Category: Racing
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The 2016 Bob Open: all about me
The Bob Open started undefined years ago, at whatever time in the early to mid oughts I first heard about the Wilderness Classic. That skillset was far enough away that I couldn’t really identify how to get from where I was to where I could go to Alaska and cross 150 miles of wilderness, quickly…
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2016 Bob Open video and lessons
Executive summary: I did more miles faster and had more fun than any previous year, even though my 2015 route is still tops when it comes to scenery. I hope the exuberance is captured in the video. As you’d hope on my sixth consecutive year, I had the equipment pretty well nailed. The weather, far…
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2016 Bob Open gearlist
No video this year. The array of stuff is so familiar that writing it out seems redundant, but folks have consistently expressed value in the video versions, and I like them for future reference. We had a mild winter and early spring in northwest Montana, but the last week has brought record precip, which fell…
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The objectivity of vertical gain
Objective data for evaluating hiking and backpacking performance is a useful thing to have. Day to day and year to year your perception of speed and exertion can change, often significantly, but fast is fast and when heading towards a tough trip confirmation of progress can help formulate realistic expectations. When hiking there are two…
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BD Alpine Start hoody: the final word
Black Diamond’s Alpine Start hoody hasn’t changed much in the two years it’s been on the market (and since I first wrote about it). The material, a light and tough softshell with excellent breathability and darn good weatherproofing, is unchanged and remains the heart of what is (still) the most versatile and all-around best outdoor…
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Nine years of fear
I learned a while ago, and have re-learned many times since, that fear before a trip rarely has much to do with conditions or hazard, and has everything to do with the concern that you’ll soon have to do something difficult. To perform close to the known ends of your abilities. The sooner that fear…
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The most important backcountry skill
The above is a screen grab from the latest episode of Meat Eater. Whats significant here is not the episode itself, which is an excellent one, but what Steve Rinella is doing here. A few minutes prior he shot a large-antlered, mature mule deer, fulfilling a decades long quest with a perfectly placed 392 yard…
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The closest I’ve come
This post the other week got me thinking about the fact I’ve never called for or thought about calling for a rescue, on what occasions I’ve been closest to doing so, and what things prevented me from doing so. The following is a fairly hasty and not especially hierarchical overview of the incidences which came…
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The Best Snowshoe binding yet
Snowshoes have two reasons to exist: miles which cannot be skied due to terrain, circumstances, or lack of skill; and trips where the snow miles are exceeded by non-snow miles, as snowshoes should not require anything other than ideal hiking shoes. Because this second reason accounts for the overwhelming majority of my snowshoe use, I…
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The 2015 pack fleet
I’ve been doing the pack thing for a while now. After owning and especially building so many none of them can retain nostalgia for long, with any and every little detail subject to scrutiny, revision, and destruction. That said, the novelty of cutting and sewing has also waned significantly in the last year, and it’s…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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