Feb 05 2013

Nachtspektakel returns to Squaw

Tahoe’s finest gather for the 1st Annual Nachtspektakel.

The second annual Nachtspecktakl will be happening this Saturday, February 9th at Squaw Valley, starting at 3pm. Alpenglow Sports and Dynafit will be hosting a gathering of local backcountry skiers to share time on a skin track enroute to Squaw Valley’s High Camp for dinner and drinks followed by a night descent of Squaw’s notorious Mountain Run – sans crowds and with any luck, a fresh coat of snow.

Tickets for the event are $50 if purchased before the event, $60 at the event. Meet in front of Squaw’s Tram station to sign-in at 2:30pm. The hike to High Camp commences at 3pm TST (Tahoe Sharp Time, as in, really, we mean it, really, snooze you lose, loser). The first two drinks at High Camp are included, plus a three course meal.
Keep making backcountry turns

Feb 04 2013

OR Report: Splitboard Bindings

K2 brings back the Clicker binding as the Kwicker system

Time to pull a fast one on my two planker brethren and recognize the elephant in the room. Yeah, those blasted snowboarders won’t go away. They have the same mountain spirit you and I carry, but they like surfing the slopes. Who can blame them? It is an excellent way to ride on waves of water frosted granite.

Truth be told, I consider myself one of them since there was a time when I enjoyed the experience of only making a dozen turns on slopes that used to call for 50 or more. Riding with two legs on one plank offers a powerful dose of adrenalin. Better yet, pull out the stops and ride a longboard where three turns to the bottom is all you need to peg the thrill meter in the red zone.

In case you haven’t noticed, splitboarding has come of age. Interest has grown and the key components are being refined. Here’s a quick round up of two things I tripped across while wandering the aisles at the recent Outdoor Retailer show. There is a ton more going on in the splitboard world, so consider this a mere teaser of things to come next year.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jan 31 2013

Technique: Modifying TTS Heel Post

Notice how the heel is raised a bit? That’s ‘cuz the TTS cable guides were a bit too tall.

The original Telemark Tech System binding was a bit crude but was close enough to yield a glimpse of what the future of telemark bindings might provide. Mark Lengel, the inventor of the system admits that the binding is effectively still a beta binding, but the current incarnation is vastly improved over the first prototype.

The height of the original heel post and cable posts tended to lift your boot too much, yielding a mild tippy-toe sensation. Far less than the days of rocker launch with the original Cobra, but annoying nonetheless.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jan 29 2013

Fritschi Diamir’s NEW Zenith 12 Tech Binding

Diamir’s Zenith 12 – rockin’ the BC!

Fritschi Diamir is joining the tech revolution in the backcountry. At the recent Outdoor Retailer trade show Fritschi unveiled their new Zenith 12, a tech binding that has lateral release capability at the toe, and an easy mode switch without exiting the binding.

Although there is no standard for calibrating the release values of lightweight, 2-pin tech bindings (Dynafit), Thomas Laakso, Black Diamond’s ski products manager says, “it passes all safety release tests for existing alpine and AT norms.”

The current trend in AT skiing has resulted in a polarized market. Experienced backcountry skiers know that light is right so they buy Dynafit or tech bindings that are knock-offs of the original, patented Dynafit concept. On the other hand, alpine resort converts think weight is great so they prefer heavier plate style bindings that work with alpine boots with DIN standard soles.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jan 28 2013

OR Report: Urban Ski Tour in the Wasangles

Saturday’s tour was a classic. The “greatest snow on earth” term was referred to as an example of how wrong it can be in reality. There were all the classic ingredients one might expect for an urban tour in the Wasangles range, easy access but lacking the wildness of a true wilderness. Salt Lake City was hidden beneath an acrid cloud of smog but the hum of more than a million people going to and fro made an ironic background noise.

Howie shows how it is done. 26jan13


Dog poop littered the trail in descending frequency as we skinned up. It disappeared when we veered off the main path towards the ravine where Neffs cave is hidden. Tele Mark’s baritone boomed out with a steady stream of gear babble on the climb up. Howie held down the procession as trail sweep while I got into my usual diatribe on skin track angles. Inevitably this led to issuing Mark a citation for setting a steep skin track. The way I figure it, every degree over 15° demands a stiff $10 reprimand. His citation was for $100.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jan 25 2013

OR Report: Interest in airbag packs explodes

Can the US market really support more than a dozen airbag manufacturers? That’s right, there’s thirteen I know of that plan to distribute airbag packs next season, and two more soon after.

Even Oakley is getting in to the action with a smartly styled airbag pack, powered by Mammut’s Removeable Airbag System, pioneered by SnowPulse.

At the moment the two biggest are the originator of the avalanche airbag pack, ABS, followed by SnowPulse. ABS uses compressed nitrogen to power the inflation of two bags on the pack. SnowPulse uses compressed air to inflate a single bag that expands around the back and sides of your head. ABS has licensed their airbag technology to The North Face, Ortovox, and Bergens of Norway. SnowPulse was bought by Mammut who have their own version of airbag packs using the SnowPulse system and have licensed the system to Arva, Oakley, and Scott. That makes ten. Then there are the independents who use compressed air to inflate a single bag behind the head, but unlike ABS or SnowPulse who discharge the compressed gas by piercing the seal, these companies use various switches that open a valve, including Backcountry Access’ Float series of airbag packs, Wari, and Mystery Ranch. That brings the count to 13.
Keep making backcountry turns

Jan 24 2013

OR Report: Backcountry Access’ BC Link

 

Tracker3™ – 20% lighter, w/real-time digital processing and signal separation for marking multiple victims.

Besides being adopted by K2 Sports, what’s new at Backcountry Access? More of what you might expect, and a little of something unexpected.

The Tracker3™ is the follow up to the Tracker2™, utilizing the same real-time digital processing but now with the ability to separate multiple signals and mark a beacon you have located. Although this is supposed to be old news, the beacon shown last August didn’t work. Whether the software is ready for prime time won’t be known until they ship.

With interest in airbag packs running at a fever pitch BCA’s plans are to simply meet demand. This year’s revision to the 32 liter Float pack was a nice improvement with none projected for next season (yet).
Keep making backcountry turns