Oct 18 2013

PSA: BCA recalls pre-2012 Float triggers

 

Upgrade makes trigger more “idiot proof”

If you know how to install a snap-ring, fughgetaboutit. If not, get the upgrade.

If you know how to install a snap-ring, fughgetaboutit.
If not, get the upgrade.

Backcountry Access is conducting a trigger upgrade on all Float packs sold into the marketplace during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. Please see the attached Safety Alert and Important Recall Notice for details.

This trigger update includes the Float 30, 18, 36, 22, 32 and Throttle. The Float 30 with a T-handle is not included. Any Float packs received after July 1st, 2013 are also not affected. The upgraded trigger assembly is standard on all 2013-2014 airbags and utilizes a hex crimp instead of an E-clip as a retention solution.

BCA has found on a very few number of packs the E-clip that holds the cable assembly together can accidentally become dislodged while connecting or disconnecting the compressed air cylinder. If this happens, the pack may not deploy properly. While the probability of this occurring is extremely low, we believe it is best to replace the entire assembly.
Keep making backcountry turns

Oct 17 2013

First Look: Mammut’s Light 30 airbag pack

 

At just over 6 pounds, Mammut makes carrying an airbag pack more bearable.

At just over 6 pounds, Mammut makes carrying an airbag pack more bearable.

Saving weight has always been a primary goal with packs. Afterall, the plan is to carry a bunch of stuff on your back without breaking it. Keeping the weight of the container down is part of the puzzle.

This gets more difficult when you’re talking about an airbag pack. The main reason you’re buying it is for the insurance the airbag provides, and you bear the cost every time you heft it. Mammut does a stellar job of minimizing the weight with their Light 30. The main savings occur with the fabric, a thin but strong Cordura-like fabric with an aramid reinforced nylon panel on the outside that deflects abrasion with a smooth surface, and won’t run if punctured; excellent protection against steel edges or branches.
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Oct 14 2013

First Look: Dynafit’s Beast 16

 

Beta version of the Dynafit Beast 16

Beta version of the Dynafit Beast 16

The saying goes, “Light is right, but weight is great.” Even Dynafit is acknowledging that with the introduction of their next generation tech binding, the Beast 16. At almost a kilogram per foot (actually only 966 grams or 34 oz.) it is a beast of a binding, especially for a company firmly rooted with the light is right crowd. At $1000 bucks a pair (realistically $850), it is for the few, the proud, the elite members of the Platinum club for whom that thousand dollar fee gains membership into Dynafit’s most ambitious binding line where the limits of performance previously defined by Dynafit’s two-pin tech system are set to be shattered. While price may seem to be the biggest hurdle to the Beast’s acceptance, that isn’t the real Achilles heel of this binding.

Weight is great as long as it comes with a healthy list of functional features and there is no doubt, Dynafit’s Beast increases the limits of downhill performance well beyond what a two-pin binding is known to do, particularly when charging hard and landing harder. The flaw in the ointment isn’t with its downhill ability – it’s with the uphill, and it isn’t because the binding tips the scales at four pounds per pair. The cardinal sin of the Beast is the lack of a flat touring mode.

On the other hand, there are a number of tours that are often done without any meadows, like a one-and-done dawn patrol before work. In that case, who needs a flat touring mode? It’s just a resting gear anyway and these Beasts are made for chewing up vertical, both ways. Which is where you will appreciate Dynafit’s evolution of their two-pin system.
Keep making backcountry turns

Oct 07 2013

Telemarking: Neither Dead Nor Stupid

IOW — Why Tele?

Shredding the effects of chemo, John Holleman rips fresh pow.

Watching John Holleman rip tele turns
made you wish you could too.

As if it isn’t apparent, let me start out by reminding you that tele ain’t dead. The reports of the demise of the telemark tribe are over stated, fueled by mob mentality, juvenile thinking, and reliance on equipment sales to judge interest.

Interest is not defined by consumerism, but the passion of the people involved. That passion is rarely fueled by how easy something is. We all know the saying, “the harder they come, the harder they fall.” It accurately describes the loyalty and how outspoken telemarkers can be when describing their dance of choice in the mountains. Lest you think as a writer and publisher about telemark minutia I am merely too self absorbed to see outside my free heel realm, consider Sir Arnold Lund who pursued his passion for skiing with such zeal he was knighted, and he is on record as a telemarker. The correlation is hard to dismiss.

Part of the reason is ‘cuz tele ain’t easy. Ask any who have committed the time to learn it and they readily acknowledge, it takes extra effort, lots of time and lots of falls to master the telemark turn. In some ways you never fully do, because you’re always learning and adapting to new conditions with a free heel. That challenge is part of the allure, because it makes the satisfaction of achievement that much richer.
Keep making backcountry turns

Oct 04 2013

TR: Freshies on Mt. Hood’s ZigZag Glacier

  • By
  • 6 mins to read

September 26th freshies on the Zigzag, Mt. Hood

from BackcountryTalk.com
 

There was fresh snow up high, but not a flake was left alive at the parking lot.

There was fresh snow up high, but not a flake was left alive at the parking lot. Photo by KLW.

Ryan and I had tried to make turns together after we met through a mutual friend last fall but for one reason or another we didn’t make it work until Thursday. Oregon got a two day storm that dropped what we were hoping was enough snow to cover up the summer crud so we decided on short notice to check out the Zigzag “glacier” on Hood.

We met in the parking lot at the early hour of 8:00 AM and were happy to see a significant amount of new snow on the upper mountain though not a flake of it stuck down low.
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Sep 29 2013

Overview of Avalanche Airbag Systems

 

Avalanche Airbag Packs offer serious insurance, but no guarantees.

Avalanche Airbag Packs offer serious insurance, but no guarantees.

Airbag packs have become a commodity. Not because they are everywhere, but because so many different pack makers are offering one. Which means that, once you decide you need one of these, there is bound to be one that one will strike your fancy simply as a pack, regardless of the type of airbag it may use. To be sure, airbags systems force compromises in the design of packs, but insurance never comes without a cost.

Ignoring the features of the pack for a moment, there are two basic airbag systems available in Fall 2013, with a revolutionary third to come by Fall 2014. Both work by releasing a cartridge of compressed gas to fill the airbag. However, the compressed gas in the canister is not enough to fill the airbags on their own. In fact, more than half the air in the bag is drawn in from the surrounding space via a venturi valve. The speed of the gas expanding out of the canister draws in enough additional air through the venturi valve to fill the air bag.
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Sep 26 2013

Early season dustings spark speculations

 
Now that the west has felt the cold sting of snow on the ground, speculations are running rampant on what sort of season Old Man Winter has in store for us. The Council of Squirrels in Truckee is in a no hurries, no worries mood which doesn’t bode well for Tahoe skiers.

Here’s some shots of recent snowfall to tease us of turns to come.

Recent snowfall at Whistler, B.C.

Recent snowfall at Whistler, B.C.


Keep making backcountry turns