Archive for the '04 Gear I Use' Category

Cold Fusion at Room Temperature

Published on May 18, 2013 by a ok.
Cold fusion being Slashed.

Cold fusion being Slashed.

In physics, cold fusion is a process that a bunch of scientists got interested in 20+ years ago because they thought maybe they’d find the holy grail – abundant, cheap energy. Completely aside from the fact that this would have upset the established energy providers immensely, it didn’t work. No one could replicate results the two behind the cold fusion fuss – Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann – claimed to have attained. Thus, interest in cold fusion fizzled.

The obvious difference between ‘hot,’ or nuclear fusion and cold fusion, is temperature. Cold fusion was supposed to take place Continue reading ‘Cold Fusion at Room Temperature’

Located in 03 Adventures, 04 Gear I Use and Wasatch 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Apollo Couloir Ski Descent in Jeans and other Performance Wear

Published on May 3, 2013 by a ok.
The Apollo Coulior. An excellent compliment to Olympus.

The Apollo Coulior. An excellent compliment to Olympus.

Tried unsuccessfully to land this one two years ago, which was more or less the last valid Wasatch snow season before this year. Clearly I wasn’t wearing the proper performance gear at the time. Back then, we dug three snow pits, were hesitant because the snow stability was/seemed trickier than usual to determine that day in that location, but still we ascended. Cracks that propagated as the skinner went in above our last pit convinced us to turn around. Boo! Pulled on Continue reading ‘Apollo Couloir Ski Descent in Jeans and other Performance Wear’

Located in 03 Adventures, 04 Gear I Use and Wasatch 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

AK: Expedition Food Matters

Published on April 18, 2013 by a ok.

Here begin a series of articles about my time in Haines, Alaska. Rather than distill the group adventures in a day-by-day, blow-by-blow fashion, I thought assembling some ideas together might shed a fuller light on the entire experience.

I’ll begin with food. Everybody eats. Eating and prolonged camping combined? Most people have heard or experienced how bad that can get. Let’s take a look.

Alaska Expedition Food

Here I am on the airplane, headed home. Spinach sounds good. A banana, too. Blueberries and strawberries. Garlic toast with Sriracha, which is how I eat it. A cup of yogurt. A slice of carrot cake.

Sunset from Alaska Airlines.

Sunset from an Alaska Airlines window.

Despite having dined on a glacier long enough for 33 mealtimes to have come and gone, plus a dozen more at either end of this glaciated journey, I haven’t had a single bad tasting meal.

That includes the highly suspect combination Continue reading ‘AK: Expedition Food Matters’

Located in 03 Adventures, 04 Gear I Use and 10 Road Trips 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Gear Customization

Published on April 2, 2013 by a ok.

When several people get together in tight proximity with similar gear for a prolonged period, it’s easy to get each other’s gear mixed up. This may be especially true for carabiners and other small, ubiquitous items. It’s certainly true of Whippets, those essential self-arrest ski poles that virtually everyone I ski with owns.

To me, Whippets are so indispensable that I consider them standard gear on a par with skis, skins, and bindings. This thinking caused a bit of confusion when I skied a steep icy slope with a friend recently, in preparation for which, I mentioned that we just needed ‘regular gear; water and food, no crampons, ropes, or axes.’ He showed up Whippetless and we both regretted my take on ‘regular gear’ later!

The problem is that Whippets aren’t exactly available in a wide hue of colors. Each season, that year’s color palette is, well, that year’s color offering. Clearly Black Diamond is paying a lot of heed to Henry Ford, who quite famously said about the Model T, ‘You can get it in any color you like, as long as that’s black.’ To be upfront, I was never wild about the paint job on my latest Whippet to begin with.

Not my idea of the coolest paint job ever on the stock Whippet. Taped up, ready for personalization.

To Continue reading ‘Gear Customization’

Located in 04 Gear I Use, 12 Random and Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , .

La Sportiva RT Binding Failure

Published on March 19, 2013 by a ok.

Two and a half weeks after shearing the toe pin arm off of one of my La Sportiva RT bindings while doing flat skinning in powder, the other one from that matched pair detonated in the same fashion. For this episode, I was skinning a steeper – but not steep – relatively icy patch.

Many things can mess up a ski outing…

In my mind, conditions were and are irrelevant. My weight is irrelevant. What angle of slopes I ski is irrelevant. I’ve got way less than Continue reading ‘La Sportiva RT Binding Failure’

Located in 04 Gear I Use, 13 Gear Testing and Industry News 11 Comments Tags: , , .

Scarpa Alien 1.0 Failure

Published on March 19, 2013 by a ok.

This is a heads up to all the hard charging sorts out there using the Scarpa Alien 1.0 ski boots for steep or exposed skiing. Not unlike my Garmont Masterlite failures of recently passed seasons, I think this one could affect a lot more folks than just me. Only time will tell… But, you’re being cautioned now.

Like a lot of people, I’ve been really impressed with the Scarpa Alien 1.0 ski boot. You can read my full review at the link. Aside from the wet foot syndrome offered to anyone using the boots without a (next-to-impossible-to-find-if-they-don’t-arrive-with-the-boots) gaiter or speed suit like yours truly, I’ve been pretty happy with the boots.

Today, they came in a bit subpar when they broke on me. Maybe I was too quick with the review, but I don’t think so. I had plenty of days on the boots before the review was written.

Checking it out in the field. No more ski mode. Only a very flexible walk mode… That’s one sad Alien.

Gear breakages generally Continue reading ‘Scarpa Alien 1.0 Failure’

Located in 04 Gear I Use, 05 Gear Modifications and Industry News 12 Comments Tags: , , .