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The Greatest Chalk Bag Ever Made (Tufa Climbing Houdini Chalk Bag)
Chalk bags are a pretty generic piece of climbing gear. It’s hard to get excited about a chalk bag. They are really just a bag that holds chalk. Arcteryx came up with a fancy twisting mechanism for keeping the chalk from spilling with their “Aperture” chalk bag, but other than that innovation, chalk bags haven’t […]
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The North Face Ice Project Pack
Some folk built like this, some folk built like that But the way I’m built, Don’t you call me fat Because I’m built for comfort, I ain’t built for speed But I got everything, oh, that a good girl need Howlin Wolf: Built for Comfort The North Ice Project is definitely a pack that is […]
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Alaska!!! Ham & Eggs on the Moose’s Tooth
In 2014, I had a trip to Alaska planned, to climb the Ham & Eggs route on the Moose’s Tooth. However, icefall closed down the glacier landing access, and the trip got cancelled. I scheduled another trip to Moose’s Tooth for May of 2015, and kept my fingers crossed, hoping for good conditions. The trip […]
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Backcountry Skiing in the Sawtooth Range
Guided Hut to Hut skiing in Idaho’s Sawtooth Range with Sun Valley Trekking March 16-20, 2015 For the past few seasons, I’ve done a multi-day backcountry ski trip with a group of friends. So far, we’ve done a traverse of the Teton Crest traverse, a Sierra trip from Mammoth to Lee Vining Canyon, and a […]
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Winter Climbing Gear Update: Petzl and Salewa Ice Screws
Ice Screws: Salewa Quick Screw and Petzl Laser Speed Light The winter of 2014-15 was something of a disappointment for those of us living in the Mountain West. Temperatures were warm. Precipitation was scarce, and often fell in the form of rain instead of snow. Here in Utah, the ice climbing season was short and […]
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Suluk 46 TiCa Ice Tool
The Suluk 46 TiCa ice axe weighs 4.9 ounces with a 55cm shaft. (Yes, that’s 4.9 ounces, as in less than 5 ounces.) Suluk 46 website HERE. It is not UIAA approved, and is not suitable for technical ice climbing, but after some use, I have concluded that this is a terrific axe for snow […]
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Petzl Laser Speed Light Ice Screws: First Impressions
I recently bought some of the new Petzl Laser Speed Light ice screws. The Speed Light screw is one of two screws on the market that is constructed with aluminum. (The other aluminum screw is the E-Climb Klau screw which I reviewed previously HERE.) I have not yet had a chance to thoroughly test the […]
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Mount Helen, Tower 1 Gully
September 25-27, 2014 Tower 1 Gully on Mount Helen is considered the premier alpine ice climb in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. It’s a long, moderate alpine ice route that has been on my hit list for a while. Opportunities for climbing ice in the fall are not that common in my area of the country, […]
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Micro 4/3 Update: Olympus OM-D E-M1 ; Olympus 12mm-40mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens ; Olympus 75mm f/1.8 Prime Lens
Review of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Camera; Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens; and the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 Prime Lens I have been a proponent of Olympus Micro 4/3 camera systems for a long time. The flexibility of having an interchangeable lens camera that is a fraction of the size of a traditional DSLR is great […]
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Vintage Gear
I love old gear. I collect old gear catalogs (some scans from my collection here.) Even though modern clothing and equipment is (usually) better than old school stuff, there is an undeniable satisfaction in using a piece of gear of clothing that has been around the block and proven itself over the years. There’s some […]