out for making good coffee in the backcountry. As with many things, the original method is still the best, and in this particular case has the added benefit of requiring no equipment at all, aside from the pot, stove or fire, and ground coffee you already…
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Crave nothing more fervently
“Never yield to remorse, but at once tell yourself: remorse would simply mean adding to the first act of stupidity a second.” -Nietzsche, The Wanderer and his Shadow Up to this date 2014 has been a good year for contemplating death. While as many people have no doubt died in the past nine months than…
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The 610 pack, version 3
Photos by M. Two years ago I made a simple ~27 liter pack, meant for all manner of day trips and light 2-4 day stuff in fair weather. I was never content with the simple, short drawcord closure and the torso length was a bit too small, so eventually it suffered the fate of so…
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The 2014 shoe report
Disclaimer: Several of the shoes discussed below were given to me, free and under the expectation of a published review, by the manufacturer. Others were purchased at an industry discount, while one was bought at full retail. Clockwise from upper left: LaSportiva Vertical K, Altra Lone Peak 1.5, LaSportiva Boulder X Mid, LaSportiva Anakonda, Patagonia…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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