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TR- Weekend at Winchester lookout — Close Call on Mount Larrabee

By Louie

Every time I am in the Mt. Baker area here in Washington state, I look over at Mount Larrabee and think about how fun it would be to ski. It is a big, triangle shaped mountain, and lately it has been super plastered with snow. The peak is a bit of a chore to get to, but luckily an old fire lookout nearby on top of Winchester Mountain provides shelter, and thus incentive. I tried twice to ski Larabee twice last year, but was unsuccessful both times. The lookout alone was reason enough to go back, and another attempt had been on my mind all season.

Quinn dropping into a couloir on Goat Mountain

This past weekend, with the avalanche danger low, and powder still hanging around many places, I decided to try for it again. Quinn, Skyler, and I drove up the road to Twin Lakes Friday morning. I had hoped that with the high snow line this season that the road would be dry most of the way. Alas, the snow started in exactly the same spot we encountered it last year. Wonders never cease? Read more

Posted by Louie on February 8, 2010 | Filed Under Trip Reports, avalanches | 21 Comments

Sat Phone Blogging — First Attempt

By Lou

Last week I got our satphone blogging setup somewhat completed, so I’m out on the first test run. Up at a hut in Colorado, doing some backcountry
skiing. Have the remote antenna outside, and I’m sitting here in luxury that’s not exactly a tent on the Kahiltna, but is a good place to start with something this tricky.
This text and photos in this blog were transmitted over my satphone system, then published once I got home. Since I don’t have an unlimited budget for satphone minutes, we’ll be sending our expedition blog posts and photos as quick and basic emails, and several “ground” people will assemble and publish as blog posts.

Along with testing my 'satblog' system, I brought out my Denali skis and boots. Plank choice at this time is my K2 Waybacks. I wish they matched my Baker Superlights in weight (they're about 4 ounces heavier each) but they ski great so I guess I'd better not whine or K2 Backside brand manager Mike Hattrup might whip me with one of his ski poles. My right boot is also too tight. Time for another trip to the boot fitter, I guess, as I don't want to count on it packing out just about the time my toes are turning black. Note the artifacts from heavy jpeg compression. I got this photo down to about 10k in size, which is pretty amazing. It sent in just a couple of minutes using the slow Iridium modem, which is basically 'dialup' speed, if any of you were born long enough ago to know what that is.

Come to think of it, even if I did have a stimulus grant for satphone time, I probably wouldn’t want to take the time in camp to do the actual grunt work of making a blog post from the text and photos. Not a huge time burden, but every minute will count when we’re up there in the reality zone. Instead, dashing off a quick raw dispatch with three or four photos shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes or so. And if conditions are mellow, I’ve got the solar power and equipment to go for quite a bit of content and some crafted writing. Read more

Posted by Lou on February 6, 2010 | Filed Under Denali McKinley, Gear Mods | 14 Comments

Pivot Point? Barons, Dukes, Dynafits, and Life.

By Dave

Last week I spent a few days in Colorado for the first time since we moved to Montana four months ago. With a stop in Carbondale, I wanted to show my friend Patrick some of my old backcountry stomping grounds. (Patrick is actually HS grad from this area, but left the valley before getting into backcountry skiing.) I easily fell back into my old rhythms: When the avalanche forecast in Marble is High, head to Willy’s instead.

I have a constant feeling of euphoria whenever I ski my Marker Barons. Well, they are on my powder skis. Photo by Craig Moore at GlacierWorld.com.

I have a constant feeling of euphoria whenever I ski my Marker Barons. Well, they are on my powder skis. Finding the goods at Alta. Photo by Craig Moore at GlacierWorld.com.

It turns out that this change in plans was just what I needed for a couple reasons. First, this was my first tour in months after my ankle injury, so a casual 1,200 feet was much easier on the lungs and legs. Second, the lower angle tour that started out on the road made made for a shocking realization on the difference between my Dynafit’s and the new Marker Baron’s I’m testing on this trip. The Pivot Point. Read more

Posted by Dave on February 5, 2010 | Filed Under Backcountry Skiing, Binding Reviews, Dave Downing | 21 Comments

20 Year Old MSR XGK Edges Out New Version In Snow Melt Test

By Lou

Touted as the blow-torch of petrol campfires, the MSR XGK backcountry cook stove has been my hydration savior since it was invented back in the 1970s. So it was with much joy I acquired the latest model, replete with the well engineered fold-out base legs that work super well on a stove board, and the wide pot supports that hold a big snow melting kettle like they were designed for it.

MSR XGK Stoves, venerated elder to left, new EX model to right.

The boys were out on a Denali test camp a few weeks ago, and mentioned that the new XGK didn’t seem to burn quite as hot as the older one they had along. Not only that, but they reported that the new stove kept cutting out on them. Read more

Posted by Lou on February 4, 2010 | Filed Under Misc Gear Reviews | 35 Comments

Lou’s Denali Boots – Stretching and Molding

By Lou

The two brands of boots that fit me best are Dynafit and Garmont. No mystery, as the two companies are somewhat cross-pollinated in terms of the Italian boot experts that design the things. As I’m still a big fan of how the Dynafit ZZero CF combines performance with lack of weight, I thought it would be fun to use a pair of the “Green Machines” for our Denali trip.