Jul 02 2013

Effective UV Protection at Altitude

 

It’s easier to hide the ugly pink of Labiosan behind facial hair.

Years ago Zeke, my tele mentor, turned me on to the most effective sunblock on the planet. It not only prevents skin from burning in sensitive areas like your lips, it can also help with the healing if you were using an inferior sunscreen and didn’t reapply it often enough.

That’s the problem with most sunscreens. They do work, but require constant reapplication to be effective. When you’re climbing a mountain, reapplying sunscreen every half hour can be annoying at the least. The reality is, it is rarely done enough.

Labiosan
Without question, the best sun protection I have ever used is Labiosan. A lot of folks don’t like it for the way it looks and feels. It is an odd shade of pink that makes you feel like a clown, while tickling your lips as it numbs them.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jul 01 2013

EarnYourTurns sheds old skin

In case you’ve been wondering why the pace of posts has slowed in the last few months it has not been as much for the lack of snow as the need to upgrade the look and feel of this website. Thus the majority of my time that is normally reserved for writing has been spent instead on figuring out and modifying the code that controls how this site works.

Besides the obvious change in the look there are some basic changes in how it functions. If you ever tried to use the search function on this site before you learned pretty quickly it was worthless. Not so anymore. Check it out and let me know if it is acceptable, or needs further work. Probably the latter, but be specific and I’ll try to accommodate you.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jun 28 2013

Profile: The Right Reverend Bardini

As if Gravity is become locally less important than Rapture.
—Thomas Pynchon

Alan Bard high on the Redline Traverse.

The Editor stopped eating; he leaned across the table with that expression. This was going to be a serious question. I read his magazine all the time. I know that he’s totally committed to imparting the soul of backcountry skiing with all its ups and downs, open minded enough to ride a snowboard when that’s a better tool, and questions everything but the passion that goes into earning your turns. His question: “why is this guy a legend?”

That was nearly a year ago. Suddenly Allan Bard is dead. He fell while guiding the Grand Teton on the iciest Fourth of July weekend local guides could remember. He was 500 feet below the summit on the Owen-Spalding route, leading a snowed-in chimney. Neither his client anchored safely below, nor the party of Brits climbing above, heard rockfall nor any sound from Allan. He pitched backward out of the chimney and came to rest at the end of his rope 130 feet below. He had a concussion through his helmet, and a broken femur had cut his femoral artery.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jun 26 2013

Picking a BC Partner

 

Sharing a view of Big Blue with a backcountry bro’

On the heels of a fresh dump all one really needs for a backcountry partner is an acquaintance familiar with basic backcountry protocol, some freeheel gear and the willingness to share trail-breaking duties. As simple and flexible as those requirements sound, there is much to be surmised about a partner just in evaluating these criteria. The reality is, I rarely suss those things out. Instead I put my trust in luck. It’s not necessarily the smartest choice, but I’ve been know to shortcut the partner evaluation and simply trust they’re as experienced as they pretend to be. So far, knock on wood, I’ve lucked out.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jun 24 2013

Review: Swix Sonic ski pole

Swix Sonic poles adjust with an over sized twist-lock.

Swix is joining the adjustable ski pole crowd with a new spin on the twist lock mechanism. Instead of twisting an internal bushing to expand and press against the inner walls of the upper shaft, they use a large diameter nut on the upper shaft to compress a plastic sleeve around the lower shaft.

Does it work? Absotively. Is it better than a cammed locking mechanism like BD’s Flick-Lock or the many variations like K2’s Lock-Jaw or Leki’s Speed Lock? No, it can’t be claimed as superior, but perhaps equal in terms of locking strength and ease of adjustment.

Though rare I have heard of Flick-Lock style clamps not holding as well as claimed. The early Lock-Jaws from K2 suffered from this a bit. In every instance where I have personally experienced failure a simple tightening of the screw on the clamp fixed the problem. Some people still prefer a twist-lock even though this style has a longer history of failure than cammed clamps. This Swix version of a twist-lock promises to restore some reliability to the tarnished image of twist-lock adjustable ski poles.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jun 16 2013

Technique: Estimating Slope Angles

A classic clinometer for measuring slope angles.

Knowing exactly how steep a slope is can be important information for understanding potential avalanche danger. Or, even if you’re not concerning yourself for the sake of safety, but instead, to prop up your ego, having an accurate measurement is good to have in either case.

The best way to do that is with a clinometer (often referred to as an inclinometer), a device to measure the incline of the slope. There are several options available in the new millenium. The classic clinometer is a ball bearing suspended in a cylinder of oil, bent into an arc with marks every degree. Any decent snow study kit comes with one.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jun 11 2013

Review: Scarpa’s TX-Pro

 

Scarpa’s TX-Pro — a T1 for NTN.

For the majority of skiers, a four buckle boot is de-riguer. Anything less simply doesn’t provide the leverage necessary for driving the fat skis of the new millenium with enough power, and/or it requires more finesse than is realistic for most of us. Thus, if you’re contemplating or convinced that you’re ready to switch to the NTN platform, Scarpa’s TX-Pro is a boot you need to try.

In simple terms the TX-Pro is the NTN version of the popular T1. Like the T1 it has enough power to drive most any ski you have in your quiver, and with the NTN sole, allows you a choice of four different bindings to exercise that control – Rottefella’s NTN Freedom, Freeride, or Burnt Mountain Design’s Spike, or the Dynafit inspired Telemark Tech System.

The TX-Pro sports the now familiar attributes of a triple-injected pebax shell, with a yoke of stiffer plastic around the foot and in the cuff, plus an ultra stiff frame around the bellows so it won’t collapse when you’re driving low in a tele turn or compressing after landing. Two buckles on the cuff plus a power strap couple all the power of your lower leg for superb edge hold at speed or on ice. For the TX-Pro, the instep buckle now uses metal teeth, for a more secure hold.
Keep making backcountry turns