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2012/13 ski gear review
Plenty of skiing yet to done this spring (once it stops raining), but my gear focus is already on the fall hunting season, so it’s a good time to discuss what worked and what didn’t. I skied the above four skis this winter. 200cm waxable Fischer E99s (60/50/55), 176cm BD Currents (more here), 150cm Trak…
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Rossignol BCX11 warranty resolution; and BCX12 snap judgement
When Campsaver referred me to the manufacturer after this incident, I wasn’t especially optimistic. Thankfully Rossignol was slowish but responsive, and this afternoon a brand new pair of BCX12s showed up. Campsaver I’m ambivalent about, but I’ll buy Rossi again without hesitation. They’re quite different than the old ones. 2 pounds 7 oz a foot,…
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The applicability of the wilderness serape
I’ve become a convert to what I’m calling (and with all due homage to HPG) a wilderness serape. A synthetic blanket/overbag/poncho with a light, but not too light, DWR coated nylon shell. You can find the specs on the ugly one I made this past autumn here. It’s been indispensable ever since. The serape is…
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Things unseen
There are many places road should never have been built. Park Avenue and the Courthouse Towers in Arches are one. Yosemite Valley beyond El Portal/Big Oak Flat is another, as is the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Many Glacier valley would also be high on this list; digesting the view above should require that…
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Wilderness thigh straps and DIY tie downs for packrafting
Gluing stuff on to your Alpacka raft is a useful thing to know how to do well. There are all sorts of things you’ll want to do which the stock tie downs don’t. Two invaluable resources, from which the ideas below were developed, are the Alpacka How to Glue page and Luc Mehl’s pimp my…
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The best reason to buy new gear
There are three sorts of gear purchases: banal stuff you need, fun stuff you don’t need, and fun stuff you need. I suppose there’s banal stuff you don’t need, but why would you do that to yourself. Banal stuff you need is primarily the little things which wear, or whose upgrading is unexciting but will…
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Off weekends
Occasionally on should use a weekend for something other than multiday trips. Thankfully the weather gave me a respite from the past month. It had been above freezing high up into the mountains for a week, was 45 and drizzly in the valley, and rivers were starting to rise. Good hiking destinations aren’t yet in…
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The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act
An interesting example of what I wrote about a few days ago is currently afoot here in Montana, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act sponsored by our senior senator Max Baucus. The Front is a spectacular location, where the Bob Complex meets the prairie without mediation in a tangle of limestone reefs, broad valleys, and…
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The third way: morals in recreation
Last week Lou Dawson of Wildsnow, who like most is best when he lets himself off the leash, wrote a worthwhile piece about the future recreation and those interested in it might play in shaping how public lands are governed in the United States. It’s not useful for me to summarize the many salient points…
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Bedrock & Paradox 
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