Category: Skiing
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The 2016 Bob Open
The 2016 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open will start Saturday May 30th at 0800 mountain time, at the Bean Lake campground near the Dearborn River, southwest of Augusta. Finish will be the Cedar Creek campground on the Swan River roughly equidistant between the towns of Condon and Swan Lake. Course area will be any public lands…
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Synthetic insulation technology
When it’s cold outside, insulation is important. And it can be cold outside at just about any time. My new article over at Rokslide detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the various types of synthetic fills might help you keep warm.
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Fighting islands of moisture
“Go for a short walk, and you’ll know if your gear fits. You might notice the stretch, the lightness, the breathability, the warmth. But you won’t really know if it can keep you alive.” -Sitka blog Fire during the 2011 Wilderness Classic, still the coldest I’ve ever been. Photo by Paige Brady. The article/post linked…
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Pack materials redux
This is an update of and the evolution from this post 18 months ago. A good pack fabric, like the well patina’d 1000 denier Cordura above, can do a lot of great work, simply. There is a subtle elegance to something which is easily sewn into a finished product which continues as a reliable, innocuous…
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A dual stay light pack
As good as the Unaweep is, and every time I use any other pack I’m reminded at just how good and how versatile it is, there are inherent limits to the design. Namely, the size and external presence of the frame. There are rather few instances in which this is an issue, but problems exist…
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The ‘mid I’ve been looking for
Disclaimer: Seek Outside gave me the shelter discussed below for free in exchange for feedback. [12/2016 update: the BT2 is now the Silvertip, with modest but significant revisions which make it more friendly to taller folks, and more likely to pitch with one long trekking pole.] It’s illustrative to think back to the first “cottage”…
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Two good gloves
I dislike gloves, and having warm hands I’m often able to get away without them, but that’s not always the case. Skiing, cycling, and hunting are all examples of activities where cold exposure is increased and the demands for dexterity heightened. The following are two examples of gloves which provide maximum weather protection with minimal…
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Snotel for backcountry planning
Discussion about the Bob Open is heating up over at BPL, as is appropriate for this time of year. It’s just about late enough in the winter to use what resources are available to make meaningful extrapolations concerning what things will be like out there in two months. With that in mind, I want to…
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The curious Strata Hoodie
Polartec Alpha was developed for the military, as an insulation which would form the core of a garment that would, as an insulator, better straddle the divide between static and dynamic warmth. Alpha does this by being more air-permeable than synthetic fill insulations such as Primaloft and Climashield, and at the same time more svelt…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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