Jun 03 2013

Beacon Review: Arva’s Neo

Arva’s NEO sees one signal ~39 m (~127 ft.) away.

To be honest it has been awhile since I’ve been impressed with an Arva avalanche transceiver. They were the first European company to agree digital processing could improve search times and they obliged with the Arva 9000 – a single antenna transceiver that used digital processing to calculate and display distance, along with a series of beeps that trilled louder and faster as you honed in on the target, an audio signature that has since been copied in some form or another by every beacon maker.

Since then it seems Arva has always been playing a bit of catch up with technology. The same could be said of the NEO, but in this case, it doesn’t come up short, it is finally on par with everyone else, which is nothing to sneeze at. Based on my first run through of basic beacon tests the Neo performs very well, winning a few close comparisons, bowing on a few others.
Keep making backcountry turns

May 30 2013

Burger Barn: Good East Side Eats

Ordering up at the Burger Barn.
Click to enlarge and peruse the menu.

 
For travelers heading down from Tahoe to the East Side, there aren’t a whole lot of decent food options along the road. Most everyone has learned about Whoa Nellie Deli in the Mobil station at the eastern turn off from Hwy 395 up to Tioga Pass and Yosemite National Park on Hwy. 120. It has a well deserved reputation, but as with all things that become popular, its very popularity is now an annoying blemish.

The Burger Barn is another place that has been serving awesome food for a lot longer than Whoa Nellie has, but with a more traditional menu. Instead of chicken ceasar wraps and gluten-free pizzas, the Burger Barn is know for burritos, nachos, fish n’ chips, burgers, and ol’ fashioned, full fat malts.
Keep making backcountry turns

May 29 2013

Beacon Review: Ortovox D3

The Ortovox D3

 
Note: Though discontinued this review is published for the benefit of those who are considering purchasing a used D3 beacon.

Overview
For those who just want a beacon that you simply turn on and follow the lights to the victim, the D3 is hard to pass up.

Ergonomics
The D3 maintains the classic, integrated harness with the On switch, combined with a smart looking pouch to hold the beacon. It also has an elastic tether to the pouch. Switching to receive is done via the rotating knob and locking tab.
Keep making backcountry turns

May 28 2013

Review: Oakley’s SnowMad RAS pack

Oakley’s SnowMad RAS pack. 30 liters with SnowPulse HOT technology.
Cost? Priceless if you need it.

For the moment I’ve lost track of how many companies are planning to offer a BC airbag pack. According to a catalog I was browsing last week, there will be 26 brands of airbag packs in Europe alone, or maybe that was the number of licensees for avy packs working with the original ABS. With such proliferation of the technology, it appears a lot of companies expect airbag packs to become a backcountry commodity.

In case you doubt that perspective, then how does one explain Oakley offering a BC pack designed to incorporate the SnowPulse Removable Airbag System? As the RAS name implies, the airbag system can be removed, allowing the pack to log some hours of use in the summer too. In this case, Oakley only provides the pack, one with the ability to add a rider insurance policy for avalanche safety at a later date. Since this pack wouldn’t merit a review without that option included, the rest of this review assumes the RAS has been added.
Keep making backcountry turns

May 26 2013

Mono Lake’s Black Point

 

There is definitely still snow on the E Side, but the best place to ski was undeniably at Mammoth.

The main goal was to simply get outa Dodge. A secondary goal was to go prepared to make some turns. It was possible, but we had to admit, the fanaticism to ski mediocre conditions has left us. We’ve become snot-nosed, cherry-pickin’ Tahoe locals who turn our noses up when we have to hoist our skis for a half mile of dry trail. Spend a few seasons doing slingshot tours from Sugar Bowl and see if you don’t get spoiled too. 😉

Besides, it was time for a new activity. I love skiing, but I also love the things I can do in the summer that aren’t done in the winter. Since Spring came early to the Sierra, and now Summer too, it’s time to face the music.

On this day, we chose to do some exploring around the shores of Mono Lake. The ravages of several decades of sucking the water out of the Sierra, bypassing their natural flow into Mono Lake have taken their toll.
Keep making backcountry turns

May 23 2013

Technique: Use a boot horn for cold boots

Can’t get your foot around the corner of the tongue? Try a slip of plastic, a boot horn, to reduce binding friction.

 
One of the most common problems skiers experience is the simple act of getting in to their boots. This is especially true when the boot is cold and has an overlapping tongue design. Plastic ski boots do get stiffer as they get colder and if you left them in the car overnight you’re sure to be cursing as you try to pry them apart to stuff your feet in them.

It happened to me last February while testing a bunch of ski gear at the demo days at Alpine Meadows, sponsored by the WWSRA. Fortunately I had two pair of boots to chose from, so when I found that I simply could not jam my feet into my Lange XT‘s, I opted for the Scarpa Maestrale‘s with a tongue that hinges open and completely out of the way.
Keep making backcountry turns

May 20 2013

Review: Burnt Mt. Design’s teledog – Spike!

 

Burnt Mt Design shows off the performance of his latest tele dog

Louis Dandurand taking Spike out for a walk in the woods.

To the discerning telemarker, as oxymoronic as that may sound, there is a lot that goes into selecting the components of the best tele system. In the end it really doesn’t matter, you can’t make gear an excuse for poor technique but the right combination of a boot and binding can make a world of difference in the control and depth of the turn experienced. Most bindings present a compromise at one end of the spectrum or another, and all are adjustable to some extent, but few offer the breadth of options offered by Burnt Mountain Designs, the product of a tele dreamer in Vermont who built the Tele Bulldog, the first truly step-in telemark binding in the world in his garage while mending humans in an hospital emergency room by day. Though the new NTN bindings are pretty darn easy to get in to, the Bulldog family of bindings are easier still.
Keep making backcountry turns

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