Mar 20 2012

Voile ceases production of CRB

After 20 years, the CRB gets retired.


In case you missed it, Voile has quietly but officially discontinued production of their Complete Releasable Binding. Already the availability of the 3-pin versions of the CRB are sold out. Only pinless versions of the toeplate remain.

Voile will continue to have spare parts available for the foreseeable future, but not indefinitely.

Why are they abandoning the CRB? Despite a vocal minority clamoring for a releasable telemark binding, the reality is there aren’t enough CRBs sold to justify the cost of producing them. According to Voile’s sales and marketing manager, Dave Grissom, “Sales of [the CRB] bindings are very small.”
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Mar 19 2012

Review: BCA’s Tracker 2

Avalanche beacons can’t keep you from getting caught in an avalanche. If you make a bad call, there is no doubt you want to make sure you’re beepin’ and your buddies can find you quickly. Whether or not you know how to dig is another subject, but here’s three reasons why the Tracker 2 is tops in my list of beacons I prefer you own.

Tracker2 keeps it simple with 3 antennas and a fast response time.

It’s easy to use, it’s fast, and it has good range.

If I make a mistake (a documented possibility), I know what beacon I hope you have ‘cuz I doubt you practice much. If I didn’t do reviews of them I wouldn’t either. That’s why ease of use is so important. Since you probably don’t practice I want you to have a no muss, no fuss, Tracker. Preferrably Tracker2 but the original DTS will do. One of my friends who is on track to be fully IFMGA certified echoed that sentiment on a recent intro to a backcountry course he was leading, saying, “If I’m buried I want you (novice students) to have a Tracker 2.”
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Mar 18 2012

Review: PNW Water Filters

While some of you may think that advertising is simply about money, and any company that advertises on this site is simply a business hoping to make a buck off of you, I’m here to say that view that doesn’t account for every perspective.

As skiers we know the value of good water.

For instance, the advertisers that are on this site, except for most of the Google Ads, are chosen by myself as advertisers because I like their product or the product they offer and think that it has value to many of you. I don’t like the Google Ads. I was hopeful they would be better filtered, but I think the sort of companies this site should hope to attract perhaps are not on the Google plan, and thus won’t ever show up.

This site is built on promoting the earn your turns philosophy. Backcountry skiing is but one expression of that perspective. So too is living healthy, and being good stewards of planet earth. Which is why there is a water filter company advertising here.
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Mar 17 2012

TR: Knob Jr, NE Lake Tahoe

Got fresh if you want it, but it's perishable so don't wait too long to get some yourself.

The thought of traveling to Sugar Bowl via the long way around I-80 ‘stead of directly up the switchbacks of Old Hwy. 40 didn’t sound appealing, especially for terrain that was too familiar, and bound to be overrun with too many people on a Saturday. No, with up to four feet at elevation it was time to head for higher ground and lighter traffic. On the drive over to the lake I thought of John, and how the last time we did Knob Jr. together I knew it might be the last time ever. It wasn’t, Holleman and I did get another day in together, but when I thought of it today I missed him and knew it would be a good place to mingle with traces of his spirit. So Knob Jr it was.
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Mar 16 2012

Tahoe sets up for epic conditions

As has been the norm this year, the current storm hitting the Sierra is losing steam. That’s the bad news.

Snow-Forecast.com prediction for this weekend - Mar. 16-18, 2012

The good news is it is still one of the best storms of the season, and even though it may not leave 3 feet of snow on the ground down to lake level, it should still leave three to six feet up high (above 7,000′) as the mountains wring all the moisture out of it that they can.

The other good news is this is a classic Sierra storm that starts warm and ends cold, leaving a snowpack that is “right side up.” A lot of folks think the rain that has been falling down low the past two days is bad, but with two fatalities on the records already for the Tahoe area, a bit of rain should help to cure the snowpack and deliver us from the deadly consequences of a thin, cold, persistently weak layer lurking down low. But don’t rely on me about that – be sure to check the avalanche forecast and the fine print as detailed below the hazard rose.
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Mar 14 2012

Review: Ortovox S1

Ortovox's technological leader, the S1



Two things stand out immediately with the Ortovox S1. First, it is super intuitive to use, and yet, it is also rather sophisticated.

To turn it on you twist the knob on the right side of the clamshell case that it opens around. That puts the S1 into transmit mode. First it does a self-check and if all systems are good to go, it’ll beep three times shortly after you turn it on and begin transmitting a pulse every second or so.

If you’re just heading out from a trailhead, all you need to do next is stuff it inside the pouch and hang the harness off your shoulder and clip the waist strap around your torso.
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Mar 13 2012

First Look: Salomon Guardian/Atomic Tracker

One of the priorities of the recent outdoor trade show season was to spend some time on-snow with the new alpine touring binding from Salomon and Atomic. Regardless of the brand name, it’s the same binding with a different name and colors – Salomon’s Guardian or Atomic’s Tracker.

Atomic's Tracker. Up to DIN 16 release setting and switch modes without exiting the binding.

With my feet encased inside a pair of Scarpa Hurricane’s and a pair of Ascension climbing skins I headed out from the Salomon demo tent at Outdoor Retailer’s On-Snow Demo Day at Solitude resort. The Guardian was mounted to a pair of fat, rockered Salomon skis that would be one of my last choices for a backcountry ski, but they were adequate for evaluating the binding.
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